Tonight at bedtime I pulled out some "new" pajama's that had belonged to my nephew Casey. Chase was SO excited about these Spiderman PJ's that I had to share. If you look closely, you'll see the shirt has a black cape or "wings". Needless to say, bedtime took a lot longer because my 3 year old super hero was throwing his web all around, helping to save man-kind. It was worth the extra minutes to see him so excited!Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Spiderman Pajamas
Tonight at bedtime I pulled out some "new" pajama's that had belonged to my nephew Casey. Chase was SO excited about these Spiderman PJ's that I had to share. If you look closely, you'll see the shirt has a black cape or "wings". Needless to say, bedtime took a lot longer because my 3 year old super hero was throwing his web all around, helping to save man-kind. It was worth the extra minutes to see him so excited!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Johansen's Farm
Tricia, Payton, Ava & Chase going down the big slide
Our play group friends, Luke is NOT happy!
Chase & Payton
Mr. Hollywood
Smile!Today our play group met at Johansen's Farms. What a beautiful, sunny day for a change! The kids had a great time, there was so much to do. We spent a lot of time with the kids jumping in the "jumping places", looking at all of the animals (the baby chicks were the biggest hit), riding on the train, going through the corn maze and of course, going down the big slide. All of the "big" kids went down twice and had a great time.
It is so much fun watching the kids interact with each other. It is amazing how they have their own conversations with each other, wait for each other, and try to create bonds with each other. I love seeing how much Chase has grown with this group of friends since he was literally a few weeks old. It was a good day!
Look What We Started?!?!
Let's start with what we have already accomplished...
New appliances, we got a new fridge and diswasher too!
New flat screen (since we broke our TV in the move, don't worry, we're going to do something about all of those wires!) & new ceiling fan, I know you can't see the whole thing!
New couch and light fixture in back ground
New appliances, we got a new fridge and diswasher too!
New flat screen (since we broke our TV in the move, don't worry, we're going to do something about all of those wires!) & new ceiling fan, I know you can't see the whole thing!
New couch and light fixture in back groundNow what we started...
Yes, these are the walls in our front hall, living room, stairway and upstairs hallway. We took the wall paper off and this is what is left. We knew when we bought the house that we wanted to change a lot but oh my gosh, this is going to be a lot of work and a HUGE mess. I'm already cringing and all of the dust that will come when we sand the walls. Our next goals are to paint Chase's room, which we did today :), finish these walls, some can lighting in the kitchen and family room, maybe new floors and then possibly we'll be ready for paint! My mother-in-law, my dad and a friend of the family helped us so much this weekend. Let's just hope they keep helping!
Yes, these are the walls in our front hall, living room, stairway and upstairs hallway. We took the wall paper off and this is what is left. We knew when we bought the house that we wanted to change a lot but oh my gosh, this is going to be a lot of work and a HUGE mess. I'm already cringing and all of the dust that will come when we sand the walls. Our next goals are to paint Chase's room, which we did today :), finish these walls, some can lighting in the kitchen and family room, maybe new floors and then possibly we'll be ready for paint! My mother-in-law, my dad and a friend of the family helped us so much this weekend. Let's just hope they keep helping!Monday, October 12, 2009
Fall 2009 Family Pictures
This past weekend we had some family pictures taken for us at a park near our house. A student of mine offered to have her mom take family pictures for us outside and that would be her holiday gift to us. She gave us a photo album full of pictures as well as the CD so that we can do what we'd like with them. It was very chilly (the original plan was to wear white polo's but the weather wouldn't allow for that)! I think they turned out pretty cute and they are different from anything that we've ever done before. I thought I would just post a few of my favorites!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
First Day of Preschool
Ready to go...spiderman backpack is on!
Coloring his "placemat" for snack time each day
What a good listener!!
Circle time...he's looking at me with the cutest smile!
Singing the goodbye songToday was Chase's first day of preschool. I found myself tearing up throughout the entire morning I was there...get a grip, I know! We talked in the morning about remembering to use our best manners and say hello to new friends and teachers. I told him that I know he is such a good listener and I'm sure his teachers would think so too. He definitely lived up to my expectations!
The morning was just an hour and the parents actually stayed in the classroom. A typical day is 2 hours, twice a week. Chase was a little clingy at first but when the parents and kids separated, he did well and only came over to us a few times. He seemed so brave and I was so proud of him for that. He was smiling and listening to all of the directions that were given. He was quiet and calm but there was an underlying excitement and curiousity in his eyes. I wish that I was able to take him and pick him up everyday to hear about his day immediately but I know that Blake will keep me informed. This morning was definitely worth taking the day off for.
Life Update
Wow, this is the first time I've been on my blog in over a month...I can honestly say that I've missed this! Unfortunately, I have no new pictures but a lot has gone on this past month.
To begin with, my dad had a stroke on August 5th (my birthday) that caused a bleed in his brain. Since then, he has had a 2nd bleed that we were told caused severe brain damage and that he would have no quality of life from its effects. There is no explanation as to why this happened, it just did. However, I was just in Michigan this last weekend and my dad is doing great!!! His vision has returned (which is HUGE, they said this would never come back), he is walking on his own, understands almost everything that is said to him, and is talking pretty well too. He is in a rehab program in the hospital and will be there for 2 more weeks. After that, he is coming to live with us in our new house! There are a lot of challenges that come with that for us: transforming our living room into a bedroom since we don't want him to do stairs, finding doctors and therapists to provide him services here, and finding somewhere/someone to be with him while we're at work because he'll need 24 hour supervision, not 24 hour care...something his insurance does not pay for at all! There is a lot to be done in the next 2 weeks to be sure that everything goes smoothly once he arrives. I'm hoping that he'll be able to rest as best as he can in a house with 2 young children, a crazy dog, and 2 stressed out adults!
We officially moved out of house on August 17th and moved in with Blake's parents. We had a really nice 2 week stay there, they were helpful with the boys since I was in Michigan a lot. We moved into our new house August 28th. The move went well for the most part, we owe a lot of great friends for helping us out. We've started settling in a little more after this past weekend. We were dumping a lot of things into the living room since it is a space we don't anticipate using much right now but with my dad coming, we've got a lot of moving and figuring out to do. We did go buy new appliances and a TV this past weekend and had a fence put in. Slowly our new house is starting to feel like a home. There are so many updates and painting that we want to do but we truly need to prioritize what is on our plate right now.
I'm in full swing at school and my class this year is okay. They are challenging my patience daily (along with my own children) but I think with a little more settling in, we'll all be on the same page and have a great year. My friends at work have been so supportive of us, they've made dinners for us so that we could settle in and not worry about what is for dinner, I'm so grateful to them.
Chase starts his first day of preschool today. I took today off to take him there...I hope that he does okay. He has been very "off" since the move and since I've been gone a lot more than normal. He's started having some horrible bed times (getting him to go to sleep) and tantrums that weren't happening before. I'm hoping his behavior levels out soon, I'm at the end of my rope some days.
Luke on the other hand, is doing great! He's not eating a 9 course meal or anything but he has become so much more adventurous with his eating and I attribute that to therapy, time, and our babysitter Cathy, working with him everyday. I can't wait to see how much he weighs at the end of the month...I know that he has grown taller and he has to have gained some weight!
Blake has been super busy with work and coaching this past month. He started coaching football at a middle school in our district and loves it, I'm so happy he is doing it, even though it is tough for me to pick the boys up everyday. He's been wonderful when I've been gone and has done ton around the house.
I think our life is in an upswing now...I hope to take a picture of my children soon and post them!
To begin with, my dad had a stroke on August 5th (my birthday) that caused a bleed in his brain. Since then, he has had a 2nd bleed that we were told caused severe brain damage and that he would have no quality of life from its effects. There is no explanation as to why this happened, it just did. However, I was just in Michigan this last weekend and my dad is doing great!!! His vision has returned (which is HUGE, they said this would never come back), he is walking on his own, understands almost everything that is said to him, and is talking pretty well too. He is in a rehab program in the hospital and will be there for 2 more weeks. After that, he is coming to live with us in our new house! There are a lot of challenges that come with that for us: transforming our living room into a bedroom since we don't want him to do stairs, finding doctors and therapists to provide him services here, and finding somewhere/someone to be with him while we're at work because he'll need 24 hour supervision, not 24 hour care...something his insurance does not pay for at all! There is a lot to be done in the next 2 weeks to be sure that everything goes smoothly once he arrives. I'm hoping that he'll be able to rest as best as he can in a house with 2 young children, a crazy dog, and 2 stressed out adults!
We officially moved out of house on August 17th and moved in with Blake's parents. We had a really nice 2 week stay there, they were helpful with the boys since I was in Michigan a lot. We moved into our new house August 28th. The move went well for the most part, we owe a lot of great friends for helping us out. We've started settling in a little more after this past weekend. We were dumping a lot of things into the living room since it is a space we don't anticipate using much right now but with my dad coming, we've got a lot of moving and figuring out to do. We did go buy new appliances and a TV this past weekend and had a fence put in. Slowly our new house is starting to feel like a home. There are so many updates and painting that we want to do but we truly need to prioritize what is on our plate right now.
I'm in full swing at school and my class this year is okay. They are challenging my patience daily (along with my own children) but I think with a little more settling in, we'll all be on the same page and have a great year. My friends at work have been so supportive of us, they've made dinners for us so that we could settle in and not worry about what is for dinner, I'm so grateful to them.
Chase starts his first day of preschool today. I took today off to take him there...I hope that he does okay. He has been very "off" since the move and since I've been gone a lot more than normal. He's started having some horrible bed times (getting him to go to sleep) and tantrums that weren't happening before. I'm hoping his behavior levels out soon, I'm at the end of my rope some days.
Luke on the other hand, is doing great! He's not eating a 9 course meal or anything but he has become so much more adventurous with his eating and I attribute that to therapy, time, and our babysitter Cathy, working with him everyday. I can't wait to see how much he weighs at the end of the month...I know that he has grown taller and he has to have gained some weight!
Blake has been super busy with work and coaching this past month. He started coaching football at a middle school in our district and loves it, I'm so happy he is doing it, even though it is tough for me to pick the boys up everyday. He's been wonderful when I've been gone and has done ton around the house.
I think our life is in an upswing now...I hope to take a picture of my children soon and post them!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Moving
We are officially in packing mode at our house. Blake and I have been working pretty hard to get things organized because our moving experiences in the past have always been a bit of a mess. We've been to Good Will twice already, giving away so many nice things that we simply don't use. It feels good to de-clutter a little bit but we still have a long way to go.
We close on our current house on August 17th, my first day of school this year. Great timing, right?!? We'll be staying at Blake's parents house until August 28th, the day we close on our new house. I'm so grateful to be staying there but I'm just really anxious because it is such a hectic time in my life with school starting, the boys going to daycare full time and Blake coaching football every evening. I hope that we settle in okay and the boys sleep...that is my biggest concern!
On another note, we're really excited about our new house. It is in Naperville, right behind Traversos restaurant in Spring Brook Crossing subdivision. The house was built in 1988 and is in great shape. It has a big backyard and is so close to my school, only 1 mile away! We're really happy that the boys will be going to school in my school district so that we'll always have the same days off and the fact that their school will be so close to me is very comforting. I have a friend from our play group that actually lives on our street and her son will be in the same school, same grade as Chase, an instant friend to play with!
The house does need some updating, it still has an electric stove from 1988! We have a vision of what we want the house to look like and are hesitantly looking forward to the challenge and excitement of making the house our own. I'm just going to try my best to live with things as they are until we have the time and money to start updating. I plan on taking a picture of the house soon and will post a picture as soon as I get one!
We close on our current house on August 17th, my first day of school this year. Great timing, right?!? We'll be staying at Blake's parents house until August 28th, the day we close on our new house. I'm so grateful to be staying there but I'm just really anxious because it is such a hectic time in my life with school starting, the boys going to daycare full time and Blake coaching football every evening. I hope that we settle in okay and the boys sleep...that is my biggest concern!
On another note, we're really excited about our new house. It is in Naperville, right behind Traversos restaurant in Spring Brook Crossing subdivision. The house was built in 1988 and is in great shape. It has a big backyard and is so close to my school, only 1 mile away! We're really happy that the boys will be going to school in my school district so that we'll always have the same days off and the fact that their school will be so close to me is very comforting. I have a friend from our play group that actually lives on our street and her son will be in the same school, same grade as Chase, an instant friend to play with!
The house does need some updating, it still has an electric stove from 1988! We have a vision of what we want the house to look like and are hesitantly looking forward to the challenge and excitement of making the house our own. I'm just going to try my best to live with things as they are until we have the time and money to start updating. I plan on taking a picture of the house soon and will post a picture as soon as I get one!
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