Consignment finds

It seems like every Friday there is a big consignment sale in the area, usually sponsored by a church or other organization. They are like big garage sales with lots of good deals! We have been going just to look and see if there are any fun toys we can buy to keep Michael busy when the new baby arrives. I usually look at the boys' clothes section but I feel like by the time they get to 2T the poor clothes look so worn! I've found some good pieces, but it is definitely a hunt.

We got home from this sale last week and Michael had to try out the new baby things!

You can also see in the background my new bouncer seat which matches our swing. I've wanted one for a long time and this was only $10! It will be nice to have one both upstairs and downstairs.

I guess you could call this officially nesting? Let's hope so!

The state of things around here....

We've been busy trying to get things in our basement wrapped up before baby comes. Isn't it funny how this is what we were trying to do before Michael was born also? We really just have little things to finish up and our handyman has been working hard to get them finished for us.

First up is Scott's music room:

They are building a little stage for his drumset and then we will trim out the walls and get carpet installed! We have a big remnant which is the perfect size for this room and FREE!

We also spent some time and cleaned out our storage room. Believe it or not, this is the finished product! A lot of old boxes and just plain garbage got thrown out and it cleared up a lot of space. We still have a ways to go, but some of that stuff will go into the finished music room so for now it is still kind of a catch all. But I guess that is what storage rooms are for, aren't they?

We also got closet doors installed in the basement bedrooms:




They really make the rooms seem finally finished now that all the junk in the closets is hidden behind doors.

And just horrify you- here is the rest of the room:



Why on earth does one household have so much bedding? I'm sure at any given point we could put up at least 10 people with fully made beds. You should all come over! :o)



So there you have it...the state of things around here. Hopefully we'll be making some progress in the new few weeks!

Enjoying Spring!

We have been fully taking advantage of the gorgeous spring weather this week. I cannot tell you how much easier my life is just by having the opportunity to go outside for a few hours each day. Now I finally understand what moms have been talking about! :o)

We still need to get some outdoor toys for Michael, so far all we have is his little trike. He looks like such a big boy when he rides it!

I picked up some sidewalk chalk at Walmart and immediately Michael only wanted to eat it. As you can see, he tasted both colors. There is no stopping him...he thinks everything is food.

And now I will continue on to my boring growing plants portion of this blog post...

:o)

It makes me so happy to see all my plants coming back in the spring. Every day it seems like something new is coming back and it's exciting! The weeds, not so exciting. I've sprayed them once already but I still can't resist pulling them when I can. Hopefully if I tackle them early they won't get out of hand as easily.

Sedum- filling in nicely on my rock wall. Some people think it is too invasive, but I like it. It's easy.

My grass has already started to shoot up- I'm glad I got these cut back a few weeks ago.

Plumeria- can't wait for it to bloom!

Day lilies- they are getting bigger and bigger each year. I love them, they are so happy!

Here are some photos when I said Michael looked different after his nap. He just looks so grown up!

He is not really a baby anymore, huh?

Happy Friday!

I haven't posted these photos yet and they really have nothing to do with what has been going on lately but I thought they were so cute. Michael is so independent- he wanted a snack so he pushed his chair up to the fruit bowl and grabbed himself an apple! He is such a funny guy.

He is growing so much every day and I swear he looks older after every nap. He has been very sweet lately with lots of snuggles and hand holding. It really is tugging at my heart strings because I am just so conflicted about him not being my baby anymore. We have been having lots of good snuggles at night when I rock him to sleep and I know that it won't last for very much longer!

I am really starting to slow down because of the pregnancy. Yesterday after school I couldn't do anything except for sit with my feet up for about 30 minutes until I got my energy back to get dinner ready and head out to my bible study. After Michael goes to bed at night I am usually done for- it is reading, vegging on the couch or soaking in the bathtub the rest of the night for me. This combination of lack of energy and ambition is not good as I still have lots to prepare for in just 6 short weeks!

When is the nesting phase supposed to kick in? I hope it makes an appearance soon! :o)

Chicks and Diggers!

Happy April! Can you believe it? We are just 7 weeks and change away from a new baby at our house! I am hoping that the snow stays away for good and we can get lots of work done outside before the little one makes his or her arrival!



On Wednesday we stopped at Tractor Supply Company to check out the baby chicks, thanks to a suggestion by my dad. It was great entertainment for Michael!

He was so excited and loved walking around to the different bins to look at all the types of chicks. It was very appropriate since we had just heard a book at the library about chicks!

We also had some excitement here yesterday morning when our neighbors were doing some dirt work in their backyard. Michael has several books about diggers and he was pretty happy to see one in action. As soon as he saw it he showed me where it was in his book- isn't he so smart? I love to see him start to make connections between things in real life and in books.




We can't wait to see what fun types of entertainment today brings! We'll keep you posted!

Staying busy...

Staying busy is definitely the name of the game over here at our house. Every day I wonder what we can do to make sure we have a smooth and quick day, especially when we are cooped up inside being sick. Except on days when I work...those always fly by no problem! I'm always way too busy at school! :o)



(can you see the grass getting greener outside?? yay!!)

I bought Michael a huge bag of little cars at a consignment sale last week. The sale was crazy but I picked up a ton of new to us stuff to keep Michael occupied. Most of it is put away until the new baby comes but I had the cars out for our weekend away. I've been catching him playing so nicely by himself in the sunroom. He lines the cars up and moves them from one end to the other and makes little noises and talks to himself...it just makes my heart melt!

We've also been working on coloring with crayons. He usually gets a few scribbles in before he starts to gnaw on the crayons. Maybe I should try markers instead? He is also starting to like to do stickers but I try and save them for special times like a restaurant.

Busy boy...time for a snack!

Family Weekend

This past weekend Scott's mom's side of the family got together in Cedar Rapids to celebrate his grandma's 95th birthday. It was quite the celebration with family in town all weekend. It was so fun to see everyone and catch up with people we haven't seen in a long time. Some we haven't seen in 3 or 4 years!



All the great-grandkids, minus the two new babies and Andy who was sick.



We had the party at Betty's home. They have a nice party room in the lower level and it was perfect for hosting a big group. We brought in sandwiches and chips and had a great time. Michael loved the grapes!



Scott's aunt brought a pile of old photos to look through. How Boardwalk Empire is this one?

The night before we all gathered at the Amana colonies for a nice dinner. I wanted to get there early to walk around and visit some of the shops but we pulled in right at 5 when everything closed. Maybe we can head back there sometime this summer, it is something I really want to do!

We ate at the Ox Yoke Inn, which was where Scott and his family always ate growing up. Scott had a fun time showing Michael all the cool things in the restaurant like the stuffed bear upstairs. We had a family style dinner with fried chicken, pot roast, ham, corn and potatoes. It was awesome!!

It felt great to get out of town for the weekend and see lots of family. Hopefully we can all do it again next year!