Under Contract!

Dumping the weeds Paul pulls!

Mom's house has been on the market since last Fall.  She has had a lot of lookers but no serious offers until now.  She is under contract!  We are all excited, nervous and overwhelmed.  There is a lot that has to happen between now and the closing - home inspection, appraisal, packing, selling things she no longer needs and the list goes on and on.  The next month is going to be busy! 

It just so happens that a new construction condo is back on the market in the development she wanted to build!  So, if all goes according to plan she can close on both places the same day!  With the house being under contract comes a lot of questions that have to be answered.  We are trying to determine what furniture she will take, what Andrew and I want and what must be sold -- thus the picture of the lovely dining room table that is currently in our house.  We are going to get Mom's dining room suite so we need to sell our current table -- any takers?  We have it and some other things on Craig's List.  Hopefully we can sell some of it that way.

I got to go have brunch with Virginia today!  It was partly for my birthday and partly because we have not seen each other in a while.  We went to Mad Donna's in East Nashville -- it was great!

After School Treat

Yummy!

Sometimes the kids and I enjoy a treat when I pick them up from school.  There is an Italian Ice shop in Hendersonville we have been wanting to try. Apparently one of Luke's teachers mentioned it because he has been asking to go there for a week.   It was good.  Of course, both kids love anything sweet.  We will definitely go there again.

Mama Turned 35

Yesterday was my birthday.  It is amazing how much a non-issue birthdays are when you get well into your 30's.  Bill and Paula came to watch the kids so Paul and I could go out to eat.  We went to Cantina Laredo.  Paul had never been before.  We definitely decided Monday night is the best night to go out . There was hardly anyone there.  After supper we tried to think of somewhere else to go.  I wanted a cookie or cupcake, but couldn't find anywhere that was an option.  On our way home we stopped at Publix to get milk so I treated myself to a cake pop instead!

Saturday Happenings

Katherine sportin her shirt from the tractor show.
Paul let her wear Luke's John Deere boots and they fit!

Mr. Cool

Saturday rolled around again.  I had to work so Paul and the kids went to the farm to hang out.  They got to visit with Kitty which was nice.  The rest of the day was pretty laid back.  We did chores around the house and hung out.  Perfect ending to a great day!

Lovin' This Weather!

We can not believe that we are having 70-degree days in February!  We took advantage of the unseasonably warm temps and hung out on the porch after supper.  Mom and Thomas came over and brought BBQ for all of us.  It was nice to hang out and gave us all Spring Fever!

Daddy's Home

This girl loves to clean!

The kids absolutely can not wait until Paul gets home every night. They wait until they hear the garage door open and they make a beeline for the door to see him.  Tonight was no exception. I think the feeling is mutual. They also like to fight over who gets to be held first.

Apparently our girl likes to clean. She always wipes the table when she finishes eating.  Tonight she cleaned the cabinets and then preceeded to scrub the floors.  Hope she keeps it up!

National Farm Machinery Show

We had the double stroller, but inevitably, they were out of it more than in!

K liked the tractors, too!

Trying to find the John Deere display

Loving the big machines!



Paul's family went to the "tractor show" most years while he was growing up.  They went with another Gallatin family.  Paul decided there is no time like the present to introduce Luke to this massive event.  Friday after work we headed North toward Louisville.  Bill and Paula were able to leave a lot earlier than we did.  We stopped in Bowling Green for supper and then on to Elizabethtown to the hotel.  Luke was so excited to be staying in a hotel!  The plan was for him to sleep in the room with Nene and Pop.  We got a call after 11 that he wanted to come back to our room.  None of us slept very well, but we were ready to go bright and early this morning! 

We went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast before going to the show.  I really had no idea what to expect.  Absolutely unbelievable is all I can say.  I have never seen so many people interested in farm machinery. This expo center is bigger than any convention center I have ever been to and it was packed with people and anything and everything that has to do with farming.  I told Paul I had never seen so much Carhartt in all my life!  We really had a good time.  It was amazing to see how massive the pieces of equipment were.  We did a lot of walking but we stopped regularly to rest.  Bill and Paul talked a lot about how much the show had changed since they went 10 years ago.  Luke had a blast climbing on all the equipment.  Katherine LOVED the grain bin and would cry when I would make her leave.  As soon as we would get back to our resting spot she would go right back over there.  We chased her back and forth several times.  We stayed for about 3 hours.  By that time we had seen all the tractors we cared to see.  Luke had a meltdown because he wanted to be back at the car immediately.  It is hard to explain to a 4-year old that if it took you so long to get to where you were going it takes that long to get back.  Thankfully, he rode in the stroller while we were leaving and cried vs. us having to drag him. 

Both kids slept the whole way home.  They needed it.  That was excellent because it gave Paul and I a long time to talk about what we want to do with our lives, where we want to be in 2, 5 and 10 years down the road.  We often talk about doing something on the family farm that would enable us to make a decent living and be able to raise our kids in a simpler way of life.  We mulled over several ideas and I did a lot of research on the internet.  What did we do before modern technology?!?!  Who knows what the future holds for us -- but at least we started some good conversation about it.  

Mommy Date

Stuffing the bear

This was my favorite part -- he put a heart in the bear and wished for it to be smart, warm-hearted, etc.  Such a great idea.

Giving his bear a "bath"

Loving his bear - "Furry"

A sweet treat was in order!

Banana Nut Cupcake

Waiting on me while I shopped at HomeGoods!

I was off today and Luke and I had dental appointments this afternoon.  He went to school this morninng so he wouldn't miss soccer!  I went to visit my boss and take her a meal while she recovers from her injury.  It was good to see her!  There was just enough time for me pick Luke up from school and get to the dentist by 1.  He did great again.  Seeing the dentist doesn't seem to phase him at all -- which is what I had hoped for.  It is actual Dental Health Awareness Month or something, so he had heard a dentist speak at school this morning.  Talk about perfect timing.  Funny story -- we ran home to brush our teeth before we saw Dr. Barkley.  When he looked in Luke's mouth he saw something black/green.  He joked and said he has a cavity!  Acutally, it was some seasoning from his garlic bread at lunch.  Guess we did not do that great of a job brushing!!!

After the dentist we went to Build-A-Bear.  We had never been there before, but Luke received a gift card for his birthday and we have been anxious to go.  So fun!  He loved getting to pick out his bear and the outfit.  These bears sure are stylish!  It took him forever to think of a name for the birth certificate.  When he finally decided it was Furry -- how original!

A trip to Gigi's Cupcakes was next. This was also our first Gigi experience.  Fabulous! We each got a cupcake -- what the heck, it was our treat!  Luke ate pretty much all the icing off of his and I ate the cake part of mine -- I'm not much on icing.  So, next time we will share.  He can eat the icing and I get the yummy cake!  We stopped at HomeGoods and the grocery before going to pick up Little Sister.  I let him look at the toys at HomeGoods first and he picked out some books.  I told him it was Mommy's turn to look.  I promise he went over to a bench, sat down and said "I'll just wait on you here".  What?!?!  Is he an 80-year old man or what??  Love him!

We think it is so imporant to spend time with your kids separately.  I try to have some fun planned activities with them regularly.  Can't wait until K is a little older to fully enjoy an outing!



Happy Valentine's Day

The kids were excited it was Valentine's Day.  They each had a little present from Paul and I.  Luke got a little farm set from Co-op he had spotted at Christmas.  (Thank goodness they had one left on their clearance table).  Paul got Katherine a fun dress for Spring.  The hospital is a little less hectic this week so I was able to leave and go to both parties.  Katherine's basically consisted of eating and that was all.  She was happy to see me, though!

Luke's room hosted a Valentine's Tea.  All the kids were dressed in their "Sunday Best". They had the Fellowship Hall decorated fun and had punch, cupcakes, finger sandwiches, etc for all the parents to enjoy.  When we finished eating they all danced for us.  It was really cute.  I was bummed that I forgot my camera, but Lydia's mom took several pics.  I hope to see them soon.

Paul and I actually enjoyed a dinner out tonight.  Mom and Paula came and watched the kids while we ate at The Chop House in Hendersonville.  It was nice.  We had reservations so we did not have to wait.  Funny thing is we were in and out of there in an hour and did not know what else to do so we ended up being back home before 9 o'clock!  We need to do a little better planning next time. 

Occupying our Time

When I told my mom about Luke's punishment she asked me what we were going to do in the afternoons.  Our normal routine is still to come home, get  snack and let Luke watch an On Demmand show while I change clothes and get started on supper. Today we read books and worked puzzles.  I made a bigger production about supper and needing Luke's help.  He did ask if he could watch a show and I said no and reminded him why he coudln't watch a show.  After that he did not ask again. 

Valentine's Prep and a Tantrum

We had an interesting day.  It started off good enough.  We got ready and went to church.  We have had some issues with Luke in our Sunday School class lately.  He has been acting up and disrupting the class.  His teachers in the first hour say that he never gives them any trouble and that he is "the best one" they have in class.  Well, today was a doozey.  Luke acted up several times.  It is pretty bad when the teachers (us) have to put their own child in time out twice at church -- really?!?! He knocked one of the other children's blocks over after we repeatedly asked him not to.  While in time out he proceeded to cry, whine and otherwise disrupt the class. It was very close to the end so I asked Paul to take Luke to pick Katherine up and go to the car.  By the time I got to the car about 20 minutes later Luke was still crying and carrying on.  Paul said he created quite the spectacle leaving the building.  He pretty much had to drag Luke out of the building kicking and screaming while trying to carry Katherine and the diaper bag.  Because of Luke's behavior we missed the teacher luncheon and training session.

Luke got a spanking when we got home as well as a punishment of no TV for an entire week.  That might seem like a harsh punishment, but we gave him plenty of opportunity to behave better.  And, we have had this issue a couple of times before.  We have determined he can not stand to not have our attention.  He does not like it when we play with the other kids in the class.  So, we have made the decision to move him to another room.  It is not fair to him, us or the other kids in the room. 

After he settled down we had a long talk.  He apologized to Paul and I and said he would act better.  We are going to stick to the no TV punishment and see if that sinks in.

Once all that was behind us we moved on to more fun things like getting ready for Valentine's Day.  We decorated a box for Katherine's party and did both of their cards.  Luke started out writing his name on all the cards, but got tired of that quickly so I finished them up.  Here's hoping to an uneventful week...

Is It Saturday Already?

"The House"

The weeks just seem to go by in a blur these days.  I worked this morning.  Paul and Luke did some errands while Mom came to spend some time with Katherine.  When I got home this afternoon I was surprised to find the playroom had been turned in to a tent!  The kids had a blast playing in there for a long time.  We got out a while this afternoon.  I had Katherine's panel picture framed and it was ready to be picked up.  The kids always have fun at Hobby Lobby.  There are lots of things to play with and lots to do.  Neither one of them wanted to leave...

Friday Night Fun



Katherine enjoying a cake ball...

Paul has been working late most every night this week.  He has a lot of big projects going on.  So, the kids and I picked Paula up and we went to meet him for supper.  We went to Chipotle again.  It is low-key and good for kids! Katherine ate some snacks I brought.  She definitely has a sweet tooth.  As soon as Paula brought out some cake balls Katherine had a fit for one and she ate the whole thing!  We couldn't think of anything else to do and it is cold here right now!  We headed home to our warm beds!

Like Brother, Like Sister

 

We have noticed a change in Luke and Katherine the past couple of weeks.  He is much more protective of her.  He is not all over her like he used to be.  They actually play together now.  Tonight Katherine would run  over to her chair and then pat Luke's chair for him to come and sit next to her.  So sweet!

I had promised Luke if he was good at school today we would go to Target and pick out Valentine's for he and Katherine. He picked out Cars 2 for himself and Katherine actually picked out some Disney Princess ones all by herself.  We have to make a Valentine's box for Katherine's party.  Guess I will go old school with a shoe box and tissue paper. 

Katherine is pretty much back to her self.  She is eating a little better and is sleeping through the night without coughing. 

18 Month Well Visit

On the mend...

Brother - Sister Craft Time

As ironic as it sounds I took Katherine for her well-visit today.  When she was at the doctor Monday the Nurse Practitioner said to definitely keep her appointment, if just for an ear check.  Her appointment got moved to 10:15 and Dr. Patterson was running behind so we were there forever.  Katherine did great waiting in the exam room.  She played with a tongue depressor, gauze and all the books.  I figured letting her play with some of the supplies was justified considering how long we waited.  I was very nervous about her getting weighed.  Between losing weight at her last well visit, being a picky eater and not eating much the past few days because she hasn't felt good I was pretty nervous.  I was relieved to find out she has gained 14 oz!  I know that is not very much in 3 months, but I really feel like she has gained more than that, but lost it the past few days. 

The good news is her ears are both clearing as they should!  The left one now actually looks better than the right.  We are to continue on with the antibiotics as well as the multi-vitamins and Allegra daily. We decided to wait and check her iron at her 2-year check up.  Now that Katherine is walking/running I answered all the developemental questions without hesitation.

Katherine at 18 months:

Height - 31 1/4"
Weight - 21 # 14 oz

Disposition: Happy, happy, happy!  When she is mad she lets you know it though.  She can tune up and let out a whale of a cry!  Thankfully, it is generally short-lived and does not happen often.  Luke is often at the root of the crying.  He just has to have whatever it is she is playing with.

Eating: Picky, picky, picky!  If all else fails we can usually get her to eat Peanut Butter Crackers or a "skinny" fruit bar. She does drink milk well and likes water, too. She will often eat yogurt, cottage cheese or scrambled eggs.  She eats very few vegetables and virtually no meat. 

Sleeping: Sleeps 10-11 hours at night with a 2+ hour afternoon nap at school.  She still naps twice at home on the weekends.

Milestones: She talks more and more.  Words she says include mama, daddy, hi, bye, hat, uh-oh, ball, nonna, nene, papa, bubba.  She still signs a lot - more, eat, please, drink, milk, thank you (sometimes)

We are so blessed with our sweet little girl!

The Ears Have It

Well, Katherine did not sleep well at all last night.  She coughed a lot and seemed to keep her temperature even with medicine.  I did make it to work by 6 this morning.  Paul decided to take her to the doctor to see what is going on.  He dropped Luke off at school and was at the pediatrician when they opened.  Turns out Katherine has  a double ear infection!  Poor girl!  She has not done anything that made us think her ears were bothering her.  Apparently the left ear is quite a bit worse than the right.  So, she has started a 10-day course of antibiotics.  It has actually been almost a year since she had the horrible ear infection.  We are hoping the Amoxicillin will knock it out and that will be the end of it.  I ended up leaving work around 2 to go pick her up.  She was asleep on Paula when I got there.  She said she had been great.  She took several naps and played some.  Her appetite has been poor since the weekend.  I am hoping it picks it up soon.

We stopped and picked Luke up on the way home.  Katherine wanted down to play when we got to school and was acting more like herself.  When we got home she "helped" me do the laundry.  She took the clothes out of the dirty pile and put them in the washer.  We have very similar pictures of Luke doing the same thing at this age.  I talk about it all the time but Katherine is such a sweet, mild mannered little girl.  Even though she has not felt good she does not whine.  She just wants to be held and cuddled more.

Super Bowl Sunday

Yesterday morning I had a hair appointment and Luke had a birthday party at Hoppity Hop.  Mom came to watch Katherine while I got my hair cut and Paul took Luke to the party.  I relieved Paul at the party while he went to do errands. Luke had so much fun at the bounce party. It was fun to go back.  There were a lot of kids there from his school.  He played so nice with everyone.  The birthday boy is one of Luke's good friends and we have become friends with his parents.  It must be something about having all that attention because the birthday boy got upset several times during the party.  Very similar to how Luke acted. 

When we got home Katherine had been asleep most of the time.  She fell back asleep pretty quickly after Mom left.  When she woke up she was hot.  Turns out she had a 102 temperature. We gave her some medicine and she perked up some.  Mom had to come back this morning to keep Katherine so we could go to teach Sunday School.  Katherine still has a temp today.  Don't know what we would do without Mom on the weekends!

We already had plans to go to Mom's for the Super Bowl.  She had made her yummy lasagna and it was a good excuse to get together. Katherine has perked up some tonight so we are hoping she is on the mend.  She has  a runny nose, cough and temperature.  We are thinking it is probably a little virus.  Since we know she can not go to school tomorrow I am planning to go to work at 6 and stay till noon.  Bill and Paula can watch her so that works out good.

The game was pretty exciting and the commercials were good, too.   We got the kids home and in bed in time to see the last few minutes.

Sweet Luke story....He wanted to say the blessing at supper.  Normally, he sings "God Our Father" of says "God is Great...".  Tonight he said his own prayer.  It was so sweet he thanked God for the day, the weather, and asked him to please help "Kafferine" feel better and not have a fever anymore.  So, incredibly sweet...

Rainy Day Means Rain Boots

Playing when we got home from school

She added a hat to her ensemble...

I have said how Katherine loves shoes before -- but she really LOVES them.  Most mornings she wants to pick out which ones she wears. Sometimes she insists on wearing shoes that are too big, too small or don't match!  She has her own sense of style!  Today it was raining so we put both kids in their rain boots. Katherine would not take hers off when she got home and she wore them all night until time for bed!