spring fever

Yes, I realize it's February. Only Groundhog Day, actually. And apparently that clever little groundhog thinks we'll have six more weeks of winter. Ugh. So not what I wanted to hear.

I'm itching for warmer weather and springtime turning into summer. I always considered myself a winter lover with the snow, cozy fires, holiday, etc. And then I had a toddler. Now winter = cabin fever, bundling up, running out of cheap/free activities to do around town and LOTS more energy (uh, him not me).

Now that we have our own place, Tim and I are both excited about making the outdoors our own. I have plans for a porch swing on the front of our cape cod and painting the shutters dark grey and the front door a playful colonial yellow (something on houses I've always envied).

Well, that's just the front. One of the big perks of this house was that it was already landscaped. So nice. Just making it our own personal style is the ticket for getting us to do any sort of "home project".

Of course, Tim is loving the idea of a sweet deck out back, complete with grill and outdoor seating. We L-O-V-E grilling. I actually cook so much more in the summer because I can send Tim outside with a few things and the fresh produce is endless.

A built in fire pit is definitely going to happen. Who doesn't love a good fire in the summer while kids run around and get dirty catching fireflies?

The biggest project (besides the deck of course, which I plan on having very little to do with:)) would be a vegetable garden. Since we've rented for so long, the idea of investing time and money into a garden was silly. I tried my hand at a few container herbs here and there, but we've always loved the idea of our own garden. Tim's not so much a huge veggie lover, but I definitely am - especially home grown. We get all starry-eyed thinking of our family working together in the garden and our kids learning the value of working with your hands. I'm sure it'll turn out that perfectly. :)

Until then, we know we're going to join the local CSA for the months of April & May when you wouldn't be getting too much out of your own plot anyway. Lots of greens & root vegetables. Yum. I enjoy the surprise of different produce each week and having to figure out how to prepare it. Last time we did this, we got some pretty interesting things, tryed lots of new veggies and learned a lot!

I'm always good at making lists and then just looking at them. Hopefully, we'll get some gumption and actually get around to all of our big plans. But right now, it's February. Hm.

December in Our Home

Isaac turned 2! We celebrated with a baseball party and Mexican food (duh).
Made some fun keepsake ornaments with the bean's profile & super easy Scrabble ornaments for anyone I could think of.
Ugly sweater Christmas party with the youth group. I'm usually so proud of my husband. *sigh*
Craig & Lindsay came to visit.
Flew to Virginia for Christmas with my family.
Took lots of goofy pictures of a goofy kid making goofy pictures. I do NOT know where he gets that.

November In Our Home

Clif notes: We moved into our OWN home, Tim turned 29, we were out of town for 3/4 weekends of the month, Ministers & Wives retreat, Thanksgiving in TN with family, where I ran my first 5K. All of this and somehow we managed to "flip" a bathroom.

September in our home

This month was busy and productive! The weather in Indiana couldn't make up its mind between summer and fall, so we danced in a little of each. It's the start of my favorite season of all and the end of a hectic summer.

Isaac kept us on our toes (pun intended)and ended up with his first(of many, I predict)cast. He literally woke up with a fractured ankle from getting his foot caught in his crib slats the night before. Who knew!? Of course, I graciously received the Mother of the Year award when I was convinced he was just making a big deal about his foot falling asleep. I mean, HOW can a child literally wake up with a broken bone when he was fine when you put him down? Well, if that doesn't give you a taste of my son's unpredictability, then I don't know what does.

He actually did surprisingly well on it, and was running around hours after getting the cast on. I put the leggings I made for his crawling stage last year to good use as a cover for his cast. It kept it clean(-er than it would've been without one) and was pretty cool, too! People in the stores and such kept telling me, "Did you know he's missing a shoe?" because they couldn't tell by the way he was walking that it was in a cast! Kids are adaptable, I tell ya.

The very same day Isaac got his cast on, he caught his first flu bug. I'm talking the diarrhea, vomiting, fever, no appetite, "my baby's dying and I don't know what to do" kind. I'm very thankful it was a weekend and Tim was home to help cuddle and clean up. Blech. Most pitiful sight I've ever laid eyes on, that little guy.

While we were at home snuggling a sick and limping little boy, Sarah ran away on a boat. We all hate her. I usually don't let her stand next to me from the months of March-September to avoid any racial assumptions people may have of the two of us. ;)

Once Isaac recovered from his "go big or go home!" weekend of glory and testing our parenting skills, we got back into our normal weekly routine of storytime at the public library. I decided to try moving him up to the 2-3's class and see how it went. Oh, my! He loved it! Structure, listening skills, motor development, themes...it was heaven for both of us. It's so great to have a quality library program for little ones. He learns the songs so quickly and sings them over and over at home or in the car. It's so fun to see him learn. Our refrigerator is filling up quickly with "art projects" that only a mother & daddy could really appreciate.


I mentioned the enormous amount of cupcakes that Sarah and I are making for the big wedding later in October for their brother. It's going to be a lovely fall wedding! We decided to showcase, er, practice some of our cupcake flavors for the couple's shower we hosted and let the bride and groom approve for themselves. Our red velvet and snickerdoodle cupcakes with dulce de leche frosting were a hit! *Sigh of relief.
Now, we have to master the piping and figure out how the heck to transport 200 cupcakes a few hours south. I may feel more pressure than the couple themselves for this big day. My two jobs: make, transport & display 200 cupcakes and get the ring bearer down the aisle. Dressed. Prayers appreciated.

We ended the month with some pretty fun "firsts" for all of us. Isaac got his first "real" haircut (i.e. that didn't involve Mom trying to sneak a few snips in the bath tub when he wasn't paying attention) and now looks five years older. Be still, my heart.

We also took the plunge(or leap of faith) and seriously, actually, this time for real, started the home buying process. If you know our area at all, it's the latter. We couldn't be happier about our choice and how the Lord worked out every single detail to make it happen. We haven't closed or anything yet, so I'll post pictures when it's official!

Happy Fall, Ya'll!