The Signs of Spring!

I wanted to participate in the gardening Linky party that Stacey is having today over at The Blessed Nest...it is 11:30 pm here, so I am barely squeaking in on Saturday! (Okay, after loading all of my pics it is 1:00 am, so I guess I didn't squeak by after all! Is it just me, or does everyone have to wait forever for photos to load on Blogger? Grrr!)

Well, as you know, we just moved into our new house about 3 1/2 weeks ago. Before renovations, we tore out all of the bushes planted around the house because the beds were old, overgrown & were planted too close to the house. When we moved, we traded our beautifully landscaped smallish yard for a huge expanse of yard & woods, but we are SO in love with our new yard, even in its current bare conditions. So, this spring we are just basically seeing what we have to work with.
I am SO excited that we have tons of Dogwood trees, but they aren't blooming quite yet...I think they will pop sometime this week, just in time for Easter. (Oh, can I say a quick Hallelujah that we have NO Bradford Pear trees...the stinky ones with the pretty white blooms that have been giving me headaches this season!)
We do have lots of wild Daffodils in bloom & the first Redbuds starting to bloom. We are also noticing quite a few dead trees that will need to be taken out. It is fun talking about all of the different types of trees, bushes, flowers & other plants that we would like to use in this new space. And I'm quite excited about having so much more space to experiment with! Thankfully I know a guy who does yard work...I'm also hoping to put in a small vegetable garden this year instead of just having a pot of tomatoes...we will see, we have deer in the woods & Jeff says they will eat everything...

Anyway, here are a few of the first signs of spring in our new yard...

Pretty, wild daffodils

More daffodils

The moss is coming back...I think I've mentioned before, I {heart} moss!

Okay, I know it is a weed, but my kids just LOVE finding Dandelions in the yard...and don't you have fond memories of picking them as a child...I sure do!

Pretty Redbud starting to bloom

Oh, I found a few photos of our house from last spring right after we bought it. The Dogwoods were in full bloom, GORGEOUS!

Okay this is a photo of the barn last fall, but I thought the color of the leaves was so pretty! 

And here are a few photos of the yard last year at our old house. I wish I had taken some pictures when we were over there this week, the beds are really coming alive over there this year with the forsythia blooming bright yellow & pretty phlox in periwinkle, but this is what things looked like late last summer. I sure hope the new owners enjoy the yard, water feature & plants as much as we did!

Thanks for stopping by! 

Oh, & stay tuned, I've been working on the Before & After post for our renovation...I should be ready to share it in a few days...just have a few more "After" photos to take!

Of Shaving Nics & Migraine Headaches...

It has been a rather crazy week here, one of those weeks that starts out great...spring is here, flowers & trees are blooming, the sun is shining, birds are singing, people are walking with a bounce in their steps & burst into spontaneous choruses of "The hills are alive with the sound of muuuuusic..." Okay, well maybe not all that, but the week did start out fairly normal...Jeff had been sick over the weekend & we didn't go to church at all on Sunday. (We usually attend morning & evening, so to miss both is rather odd for us.) Thankfully, he was starting to feel better by Monday, while I was developing a bit of a head cold or seasonal allergies (did I mention that the trees are blooming...) By Tuesday, and after two days on antibiotics, Jeff was feeling a lot better and I was feeling pretty much the same, not worse, so I was glad. Tuesdays are a fun, but busy day for me with my Moms Bible Study in the morning & then school pick-ups at 3 different times in the afternoon. I love the Bible study & fellowship with other women & this week was a luncheon week which is an added treat...to sit & eat lunch with my friends while the kids are still in child-care...uninterrupted eating, homemade goodies, it is divine! 
After the luncheon, I picked up Drew from the nursery & Darcy from her preschool class & we went out to the car to wait for Sophie (her class ends later & a dear friend brings her down for me.) It was so pretty out, that I rolled down the windows of the car while we were waiting...did I mention that the trees are blooming...it is a glorious sight to see the blush blossoms of the cherry trees & the bountiful cotton ball white blossoms on the Bradford Pear trees...but after about 2 minutes with the windows down, my head felt 3 sizes too small & I could feel a headache coming on...so I quickly rolled the windows up to keep all that nice fresh air OUT! I am generally not greatly affected by seasonal allergies, but this must be my year...
Anyway, the rest of the day proceeded as normal...picked-up the remaining 2 kids, came home & kids were in & out of the house playing in the sunshine & I was in & out behind them while doing house-work & starting dinner. Something surely has gotten into me, I don't know if it is the happiness of being in our new home or what, but I have been cooking a lot this week & Tuesday night I made a yummy meat loaf, green beans, and  home-made mac & cheese! The kids gobbled it up! (Doesn't that make it all worth it, when the kids actually EAT the food you have worked hard to prepare!) Now it was while I was cooking dinner that I noticed my ankle was throbbing...hmmm. Okay, here is where things start to go a little hay-wire...so I nicked myself shaving on Saturday night, haven't done that in ages & it bled like crazy! If CSI were to shine their black light in our bathroom, it would be a scary sight! But I applied pressure & put on a band-aid & all was well...it was just a little nick. On Monday I wasn't wearing a band-aid & Darcy noticed Mommy's "boo-boo"...if your kids are like my kids, you know what she IMMEDIATELY did, she RAN to get me a band-aid! And not just any band-aid, but one of her special Tinkerbell tattoo band-aids! Which by the way if you have never used the Tattoo band-aids, they really are fantastic at staying on, even in water...perhaps they work too well...fast forward to Tuesday evening when my leg is throbbing...I look down to discover that my shaving nic has caused my whole ankle to swell & it is very itchy, BUT my Tinkerbell band-aid is still firmly attached! I took off the band-aid & it was all ooze...I decided the wound could probably use a bit of air. Long story (somewhat) short(er)... after dishes & getting kids to bed & getting lunches packed & snacks ready I was beginning to limp! The "little nick" was still itchy & swollen. Jeff said I needed to elevate it for a while because being on my feet had caused all of the blood to pool there, so I took my laptop & got in bed with my foot up...I think I was in bed by 10 or 10:30...that is CRAZY for me! I got up an hour or so later thinking it would be feeling better & I almost fell down! The pain was worse & I had to stand on one foot to brush my teeth! I was fearing that I would not be able to walk on Wednesday! Thankfully, a good night's rest & fresh-air for the wound helped immensely! When I woke up most of the swelling was gone & the pain was much better. However, I did wake up with a little headache. So my plan was to take Sophie to school, come home & feed Drew & Darcy, put them down for a nap & take a little nap myself. A good plan & it was all going SO well...the kids actually cooperated & went down for naps after breakfast...but by that time my headache was more than "little"...I still thought that a couple hours of quiet rest would help...unfortunately, somehow as I rested the headache grew worse & became a full-fledged migraine. Darcy woke up at Noon & crawled in bed with me. Drew, God bless my baby, slept until 1:00 & then Darcy went in to entertain him! I tried to get up at 1:10 to go get Sophie from school, but when I stood up it was like that screeching noise from Psycho in my head. Amazingly, Jeff didn't have an appointment, so he was able to pick Sophie up from school & come home for a few hours. It worked out well since we had a few workers coming to finish some punch-list items, so he could let them in & handle all that. An hour later, I was still was NO better, I  actually worse & feeling nauseous from the pain. So Jeff called in the cavalry! His wonderful sister, Kelly, & her 3 girls came by on their way home from school to watch our kids so Jeff could go back to work. They came from 3 to 6, and I never even saw them, but my kids were cared for & loved & fed & had a great time! 
It was a surreal experience for me, I laid there in bed shifting from one side to the other, trying to find a comfortable position that was not to be found. I was tired, but could only sleep in fits & spurts. Conversations filtered in from down the hallway & from outside, workers talking about the leaky toilet, the hummmm of the bathroom fans on & off & on & off & on & off (this is something they were fixing), "Do you have any children?" "Naw, never was the right time." " Oh, do you know that guy in Indian Trail...." 
When I wasn't sleeping I tried to pray, for my family, for our business, for a friend whose marriage is teetering, for a friend whose toddler was sick, for friends who are expecting, for a friend who is dealing with tough family issues...and I would drift in & out of sleep & shift & turn-over & listen to grilled cheese being made & Darcy crying because she bit her tongue & then listen to the quiet as all the kids went outside to play after dinner...and then I would hear, "Jack!" "Molly!" "Sophie!" "Come find me!" "Where are you?!" 
And no one came in my room for 3 hours, and still the headache did not relent. And Jeff came home to take the kids to Awana. I took some Ibuprofen, ate a few Ritz crackers and still the migraine persisted...
Finally, after everyone was in bed, the house was quiet again & dark, and I didn't feel nauseous any more. My head was still hurting, but not quite as bad. I was in bed at 9:30 & couldn't sleep...I was thinking that I had spent nearly all of the past 24 hours in that bed. I got up around 10 and went to the kitchen. I put some things away & got back-packs ready for school. I sat down at the computer for a few minutes to catch up on what had happened in my facebook world that day. I read a few blogs. And I went back to bed. Ready for a new day. Darcy was up two or three times in the night screaming & crying that her ear hurt. (Took her in this morning & sure enough she has an ear infection!) But I am thankful that God's mercies are new every morning, I woke up today with just a mild headache...more like my head hurt from aching so bad yesterday. But as the day went on, it faded completely, praise be to God! And I praise Him that I have such wonderful family & friends who helped us out on such short notice in a time of need!

       Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, 

       for his compassions never fail.

    They are new every morning; 

       great is your faithfulness.

    I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; 

       therefore I will wait for him."

Lamentations 3:22-24

How Big is Drew....SO Big!

Last weekend my baby turned 1! I cannot believe a year has already gone by since he was so new, fresh & tiny! What a way to welcome spring, with a new baby boy, kind of like a little chick just hatched from the egg. And now we welcome another spring with a busy, happy 1 year old!
(Since I've yet to get a baby book, I'm recording Drew's milestones here...Readers please bear with me or skip ahead!)
All about Drew: At 1 year you continue to be a very happy, easy-going baby, you love to smile, laugh, babble/talk, and watch your older siblings play. Generally you like to be right in the middle of all the action! Sometimes if I am telling the older kids to calm down in a stern voice, you will get a stern voice & it sounds like you are yelling "Hey" and trying to tell them to straighten-up, too! You will resort to full-out belly laughs at the oddest things, like when someone sneezes. You think it is completely hilarious! You have a lot of teeth, 7 & 3/4. You are working on that 8th tooth now & possibly a few more & you have been mildly cranky the last few days, I think it is related to the teething...or perhaps you are just practicing your temper...you do NOT like having your diaper changed & you REALLY practice your temper then...screaming, wiggling, kicking..the WORKS. I have never seen a baby roll over so quickly as when I lay you down on the changing table...I think you may have some future success in wrestling because it often takes 2 of us to pin you down just for a quick change! I think the reason for this is that you are always on the go...you like to be moving, crawling, cruising, scooting, climbing, exploring...you don't stay in one place for long! You LOVE to eat & I can't think of anything so far that you don't like. Despite the fact that we have been feeding you like crazy the past 3 months, at your 1-year check-up you still weighed in at just under 20 pounds (19 lbs 13 ozs, 10th %) and are 29 3/4 inches long (50%)...I think you have your Daddy's fast metabolism coupled with the fact that you are rarely still, but you do still have cute little fat rolls on your legs & feet. You have the sweetest way of swinging your feet or rubbing them on my leg while you are eating & we remember Darcy & the older kids all doing the same thing. You are saying several words like "Dada" (still "Mama" very rarely), "JA" for Jack, "DA" for Darcy & also for Dog, "Kiki" for Kitty or sometimes "KA" for cat, "TuTu" for Thank You, "Uh-oh" & still "Good job" for Good job (that was your 2nd word after Dada.) You wave "bye-bye" & raise your hands for "SO BIG" after I say "How big is Drew?" You are starting to clap & try pat-a-cake. You give kisses by making a big smooching sound! Basically you melt our hearts every day & we love you SO much! We are so glad the Lord blessed our family with YOU!

As I had previously blogged, I let go of the idea of throwing a big 1st Birthday party for Drew when our house renovations put us moving in much later than anticipated. So we had a little family get-together last Saturday night to celebrate our boy! I work best with a deadline, so even a family-only party was a great way to get me motivated to get the house in order...we still have a LONG way to go, artwork to hang, a few more boxes to unpack, but all in all the house cleaned up nicely! (I know I'm behind on blogging, but I am working on a post of more house pictures & some before & afters!)

Back to the Birthday Boy...one good thing about moving...you find things you didn't remember that you had! Case in point, this cute little tool bench, in perfect condition, just perfect for our 1 year old! Jack didn't even remember that it was his many years ago & I don't think Drew minds, so we re-gifted it! And as you can see, Drew is already enjoying playing with his new tools! 

One thing that has seen better days in our household is our toddler walk-behind/ride-on toy...it has been through 3 kids & some serious play, so Pop & Nana surprised Drew with a new toy to help him practice his walking. 

"A present, for meeee???" 

"Ooooohhhhh, it plays music, too!"

"I think I'm going to have some good times with this toy!" 

(Mommy & Daddy were relieved to notice that it does have a "low" volume mode!)

"Thanks Pop & Nana! I love you!!!"

The cake, an ice cream cake with fudge in the middle.

"Happy Birthday Dear Drew....."

A little help blowing out the candles is always nice... 

Digging right in....mmmmmmmmm!

 

Being 1 is GREAT!

More presents! 

Drew's actual birthday was on Sunday & we celebrated by going out to lunch at Red Robin after church. We had a yummy meal & the older kids made sure we let the waitress know it was Drew's birthday so the staff would sing him their little birthday song and, more importantly, so he could get the free Ice Cream Sundae! 

And as a little birthday present for the Mommy who delivered the birthday boy, all I asked for was that we get a nice photo of the 4 kids together...seems like it would be so easy...sigh...47 pictures later...here are a few of the better ones...

Mommy with the Birthday Boy! 

Daddy with the boys...Drew needed to make a call. 

Big 1 Year Old! 

This Birthday Boy is tired...heading to bed! 

We enjoyed some wonderful, warm Spring weather this week...perfect for a 1 year old to play outside!

All Daddy asked for the baby's 1st birthday was that we get the boy a hair cut!

Okay, can you stand the cuteness?!!!

Sure is a lot of fun being ONE!!!

Originally, I was going to end the post here, but since it took me SO long to publish this post, I can now add the "after" photos showing off Drew's stylin' new do...yes, I finally broke down & gave the boy his 3rd hair cut last night...an experience I can best describe as Whack-A-Mole with sharp pointy shears thrown in just for fun...and LOTS of screaming if you try to hold his head still...there were definitely some stray cuts, thankfully only of hair, not flesh...and truthfully, I don't think I did too bad...

Politician hair

Playing with the comb...now you see it... 

Now you don't! (Of course followed, by "UH-OOOH") 

Just being silly! 

 

How big is Drew...soooooooo BIG!