2011 Week 9

You know how life likes to just knock you around sometimes? And all you can do is just hold on and ride out the storm? Well, the past week was a bit like that for us. Tyler spiked a fever Thursday night and had the poor guy was pretty miserable all day Friday. Just as his was backing off, the cold hit Kaitlyn but with her it always goes straight to her lungs and she coughs and coughs and coughs. Luckily we now have the inhaler and meds to deal with it when this happens to her, so while it was a rough day for her while we tried to get the coughing under control it really did only take about a day for things to start calming down for her. Which of course was when I started to feel under the weather - mostly sinuses and a pounding headache that lasted 4 days.
Moms don't get days off though, do we? So while feeling icky I still had to take the car in to be inspected and serviced (end of the month and it had to be registered aaaaah!) and run errands on Monday. And Tuesday morning we had a check-up for Tyler at the base (so we could get the paperwork for his application to a preschool program). Ugh. Stupid base medical system. It was easy enough to get an appointment at our clinic and the wait time wasn't bad. But the doc could only to so much then sent us to another clinic to get his shots and then we had to hit the big hospital complex for the hearing/vision screening at their peds clinic. What a mess - even by 9:00 AM all their big parking lots were full at the hospital and I had to hike from the back of the last parking lot to the FRONT of the hospital, carrying Tyler who was refusing to walk because his legs hurt from the shots. We got right in to see someone, but still - what a pain in the rear the whole thing was.
I also dealt with making sure some mostly minor repairs were done on the house during that week. And I think that weekend we also managed to do some projects on the house. Sam installed the rain gutters on the front and I painted the front door.
Then just when I was starting to get my energy back and feel better, I ended up helping a neighbor with a project (final report of some sort for her college class). Ah how something as simple as saying "oh yeah I know how to scrapbook I can help you for a couple hours" turns into not only a run to Walmart for supplies and an evening scrap session, but another ENTIRE day with her at my house working pretty much non-stop on the thing. So much for productivity for the week, although I must admit that I didn't actually mind the scrapbooking or having her there for the most part. She's new to the neighborhood and it was a good chance to get to know her a bit (even though her kids are a bit of a mess with her 5 year old daughter being spoiled and whiney and her son accidentally hitting Tyler's finger with a shovel. My poor little boy now has a black fingernail).
We made it through but that's one week I don't care to repeat any time soon.


The kids still managed to have fun though :)

2011 Week 8

We have had the best weather this week! Combine that with the fact that my parents were still visiting, thus giving us the excuse to play a lot and take a break from most of our usual routine and home improvement projects and that makes for one pretty good week.

Friday Mom and I got in some Girl Time out shopping while Kaitlyn was at school and Tyler got to play with Grandpa. Sam got off work early and took Dad and Ty to the base to show them around a bit and get some lunch. When Kaitlyn got home from school she was excited to have Gma and Gpa watch her at dance class.

Saturday we headed to the beach! Oh it's so much fun to be able to take a day trip out there (took us 2 hours to get to Wrightsville Beach) and the fact that we were sitting on the sand without jackets in February - so nice!

Being outside in the sun is draining. So Sunday we just kind of hung out in the morning, then went to a movie with the kids in the afternoon.

Monday was President's Day. Sam had the day off and Kaitlyn only had half day so we kept her out of school and goofed off in the morning, then went for a hike at Raven Rock State Park. Dad was really interested in the Cape Fear River, so we had wanted to take him to the overlook. It's a great view up there. Will love to go back when the leaves are on the trees and the water is higher and see how much of a difference it makes.There is also a place where you can go down a bunch of steps and be near the river itself. It had all kinds of really cool rocks and trees and things. The kids didn't want to quit exploring.

We got some one on one photos of the kids with their grandparents while we were there.

And Tuesday they flew out. We spent the rest of the week playing catch up on all the stuff we put off during their visit and working back into our normal routine.

2011 Week 7

Oh what a full, busy week! We decided to get out of the house on Saturday and tracked down our closest Outlet mall - only an hour away. Not bad and a decent mall at that. We stocked up on pjs for the kids and a few other things.

Here are my little models in their new pajamas. Kaitlyn set up her photo and pose herself - such a cutie.

Monday was Valentines Day! Hearts in the waffles, new clothes, treasure hunt for their gifts, party at school...the kids had a great day. Sam and I had a good one too, though date night was postponed for a couple days.

On Tuesday my parents flew in for a week's vacation. Sam was nice enough to pick them up at the airport by himself since the plane didn't get in until after 10PM. We were all pretty tired the next morning, but I still let Kaitlyn wake them up before she headed out to school so she could at least say hello. They ended up walking to the bus stop with us and being so excited to see the kids that they didn't even go back to bed (well Mom did, but not for as long as I thought she would). Dad and Tyler spent a lot of time playing on the floor with trucks and cranes and stuff. I'm amazed Dad has the interest and patience for it that long. With everyone being tired, we took it easy that day. Didn't really do much more than visit and hang out until the afternoon when we did a quick run into town to grab a few things Mom hadn't packed. When Kaitlyn got home Mom oversaw her homework, Tyler played the Wii with Dad, and I enjoyed the change from the usual after school chaos. We finished up the night playing a new board game. It was nice. A really really nice day.

Thursday morning was an awards assembly at the elementary school. Kaitlyn made put on a dress and asked me to do her hair curly (or as curly as hers gets) so it would be extra cute for it. We were all happy that Grandma and Grandpa were there for one of Kaitlyn's Big Events (even though those things are all unbelieveably tedious and closer to torture than fun, sitting there waiting for the 2 seconds when your kid's name is called). Kaitlyn got a Star Student Math Award, a Star Student Reading Award, and the Roaring Writer award (which as far as I can tell was only given to one child in each class). But because they didn't actually present the awards to the kids at the ceremony (just called the name of each and every child and they all paraded across the stage and shook some hands), Kaitlyn didn't realize she had received anything until she got home and I asked to see her certificates (which the teacher had slipped in her binder).

Thursday night was date night - woohoo! Sam and I got to go to dinner (Joe's Crab Shack) and a movie (Green Hornet) alone together for the first time in maybe 6 months, which was thoroughly appreciated and enjoyed. The kids and the grandparents did their own version of dinner and a movie with KFC and the DVD of Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 that Grandma had given them for Valentines Day.

2011 Week 6

Is is possible the only note-worthy thing that happened was a quick bath time photo shoot? Well, other than the fact that I painted the play room and guest room. (2 rooms to go!!!)
But back to the bubbles - aren't jetted tubs great places for bubble baths? Not such great places for photos - lots of dangerous water, bad lighting. And at one point the water shot straight out of the tub and hit the wall and mirror because Kaitlyn had knocked one of the jets upward and not realized it before she turned it on. Still shaking my head at that one.

Really, truly that's about it for the week. Sam had drill over the weekend and the kids and didn't do all that much. One day during the week Tyler and I ventured out on shopping trip so that I could finally get prepared for Valentines Day. Gearing up to paint the sun room...

2011 Week 5

We started out the weekend with some fun - or at least the kids and I did. Sam got called in to work at the last minute so the kids and I went along with our plans without him. We met up with a friend of mine and her family at Chuck E Cheese. The kids have been begging to go there for weeks and we thought it would be a good place for us to get together while the kids played. Well, it was a complete madhouse (not unexpected on a Saturday afternoon right?) so the kids needed way more supervision than I had planned on. But it was still fun, especially for the kiddos. Then we all went out to dinner and us girls took the time to wander through the craft store together.
(had some prints of photos done in games there but didn't take any photos myself - note to self to add them in later when I scrapbook)

Sunday was the work day Sam and I have been dreading since we moved in. It was time to paint our two-story entry and staircase. Not fun. Lots and lots of time on tall ladders and other dangerous places, tense and nervous. And even then we still couldn't reach all of it and ended up taping a paint brush to the end of the roller extender pole and free-handing it. Let's just say it's less than perfect and be happy you can't see the details from down on the ground. But we're very happy to have it done and all in all it looks so much better than what was there.

The day did, however take it's toll and I ended up hobbling for a few days and having to take it easy most of the week.
We also got our first real taste of what I expected North Carolina weather to be like. It decided to warm up for one whole day this week. We stepped out the door for the bus, bundled up as usual, and were hit with with a blast of warm humid air. I'm sure that will be annoying in the summer when the temps are really up there, but for the one day it lasted it was a very welcome break from winter. I hope we get more days like that soon (especially after seeing my monstrous electric bill for the month - eek!).

2011 Week 4

Currently my life runs on one long, never-ending To Do List.
-pick paint color for kitchen, living room, etc...check! We hit it with test color #3 - phew!

-schedule and take Kaitlyn on playdate with a new friend from her class...check! We met them at McDonald's and had a great couple of hours at the indoor play place.
-paint the kitchen...check!
-paint the kids' bathroom...check!
-schedule time for Kaitlyn to play with neighbor girls...check! this one was spur of the moment, though we had been talking about it for a while now. The kids played really well together, but I found that they interrupted me (wanting things) quite a bit. Hopefully that isn't what happens every time they play together.
-paint and install drying rack in laundry room...check!
-paint and install shelf/towel hooks in kids' bathroom...check!
-family fun time...check! See, the list isn't all work! We took the kids bowling on Saturday and had a lot of fun. Both of them are better bowlers than I would have thought - I only barely beat their scores. Sam, of course, did better than all of us but then again he bowls weekly now so that's not exactly a fair match.
The first part of the time we were bowling the kids had to do it without the help of those little ramps you roll the ball down. Tyler liked it so much that he didn't want to use the ramp even when we did get one - though one of his inaccurate throws did end up in the no man's land between lanes and had to be fished out. Kaitlyn on the other hand liked the ramp and her score took an significant up-turn when she was able to more accurately aim the ball with it.

-cut Sam's hair and Tyler's hair...check! Ok this one wasn't actualy on the list. But Sam was getting shaggy so he asked me to trim it up. And when Tyler saw Sam was getting a haircut he asked if I would cut his too. I hadn't actually intended to cut his hair, just run the clippers through the bottom a bit but once I got going I got brave. I can't believe I did it either - I have NO experience cutting hair with anything other than Sam's easy military, do it all with the clippers cut. But thankfully I did ok. What do you think?

-make the time to take some photos for some home dec projects I have in the works...check!

This is us trying to get photos of just the feet. It's a lot harder than you'd think! (especially with the self-timer)

-try story time at the library...check! I'm very impressed with it they do everything from reading the book, to games, songs, and crafts. This will probably become of the weekly activities for Tyler and myself
-clean the house, do the laundry, figure out dinner, blah blah blah...check check check! Life is rolling right along here.

2011 Week 3

Only a few noteworthy things this week. The kids have been having fun playing in the sawdust and Kaitlyn's been "building" things with scrap wood. What's causing the sawdust this week? The laundry room! We put in a bench and coat hooks, painted the whole room, and installed a cupboard above the washing machine.

Sam turned 31 on Wednesday. We kept the celebrating low key with dinner out (Texas Roadhouse mmmmm) and dessert and gifts at home.

Look how much they love their dad :)