memories

Thanksgiving 2012

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

I said I was behind, now I’m going to try and catch up a little and get back to focusing on what this blog is all about – my family, the fun we have (and sometimes don’t have), and how the boys are doing.  I think I have some more room on this blog for photos as long as I upload them to some other website before I load them here rather than uploading them here straight from my memory card.  We’ll see.

For Thanksgiving 2012 we made the loooong trip to Knoxville, Tennessee.  What was supposed to be a 6 hour trip turned into 8+ thanks to a bad wreck on the interstate.  The trip home was just as bad.  The kids were great in the car for the most part.  So great that we entertained the idea of driving all the way to Florida later this year.  More about that some other time.

Anyway, we made it.  We ate.  We hung out with friends.  I forgot to take pictures most of the time, but I did snap a few.

Dexter’s just hanging around while {my amazing niece} Isabella plays on the computer.
Theo enjoyed the Christmas tree and spending time with his cousins, aunt, uncle, and grammy.
We hadn’t been to Tennessee since last Christmas so this was my first time meeting precious Giada Claire.  What a doll.
Dexter certainly enjoyed her company.  Hubba hubba!
Sunday we celebrated {my awesome nephew} Malachi’s 8th birthday.
My mama and her first grandson.
Aunt Cher and her cutie nephews.
That’s the quickie recap.  Hope your Thanksgiving was great too (you know, two months ago). 
xo, 
~C~

feels like home

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

I’ve really neglected the before&after pictures of the house, I know.  But mainly it’s because they wouldn’t really be “after” pictures yet since nothing’s totally done. (I’ll let you steal a couple sneak peeks in the pictures below).  However.  As I mentioned in my Halloween post…we DID officially move in!  We started staying at the house on Sunday 10/28.  Three months + 1 day after closing.  After we made this decision I started thinking it was super dumb because Theo is transitioning to a big boy bed AND both boys are transitioning to sharing a room with each other.  On a Sunday night.  Genius.  Seems like something you’d want to get a handle on starting on a Friday, right? Eh.

As it turns out, so far it has been fine.  Our big boy really has proven to be just that so far by staying in his bed, not partying all night, and not keeping his brother up all night.  They are fine if we put them to bed at the same time, but they will talk/yell to each other for about 30-45 minutes.  It seems to work better if we put Dexter to bed about 20-30 minutes earlier than Theo.  He has been really good about staying quiet when he knows Dexter is asleep.  Theo is a pretty sound sleeper, so even on the days Dexter wakes up early for milk (yes, we still heat up milk for Dexter at 5:45 am most days), Theo sleeps in.  Saturday both kids slept til almost 8.  EIGHT!  Couldn’t believe it.

So the big bed and room-sharing is great.  The mom/homemaker/nurturer in me has been happy as a clam for the past week.  Theo and Dexter have been getting along so well.  My heart bursts every time they hug each other.  Every time I catch Theo trying to teach Dexter something.  Every time I sneak a peek into their room because it’s too quiet and see them sitting on Theo’s bed playing with something together.  It feels amazing to just cook their dinner and give them a bath here and do the most normal, ordinary, mundane, boring things.  That’s all I wanted.  They love this house.  It’s far from done, but it’s home.  It’s already our home sweet home.  Blood, sweat, and tears have all been shed here to make this place our home.

The OCD person in me still sees unpacked boxes and piles of tools and unpainted cabinets, etc.  But those things can wait.  We’re home now.  We’re with our kids every day.  I never have to miss a bedtime or dinnertime or storytime.  It’s all I’ve been wanting for the past 3+ months.

Best friends.  Two peas in a pod.

It’s home.

xo,
~C~