What do you do with a day of blue skies and 75 degree weather?!

This is what we did...

(thank goodness for cell phones. John's phone took the cool pics, mine took the others)

To the Park!

Then we went to lunch. Lucia's Italian. Speechless. I can only makes sounds. "MMMMmmmmMMMMmmmmMMMmmmMMMmmMmmMMmMmmmmmMM"

(my lunch- mozzarella pomodoro)

(john's lunch- mozzarella, ham, basil, tomato, and balsamic vinegar panini)

(The boys had pizza)

Oh man it was delicious! BUT. Now I have a crick in my neck. Because, you see, i was having a stare down with THIS the entire meal, and it just had to be right behind me.

So, i bribed Joe and told him if he ate all of his pizza we could all get a piece to share. (anytime i have dessert after a meal i'm usually sharing it. and usually, a small part of me is wishing i could have my own piece. but it's not good for me....it will go straight to my hips...i'll look like a piggie having my own big piece....you know what i'm talking about?) WELL this place knows how to make you happy when you say, "We'd like to share a piece of that one right there!"

BAM!

Would ya know that we have more than half of that piece in a to-go-box in our fridge? It was THAT big.

While daddy paid (great news! the waitor gave us free drinks! SCORE!) i took the boys outside.

We walked the line. over. and over. and over. and over again.

Then we went to the post office to send a registration form and fee for Joe to go to preschool in Omaha next fall. WEIRD. Makes it feel real.

Then we went home. We didn't have our fill of being outside yet, so we rode tricycles and swept the neighborhood. You are welcome, neighbors! :)

Hello blue eyes skies!

The boys are worn out and napping. So, I'm gonna go unpack... for real this time.

Random Stream of Thoughts

We just got back from Palm Spings, CA late yesterday afternoon.

I am so proud of my boys for flying SO WELL. They are awesome at it. (they should be by now!)

We had a GREAT time. I can't wait for John to transfer the photos to the computer so I can share them with you.

The weather was perfect. Warm enough to wear summerish clothing, and you could still run around and play outside without breaking a sweat. Yes, perfection. (this statement will not be true of Palm Springs in a couple of months...HOT)

I love watching my boys experience new things.

I feel extremely blessed that we get to go to such a beautiful place. I feel extremely blessed that my boys will grow up vacationing out there, just like their daddy did.

We had TWO date nights. Lots of great food, seeing new things, and quality time with my precious husband. On top of our date nights, we had lots of one on one time.

I'm thankful that my kids have two SPECTACULAR sets of grand parents.

It's good to be back home. It's sad this won't be home for much longer.

We jumped right back into our routine. We got out of the house to go to joe's speech therapy. (He scored a 95 on a speech test that was given to him today...Go JOE!) Then we hopped over to 'N Vogue to say hello to everyone and then we went to Moe's for lunch with mom/Honey.

My boys love their Honey. Who wouldn't love a grandmother that gives you cups full of change to throw in a fountain?!?

I don't like Moe's like I used to. I have had Chipotle a few times recently, and it is SO much better. Sorry, Moe's. :)

I love that Noah tries to do everything his big brother does. It's waaaay cute.

I also love it, at times, when they fight with each other. It makes me giggle. (is that bad??)

So, now that we are home, we must continue keeping the house clean. BLAH. It wears me out.

We have had one person come through the house. Just ONE. sigh. :(

I'm doing my best to let go of the situation. I know the Lord has gone before us and has worked out every detail of our move and transition to Omaha already. I read this last night and it encouraged me..."Something powerful and life-giving comes through waiting. This falls into the category of learning to trust our God of wonder and mystery" - Angela Thomas. I'm believing for that something powerful and life-giving.

Joe says, "Ogahaaww".

I'm excited to about this new chapter of our lives to begin. I'm actually becoming somewhat anxious for it to start. It totally surprises me that I feel that way. There are definitely days, however, that I feel the total opposite.

I'm doing a new devotional book and I LOVE it. It's called Brave by Angela Thomas. I would love to lead a small group of women through it one day. (The quote above came from this book.)

I haven't done a devotional book in a long time. I'm super glad that I found this one.

Joe is so stubborn.

Noah is way too fearless.

What's a mom to do??

We are all tired. The whole adjusting to the 2 hour time change plus a full day of travel with no naps has left us, well, tired.

Can you tell?

We get to go to some of our best friends' house tonight for a bday celebration! Happy Birthday, Gabe!

They just got back from Africa and they met their little boy for the first time face to face. I can't wait to hear more about it. I love that little boy so much already.

That's another reason I am sad to move. I want to be a part of his life. I want him and Joe to be best buds. It will happen. Just not the way i planned.

I'm ready for them to go back and get him. If I'm ready, I know they are dying to get a phone call. To hop on a plane. To hug and squeeze him. To introduce him to Stevie girl. To bring him HOME. (praying their kiddos do just as well flying as mine!)

Follow their journey right HERE!

I want to adopt. I'm wondering how moving to Omaha will change our plans for that.

My plans really don't matter. God's are always better.

I need to go unpack. I HATE unpacking. Guess it's not a good idea to live out of a suit case with our house on the market. Bummer.

Palm Springs post coming soon!

Death Becomes Nemo

Poor unfortunate little fish.

Our beloved Nemo has died gone to heaven. :(

Joe is very proud of himself for all of his potty training successes.

He realizes that he is a little more independent and can do some things on his own.

So, while mommy was getting ready yesterday, he got his stool, grabbed Nemo's food, and fed him dumped the whole jar in his bowl.

I walked into the living room to see Joe standing on his stool looking at the fish bowl.

"Mommy!! I fed Nemo! All by myself!"

Uh oh.

We cleaned his bowl this past weekend. It was sparkling.

Now it's a nasty cloudy brown color. You can see Nemo in the top left corner.

I won't look at the bowl.

I don't get grossed out easily at all. Show me something completely disgusting and I'm usually okay with it.

Not this time.

I think it's because something dead is floating around in there. It makes me queazy.



Maybe i'll lighten the mood.

Noah has traded in his cowboy hat for a headband. (it was only 15 minutes before he traded back)

Maybe I'll take him to Zumba with me next time!


John and I are celebrating Valentine's Day tomorrow night. I'm so excited!

Bottega here we come!!

The menu looks incredible. My mouth is watering.

And thank you best sister ever, Ashley Teate Wadsworth, for watching the boys!

bahahaha

Photo Documentary of Today

I thought i would take a few snapshots with my cellular device to document our day and share it with you!

We woke up to snow this morning!  Absolutely beautiful snow!

So we cuddled up and watched Yo Gabba Gabba. Why is it that brothers, who begin cuddling and loving on each other, always end up wrestling and pulling each other's hair out?!

Then, it was time to head out to Joe's Speech Therapy. Before we got in the car, we had to play in what was left of the white stuff.

Then we cried because our fingers were too cold. Feeling badly that I didn't put gloves on their sweet pudgy hands, I cuffed their hands in mine and blew and blew and blew my warm breath on them until i was super light headed. :)

So, off to speech therapy we went. Joe has a 30 minute session every Thursday and he LOVES it. We will miss Miss Brittany very much when we move. Noah and I read books in the lobby until Joe man was finished. Then, we headed to lunch. Habaneros in Hoover.

My boys LOVE salsa. As you can tell, they use their chips as spoons.

They also love cheese quesadillas...

YUM! 

And, let me just tell you... Joe used the potty in a public place for the first time today at lunch! WOO HOO! We have just now been working on potty training the last few days. He just hasn't been the least bit interested...until now... and he has hit the ground running! Potty success is one reason we needed to head to Target.

I didn't even think to get my phone out at Target. As much as we love Target outings, they are always a little bit stressful when I am by myself with both kids. They want everything. So, I took a picture of our bags for you :)

In them, you might find, a DVD that Joe got to pick out for using the potty for the past 3 days. Some wipes, bubble bath, baby wash, some new undies for Joe, valentine's for Joe's friends at school(big party tomorrow), valentine gifts for the boys (which i had to sneak in the buggy and keep them distracted at the check out line) and then, a couple things for me that I won't mention because John would probably rather me not spend money on them right now. But now he will know about it, and he will ask me, and i will tell him, because I won't lie :) Why does Target always put me in this situation?!

So we got home and Joe went to the Potty (YAY!!! lots of screaming and jumping up and down every time this happens. And, boy, you should see how it goes down when Noah is napping. Silent screaming and jumping up and down is quite the sight!) He was super excited to hop in bed for nap time and watch his new movie.

Sweet and Sleepy :)

Poor Noah. This is not one of my favorite parts of motherhood. I guess you could say he was a little constipated. Let's just say, for the first time ever, i've had to physically help my child with a poo poo. I know, TMI, but don't worry, I didn't take a picture and I spared you of the gory details. After that delightful incident, he went to bed, and now i'm left all to myself for 2 - 2 1/2 hours.

So, there is our day for you! Hope you enjoyed a day in our life!

Now, if you will excuse me, i need to shave my legs.  I'll be having my first Zumba experience tonight. I've been wanting to try it forever. I'm going with some of my favorite people and I'm sure there will be lots of dancing laughing...and that's a super great work out, right? :)

Today

I'm still recovering from a sinus infection. It has stuck around WAY too long! Joe is at school this morning and I get to spend some quality time with this guy...

The hat rarely leaves his head these days :) I love it.

discouraged and hopeful...

all at the same time.

So, our house has been on the market for almost 2 weeks. We have had an open house that no one attended and only one appointment for a walk through. That's why I am discouraged. I guess I expected the phone to be ringing off the hook with people wanting to see it, because we have the best house ever :). Just kidding, but i did think there would be more traffic. And, it's frustrating to work so hard cleaning and organizing and cleaning some more on a daily basis while juggling two crazy messy toddlers for no one to come. But, enough with the pity party! They are no fun, right?

The good news, is that I'm still hopeful. The one lady that did walk through really loved the house. She had no complaints and her realtor said it showed beautifully. That is all very encouraging. Why she didn't make an offer? It wasn't her ideal location. She really wanted to be closer to Valleydale Rd. and we are further south in Pelham. Bummer. A few miles was a deal breaker. (I'm praying, however, that our house will continue to be her favorite compared to others and she will decide to sacrifice a few miles for the home) We will see! I know that it will sell in time, and that the Lord knows exactly what He is doing, and He knows what's best for our family, better than we do. That is a big enough reason to be hopeful.

Next week we are making our annual trip to Palm Springs, CA to visit and vacation with John's parents. We are so excited about going and it comes at a much needed time! I can't wait to not worry about keeping the house spotless for an entire week! We'll post lots of pictures when we get back!