Play Room: Take 2

It is done! (And yes it was complete two months ago.....it's catch up blog time.)

The kids love their playroom.  Liberty immediately sat down at the table by our rain gutter bookshelves and pulled a book off the shelf.  Preston found his niche at the train table.  Hallister bounces all around that room, but mainly likes to sit at his desk and draw.

I am so very thankful to have such a talented husband who worked just about every weekend for three month's on this room, and even sometimes when he came home from work.  We had three different contractors give us quotes on it, but we knew we could save money doing it ourselves.  Moving all the toys into the room helped us weed some out toys with what the kids don't play with as much anymore, or baby toys.  We have tried to keep it simple and make them be thankful for all the toys they do have.  They don't need to get overstimulated.  I got to pick out the paint colors.  It all turned out so nice.

Right now we have the laptop in the playroom, but do hope to be able to mount a TV on the wall eventually.  They do enjoy learning shows on Netflix, like Leap Frog and Sesame Street.  Liberty has started to say Elmo a lot or Diesel, which means she wants to watch Thomas & Friends.  We do want to limit their TV time though and have them enjoy their many toys they can learn with, and use their imagination.

Thanksgiving 2013

 

We hosted Thanksgiving for the first year at our house with my Mom's side of the family and it went really well!  We actually only made one dessert and everyone else brought the big parts of the meal.  We cleaned our house and had our playroom ready to show off.  It was so nice not having to load up in the car to go somewhere, worrying about forgetting stuff and how miserable Liberty would be without a nap. 

Thankfully it was a nice day so we got to play outside.  We have had to do so much work on our house but having people over made us appreciate it all the more.  We are thankful for our huge backyard, our playroom, new updates to our kitchen and our new back porch. We are so thankful for our family who chose to drive to our house to celebrate Thanksgiving.  Hopefully we can host again next year as well.

Liberty Turns 2!

(I know, I know WAY LATE.)

We had Liberty's 2nd birthday at Jump n Place.  It was a lot of fun.  Basically the adults got to visit while the kids played on bouncy slides and bouncy houses.  Fearless Liberty did it all.  We have called her "Lil Stinker" as long as we can remember, so it just seemed appropriate to go with the stunk theme for her party.  Everything turned out really cute.

Liberty is a go-getter.  She wants to do everything her brother's do.  She is SO SMART.  Thanks to listening to Hallister she can count up to 20.  When you ask her a question she will answer bluntly the way she feels.  For example, "Liberty do you want some more food."  She answers, "No", very matter-of-factually. The boys always take time to think about their answers, and are wishy washy, but Liberty knows exactly what she wants or doesn't want, and she is not afraid to express herself.  She says "Diesel" or "Veggiebales" and points to the TV.  That means she wants to watch Thomas, Day of the Diesels or Veggietales.

Lib loves to clean.  She will sneak into her room (that she shares with the boys), steal the container of wipes, take wipes out and start "cleaning" the coffee table.  She now likes to feed the dogs in the morning.  It so cute, she doesn't like the pieces of dog food to not make it in the bowl so she will pick them up individually and place it in front of Wriley or Ranger wherever they are laying.  She also enjoys puzzles.

She has been going to Mother's Day Out and every time I go to pick her up someone tells me how happy she always is.  Even with other kids crying she is laughing or will try to cheer them up.  She is a joy, and usually even sweet to her brother's, bringing them a snack or their drink cup.  But if they take something from her then IT IS ON. :)

We love our Lil' Bit, Lil' Stinker, Libby Lou and our so proud God chose us to raise this Lil' Lady.

Fall Festival

 The church behind our house, where Preston and Liberty go to Mother's Day Out, was having a Fall Festival.  They had hot dogs, games that you won candy for playing, costume contest and a bouncy house.  They had a great time and looked OH SO CUTE!

Originally I wanted to get Liberty a skunk costume.  We call her 'Lil Stinker and that was going to be her party theme.  Well the costume didn't come in the mail in time.  So instead I looked for a Jesse costume so she would match Woody and Buzz but that didn't work out either.....maybe next year because the costumes were a little big but the boys personalities fit right in with what they had on.  A friend of mine gave us this little princess dress and Lib looked oh so sweet.

Trunk or Treat

Many churches offer what is called Trunk or Treat, as an alternative solution to trick or treating on Halloween.  It is safer than going house to house.  Church members dress up the trunks of their cars with a theme, line up all the cars in the church parking lot and hand out candy.  The church we attend was having one and we signed up.  They also were having a contest to win prizes for certain categories. Unfortunately it rained, so we each set up two chairs inside instead.

Our theme was pirates, but I focused more on the treasure part.  Thankfully we had leftovers from Hallister's pirate party. I put out two scrolls with verses Matthew 6:19 and Matthew 6:20,  "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  In our treasure chest along with "gold bars" I put our million dollar tracts.  (They look real, but on the back is the "million dollar question", Will you go to Heaven when you die? Here's a quick test......and it runs through the ten commandments and makes the person reading understand that if they disobey the commandments they are guilty and headed for Hell. But that is not God's will for us to go to Hell.  That is why He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross and commute our death sentence.)  It was interesting to see the kids get the money and think it is real and be excited, then their facial expressions changed to confusion and "Aww man."  I think it was a good representation of people looking for satisfaction with money or other material things.  They satisfy for a little while but then they dry up we fill empty again. Our preacher has talked on this a lot lately, you can't dabble in the world and God, you have to follow one or the other. The only thing that will truly satisfy is a relationship with Jesus Christ.  I was praying as the kids were taking the candy and tracts that they and their parents would understand.

It ended up I won the "Most Christian" category.   We got Rudolph antlers and a nose TO PUT ON OUR CAR!  So yes that is right people, come Christmas time we will be arriving Rudolph style in the burb.

It was a lot of fun and we will probably do it again next year!

Kitchen Remodel

(Yep, still catching up on posts.)

A friend of mine had the same brown cabinets in her kitchen that we do.  She told me she was painting them with chalk paint, because you don't have to use a primer.  After two months she finished.  I came over to see her nice, bright white kitchen cabinets and realized that is just what we needed as well.

Most of the painting projects have been done by Jonathan because I have been pregnant, but I knew this was one I wanted to take on all by myself.  After three weeks, many nap times and weekends later, our kitchen became white and bright.  It looked newer, like it was supposed to be that way this whole time.  I must say, I am pretty proud of how it turned out.

Enjoy the before and after pictures.

BEFORE

 

  

AFTER

 

 

Play Room: Take 1

In August I got tired of having toys in the kids rooms and in the living room.  They would go back and forth with the toys all day.

I decided we need ONE room to contain them.  We have friends that, when their kids were little, and they had a three bedroom house they moved all 3 kids into one room and the other room was the play room.  So.....I decided to try it!

We moved Liberty's crib into the boys room.  Since the boys have bunk beds, and our house was built in the 80's, her bed fit great because the rooms are huge.

We rearranged a few different ways and set up different "stations" in the play room.  Of course Preston mainly gravitates around the train table.  Liberty likes to play farm and "cook".  Hallister might play with the cars, but also with the "real" lego's in his room so Liberty wouldn't put them in her mouth.

It has worked nicely, but with me working 10 hours a week from home and consistently getting more work on top of that we knew I needed an office. Having to work on the computer in the living room was difficult, so we started to look at 4 bedroom houses.  We found some out in the country like we wanted but not in our price range.

We talked to our financial advisers and they said that in this economy it would be more wise to add on than to get a new house and increase our mortgage.  So.....we decided to enclose half the garage to create a play room, with the door to it coming from the living room.  That way Jonathan would still have half the garage for his tools that he uses to work on the cars.

We have started on the new play room and it is almost complete!  Jonathan has worked really hard on it for over three months.  We have bought supplies after each pay check and it will be ready just in time for us to host our first Thanksgiving.  Stay tuned for pictures of the Play Room: Take 2.

Hallister Turns 5

We decided to ask Hallister this year what kind of party he wanted for his birthday.  He said he wanted just a few friends and a pirate theme.  The new show he likes to watch is Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

We started off his birthday celebration with his favorite breakfast, pancakes with cool whip and strawberries.  We had a few games, "Walk the Plank", "Find the Buried Treasure" and the kids hit a pinata shaped liked a treasure chest.  Jonathan did an awesome job at making the "Neverland" sign and the plank.  Adding a pirate flag to the top of the play ground set was a nice touch.  The kids always pretend it is a ship.

Even the adults joined in the fun by dressing up or wearing the huge mustaches we had for anyone wanting to dress up.

 Hallister really enjoys writing his letters right now.  We found a piece of paper next to the TV where he had written out Samsung, the brand of the TV.  He can write his first and last name, and count to 30. He is compassionate and sensitive but also independent.  He is such a big helper around the house.  It is nice he is able to get dressed by himself now also.  We are so proud of him.

First Day of School

(Now pretend it's August.)

You may remember us asking if everyone would pray with us about what we should do for Hallister going to preschool.  We were all set on a new Montessori school and excited.  Well, a week before school started we found out some things we did not agree with concerning the school.  We were very disappointed but then sprung into action on Plan B.

I had saved all the information for Hallister to go to the preschool at the public school next to our house, because we qualify as low income.  Jonathan turned in the paperwork quickly on the way to work and we called and found out he got in!  So he goes to Castleman Creek Elementary, M-F, 12:20-3:20pm.  I am thankful it is not all day.  He is really enjoying learning, making friends in his class of 9 and his teacher Ms. Duckworth.

I like how convenient it is. I drop him off in front of school when it starts and pick him up in the back.  Liberty and Preston cruise over with me in the stroller to get him.  Below our first day of school pictures.

 

Now on to updates for the other two.  Preston and Liberty go to Mother's Day Out at a church that is right behind our house.  Liberty attends Mondays and Wednesdays 9:30-2:30pm and Preston just goes on Mondays.  With Liberty at home it is difficult for me to get work done. so this gives me a set time I can clean or do graphic design work.  Preston is pretty easy, he will play by himself, but I wanted him to socialize.  Both Lib and Pman have really increased their vocabulary.  Liberty's teachers call her the happiest girl they have.  Other kids cry in her room but she just waves at everybody and smiles all day.  That is so comforting to know!  I also like knowing that her teachers know about her allergies and are very aware of what other kids bring for lunch.

Staycation

I know, I know, we are once again month's behind on posts.  So....pretend it is July.....

Instead of going out of town for our 8th wedding anniversary we disbursed the kids to grandparents and enjoyed relaxing at our house.  We got stuff done around the house......like painting the front door brown to match the trim (it was green).  I organized a corner of Liberty's room as the play area while Jonathan moved our file cabinet from the boys' closet to the hall closet.  We also went through files and shredded a ton.  We felt very accomplished but also made sure we got rest.

Jonathan got to see Grease for the first time!  We saw the Waco Children's Theater perform and they were so talented.  Then we rented Grease for Jonathan to see and that just reaffirmed how well the high school students did.

It was a great staycation!

Preston's Swim Lesson

We are playing catch up on posts again.  Last month Preston had the same swim lessons Hallister did last year.  It is a life saving technique to learn when you fall in the water to Swim-Float-Swim.  The key is to float on your back to rest, or be able to turn your head to take a breath, until you can reach land.  Preston did not enjoy it as much as Hallister but I am glad he learned what to do.

Super P Turns 3

Preston had a Super Hero Party for his third birthday.  We rented a gym and the kids enjoyed riding scooters, playing balloon keep up and even had a laser beam face off (staring contest).  I made capes for all the kids as party favors.  Some of them also put on masks.  It was a super good time.  Hallister puts his cape on just about every day, and when I took all three kids to the zoo I had them wear their capes so I could always see them.  Enjoy the pics!