Happy Monday

Hope your weekend was as good as ours! We got Will on a 4 hour routine starting Saturday. It is SO much better to not have to feed him every 3 hours. We have been wanting to do this for a while but wasn't sure if he was ready. He has done great for the past 3 days-better than when he was on a 3 hour schedule. We now wished we would have started a little sooner! He is

still sleeping from 8:30 PM until 7 AM without waking up. I feel like he is a true babywise baby for the first time. We have implemented babywise all along since he was about 3 weeks old, but now we are fully on a babywise schedule-eat, wake time for about an hour, nap for 2+ hours, and then start all over again! I am a true believer in that book. Since moving to the 4 hour routine, he now goes down for a nap at 4pm. So I play with him for a bit and then get to put him down for his nap when I get home. This gives me a chance to clean/work out/grade papers-whatever I need to do. I have been called a schedule nazi, but I'll take it-my baby sleeps!

Dylan's cousins came to visit this weekend. He lights up when Dylan and Sutherlan play with him. They are SO good with him and constantly want to entertain him...which is good because it gives me a break. We took him over to see Uncle Mike. He gave Uncle Mike kisses and thought he was funny too!Kiki took Sutherlan and Will to the park yesterday for a little while. Will was dressed appropriately for the sunny day!

This is what I found when I went to get him up from his nap this afternoon...

As you can see, Will likes the 4 hour routine :) John and I like to think he is picturing himself basking in the sun at the beach-total relaxation.

Nothing Like It

Do certain smells remind you of things? Today I caught a scent that took me back to my childhood...

Is there really anything like it?? One of my students came in this morning with a fresh pack of Crayola crayons-the 64 count box! I remember when I was a kid and getting the 64 count box was like hitting the jackpot. Not only did you have all those colors to choose from, but it came with a built in crayon sharpener on the back. There really isn't anything like the smell of brand new crayons...before they have been colored with and their tips dulled. I love it! Don't judge-I am allowed to get excited about crayons-I teach 10 year olds. 

Then last night I was unloading the dishwasher and putting up the big pots in the cabinets underneath our island. I caught a whiff of the inside of the cabinet and it took me right back to the middle of May last year and our first weekend in our new house (We had not moved in yet but had brought 2 large loads of boxes filled with the kitchen stuff. Our project that weekend was to get the kitchen settled and John to hang up our blinds so those things would be done when we moved in a week later. The only furniture in the house was a blow up mattress that I brought with me from Auburn). I remember it was the morning after I told John our little family was about to increase. I was working in the kitchen and John was in what is now Will's room hanging blinds. I just sat on the floor for a really long time, so incredibly happy, thinking about how much our lives were about to change, and how they already had by us deciding to move to Birmingham and buy a house. Now every time I open a cabinet, I am reminded of that morning. 

Do smells do this to you?

Miffed

I have been hearing about "Free Cone Day" at Ben and Jerry's for quite some time. I read a coupon mom's blog and she had mentioned it about 3 weeks ago-so I put it on my calendar at school. All my students were excited to remind me yesterday morning that it was free cone day. I immediately was in a better mood. There is nothing better than ice cream, except free ice cream that is normally expensive. Then I read Lindsay's blog and saw where she had already cashed in on her free ice cream. I texted John and told him to get excited about Ben and Jerry's. We planned to go there after dinner at 7. We get Will fed, loaded him up in the car, and drove to the Summit...seeing as how we gave up sweets for lent we are practically clicking our heels as we make our way to the door. Only to find a sign that says, "We are not participating in the Free Cone Day this year." Excuse me...what??!! You are a Ben and Jerry's Right? And Ben and Jerry's is having free cone day today, right? So how do you just choose to not participate. Apparently, Ben and Jerry's is a franchise so the individual managers can make decisions such as these. The kids working there told us that the manager said he couldn't afford to give out free ice cream all day. It seems the downturn of the economy is affecting us all, even Ben and Jerry's. John and I were determined to eat some ice cream-but opted for Bruster's instead. Not only to prove a point to Ben and Jerry's that we were not going to give them business if they were not going to participate in a NATIONWIDE give away, but mostly because we like Bruster's better. Except that I was miffed again, this time at Bruster's because they did not have Mint Oreo last night. That has to be against the Bruster Rules.

Will's First Easter Basket (A Little Late)...

AMAZING

This is one of the many words I can think of to describe my mom. She volunteered very early on to keep Will for us when I had to start back to work. John and I worried that she would not get to do any of the things she wanted to do because she would have Will 5 days a week but she assured us she would rather keep him than do anything else. So we of course accepted her offer-it helped us out a ton by not having to pay a daycare and having the peace of mind knowing that he is being loved as much as we would love on him. My mom kept telling us that she would need little projects to do around the house while he was napping. I thought she was nuts and told her caring for our child would be project enough. John joked with her and asked if she knew how to sheet rock :) At any rate, I cannot even begin to say how blessed we are that my mom keeps Will. It is enough that she is loving on our precious child. However, every day I come home simply amazed at all that has been done. Last week she had done countless loads of laundry, organized my closet (by color), fixed a shoe rack for me because my shoes in the floor were driving her nuts, ironed John's shirts, sterilized all the bottles, made my bed, and straightened everything up. I was completely in awe of all she could accomplish while Will napped. When I am here on the weekends I feel like I collapse on the couch as soon as he goes down for a nap and then nothing gets done (or I read blogs and before I know it I have been on the computer for 2 hours)! Today when I came home it was no different. Several loads of laundry had been done and this time she had reorganized John's closet. I feel awful when I come home and she has done all of this-we aren't even paying her! She always just says she would rather me be able to come home and spend time with my family than have to do laundry or pick up. Wow. Mom-you are amazing. The most selfless person I know! Thank you so much for all you do for me and John and Will.

Husbands....

I couldn't help but post the most hilarious thing John said today. He was helping fold and put away laundry this afternoon. He had stacked the towels and was heading to put them away. We have nice, fluffy white towels for our guests to use and we use brown ones that are pretty worn since we have used them every day since our wedding. I was telling him that the white towels go in the hall linen closest for our guests and the brown ones go in our linen closet. To this he replied, "What is wrong with our guests using the brown ones...are they racist?" I cracked up.

A Day Attire

Voila!

What a difference a few days and some artwork can make. Thank you to everyone for your advice and comments regarding the mantle. Here is the finished product: I found the painting at Hobby Lobby and had a 40% off coupon so I got a great deal! It is really pretty. I liked the shape...it was the perfect shape for our mantle. Then my mom and I went out to Garden Ridge and I found the clear hurricanes (I think this is what they are called). We thought it might be pretty to do candles in 2 of them and a flower type arrangement in the other. We actually got the idea from the box the hurricanes were in. We bought some spanish moss, some rocks, and a silk orchid. I love the way it turned out and my mom even made me a similar arrangement with the left over stuff in one of my low, rectangular shaped vases to put on the table in our foyer to tie it all together.

I also found this painting at Ross of all places! It was $30 so I got it to go on the wall to the left of our TV. I love the bright colors! All in all, I did the 2 paintings and the stuff on the mantle for $150. John was quite pleased with that! Almost a year later, our house is finally starting to look like a home.

Time Management

John and I just have to laugh at how completely different our nights look now that we have Will. We put Will to sleep every night at 8:30. Last night here is everything we did AFTER he was in bed.
-Straightened up the den and cleaned the kitchen
-Hung a new painting above our mantle (more on this to come later + pictures!)
-John watched a lecture for school and worked on his project
-I did my 30 Day Shred Workout (at 9pm mind you) then showered
-We made our lunches
-Did 2 loads of laundry
-Watched to see who got eliminated from American Idol (Matt G. got saved-very cool, I like him)
-Finally fell in the bed at 10:30.
The night before we did most of the same things, except instead of American Idol, John and I graded 2 sets of papers while watching 24 (thank goodness for DVR!!!)
I used to be asleep on the couch by 7:30 and in the bed no later than 9-this was even before I was pregnant. However, there never seems to be enough time in the day anymore so things have to just get done at night! We now think it is great if we are in the bed by 11!

The Giggles

Yesterday was my most favorite day with Will so far...John and I finally witnessed him laughing. Not just laughing, he was cracking up. My mom and dad said that when they kept him for us last Friday, they took him out to show them the fish in this fountain thing in their backyard and he just started cracking up. They tried to call us to let us hear but of course he stopped. My mom said he did it again yesterday when she was keeping him. Once I got home from school, we were playing in his room. I had him in the Bumbo seat (which he loves!!) and was playing with a stuffed animal in front of him. All of a sudden, he got the giggles! I called John in so he could hear him too. He put on a show for us for a good 10 minutes. At times, he would throw his head back a little he was laughing so hard. It was hysterical. I was laughing so hard but almost crying a little too because it was the sweetest sound! He is in SUCH a fun stage right now! He smiles all the time and is rarely fussy anymore-Praise the Lord! John was able to capture some of his laughing on the video camera, but I have no idea to upload it. Maybe I can get him doing it again and record it on my camera to post!

Thanks for all your advice/comments on decorating. Will and I are headed to Hobby Lobby after school to take a look around there!

Help!

A decorator I am not. This is what our fireplace and the space around it looked like when we moved in. This is still what it looks like almost a year later. I am in need of some decorator expertise! I know we need a large painting over our fireplace, but we are not yet in the position to shell out that kind of money. I want to put something on the mantle but I have no clue what to do. I am so jealous of all my blogging friends who have such great taste and know exactly what to do with a boring space! So please offer your suggestions, advice, etc. We are having a party here in 2 weekends and I would love for it to look a little better by then.

Happy Easter

I have been meaning to post a picture of this. My mom made this with the help of my Daddy B many years ago. It used to sit in front of my parents door with all of our names on the carrots. Well our family has gotten bigger and there weren't enough carrots for all 11 of us (including pets) so my mom repainted the carrots for me to put in front of my door. Bentley even has one too, you just can't read his because of the handle. I think it is so cute!

We had lunch with my parents after church today. My mom had the idea to put Will in a basket and take his picture outside. These were the best that we got. He was hungry and tired! :)
Couldn't resist posting this one. John says he is crying because he just realized how he was dressed :)

Next weekend is Greek Easter, so we will do it all over again!

One Day Vacay Details

John and I are exhasted!!! Having a baby is definitely the most fun, but the most tiring job I have ever had. John put it this way last week as we were laid out on the couch, both feeling like we had been hit by a truck..."It's like we go to work and then we come home and work..." Yep, pretty much. That is why I am a firm believer that stay at home moms have it much harder than the rest of us working parents! Anyways, our 3.5 year anniversary was last Wed. We never celebrate the half year and most years it usually goes by without even us noticing. But we felt like it would be fun to get away for just a night and that gave us an excellent excuse. Yesterday we dropped Will off at Kiki and Pop's house and headed to the Renaissance Ross Bridge Resort. I have only been here one other time when me and the girls went to the spa. It is super nice! I get a deal since I am a member of the Retirement Systems of America or something like that. It was a significant discount!! At any rate we left Will for the first time overnight and had a blast. Our original plans were just to order room service for dinner and breakfast and rent some in-room movies. Well we did order dinner but I was asleep by 7:30 so we didn't watch Fireproof or Slumdog Millionaire (those were the movies we have been dying to see and both were available to order). This morning we were okay with that since they cost $14.95 EACH!! We slept in this morning and decided to go to the breakfast buffet downstairs. It was delicious. Then we headed home to pick up our sweet boy. He did so good which we are so happy about because it makes us comfortable leaving him overnight in the future. For all the new parents out there, I highly recommend a one day vacay!!!

One Day Vacay

My husband +
=PURE RELAXATION

Lifesaver

Last weekend when we were at the McKinnons, we laid Will down on Kate's activity mat. He has one similar, but Kate's has a thing at the top that lights up and plays music. Will's mat has an aquarium looking thing that lights up and plays music as well, but it is on the side and it never caught his attention. Today I decided to try and hook it up to the top so he could lay there and watch it. WHY HAVE WE NOT THOUGHT OF THIS BEFORE!!!!????

The sweet boy laid there for a good 45 minutes before falling asleep. We were able to prepare dinner, eat, and then just watch tv for a little bit. John and I kept looking at each other going, "Can you believe it? It is 7pm and no one is crying and no one is holding him!" It was crazy. Will was mezmorized by it!!! I highly recommend a light up/musical activity mat with the thing at the top-you will not be disappointed.

*On another note, please pray for precious Kirkley Muncie. They have been having some issues with her elbow/shoulder. It was put in a sling on Tuesday. They had to go to the emergency room today because she had been running a fever. It appears her inflammation levels were too high. Right now she has been put to sleep so they can stick a needle and see if any puss comes out. If it does, they will open it up immediately and flush it out. I know this is a lot of info, but I wanted to be sure you could pray specifically. They will definitely be staying in the hospital tonight. And if you are wondering why my blog looks so janked up...Holly was working on a new design for me when all this started happening. I have no idea how to mess with html codes and what not and Kirkley is way more important, so the blog may look a little weird for a short while. Pray for the Muncies!
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Shredded

This is what I picked up yesterday (along with some hand weights...) I fully intend to look like this in 30 days! HA! Well at least I'm trying. Shealy had this video at her house this weekend. I have been dying to get back to doing something, but I just don't have an hour or more to drive to the gym, work out, and get home. I just can't justify leaving Will after being gone all day. But this I can do. I started day 1 today and lets just say that I am about to die. It took me a good 10 minutes after I finished to catch my breath. I don't think I have been to the gym since I was 3 months pregnant so that means it has been about 9 months since I have done anything over than walking. The best part about it is that it only takes 22 minutes total. Jillian has this 3-2-1 system-3 minutes of strength training, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs. You repeat this 3 times (with different moves) and then have a 2 minute warm up and a 2 minute cool down. Definitely enough to get my heart racing and sweaty! I'll let you know how I fare after 30 days.

Another Venture to Auburn

This makes Will's fourth trip since he was born! This time it was to celebrate Kirkley Muncie's 2nd birthday. She had an "Aubie" themed party and everything turned out very cute. John though this was the only way a birthday party should be done-lots of orange and blue! We absolutely love going back to visit our friends, especially now that there are babies involved! Will was a great traveler...except on the way home. We fed him at Shealy and Clayton's before we left, but ended up hanging around for about 30 minutes afterwards. We should have known better. We made it to Dadeville, him screaming the whole way, and had to stop at a gas station to calm him down and feed him again. Since I cluster feed at night, he is hungry every 2 hours. He hadn't been a great eater all day so it caught up to him on the road. Our fault, lesson learned. But I loved every minute we got to visit with Shealy, Clayton, and that sweet Baby Kate!

The moms (weird!), Will, and Kate, with the birthday girl!

Love at second sight!

An attempt at a family picture

Such cute party favors! Holly slaved over making AU crayons...These will be tucked away for Will to use when he is big enough. I know he'll love them! Tuckered out after a long day. Thank you Muncies! We had such a fun time. Next time we hope Will is old enough to jump in the bounce house!!