the boys' room...

summer milestones...

It's been quite the Summer, with lots of momentous events.

Josiah lost his first two teeth...but not before the permanent ones started coming in and made him look like a shark (freaked this mama out!)

He also ditched the training wheels on his bike!  That really made me feel like he was a big boy...I don't know if anyone else sees that as a major milestone, but he went from little kid to big kid in one fell swoop in my mama brain.

Elijah is now wearing underwear...after a long struggle he finally succumbed to his parents' iron will. The final straw for him was getting a "Lullypop" for doing his thing in the "tulet"

I'm willing to take the stigma of being known as "that mom" who lets her kids ride around the block in their underwear, just to prove to all that my kid really is potty trained.

Noah is FINALLY starting to talk a little more.  I think he's stringing us along, and could probably speak in paragraphs if he wanted to, but just talks to us enough that we're satisfied that he's not completely deaf or in need of intervention.  Two of his latest additions are "Popeye" and "mine" the latter of which we hear incessantly as he is two.

And the last great milestone of the summer is that I am pregnant with our fourth child!  I'm starting to come out of the first trimester fog...it's been rough and my house has suffered a lot of collateral damage. Fortunately I have some wonderful young lady friends who have helped with watching the boys and keeping up the house. I'm due around the beginning of April.  This pregnancy came as something of a surprise, although we were considering adding to our number again, and were about ready to think about "trying"

That's really all we have to do is think about it.

checking in.

Well, I have been conspicuously absent from this spot for several months now. The summer has flown by! The biggest reason I haven't posted is that my computer's power cord died and I had to wait about a month for a new one (long story), so I haven't been able to use my mac or upload pictures from my camera. So, I have a camera full of photos to sort through and post...sometime. We have come to the decision to homeschool our eldest son for Kindergarten this year, which is adding to the sense I have that blogging may be slipping down on my priority list.

I am feeling a mounting sense of urgency to get my butt organized, and hope to incorporate blogging into the mix...but as of this moment, I need to just clear a path through my laundry room and find the sink under all the dishes!

I do want to share a new favorite blog. Don't look unless you have half a day to oogle.

And I have found this blog most helpful in journey toward beginning to homeschool (as well as inspiration for getting organized...this gal is amazing).

preschool graduation

Josiah graduated from preschool last week.

Oh my gosh. Could he be any cuter?

Miss Jennifer put on a smashing graduation, complete with a slideshow that made me bawl like a baby. She is the best. teacher. ever.

Here is the graduate putting up with the obligatory pictures with mom and dad

{He was very excited about the alphabet silly bands Miss Jennifer got him, as you can see.}

This one cracks me up.

Awww mom...do ya have to?

That's exactly what he's going to look like in...oh...about 13 years...when I try to kiss him as he graduates from high school.

*sniff*

bloom where you're planted...

Over the last several years, we have had a growing desire to move out to an acreage near town and practice becoming more self-sufficient.  Nothing too crazy, we just wanted to have some chickens, a garden, some fruit trees, and maybe, eventually, even a cow.

We currently live in a 1100 square foot two bedroom house, that is over a hundred years old and sits right in the heart of our city.  I love it for many reasons, mainly because of our wonderful neighbors and the close proximity to parks, and the city library.

Since it's apparent that we're not moving anytime soon, I've been contemplating the idea of practicing these ideas of self-sufficiency on a small scale, and what that looks like on a day to day basis for us...blooming where we are currently planted.  I've actually started another blog, co-authored by our neighbors, who are joining with us in our endeavor to live more sustainably.

We're calling it Farming 5th Avenue.

Of course there's a story behind the title...A friend of mine made the comment the other day how funny it was that we lived on 5th Avenue.  She was making reference, of course, to the well known 5th Avenue in Manhattan, smack dab in the middle of one of the biggest cities in America and synonymous with high fashion and even higher price tags. We giggled a bit, thinking how far we are from THAT 5th Avenue (literally and figuratively).  But it got me thinking about where I am and where I want to be, and wondering if they really didn't have to be two different places.

The journey to sustainability is really like any other journey...it's a lot of small steps.  So, here we go, taking some small steps right where we are.  I plan to keep posting as I have here, but will primarily use the other blog to chronicle the "farm-ish" happenings going down on 5th Avenue.

done.

Did I mention that my husband is done with Nursing School?

Yeah, he is.

I'm really glad.

So is he.

This is us after his White Honors Ceremony. It's like a graduation, but just for Nurses.  They put little pins on the graduates and talk about caring, and compassion, and saving lives...Kev said his B.S. o'meter was going off through the whole thing.

That's what happens when you're a Male Nurse.

(At least he didn't have to wear white pants.)

noah 2.0

My Noah Bug is two years old!

Our neighborhood cake-maker-extraordinaire, Mariah, made him a Hungry Caterpillar cake, complete with "dirt" and "worms"...so cute!

We had a small birthday celebration with our neighbors and my mom. (I am realizing that I'm not a very good birthday party planner...)

Can't believe he's two.  Time for another.

Just kidding :)