My new kitchen..under construction

When you buy your first home, you look at all of the great upgrades and things that the home comes with. The tiled bathrooms, hard wood floors, French doors to the patio. Well, not that we had those things right when we moved in our first house, but for some reason, I over looked many things that I thought would not bother me but I was okay with the floor plan. Let's just say that we quickly outgrew our first home. We did not know that in a short period we would have 2 beautiful children or that I would be staying at home with them. That you did need a linen closet, and front door closet, larger kids rooms, and the most important thing, a big kitchen!

My next life lesson is that even though you don't WANT to spend half your day in the kitchen, you will. Between making breakfast, eating, then cleaning dishes. And repeating it again for lunch and dinner. Don't forget the morning snack and afternoon snack. And the cookies for the preschool party, and the appetizer that goes to your friend's house for the gathering. (Don't fool yourself. You still have to cook, just not the whole meal which is great!) You will spend a good part of your day in the kitchen. It has become the center of our home. And I might regret putting this out for all to see (because Chad will have proof but...), I do enjoy cooking. Not every meal, every day. Everyone needs a break. But I do enjoy it. I think that it is an extension of my love for the one's that I truly care about. And there is something to be said for taking items that by themselves are terrible and making something wonderful.

Now... my new kitchen had great bones. I has much more counter and cabinet space than I have ever had. It has the built in oven and microwave. A nice size pantry. More than one entrance. It is not too far from my car for unloading groceries. And a nice size dining nook. But it does have some flaws. The dishwasher was AWFUL!!! I am convinced that it was the loudest on the market and it did not clean well or dry. That was the first thing we replaced. I think Chad was tired of me complaining about it. Let's face it, I wasn't "complaining". That is putting it nicely. The vent a hood over the cook top has no purpose. It does not recirculate nor does it vent out. It is simply a light source. The tile back splash was builder standard off white 4x4 tile. Just not the prettiest thing considering they installed granite on the counter tops. And my entire house is the build beige color. But these are all things that can be fixed and in the process.

So I have painted the kitchen and will extend it to the living room. Chad (my house boy and Handy Man(ny)) has ripped down the tile and is in the process of replacing it with new tumbled stone. He is also fixing my vent a hood. So I will finally have my great kitchen!!! I will post before and after pictures in a week or so when everything is completed. But I am such a happy girl. My "work" environment has improved greatly!

Spring it here and the Natives are Restless

April 2008">

Spring time has hit Texas in a big way. In the past month, we have had the tornado sirens for the city go off 2 times and it is windy day and night. It feels like a little resistance training went we go for walks. The girls LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being outside. We are still trying to find some great neighbors with kids nearby. The Hastys across the street are sweet and we try and meet up with them. The other exciting neighborhood news is we are on duck egg watch. There are 3 neighborhood ponds. The one closest to our house has 2 duck nest waiting to hatch. One with 17 eggs and the other with 13. Someone has also donated 50 (that's right 5 0) ducklings to the neighborhood. The board is looking for families to help raise the ducks for 5 weeks until the a old enough to be on their own. Then we will do a duckling release at the 3 ponds. I will say this...Chad and I have opted out of adopting these ducklings. I don't think we need anything else making a mess around here. The Hastys home school and I think they are going to adopt so that will be where we will visit. One way on another, we will be full of ducks this summer.

In other spring news, Chad and I dug a new vegetable garden in the back yard. I was not all to see my last garden through the summer because of the sell of our home and those DANG BUNNIES!!! I have not seen a bunny at this house so I may have some success. Growing in the garden is tomatoes, green onions, green beans, cilantro, basil, red and yellow bell peppers, cucumbers, and strawberries. Reece was going to plant some watermelon seeds in the garden as well. She "planted" them when we where tilling the soil so I am sure if they come up, it will be in an odd location.

The pictures are random, kind of like our days. There are several shots of the backyard and the potential for all that can be done. And we have started one more project on the house. Chad ripped down the tile back splash this weekend so that we can replace it with some new, more attractive tile. And we are fixing the vent a hood. I should have a nice new kitchen by Reece's birthday!!!

I claimed her from the Begining

When Addison was born, I told Chad that she was my child. He had this special bond with Reece because in her very early days he had her to himself because he was off every Friday. I wanted at least one child to really want me, just me. I know it sounds silly, but when you are the Mom, you secertly want them to want you more. Not that they should want their Dad, but dang it...I was the one with all of the extra weight, crazy looking body, and serious hormonal rushes. Shouldn't I at least get the most love? Well, I am starting to eat my words. When you claim your child, you have to claim the good and the bad. Like when Reece is sweeping the kitchen floors, Chad claims her. But when she is having a sobbing, can't breathe melt down, he has to claim that too. Do you understand where I am going with this?

So Addison is my child. My sweet girl runs to me and give sweet little kisses and hugs. She will go to bed easily for me. She has that silly little smile that makes me laugh every time. Well, here's the bad. The child has no fear. Zero, zip, nada. She will climb on top of everything and anything. She has learned to climb into the tub. And our biggest problem has been her climbing out of her highchair. We have been putting her in the safety approved, manufacturer's guild lines 5-point harness to keep her from standing up. And I say harness because it is. It is not a seatbelt or a safety belt. Anything the pins you down like this is a harness. Well, I finally had enough. The child some how would get out of it if I didn't do the top straps or she would scream through the entire meal. Not what I would call a great dinner. I couldn't stand her eating standing up in the high chair which , by the way, was the only way she would eat.

SO it is with great pride that I show you Addison's new high chair. I now know that someone else's child was doing the same thing. How do I know? Only another parent would look at this and say, "There is absolutely nothing for her to stand on, it is tight enough to limit the child to the sitting position only. This is the best invention ever." And they are right. She now dines like a normal person. No more serious meltdowns at dinner. No more crazy, magic moments. Just her eating her meal. True greatness.

Rough Riders Baseball Game

So I haven't posted in a while because we have been super busy. Layne offered us some free tickets for the Rough Riders Baseball game in Frisco. This is the Texas Rangers AA team. I don't even know if that is right, but the do have a connection to the Rangers. We took the girls because we didn't have a sitter and they got in free!!! The tickets were part of the Founding Members seats so everything was inclusive. All the food and drink you wanted. Only one of us got to drink...it wasn't me. But we had a great time watching it through the kids eyes.

The seats were on the first base line, third row. Pretty good. I think the reason I enjoy these games more than the Rangers is the extra entertainment. They have a group of people that provide some between inning games. They shoot the t-shirts and stuff but they also include some kids. It is generally the kids who celebrate their birthday at the ball park. It's musical chairs, sack races, things like that. Then there is Duce. Or as Reece called him, Goose. Duce is the mascot, prairie dog looking character. And he has a new lady friend, Daisy. So we spent the night looking for Goose and Daisy. Addie was scared and Reece was okay as long as they didn't talk to her or try to hug her. But she did wave.

I decided not to edit the pictures so that you can see how much fun we have trying to get the girls to smile at the same time. And how silly Reece is acting.

I'll do more tomorrow!!

Spring Sing

So Reece has been attending Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church Kid Care. She goes Monday and Wednesday. We both wish it was 3 or 4 days a week because she has such a good time. Well, last night was the school Spring Sing and Open House. Reece had a full audience. Layne, Mitzi, Sabrina, and Scott joined Addison, Chad, and I. It was pretty cute. They sang about 10 songs. The first 4 or 5 were "rock" songs so they were able to wear their sunglasses. She really got into some of the songs. I know that the quality isn't very good but the action is priceless. Layne was about to video some of it with his camera.

http://picasaweb.google.com/laynecourt/ReeceSSpringSing?authkey=jcedXcRx2yI


Here are the picture from our camera.

Spring Sing

Little Addie isn't so little any more. She insist on drinking out of a big straw. We even bought her some new sippy cups that have straws and she will have no part of them when someone has an "adult" straw. Here are a couple pictures of her from last night.

Big Girl

Sick of being sick

Let me edit real quick. Layne and Mitzi were at our house last weekend too. We had the whole gang. I didn't mean to leave them off. They were a great help with everything.

Now...today entry. Addie has been running fever on and off starting on Saturday. But on Monday it was more consistent so we made a trip to the pediatrician on Wednesday. Good news is that it is not strep. Bad news is that it is a virus that we just have to wait out. And it is mainly in her throat. So we have been on a diet of yogurt, milk shakes, pudding, ice cream, and some soup. Not that she can really eat soup. It is just really, really over cooked noodles and vegetables with very little water. She is very clingy and wants to be held ALL DAY. I know that she does not fell good so right now, if it can be done with one hand and while I hold her, it gets done. Otherwise, it has to wait till later. We are getting some good quality bonding time at night. Poor thing wakes up in a dripping sweat. We had three baths in 24 hours. But she still is not clean. I think she finds anything that is sticky or dirty.

I don't have too much energy to write more. I will get better tomorrow.

Weekend with the Courts

We just wrapped up a weekend with my family. Sabrina was off on Friday and Mom and Dad came into town. We had out big family dinner Friday night and it was delicious!!! We will be having it again tonight! I had a garage sale on Saturday and did far better than I expected. There were five of us on the street right next door to each other. Really good traffic. I still have a garage full of baby stuff. One of the customers said that we were the most fertile neighborhood he had seen. I guess we were all trying to clean out our closets.

We have enrolled Reece for preschool with Prosper ISD for next year. It will be regular school hours but a preschool setting. I am excited for her. She seems kind of bored with me during the day. She has really enjoyed her school this year. We have had a few big days this week so far. She has decided that she no longer needs to take her blanket into school. It is safe in the car. YEAHHH!!! I thought it was always going to be with her. She had her second ever dentist appointment today. They say that her teeth are beautiful. But she needs to stop sucking her thumb. We have been working on it but not putting forth 100% effort. I am now motiviated because if she hasn't quit by her 4th birthday, they want to put a devise on her teeth like a retainer. I am not excited about that and I am sure that she will not be either. We had a talk on the way home and decided that when she stops sucking her thumb, we will make her room into a princess room. She was very excited about it. We will see how it goes. And she did tell me this weekend, "Mom, you rock!' I don't know where it came from but I will take it.

Addison and I spent some quality time together last night. She has been running fever on and off since Saturday but I thought that it was just her teeth. (she's trying to cut 6 of them) But we have now hit the 3 day mark so we are going to see Dr. Bill this afternoon. Pray that it is nothing but a virus and not strep. She is growing up so fast. She will tell you "ugh-hun" (yes) or shake her head no. She tries to take her diaper off when she is wet. If you ask her, she will get a diaper and the wipes and bring them to you for a change. Such a sweet girl. I stopped and looked at a Mother's Day Out program in Prosper this morning. It is small but very cute. Only Tuesday/Thursday. Which is great. She has such a good time playing with other kids. I think this is something that we both need.