Back To Work

Josh's first day back to work after the flood was so great!  In the morning we went for a walk with Colista and the kids from the state park down to the river.  They threw rocks for a bit and all of them loved it.  We decided we'll have to do that route more after the tourists clear out.  Both boys napped when we got home.  Chase woke up before Milo.  We snugged under a blanket on the couch and watched part of a movie together and talked.  I don't get my one on one time with Chase when Josh is home because he is very much a Daddy's boy...but when he's gone he is very much a Mommy's boy.  So that is an added perk for me when Josh leaves.  I love my Chase time!  I keep talking to him about school.  Trying to get him and myself excited.  I'm trying to explain things to help him know what to expect and what to do if he needs something or anything.  He was being so smiley and cute and polite.  : )  Melting my heart.  Making me so happy and so sad at the same time.  I can't believe he is already old enough for preschool.  It's unreal to me.  I am so going to miss him!  Not just the 3 1/2 hours he'll be gone miss him...but just him being this exact age never again.  At every stage I think I am going to miss him...it is hard for me to think that he will not be my little bitty innocent sweetheart for much longer.  I don't like thinking about him growing up.  It really makes me sad.  But while I am sad I am also thoroughly enjoying my time with him.  It is all stages in life.  It WILL be ok.  : )  I don't feel like I'm properly putting my feelings about all of this down like I want to...ugh.  All in all I love my boy and don't want to let his childhood go...ever.

School

The school year is creeping up on me.  It finally just hit me a week or so ago that it was only a month away.  I cried and cried and cried some more.  Why must my little Chase be growing up so fast?!  : (  I miss him already!

I decided that day that I wanted to take him school shopping and spend a one on one day with him.  I wasn't even sure if I wanted Josh to go or not because I remember going with just my Mom and having so much fun.  Josh expressed his want to be there though so I decided that way okay.  Mom kept Milo for us so we could go and spend a day with just Bub.  He got spoiled rotten, of course!

Slushy for breakfast, who cares!  We found him a cute dinosaur backpack at Target.

He wanted to go into the arcade at the mall - and so it was!  He was excited!  : )

We went to lunch at Gators.  Giggles all around during our silly face photos.

He helped us check off his school supplies list.  I'd help him find what he needed and then he'd throw it in the cart.  He picked out his 2 folders all by himself.  We got turtles and superheroes.

Got it all!  Thumbs up!  He is getting excited!

He was most excited to find new "running shoes" and that is the one thing we didn't end up finding.

But he did get a new little lego set for being a good boy and that made his day!  He played with it for days.  It was a war set and he would ask Josh to play with him and say "lets battle Dad".  Pretty cute!

We ended our special day as a family eating supper on the deck.  It was a perfect day with our boy.

It is all really hitting me even more now.  I don't want my baby to grow up!  : (  I am so clingy right now it's ridiculous.  I don't want to get mad at him at all...I want to tell him YES to everything...I just want every. single. moment. with him to be perfect...and with me.  I so just want to make time stop for a while!  I can't believe he is almost 4 already.  It seriously blows my mind.  I have tears rolling down my cheeks.  I love this boy more than life itself...and his precious childhood is dwindling in front of my eyes.  I knew this would be hard for me.  Just thinking about it at school time last year had me in a funk for a while.  I am scared of school changing him and he not being the little boy I know and love...or him not 'needing' Mommy as much...or him telling me that his teacher did this or that with him or told him this or that and feeling like he thinks more of her than he does of me.  Yes, I worry...a lot. I am SO not ready for this but I am TRYING my hardest to not let the "funk" take over because I want to cherish every moment I get with him.  I love you soo much Chasey Bug!!!

Home Owners

I worked for weeks on looking into a new housing situation for us.  Move, addition, what to do?!  We didn't know.  We were told doing an addition and refinancing would be an option which is what started our whole thought process.  We were excited.  Well - upon further looking into things we have come to find out that Josh makes too much now to be eligible for a loan with no down payment.  We will have to have 20% down payment on anything we'd want to do.  And from what I'm told because we don't really have any equity in our house yet we can't even get a home improvement loan or anything.  : (  How crappy is it that we are bummed for making more money?!  Blah.  So...pretty much we are stuck here, forever it seems.  Ever since finding this out it has been relieving in a way to just have made a decision because we were thinking about it a lot and it was taking up quite a bit of my time calling this person or that person looking into options.  So that part is good. But I have been on operation make this tiny house feel bigger and fix up what has gotten run down.  We are slowly going to work through the house and do small things.  So far we have started on our bedroom.  It drives me the most crazy.  We did our closet completely over and made it so it holds everything that was in there before plus everything we had in our dressers.  We were able to take the dressers out of there so it feels a lot bigger already.  Baby steps and this house will feel a little more comfortable.  ...it has to if we are staying here!  We are hoping to be able to get a small loan to build a shed out back, get a new a/c unit, fix doorways, finish basement stairs, playroom and bathroom downstairs - but we will see if we can or not because most places won't give a loan without collateral.  This made me officially have to accept that the boys will have to share a bedroom at some point.  Good thing we got 2 boys first!  I don't mind it really except for I am dreading giving up Milo's perfect sleep routine.  Who knows though - their sleep routines will probably be completely different by then anyways.  I think they'll probably actually really like it..for a while anyways.  So while I dream of a bigger place - I have to accept the fact that it can't happen right now and make the best of what we do have.  Which is a lot, really.  We have a sturdy solid house - I can't complain.

The Pucker

Milo is all about the kisses now.  FINALLY!!  He makes the cutest pucker too with his lips smashed up against his nose.  : )

Don't mind me...I guess I felt the need to make the face too.  Haha.  It's like when you're feeding a baby and trying to get them to open their mouth your mouth ends up wide open too.  Isn't the pucker the best though?!

Haha - he is so cute and goofy I can't stand it!

Awww!

When we are giving bed time kisses Milo even has to give Chase kisses too.  Chase willingly gives them to him too.  It is one of the sweetest things I've ever seen.  They are so precious to me!

Fresh

There are few things better than a fresh sliced homegrown tomato.  Natures Seasons seasoning (yellow label, blue lid) is a must to put on them too.  Josh ate it growing up on tomatoes and now it is what we use in our house too.  Good stuff!  I like it on cottage cheese, fish and eggs too.

We tried "street corn" for the first time.  You grill it while basting it with butter and turning it til it's tender.  Then you sprinkle it with chili powder and kosher salt, sprinkle on some cheese and right before serving it squeeze fresh lime juice over it.  Oh my goodness - it was sooo tasty!  We both loved it!  So much I had to take a few ears over for Mom and Dad to sample because we wanted everyone else to know how good it was too.  : )

Lego Creations

Chase was playing with legos and then said to Josh "look Dad, it's like yours necklace".  He made a cross out of his legos!  He did this all on his own - how cool!

This isn't legos but still a Chase creation.  He said it is a car.  Very cool car, I think!

Proud of himself!

This here is a lego dog.  Yep, I have the most creative kiddo ever!  I am so loving this stage of creativity and awesomeness!  : )

The Big Move

Jeremy and Colista moved back to Nauvoo!  They wanted to get back to town and we're glad they did!  I am excited to have Colista closer by.  It should be fun.  Jeremy, Colista, Tyson, Vanessa, Josh and I all spent about 5 hours on a Saturday evening moving them to town.  Mom and Dad stayed home with all the kiddos.  We were pretty quick getting it all done.  I know it is a lot of work and not "fun" but I always do enjoy moving day because it is an excuse to all be together.  We always share some good laughs, and to me that makes it all worth it.  If you choose to bring out the best in situations you can make most things fun.  We ended the night chowing down in their new kitchen.  Mom had made fresh green beans and ham, cornbread, chicken wings and chocolate chip cookies.  Dad brought it up to the house for us.  It hit the spot and we all raved about it.  So yummy!  Moms way of contributing.  I felt the love.  : )  Now finally we are all close enough for impromptu dinners and gatherings and walks.  Yay!

Owen's Game And The Egg Roll

Owen's baseball season had come and gone before I even made it to one of his games.  I was mad at myself!  Luckily, he ended up having a tournament a few weeks later so I made sure I made it to one of those games.  It was a late Saturday morning game in Warsaw.  So we went over to Keokuk early to go to the farmers market before the game started.  I ran to HyVee too to get a few things to finish off the meals that I bought stuff for at the market.  While I was at HyVee I bought a few egg rolls for us to munch on.  We love those.  Well...we did.  I don't know that I'll be able to eat them again for a while.  BECAUSE....Milo left one in his car seat stashed away where we didn't see it.  We smelled a stinch in Josh's car a few days later but we thought it was from me leaving a pair of shoes in his car overnight.  I did think that was strange because my feet don't usually smell...but we didn't know what else it would be.  We left the windows down over night and the smell was still there.  Hmm...weird.  Still didn't know why though until we were driving to town THREE DAYS LATER and we look back at Milo and he is EATING AN EGG ROLL!!!! We pulled over and got it away from him as fast as possible and pulled it out of his mouth.  Oh my Lord he smelled SOOOO BAD!!  It literally made me gag.  It was disgusting!  Luckily he did NOT end up getting sick from it..but I don't know how!  Blah!  So gross!  But anyways...I love Warsaws baseball field.  It was a good game to get to go watch.

Another Vaca

You may have noticed Josh being home a lot...well that's because he got another "vacation".  Turns out when the tracks flood the railroad can't work.  Haha.  Luckily, he even got paid while he was off.  Wohoo!  I feel fortunate to have gotten to absorb a lot of summer fun as a family.  We took advantage of it and enjoyed it, that's for sure!  We even got along (almost) the whole time!  Haha.

He was off for about 2 weeks with the exception of 1 day that he went down to Quincy to do something.  I was ready for some one on one with my boys.  I so enjoyed that one morning with them.  When Josh is home I don't feel like I get to absorb them as much as I do when I have them by myself.  So I absorbed fully and enjoyed.  : )

Taylor Time

Josh has started letting Chase play some lego video games occasionally.  I'm not a huge fan of it because I'd rather he just go outside and play..but he does really get excited about it, it's a harmless game and we've been limiting it so I GUESS it isn't that big of a deal.  Haha.  Anyways usually that is "Chase and Daddy time" during Milo's nap in the afternoon...but he has gotten Taylor to play with him a few times too.

Taylor spent a whole day with us last week.  We had breakfast and then hung out a while and then went swimming in the afternoon.  We decided to go to Keokuk because the boys loved it last summer.

We got there right at pool check so we had to sit and wait forever before we could even get in..which was annoying.

...and then we realized that they don't even turn on all the fountains and stuff for the little kids area anymore.  What the crap?!  I was so annoyed!  That is the most of what made this pool fun for them.  We still made the best of it and the boys still had fun...but I do not plan on going back.  Someone posted a picture of the West Burlington public pool though and it looks like fun so we may try that out sometime.

After swimming we came home and Taylor and I sat out on the deck and talked for a few hours while all 3 boys took a nap.  It was a relaxing day!  I don't have days where I let myself just relax and not do any chores often.  Both boys will just go sit in her lap like this.  I told Milo to say cheese and he squinted his eyes shut instead.  Haha.  Cutie!  We are fans of Aunt Taylor around here.  She would do anything for our boys and we would do anything for her.

My Healing Babes

I have been having a hard time with depression, anxiety and not ever feeling like I'm doing anything right off and on.  One week I'm good and the next I'm not.  Somehow the boys just know how to make me better .  I try not to let them sense if I'm having a bad day but unfortunately I'm not always perfect.  But who is?  Right?  The healing part about it is that they still love me and admire me through my downfalls...just like I admire and love them even when they misbehave.  I guess that is a good display of love and forgiveness without even thinking about it.  They learn by example, that's for sure.  Chase is so sweet.  A lot lately he is randomly telling me he loves me and giving me hugs just because.  And his newest thing that he says a lot and said for the first time when I needed to hear it the most was "you a really good Mom, Mom".  : )  I think that is exactly what every Mom needs to hear!  I know I do!  Thanks Chase, you're amazing!  Milo has started puckering up for smooches more and passing out even more affection which always makes me feel good too.  Seriously just as I was typing this Chase just said "Chrisha, I wuv you" and Milo crawled up by me and puckered up for a kiss.  How can this not make me feel better?!  They are amazing!  Thank you God for giving them to me!

They're Back

Vanessa and the boys went out to Nevada for a week to see Amanda and the girls and bring Tristin home with them.  They got home at 5am and Tyson got called to work in the morning.  Everyone else in their house was tired except for this little man - so I got to keep him!  I was excited.  I got hugs.  He put his head on my shoulder.  He even gave Uncle Josh hugs too.  He's a sweet squishy baby!

Watermelon time!  Haha isn't this face the funniest?!

We took all 3 boys on a walk mid morning.  Both Harley and Milo zonked out on the way back home.  Tired baby!

Chase said he could sleep in his bed so that is where we stuck him with pillows all around so he wouldn't roll off.  He looked so comfy.  : )

It was back outside for some summer air after naps.  It was perfect in the shade.

I loved this moment.  To me this is perfection.  Outside sitting in the shade on a blanket with 3 boys that I love surrounding me.  Yep, perfect.

Ain't he cute?  He was an angel for us.  No problem at all.  He fits right in around here.  : )

Just when we think Tristin won't get taller while he's gone he does again.  He was only gone I think 5 or 6 weeks this time and he seriously grew a ton!  He's taller than me now.  He was sure to point that out.  Haha.

Red Neck Baby

Seriously..I know it looks bad.  Haha.  I have no idea where his pants were.  The boots were his doing.  We opened the door to go to the grill and out the door he went.  He was having fun so we didn't stop him.  This is why it is a good thing we don't have many neighbors.  ; )  I think he's stinkin' cute no matter what!

Amy's

We FINALLY made it over to Amy's to swim for the first time!  It was only July before we did.  Geesh!  The water was nice and warm, it was sunny out...it was perfect!  We just took chips and salsa and drinks and we were all happy campers.  : )

Milo is very calm and not nervous a bit in the water.  He amazes me!  The boys were swimming and playing around so independently that Josh and I both actually even got to take turns laying on a raft.  It was AMAZING!  I hadn't gotten to do that in years.  I didn't realize that was such a luxury until I had kids.  Haha.

Chase was jumping in by himself and going under over and over and over again.  We skipped out on swimming lessons this year but I think they are doing just fine for their ages!  Pool time is fairly easy this summer.  Next summer should be even easier.  ...the summer after that we'll see...could be baby #3 by then.  But for this summer and next anyways I say Ahhh no baby!  ; )  Hopefully this was our first of many swim stops at Amy's this summer.

Nauvoo Fireworks

So the Sunday after the 4th is when Nauvoo ended up having their fireworks.  This was the first year in quite a few that we had a show.

Chase was tickling Milo.  Look at him smile at his big bro - he loves him and looks up to him so much!

Mr. Personality!

Jeremy and Colista brought the kiddos to watch too.  Eden was scared for her life.  Asher was amazed.  He was fun to listen to.  He was counting the booms and saying different ones were his favorites.  Really cute.

Mom and Dad came down too.

Cullen and Liam were laying on a blanket on their belly's.  Next thing I know Milo is down there next to them on his belly too.  So cute!  Chase jumped in too when he saw Milo was getting attention for it..all cute either way!

The show was good.  It was way better than Keokuks.  It was cool to see the park full of people.  It is a great location to do it.  I think it isn't a terrible idea to do it the Sunday after the 4th every year.  We seemed to get a really good turn out and I bet a lot of that was because we didn't have any competition that night.  ..and that concludes Independence Day 2014.  This year was a good one!