Busy but Fun Weekend

Yet another weekend has blown by! I swear I really don't know where the time has gone! We had a GREAT weekend and we were pretty productive in between our busy schedule! We got Ann Mason's room ALMOST finished! I am so excited about the way it turned out. The only things we have left to do is hang a shelf and then right before Christmas we get her bow holder and Painted Canvas from Melissa at http://melbelleart.blogspot.com/ I am SO pumped about both of those.

Of course there are SO many things I would still love to do but unfortunately my budget thinks differently. :) I don't know why my budget won't allow for a totally girly chandelier in the middle of the room or an overly expensive rug to match the bedding? But I think Ann Mason will be happy in her new room! We took the rocker from Palmer's room and placed it in Ann Mason's room, I am SO glad we were able to use this rocker in there too! So, here are some of the pics from the weekend of her room.

Here is her vanity :) I actually had this in my room since I was 13, maybe one day she will sit and do her hair just like I did! The pink chick is a light that matches her bedding and the pink pale says Chicks Rule :) heehee



Here is the rocker now in Ann Mason's room and the AWESOME
taggy blanket that I got on Etsy.com - Noodles and Milk



My crafty project with ribbons and frames!



A view of the crib, frames, rocker and curtains!

Pictures with the Hot Pink curtains!

So I don't know what other mothers do during the winter :) My son LOATHES being in the house for more than like 3 hours at a time. This makes things quite difficult when the weather is FREEZING outside. I think that if we go to the mall one more time to play on the steamboat I might scream :0 We have now learned that the Bass Pro Shop is a great place to go to keep kids entertained! haha We are even resorting going to Costco tonight to walk around and see what they have to offer. What do other moms do when it is cold outside, any suggestions? Or do most kids just not hate being inside as much as my little rascal!

Speaking of the rascal here is a picture of him and Aunt Ashley! The LOVE each other now.

Since, I realize that not every night can be filled with walking around the above mentioned shops I thought maybe craft hour once a week would help fill some time inside the house. When I was little one of my favorite things to do at Christmas was make a construction paper chain with the countdown to how many days until Christmas. I thought this would be perfect for us to make so we started the chain with Dec 1st and with each day we wrote things we were thankful for. Of course being the dork that I am I was REALLY into this and by the 5th day Palmer and Tex had lost all interest and Palmer was biting off the tips of his crayons and Tex was doodling on some paper while I was screaming "We have 20 days left what the heck are you thankful for!" Tex said this is exactly why I need a little girl who will love doing these things with her mommy cause I am certainly not going to get that out of those two boys! Needless to say I completed the chain the rest of the way with no help from them, but I think it turned out great~ :)

2 Pregnant Moms + 2 Toddlers at the Mall = Disaster

So, I am SO thankful to have met an awesome friend kind of thru Palmer. Nikki and I first met when she was 10 weeks pregnant with Reid and I was 6 weeks pregnant with Palmer. Our paths did not cross again really until one day I realized that the Reid in Palmer's new daycare class was actually the Reid that belonged to Nikki so I immediately emailed her and we had an instant connection thru the boys. The more we hang out the more we find out we have a lot in common and our husbands like each other too which makes things even that more awesome! :)

So fast forward to last night. Nikki is now 36 weeks pregnant with Baby Cook #2 and I am 26 weeks pregnant with Ann Mason. (How great, we are good at planning these things!) So, being the "fun" moms we are, we decided to meet at the holy grail of wintertime the mall! As a mom you quickly find "free resources" to take your kids to during the winter months and the mall is one of the best and cheapest options there is! Thanks to Oxmoor mall there is a big steamship where moms and kids gather to have some moments of fun. Reid and Palmer thought it was great and like to run and jump and play with the rest of the kids. Of course Palmer was everywhere and constantly running around and now his big thing is climbing over stuff and landing on his bottom! As I am picking him up I apologize to a mom that is standing there looking horrified. She looks at me and said "No, I am sorry my daughter peed on the steamboat and I am just making sure no one gets in it" At that point I hear the older sister of maybe 5 scream "My sister peeeeeeeed everywhere!" and a little girl standing there with soaked hot pink stretch pants! Ok, so seriously Palmer has yet to do that, I felt so bad for the mom but I couldn't contain my laughter as I met Nikki around the other side and we decided our day was not that bad :)

That is until we hit pottery barn kids. Nikki had never had the full pleasure of letting Reid run free in the PBK store. Luckily I learned of this little haven from my sister-in-law. I think Nikki thought that we really weren't supposed to be letting Palmer and Reid run free with whatever toy they wanted but I assured her that at any given time there were at least 15 kids doing the same thing, so it seemed like the reasonable thing to do. :) Palmer LOVES pottery barn kids and HATES having to leave. Just 3 days ago Tex and I took him out of the store and I proceeded to walk really fast in front of them because Palmer was flailing around and screaming :) So, Tex and I have definitely dealt with the walk of shame out of pottery barn kids when your child is screaming and other parents are giving you "that pity" look that says I am sorry you don't have any control of your kid. :)

So, Nikki and I realize that it is time to go when Palmer laid on the floor and started rolling around and Reid kind of zoned out and looked like he had, had enough. :) So we pick the 2 kids up and start to exit the store. Palmer started crying slightly but since this was Reid's first time having to exit the pottery barn kids haven he really had the meltdown. So, we get both kids out in front of the store and attempt to strap them in their strollers. This seems like a simple enough task,right? WRONG! Any mother that has had a toddler knows that they can lock their little bodies up so tight that you are practically breaking their little legs and arms to get them to sit down in, for instance a high chair or a stroller. Palmer has "locked up" at many a restaurant and to the other patrons horror we have tried to "unlock" his legs by shoving them through the highchair holes whilst he is screaming holy terror! Well, last night it was Reid's turn to "lock up" in front of pottery barn and let me tell you that the kid is a pro at "locking up". Nikki (who again is pretty much 9 months pregnant) is on her knees while Reid is locked up and arching his back meanwhile screaming like he is getting beat by a stick. :) I am contributing nothing but crossing my legs so I don't pee on myself cause I am laughing so hard!

So, here we are 2 very pregnant mommies with 2 uncooperative toddlers, one of which has his body locked up so tight it looks like he is going to break in half! You would not believe the people that actually stopped mid walking and turned to stare! That made me laugh harder. We either got the "pity looks" from other parents, the "horrified" looks that said that is exactly why I am not having children or the "confused" looks of people wondering why we decided to jump in feet first and have a second child when we can't get our first children calmed down! After some coaxing and both Nikki and I "helping" Reid get in his stroller we finally got him strapped in or at least buckled in enough to where he couldn't get out and or hurt himself :)

As I said bye to Nikki we both had that mom look of why do we try to do these things? We love our boys more than anything in the world but some outings with them can be truly exhausting. We decided it would have been much better to have gotten chick-fil-a to go and eaten it at someones house :)

But nights like last night make me realize I am NORMAL! :) I love Nikki to death and her and I are on kind of the same "mom page" and it makes me realize that I am not the only one who feels like I just can't get it together sometimes! I am sure most moms feel that way.

Reid and Palmer are the best of friends and they had a great time despite the meltdowns, here are a few pics of them playing! Nikki and I have decide that we deserve pedicures this week without kids!

So, here is to moms everywhere that have been "that" mom out in public with the "locked up" screaming child! We feel your pain and we will never give you the pity look!

Palmer and Reid playing in the Bus

Countdown to Ann Mason!

I have made to 100 days until my scheduled due date!!! HOORAY! For some reason I have waited to get to this milestone in both of my pregnancies! Tex and I got the pleasure of seeing our little baby girl this morning via ultrasound and I am so pleased that she is growing perfectly!!! This was the best growth she has had and she is pretty much right on target now and in the 20%!!! She weighs 1 pd 7 oz so think of a little bigger than a 20oz coke!

She looked SO cute all curled up in there and her legs and arms were up my her face. My favorite thing was that she had chubby cheeks!!! I asked if that really was fat and the tech said indeed it was!!! I can't wait to hold a newborn in my arms and experience that joy over again! I feel like I am already anxious and I still have a ways to go!

I am 25 weeks now and have 14 more to go! Not too bad. I don't go back for another 4 weeks but then on Dec 10th I will go back weekly!

More to come.....

Wild and Crazy week!

Well, another week has escaped me! I don't know how this is happening, things just seem to be going so quickly :) This weekend proved to be another exciting yet super busy weekend. You know the kind of weekend where you stop to look and it is 7 pm on Sunday night and you don't understand how that happened :) It seems like Tex and I try to do too many things on the weekends and end up wearing ourselves out. That is something we have to work on but it is just our personalities and we continue to do it and continue to be exhausted :)

I downloaded my pictures in the wrong order so I am going to go backwards on the weekend re-cap! Sunday we decided to do a lot to the nursery, Tex finished up most of the painting (minus a few touch ups that need to be done) and then with a lot of co-ercing he put together the crib. So, I got to place most of the furniture, put on the crib bedding, and lay out the shams and duvet cover on the full bed. It is a rough idea of what the nursery will look like but it is coming together. We still don't have the curtains hung, things on the wall, bed skirts for the crib and bed but you can get an idea. I love it, I think I will want to spend a lot of time in there! Funny enough we have caught Molly sleeping in the bed for the past few nights and Palmer thinks it is his new favorite room! Little does he know what is going to be coming to that room :)

View of the crib and dresser... (the rocker will go in the corner with the ottoman)

View of the green walls and the full bed with matching bedding

Close up view of the crib and bedding

This next photo could be one of my all time favorite Palmer pics! He loves bath time and Sunday night mommy went a little overboard with the bubbles and he thought they were hilarious! I have to admit our nighttime routine which includes bath time is one of the most special times of the day! How can you be upset with this face????

Now back tracking to Friday we headed to Owensboro to visit Tex's family and to attend Ethans b-day on Saturday. Unfortanetly for whatever reason my sweet 18 month old boy is NOT a cooperative traveler. I have fretted about this time after time but I have come to the conclusion that this is just the make up of Palmer and he is not one for change and new surroundings at this stage in the game. This being said... Traveling is tough on me. Palmer just gets so excited and over stimulated that he stays up all night crying and is just one big walking meltdown.

With me being 6 months pregnant, trying to work full time and running after an 18 month old this in turn, turned mommy into one big walking meltdown as well. So our stay in Owensboro didn't go as planned as usual but we moved on and pushed thru to the birthday party. I am confident that one day Palmer will adapt easier but for right now he likes his bed, his house and his routine and Tex and I are going to have to be ok with that :)

He did seem to make it thru the b-day party in great spirits after the restless night. He LOVES his cousins more than anything and LOVED hanging out with "the big kids" here are a few action shots.....

Palmer got caught literally red handed digging into the cake

He is going in for another "secret" swipe

I loved this picture cause it is him sitting with the "big kids"

Katelyn (his ever conscienous cousin) kept informing me that

Palmer was only eating his chips and not his hot dog :) I told

her that we had to pick our battles with him sometimes haha

All in all it was a good weekend. It seems I wear down faster than I did when I was pregnant with Palmer. I guess this is normal with the second pregnancy? We are looking forward to some weekends at home and for a LONG Thanksgiving weekend! WOOHOO!

I get to go see Ms. Ann Mason on Friday for an ultrasound so I will hopefully FINALLY get some good shots of her and post them!

In the Blink of an Eye...

I just don't know how life happens so fast? I feel like I have been in the "moment" with Palmer and truly enjoy each day with him and I try not to think about the future but then I look back at these pictures and it is SO hard for me to believe that it has been a year already since last Halloween and that my baby isn't a baby anymore but rather a thriving toddler that is constantly exploring this big world!

This is last years picture from Halloween!

And this years picture!

This picture makes me laugh and tear up at the same time! I love that he gets so excited! He is definitley my child and doesn't do much half hearted. He loves hard, plays hard, cries hard and sleeps hard there is no in between with Palmer!

Tex and I just have so much fun with him it makes my heart hurt. I just love being around him and doing things with and for him, I guess that is what it means to be a parent....

PS We painted AM's room this weekend and just have some touch ups to do! I tried to take pictures but they came out dark, I will try again when the furniture is in there!