Here we go!

Hey y'all!! I have good news! Actually..lots of good news!!

1. I've been having computer issues.  It was driving me batty.  I called my hubby at work on Monday and politely told him the laptop would be laying in the driveway for him to run over when he got home because I had just tossed it out the window.  Ok...I didn't really throw it out the window. But I did call and tell him I was going to.  I've been using his old desk top to update as I could.  Then yesterday I ran to pick up dinner while he was on his way home from work.  When I got home, there was something on the island covered with a blanket.  Would you believe that sweet man surprised me with a brand spankin' new macbook pro?!!!  I couldn't believe it myself!  He loves me. :)  He said to consider it his "contribution to my blog." Haha...

2.  Wednesday night we signed our life away to get some new windows!  36 new windows to be exact!  The company we are using makes their own windows, so we have to wait about 4-6 weeks, but I cannot wait!!!!!

3.  It's birthday plannin' time again!  That's right, my sweet Walker man will be 1 on April 28th!!  I am doing a baseball theme for his party, and already having so much fun planning it!! You know I love to throw a good birthday party!

4.  Roof and dormer work will begin Monday!!!  The contractor said he will need 8-10 days to build the dormer and my dad will be doing the roof in the meantime!  I will take lots of pictures of everything!  Here are some pictures of what we are working with....

This is how we found the upstairs when we bought the house.  I did not take these pictures.  If you'll recall, I was too scared to go up.  Does the crib and rocker give anyone else the heebie-jeebies???

Here is the first time I went up!  This is after they took the walls down and rebuilt the floors and roof supports!  Don't I look thrilled? See how I'm RIGHT above the stairs incase I need to make a quick escape?! :)

Old roof support...

New roof support...

Framing the rooms and bathroom

Sheetrock up!

This is where I stopped taking pictures, because we have just been using the space as attic.  Do any of you have a closet that you open juuuuuuust a crack big enough to throw something else in and then SLAM the door shut really fast so you aren't involved in an avalanche??  THAT is the best way to describe our upstairs. :)  We have some work to do before Monday....

Random Facts

What's that saying, "when it rains, it pours??"  Something like that.  Anywho-the same week my laptop decided it was full and wouldn't allow me to upload any more pictures, it also decided to quit charging.  So, it's basically useless until I buy a new charger.  I'm hoping that's the only problem.  Thank goodness the hubs set up the good ol' desk top so I can tell you guys of my laptop woes! 
Since I'm on this old computer, I figured I could use this time to show you some old pictures!  I recently read that blog readers like when the blogger shares personal details about themselves and their life.  It helps us connect.  Or something like that.  So here you have it....10 random facts about me....complete with OLD pictures!

1. I've been kidnapped.  Ok, not REALLY kidnapped.  But close enough.  My bridesmaids wrapped my head in toilet paper, cuffed my hands behind my back, and threw me into a car.  Then made me stay like that while they drove me to an undisclosed location for my bachelorette party.  It was fun.  And scary.  At least the one who was driving fed me candy while we rode.  :)

2.  Literally as far back as I can remember, I've wanted to be a wife and mother.  I couldn't WAIT to get married and have babies!!  Maybe that's why I scared off so many boyfriends.  Maybe they could tell I was constantly wondering in my head if they were the one I was going to marry.  Ha.  I also bought my wedding dress before I was engaged.  True story!  At least I was dating the man I was going to marry! Haha! I just called him casually and told him my mom and I had gone to a bridal store at lunch and I bought a dress!  Scared the dickens outta him.... :)

3.  I had the same best friend from the time I was 9 years old.  I met her in 4th grade and we stayed best friends ever since. She moved to Florida for work, and we kind of grew apart in the past few years, but we do our best to stay in touch.  She was my maid of honor.  (Along with my sister.)  I miss her.  A lot.

4.  Ben and I both adore the beach, and our children seem to be beach babies too.  I lived in Hilton Head before I moved here, and was minutes from the beach, and Ben grew up spending his summers at Myrtle Beach.  We go as often as we can, and the kids LOVE it.  Well, Audrey loves it.  Walker was just a couple months old when he went last summer, but I know he will love it this year.  I can't wait to put my toes in the sand!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. I have owned my dream car.  All my life I wanted a Mustang. I never really thought I would get one.  Ben took me "just to look" one random day when we were first married, and I left with a new Mustang GT!  We didn't keep it long...just long enough to fulfill the dream! Haha!

 

6. I have surfed in Hawaii.  I was not GOOD at surfing by any means, but it's still cool to say I did it!  Ben's family took us the summer after we got engaged.  Best vacation ever! We have full intentions of going back!!

 

7.  I am a TV addict.  My guilty pleasure I guess.  I get hooked on a show and then watch the same episodes over and over.  For many years it was Friends.  Then I switched to Grey's Anatomy.  Then I started Army Wives.  And Dexter.  Plus all the crazy reality shows that are probably considered a sin to watch.  The Bachelor, Dancing with the Stars, Sweet Home Alabama, Biggest Loser, Celebrity Apprentice....the list goes on and on.

8.  I love college football and baseball.  If you live in the south, it's pretty much a given.  We know not to schedule vacations, weddings, birthday parties, or anything like that from September-November.  If it's a Saturday, we are either in front of the TV or at the game.  I love me some Gamecock baseball too!! College World Series Back to Back champs!! 

9. I would love to visit every state in the US, but I have no desire what so ever to leave the country.  I know some of you are trying to lift your jaw back up off the floor.  I'm just not a big traveler.  Thankfully, neither is Ben.  We are perfectly happy staying in the good ol' USA.

10.  I married someone who is the exact opposite of me.  I know some people don't believe in the whole opposites attract theory, but in our case, it's true!  Ben would love to throw a party and have a house full of people every night of the week.  I'm happy with just my hubby and my babies at home all snuggled in bed together watching TV, or playing a game.  Ben loves outdoor stuff-camping, hunting, fishing, kayaking, hiking, you name it.  I am much happier in the air condition with clean bathroom facilities and bug free.  Ben doesn't plan a thing in his life.  I think you know I'm the opposite.  Ben is not a worrier...he thinks things will just work themselves out.  (He's usually right about this.)  Ben is a dreamer.  I am a realist.  You get the picture.  But, it works for us.  We're coming up on 5 years of marriage!  This picture was taken about a month after we started dating.

Inspired

Hey friends!  I thought I would share something with you that I have been thinking about a lot lately.  I love to read.  Books, magazines, and of course blogs!  I have recently fallen in love with a new blog, called 71 Toes. Do you ever just read something that makes you stop in your tracks and really THINK?  That's what this woman has done.  She has a beautiful family, and seems to be in such control.  (Even though she constantly reassures her readers that she's not as put together as she seems!)  I just think it is amazing how we can be inspired by someone we have never even met, and know so little about!  She reached me on many levels, and has truly had me thinking about my life and my purpose since I came across her blog.  She is a fantastic wife, mother, and homemaker.  She is an amazing photographer, and just really seems to have her life together in every aspect.  I connected with this woman as I read her blog, and have since decided to adopt one of her yearly habits.  Each year, she comes up with one word that she will have as her word for the year.  She strives to remember that word in everyday occurrences, and has found that it really makes her a better and more purposeful woman.  You can read about her words for the past few years, and how she came to decide on which word she would choose here. 
I instantly loved this idea and started thinking of my perfect word.  It really is a daunting task, to choose just a single word that will serve a purpose for me through the year.  Obviously, I want this word to help me be better.  In every sense.  I started thinking about the places and ways I struggle in life.  Don't take this the wrong way and think I am complaining.  I have an amazing life.  It's everything I ever dreamed it would be.  We are blessed beyond belief and my family truly is the best around.  It's the way I HANDLE things that I feel could use some improvement.  I am an over analyzer.  I think way too much and feel like I have to have a plan for every single thing I am going to do.  Because I spend so much time planning, thinking, writing lists, ordering things by priority, etc, I've realized it is keeping me from actually crossing things OFF my millions of lists.  Don't get me wrong, lists can be helpful, and I'll always be a planner, but thinking about this has brought me to my word of the year. 

DO.

I am a happy person.  I love life, and have a good attitude about things most of the time.  (Until you make me mad. :))  But, lately I have been feeling more....snippy.  I've found myself snapping at people easier and quicker.  The people I love.  The people who really matter to me.  My husband comes home and is barely in the door and I'm snapping at him.  My kids seem to be just too loud and too much to deal with lately.  That's not right, and it's not me.  I lay awake at night wondering how and why I've allowed myself to snap so easily.  I realized quickly it's because I am overwhelmed and stressed.  But what do I really have to be stressed about??  I am living my DREAM.  I get to stay home and raise my babies.  My job consists of keeping up with our household duties, and taking care of my family.  How much better could it get??  Why am I allowing myself to feel so overwhelmed by these things??  It's because I am not staying on top of things, and getting so "far behind" in my eyes that I don't allow myself to stop and enjoy life anymore!!  Taking a 20 minute break from cleaning to play hide and seek with my kids would surely lift my spirits, and the dust will still be there waiting for me when I get back.  So why is it so hard for me??  I have to change this!  

No more spending 2 hours planning how I will get the house cleaned the next day by writing down every room and closet in my house and ordering how I'll clean them by how long it will take.  (Yes, I really have done this.  More than once...)  Just DO it.

No more sitting at the computer drooling over people's gorgeous photos that I wish I could learn to take in manual mode on my wonderful camera my husband got me over a year ago.  Just go DO it.  Learn how to take those photos by DOING it.

No more telling myself I just need cute new work out clothes, or a gym membership, or more time to lose weight.  No more excuses of why it's not worth it when I know we aren't done having babies.  Just get up, throw on a junky tshirt and shorts, and DO it.

No more saying I am going to cook more if I could just find the time to go grocery shopping more regularly and plan my menus better.  Just DO it.

No more feeling guilty at the end of the day because I didn't play with the kids enough.  Why do I tell my 3 year old everyday that mommy has too much to get done, and can't play dollhouse for 10 minutes??  I'm pretty sure I'll still have dirt on the floors and dishes in the sink in 20, 30, 50 years, but my precious little girl will be grown and gone from my house.  Gone from my lap.  Gone from my bed.  Just put the laundry basket down, let the cleaner soak in the toilet, allow the dust to accumulate on the coffee table for just 10 more minutes, and tell her YES, I'll play dollhouse.  Yes, let's go outside.  Yes, I'll have a tea party.  Stop thinking of what will happen if I don't get all the laundry done today, and just DO the things that really matter.

OK, anyone else picturing the Nike commercials?  Just DO it.  Haha....anyway, you get my point.  My word of 2012 is DO.  I'm praying that I'll remind myself of it every single day and do the things I really want to do.  Life is short.  Too short to spend so much time planning and wishing and wondering and figuring things out.  I hope you'll check out 71 Toes, and challenge yourself to think of a word for this year too.  Push yourself to be better. 

P.S.  This does not mean I won't still break out in hives when my husband randomly asks if I want to go to the beach when we are sitting on the couch at 9:30 at night.  I will NEVER be THAT spontaneous!  :)

The Dream

Thought I would drop in and share our inspiration photo with you for the dormer project!!  In case you haven't seen it, here is the front view of our house as it is now.  Well, now that I look at it, this isn't really how it looks now.  This is the picture I took before we even bought it....BUT the structure is the same.  We have switched to black shutters, painted the front door black, and trimmed the bushes across the front so they don't look so much like the bushes you see at the bank.  But you get the idea...

And here is the picture we are giving the contractor!  We hope to get it as close as possible!

We love love love it!!  One day a looooooooooong time from now, we will have the attached garage as well! :)  Did I mention a long time from now?  Ok good.  For now, we are thrilled to add this gorgeous dormer to the house!

On Hold

Well....I was PLANNING to show you our powder room today!  I took the pictures...I uploaded the pictures...annnnnddd would you believe that I have somehow managed to completely FILL the hard drive on my laptop!?  I got a nice little alert from IPhoto kindly saying I had no more room to add more pictures. Major bummer.  So, it looks like I'll be getting an external hard drive to transfer all my pictures to!  Until then, I can't upload anymore!!  :(  I'll be sure to have it all taken care of by the weekend!  On a brighter note, we have officially crossed our T's and dotted our I's for the roof/dormer/window project I mentioned before!!!!!  Work will begin next week!!!  I am SO excited!  We will be replacing every window in the house with some gorgeous, clean, brand spankin' new vinyl replacement windows!!  WOOHOO!!  The dormer will be built out from the top of our steps, and we are adding 4 windows in it as well.  Meanwhile, my dad will be replacing our roof!  We are just beyond ourselves with excitement and gratitude that we are able to get these things done!!  My hope is that we have budgeted accurately and will have enough left over to completely finish the upstairs!  I just don't even know what I would do with all that extra space!  I'll be sure to take tons of pictures of all 3 projects, and I hope you'll be joining in the fun with us! :) 

I can't share the NEW pictures I took, but I CAN show you a few I took this past weekend!  We got to hit the lake for the first time this season, and Walker's disgruntlement with wearing a life jacket was just too funny not to share! :)  Audrey is a pro by now!

Before we headed to church.  We kept the nursery last week, so we dressed down a bit and Audrey felt the need to wear her lei. 

He's getting so big!! Almost 11 months!!

Pulling the boat down the ramp

The rest don't even need a caption.  Enjoy! :)

High Five For Friday

Today I am linking up with a new blog I found through another one I read.  Go here to link up too!  Here are my 5 things I have loved about this week!

1. After dinner walks!  Even though it messes with our normal 8:00 bedtime routine, we are loving the gorgeous weather and taking advantage of the sun staying up so late!  We enjoyed a beautiful family wagon walk after dinner on Wednesday, and it was so nice to just look at the beauty around us and chat about our day!

2.These 2 goobers.  Even though this particular picture shows how they proudly teamed up to open the fridge and remove everything from the door shelves.  So what if my salad dressings got an extra shake?  No harm done.  They still light up my life even when they make messes.



3. The Hunger Games.  Not much to say except I CANNOT PUT IT DOWN!!!!  I blame this book for the fridge incident...


4.  Good health.  After a NASTY week with what I'm sure was the flu, we are all finally healthy again!

5.  Spring is here!!! I am so excited for warm weather, playing outside, and beach/pool days to come!  Oh, and getting some color on these pastey legs!!


We have so much to be thankful for!! It's nice to take the time to think about it all! Hope you all have a great weekend!

Hanging in there...

Does March seem like the craziest time of the year for anyone else?  I can't really decide WHY it seems so crazy, but I feel like every year around March I just feel like I'm losing my mind!  Maybe it's just spring fever!!!  Anyway-I'm still alive and hanging in there. :)  The past couple of weeks I have been MIA working on my new preschool room!! I am opening up a small private preschool this August in our home, and have been working hard trying to get it ready for an open house I had last week.  So far I have about 5 kiddos, which is exactly what I was hoping for.  We'll see how many more I can recruit!!  I will definitely show you pictures of the room, but it will be later on this summer after I get it all done.  I was just trying to get it "done" enough for the open house, and all the fun finishing touches will come later!  I'll keep you posted.  

Walker has a little bug right now and is just a whiney mess.  Poor thing.  I hate when they are sick!!  I have my dining room table all nice and Eastery.  I'll take some pictures of that room if my dear husband ever ends up installing the wine glass rack I bought for our hutch.  You'll see it....one day.  Sorry for the lack of posts lately!! Just trying to get all my ducks in a row.  Hopefully I can pick back up soon!  Here are a few recent pics of the babies! :)

My little ladies man

Sweet girl at the park

Ice cream for dinner.  What a treat!!  Sorry about the picture quality-this is from my cell phone

She's such a goof!!

Trouble with a capital T!