Pumpkin Patch 2011

We drove over to Heflin, AL last Saturday to meet up with some friends for a trip to Bennett Farms pumpkin patch. Finley had a good time and it was great to see my friends and their babies. Unfortunately, we were too busy chasing kids to actually carry on a conversation, but that's just the way it is nowadays. I left my memory card at home and realized it when we arrived so I got no pictures. Thankfully, the others played photographer for me. While we were on the hayride out to the pumpkin patch, Finley got a piece of hay stuck in the back of her throat which made her gag and then puke on the hayride. Yeah, it happened. She recovered quickly and I made it through the episode without puking which took considerable effort on my part. Just thinking about it makes me queasy. After the patch, we stopped at a BBQ place for lunch and then headed home. It was a fun day!

Finley Goes to School.

Finley started Mother's Morning Out this fall. This is her first time to be in any sort of school/daycare setting so it was rough at first. She goes two 1/2 days a week. She cried each time I dropped her off for about 2 weeks. Then, slowly but surely, the tears turned to one tear and then the one tear turned to a little sniffle and now she tells me bye with a smile and joins her friends at their table. She really enjoys it! Her teacher, Miss Debbie, says that she does great. I was a little worried at first because she is in an older 2's class with 6 other kids. So far, 4 of the six have already turned 3. I actually think it works out though. She plays better with kids who are older and I think she is learning a lot from them. I always thought my favorite part would be the 4 hours I had to myself, but it's not. My favorite part is all the cute art projects she brings home. I LOVE them! They do all kinds of fun things. They celebrate birthdays, the fire truck came to visit, they have Bible story time with a storyteller, they play on the playground and they always have fun little activities going on in the classroom. I couldn't be happier with her teacher or the program!

Mom of the Year Moments:
1.) Picture day was a couple weeks ago and I forgot and sent Finley to school in a summer outfit because I hadn't gotten her any fall clothes yet and I stuck a clip in her barely brushed hair that didn't match her outfit. Oh well! I'm sure it won't be the last time that happens.
2.) I forgot to pick up a calendar at the beginning of September so I sent Finley to school in a pink and brown outfit on "Yellow Day". At the orientation, the director told us to make sure and get a calendar because we may not care that it's "Yellow Day", but our child will be very upset when he or she gets to school and is the only one not wearing yellow. I'm pretty sure Finley had no idea, but I felt bad :(

Finley has her school Halloween party in a couple weeks. I'm so excited! I'm making spider cupcakes ;)

Baby Efan :)

Two days a week, I keep a friend's baby. His name is Ethan, but Finley calls him Baby Efan. It has been great! It takes my mind off being sick, it's great training for when my second one gets here and Finley gets to practice being a big sister. She loves it! She plays with Ethan's toys and follows Dixie (their dog) around the house. We take walks to see the horses and cows and read books to Ethan. My favorite is when she calls him "Buddy". She'll say "what's wrong buddy" or "look buddy". I was surprised at how well she reacted to me holding another child. She has never shown any jealousy. I have a feeling that will change once she realizes that the new baby is here to stay ;) For now, I'm enjoying seeing her in this new situation.

Wordless Wednesday

One year ago today :)

DIY

I saw a great inexpensive DIY curtain project on a blog I follow called abode love. You should check it out. It's in my side bar. She makes amazing things for her house. She made a feather chandelier! Anyway, she made curtain panels out of canvas drop cloths. They look so good and I am definitely going to make these. Actually my MIL is going to make them because they do have to be hemmed and I can't sew.

Here's are a few pics. I wouldn't mind staying in that guest room. It's beautiful, but cozy.





I love the little balls she used as trim. I think I'll do the same thing in a different color. I want to put them in Finley's playroom. Originally I wanted to do roman shades, but they have to be custom made because the windows are a weird size and it would cost an arm and a leg to have 5 custom shades made plus the cost of fabric. These panels will do :)

New stuff...

I got a few new things for the house recently.

My mom got a Pottery Barn Rewards certificate and generously donated it to the "Make this house look like adults live here" project. I was able to get some curtains for my kitchen window. I've had my eye on these for a while and I'm so excited that they're mine!




I was so glad to get the blinds down. They keep all the natural light out of the room. I plan to take down all the blinds in my house eventually.

I want to get two of these fixtures for over the sink.



and I want to get this for over the island.



I also found this ottoman at TJ Maxx for $80!!! I LOVE it! I love anything that's gray and tufted. Bonus: the top opens up for storage.

Lately...

-I joined Pinterest (so addictive) I thought I would pin mostly ideas for the house, but I keep finding myself browsing through pictures of food.

-We had a dinner/movie date with The Harbucks. We ate at La Paz and saw Friends with Benefits. It was pretty good. I expected it to be funnier, but it was a cute movie nonetheless.

-We went to Point Mallard with Katie and Abby. Finley was so grouchy when we first arrived, but she loosened up after a while. She even used her floating ring like a big girl. I didn't even take my camera so I don't have any pics. It's kind of nice to leave it behind once in a while. We saw a large child get stuck in a swing and then we watched with our hands over our mouths to keep from laughing as her large mother, large grandmother and large brother tried to get her out. Immediately after she was freed, another large child tried to get in, but was stopped by a lifeguard. It was a baby swing. The kind with leg holes. Say what you will about me...it was hilarious. It would never have happened if people would keep their big kids out of the baby area. This kid was like 6 years old and she was wearing floaties. Her hands were bigger than her floaties. I sprayed Finley with 50 sunscreen every 30 minutes like a psycho, but did I put any on? Nope. My back and arms are lobster-esque. Strapless bra the rest of the week.

-SOUND OFF: People, when you're at a water park and you bring your 8 year old son to play in the area with baby swings and a foot and a half of water, don't be surprised if you get a dirty look when your 8 year old boy falls on top of my 2 year old little girl and submerges her under water just as I have convinced her that this is a safe place and she won't go under water. You're not fooling anyone...we know you have your child in the baby area (again, it's like a foot of water) because you're too lazy to make sure your child doesn't drown in the areas meant for his age. If you can't tell, this happened to Finley and it took everything I had not say something really ugly to the parents. The lazy a** parents didn't even say "I'm sorry" or ask if Finley was okay as she came up gasping for breath and crying. Jerks. I hope they got sunburnt.

- Joey has his final for his online class tomorrow night so wish him luck. He doesn't need it though. He's one of those people that never studies and makes A's.

-My mom is in the process of moving into her new house. It's amazing and I can't wait for her to get settled in so we can visit! My cousin built the house. His company is called Blake Custom Homes. "like" their page on Facebook!

I think that's about it for us! I hope everyone has a great week!