oooh the weather outside is frightful.....

Snow has been the weekend regular here in Chattanooga this January...I enjoy it and feel blessed to have a husband that teaches and gets off when there is snow! So we can hang out at home and not worry about driving in the wintry conditions. However, after an evening of going no where, facebooking, and playing Wii, I begin to feel a little worthless. You know, when you think, "what else could I have gotten done today?" But I love all the time we spend together and wouldn't trade it for anything! (I feel like that could sound like I don't value time with my boys, but really its that I have done nothing productive and feel I could have at least worked on laundry in between games, movies, etc....)

Here is our snow day, you can tell by the pics on the right that this is more snow than last time...

Gathering snow for snow cream! I discovered that Tyler has never had any!

Our street and view from the front door....

Tyler making a snow angel.....
Tyler wrote I <3 U....hard to see

???

FYI- I posted a new blog that I had been working on for a couple weeks and didn't realize that it would post on the day I started it instead of the day I posted it! so here it is.......
http://therichestlife.blogspot.com/2010/01/two-and-half.html

Painting with Garyn

Last week, we did one of my monthly goals; I even got Tyler in on it. I feel good about the goals and am excited about sharing them with you guys at the end of the month.

The first Saturday in January, we went into Home Depot and they were doing a kids craft for free. Garyn got to make a wooden calender and he really enjoyed swinging the hammer. If you didn't already know; painting it was one of my January goals. We did it one of the days Tyler was home so he helped us, too. I didn't have the best paint for wood, but it still worked out. (Tyler informed me that I should have used regular wall paint, but I didn't have any fun colors so we went with it!)

See what I mean, the paint wasn't the best however the painter wasn't an expert. I like it though; being that it is just how he wanted.

It was a great project and fosters us talking about the days of the week and months.

Grocery Adventures

I just had to tell you about my grocery deals today. I got everything pictured above-
12 Dannon Yogurt cups
1 Sara Lee bread
2 Progresso soups
1 gallon of milk
1 Publix fresh salsa
1 box Aleve
1 box Bayer
2 bags bagels (6 ea)
1 Halls Cough drops
1 Dentastix dog treats
5 Healthy Choice dinners (we take these to work for lunch)
1 5lb bag of potatoes
1 Aveeno baby soap
1 Fantatik cleaner
1 bottle juice ( this was the penny item at publix)
2 boxes Cheezits,
for a grand total: $ 25.84 !!!

Love it! I will go to Bilo soon just to buy some strawberries, paper towels and box of oatmeal, which will all cost $8. I stock pile so each week I buy a random selection of groceries and won't need anything else.
You can do it, too, just start saving coupons from the newspaper and look at sites like www.southernsavers.com or www.thegrocerygame.com

two and a half

Today is the day my sweet boy is officially two and a half! Can't believe and hate that I use this cliche so much , but its true. Here is a run down of our G-man's personality at two and a half.....

He is in love with puzzles right now. I am in love with that fact, myself. I used to bury myself in a puzzle for a couple days when growing up. I probably pressed it on him by buying, ohhh 5-6 different puzzles for him for Christmas. Anyway, he can do them mostly by himself. His strategy is connecting the individual pictures together and then combines them into the big picture.

Books are also a favorite. He loves to be read to but also loves to read himself. He highlights the story of each page and when you ask if he wants you to read the book to him, he quickly states, "No, I read it". Actually, he can read a lot of words like: dog, Momma, imagination, all the colors and shapes, everyone in our family's names, lots of animals, and so on. My teacher-friends say it is "sight" words, but I just think its pretty neat!

Garyn still loves to dance, he gets to groovin' with any type of music. Here is him dancing to Wii guitar hero.......

Garyn is a Wii fanatic!! It is truly sad how much he thinks about it. Most days, he wakes up saying, "Eat a waffle, sausage, egg and play Wii games" and when you say "That's what you want to do?" He quickly says, "Yeah, Ok, I want to, Lets go!" Cracks me up! Waffles/Pancakes are another fav by-the-way & he doesn't get it every morning. We use his Wii fascination as a bribe often, such as " No Wii games if you don't eat your carrots." The worst, though, is that he knows stores with Wii games, ex. Old Navy, Best Buy, Target, Game Stop..., yeah, I know, its sickening, but if we go by those stores without distracting him somehow, he cries, so much that we avoid those areas when possible. He just wants to watch us play most of the time, but is able to play a few games.

Potty training is in full swing. He is doing pretty good. He pees, sorry for the graphics, on average 4 times a day in his potty. Probably like most boys, he is very stubborn. I am seeing how stubborn/ impatient I am, as well. We are getting through it though, with lots of suckers and Wii bribes! Although, he is now telling me "Go pee-pee in the potty and get a sucker" and then he goes! I am happy to see progress!

Garyn is talking a lot now, too. He can carry on a conversation with you easily. He still talks in third person, or repeats things exactly the way you say it. For instance, " Are you hungry?" means "I'm hungry"...... he does say "I" for some phrases. Lately, he has been saying "please, thank you, I'm sorry, and Yes mam/sir", not sure how he has caught on so well, but I like it!

Oh, Garyn, we just can't describe how much we love you and the happiness you bring to our days. We hope you keep your bubbly personality and drive to do what you want. With that we also pray that God is a focus in your life. Know that we will always support and love you!

Snow Day

We don't get much snow here therefore each year I have taken pictures of Garyn playing out in the snow. However this year, we have had 2 days that it snowed. The first didn't warrant school being called off ,though, so today is the official "snow day" since Tyler is home from school!

Living in the Chattanooga area and North Georgia my whole life, I can remember being a kid that always hoped for snow so that I could be out of school. I actually lived in Dayton, TN during the '93 blizzard. I have fond, vivid memories of those many snow days that I was out of school. And believe me, I have a horrible memory!! Some of the best ones are: 1. We lived maybe 3-4 blocks from Red Food or now Bi-Lo and my dad put me on a sled, pulled me to the store, bought groceries, then pulled me and the groceries home. I loved that! I guess because I felt like I was doing something that Northern people who lived in constant snow did. That was my 10-year-old thinking, at least. 2. I remember eating snow cream and actually saving some for my brother (who lived an hour and a half away) in the freezer! Don't think he ever got that snow cream....hmmm, wonder why...anyway 3. We were out of power for a long time (not sure how long) and we had some friends here in Chattanooga that had a gas stove and great fireplace. Dad packed us up and we drove in all the ice and snow and it took ua twice as long. Then we ate a cooked meal and slept on pallets in their living room in front of the fire! Great times! Can't wait to make memories with Garyn on our once-twice a year snow days!

Now back to our 2010 snow day!

Here is Garyn and us outside...........

This is Garyn's new battery powered scrambler (from Bob the Builder) that we finally got a battery for! He seems to really like it but can't steer it yet, keeps running into things and then laughs, maybe its intentional........

Now off to decide whats for dinner.....I am doing pretty good at my monthly goals!

Resolutions and Goals

Lately I have been thinking about goals and resolutions.....aren't we all , given the time of year!
But really, our New Year's Eve party requires that we make a Bucket List and resolutions, and each year, we will review what we did. Well, last year I hand wrote a small list; came to the party and everyone else had typed and extensive lists. I should have know given our company of overachievers/teachers! However, this time when they all pulled theirs out and were able to actually check goals off, I was jealous! I have no clue where my 2008/2009 handwritten list is and now want to jot down my resolutions so that next year I can cross things off!!

So while reading this, I decided to combine the two into a blog. I will definitely have it typed and can maybe accomplish more!

{note: this will be a longer list, just didn't want to bore everyone}
Resolutions and Bucket List:
1. Be more intentional with my walk with God, including being confident that I am here for a reason and shouldn't shy away from gifts He has given me.
2. Spend more time with family
3. Cook healthier and more often; those of you that know us know that we eat out a lot
4. Spend less time doing mindless things, such as TV and Internet surfing
5. Carrying on with #4: spending more time with Garyn playing and teaching him things. (As you all know, 2 is such a great time to absorb a lot)
6. Go somewhere different for vacation in order to see different things
7. Go on a ski trip, may tie in with #6 or may be in 2011
8. Organize the junk of our house!! Stop looking at it and either store it or give it away!
9. Budget, budget, budget! Every year we try to set out a monthly budget & it never sticks, this year I think I am going to go the "save" route and intentionally spend less so that we can put money in savings each month which would be used on items 6 & 7! :)
10. Be more patient! I don't show it all the time, but I am losing my patience a lot lately and it makes me a bad wife and mother. I start stewing about little things that aren't happening fast enough or going the way I planned and then I eventually take it out on one of them.

So for January:

Fun:
Do something with some friends or family that we don't normal see much, i.e. game night or dinner out
Plan more girls luncheons for Sunday school
Be better about dates with Tyler, just the two of us, we tend to just bring Garyn so that we don't have to worry about a babysitter

DIY/Crafting:
Start scrap booking again, I am so behind & there is a monthly group at church that I think I am going to start going to!
Paint Garyn's calender set he made at Home Depot with him, will tell more about this later

Home:
Finish taking down Christmas decorations, been procrastinating, I know
Paint bedroom
Paint/stain kitchen cabinet door (left over from this)
Clean-up basement, in some way, not trying to overwhelm myself here

Cooking:
cook a meal at least 3x a week
do a freezer day

Wellness:
do something fitness-ish at least once a week, i.e. Wii Fit, stationary bike; gotta start somewhere

I feel motivated and good about being able to accomplish this list!

Christmas and New Years

Well, I didn't get a blog in before Christmas, cause it got a little busy the week before and of Christmas. Sickness is something we have been learning to get used to around here with a 2 year old. After we all 3 had just gotten over the stomach bug, Garyn got a cold/cough that was getting worse and then spiked a fever. Long story short, he began coughing so much he was wheezing and fever so high he was lethargic. He has now been diagnosed with asthma that harbored some pneumonia in his lower lungs. Now, he takes a breathing treatment daily, but when he was wheezing it was every 4 hours! I was sleeping with him in the rocking chair half the night. Christmas Eve was the first day the wheezing had stopped and he seemed to feel better. However, the meds were making him act so different and irritable about everything. As of today, the cough is minimal and we are still taking an antibiotic for congestion left in his chest. Gives you more to be thankful for definitely! I felt blessed for Christmas and the Eve to be somewhat back to normal.

So here is Garyn and Santa......he did much better this year! Last year he was screaming in the pic. This year he was able to be coerced some, but wouldn't sit in his lap.
Christmas Eve we went to our church service and then to Tyler's parents house.
Garyn got some fun toys, but the best was two swords. Oh my, we were all getting attacked while sitting in the floor trying to unwrap our presents. It was hilarious.

Christmas morning we started some new traditions. Tyler and I both want to make sure Christmas remains a celebration for Jesus' birth and so we held back on excessively buying for Garyn. We also made a Banana Nut Bread "cake", put a candle in it, and sang "Happy Birthday Jesus". We enjoyed our morning together. Garyn got a tool bench and a ride on 4 wheeler that the battery was bad in. We felt so bad that we didn't realize this prior to Christmas Eve and therefore he wasn't able to ride it! :( However, he hasn't noticed and got plenty...

I got a purple laptop!! I was so excited. I am writing this blog on it right now!
Afterwards, we went to my grandparents in Georgia and then Tyler's grandparents in Bakewell, TN. So we were driving some but I can't imagine Christmas without seeing all my family. I, obviously, didn't document these trips. The day after Christmas, my brother and family came up to celebrate Christmas, with them and my dad. Garyn loves having them at our house and it was an extended time to see everyone.

New Year's eve we went to the Cobble's house. I just loved this pic of the boys eating together. There were 4 boys total, from 21 mos to 4 1/2. They all get together and play well. We adults had fun, too, playing games, watching football and making new resolutions for 2010!
Back to a normal schedule now with Tyler returning to work tomorrow. Can't believe its already over.....:(