The Do-It Yourselfers

So every once in a while I have to hijack the blog to write about plain ole' life. So here we are....deep in the midst of yet another home project. Sometimes I have to ask myself, how did we get here? Again! You see, we seem to have some kind of illness that requires us to be working on something in whichever house we are calling home at the moment. The amazing thing is that as we are in the middle of a project, we vow never to do another big project again...and then...you guessed it, we do! Before we had kids, we would spend our weekends ripping apart kitchens, redoing plumbing, drywall and dabbling in electrical work. You'd think we would have gotten it out of our system. When we bought this house, it was perfectly fine! Not a thing needed fixed or replaced...unless we wanted to. So the first project was a few cabinets in the family room...we had to get the TV off the ground and up on a wall (yes we hired this one out but there was still plenty in this project for us to do!). Next came the kitchen ~ new cabinets, counters and sink. Now its on to the floors, a project that, as always, proves to be harder than we initially thought. Wish us luck or we might kill each other before its all over!!!!

Job well done

The first week of school is over and that meant it was party time! Cole and Emory had the honor of being the flower girl and ring bearer in Justin and Emily's wedding held in Virginia Beach over the weekend (on 9.10.11!). We had planned to leave Thursday evening but the torrential rains (did NOT stop raining for an entire week with 7 inches of rain on Thursday alone!) left flooded roads and heinous traffic so our departure was delayed until Friday morning. The wedding was a blast. We danced to our heart's content while Brooks was in dream land at Scott and Allison's house. Emily was a beautiful bride. Justin was a handsome groom in his black tux with white suspenders and vest. The venue was the Virginia Aquarium and it was way cool to be able to visit the shark tank without a crowd around.

Upon our return home it was back to the groove of things with the first full week of school. We are midway through the week and Brooks and I are finally finding a new groove. I think the trick is to keep ourselves busy :) Cole's teacher, Mrs. Sheaffer has mentioned to me at pick up time that Cole is very well behaved in her class and if he were her child, she would miss him all day (all of this unprompted, she must see the sorrow on my face!). She also commented today that he is an "old soul". So odd since our nickname for him has been Little Man from the time he was a baby.

That's all for now, it's late....

Kindergarten, Here I Come!

Kindergarten, here I come!
I know I'll have lots of fun.
Lots of things to make and do,
Reading, writing, counting, too.
Kindergarten, here I come!
I know I'll have lots of fun.

The day I have looked forward to and dreaded all at the same time is finally here. In the middle of the summer, when you and your brother had me at whit's end, I had to remind myself that these were our last weeks together and very soon you'd be off to school and Brooks and I would be wondering what to do with each other. Oh how we are going to miss you!

You are so excited to start school. I don't even think you'll cry tomorrow when Daddy, Brooks and I walk you to the front door. You'll be armed with your backpack and your lunchbox. Mommy packed you a PB&J cut into a dinosaur shape....I hope you like it. At orientation you met your teachers and said they were both nice. You explored your classroom with lots of anticipation and acted as if all that was new was going to be a breeze. You were timid to introduce yourself to any of your classmates but that will come with time.

I'm proud of you buddy! I'm proud of your confidence. I'm proud of how brave you are to be starting this new, big experience. I'm happy that you are excited. I'm sad to be parting with our past routines. I will miss hanging out with you on the couch in the morning watching cartoons. I will miss my personal shopper during our excursions to Target. I will miss taking you the the park. Alas, I know we will have new routines, better routines. Just remember as you begin this new adventure~ Mommy loves you and oh by the way, I am perfectly fine with your idea from dinner today. You had the biggest smile on your face as you announced that you are moving back home after you finish college. You are always welcome even if Daddy says he is changing the locks!