Taking things Retail

I just finished up my first retail order!  I still can't believe it!  If you haven't visited it yet, you have to check out the new shop The Navy Knot.  They are an adorable new online store offering preppy, nautical themed gifts....and so much more!  My sets may not be up and available just yet, but I'm sure you can find a few little "somethings" in the meantime.  Happy Shopping!www.thenavyknot.com

For Sale....

After much debate about when to go, it's official, we are moving to Springfield, MO.  This will be an important and essential move for Craig's business and with the housing market at its current state, we decided to go ahead and list the house.  We are in no rush, but will go when the house sells.  I must admit I have bittersweet emotions about this.  I am very attached to Kansas City and our house.  I tried to decide this morning if it's the house I love so much or the memories we have made inside of it.  There are so many beautiful memories inside these walls and it's probably knowing all the ways we have been blessed here that make it so hard to move on.  Like a pet you love very much, I would love to think my house went to a good owner.  (I know....I'm kind of crazy, but I want someone to love it and take care of it.)  If you know of anyone who is looking, please feel free to share our house with them.

http://www.reeceandnichols.com/MO/Independence/64015/homes-for-sale/4921-S-Necessary-Court-66554601/popup

Jack's Artwork....

I found this on the front of Jack's door the other day....anyone else think he is trying to make a statement here?

Maren Goes to Preschool!

It was probably the impending move to Springfield next Summer that motivated us to send Maren to preschool this year.  (We had made up our minds we weren't going to send her until she was four.)  We loved Jack's preschool and teacher so much, we just couldn't stand to think she wouldn't get to experience it.

Surprisingly for me, it was a lot easier the second time around.  I remember the tears shed when Jack went, but this time it was just exciting for all of us!  (Maybe because when you are sending your eldest to school all day everyday, a couple of hours two days a week doesn't seem that long???)  Either way, she was ecstatic to be following in big brother's footsteps.  She loves her teacher and has already been telling us about her new friends.  Go Maren!

First Day!!!

It finally arrived; the first day of Kindergarten!  You'll have to pardon my emotions this morning.  I am so excited for Jack and his year to come, but the Mommy in me is struggling a bit too.  I found myself welling up with tears driving to Jack's school this morning.  Suddenly something hit me, how did we get here so fast?  It seems like just yesterday I was holding a new baby in my arms and all I could think was, "He's just so perfect."  It seemed like we would have forever together before he started school.  Like jumping into a pool of freezing cold water, it hit me today that those five years flashed by in the blink of an eye.  I know I'll "warm up to the water," and get used it to it, but today it's really hard to imagine my boy is so big.  It's yet another reminder in my life to cherish everyday.

On the other side of it, I must admit I am overwhelmed by pride in our family.  I remember when Craig and I started talking about having kids.  We knew we wanted to have me at home with our kids, but like most families, weren't sure we could do it financially.  We took a big leap of faith and prayed we could make it work.  What a great feeling this morning to know that we made it.  We've made cuts here and there, but we've never been happier to make them.  I feel so blessed and fortunate that we could give this to our kids.  

We are so happy to have Jack in a school we love so much!  I am always amazed at everything they do to "love on" their kids.  Today Jack had a picture of his family on his desk in case he missed us.  His preschool teacher will be in his room to help the kids transition, and his teacher handed me the most beautiful poem to read on my way home.  It is the most comforting feeling to know and trust his school and teachers so much.  I know he will love his knew teacher (we already do) and have so much fun in the upcoming year. 

Jack surprised me this morning, he's usually always my kid waving me out the door...."see you later Mom!"  This morning we got ready to leave and he looked me and said, "I don't want you to leave."  Bless his little heart.  Moments later he was better, but I think he's got this whole "school" thing figured out now.  I'm already anxious to pick him up and hear how the first day went.  I'll post soon to let you know.  (Thanks for letting me get all those emotions off my chest.)

Kindergarten Bliss

Jack has received two "care packages" this week in anticipation of Kindergarten.  One came from Miss Jen and one from Aunt Erin, and both have helped to get him excited about Kindergarten.  For a bit, Jack became worried that he would be away from home for so long during the day.  He wondered what Maren and I would be doing without him.  It's been a topic of discussion many a night in our household.  After he opened his "care packages" yesterday, the fears seemed to disappear.  Just wanted to say a big thank you to Miss Jen and Aunt Erin for your thinking of Jack; we love you both!

Minnesota Ventures!

Ready to Fish!

Every year when we pull away from our cabin in Minnesota, I'm always sad to know my kids will be a year older the next time we come.  It seems so far away when you are leaving, but passes so quickly each year.  As usual, we had a blast this year on our trip.  Despite some pretty hot and sticky days to start the week off, the kids played in the water from sun up to sun down.  Jack and Maren both fished this year, and Jack even saw Papa prepare the fish.  I enjoyed my morning runs along the lake roads and Craig got a chance to play a lot of golf with his Dad.  More than anything, the fun of Minnesota is getting to see all the family for a nice length of time.  We're already considering a two week stay next year!

Mommy Sells Bows

Could it be that I have too much time on my hands?  Those of you that know me, know I pretty much bred for bows.  When I found out I was having a girl three years ago, all I could think about were the bows I could put in her hair.  Perhaps that's why I've gotten a little itch to make them.  Visit me on Etsy and see just how much time I've been spending neglecting my housework and having a little fun....

http://www.etsy.com/shop/BowtiqueMama

I also have a new blog for Bowtique Mama; but bear with me, it is still under construction....

http://thebowtiquemama.blogspot.com/

Food for Thought

I recently had a speaker come to my MOPS group and give a presentation on having a "wining attitude."  It was a great reminder about how much your attitude affects what is going on around you.  I must admit that sometimes I do not possess this even when I know I should.  For example, the last few times I have had to go to the dentist, I have had the opportunity to bring both children with me.  My dentist, for lack of a better word, is old.  He's the sweetest man and although his hands shake while he checks my teeth; I stick with him despite my hour and half long visits, because I trust him and he's been my Grandma's dentist forever.  I admit that trying to keep your children happy and on their best behavior for that long while someone has you in a chair with your mouth occupied, is not always easy and sometimes I'm sour about it.  Imagine my surprise though when I recently attended Jack's preschool graduation.  Towards the close, they announced what each child had decided they would like to be when they grew up.  (This was a question I had never asked Jack, and was intrigued to have answered)  I heard the typical answers, "a superhero, Buzz Lightyear, a Basketball player, a princess, etc..)  Then came the moment to hear Jack's dream....."a dentist."  I admit that my eyes filled with tears.  Who knew?  All those times I have been grouchy about having to tote my kids along with me for my exam, and Jack has been sitting beside me taking in so much more than I knew.  Truly, a light bulb turned on in my brain.  Maybe the things we think are so hard, are often the things our children are learning and growing the most from.  From now on, I'm going to use this story to remind me how much a "wining attitude" affects an outcome.

Maren's Third Birthday!!

Can you believe my baby girl is three?  Oh goodness, it just keeps going faster and faster!  We celebrated at home with our cousins, nanas, and aunts and uncles.  As requested by Maren, we feasted on strawberry hello kitty cupcakes and hot dogs.  Maren was eager to open her presents, and we really couldn't get her to slow down and be polite about it.  Does that come with being three?  Some of the pictures are blurry and I apologize.  I somehow got the camera in the wrong setting and wish I would have realized it sooner.  None the less, it was a fun day....and, in Maren's own words, "Now I'm Free (three)!"

Mother's Day

It was such a treat to get to spend the day with my family on Mother's Day.  Aside from our brunch to take my mother and grandmother out, Craig and the kids spent the day at home with me treating me to a bunch of my favorites.  Jack and Craig left in the morning to get me one of my favorite treats, a strawberry doughnut.  After church, we took my mother and grandmother to Grandstreet Cafe for a nice brunch.  I sat on the couch and read a magazine during nap time (aaahhh) and then we picked up a pizza for dinner.  (No cooking the entire day, Wow!) Here are a few pictures from my fun day....

The kids and I before brunch

Nana Marsh, Grandma Do-Do, and Maren

Craig and I at brunch--(Jack took the picture!)

Nana, Grandma Do-Do, Jack, and Maren

my mother and grandmother

TLC

The time had come, and although I said I would never tackle painting the inside of our house again, looking at the filth on our walls was really getting to me.  A couple of months ago, probably inspired by getting new carpet, I came up with a "list" of all the projects lurking around our house and decided to take the bull by the horn.  I had "magic erasered" our walls to the last glint of color trying to get off crayon, scuffs, marks, and many other various things I couldn't even identify.  The only answer was repainting and as a stay-at-home mom, I decided it wasn't worth it to pay someone else to do it.  Thus began my trip up the extension ladder, for those of you who have seen my house, know the height of my walls.  I'm not completely done, but am starting to feel better that our walls are clean.  Here are some pictures from the process.  (I am somewhat impulsive and like to start on a project the minute I get the paint, so some of the "before" pictures were actually taken in the middle of the process.)

The Great Room: (repaint the room, touch up trim)

Before (again, got excited and forgot to take before pictures until I got the trim done)

Before

After- new color, CLEAN walls

After

Kitchen After

The trim before any work

Sanding and filling

More Filling and Sanding

After

After

Maren's Room-(repaint the walls, refinish bedroom furniture)

Completely forgot to take before photos, but here's the new green walls and furniture

No more cherry wood, a much more "girly" finish

The Formal Living Room-and basically the remaining interior walls, as all of our walls run together (repaint, update)

Formal Living Room- slightly before

Starting the Trim

After

After

Entry Hall- After

After

Girl's Trip

It's sad to say, but definitely true, it has been five years since my last "Girl's Trip."  It was beyond time to get away, and my mom and I decided to "hit" Vegas.  This was a fun destination considering I had been several times, and she had never been introduced to Sin City.  It was a blast and we both had a ball.  We enjoyed going to the spa, shopping, eating; and yes, even gambling.  My mother quickly found her favorite slot machine--The Maltese fortune.  This was a coveted machine for her, as she has two Maltese at home that she adores.  She also looked for patterns to help her gambling abilities; she was pretty sure if she took her shoes off, it would "payout."  She did have some big moments; however we stuck with nickel and penny slots, so even the big moments didn't qualify us for a high roller suite.  None the less, we had a lot of fun together!!!

Crown Center: Take 2

As most of you know, the stomach flu made a nest in our home a little over a month ago and decided to rent space for a bit.  A couple of weeks ago, we tried to go to Crown Center to meet up with relatives who were in town for the weekend.  We were all so excited to see the "Under the Sea" exhibit and have lunch with our cousins.  Just as we were getting ready to pull into the parking lot though, the stomach flu hit Maren and Craig's car.  The kids were devastated when I informed them we would have to turn around and go back home.  I promised we would be back.  As luck would have it, we have finally evicted the stomach flu from our house, and we were ready to try Crown Center again.  Yesterday the kids and I had a ball at the exhibit--here are some pictures from our adventure.

Beginning Writing...

Fellow teachers will understand my excitement from these photos.  Last summer, Jack and I tackled the big "learning to read."  It is something he picked up rather quickly given the task, and something he still continues to surprise me with everyday.  Writing however, has not been a particular area of interest for him.  A few months ago though, I began to notice him starting to add letters to the pictures he would draw.  I've had some field experience interpreting writing, but I couldn't make these out without his help and many times the letters did not match the sounds.  Lately though, he's been leaving me little "notes" to tell me things (see photo #1).  I loved this note, it says "My tummy hurts (and the heart means I love you)."  Phonetically, it makes perfect sense and I am so excited about it!!  The second photo is writing we did together.  He placed stickers on the top of the paper to make a picture and wrote a sentence to describe it.  We used this to talk about spacing, capital/lowercase letters, putting the vowels in our words, etc.. Clearly a "light bulb" is going off and I am so excited that things are starting to connect!  Go Jack!!

Jack Is 5?!?!?!

It's bittersweet.  I would compare this year's Birthday (the big "5") to the first Birthday.  I still can't believe five years have gone by; where did they go?  I still feel like I had Jack, let alone Maren.  Those of you who know me well know I'm pretty sentimental about all of this.  Five sounds so big.  It means big things, Kindergarten being the biggest of course.  Despite all my trying, I didn't get out of it though, the Birthday came. I still don't want to admit that my little monkey is 5, but he is and I'm adjusting.  I'm continuing to try to "freeze-frame" everyday and ignore all those out there who tell me "it just starts to go faster the older they get."  It's already going fast enough; I'd really like a set of brakes that could slow more down than my Tahoe.

Unlike last year, Jack was very excited to have a new number this year.  He was so excited for his party and was not disappointed!  He got to play with cousins, eat pizza and cake, dress up like a transformer, and open presents!  What a day!  Here are a few pictures from the big day...

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Shame On Me...

Shame on me for breaking "mommy code" and blogging out loud that "everyone (was) healthy."  I should have known I was jinxing myself.  Last Friday we ended up in the Emergency Room with Maren.  She fell off her chair at lunch and split her lip open on our kitchen table.  Thank goodness Craig had just gotten home from his last business trip and was there to help us get to the hospital.  Four hours and two stitches later, we got to come back home.  As promised while the doctor stitched her up, Marsy got to wear her purple tutu and eat purple ice cream when she got home.

Indecision and Craziness

A couple of months ago, Jack and I started discussing his birthday.  In the beginning of the discussion, he was pretty sure he wanted a Transformer party with his preschool friends at Paradise Park.  (I started making plans.)  As the days passed, Jack altered his plans-this time, wanting a family party with a Transformer cake at our house.  (I began alerting family and changing plans accordingly.)  Soon, a party catalogue arrived in the mail with a "Mario" themed party package.  (Are you seeing where this is going?)  Jack was awestruck by all the Mario plates, napkins, etc..  (Starting to get a little frustrated, I made new arrangements.)  We went into Party City to see if they had any of the Mario party ware.  They did not, but they did have Transformer party ware.  Suddenly, we were back to square one.  I bought the transformer party pack and ordered the cake.  (Yes, I did say ORDERED the cake.)  I could soon tell though, that Jack had mixed emotions about giving up his "Mario" idea.  Trying to make it a "Happy" Birthday, I suggested that we could make Mario cookies for him to take to school and share with his class.  (What IS wrong with me?)  I looked for ideas online and showed Jack something I thought I could tackle.  I told him I could probably do the star and Toad.  Disappointment ran right across his eyebrows, "but Mommy, I really want the Mario cookies too."  I tried to justify this in my mind; surely if I'm not trying to tackle the cake this year, I can make make Mario cookies, right?  (WHAT???)  As if I weren't crazy enough already, I decided (while Craig was out of town) to start these in the middle of a sleet/snow storm while, my kids were AWAKE.  Six hours, and many inappropriate words later, the cookies were done, and my kitchen was a wreck.  Although I would like to toss them out of the window (really I'm willing to throw out anything that leaves my hands feeling arthritic and my kitchen in complete disarray), Jack loves them.  Thank God!  I'm going to pray no other birthday ideas entice him prior to his party, and that next year I will remember not only my skill level, but my time restraints when Birthday season comes around.  (I really wish I would have taken a picture of my kitchen in the aftermath.) 

All Is Well....

I almost don't want to say it aloud (because all of us mommies know; when you say it out loud, it always backfires), but all is well in the Stout household.  Jack and I took Maren into the ENT this week for her follow-up appointment, and not only is her infection gone; she actually still has both tubes!  Hooray!  We won't mention the 90 minute wait with no bathroom in the office, or the 90 seconds it took for Doc to tell us all was well.  For now, we will say our prayers tonight for healthy children!

Getting Better!

I am so happy to finally say that Maren is getting better.  After a couple of really rough weeks with yet another scary round of croup, Maren is slowly coming off the nebulizer.  I'm not sure how many times we ended up back in the doctor's office during the last two weeks (probably enough to get us a "frequent flier" status); but thankfully, all of  her allergy and immunoglobulin test results came back fine.  Amen!   We are awaiting an appointment with the ENT at the end of February which should let us know if we need to replace her tubes.   The doctor's think her right tube came out when Maren's eardrum ruptured last week.  We are hoping this is our last doctor's visit for a while.  Either way, Maren is feeling much better and getting back to her old tricks!!

Winter Fun!

We finally found a day above 20 degrees to go sledding.  (We tried last week, but only made it for about twenty minutes.)  We have a great hill in our neighborhood to sled down, and it is so much easier this year not to have to carry Maren up the hill!  The wee ones had so much fun!!!