first day of school

today both boys set off for their first day of school.  (logan's very first.)  with a heavy heart i loaded them in the car.  my littlest is not so little anymore. 

we saw brady's old teacher mrs. betsy in the hall.  he stopped at her classroom and was less than enthused when i told him he had to keep coming.  mrs. betsy was not his teacher this year.  we walked into his class and i could see anxiety all over his face.  i introduced him to his teachers and made a clean and quick break.  when i went back to check on him after dropping logan off he was attached to his new teacher mrs. angie sitting right next to her in circle time with a smile on his face.

dropping logan off was a little harder. (mostly harder for me.)  i took him in and he instantly found a little truck he liked.  he sat down and played with it and didn't seem to care where i was.  i walked out a little sad that he didn't seem to care that i was leaving him, but also relieved at the same time.  i walked out and looked through the one way glass (here is where i made the mistake.)  i watched him play for another minute and then it happened.  he looked up, looked around then stood up and looked around.  no mommy.  look of panic then tears.  my heart sank.  then his teacher ms. amy scooped him up and he instantly stopped crying.  mommy left for her first day of no kids for four hours.

when i picked them up both got good reports.  brady had an excellent day.  logan did well however would not look his teachers in the eye and spent most of the day looking at the floor.  ms. amy said that he really enjoyed the finger painting they did.  it was the best part of his day and he actually smiled.  she told me, " if i have to pull the finger paints out every day to make logan happy then that is what i will do."  i knew he found his right teacher for the year.  they are both in good hands.

sigh of relief for this mommy.

our last day at grandma and grandpas

so this picture has nothing to do with my post but it was too cool to not show you.  while we were here at grandma and grandpas we were lucky enough to see this baby humming bird twice by the pool.  (special thanks to aunt tracy for getting her camera and capturing this.)  he was so tiny i thought he was a moth at first.

we have been so fortunate to experience so many things here for the first time in this country like setting.  i want so badly to replicate this country feel at our home in suburbia.  thank you to grandma and grandpa for sharing their home and their hearts with us this week.  we will miss you until we see you again.

canning tomatoes

so we visited the farm to pick our vegetables and brought them home.  the tomatoes were so good that i had an idea.  why not go pick more and can them?  i got a whole bushel for $9.  bought my cans and yesterday started the job.  this process is new to me so...... i was slightly nervous.

brian helped me boiling the tomatoes and peeling the skins.  after a very hot afternoon in carleen's gourmet kitchen.  (canning when i get home won't be nearly as posh in my digs.)

i ended up with this

after worrying all night that i would wake up this morning and press on my lids and they would pop.  i will tell you we had success not a single popping lid!  yeah!  i only got through half of my bushel yesterday so today i will can the other half.  hopefully i will have some tasty tomatoes this fall for spaghetti sauces, salsa and more.

a day at the beach of an inland sea

today grandma and grandpa took us to the illinois state beach. the vastness of lake michigan is absolutely amazing. you feel like you are at the ocean, except the water temperature is slightly chillier than that of the gulf coast states. this pictures says it all.  need i say more?

our first farm experience

on the way home from thomas the train we saw this.

so we stopped.  the boys have never picked their own vegetables and we are in farm country.

pretty good deal.  much cheaper than the grocery store.

daddy was into it far more than anyone else. does that shock anyone?

this little guy picked this tomato and then proceeded to chomp his little teeth right into it.

we got home and had the tomato's last night.  i have to say they are by far the sweetest and yummiest i have ever had.  i should know i have been a tomato connoisseur my whole life.

a day at the illinois railway museum

today we went to the illinois railway museum.  grandma and grandpa treated us to a special day out with thomas the train.  the boys got tattoos, got to have their picture taken with sir topham hat and then we finished off the day with a ride on thomas.  we also....

hung out on some old trains too,

and then spent sometime being brothers and running down the tracks.

on our way home we made another special stop of which i will post about tomorrow.  even more fun than thomas (at least for mommy.) we got to pick our own vegetables at a farm......

the only time i will ever let my boys on one of these

at least while i have control of them......

an adorably cute little man on a very big snazzy bike and loving every minute of it. of course my knows no fear kid had no problem sitting on here even when it was fired up.

here we are with both boys enjoying a little rumble.  shortly there after my knows all kinds of fear child didn't want anything else to do with this bike.  yeah brady!  hope it stays that way.

we are off to grandpa and grandmas house for a week of fantastic food, rest and lots of splashing in the pool.

a whole lot of boy happening around here

tag football in the back yard

a little tackling

and a little wrestling on the slide

it is so fun to watch the boys relationship blossom right in front of you.  they are bonding so well.  not sure if it is the newly shared room that is aiding the process or just the natural progression of life. either way it is so awesome.

happy monday

we had a great weekend.

we experienced nature in our back yard first hand.

for little eyes and little hands we learned not to get close to bees.  it can hurt.  ouch.

(no one was hurt, but logan sure did want to get his little hands on that bee.)

how was your weekend?  do anything fun?

a week in a nut shell

so i have been not so great at blogging lately for a reason. i started running every day. it turns out your metabolism isn't as gracious to you in your thirties as it was in your twenties. bummer for me. however i say once i talk myself into my run every morning and yes it takes some serious talking..... i feel awesome once i have completed it. not only does it boost my self esteem for the day, it also gives me a tremendous amount of energy. either way i have had less time to do other things now, like blog and paint furniture and sew.... i am hoping my butt will show it in a couple of months :) now onto the kids.......

we went to a company picnic last night. the boys had a blast playing on a new playground. i had to fight back the tears while around all of my work peers. they are growing so fast. it didn't even hit me until i saw brady climbing up a rock wall. a long time ago i recall a conversation with my dear friend meggy on the playground. i was jealous that she didn't have to loom around her boys while they played. she said something to the effect of "not to worry your boys will be there before you know it." they are. it happened quickly and without any warning. (or none that i payed any attention to.) it was amazing to watch them play together last night. my little social butterfly brady was making new friends left and right. logan was doing his best to keep up with brady on all of the equipment. while logan is more shy he definitely has the endurance and strength to do far more than brady could at his age. fear is a word that has no meaning to him, i see an emergency room in our near future.

i hope you have a fantastic weekend and i will hopefully see you all here next week!

me? winner of a blog giveaway?

(picture courtesy of joy ever after.)

yeah ! i can't remember the last time i ever won anything! thank you to amanda joy at joy ever after! she is crafty and very inspirational! check out her blog!

our new reading/game playing room

after a lot of sewing and painting..... we finally have a new use for a space that we hardly ever used. i don't believe in formal living rooms i feel that every inch of a house should be used to it's fullest. if i had a choice i would not have a formal living room, but we bought this house and there is no changing the floor plan. so..........
i introduce to you our new reading and game playing room. all the furniture in here are old pieces turned new. a little elbow grease and this is what you get.

i bought this table and the tables you see next to the love seat rocker off of craigs list. $40 for all 3 of them. i sanded them, put some wood putty in some scratches and scrapes and then painted. i fell in love with the chunky legs of this table.

this table once belonged to brian and tracy when they were little. we picked it up and brought it home last summer for brian's parents house. a little paint and some john deer tractor covers and it is looking cute. a perfect table to play games on as a family! (i picked this light mint green color in hopes of having a little girl someday. i could easily put some pink flowery cushions on here and totally change it to a little tea table.

the little kids rocking chair belonged to my mom when she was a little girl and was passed down to me and now my boys.

the ethan allen love seat rocker i purchased at a vintage market. i saw it and thought it was adorable. when i found out it was a rocker i really fell in love. i got it totally refinished for $100. i talked them down from $130. (go to those markets at the end of the day, you are more likely to get a good deal. they don't want to pack up there stuff and take it home.)

the lamps i got at tj maxx, $30 for the pair. a great idea from a blog i follow called the nesting place. thank you so much for your tips on redecorating. i had a great time and spent minimal money!

the curtains i sewed. i probably would not have picked a toille as first choice but it fit the french country chic look i was going for and was on sale. i got all the fabric i needed for this room and my adjoining formal dining room for $30 (15 yards). great deal!

any other tips or pointers to complete this room? would love any input any of you might have!
thanks for stopping by!

how we eat waffles these days

with sticky fingers, messy mouth and a moose for company. hope you are having a really good weekend!

the view from papa and great grammy's

our usual thursday visit was quite a shock to me. i have seen all the news pictures but going up there in person i was quite shocked at how close it came to their home. the only wood scorched on my grandparents property in the dakota ridge fire was a little blackening of their mail box. i can't believe the circle of events that took place this last monday. i am so thankful that the wind shifted direction and the firemen had a plan, the wind didn't blow extremely hard as is the usual case on this mountain side, although it still blew. someone was looking out for my grandparents that day. thank you lord and amen.