Since I have nothing better to do (I'm avoiding house work right now). I'm going to blog. Stuart is almost on his way home...YAY for us! He's been in Gillette since Wednesday. We had talked about the kids and I joining him since we wouldn't have to pay for the hotel. Unfortunately I just revamped our budget and we couldn't justify spending the money on food since I could cook at home. And, we would have had to spend all day in the hotel...really not fun with 4 kids. So, we stayed home. He won't get home until about 9 tonight because they stop for 2 hours in Casper...to eat dinner and then for some strange reason the Athletic Director thinks 14 high school boys need an hour to mess around at the mall. Truthfully that sounds like a nightmare to me, but hey...they didn't ask my opinion.
I attempted to let KatieJo sleep in and take a day off of school (the last week has been a little stressful around our house). I woke up early to turn my alarm off and was just relaxing in bed when I heard her get up...at 7:15...just 15 minutes after I would have woken her up. Then Maija woke up....WAY earlier than normal and then a half hour later here come the boys. All BEFORE school would have started. Mind you I had already called her in. But, being the mean mom that I am I let her take her time getting ready for school and took her at 8:30...not too bad, only a 1/2 hour late. She seemed happy to go, probably because school makes the day go by fast and she is very excited to have dad come home!
Tomorrow we are heading to Fort Collins to do some grocery shopping...yay for us, I haven't been to a grocery store in a little over 3 weeks (again since the budget re-vamp) and haven't done my monthly grocery shopping in 6 weeks. I have the basics, but the kids are missing their string cheese and go-gurts and Maija and Phillip would really like some more snack crackers. It may sound silly that I'm driving a little over 2 hours to go grocery shopping, however it's WAY too expensive to shop here in Rawlins! We have a City Market which is a version of King Soopers (or Smiths), and a Discount (dented can store) Grocery run by the Mennonites. We also are going to meet my parents to get some things that I left at their house awhile back.
That's us in a nutshell right now. Not terribly exciting, I take that back. Having Stuart come home is VERY very VERY exciting!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Wordful Wednesday
Our marriage hasn't always been fun and easy, but then again whos is? I was barely 21 when we were married and he was almost 22. We were young. Not as young as some, but young none the less. I think I went into our marriage expecting a lot of things just to be perfect. And suprise, suprise they weren't. I was suprised though. Movies show how easy it is. I very rarely heard my parents argue so the first time we argued I was shocked with a capital S! Fighting, we weren't always going to get along?
When we were first married we lived close to family and depended greatly upon them. Then we moved to Iowa so he could finish his degree. With no family within 4 hours of where we lived we quickly learned to depend upon each other. How does that relate to unity you may ask? And since that's the topic today over at Chocolate on My Cranium's Wordful Wednesday I guess I should move on with it.
There are a lot of things we have agreed to do around the house that don't work for others and it started while I was working full time and going to school full time and all he was doing was going to school. It's changed over the years due to circumstances like I am a stay at home mom now.
For example, he does the dishes. I typically cook, but sometimes he does too (he's a FABULOUS cook!). On occasion I do the dishes as I'm cooking. I should more often but I figure trying to keep the kids happy while I'm cooking is good enough..Oh and my 3 year-old likes to help when I cook so making sure he's safe while in the kitchen is more important to me than dishes. I do the laundry and he vaccumes.
Once when an older sister at Church heard that Stuart does dishes she flat out started laughing. Truthfully I was a little embarrased, and then I realized that she wasn't part of my marriage. It's between the two of us. What works for us doesn't work for everyone.
I hate for him to do laundry, but some husbands do laundry. Mine also changes most diapers when he is home. I think he figures I'm alone enough doing diapers during the school year that he is kind enough to do them for me when he is home. I'll add a little bit to that...we use cloth diapers so that makes it even more special to me that he's willing to help!
I make sure the bed gets made everyday (usually because he doesn't care if it's made), and he takes the trash out. The list could really go on, but we've become a unified "machine". We know what it takes to make our home run, and our marriage work. Although as far as the marriage part goes it's constantly evolving, and as much as I hate to say that it's true. Our kids change everyday which means our marriage changes just a little bit to cope with the changes. We've also changed over the years and how we stay unified has changed in a lot of small ways. Right now we have just been thrown into a situation that we aren't thrilled about, but we'll make it through because we cleave to each other.
I'm sure as we age and our children get older our "roles" in the house will change again. It's nice knowing that we do it all together in our own way right now though!
When we were first married we lived close to family and depended greatly upon them. Then we moved to Iowa so he could finish his degree. With no family within 4 hours of where we lived we quickly learned to depend upon each other. How does that relate to unity you may ask? And since that's the topic today over at Chocolate on My Cranium's Wordful Wednesday I guess I should move on with it.
There are a lot of things we have agreed to do around the house that don't work for others and it started while I was working full time and going to school full time and all he was doing was going to school. It's changed over the years due to circumstances like I am a stay at home mom now.
For example, he does the dishes. I typically cook, but sometimes he does too (he's a FABULOUS cook!). On occasion I do the dishes as I'm cooking. I should more often but I figure trying to keep the kids happy while I'm cooking is good enough..Oh and my 3 year-old likes to help when I cook so making sure he's safe while in the kitchen is more important to me than dishes. I do the laundry and he vaccumes.
Once when an older sister at Church heard that Stuart does dishes she flat out started laughing. Truthfully I was a little embarrased, and then I realized that she wasn't part of my marriage. It's between the two of us. What works for us doesn't work for everyone.
I hate for him to do laundry, but some husbands do laundry. Mine also changes most diapers when he is home. I think he figures I'm alone enough doing diapers during the school year that he is kind enough to do them for me when he is home. I'll add a little bit to that...we use cloth diapers so that makes it even more special to me that he's willing to help!
I make sure the bed gets made everyday (usually because he doesn't care if it's made), and he takes the trash out. The list could really go on, but we've become a unified "machine". We know what it takes to make our home run, and our marriage work. Although as far as the marriage part goes it's constantly evolving, and as much as I hate to say that it's true. Our kids change everyday which means our marriage changes just a little bit to cope with the changes. We've also changed over the years and how we stay unified has changed in a lot of small ways. Right now we have just been thrown into a situation that we aren't thrilled about, but we'll make it through because we cleave to each other.
I'm sure as we age and our children get older our "roles" in the house will change again. It's nice knowing that we do it all together in our own way right now though!
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
THE weekend
This is Phillip with his "stash" on his birthday. He thought Buzz was the greatest thing ever!
What a weekend the kids and I had! We were supposed to leave after school on Friday, however it was snowing and so after looking at the road conditions (there was black ice in some spots) and talking to Stuart I decided to leave by 10-10:30. And, I somehow managed it. Friday evening we just hung out at Grandma and Grandpa's. Grandma went to visit Aunt Ila and KatieJo went along for the ride. While they were gone Phillip and Maija got a bath (we had spaghetti for dinner) and Samuel played chess with Grandpa. He got a chess book for Christmas and so LOVES practicing!
Phillip was convinced that only Grandma Baxley could make his birthday cake, and he wanted a chocolate cake...and so she did. He was THRILLED!!!
Saturday morning Grandma, the kids and I headed to the Little Monkey Bizness at the Orchards Town Center in Westminster. It was FABULOUS! They played for about 2 1/2 hours before we had to leave to get Phillips pictures taken. The place was awesome, a little bit pricey but worth it! Somehow I didn't get very many pictures here, but they had a great time.
After pictures at JC Penny's we headed to the Orchard's Train Phillip was ECSTATIC! Mom and I rode free with the kids and they all wanted to ride again. We probably would have let them but it was nearly 1 and very much lunch time.
So, we went to 3 Margaritas for lunch. It happened to be right by the train, and smelled yummy. Samuel wasn't too sure about it until he got his nachos and said "this place isn't bad!" Guess Rawlins food choices are ruining him to decent restaurants.
Sunday morning the kids and I stayed home because Phillip had something funky going on with his eyes. (After his doctor's appointment on Monday we found out that it's most likely Adenovirus.) So after Grandma and Grandpa got home from Church we had a big breakfast and then put our pj's on over our clothes so we could stay warm and went out to "shovel". Phillip was mainly interested in riding on Grandpa's tractor. He wanted to ride on it the night before but there was no reason to pull it out.
They had a great time "shoveling" and wiping the snow off of Grandpa's car!
Poor Maija wanted out SO bad...but we didn't have any boots. Eventually Grandma put her coat on her and took her out to help clear the snow off the car...but she really didn't want much to do with it. 
Monday morning got us up early so we could be in Laramie by 9:30 for Phillip's 3 year well-child check up and Maija's 15 month check-up. We are HAPPY to say that Maija FINALLY weighs over 20 pounds. She is exactly 20 lbs 6 oz...however I'm convinced the only reason she weighs that is because she ate right before we got there. Stuart turned her car seat around before we even left the doctor's office parking lot...we were a little bit excited! Maija is thrilled too, she absolutely loves being able to see new things! She is 30 3/4 inches tall which puts her in the 60%, and her weight puts her in the 15%...at least she's on the charts!!
Phillip is 38 1/4 inches tall which puts him in the 75% and weighs 38 1/2 lbs which puts him at the 95%. We're pretty sure he's getting ready to sprout up because he's "chunked up"
What a weekend the kids and I had! We were supposed to leave after school on Friday, however it was snowing and so after looking at the road conditions (there was black ice in some spots) and talking to Stuart I decided to leave by 10-10:30. And, I somehow managed it. Friday evening we just hung out at Grandma and Grandpa's. Grandma went to visit Aunt Ila and KatieJo went along for the ride. While they were gone Phillip and Maija got a bath (we had spaghetti for dinner) and Samuel played chess with Grandpa. He got a chess book for Christmas and so LOVES practicing!Phillip was convinced that only Grandma Baxley could make his birthday cake, and he wanted a chocolate cake...and so she did. He was THRILLED!!!Saturday morning Grandma, the kids and I headed to the Little Monkey Bizness at the Orchards Town Center in Westminster. It was FABULOUS! They played for about 2 1/2 hours before we had to leave to get Phillips pictures taken. The place was awesome, a little bit pricey but worth it! Somehow I didn't get very many pictures here, but they had a great time.After pictures at JC Penny's we headed to the Orchard's Train Phillip was ECSTATIC! Mom and I rode free with the kids and they all wanted to ride again. We probably would have let them but it was nearly 1 and very much lunch time.So, we went to 3 Margaritas for lunch. It happened to be right by the train, and smelled yummy. Samuel wasn't too sure about it until he got his nachos and said "this place isn't bad!" Guess Rawlins food choices are ruining him to decent restaurants.Sunday morning the kids and I stayed home because Phillip had something funky going on with his eyes. (After his doctor's appointment on Monday we found out that it's most likely Adenovirus.) So after Grandma and Grandpa got home from Church we had a big breakfast and then put our pj's on over our clothes so we could stay warm and went out to "shovel". Phillip was mainly interested in riding on Grandpa's tractor. He wanted to ride on it the night before but there was no reason to pull it out.They had a great time "shoveling" and wiping the snow off of Grandpa's car! Poor Maija wanted out SO bad...but we didn't have any boots. Eventually Grandma put her coat on her and took her out to help clear the snow off the car...but she really didn't want much to do with it. Monday morning got us up early so we could be in Laramie by 9:30 for Phillip's 3 year well-child check up and Maija's 15 month check-up. We are HAPPY to say that Maija FINALLY weighs over 20 pounds. She is exactly 20 lbs 6 oz...however I'm convinced the only reason she weighs that is because she ate right before we got there. Stuart turned her car seat around before we even left the doctor's office parking lot...we were a little bit excited! Maija is thrilled too, she absolutely loves being able to see new things! She is 30 3/4 inches tall which puts her in the 60%, and her weight puts her in the 15%...at least she's on the charts!!Phillip is 38 1/4 inches tall which puts him in the 75% and weighs 38 1/2 lbs which puts him at the 95%. We're pretty sure he's getting ready to sprout up because he's "chunked up"
Monday, February 15, 2010
Phillip
Phillip had his 3 year-old pictures taken on Saturday. I'm too tired to download all of them, more or less post them. So, I'll post one of my favorites. He's just being silly here, but this is Phillip!
We had an awesome time over the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Baxley. I'll post about that too!
Hope you had a great weekend too!
We had an awesome time over the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Baxley. I'll post about that too!Hope you had a great weekend too!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
THREE!!!
I can't believe Phillip is 3 already! He's been excited for a month, although we are partially to blame for that. We shop for a month at a time and so we got his birthday presents the last time we went shopping...a month ago. And, because he was with us he pretty much picked out his presents. Well, the big ones anyway. We did get him a few things he didn't know about. He is having his 3-year-old pictures taken this weekend, so this is the most recent professional picture I have:
He is finally telling us that he is 3, for a long time he would tell people that he was 6...or 7 o'clock. Some of the high school girls believed him, I'm not sure if that makes them incredibly gullible or that Phillip is just really big for his age.
When asked what he wanted to eat for his birthday (we do a special dinner of the birthday person's choice) all he would tell us was that he wanted birthday cake...all day. I wasn't terribly thrilled with the idea, so our plan was just to go out to dinner and give him options.
When he woke up this morning he found the cupcakes in the kitchen. He wanted them for breakfast, however I made him wait....so he didn't eat breakfast (which was his choice, not mine). I frosted some of them to take to play group with the intent of not having 24 cupcakes in the house. He managed to eat 2 cupcakes before we left playgroup and headed to McDonalds for lunch with Dad and our friend Cindy and her boys Spencer and Russell. Samuel and Phillip had a grand time playing on the play place and eating their happy meals.
After Stuart and KatieJo got home this afternoon Phillip insisted on opening his "birthday box" that was stored in one of our closets. He was quite upset with us when we closed the door to wrap presents. It was amusing when he opened them because he acted like he'd never seen them before even though he was telling us (and both Grandma's) what he was getting for his birthday.
Then we headed out for dinner. We drove into the parking lot of a restaurant and that's when Phillip decided what he wanted....Pizza Hut! So, we turned around and headed to Pizza Hut.
I think he had a great birthday, well I hope so anyway because I'm tired and he has to be especially since he refused to nap "because it's my birthday!" I did make him lay down, but it didn't help.
I decided not to dig out pictures from the last 3 years, but I happened to have this handy.....his pictures from last year. If you'd like to see his pictures I posted them last year...Click HERE
We are so glad we get to be Phillip's parents! Here are some of our favorite things about this crazy boy: Stuart likes that he is more often than not a very happy boy. I love that he always wants to snuggle with me when he wakes up in the morning, and the crazy things that come out of his mouth! The vocabulary this kid has is amazing! Samuel loves that he's funny (and willing to wrestle with him). KatieJo likes that he plays with her with her Zhu Zhu pets. And Maija likes that he gets her food (especially since we blocked the kitchen off with gates and she can't get in).
Happy Birthday Phillip!
He is finally telling us that he is 3, for a long time he would tell people that he was 6...or 7 o'clock. Some of the high school girls believed him, I'm not sure if that makes them incredibly gullible or that Phillip is just really big for his age.When asked what he wanted to eat for his birthday (we do a special dinner of the birthday person's choice) all he would tell us was that he wanted birthday cake...all day. I wasn't terribly thrilled with the idea, so our plan was just to go out to dinner and give him options.
When he woke up this morning he found the cupcakes in the kitchen. He wanted them for breakfast, however I made him wait....so he didn't eat breakfast (which was his choice, not mine). I frosted some of them to take to play group with the intent of not having 24 cupcakes in the house. He managed to eat 2 cupcakes before we left playgroup and headed to McDonalds for lunch with Dad and our friend Cindy and her boys Spencer and Russell. Samuel and Phillip had a grand time playing on the play place and eating their happy meals.
After Stuart and KatieJo got home this afternoon Phillip insisted on opening his "birthday box" that was stored in one of our closets. He was quite upset with us when we closed the door to wrap presents. It was amusing when he opened them because he acted like he'd never seen them before even though he was telling us (and both Grandma's) what he was getting for his birthday.
Then we headed out for dinner. We drove into the parking lot of a restaurant and that's when Phillip decided what he wanted....Pizza Hut! So, we turned around and headed to Pizza Hut.
I think he had a great birthday, well I hope so anyway because I'm tired and he has to be especially since he refused to nap "because it's my birthday!" I did make him lay down, but it didn't help.
I decided not to dig out pictures from the last 3 years, but I happened to have this handy.....his pictures from last year. If you'd like to see his pictures I posted them last year...Click HERE
We are so glad we get to be Phillip's parents! Here are some of our favorite things about this crazy boy: Stuart likes that he is more often than not a very happy boy. I love that he always wants to snuggle with me when he wakes up in the morning, and the crazy things that come out of his mouth! The vocabulary this kid has is amazing! Samuel loves that he's funny (and willing to wrestle with him). KatieJo likes that he plays with her with her Zhu Zhu pets. And Maija likes that he gets her food (especially since we blocked the kitchen off with gates and she can't get in).Happy Birthday Phillip!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Love Song
We don't have a song. Some may find that unromantic, but when you meet in February and are engaged by April and married by August...there really isn't time to find a song. We were too busy getting to know each other! We also didn't have dancing at our reception which would also not lead to the necessity of having a song.
However, if I got to choose a song for us it would be From This Moment sung by Shania Twain and Brian Adams. I absolutely love this song. It describes my feelings for my husband in song...which I could probably never do on my own (with a song that is). My handsome man was a music major in college and so music is extremely important to him which is why I find it funny that we don't have a song. I guess he satisfies himself with making up songs about me...and then singing them to me in very public places (like chasing me around Wal-Mart).
I you'd like to see more about Wordfull Wednesday click HERE.
However, if I got to choose a song for us it would be From This Moment sung by Shania Twain and Brian Adams. I absolutely love this song. It describes my feelings for my husband in song...which I could probably never do on my own (with a song that is). My handsome man was a music major in college and so music is extremely important to him which is why I find it funny that we don't have a song. I guess he satisfies himself with making up songs about me...and then singing them to me in very public places (like chasing me around Wal-Mart).
I you'd like to see more about Wordfull Wednesday click HERE.
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