Gratituesday: I love my hubby!

Over at Heavenly Homemakers, Laura hosts Gratituesday every Tuesday. I've decided to join her in giving God the glory by sharing how God is working in our lives!

I am grateful for my husband! He is such a blessing in my life and the lives of our children. He works hard to provide for our family, and will do anything for us. He comes home from a long day at the office and spends special time with each of his girls before getting a rest.

Scott spent this weekend working hard on our home while he could have decided to just rest and relax. He worked on landscaping, installed a dishwasher (a whole new experience for him, but he stuck with it and got it completed in a day!), and even did some office work!

Scott is a man of God, and for that I am especially thankful. He lives out what he speaks forth to the youth at church. He gives guidance and leadership in our family and home. He is kind, gentle, patient, and tender-hearted. What a blessing to our family of girls!

What are you grateful for today?

Countdown to Christmas!

Can you believe there are only 87 days until Christmas? I was reminded of this today when I was reading 100 days to Christmas! I've been thinking about gifts lately, with Bianca's birthday coming up, plus Christmas. We just collected a big box of toys to give away, and we still have plenty of those! So what do kids who already have lots of toys want for Christmas? Well, Bella is already making her list, so let's explore that:

A White horsey (real, I believe, and yes, I told her right away that she will probably not get that!)
A puppy
A big guitar (this girl plays an awesome air guitar, and Daddy is quite proud!)

Mommy would add that she is growing, and will be needing all new clothes for fall and winter this year, though I'm hoping to hit some garage sales in the coming weeks. We are also crazy for books around here (we have a few memorized!), so those are also always good. A good list is this preschooler's list of books, along with this list for Bianca. Here is another that I've found. I've discovered already that toys that require imagination are a hit with my girls (well, at least the oldest!). So if I'm considering toys, I have begun to ask myself, "Is this something that could be in a preschool?" That's a pretty good indicator as to whether it requires imagination, or just pressing a button. I also lean more towards wooden toys rather than plastic. I know, they are pricey, but they last longer!

Bianca hasn't given us a list... yet. She is pretty good at letting us know what she wants nowadays, though, so I'm sure it won't be long. Usually, it is whatever sister loves at the moment. Right now, Bella likes to play with her kitchen, so Bianca is enthralled with the dishes. Not to mention that she also loves to eat, maybe that has something to do with it! Anyhow, she is growing like a weed, and already wearing some 18 month clothes! The cloth diapers help a bit, too.

My life

This week has flown by! I feel like it should still be Wednesday or Thursday! We've been so busy, I wonder where the days have gone. It has, however, given me some things to blog about. They will be upcoming. On Wednesday, I had a wonderful time visiting with Shari! The girls got to play together, and we got to have some girl talk. It was very good, and we made plans to get together again on Friday with our hubbys for dinner. That was great too! I think that we have seen each other more often since the Hochstetlers moved than before the move (outside of church). On Thursday, Scott and I took Bella to Lebanon where my mom picked her up to keep her for the weekend. Its good for us to have a weekend where Bianca can get one on one attention with us, and we are able to get more done! After having lunch together, we went on to search for appliances. We visited 4 different places, and didn't make any decisions. We do a lot of research before purchasing large ticket items! Friday morning was our once a month cooking meeting, and, as mentioned before, we met Shari and Troy for dinner (Bianca went to the Durazo home, Thank you Mary, Celia, and Charlie!) at the Cheesecake Factory (YUM!), and then did more appliance shopping. This time we purchased a dishwasher, which Scott installed all by himself on Saturday! I'm so proud of him! He's the MAN! Also on Saturday, Scott went to the Fishers/Hamilton Southeastern soccer game, and out to lunch, while Bianca and I finished the landscaping (pictures forthcoming!)!! yay!! The planting and most of the mulching is done, only rocks to arrange. I got the living room, dining/toy room and the girls' bedroom floors steamed cleaned, too. When we put Bianca to bed at 8:30, it was so quiet!! I got to take a nice relaxing bubble bath, and rest. I forget how much I enjoy the pre-toddler stage:) She sleeps through the night (mostly), and goes to bed easily. And Scott and I got some much needed one on one time throughout the weekend.

This week, I'll be recovering from our busyness! We have lots of laundry to catch up on, and toys to put back in place when the carpet is dry in the morning. We agreed that we will have a range by the end of the week (if it's in our power!), so I'm looking forward to baking! We have 25 meals (at least) in our freezer right now, but that's a whole 'nother post (which is also coming this week!). No cooking for a while!! woohoo!! Now what to do with all of that free time... haha!

If You're Happy and You Know It..

Recently, our family took a road trip to our vacation destination, Tennessee. The girls did wonderfully, but there are all of those things we did to entertain them on the way. One included singing songs. My favorite has to be "If You're Happy and You Know It." Isabella has her own version of the verse that goes, "If you're happy and you know it say amen, amen!" It goes something like this...

If you're happy and you know it, shake your man, AMEN!

If you're happy and you know it, shake your man, AMEN!

If you're happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it.

If you're happy and you know it, shake your man. AMEN!

I thought you might need a little laugh, I know I did!

Week at a glance

I think it may be a slow week for us this week. Which is greatly needed after the past few weeks! I say that now, but I'm sure that we'll be busy, busy, busy. I have not been able to research into the natural cleaning like I've wanted to lately, so maybe I can get back to that. And we're working on October's budget... new tires for the van, Bianca on milk, hopefully some Farm Fresh Delivery, is there enough to cover it all? Probably not, but we'll get what we need. We always do. Its just the difference between deciding what we want and what we really need. We're also looking at what to do with our oven (It's 15 years old, and needs a new part). We're hoping to look at a set of used appliances today, so that is a possibility, or we may just have to get one piece at a time. Also today I am cleaning! Mopping the kitchen, cleaning the bathroom, and vacuuming the living room/dining room, and bleaching the sinks.

This weekend was really fun! It started with an awesome start to MOPS! We had 14 moms there (and we were missing 3!), and it went really well. The girls and I headed off to Olivet after it was over. We weren't on a schedule, so I decided to stop and see Shari and Troy on the way. It was a wonderful little visit, and we made a memory in their new home! Bianca was playing with their cans of paint samples, which we thought was fine, because Kyla plays with them also. But our heads were turned for one moment, and the next thing we see is Bianca getting ready to fingerpaint on the tile floor! She had gotten the lid off of one can and poured it on the floor! We grabbed her and took her upstairs for a bath while Troy cleaned up the paint. It all cleaned up very well, thankfully! I wish we had thought to take a picture, but we were so shocked that it never occurred.

We arrived at Olivet mid-afternoon, while Scott was still out on the Youth Pastor's Golf outing, so I decided to stop in at another friend's home. Alicia and I got seated next to each other in chapel during college because we had the same last name (maiden name: Metz). We've been friends ever since, minus the years that we lost touch with each other when she moved to California! Our little ones are about the same age, so it was fun to get together and exchange notes while we watched them play together. That visit was too short, considering it had been at least 6 years since we've seen one another.

The rest of the evening was spent eating supper, seeing my sister Kaitlin, and getting the Red Carpeters to their proper places. We had a wonderful night of talking and catching up with some more friends, Lynn and Glen Nixon, before heading off to bed a little too late!

Saturday consisted of worship service, hanging out in Kaitlin's dorm room, and lunch with the kids, Kaitlin, April, D, and Jon the intern (even though he's not the intern anymore, we still call him that! Hi Jon! I know you're reading, you stalker!;). Kaitlin, April, the girls, and I spent some time in the bookstore, and then we headed home.

Something I needed to hear...

As I was surfing the numerous blogs that I like to check in on once in a while, I came across a post by Two Zany Zebras of a few statements that I need to be reminded of every once in a while. I thought maybe you'd enjoy them also.

The information below was taken from Parents Magazine September 2008 issue by Mary Mohler:

Memo to Mommy


You have a lot of lessons to teach your little one, but he has a few words of wisdom for you too.
*Stop freaking out about the mess! There's always time to clean-but how often do we get to make mud pies?
*Be patient, I do everything for a reason, but I don't know enough words yet to give you an explanation.
*Let me do it. I know you can do it faster and better, but sometimes experience is the best teacher.
*Don't expect too much of me. I want to do what you ask and make you happy, but I'm still little.
*Don't try to reason with me when I'm having a tantrum. Trust me-I can't hear you over my own screaming.
*Keep your promises. It's all about trust. When I'm a teenager, you'll understand why it's so important.
*Don't keep asking me if I've been good. I'm not even sure what that means, but if I was bad I'd never admit it.
*Don't let me think that you're perfect. I feel a lot better knowing I'm not the only one who makes mistakes sometimes.
*Set limits. I can't actually eat a whole box of cookies-I just want to see if I'd get away with it.

What matters

Its been a good week, and its not over yet! We found out on Tuesday that Delia, Scott's mom, has the 'good' kind of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, and it is in the first stage. The medication she has been prescribed has been in use since 1995, and those patients have had no change in their diagnosis. So in about 3 weeks, she'll pretty much be feeling back to normal, back to work, and be on a medication for the rest of her life. She has had cancer now 3 times in 10 years, and each time, it has been caught in its earliest stages, and has always been the "if you are going to get cancer, this is the kind to have" sort.
We spent today doing some more landscaping. Almost done! We have mulch and plants to do down the side of the house; rock to lay in the back around the deck, and possibly, if there is enough mulch, mulch in the back corner. Today we pulled a lot of roots out, transplanted another small oak tree, and took out a bunch of pebbles that were around our deck. We are so blessed to have such wonderful girls. They both played so well today while we were working! Bella loves her swing set. If only someone could push her on that swing all the time! And they both had so much fun playing in the water table!
Earlier this week, we had someone come out and look at our oven. I found Dobbs' Handyman Service on Craigslist. We found that it needs a new hot surface ignitor. Due to the cost of the repair and the age of the range, we decided to fore go the repair, and are on the lookout for a newer range. We found an ad on Craigslist for a whole set of appliances, all fairly new, for an amazing price. Unfortunately, they are no longer for sale, but may be available again next week. Since we are busy this weekend, we can wait. Its worth it, believe me! Anyhow, we are on the look out for a new gas range!
I have been catching up on laundry this week. I have not achieved my goal of getting out my sewing machine. That will come. Like I told someone earlier this week, sometimes my eyes are bigger than my stomach in terms of my goals for the week! My room is still a mess (though its smaller), I haven't touched the front bedroom this week, and I never got around to the price list. BUT, I spent time with my babies this week, and prepared for our first MOPS meeting. We have 16 moms registered, and I'm hoping to add 4 more before this year. I'm not interested in numbers, but I can think of at least 4 offhand that could and should be involved with something for themselves as women. Its an awesome experience where you can be yourself and be known for who you are, not as mom or wife, but as friend. Anyhow, I accomplished what was important this week, and that is what matters.
Tomorrow, I'll be attending the first MOPS meeting of the year, and then heading to Olivet. I'm so excited to see an old friend again! And to see some other friends, plus my sister, who is a freshman this year! It will be a good weekend! How about yours?

Week at a glance

This week is feeling full already, I think because it is weekend-heavy!
Monday- I am getting the final things together for MOPs. I have a great team, and they are each doing their jobs to make it a wonderful time for moms to enjoy some me time!
Tuesday- Just a normal day. Laundry, cleaning, loving kids!
Wednesday- Nursery tonight! I had so much fun last Wednesday with the kids! There were 11 or 12, mostly 2-3 year olds. We played with our shadows, and tried to draw them so the kids could color themselves. They weren't perfect, but the kiddos enjoyed it! And that time there reminded me why I majored in Early Childhood Education. I've recently been known to say that I won't teach school in the future. I think I may like to do preschool again someday, but I'm not interested in elementary school teaching!
Thursday- It depends on the weather and a few other things. We have finished the front landscaping. (Pictures coming soon!) There is still the side and backyard to do. Rocks to move, tilling on the side, mulch, etc.
Friday- MOPS! I'm so excited!! We have around 15 moms registered, and 30 kids! And an awesome team working to put it all together!
Also, its Red Carpet Days at Olivet Nazarene University. Scott will be leaving at 8 am with the kids, and the girls and I will follow after MOPs. I'll get to see my sister Kaitlin's dorm room, a friend from college who has kids the same age as mine, and dear friends, Lynn and Glenn Nixon. We love them!
Saturday- Returning from Olivet, rest and recovery!

Goals for the week-
Clean my room!! Any mom would be grounding me for the way our room looks right now, it really needs attention. But any mom also knows its the last one you get to, because others don't see it. I'm trying to make it a priority.

Get out my sewing machine! I have a few things that HAVE to be done before that happens, but others that can wait.

Get the oven fixed!! Scott is going to pull it out and see if it may just be a spark plug, on the advice of a friend. If not, I'm calling a repairman! We haven't done that yet because we really didn't want to pay someone just to come look, and then pay them to fix it, but there isn't anyone we know who can fix it or even give us a name, so Yellow Book, here I come! (maybe)

The Spiritual Scene-
I'm starting to study the Friendships of Women by Dee Brestin. Its a book Midday Connection is covering in their Bible Study starting September 17th. I encourage you to check it out! God created us for relationship, and women have special connections. It focuses on the friendships of women in the Bible.

Prayer Request- Scott's mom is undergoing tests this week to explain a high white blood cell count. The current diagnosis is Myloid Leukemia. We are awaiting test results to hear if its the "good" kind or the "bad" kind. The "good" kind would most likely mean that she would be put on medication everyday for the rest of her life.

Feeling wordy:)

Apparently, fall makes me feel creative. I have had this desire to get my sewing machine out throughout the summer, but it is overwhelming right now!! I love this blog, it has a new idea every day (well almost)! Yesterday between football games, I had some time to work on the front bedroom. I am working on setting it up for my creative room, as I've mentioned before. This project got sidetracked when we started working on the landscaping. We have already traded the futon that used to be in there for a trundle bed to put under Bella's bed. Yesterday I got a cabinet moved in there, and emptied one file cabinet. I now have a desk to empty and get rid of. I am looking for a sturdy table that will handle do crafts and a sewing machine. There is the closet to clean out, then all that's left is painting and set up! I am so excited!

I'm also feeling the need to paint! not creatively, per say, but the entry, dining and living room. We are thinking of doing something a little more neutral, especially the mustard/gold/yellow dining room. The red living room may stay, but its up for grabs right now. All of these rooms, if painted will be in the same not quite tan, not quite off-white color. Our bedroom and bathroom are also on the list. I have never liked either one. The bedroom has dark green on the bottom half with some sort of design/stripe on the top with beige, gold, and green. The bathroom is a glowing yellow color. The original color is not bad, but apparently there is green beneath it, and it shows through. I want something calming and relaxing. We are considering doing shades of black and gray with creme in both rooms. We want something that would be considered somewhat neutral, yet some style to it. Any thoughts on this?

I am trying out the quiet time idea right now. Bianca isn't enjoying it currently, so I better go rescue her. Bella is in the beginning stages of settling down to a nap, and its 3 pm.... we'll see how that goes!

An odd question for the experienced mommies out there!

Bella slept 6 hours last night. SIX HOURS. and woke up fine and dandy, ready to go at 7:25 this morning. She didn't go to sleep until after 12:30 last night. Here's the problem: She insists on taking naps. I have no issue with that, but she waits until 4 or 5 in the afternoon to take a 2-3 hour nap. I've tried the whole quiet time after lunch. She plays on her bed and doesn't go to sleep. I may try it again today. SO, HOW do you keep a preschool girl from taking the beauty rest she thinks she needs so badly?? I want her to NOT take a nap, and then go to bed at a decent hour!

Week at a glance

I thought I would start trying more regular postings, so this is my attempt at that! We'll see how it goes:)
We have a good week ahead! I'll have Lincoln on Monday, Tuesday, and half day on Wednesday. Monday night brings the first meeting of my small group again! I have missed it since last spring... yeah for girl time again!! Tuesday will probably be spent on landscaping. (There are pictures coming soon! We got the front planted, it just needs the finishing mulch put on!) Wednesday night I will be in the nursery with the kids! I'm working on a lesson for that. Thursday is Scott's day off, so probably more landscaping, and maybe a little fun! Friday will be my day at home with the girls. We like to sleep in, and do some cleaning along with fun stuff that day! Saturday will be probably more landscaping or other projects around the house.
Amidst all of this, I'm planning to clean out some toys, and get our bedroom straightened up. I also would like to start a price list. Aldi's recently opened just down the road from Walmart, and I want to make sure I'm buying at the right place/price to get the best deal! Also on the list is researching some more on homeschooling, and how to get a toddler/preschooler to eat something besides waffles, toast, and peanut butter and jelly. Oh, and get the oven fixed!

Bella and Bianca

We have a night owl on our hands. We have been regularly putting her to bed at 9 pm, yet she is often still awake at 11 or later! She has finally concluded that she can, in fact, play in the dark. She has read books, played house, changed pjs, rocked her care bear (in the hamper!), and managed to play in sister's crib without waking her! The other night we suddenly heard a crash, followed by silence. I heard it with one thing in my mind of what it was, praying I was wrong. When I did not hear a squeal of any sort, I assumed I was. However, after a few seconds of sizing up the situation, Bella decided that maybe this will need mom and dad's assistance. I walked into room, not sure what I would find. For once, I am so glad their room was not clean! Bella had pulled the drawer(s) out of her 4 drawer chest, and tried to climb it! Fortunately, I had recently purchased a couple of Rubbermaid tubs to store some clothes, but had not done anything with them. They were what kept the chest from falling completely to the floor, and on top of Isabella. Thank you Lord!!

She has since decided to mostly stay in her bed for now. So how do you anchor a chest with a false back on it?!

Now on to Bianca... Bella and I made No-Bake Cookies on Friday afternoon. Bianca, being the fast-learner, has already learned to quickly follow mommy into the kitchen when the refrigerator door is opened to get a cookie! She gets very excited about this, and makes some pretty funny faces, too. What will we do when they are all gone?!

Pittman Family Update

I have been playing catch up for a while around the house. I'm almost there! I have our room to work on, and then its back to getting my craft room together! We have gotten rid of the futon, I have a cabinet to paint, and a desk to get rid of. I'm also on the hunt for a solid craft table.

Scott and I have been working hard on the landscaping. Its quite a process, and we are both learning as we go. So far, we have pulled all bushes and flowers out, re-cut the landscape line, moved a tree, tilled, sprayed Round-up, mulched, and Preened. We still have some flowers to pull close to our front door, the side of the house is ready to till, and the back needs some flowers moved before we till. I am also trying to talk Scott into tilling a new section at the back of the yard so that I can plant flowers there. We have had some issues with kids wanting to climb the old farm fence at the back of our yard, and its tearing it down. I thought maybe if we landscape that area, maybe they'll stay out! I don't blame them, its a long walk around if you take the sidewalk, and I don't mind that they cut through the yard, but we like the fence! Anyhow, we are hoping to at least start planting some things tomorrow.

A new hobby of ours is exploring real estate with character! I think we are getting bored with our suburbia life and neighborhood where every house looks the same. I love the pool (though we didn't go as much this year), the nice streets, and our location, but we are tired of the bedrooms/living room/dining room/kitchen arrangement. We want some rooms with options! We have also learned that with the right timing, some hard work and a little elbow grease, we may just be able to get 'character' at a price that means no more providing childcare, so that I would be able to home school, as I have been so desiring, and a smaller mortgage. I'm not saying that we are packing any boxes or even contacting any real estate agents. We've just had some fun looking recently, and its something we've been thinking about. One website that helped introduce us to this thought is http://www.flockrealty.com/. Its fun to look at! Sometimes the location isn't ideal, but that's why we're paired together: Scott sees the deal, I see the reality of the neighborhood! I've already had to say no to one house he was interested in. I must say, it looked really nice from the pictures, completely redone inside, priced at $40,000, but like I told him, there is a reason it is priced that, so let's go see why. It was so close to the stadium that the street should have been one way during the preseason game, with cars parked down both sides. Not to mention there was no grass between the houses because they were so close!

School has started, so that makes Scott's schedule a little more regular. He took Bella to a soccer game recently. Hamilton Southeastern was playing Fishers H.S., they are cross town rivals. Afterwards, they went out for pizza at my all time favorite, Monicals. I still have not been to the one here in Indy, but that is all I heard about from Isabella when she woke up the next morning! She loves their salad dressing, even though it leaves a rash if she gets it on her skin (it has Red40). Like mother, like daughter!

Scott and I are participating in Fantasy Football once again this year. It forces me to keep up with what's happening in the NFL, and Scott likes that. We held the live draft at our house last night. We had 20 people in our living room and kitchen, plus pizza, pop, buffalo chicken dip, and fruit pizza!

On the home front, we got our old washer put back in last week, and I've been doing laundry like a mad woman! I did freezer cooking on Friday, always a lot of fun! I think I may be consistently stationed at the sink doing dishes, though, after we've discovered how perfectionist I am at following the recipe exactly, and how slow that makes me! I'm learning, but its a process! I came home from freezer cooking ready to put supper in the oven, only to find the oven wouldn't heat. The stove top works fine, though! Too bad all of our freezer cooking items have to be baked or broiled! We're working on getting that fixed now. If anyone knows of a repairman they trust, please forward me their name! I've really been craving some homemade chocolate chip cookies.... So if the saying goes that things go out in threes, then we should be done for a while (air conditioner, washing machine, oven)!!