Before & After

Here are pictures of some recent kid events that you might find enjoyable!

Hubs and I were talking in the dining room a couple days ago. In strolled our little girl, just as casual as could be. I took one glance at her cute little face and saw nothing but green!!

Raelee had taken a dry erase marker off the fridge and, instead of using it to color her Disney Princess dry erase board, had used the green marker to color her face. Must have thought it made a good make-up or something. We still don't exactly know what was going on in that little head of hers as she clammed right up and wouldn't answer questions.

I did manage to capture a bit of the incident on camera. This is definitely going in the scrapbook!

Before:

















After:

Finally, all cleaned up! But still shy and tried hiding her face.
















Our son also had his own before & after event this weekend. He's had a loose tooth for a few weeks now--his very first. Every day it gets a little looser. He really wanted it out, & consented to have a string tied around his tooth to help pull it right out (it was hanging by one little root).

Before:
Hubs made a slip knot & we tied it around the tooth, then tied the other end of the fishing line to a nearby door knob. Joshua held onto Daniel, and I quicky closed the door. The tooth literally came flying out of Daniel's mouth!!




















After:
One happy little boy who lost his very first tooth!! He was a little concerned at first because there was a little blood, but a clean paper towel took cae of that. Daniel said that it didn't hurt at all, then changed his mind and said that it hurt "just a very little bit" but went away. He ever said that he'd do it again with the next tooth. (What a brave little guy!! NO WAY would I ever let my parents convince me of tying a string around my baby teeth & pulling them out!).

Baby's First Picture

7 1/2 weeks gestation

You can juuussstttt make out the head and arm buds in the center of the ultrasound!!!

Still way too soon to know whether we're having a boy or a girl, but it's definitely just one baby. Heartbeat was 143/min. Baby measured right at 7 weeks. Official due date is 4/28/10.

Feeling mostly well, overall. I had lost weight according to the scale at the doctor's office. But that is typical for me during the 1st trimester.

I don't have traditional morning sickness and haven't yet. Mostly, it's a voracious appetite and a really gnawing pain if I don't eat a little something every couple hours. You'd think that I'd at least gain weight during my 1st trimester with as much food as I end up having to eat! But it doesn't happen that way for me.

I'm sticking to as many healthy choices as I can in regards to eating and activity level. They say, "make every calorie count"!! So a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, watching how the food is prepared (ignoring the KFC extra crispy chicken that I had for supper tonight because there was no time to cook a meal before going to Enrichment meeting tonight). Also going to the park on Saturday mornings and playing hop-scotch with the kids.

Daniel & Raelee love their baby "something." Daniel's rooting for a brother; Raelee for a sister. Of course. Joshua and I are trying to prepare them in case the baby is not the gender that they would each prefer. Daniel's "ok" with having a sister, but Raelee is dead set against having a brother because she "only likes girls." (yes, she is a firm believer that boys have cooties!)

We gave away a lot of stuff after Raelee was born because of lack of room, but knowing at the same time that we'd have to replace if we had more kids. So we recently bought a baby swing. Need to buy an infant car seat/carrier, crib, bassinette (I really thought I kept this but Joshua couldn't find it in the attic) and load up on diapers while I have some time before the baby arrives.

Aside from getting up 3 or 4 times during the night to pee (*sigh*), I feel like I'm carrying around a bowling ball. The baby's about the size of a butter bean, though. Craziness. And that appetite, oh drives me crazy because I just ate supper a couple hours ago and now I'm starving again!! I'll be so happy when the 1st trimester is over and my metabolism levels out so I can eat like a normal person again. :)

TTFN, ta ta for now!

Loose Tooth!!

Someone's got his first loose tooth!!!


And there's the culprit growing in right behind the baby tooth.

They just grow too fast!!

Daniel's Graduation

Daniel graduated from Kindergarten this past May. His teacher, Mrs. Darden, mailed Daniel this picture that was taken during the graduation ceremony.

We are so proud of our young man. He worked really hard during the school year.

Boren Bounty

Just like last year, we planted a garden this year, except this year's garden is triple the size of last year. But unlike last year, our squash & zucchini didn't do well at all this year. What has done well are the tomatoes and all the peppers. And we had a huge variety of peppers, too!

Below: pimento, sweet banana, bell peppers, okra, red potatoes, strawberries, onion, green and purple beans, and cucumbers (yes, our cucumber plants are producing yellow cucumbers...strange to see but tastes like a cucumber).

Below: cayenne peppers, hot banana peppers, mucho nacho peppers, eggplant, Daniel, pimento peppers, jalapenos, okra, and bell peppers again.

And here's just a sample of the tomatoes.

We did manage to make seversal jars of homemade salsa. Had to do something with all those peppers & tomatoes!

Vacation Bible School

The kids recently attended Vacation Bible School at their grandma's church and had an absolute blast. Raelee, especially, had fun, because this year she was in the preschool class and not the "baby room" or nursery!

The theme was Saddleridge Ranch, with everything "cowboy"related. Even the program at the end of the VBS week, when the kids got to dress up, sing the songs they had learned, and receive their certificates of completion.

On commencement night, Raelee held on tightly to her purple care bear before the program started. She was really nervous and that care bear was like a security blanket. She did put her care bear down when it was time to go up and sing.

Daniel was the new Kenny Chesney, waring his hat low over his eyes and squinting them. What a ham!

Both of the kids sang their hearts out.

Playing Possum

A recent visitor to our yard had the kids fooled. Our dog Dallas constantly escapes, and she will attack and kill stray cats that get into our yard. On this particular day, she had escaped once again and was pouncing on this stray visitor.

The kids got the dog put away back in the dog pen. But they were so upset, thinking this "cat" was dead. It was laying over and was very still.

But no, it was just a possum, pretending to be dead! Very soon after the dog was put back in the pen, the possum got up and mosied on out of the yard. I bet it won't be coming back any time soon. :)

I Surrender!

At least, that's what I think Daniel meant when he put up 3 white flags in our garden. He is really proud of these little white flags that he made. So creative! I'm not sure what purpose they serve, but they're here and he checks on them every day. :)

Will Work For Food

Invite some missionaries over for dinner, and they're happy to do your dishes! haha


Raelee and Daniel absolutely love getting their picture taken. They're so cute when they "pose" for a pic.

The kids and the elders. What a fun evening!

First Beauty Shop Trip

I've been wanting to take Raelee to get her hair cut for a couple months now, but there just never seems to be an open time. I've cut her hair many times, but she has never been to a professional for a haircut. I thought that we could get our haircut together, a good mommy & daughter outing, you know?

Her Grandma, on the other hand, got it into Raelee's head that Grandma would take her to the beauty shop, and that Raelee needed to ask her mommy for permission. When I approached Raelee about taking her to get her hair cut this weekend, I was devastated when Raelee said no because she was supposed to go with Grandma.

And then the thought occurred to me that all 3 of us could all go together!

I made an appointment with Fantastic Sam's, but my mother-in-law decided we should go to her beautician instead for the real "beauty shop" experience. I hesitated a little bit because I've never had a good haircut experience, except for one time, and that was over 10 years ago (yes, I am that picky so I get my haircut about once a year).

Today was haircut day. After Raelee's dance class, we headed to the beauty shop. She did really fine until it was time to sit in the chair and get her bib on (is that even what it's called??). Then she got really scared and began crying.

Sweet little girl. I cried on the inside too at hear tears and anxiety.

This is her "before" picture.

The chair swiveled around and dropped back right into the sink. Raelee really bawled at this point. She had no clue what was going on. Simply broke my heart. I held her hand, and this helped calm her down. That and Miss Shirley was very calm and a good scalp massager as she washed Raelee's hair.

Getting her hair cut...

...And cutting some more...

...And still more coming off!

Then a quick blow dry on a low heat setting. She tolerated this rather well.

By the time Miss Shirley pulled out the flat iron, Raelee was giving little grins here & there inbetween pouting. She was so quick with them. Try as I might, I couldn't catch any of them with the camera!

Ta-da! The after shot--a cute little bob with a pretty white bow. Again, she was giving quick perky smiles here & there at her Grandma & her Grandpa, who was also at the beauty shop with us. I just couldn't get a cheerful grin out of her long enough to get a smile. But at least it wasn't a frown!

Raelee loves her haircut and kept commenting about how "beautiful" she was. And she truly is a beauty. I love my little princess.

Oh and yes, I love my haircut this time! I just might go back for another cut in a few months instead of waiting another year. :)

Tuckered Out

She insisted that I read her a story before bedtime.

I must have been pretty boring. :)

Super Son

It's a bird. It's a plane. It's SUPER SON!

He doesn't just make his own bed (without being asked).

He also makes his sister's bed (without asking). And...

...he even makes his parents' bed!

All without being asked.

I love my sweet son! :)

The Boot Scoot Boogie

Also knows as the Protestant Preschool & Kindergarten annual dinner auction! This year's theme was cowboys & cowgirls.

"I am not a crook!"

The kids had a blast getting up on the stage and singing cowboy songs.

Raelee's Snow Day

5 Inches!!!!!

We woke up to a magical world this morning--white-out conditions!!


The snow began yesterday evening but really started to come down right as we put the kids to bed last night. It stuck to everything as it continued to come down.

I took a ruler and measured the snow accumulation on our table out on the deck. We were supposed to get 2-4 inches of snow for our area. Low & behold we got 5!

Both kids were eager to play outside. Raelee especially wanted to have a snowball fight. In fact, it's about all she cared to do. She kept talking about it and would grab a handful of snow and throw her snowball at me. Kind of hard to take pictures when you're constantly bombarded by snowballs!

The kids and I took a little adventure out in the woods behind our house. They were in heaven!

Daniel insisted on toting the wagon with him, but I finally made him stop as we headed deeper into the woods.

We found dad's deer stand. Daniel made sure to climb up it and cleaned off all the steps. When he got to the top, he declared, "It's just like I'm hunting!" He is very excited for the day that he gets to go hunting with his daddy.

And here's Raelee saying, "Throw a snowball at me!" I told you it's all she could talk about. And the snow was PERFECT for snowballs. Our snow usually is icy and doesn't stick to itself very well. But this time the snow was ideal for snowballs and snowmen, although we didn't get a chance to make a snowman and the snow started melting almost as soon as the sun rose above the house.

The kids did make snow angels, of course!

More Progress in the Kitchen!

My aunt flew in from Texas Thursday, and we picked her up from the airport and brought her to the house (her first visit here). Since we had "company" Joshua hung the cabinet doors back up to make them a little more presentable. My cousin met us at the house to take his mom to his place.

The light-colored spots in the middle of the doors is from wood putty. The cabinet doors had some rather ugly medieval pulls smack-dab in the middle of of the doors. Joshua removed them and filled the screw holes with putty.

All the cabinets around the fridge and dishwasher have been painted. The hinges are "aged brass" kind but we're replacing them with "aged bronze". I finally found matching hinges, pulls & knobs that we all liked. We bought some this evening and will buy the remainder after I get paid next week (let's just say they're not cheap!).

After the cabinets are done, the next steps will be to replace the formica on the counter tops, replace the kitchen window, put down tile flooring, and replace the dishwasher, oven and microwave only 'cause the fridge is already new.

It's definitely coming along!