Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Update on The Astleys

This is a picture Alex took.  We are now actually down to about 2 and a half weeks. Kaitlyn has run out of room.  We are all ready for her arrival--at this point we feel as if it is hanging over our heads. People keep telling me the time will go by fast--in some ways it is and in some ways it isn't.
My doctor says that walking is good so I try to do it from time to time.  Yesterday was Jacob's birthday so he took off at 3:00, went with me to pick up the boys from school (which was a big surprise for them), and then we went to a park.  The park has a ton of walking trails and it is just so beautiful.  The temperature was perfect and a cool breeze was blowing.  I walked on one of the trails with Jacob and the boys for a while.  We went to the look out spot and I stayed there while Jacob took the boys hiking up the hill.  I watched them all hiking together, getting farther away, and thought about how blessed I am.  When they  got to the top of the hill Logan turned and waved, then they came back to me.  The boys wanted to keep hiking/walking so Jacob took them and I found a picnic table where I sat, enjoyed the cool breeze, and waited for them to come back. I really enjoyed it.  We came home and I made fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans and biscuits for dinner (its one of Jacob's favorite meals).  We gave Jacob a card game he has been wanting and also got him a new Texas Rangers hat he has mentioned wanting for his birthday.  It was a good afternoon/evening.

We have been busy trying to get things ready for Kaitlyn's arrival--packing, making lists, cleaning, getting all of her little things ready for her arrival, getting things ready for the boys, etc.  We have a lot of lists and a lot to do.  My body hurts and it takes me 3 times longer  to do something than it used to. We are trying to stay caught up with all of the boys' homework and Alex's therapies and extra work from speech and reading class.  I realized yesterday that I am not Super Mom and I can't do it all. Logan informed me that his teacher tested him on sight words and he didn't know them all because I haven't worked with him on them.  He is right.  I completely forgot about the sight words.  I felt horrible!  So much attention goes towards Alex and all of his extra needs and getting ready for Kaitlyn.  The whole "Middle child" thing came to mind.  I talked to Logan and he, of course, told me it was okay.  I talked to his teacher and she said that he knew half of the sight words, which is more than a lot of the kids knew. She acted like it was no big deal and was very understanding.  I was upset about it and Jacob said, "The fact that you care and you're upset about it proves that you're a good mom."  Have I mentioned that I love that man!  LOL  We are hoping that once we get Kaitlyn home we can develop a new schedule and routine and get everything done that needs to be done.We have already decided that once a month Jacob will take the boys to the park or out for ice cream, etc. and once a month I will do the same with the boys so they get a little extra attention.  Jacob has even mentioned taking the boys to do things on their own that they like--taking Alex to an arcade or taking Logan bug hunting, etc. The boys are actually excited about Kaitlyn--they rub my tummy and kiss it and say they love Kaitlyn. All I know is that she is going to have two awesome big brothers.

Now we're just waiting to get her here.

Until next time . . .

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Enjoying Autumn

Like most families we look forward to the weekends.  We always try to do fun things with the boys on the weekends--they will only be this age for a little while and we want to enjoy every minute of it.  Friday evening we went to McDonalds for dinner.  They have been advertising the Halloween pails that the happy meals come in and the boys were excited about getting them.  They got the Jack-o-lantern pails and put the face stickers on them--they were surprised to discover that the stickers glow in the dark.

Saturday morning we got up and I made breakfast toaster sandwiches and then we cleaned.  The boys cleaned their room and Jacob and I cleaned the rest of the house. The house was a mess and it needed to be cleaned--it was nice to have Jacob's help.  We hung out with my cousin, Matt, and I tried a new recipe which was a BIG hit--mini shepherds pies.
Alex loved these--which means we will be having these more often!
The boys watched Matt and Jacob play a card game and we watched the Rangers game.  The boys got to stay up late, which is really cool when you're little.

We bought a hay bale and sat it near the porch with a scare crow and some pumpkins.  The boys helped Jacob make two Jack-o-lanterns.  It turned out really nice!



I made Pumpkin spice pancakes and bacon for breakfast and now we are just relaxing and enjoying a clean house! LOL  We have plans to use our hot dog cooker to cook some hot dogs for dinner later. It has been a fun weekend and I am excited to try a few more new recipes for dinner this week.  We actually have a busy week coming up--Logan gets to dress up as a book character this week (there will be pictures) and the boys' school fall parties are this week.

This is a busy, but fun time of year--and we are trying to enjoy every minute of it. ;)

Monday, October 3, 2011

Baby's Room

I have had a lot of people ask me to post pictures of Kaitlyn's room when we get it finished. Well, as of yesterday, it is pretty much finished.  The boys told us they thought it looked good--Alex said he thinks Kaitlyn will like it.  Since it has her big brothers' stamp of approval I thought I'd share some photos of her room with those of you who have asked to see pictures and those of you who are interested in seeing them.

The window, changing table and a hair clip holder.  The changing table was given to us by my friend, Sylvia.  We have gotten a lot of compliments on it.  The hair clip holder was made for Kaitlyn by my cousin, Ann.  It looks great hanging in her room!

The wall above Kaitlyn's bed.

Kaitlyn's crib

A pink table given to us for Kaitlyn's room by my friend, Brittani.  The frog bank matches the small amount of green in her room and was given to her by her Nisa (Denisa).  The bottle bank was given to me by my friend, Sunshine.

Above the pink table we have our first green shelf, with the ancient TV set (LOL) and a bunch of pink things. The teddy bear on the shelf was mine as a little girl.  One of my mom's friends made it for me.  She received another hair clip holder from Denisa, which is good because she has a ton of clips and bows.  The tissue flower hanging on the wall was made by my sister-in-law, Payten, and the robes were given to Kaitlyn by my friend, Crystal.  (Its neat to look at all of these things and remember where they all came from!)

The second green shelf in Kaitlyn's room is above the brown futon.  All of the stuffed animals on the shelf, with the exception of Ruby (the rabbit from Max & Ruby) were mine as a little girl. Ruby was Logan's--he had Max and Ruby and told me he thought Kaitlyn would like to have Ruby, so she went up on the shelf with the others.  The picture below the shelf is one that my cousin, Ann, made for Kaitlyn's room.

We framed the T-shirts the boys wore to announce they were getting a sister, along with the pictures we took of them announcing they were going to be big brothers.  We have gotten a lot of compliments on this, too.

The far corner of Kaitlyn's room.  A tissue flower, made by her Aunt Payten, hanging from the ceiling, and a lot of pink and brown.  The name banner was made by my friend, Sunshine, for her room. It looks awesome in there! Sunshine did such an amazing job on it!  She has a ton of headbands and my mother had some one make a head band holder for her, which is sitting on the left side of her chest of drawers.  We have the nursery scentsy in the middle and the cool Wonder Woman lamp (Also from Denisa) on the right.

This is the Wonder Woman lamp.  It is probably THE coolest lamp I have ever seen.  We don't have to mess with a lamp shade or a big light bulb--its filled with a strand of lights and it is just cool.

The cool hair clip holder my cousin, Ann, made for Kaitlyn.  When I pulled it out of the sack I noticed it has bows already attached to it.  The bows are pretty cool as well!  I love that Kaitlyn has so many things in her room that were given to her by people who already love her!  She isn't going to be rotten at all! LOL

The hair clip made for Kaitlyn by Denisa.  It is so cute!  There are some great things in her room that were made just for her.  I love it!

The picture my cousin, Ann, made.  This is something I will always cherish--and it looks great hanging in Kaitlyn's room!

So, there you have it! We are very happy with it and are now just waiting to get her here. ;)