lots of improvements

Caed's been feeling better, so that's a huge improvement! He was able to go to his last class, and boy was he happy! There was a pizza party, and Santa showed up too! We'll miss going to school over the next month, but I think we'll be busy enough to keep us distracted...!

The kitchen is waiting small improvements, but mostly the cabinets at this point. They come in tomorrow! I've been a little uncertain to keep the kitchen color or not, it was a little more yellow then the "tan-ish" green ('dried palm' even sounds brown in color, doesn't it?) I thought I was getting. But I think we're going to stick with it- especially since cabinets will be covering it mostly. I think it's a cheery color....The appliances all come in on Friday! What a good week for the kitchen!

The upstairs bathroom is done- and we are thrilled to be showering in the new shower! Putting the seemingly huge sink and cabinet were at first a regret- but it's really going to help store a ton of stuff upstairs- and it's not much bigger then the previous cabinet, it was just a shock from having it empty to full again.

We got a tree this past weekend and put out a limited amount of decorations. Caed is really excited for Christmas this year, and it's a lot of fun. I am glad we put up a tree despite the really crazy house right now!

They started demolition on our little half bath. They had to brick in our nice built in nook, and by the time they did that and then finished off the side inside the bathroom it's a lot less deep then it was. Here's looking from the hole in the bathroom to the back room. This was the original outside wall of the house, so this used to be a window. It still is in some houses in our neighborhood too.

The kitchen, you can't really tell the color from these pics though, i need to attempt it again..new heater they will box in...

upstairs bathroom- and we're putting in glass doors, we've got to wait for the tub refinishers to come before the doors are installed though...

I LOVE this sink!! it's still crowded in there, but it's suitable...and it does feel spa like, except for the size...

Built in shampoo shelves- they are going to add glass shelves in the nook too:

Better view of the floor:

feeling better

Caed's doing better although a fever seems to be spotting here and there. I think he's making his way through. So mentally I'm doing better too. It's amazing how much better Caed acts when his temperature is normal! But it's just been such a weird thing. And being in the middle of it has been somewhat cloudy as to how to cope! I think we're getting back on track. Jon's promised a Christmas Tree this weekend and some lights around the house...words of encouragement that came to me were so helpful too. I was very thankful to be encouraged....

The house is coming along, and the shower is nearly done!! We'll be able to shower tonight at home!! We're making a last minute decision as to a shower curtain or doors, and I think although it's not as accessible, we'll be switching to doors...once I take some new pics you can see how nice the tile came out and I think glass doors will make the room appear bigger then it's small self...I love the bathroom sink too. oh it's nice. They want to start on the half bath so they're working quickly to finish the full bath...

alright on to more work...Nana and Coco's Christmas photo, and my neighbor's photo of her kid too. Just for fun!

blahh

Ever feel just bogged down for no good one reason, just lots of little things? I feel that way tonight. Caed's been fighting a fever since the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was about the 104 mark, but more recently it hovered around 101. This morning was his first 24 hours without a fever. I felt great. And it's good news too because tomorrow morning I teach in Caed's classroom and I was worried what would happen if he had a fever again.

Tonight though, Caed started getting REALLY needy. And if you're trying to get a dinner prepared (having to ascend and descend all levels of the house to complete it at this stage) and you're pregnant and then you have a two year old needing you to skip every "commercial" (he watches Noggin, which has no real commercials) and every scene on the TV that he doesn't like in the basement, you start to wonder what's up. So I took his temperature tonight and it's back at 103. On Sunday morning it was 103 and we gave him a bath instead of medicine, and his temperature went down on it's own. So tonight, as usual we were running late and cannot seem to get done with dinner before 8pm, we then bathed him about 8:45, and about 15 minutes after the bath, his temp was down to 100 already. So happy he's responding to a bath instead of continually pumping him with meds- but I can't help but feel overwhelmed and wondering what would be causing such fluctuations in his fevers.

I'm still planning to teach tomorrow and bring Caed, but I might be thinking about giving him Motrin before we leave. I can't say that I'm not stressed about this though.

The dog's been walking on three legs since I came home at one this afternoon. Can't figure out why, and Jon and I have both checked out his paw and leg.

I've got an 8am ultrasound on Wednesday and then I'm in the classroom again on Thursday.

Our house is torn apart, but I honestly am not stressed about that. I feel like that's the blessing in it all. I feel really grateful that we can have this work done and our house will be a much happier place.

I know there are bigger things being dealt with by my friends and family, but I can't shake this feeling of being bogged down. Since we've been trapped inside our house because of Caed's fever, I don't feel like I am experiencing anything from this holiday season. And I know it doesn't have to be commercialism, but I wasn't able to go to my mom's group for the little Christmas party they had, I'm not sure I'll get to the outreach opportunity this week either. I can't bake anything holiday related. I just feel out of touch with the community around me.

Progress

Here are the updates, so exciting!! And you can see our new doggie, "Rado" for Colorado in the first photo...

Back wall in our back room. We're leaving it exposed brick.

The bathroom! We love the tile!! (and love the rock stripe!)

The Skylight:

Cold

We returned home from nice warm Myrtle Beach yesterday night. Our house was cold when we came in. Turns out the furnace has to stay off for a couple of days! Ohh it's chilly! I was thinking I would leave to Heather's house, but I can't imagine hopping in a car again after sitting through yesterday's traffic. So we've got space heater's that helped with last night. We need another for the basement where spend most of our time these days.

Maybe the chilliness is good for Caed's fever?

What we've been doing

Since getting Caed back from Auntie Heather (thank you so much Auntie!). I had to complete my 32 page brochure project in 5 days. Most of the information came in right before last weekend, so it was VERY hectic. Last Wednesday our contractor began our kitchen and bath remodel on our house too. So we have been so scattered for the last week. We're heading down to Myrtle Beach to have Thanksgiving with my family, and we're thrilled to get down there. Thrilled to have a bathroom with a shower we can use everyday and a kitchen to wash dishes in! Caed is thrilled to play with Mor Mor's trucks! (little does he know Nana has some too!)

Excuse the mess....looking from the living room into where the kitchen is (tore down a wall!)


Looking from the kitchen at the plastic hanging down in between the dining room and kitchen area. (wall is gone!)

This is where the sink was and will be. Accompanied by a new addition, a dishwasher!!. Cabinets will go all the way to the ceiling. Basement doorway to the right, doorway to the back room to the left. (the left's doorframe is now gone!)

This is where the fridge/ stove was and will be (we're not changing the layout). Addition if a small counter space with a spice cabinet underneath in between the two. (i know not the best location for spices...)

View of where the wall was.

This is the half bath, which will be redone as well once the upstairs full bath is done.

This is currently where most of our kitchen stuff resides right now. In the future twins room.

Upstairs bathroom

Where the sink will be and a larger vanity.

We are trying to find out where a pesky leak is located- I think now that we can see the ceiling off we should add a skylight.

getting Caed back!

Leaving in a few minutes to go pick Caed up from my sister! So excited to see him!!

Empty House

I've taken on a graphic design project that is large and with a super quick turn around. I didn't think I would be taking on any more projects until the babies were at a place I felt I could (many years). This came along and Jon and I talked about it and I decided to take it! So the next two weeks are going to be a little chaotic. I would have to be working every available moment, and that probably would mean that Caed would be watching a lot of TV.

I talked to one of my lovely sister's this week and she offered to meet me half way and take him until TUESDAY! It took one call to Jon and we were packing his bag! Caed was so excited to go and spend time with them- he couldn't wait the half day to leave! I almost missed my sister due to a misunderstanding of her schedule yesterday evening, but it worked out- WHEW! I am so blessed to have the unplanned days to get the work done that I need to.

So our house is now empty without Caed here. Yesterday once I napped, I missed him playing and being around. I've always missed him when someone else has watched him more then a day, but I really felt lonely without him here! I know he's having a great time with his cousins and trying to boss them around- playing with their toys and running away from Brooklyn the puppy. Oh and all the treats and spoiling he'll have done to him too by my sister and her husband.

I'm so thankful how much my family loves our son. In our mom's group we talked about that this week. Being loved by other family members other then mom or dad. Caed's got a lot of that on both of our sides of the family!

Music

I've posted before about Caed and liking music. Recently when we are listening to the radio he's been asking me "what are they singing about mom?" I started to think about what I listen to, and decided to not change what I listen to (everything) but to be aware of what was being said and then if Caed could understand it, and if he talked about it or whatever. I love all sorts of music- we listen to a christian radio station most of the time, but we don't get that station in our bedroom upstairs for some reason, so we just have a popular secular station that I like to listen to on from time to time. Even in the summer we don't the christian station at our regular radio in the living room, so we tend to put on the secular station, a CD, or classical music. We're just all over the place with what Jon and I both like.

One morning I was making our bed and I heard that new Pink song come on the radio. Lots of "nananana, nananna"s and a fun beat, so I turned it up. If you've ever heard the song and paid attention to the first bit, she talks about her (ex) husband and wanting to fight. I hadn't paid attention to the words before that day and was all of the sudden worried because the words were crystal clear- and Caed and I were dancing. We listened a little bit longer and then I opted to turn it off. Then Caed said something to me about wanting to fight. I explained to my two year old that that wasn't a nice song and we don't like to fight, so that's why I turned it off. He was fine with that. We went on with our day. In the afternoon he brought up the song again and the fighting part. YIKES. I think I reached the time to tailor my music listening in front of him.

Yesterday we were listening to the christian radio station in the car and he again was asking me what the people were singing about. It was so nice to tell him they were singing about wanting to be compassionate (he roughly knows what that is from the veggie tales Jonah movie) Brandon Heath- Give Me Your Eyes (i think is what it was). He proceeded to ask me about the other songs that came on too. Then he started to tell me what they were singing about- and sometimes it was the general "Jesus" but sometimes he would elaborate, and it was so sweet. So we're taking the opportunity to use the music to teach him and reinforce positive issues (no more fighting!!).

My parents always let us listen to what we wanted for the most part, but encouraged heavily Christian music. My mom always listened to all sorts of music- and growing up I loved all sorts. We don't plan to limit our kids music listening, but I think playing the edifying music around them will be a priority, especially at this very young age. It's obvious that they're listening.

Voting

Our pastor spoke a great message on Sunday. Being in Washington, DC (and the church location is on Capitol Hill), we are never far from politics and this election is clearly one that is causing tension among a lot of people. Our pastor was doing a series on "elephants in the church" (issues not talked about but thought about by us all) and he spoke on what he called "the political elephant". It was excellent. And it gave me a sense of comfort and peace over my voting decision and what happens- and even those who I know will be voting differently from me. I am okay with it all.

And if you want to have a listen or watch you can check it out here: http://theaterchurch.com/media/message/the-political-elephant/

we'll be voting tomorrow evening even though our vote doesn't count all that much.

Halloween

I am not a fan of spending money on Halloween costumes and growing up my mom always helped make our costumes when we wanted to wear them. My sister Heather has always done a good job helping create her kids costumes so I was on a mission. I put together a cowboy outfit for Caed this year and he was always willing to wear it- minus some bribing to wear the hat. We had a number of costume wearing things to attend to this year to it was fun to get to much wear out of the outfit! On Wednesday the mom's group I attend was packed with kids all dressed up!



Caed the cowboy and his good friend Aliyah the giraffe, with Lucy the Ladybug looking on:




For school the next day we changed our shirt. And jeans (besides he spilled milk all over the jeans at dinner the night before- does he know we have 3 days to wear the outfit? ):




At the little church office parade the kids did at school, we stopped for a photo with the candidates who happened to be hanging out:



Here's the class photo with all the cutie kids!:

Me Three

Today Jon asked Caed if he was excited for new brother's or sister's (we won't find out what the babies are) and he said "yes!" Jon replied with a "me too" and then Caed said back on his own "me three!"

Jon then said, "you aren't three, how old are you?" Caed said "I'm Two"

Moved

I've got all sorts of things to post- Birthdays to acknowledge and pictures to share.

But tonight I can't help but be moved by this video from one of our church missions teams. They are currently over in Thailand and returning tomorrow. I feel compelled to keep watching this video struck at the reality of how desperate the situation is there. Struck with being compelled to reach outside my comfort zone. Thought I would share.

http://aoneeight.org/

Adjectives

In the past few weeks Caed has been using adjectives to describe things. Today was "such a nice hayride" other days at the park are "GREAT!" and evenings have been "beautiful". It's a lot of fun to hear these descriptions come out because we then know he's really enjoying the life he's experiencing. I can't force him to say these things, he just says it when he's thinking it. What a fun stage to enjoy as we're also enjoying his crying tantrums with repeated pleases to get his way.

15 weeks

Today we had a doctor's appointment to which ended a lot of anxiety for me. I've been feeling overwhelmed with carrying twins and what that means for them and me! But today's appointment went really well and the doctor told me to just come in for an appointment if I was feeling anxious and then I wouldn't have to keep in my anxiety until the next appointment. I was happy to hear that. But after my next visit I'll start having a visit every other week already, so hopefully I won't have to squeeze in an appointment in between. I am surprised that after this next four weeks I'll already be seeing him every other week! Today he measured my tummy and I'm measuring that I'm 25 weeks along. Wow! So I won't be the one who was able to carry twins like it was a single pregnancy- I thought I might be exempt! hehehe

He reminded me that at 20 weeks I'll feel like I'm at 30, and at 25 weeks I'll feel like I'm at 40 weeks. Right now I just feel tired and can't remember the specific weeks with Caed, so I'll just roll with it! We keep up with our walks, not as often since Caed goes to playschool two days a week- and I try to keep ourselves active since that seems to be the best way to keep feeling good.

I've found a new addiction too. Trader Joe's Chai Latte mix. The warm on my stomach is nice- but I learned last night that I can't drink it too late in the evening!

Happy Birthday HEATHER!!

Today is my sister Heather's Birthday, and when we tried to call her the first time this morning, she was in the shower- so I took video of Caed singing- even though we called back a few minutes later to which Caed still insisted to singing on his own. We wish we were there to hang out and have some soup and grilled cheese with you on your Birthday! Sorry I gave away your age. (I hope I was right!)

Happy Birthday!!

First Day!!

You might think that I should Finally post pictures of Caed's first day at his co-op playschool with a title like that. But I'm not. That will come eventually.

Tomorrow is Jon's first day at his new job! Yes, he accepted a new job last Monday- on the single biggest point loss in the stock market with Bearing Point. And he starts tomorrow! We are so thankful for this job, and it's seemingly a great fit. They have been so excited about him from the beginning so I think it will be great. We will need to do a little adjustment once we're back in the "dad goes to work" routine but I am thrilled to get back to normalcy.

It's been almost exactly 3 months since he left his other job which made him miserable- and we know that the economy shouldn't be allowing such a great opportunity right now at this time, but he's hitting the ground running!

Another post tomorrow for Auntie Heather!

Rafting down the Delaware River

I haven't posted in so long because I had wanted to post this movie mix and I had to edit it before I could post, so it took me some motivation. I also suffered with really bad neck pain and a bad cold the last few weeks amidst not feeling so great in my tummy. Anyway, this video is tons of fun for me to watch, I'm thankful I didn't catch myself freaking out at the onset of the experience and then the effects it had on Caed the rest of the way down. Jon mentioned it looked like the kind of video that was asking for money for the poor family that lived on the river. I think it was my choice of song, but it seemed the best fit for the limited editing you can do. Anyway. We had a great time and we're sure to want to do this every time we head to PA in the warm weather. We just need more rafts for the whole family to come along.

Seeing Double

Yup, it's official. Jon and I are expecting. And we're expecting TWINS! There was no anticipating that at all and it's come as a big surprise. We're thrilled and know that our family is too. Here's for the family that couldn't wait for me to post something about it! Below are the two babies in one view. Seems a bit strange to post this photo here, but I'll take chance that it's okay. I don't think i'll post more though.

All by myself

He's two and frequently reminds us so.

Lately Caed has taken to telling me he wants to do it "all by myself". Today it cracked me up when I told him to get his sandals for a walk and he told me "mom, I'll do it all by myself and you can help me". Doesn't that scream two year old? He wants to do it himself but he knows that he needs my help, but doesn't quite want it. He'll quite frequently ask for help with something and when I arrive over to help him he tells (read: yells) that he can do it all by himself.

Tonight he was starting to walk up the stairs and in an effort to help the process I started to take his hand and he yelled that he wanted to do it "all by myself". So I gave in to walk up slowly. On our way up he stopped with the fire truck he was holding and I tried to get him going, but he informed me the fire truck was "getting gas". I tried to hurry him up anyway, and he kept insisting that the truck get gas. So it was a very slow walk up the stairs, and I let it be...not a usual occurence for me..

At a nap time visit to the potty, Jon left him on the potty to get something, returned and Caed had so nicely unraveled the entire roll of toilet paper in a nice heap on the floor. It is still sitting in a heap on the floor. Jon said he had to resist a smile when he saw it. What do you do with unused tp that's off the roll? Just toss it all?

Scary

Lately Caed has been learning what being scared is. I noticed it first on the movie Cars when a big tractor comes roaring out in the dark with his headlights on....he started running away before the tractor came, so I would skip it, and then he would get mad at me. I watched him one time and he left right before the action but then wanted to return just after it had started- like the scariness was reduced by missing that initial look at the tractor.

Then the past two days when I've opened the door after he's awakened from his nap he's said "you scared me" (somehow my loud walking up the creaky stairs and hallway were not heard) followed by a big smile and a chuckle.

Today he wanted to play with a jack in the box that we normally don't play with and I warned him that it might scare him to begin with- so he ran away. I popped it up as normally as possible so he could see what was in it, and then encouraged him to do it. He very slowly was turning the knob- and then he put it on my desk and ducked down while trying to turn the knob.

I don't know if I am making a more scared child or helping him face "scary" things, but for now he seems to think it's funny and I can't help thinking it's really cute when I walk in and he tells me I scared him- with a big grin. It's fun to watch him learn this emotion (at this point).

Gwen lover

Our boy just loves music. His name couldn't match him more perfectly at this point. Today I tried out an online radio that my sister recommended- pandora.com. You plug in a single artist and it comes up with music of that type, but varied artists. It's a lot of fun. I was in the basement with Caed and decided to plug in Gwen Stefani and see if he would dance. He was just dancing and dancing...the video is a little long, I just couldn't cut it short.

We do need some help with his style. I'm worried now because if you don't know Jon or I, he's got no hope of having real rhythm. Loving this stage in so many ways!

Grandma Mary's memorial service

We travelled down to Myrtle Beach on a Friday. Saturday morning we got back into the car and headed for another 4+ hour trip to my Aunt and Uncle's house in North Augusta, SC. They had a memorial service for my dad's mother who died before Christmas. Honestly, I was a little frustrated to be driving like we were after a big trip the day before. But it was a great trip and it was so nice to meet and see again my dad's side of the family. We didn't spend much time with them growing up, but they love and cared for us like we'd known each other forever. We just had a family time talking about our memories of my grandmother, and it was fun to hear other people's stories and to hear some of the kids words too. True joy. Caed loved the horses and the open space of the property. He loved the big kids and all the attention.

I feel so blessed that these pictures are all of my family! (besides Caed has my maiden name as his middle name, so it's nice to have him with that side of the family)









They buried her under a new Rose of Sharon Bush. She had asked to be buried there.

All of us Adare's! This picture seems crazy to me that we were able to take one with so many family members present. I've never been part of the family like this:

My Aunt Margaret's family: