Like 99.99999% of the world I used to tell my parents that their rules were stupid and that I would NEVER enforce such crazy rule on my children (like having a curfew, going to friend's houses when their parents weren't home, sleep overs on school nights, driving in cars with teenagers... this list could get long).
Now that I am a parent I actually think that I will be a lot stricter than my parents were with most thing, except (as I learned this weekend) for one thing.
Scene - Sunday night, Brett and Peter are drawing on the dry-erase board in the living room while I cook dinner in the kitchen (Aaron is in his excersaucer in case you were wondering).
Brett - No Peter! You are not allowed to write on yourself!
Me - Yes he is!
Brett - (genuinely confused) What?
Me - When I was a kid I wasn't allowed to write on myself and I thought it was a stupid rule then and I still cannot figure out why it should be a rule, so our children are allowed to write on themselves.
Brett - OK? Here Peter, Mommy says you can write on yourself.
My Aunt Marilyn is the only one who can honestly vouch for my why I feel so strongly about this, but lets just say I missed a trip to Ohio once because I wrote on my knee.
You read right, I MISSED A VACATION WITH MY AUNT BECAUSE I WROTE ON MY KNEE!!!
And you thought you had a rough childhood.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Basic training
As I have mentioned, I have been working my butt off to lose my baby weight. So far I am down 15 pounds and seeing some pretty consistent results with the pounds coming off, so it is time for phase 2 - a work out plan!
With two kids to keep me busy, I have only really been able to walk as a form of exercise so Brett and I have been looking into gyms with day care. However nothing was motivating me.
Then this weekend we were driving home from church and I noticed a small road-side sign that said "Boot Camp for Women" and a phone number.
I used to do a boot camp when I worked for NPMA so I called and got their website information and details about the class.
Starting next week I will be working out 4 mornings a week from 6:00-7:00am!
I am nervous (mostly because I am NOT a morning person), but the motivation of my husband shelling out the money to pay for it and my desire to fit into my old clothes will hopefully over-power my hate of alarm clocks.
Wish me luck (I have a feeling I am going to need it).
With two kids to keep me busy, I have only really been able to walk as a form of exercise so Brett and I have been looking into gyms with day care. However nothing was motivating me.
Then this weekend we were driving home from church and I noticed a small road-side sign that said "Boot Camp for Women" and a phone number.
I used to do a boot camp when I worked for NPMA so I called and got their website information and details about the class.
Starting next week I will be working out 4 mornings a week from 6:00-7:00am!
I am nervous (mostly because I am NOT a morning person), but the motivation of my husband shelling out the money to pay for it and my desire to fit into my old clothes will hopefully over-power my hate of alarm clocks.
Wish me luck (I have a feeling I am going to need it).
What goes up must come down
Peter is a climber.
I have seen him try to climb up to the top of an arm chair to get on top of an armor, to the top of a couch to get over the railing separating our living room and dining room, and even open drawers to use as steps to get on top of tables or dressers (obviously none of these attempts were successful because he was stopped before he got anywhere).
The only problem - he is terrified to get down. He won't even attempt to go down stairs if you are holding his hand!
So this morning he was downstairs in his playroom for his alone play-time when I heard him cry out for me. His "time" wasn't up (he plays alone for an hour each morning) so I didn't go check on him. Seconds later he was crying... hard... like "help me!" not "I am just whining because I feel like being entertained.
So I ran downstairs to find that he had climbed half way up the toy shelves we built in the room. He had gotten high enough to reach the top and knock what he wanted on the floor to play with, but he couldn't get down.
If he didn't have the fear of God in his eyes I might have taken a picture, but I felt so bad for him I ran in to help.
I highly doubt he will attempt to climb it again; but then again he is half BeVard and all boy, so you never know.
I have seen him try to climb up to the top of an arm chair to get on top of an armor, to the top of a couch to get over the railing separating our living room and dining room, and even open drawers to use as steps to get on top of tables or dressers (obviously none of these attempts were successful because he was stopped before he got anywhere).
The only problem - he is terrified to get down. He won't even attempt to go down stairs if you are holding his hand!
So this morning he was downstairs in his playroom for his alone play-time when I heard him cry out for me. His "time" wasn't up (he plays alone for an hour each morning) so I didn't go check on him. Seconds later he was crying... hard... like "help me!" not "I am just whining because I feel like being entertained.
So I ran downstairs to find that he had climbed half way up the toy shelves we built in the room. He had gotten high enough to reach the top and knock what he wanted on the floor to play with, but he couldn't get down.
If he didn't have the fear of God in his eyes I might have taken a picture, but I felt so bad for him I ran in to help.
I highly doubt he will attempt to climb it again; but then again he is half BeVard and all boy, so you never know.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Good things come to those who wait!
Six months ago we were at Target (i.e. our favorite place), and I spotted the most cheerful pink corduroy blazer that I had ever seen. I probably elbowed small children and knocked over old ladies running to this beautiful piece of fashion, only to learn that it was $80.00.
Two years ago when Brett and I both had good salaries, no mortgage, and no kids, $80.00 for a jacket I loved would have been no big deal. Now that we have one good salary, two babies in diapers, a mortgage (that we are upside down on), and a house that seems to have one issue after another, $80.00 for anything is more than half of our weekly budget for spending money (which includes the money we use for stuff like FOOD!!!).
So I kissed my sweet jacket good bye and got on with life (what is a pink jacket when I have a beautiful family and house, right?... OK, fine, I was a little heart broken).
Well, tonight I am browsing the clearance section on Target.com and what do I see?
My pink jacket!!! And this time she had a $9.99 price tag!!!
She will be arriving in 5-10 business days :)
Two years ago when Brett and I both had good salaries, no mortgage, and no kids, $80.00 for a jacket I loved would have been no big deal. Now that we have one good salary, two babies in diapers, a mortgage (that we are upside down on), and a house that seems to have one issue after another, $80.00 for anything is more than half of our weekly budget for spending money (which includes the money we use for stuff like FOOD!!!).
So I kissed my sweet jacket good bye and got on with life (what is a pink jacket when I have a beautiful family and house, right?... OK, fine, I was a little heart broken).
Well, tonight I am browsing the clearance section on Target.com and what do I see?
My pink jacket!!! And this time she had a $9.99 price tag!!!
She will be arriving in 5-10 business days :)
Our church (and friends) are on TV!!!
Recently friends of ours from church, Andy Spray, Josh Burnett, and Tim Jones, went down to Kentucky to film a series of videos promoting our church.
Last night they started airing on Comedy Central and TBS (maybe some other stations too?), and tonight they will be on during the NBC line up!
It was very exciting for me to see some of my favorite people on TV, and get texts from people saying they saw them. I personally HATE being in front of an audience that I don't know (like say millions of TV viewers) but I think it is so cool for them (who are great at it and DO love the spot light!).
Hopefully this will direct people to New Life's website and maybe service on Sunday!
Here are a few of the videos, they are 15 seconds each and very funny:
PLEASE comment and tell me what you think!
Last night they started airing on Comedy Central and TBS (maybe some other stations too?), and tonight they will be on during the NBC line up!
It was very exciting for me to see some of my favorite people on TV, and get texts from people saying they saw them. I personally HATE being in front of an audience that I don't know (like say millions of TV viewers) but I think it is so cool for them (who are great at it and DO love the spot light!).
Hopefully this will direct people to New Life's website and maybe service on Sunday!
Here are a few of the videos, they are 15 seconds each and very funny:
PLEASE comment and tell me what you think!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Shed for Sale!
Brett and I have decided that our back patio is our next big house project. Since our current patio is the original (from 1978) it is broken in a lot of places and weeds grow up through the stones all Spring and Summer.
We also have a 2 foot wide flower bed (with nothing but weeds) circling the perimeter of our yard which we are going to stretch the new patio over to maximize our space.
The project will be kicking off soon, but before we get anything done we need to sell the shed we bought last year.
We payed something like $200 or $300 for it; then soon learned that the home owners association had rules about anything being taller than the fence and we started getting letters to remove it. By the way, this was also after Brett and his father spend about 6 hours putting it together!
So, now we are desperately trying to sell this shed. We are thinking $100 or best offer, so if you know anyone in the market please tell them to email me at JillianBGardner@gmail.com!
Dimensions are 8X3X5:
We also have a 2 foot wide flower bed (with nothing but weeds) circling the perimeter of our yard which we are going to stretch the new patio over to maximize our space.
The project will be kicking off soon, but before we get anything done we need to sell the shed we bought last year.
We payed something like $200 or $300 for it; then soon learned that the home owners association had rules about anything being taller than the fence and we started getting letters to remove it. By the way, this was also after Brett and his father spend about 6 hours putting it together!
So, now we are desperately trying to sell this shed. We are thinking $100 or best offer, so if you know anyone in the market please tell them to email me at JillianBGardner@gmail.com!
Dimensions are 8X3X5:
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Baby's first snow fall
On March 2 Annandale had a pretty respectable snow fall (which promptly melted).
The kids and I had to wait for Brett to finishing working, but then we all went outside to shovel our sidewalk and play in the snow.
The kids did really well until they got cold, and then their moods changed quick!
The kids and I had to wait for Brett to finishing working, but then we all went outside to shovel our sidewalk and play in the snow.
The kids did really well until they got cold, and then their moods changed quick!
Since we have been gone...
So, I am well aware that I have really been neglecting the blog lately, so here is an update on my boys and what new developmental leaps they have taken:
Peter:
Peter is now 19 months old, and seems to learn a new word everyday. He hasn't strung anything together yet, but he babbles up a storm regularly and the doctor's say his language development point to him starting with small sentences in the next couple months. He is also able to make animal noises and identify body parts ("pee-pee" is his favorite to point to so clearly he is all boy... or all BeVard). He is now 23 pounds (10 percentile) and 33 inches tall (73 percentile). He can sort of feed himself with a spoon and fork now, but frequently dumps the food on his bib before it gets into his mouth (we are working on it). He is sleeping from about 8pm-9am at night and taking a nap from 2-4pm daily. He loves to take walks, play outside, and dance.
Aaron
Aaron is now 8 and a half months old, and is growing like crazy! He is much bigger than Peter was at the same age based on the clothes he wears, but he doesn't have another doctor's appointment until the end of April so I don't have his actual stats. He does however have a few teeth now! His first two came in one the bottom two weeks ago, and now the tops are trying to poke through. Aaron loves his excersaucer, rolls all over the place, and thinks his brother is hilarious (as long as Peter isn't hitting him). He is close to sitting up on his own and to crawling, but in the mean time he loves to bounce to get his leg strength up. He is eating three "solid" meals a day with the family, and just started eating meats (if you call that baby puree meat).
Both boys are still pretty happy kids and great sleepers, and once their mom learns how to find pictures on their new computer she will post some new ones!
Peter:
Peter is now 19 months old, and seems to learn a new word everyday. He hasn't strung anything together yet, but he babbles up a storm regularly and the doctor's say his language development point to him starting with small sentences in the next couple months. He is also able to make animal noises and identify body parts ("pee-pee" is his favorite to point to so clearly he is all boy... or all BeVard). He is now 23 pounds (10 percentile) and 33 inches tall (73 percentile). He can sort of feed himself with a spoon and fork now, but frequently dumps the food on his bib before it gets into his mouth (we are working on it). He is sleeping from about 8pm-9am at night and taking a nap from 2-4pm daily. He loves to take walks, play outside, and dance.
Aaron
Aaron is now 8 and a half months old, and is growing like crazy! He is much bigger than Peter was at the same age based on the clothes he wears, but he doesn't have another doctor's appointment until the end of April so I don't have his actual stats. He does however have a few teeth now! His first two came in one the bottom two weeks ago, and now the tops are trying to poke through. Aaron loves his excersaucer, rolls all over the place, and thinks his brother is hilarious (as long as Peter isn't hitting him). He is close to sitting up on his own and to crawling, but in the mean time he loves to bounce to get his leg strength up. He is eating three "solid" meals a day with the family, and just started eating meats (if you call that baby puree meat).
Both boys are still pretty happy kids and great sleepers, and once their mom learns how to find pictures on their new computer she will post some new ones!
Naughty baby!
From January 27, 2009
Everyday, Peter has "alone play time" for an hour after he eats his breakfast. This is a time when he is given a few toys and a closed off area of the house to play by himself. He used to have his alone play time in the living room, so I could keep an eye on him while I was cooking or cleaning the kitchen or working at the dining room table.
Sometimes, however, I need to go up or down stairs to do something, but Peter is really good about playing with his toys and not getting into trouble, so I don't worry about it too much.
Until January 27, when I came upstairs from doing laundry in the basement to find Peter (who apparently learned how to open my computer armor doors) taking everything out of my desk.
Needless to say Peter has had his alone play time in his play room ever since.
Everyday, Peter has "alone play time" for an hour after he eats his breakfast. This is a time when he is given a few toys and a closed off area of the house to play by himself. He used to have his alone play time in the living room, so I could keep an eye on him while I was cooking or cleaning the kitchen or working at the dining room table.
Sometimes, however, I need to go up or down stairs to do something, but Peter is really good about playing with his toys and not getting into trouble, so I don't worry about it too much.
Until January 27, when I came upstairs from doing laundry in the basement to find Peter (who apparently learned how to open my computer armor doors) taking everything out of my desk.
Needless to say Peter has had his alone play time in his play room ever since.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Our China Anniversary!
Today marks the second anniversary of Brett and I getting married! It seems like so long ago when I think about how much we have been through, but I also cannot believe that it has already been two years! Time flies I guess.
To celebrate our anniversaries Brett and I like to use either the traditional or the modern anniversary gift list. For our first anniversary we were supposed to give a paper gift so we exchanged new bibles.
For our second anniversary cotton or china were the traditional and modern gift suggestions. So we put on our thinking caps and decided to go to a paint-your-own-pottery place to make each other gifts; and then to PF Changs for a Chinese dinner.
We will let you know how it goes, but we are really looking forward to doing something different (not to mention getting a few kid-free hours to celebrate!).
To celebrate our anniversaries Brett and I like to use either the traditional or the modern anniversary gift list. For our first anniversary we were supposed to give a paper gift so we exchanged new bibles.
For our second anniversary cotton or china were the traditional and modern gift suggestions. So we put on our thinking caps and decided to go to a paint-your-own-pottery place to make each other gifts; and then to PF Changs for a Chinese dinner.
We will let you know how it goes, but we are really looking forward to doing something different (not to mention getting a few kid-free hours to celebrate!).
Monday, March 16, 2009
Korea Town
When Brett and I decided to buy in Annandale last year we checked the school systems and noted that it was a very diverse area. The demographic was equal parts black, Hispanic, Asian and white, however once moving and learning more about the area we found that while lots of people live in Annandale the Korean population owns most of the businesses.
Almost every time we tell people were we live (especially if they are Asian) their responce is, "oh, Korea town."
This was confirmed the other night when NCIS was on the TV while we were eating dinner. We weren't watching or paying attention to the show until we heard one of the characters yell, "they are in Annandale, on Ravensworth Road!"
Ravensworth is the road we live off of.
When we started paying attention to the show we learned that the episode was about a Korean spy.
Go figure.
Almost every time we tell people were we live (especially if they are Asian) their responce is, "oh, Korea town."
This was confirmed the other night when NCIS was on the TV while we were eating dinner. We weren't watching or paying attention to the show until we heard one of the characters yell, "they are in Annandale, on Ravensworth Road!"
Ravensworth is the road we live off of.
When we started paying attention to the show we learned that the episode was about a Korean spy.
Go figure.
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