NYE

A quick overview of the last decade of my life..

2000..I turned 16, but didn't get my license. (Tyler was born)
2001..I worked at a local farmer's market and finished my Junior year of High school, 9/11

2002..May: I graduated High school, July: bought my first car, August: went to college for a semester, December: moved to NYC

2003..February: Came back from NYC, got a job in a deli, May: started dating my future husband, July: nannied in Los Angeles for 1.5 months, August, back to college, November: got engaged.



2004

..School for spring semester, Married in July, Started new job, Pregnant in October




2005

..August: my precious Asa is born!!! My life is forever different!!! back to work a few weeks later..

2006

..January: able to be a full time stay at home mommy, Mark begins school at Eastern to finish degree.



2007..pregnant again in August, trade in my first car for an SUV(in July--must've known!)


2008

..My dear little Evie is born, December: mark totals his car




2009

..April, buy car for Mark who graduates from Eastern with a Bachelors in something IT related..



Have a happy safe New Year!! I hope this new decade will be a wonderful one :)

Oh and I found out that Evie can say, "One, Two, Three" amazing to me!!! Evie is also sleeping in her big girl bed and 95% potty trained!!! She is growing up WAY too fast!

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmastime! I would have some pics of the kids all dressed up in front of the tree....if Asa didn't lost my memory card. Of course if I hadn't stopped to play Fishville on Facebook maybe I would've noticed him playing with it. OH WELL! I really hope we find it! We are in the middle of our Christmas Parade. First we have our own Christmas with just Mark and I and the kids, next we travel over to my In-Laws and have brunch and spend time there, we will be coming home after-wards to put Evie down for a nap and get food prepped for our final stop: my parents. Christmas is always a fun and exciting day, though very busy!!!

Evie is just about fully potty trained. I am hoping that with the busy-ness of today she will be OK. After the last post where I said she was trying out the potty, IT WAS FOR REAL! She never went back--granted there have been accidents, but the majority make it to the right spot!!! Very happy about this.

I am very excited about our Yankee Swap with extended family at my parents tonight because I am bringing some really neat-o (Hopefully I am not the only one who thinks so) gifts!!
I would say what they were but I will have to wait till after the swap.

I need to finish getting ready. I am contemplating dressing the kids up fancy. They have Christmas outfits I bought for Church, but we missed it because of the snowstorm last week. Maybe I'll pack a few outfits--nothing like making things more complicated!! Hopefully someone will have a camera and pass some pics along to me, that I might post them on here! I am using a lot of exclamation points today..good thing? or annoying....

One thing I want to brag about it the lovely perfume I got from my hubby. It's called Very Hollywood by Michael Kors...just awesome stuff!

Evie got a few babies and is very happy about that, Tyler and Asa were happy with what they got, Asa got a frog tank with star wars details and Tyler got a solar powered grasshopper thing he has to build. Tyler also spent a lot of his own money and bought us all presents and brought them here this weekend. So precious and thoughtful :)

I must get going, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Sufjan Steven's rendition of Once in Royal David's City is absolutely amazing I recommend listening to it before the day is over.

how firm a foundation

My hymn of the month, written by John Rippon in 1787. Sung at the funerals of Presidents: Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson and Andrew Jackson, how cool is that?

I love how beautifully strengthening it is..of course the tune is gorgeous too..

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?

In every condition, in sickness, in health;
In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth;
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea,
As thy days may demand, shall thy strength ever be.

Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

Even down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.


My second in light of Christmas would definitely be: Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.

I have been listening to newer renditions of hymns with the kids hoping to spark some interest in the oldies, but goodies :)

humble holiday

This Thanksgiving was my first holiday where I hosted. I even cooked my first turkey and was more than impressed with how it turned out! Having a mom who is an amazing cook definitely comes in handy when I need pointers! It was a humble group of 11 and perfect for my first time! We started the day with a big breakfast while the Philly Thanksgiving Day parade was on TV. I love watching that, or at least the idea of watching it. I have to catch a glimpse of it every year. Sadly this year was the last year for one of the hosts, Dave Roberts--who I remember hosting from when I was a little one.

We actually had a very smooth and happy day getting ready for the company, somehow I planned and cooked very efficiently and it turned out well. The only thing I regret though is that I made people move so I could take pictures of the tables. I know already that when I want to remember my first thanksgiving I will rather see the people than the tables, and now only have the backs of people's heads to remember them by!! Lesson learned.

Today Evie, as usual, took off her pants and diaper. She likes to sit on the potty and pretend to use it. I am used to this and think it's actually funny. This interest has come solely because of her own desire, I still feel she is too young to really try her on the potty. HOWEVER, she was standing on the dining room chair, diaper-less, when she looked at me with startled eyes. I asked he if she wanted to use the potty and she nodded a very large YES. So i brought her over to the big potty and sat her on it: low and behold, it wasn't pretend this time. As I was on the phone with Mark exclaiming the good news, she actually came over to her training potty right next to me, sat on it and went on it again, by herself!!!! So proud!!- but am wondering if she is truly interested for good, or if it's only temporary(as her brother was when he was her age). She is in her crib now wearing underpants...yes, this is wishful thinking.

Something green: I wanted to mention three products I use that I LOVE, that I get at the local food or home improvement store and which are good for the family and good for environment.
The first is my laundry detergent, it's the only kind I like to use and I usually pay about $3 for a 32load container. You probably see it every time you shop: Purex Natural Elements. It's base is made from plants vs the normal petroleum. If anything else, the more people buy products which a made from renewable plant surfactants the less dependency we will have on oil, which is a great thing! Also the detergent is hypoallergenic, but it has fragrance! I first started using it because of this reason alone, most other hypoallergenic detergents are fragrance free, but this uses essential oils...just delightful!! They also have fabric softeners, but I haven't tried them.

Next would be Seventh Generation Dish Soap. This stuff works GREAT! My hands are never dried out, it's a clear hypoallergenic formula with a light fragrance from, again, essential oils. Same thing goes for this soap with the plant bases. I love love love this stuff, I get a container of it for $2.50 but they offer coupons online and often from the store I buy it at. It's worth paying a bit more for in my opinion. We have public water and sewer but these soaps are an even better idea for someone with a septic system because they actually break down. I also use their all purpose cleaner, and love having no fumes.

The last thing I will say(which I may have mentioned before) is when you are painting a room, consider buying Olympic paint(at Lowes). The times I have used it, I have always had great coverage. I used Lowe's Valspar (whichever kind is the best grade of it) and it paled in comparison to the "cheapo" Olympic. It's very inexpensive and ODERLESS. You can paint with the windows and doors closed--so convenient and good for the family

The tree is up...magenta, purple and lime sparkles, have I lost my mind? No, it does look pretty cool, though it probably wasn't necessary to buy new ornaments...

I'll post a pic when I upload them!

One New Message

Evie is taking a nap in her sunshine-warmed room. Asa is watching Nick Jr. Whats new? I need to get my butt into gear. Monday's are my day to make a grocery list and possibly even shop. It's really important that I put a lot of thought and time into the list though. I shop for the least I possibly can by using tons of coupons and buying basically only whats on sale. I make my meal lists for the week and go from there. It can get tedious, but it's neccessary! Asa says, "Mom! Why do you have to make a list, lets just go shopping!" Right now I wish I could do just that!!!

Christmas is coming up! Not before Thanksgiving though. Which we are hosting this year! My first year to make the turkey. I'm slightly worried it won't be that great!! The sides I know will be good, but we'll just have to see about the turkey. It'll be a crowd of 11, great for my first time!

I think of things to type then try to remember if I've posted them before, then choose not to say them just it case, and later I find out I never did post on them and they are forgotten and lost in oblivion...

I have been on Myspace for over 5.5 years!! Facebook, maybe two years? I wonder how I can find that out. I use Facebook almost daily, Myspace every six months.

Back to Christmas. I am going to be making a lot of presents this year. I'll be posting pics as I make them. Hoping those who are to receive them won't look at my blog(it would be very strange if they did lol) I am going to be SUPER DUPER DUPER frugal this year. Like cheapskate frugal, but I am hoping to do it in a semi-classy way? We'll just have to see.

Evie was watching a commercial today on the couch with me and Asa, and a baby came on. She right away said "Baby! Baby!" I've never heard her say it before!!! She is really starting to talk! She now says "Mama" "dada" "Uh Oh" "Happy Birthday" "Night Night" "Baby" "bug" "Bella" "Monkey(Mun Hee)" "dog" "cheese" "juice" "please" "pop pop" "mom mom" "thankyou" "sorry" and a few more. We've come along way though from the baby she was just two months ago!

I finished grouting the bathroom floor. It is now just waiting to be polished and sealed. Next I have to scrape the old grout out of the tiles on the walls then re-grout! I don't think it'll be too difficult because it's the the non-sanded grout in the realy narrow joints...we'll see how that goes. The floor looks great! I cannot wait to install this toilet!! Mark removed "Old Blue" two weeks ago and it feels so nice and white in there!

Must get back to creating the oh-so time consuming grocery list!

kids

I think that having your first baby is traumatic. It was not what I expected and humbled me greatly. Having my second was much less emotionally, but more physically traumatic. Worth it, yet amazingly harder than I though it would be. I am finding now as my youngest is growing more and more independent that I am too. I felt somewhat trapped but in love with my new life, and now its slipping away. A little while ago I would've thought that having children causes all parents to be unselfish. But now I can see how someone who might have not been as attached during the early months, might not get to that point at all. I am already starting to fear the upcoming years where I am not superwoman to my kids anymore. I want them to always love and cherish me. But I know they will grow up and away, and be bothered by me. They'll ignore me, and be disrespectful, and I have to stand firm throughout it all. I also don't want to become a selfish parent, since they "need" me less I don't won't to focus on myself too much. I hope that I can be a good parent throughout their entire childhoods. Having a baby is definitely more accurately described as "having a person". The baby stage lasts for such a short time. I hope this made sense in some sort of way. I have been thinking about stuff like this for a while. I really don't want to be a selfish parent, and I really want to have good kids who obey and are logical and love their mom a lot, though most importantly, even if things are rough I hope they know the Lord and He guides them throughout their entire lives.

chilly

Or does it? Last week on recycling day, I had to clean my kitchen in a major way. It was full of dirty yogurt cups and apple sauce containers. I kept thinking about how nice it would be to just throw all those recyclables out, versus having to clean them and find a spot in my overflowing recycling container out on the curb. I thought about it for a little too long before I came to the conclusion that I should be a good steward, and not be lazy or wasteful. I cleaned out about 10 yogurt cups and 5 apple sauce containers, and a number of other cans and glasses. I found a cardboard box in the basement and filled it up and brought it out to the curb. Well when the Recycling truck drove up, I realized it was actually the trash truck(which usually makes the rounds after recycling) the garbage man grabbed my box of yogurt cups etc. and effortlessly dropped it into the truck. My heart did indeed sink a little. How much of the things I recycle never make it?

It's so incredibly cold out! Last night I had to turn on the heater! Evie kept waking up crying and when I went in to check on her, she was so cold :( Tonight I will bundle her up really well. I just didn't expect this so early on in fall!

Asa had his four year check up today. He's off the charts for height! He passed all the tests, except hopping on one foot. He told the doctor he would practice it at home.

My hands are literally like ice and I am wearing layers...

I have this addiction to this game called Bejeweled Blitz. I seriously have to play at least once a day, and once always turns into 35 times. I see the game when I close my eyes. I shirk my duties because of it. I need help. lol.

My little brother is getting married next week! I am excited for the wedding. I think it will be beautiful, it's at a park. I am not sure if it'll be indoors or out though..and am worried about freezing.(lol) I can't believe time goes by so quickly..

Well since I played Bejeweled for yes, longer than 35 minutes before posting this, I am going to have to cut it short. Evie is still napping and I can maybe get something done around here!

We have Pioneer at church tonight, I am supposed to teach first grade. Looking forward to that!

October Eleventh Two Thousand and Nine

Today is a Sunday. I am behind in almost all aspects of life. But I a not entirely depressed over that fact. It's been an absolutely gorgeous beginning to fall. I can't remember a fall beginning this way for a long time. It seems like summer was turned off by the flick of a switch and the cool fall air blew in the next day. The trees are all turning wonderful hues and I am thankful that it's been an enjoyable start to my least favorite season!
The kids are growing fast. Asa turned 4 on August 12th. We had a small family party for him and took him to Target to buy Star Wars Legos (Which he promised he would take care repeatedly) that are now entirely missing. Tyler turned 9 on September 4th and again we celebrated with a small family party. We also took him to the Lego Store....Great Place!!!

Evie has been coming along nicely. She finally has enough hair for me to pin back with clips and she is really into accessories! She has also just started saying a few more words (besides her staple: Happy Birthday, Mom, Hi, and Uh Oh. She signs "please" and "more".

Asa is starting to print letters now. He enjoys learning and is very excited about starting Kindergarten at (hopefully) a local Charter School next year. We do "school" almost everyday and he gets really into it. He likes to use scrabble letters to make up his own words and asks me to pronounce them. It's cute :)

The house projects have been put on hold for a while. That's frustrating, but there's not much you can do when things are so tight financially. I am thankful that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. I am also thankful for a sovereign God. One who I can't begin to understand much about. But a loving, merciful God who loves someone as crappy as me, and repeatedly blesses me and carries me through times when I cannot move on my own. I am also thankful for a church where there are others who encourage and love and, though not perfect, want to learn more and persevere in the faith along side each other. This world is a harsh place, sometimes I wish I could live in a cave. I am thankful for the peace and rest I find in Him, and the help in times of trouble. I am also immensely thankful for the Bible. I recently heard Steve Brown speaking of the Bible in such a cool way. He was explaining how so many think of the Bible as a nice book to make people nicer, or a religious book to make people more religious, but that in actuality its a book full of dark things, of people that are bad, of things we might not like to talk about. But it's all there for a good reason, that's who we are--sinners, and that's why we need Jesus. The best thing about it, is that no matter what horrible things someone may do to me, and how mad I get at the injustice--how much more does Christ forgive? It helps me put it into perspective, even when all I truly want to do is feel angry and bitter. We are all crappy and dark and dirty and bad, any good is from Him and mercy we don't deserve. I could go on and on but....

...my daughter obviously doesn't want to take a nap right now. ( i can tell by her shrill screams and jumping up and down on the crib sounds)

Lauren
**the pic is of Evie back in July** too cute to pass up though...

still pursuing...

I am almost 25. I like that number--though it feels somewhat mature. I'll probably be saying that when I'm 50. My birthday will be uneventful. Nothing planned other than dropping my car off at the dealer for some maintenance. Which is fine. I do want a vacation soon though. This weather has been the icing on the cake for me. The rain seems to never end and some of my flowers-my saviors from winter's depression-inducing gloom-are rotting. I'd like a day to clean my house as well. I feel so behind in my work! Today was however very beautiful. The sun was shining between quickly moving bursts of large fluffy white clouds and the breeze was very pleasant. The weather forcast anticipates rain for the rest of the week though. I find it harder to do my daily jobs when it's raining.
Asa's allergies have been so bad lately that I feel somewhat helpless when I look at him. I never thought there could be so much suffering from allergies. His eyes were swollen so much the other night I kept feeling like I needed to take him to the ER. I usually under-react to that stuff..maybe it's a pride thing. In fact I know it is. I don't like to be wrong. It's pretty stupid to be like that when it involves your child's health. I am taking him to the Dr's tomorrow. He is medicated constantly with something or the other. Now his Eczema is coming back and his nodes are swollen. His Asthma has been so bad lately. All that I've listed is nothing compared to the attitude change in him. He is impossible to deal with. I know he doesn't feel well--but I almost think something else must be wrong with him for him to act the way he's been acting. He SCREAMS about everything, like at the top of his lungs. I know how he gets when his allergies or asthma is bothering him and his behavior becomes unsettled..but lately it's been off the charts. Mark is even freaked out by it. He will barely listen to us. I don't know what to do sometimes. It feels good to write it down though.

I am sure my next post will have some more positive about that subject.
I made a bowl the other day using repurposed magazine pages cut into strips and pasted together. It took a while, but the results were awesome. I am going to make more, and have been working on some vases as well. It's fun. Mark even helped me with it. It was a father's day gift for my FIL and I lined it with saran wrap and put four freshly baked chocolate chip walnut cookies in it, then wrapped it with some pretty ribbons which pulled colors from the paper in the bowl. I was very impressed with myself, and when I get my pics up I will post them on here!






Time for some relaxation time.

HR 1207

I am so excited about this bill that Ron Paul has written. I am very hopeful it will get passed, and have been tracking it for some time. It's amazing how much support it's gotten! Sometimes I feel that people aren't waking up...but this bill gives me hope that I am wrong. Check out how many Co-sponsors, and see the bipartisanship!

slightly sunny

It's been raining too much lately--at least for my taste. The frequent thunderstorms have made it a bit more interesting than just steady rain, but I'm tired of it all. I think that even my plants are sick of the saturated ground.

Last night two of my little bro's graduated! It was exciting and happy and sad. Life flies by so fast once you graduate high school..or it did for me. I can't believe the little kids I used to babysit are all grown up and graduated. I hope for the best for all of them. I hope they don't have to go through too many trials to grow up and mature. I had to go through my share--not to say I didn't put myself there. Life is hard, it seems easier to accept now that I am getting older though. I will be 25 in a few weeks...as in less than 2. I guess it will feel like tomorrow that the classes of 2023 and 2025 are graduating and I am watching my babies turn into adults instantaneously.
My husband graduated college last month. Not sure if I put that on here. He is so amazing to be able to do an accelerated course and work full time and still have time to be a dad. His grades were amazing too.

Speaking of him. I received my birthday present from him early this year. A camera..and it shoots great video..so I'll be putting more things on here eventually!

I have been giving a lot of thought to which school I will put Asa in for kindergarten. I have contemplated homeschooling too, but at this point I am going to try out the charter school(if we can get in) and see how it goes. I can always home school if public school doesn't work out for us! We have been doing preschool at home though. He loves learning about letters and really picks stuff up well! After just a few weeks of going over a few letters, he picks them out of whatever sign or book or anything he see's which has letters on it! He is also obsessed with marine life. He could tell more proper names of fish than I could. He knows facts about them too. I really want to take him to the Baltimore Aquarium, I know he would love it!

I had Evie to the doctors the other day because of her incessant cold/sinus infection. I was sure they'd give her an anti-biotic...which they did not. They did however say that she was wheezing and prescribed some albuterol for her to take in the nebulizer. The doctor said that she would probably use it again...meaning the outlook didn't look so swell....meaning she could possibly develop asthma like her brother. I hope not. I REALLY hope not. It's such a hard thing for me to deal with mentally, because I don't like thinking my child is struggling to breathe and not getting enough oxygen, especially when you can see it in his face. I do realize however, that it could be WAY worse. I just pray that Evie doesn't have to get what her brother has.

Since she has been sick lately, her sleeping patterns have deteriorated and she is having a really hard time falling asleep. Which means I am tired quite often now too. Today was sunny when I woke up though, and that helped to wake me easier :) I better try and get some stuff done while Evie takes her nap and Asa's occupied with the babysitter(noggin)

almost summer

Evie turned one recently, May 2 to be exact. She is quite the amazing little one. She learned to walk flawlessly by 11 months. She began walking at the end of 9 months. She is so much fun and really girly.

The weather has been really warm lately. It's like we just skipped spring. I like it warm though, I get more done when I am not cold. I washed my car yesterday, that hasn't been done in...should I dare say?...more than a year. It feels good. I've been exercising too!! It's a miracle!!! The kids and I walk a mile every other day here around the neighborhood..I would do more but the kids want to get out of the double stroller.. It feels good to move around though.

I have a lot of weird dreams that feel like real life. Random weird things that seem like they would just be a part of my everyday real life.

Mark had to get a new car at the beginning of April because the green car needed too much work to pass inspection. It's not new, but new for us and awesome! Its very sporty and fancy inside. It's an VW Passat and I am very sure we'll go for another VW when the time comes!

I tried to paint the kitchen the same color as the hallway...that kinda tan leather color. It doesn't look the way I wanted it too and I stopped before finishing the edging. The problem with this is when I repaint I am afraid that the edging will appear much lighter since the paint will be going over white. The new color I want is Behr's Royal Breeze or Seven Seas. The cabinets are going to be a reddish mahagony color and we'll have orange accents...we'll see if it actually ever pans out. If it turns out the way I want I think it will be awesome!!!

Right now I am sitting here trying to think of the past 4 anniversaries Mark and I have celebrated. We've always followed the traditional/modern anniversary gift lists. I can't remember all that we've gotten for each other though, or how we celebrated the day. It's pretty frustrating! I basically can only remember all of the first anniversary and some of a few afterward. This year will be our fifth and I want to go somewhere for the weekend. We'll have to get something made out of wood for each other. Maybe furniture? Not in these tight times.

Things I am thankful for: My almighty Father God, My loving, beautiful family, my house-a work in progress, two cars that work, Albuterol, the healthcare industry, my new cheap cell phone, flowers, colors, clothes that fit a little less tight than last month, my couches that wipe clean when they're spilled on, people who are real with me, pretty music, my cool leather bound journal that i got for my anniversary three years ago--and the same journal that Daniel Faraday uses in Lost: Wendy's small chilies, Livestrong.com's Daily Plate, and many more things.

February

I started this new thing at home. Instead of never knowing what to make for dinner, let alone lunch and breakfast, I decided to make a complete plan of meals for the week. This includes snack time between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner, with an evening snack thrown in for the man of the house too. It is helping me realize exactly how much I need when I write it down, because I remind myself of the days when different people are here for different meals and buy the exact amount at the grocery store. This also helps me stay motivated to cook and start dinner at the same time each day. I thought of doing this when I changed my bi-weekly grocery shopping schedule to weekly, and so far so good.

We've only skipped one meal this week with take out. Believe me thats better than it was! I made this amazing Ciabatta Pizza the other night. Wonderful!

You can now make out two small white teeth in Evie's mouth. She's so cute with teeth! She is also saying "Uh oh" and "hi". The doctor was shocked that she could say "Uh Oh" this early, so the proud parent that I am felt I should report that! She should be walking any day now. She can easily stand up from a sitting position without holding on to anything and can bend down and pick things up as well. She even bounces up and down(dances) steadily on her own! She has taken a few first-steps, but nothing more than one at a time.

Asa's asthma has been bad. The medication helps his lungs....I guess, but it also makes him a monster. I can't wait for this flare up to be gone :(

I am ready for spring now! I wish we could have solar tubes installed in our house. I would want one in our kitchen, master bath, master bed, and both hallways.

Asa is beckoning me...

fire and water

It's been a while, but that's not new. One of my "resolutions" was to post more often. I guess I failed before I even started.

Last Saturday Mark and I were able to use our coupon for babysitting and go out for dinner. My parents came over and took charge while we had an amazing Italian meal and shopped for a new camera. It was really fun and refreshing. I did feel a little awkward though, when we were out shopping, like I didn't have enough to do with myself since I had no kids with me. I have no purpose without them. Actually it'll come back gradually as they become more independent I'm sure.

When we got home it was around 9:30---we watched some TV and we're just getting ready to retreat for the night when I heard this really loud engine outside the front door. I got up to look and saw about 5 huge fire trucks lights flashing and all. Mark and I were puzzled. I ran upstairs to look out our big window and saw that they were congregating around a house 5 down from us on the same strip. I came back down and Mark and I went outside to see smoke billowing into the frigid night air. By this point it was 11:30. I was so scared. I watched as the fireman broke the windows and doors in. They carried out a dead dog and we heard word of another that had died. Thankfully the owners of the home were out. The neighbors to their right, and closer to us, had to leave their home as well since their home was full of smoke. I kept wondering if it would spread. I didn't think of anything else but whether or not I should go in and grab my babies and bring them to the car. I just kept waiting and shivering. I would come in the house every once in a while, but Mark stayed outside the whole time. The fireman got it under control but the house is now condemned. I had a hard time sleeping that night. I saw smoke coming from the rooftops of a couple houses and although the fireman seemed totally chill I was freaking out inside. Praise God that no one was injured and that our home wasn't damaged. Evie woke up during all the craziness and I had a hard time getting her back to sleep. Her crying woke up Asa and he started crying as well. This was around 1 when the excitement finally started to die down.

The next morning I woke up late. We missed church. After lunch Mark went downstairs to let the dog out when he noticed the basement floor flooded and the sound of gushing water. What a sad discovery as the floor cannot take flooding, and isn't even completely paid for yet. Thankfully it was a pretty quick fix with the plumbing and only cost $5. My dad is so helpful and came over right away to assess the situation. They cleaned it up relatively quick. I called our homeowners insurance co yesterday and found out that it would not be worth it to report the ruined floor.

On top of all that I had a little screamer attached to my hip. Evie was cutting her first tooth and very screamy(if that's a word). She is however, sleeping amazingly.

I started sleep training I guess a week ago. It's as if I have a new baby! She take two naps a day at the same time for two hours each, and she sleeps basically all night, every night! Such a difference! I feel way more organized in my life with her schedule.

Last Saturday I also painted the hall way, and the weekend before I almost finished the powder room. We just have to put down new flooring and replace the toilet.
BEFORE:




AFTER: