yeah yeah... long time no write...

"Kimberly!  Why haven't you blogged lately?!" said no one...  I just don't feel like blogging much since giving up my Sparrowspace and losing all my readers.  I know journaling is important tho.  It gives us something to go back and reflect on... It causes us to stop and appreciate things more.  It's helps us see our story - literally.  I will try and be a better blogger, not for the affirmation of the thousand hits I'd get, but for me... and my prosperity and to remember all the little things happening in our daily lives. 

Recently...

Playhouse is almost done!  There is some inside painting left... And a few decorations that we are going to work on, but it's pretty much ready to go.  And now the weather is finally getting cool enough that Cady will be able to enjoy it.

AAAAND... the nursery is pretty much done too!  I love it!

We also got new (fake) wooden floors!  I LOVE them - I think they look fantastic.  I don't care if I will have to swiffer those bad boys every day cause my canine child sheds like a beast... they look fabulous!

Funny sidenote...  the floor people told us it would only take 3 or so hours to pull up our old carpets and put the new floor in... It was a Friday and Fridays are the days that our nanny does not come so I generally try and make my work schedule VERY lax because I know I'll be home alone with Milo.  He still takes 2 naps so I can get plenty done but my time needs to be very flexible.  Well, I figured since they'd be done in just a few hours and the weather was so nice that Milo and I would set up in the garage and wait them out.

This would have been fine except 3 hours went by, then 4, then 6 then an entire day and it was after 6 and they still were not done!!!!  They had to actually come back the next day and finish... I will never plan on spending time like that outside with a baby again!  He was great, but I wasn't!  I got hot and hungry and cranky! ha!
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Hmmm, what else... Oh, this one has decided that she is into fashion now... especially on Tuesdays.

Tuesdays are the days that the "boy she likes" rides the bus home and they sit next to each other.  It's funny... She primps and puts lip gloss on and brings a brush to school and everything.  And as usual she and Matt are up to their antics:

They were supposed to race around the track.  Matt cheated.  I generally have to play referee but I will admit they make me laugh. 
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This one is developing quite the personality.  He loves his Daddy and loves to smile and loves to squeal...loudly...and often!

He's amazed at Matt's talent...

And I'm amazed at the cuteness of this face! Happy Monday - I'll be back sooner than later this time... I need to write about Milo turning 4 months and Gage's adventures at college... And weight watchers!  I'm doing weight watchers and it's hard.  *whine*  I want to eat Mexican food and Halloween candy but I guess you can't do that if you want to lose a few EL BEEs... so all that and much more.

300 Mile Challenge

Matt and I have challenged ourselves to run/walk 300 miles before the end of the year (well, I guess Matt is participating because I didn't give him a choice but I do believe he is enjoying it as well).  That means we'll be getting in 300 miles in just over 100 days.  I'm excited about it.  So far we've done great!  I created a spreadsheet to keep track of all our miles, how many we have left to get to 300, and an approximate number of miles we need to run each day (2-3)!  It has really motivated me!  It's been nice to go walk with Matt by ourselves some evenings and also it's been nice for me to get some alone time on the days I go by myself.  I knew I needed to challenge myself to get out and exercise.

Especially after I ordered myself these sweet new kicks.  Yeah, I caved.  But the good things is this, I am determined to stick to this "program" and I knew the shoes would be an extra encouragement!  Yes, I do love shoes that much. 

I can't wait to reach our first 100 goal.  I will probably have to reward myself with something...

Outside & 3 months!

The weather was spectacular this weekend!  And by spectacular, I mean the highs were in the 80s and one could actually enjoy being OUTSIDE! 

Saturday we spent some more time working on the clubhouse.  I think by next weekend it will be completely finished.  Matt finished up the roof, a bench inside and started the shelving.  Cady started the inside paint work.

She decided on a purple for most of the walls.  We'll finish up the "furniture" (bench and shelves) this week and then hopefully add a cute rug and some things to the walls.  We are going to add a porch made from pavers and maybe a few hanging plants.  I promise I'll share pics once it's done. 
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And because it was so nice outside, this little guy got to spend some time on the patio.

Yes, he drools...a lot.  He's teething.  We can see the tiny tooth bud coming in on his bottom gum.  Matt keeps asking if there is something wrong with him cause he drools so much but I have assured him it's completely normal and will only get worse!

This one got to enjoy some rolling around in the nice weather too.

She actually discovered 2 old bones out in the back so it was a stellar day for Syd.
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Sunday Matt and I opened the windows, cleaned the house and then went shopping in our town square and had lunch on a patio.  It was fun.  We actually kept ourselves from spending a bunch of money and just enjoyed walking around enjoying the fresh air.  I did get to use one of my Bath and Body Works gift cards to pick up some of the new fall candles.  They smell SO yummy.

AAAAANNNNDDDD, Baby Milo turned 3 months!

It's crazy how fast he is growing!  I'll be back tomorrow with a post on my new exercise challenge.  Remember when I said I wasn't going to buy those fancy new Nike running shoes?  Well, I lied.  I bought them so I am going to make sure they get used!  Booo for Mondays, but yay for great weekends!

iPatch

Milo was born with a bit of a lazy eyelid.  Some days it really seems to droop and some days it's barely noticeable.  At his last well check-up with his pediatrician we mentioned it and she checked it out and referred us to a pediatric ophthalmologist.  We were able to get an appt for early this week...

The dr. did all sorts of checks.  They dilated his eyes, measured them, examined them, etc.  He did very well and was only mildly traumatized by the cookey doctor and all the crazy noises she made in order to get his attention.  The verdict is this - He is perfect.  ha!  No seriously, yes, he does have Ptosis.  Ptosis is simply when the muscle of the eyelid is a little lazy or underdeveloped.  In more serious cases the vision can be affected and surgery is required.  At this point, his vision is great but we are doing "patch therapy" to strengthen that weakened muscle so that more invasive procedures won't be necessary.  I believe this is all he'll need.  He'll wear a patch for 1 - 2 hours a day for 3 months.

He's not crazy about the patch but tolerates it so far.  The worst part is taking it off - you can't exactly "rip the band aid" when were talking about a newborns face.   We ordered him some really cute patches so he'll still look adorable even when he's wearing them.  AND.. maybe he needs to be a pirate for Halloween - would be kinda cute, huh?  In other news...

My annual love affair with the candy pumpkin has returned.  Curse you Walmart for carrying them starting at the beginning of September.  This does not bode well for my "eat healthy and exercise" plan... BUT... it does mean that autumn is just around the corner!  Pumpkins and turning trees and football are starting to make their appearance.  yay!

Labor Day in MO aka WAY TOO MANY Instagram Pics

I'm happy to report that the 5 of us made it home safely from Missouri!  It was a fun weekend with lots of sweet memories.  Cady is already talking about going back over the holidays - she wants it to snow.  I'm still recouping from the 12 hour drive to and from (it typically takes us about 8.5)!  So here's your synopsis - a few words and a ton of instagram photos I took over the weekend. 

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We left somewhere around 4 in the morning...

Syd looks a little more excited than Cady.  Shortly after leaving the kids and Syd went back to sleep until our first stop...

In Texarkana...  At a Dairy Queen... Where Milo is eyeing the colorful pics of dipped cones plastered to all the windows. Our next stop was due to construction... Things were SLOW moving there for a while.

After this pic was taken we drove thru lots of rain (leftover from Hurricane Issac), dealt with several Milo meltdowns, I developed a migraine and Milo got so worked up he puked all over himself and then had a blowout.  We had to pull over in the middle of the hood and unfortunately we hadn't packed an extra outfit and we couldn't get to our suitcase so I gave up and put him back in his seat white trash style in just his diaper.  Everyone was cranky and snapping at each other at this point and we'd been on the road for 10 hours already.  Fortunately, this one was fine now and went right to sleep...

This peaceful sweet photo is not indicative of what took place in the hour or so preceding it.  We did eventually make it to Matt's Mom' house (Ninna's).  She had a huge spread of some of our favorite foods made and we were all happy to be able to stretch our legs and relax...out of the car...  The next day we got up and headed out to the town parade (I think the town of Benton has like 800 people that live there). 

This giant tractor was by far one of the superior attractions.  Cady got lots of candy and Syd got to smell lots of smells and Milo..well... Milo was not real crazy about the fire engine sirens so we turned him around and covered his ears for a lot of it. After walking home Milo and I took a short nap and Cady and Matt climbed one of the big trees in Ninna's yard.

Cady fell out of the tree (which of course was somehow everyone else's fault) and sat on the porch pouting due to that ENORMOUS scratch on her left arm... can you see it?  yeah, that little tiny red mark?  And YES that's a real tear on her cheek.  Luckily I was outside to witness this so I could make it all better snap a picture.  Next we were off to the annual Mungle Jam Session. 

 
This Labor Day event was started to honor some of the Mungle Boys that are no longer with us.  Matt's Dad and Uncle Kendall were musicians so it's nice to get everyone together and play some music and think about old times.  Even Cady got in on the action...

This pic makes me smile.  Next year she says she's bringing her cello.  Milo participated by being held by various people all.day.long.  But mostly Aunt Paula squeezed and snuggled him and he was a happy boy.

I know Milo will enjoy going to this every year.  And I know that all the Mungles will enjoy seeing the littlest Mungle grow up.  The next day we headed out to hang with the other side of the family - Ninna's brothers.

These guys crack me up.  One of her brothers has a bunch of land way out in the country, complete with woods, a pond, tractors, etc - stuff little Cady doesn't get to see all the time!  We had a blast spending the day out there. 

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Matt tried to teach Cady to "skip rocks"...

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We took random pics on stumps by the pond...

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I took some "nature" shots.  Look at that giant spider!!!

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I spotted Sasquatch trying to sneak up on Cady...

Ok, seriously the pic above cracks me up.  You know Matt looks like Big Foot walking around the woods.  hahaha I'm also cracking up cause when I snapped this pic I had stopped to sit on an old tree stump to rest and when I got up I had sap all over my A$$!!!  karma.  

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Our budding photog took some birdwatcher photos...

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I took a pic of myself... I don't even really remember taking this pic but when I was just going thru them all it sorta scared me!

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This sweet boy learned how to blow spit bubbles...

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It was a fun day :o) I'm not sure what Matt is thinking about below but it must be a good thought!  It looks like my face when I think about lobster mac & cheese... crap, now I'm craving lobster mac & cheese... I digress...  And Milo is lookin' at that homemade blackberry cobbler on Ninna's plate!  That's my kid.



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We ended the day with a warm bath in Ninna's kitchen sink (at least Milo did)... This photo went on facebook with the caption "Hillbilly Hot tub" - we cracked up at Milo kicked back there like a boss.

Milo went to bed and Matt took Cady and I on a tour of his hometown.  The next day we got up and drove the 12 hours back home.  So there ya have it, another Road Trip to Missouri done and done.  I bet next year's will be here before we know it!

A bit of chaos lately?

It's been somewhat of a busy week!  Cady started school on Monday, Hurricane Isaac hit S. Louisiana forcing Gage to evacuate Baton Rouge, our nanny got sick, the AC broke, and I had to have some dental work done that forced me to take a day off work.  I "suppose" I could have worked after my dental appt, but let's face it - I'm a wimp.  Plus, like I said, Gage was here and the nanny was out sick so I figured I should just take a personal day.  And all of this happened Mon - Thurs!  We haven't even made it to Friday yet!  Friday will be easy breezy tho - we're headed on a mini vacay to Missouri to see Matt's family.  It will be Cady and Milo's first time to meet the Missouri kinfolk.  We are excited to see everyone and excited for cooler temps!  We'll come back Monday evening.  I'll try to get Matt to write up a post following our trip.  Cady is supposed to be writing a post about her summer/back to school but she is yet to send it to me...  So anyway that's what we've been "busy"doing the last few days. 

And just so you know...  Hurricane Isaac turned out to be sort of a dud and was mostly just rain and wind (we are thankful for this) - Gage already left to head back to school, we were thrilled to get to spend a couple days with him... 


sweet baby boys :o)

 We got the AC fixed and it was only $350 (could have been much worse)...  Cady is adjusting to school and trying out for volleyball this week (more on that later)... 




picking Cady up from school

 I suppose I am getting over my traumatic dental visit (the numbing shots are the worst part don't you think?)...  And our nanny will be back next week. Thank goodness cause Milo does not like to let us get any work done - he needs to eat and be held 24/7!  (ok, ok so we kinda spoiled him like that but still).



Finally got a shot of his eyes wide open so you can see the beautiful shade of blue they have turned!

 Enjoy you're long weekend!

First Day of School 2012

Cady started 7th grade today!  And this is the first time in 8 years that I didn't have 2 Littles starting a new school year on the First Day of School.  She texted me at lunch to say so far her day was going great.  And then she texted me a short time ago to tell me that she decided that I didn't need to pick her up from school and that she wanted to ride the bus with her friends.  :-( Oh well.  She's a cutie, huh?  I can't wait to hear about her day!