Sleep Progress & Thrift Store Finds



We are feeling much much better this week

Samantha had school... Andrew is learning to sleep ... finally...

and even Mama got out a few times this week by herself..

 

Garbage Day always cracks me up.

Even when it was 17 degrees out... the one garbage guy always looks for the kids, and waves to them... and Samantha gets super upset sometimes if he doesnt wave.. she's spoiled now..ha! So I made sure to prop them up on the couch so they had a good view.



 

A little tickle torture.

I love how she is so nurturing, mothering and sweet to him lately...



This is his signature face when he sees something he likes, or he gets excited..

He says "ooo ooo!"

Its hysterical.

Samantha and Daddy sat down for a little "You are My Sunshine".. and I got a cute video of her belting out the tunes.. It was so adorable.

Crying it out..

Its been a week now.. and he STILL cries when we put him down at night.

Not for long.. some nights its 3 minutes.. other nights its 10.. never more though...

He's slept through from 9-6 a few times.. But I've been roughing it and getting up with him at 530 some days.. and he's sooo insanely thirsty.. Then he'll fall back asleep on the couch .. (like he is right now as I type).. its early.. but eventually he'll get it I hope!

Im sure it will take him a while to get the hang of it.. and be a fantastic sleeper like big sis now.

But I need to remember, she wasnt always a good sleeper either!

The point is.. HE"S SLEEPING IN HIS OWN BED!!!!

Praise Jesus!



Yesterday we went to the pool for a swim.

We joined our new health center that was just built.. and on cold, grey, winter days.. it was perfect for the kids.. and us too!

The pool wore them out.. YES!

Everyone took naps, and Momma headed to the thrift store for a little therapy.

I love thrifting.. some days I find nothing.. but yesterday I found a few things I am pretty excited about.

 

A wood frame (maybe for a chalkboard)... two old embroidery hoops, a wooden cart, tiny pitcher, teeny tiny dome, and ..... BALL JARS!!!

I couldnt beleive the stash I found! All under 1.00!



I have a thing for Ball Jars..

 

(via pinterest)

 



I like using them for food storage, and Pinterest has TONS of ideas for them as well.

Holding flowers, candles, making globes,

I just love the look...

 



This one is a blue/aqua glass 1/2 gallon..

 

Not sure what I'll use it for yet.. but thats the great thing about finding them for cheap!

Oh, and I have a bunch in my cabinet and I like drinking iced coffee out of them too!

 

A little Time to Blog

Its Sunday evening...

a few more hours till back to the grind and Monday begins another week.

I cant complain though we had a pretty good weekend.. here are the major highlights:

Friday

it snowed.. but it didnt stick around long. We made fish sandwiches, fries for dinner... Samantha had chicken though, she isn't diggin' fish yet. After dinner Momma did some thrifting... I guess consignment shopping too.

And Daddy and Samantha went to Home Depot.

I found a lot of cute things in very good shape.. One outfit was brand new.

This is could NOT live without..

It was 99 cents! Perfect timing too! I couldnt beleive it was still on the rack! Its a vintage hand knit sweater with Shamrocks and green trim. Its adorable on her too..and can be used for another baby too one day! I was SO excited about my deals - its the thrill of the hunt and I guess you gotta be in the mood for it.. like shopping at TJMaxx or Marshalls, right?

SJ was in bed and Momma and Daddy watched a movie. "John Q" ... It was really good.

Saturday

we were woke up at 6:30am .... To a bright eyed baby... I think she is definately getting ready to welcome a bunch of new teeth. I caught a glimpse of an upper tooth the other day.. She has been really whiny, and feverish, and biting on her fingers/blankey/toys..

She isnt crabby ALL day.. which Im thankful for... But we can tell that teeth coming are bothering her.. She's had a few melt downs lately..

We made a trip to the grocery store as a family after naptime.

and she was sporting her new vintage shamrock attire..

Sloppy Joes, Fries and ColeSlaw was on the menu, and I gotta say.. I made some GOOD homemade cole slaw.

{she was a really good eater this weekend dispite her teething}

{fuzzy but funny}

Sunday

Momma and Daddy went to Church and dropped SJ at Grammy's until we were done.

We went outside and walked around our neighborhood a bit, and when SJ went down for a nap I went for a walk to the Grocery store, (yes I feel like I go every day) All I needed were scallions...and when I came home, Daddy went for a run... healthy Sunday indeed.

Tonight I made Thai Coconut Chicken.

We lived in NC right by a Thai restaurant. I had never had Thai Coconut anything before, but I found this recipe, and it tastes JUST like it did at Thai Grille in NC.

It was SOO good.. I wish there were more leftovers.

It goes really well over jasmine rice, and a little soy.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Cradle, Cookies, Coloring and Cousins

Jusr a little weekend update.

Friday it was sooo cold and windy, seriously when you were outside and the wind hit your face it felt like 0 degrees... but it was also sunny and pretty... does that make sense?

Anyways, the sun is what motivated me to do so much... I was getting started on laundry, working, and I found a cradle for sale locally, and went to take a look. I am NOT pregnant.. nor trying to be right now.... but in the maybe near future we're thinking about it.

Once I saw this, I had to get it, and it was a GREAT deal. Some of these antique old oak cribs go for $200! .. and I got this one for under $35.



It may not look like much, but I have big plans. My goal is to make custom crib bedding myself. I have an old sewing machine that was given to me by a sweet neighbor, and I really really want to learn how to sew, and then embroider as well.

After I picked up my little cradle, I came home, and made these,



a little treat for Samantha after she woke up from her nap... Ok ok .. they're for Momma and Daddy too.. how can you resist Funfetti cookies?

Just as I was making them, we.. I mean Samantha got a Valentine package from her fairy godmother, Auntie!!

She got an adorable outfit, a preschool workbook, and some new valentine books! She loved everyting.

Thank you so much Auntie, we love everything, you spoil your Godddaughter!
She loves her Preschool workbook, and got right to work at some coloring activities. ha!

Today we had to keep little miss inside again.. too cold to play.

Momma did some painting, and I am close to finishing 2 art orders I've been working on. Daddy kept up with the shoveling, and we did some laundry.

This evening Grammy, Momma and Sam went to my cousin Kim's house. She has 3 kids, but they are older now, but she still has a lot of toys.. so Samantha was having fun. She especially loved their staircase, and was going up and down about 100 times.. She passed out COLD when we got home.. ha!


Hope everyone is having a good weekend as well!
Until next time!

Joelle

Family Vacation in the Finger Lakes!

This past weekend Mathew, Samantha and Momma decided it was time we get away just the three of us for the weekend. We havent been away just us 3 since we left North Carolina in November 2009. So we headed up to Mark and Lori's Lake house in Lake Honeyoe, NY.



We left just after Daddy got home from work, loaded up the car, and it was a quick 1.5 hr drive. We got in and got settled, and daddy fired up the grill & we ate Strip Steaks, Potatoes & Corn on the Cob! We havent been eating a lot of red meat in probably the last 4 months, so this was a treat! Samantha loves steak! ha!

Saturday we woke up and had a nice breakfast - eggs, sage sausage and bagels and juice.. again Sam loved the meat.. haha.. Samantha was pooped! So she took a LONG nap, and then when she woke up, we headed to a few antique shops in the surrounding area. Most of the antiques were really expensive, except a few things here and there.. but you need some time to look, which we were limited to with the lil bubba in tow.. but overall she did so well, everytime she saw an antique doll/baby/stuffed animal she'd shreik and get all excited.. I felt bad, cause there was NO way she could touch anything around her. So it was a lot of quick stops/looks

We found an antique copper tea kettle or $15.. Mathew and I love copper accents.. and we are already brainstorming on what to do with our kitchen, it needs a lil polish, but overall its in pretty good shape!... oh and I needed these small english plates- they were only $3.. And I also got a vintage dictionary for $2.00!



After antiquing.. we headed to Canadaigua.. about 10 miles north of where we were. There was a cute lil Main Street shopping area, so we busted out the stroller and went for a stroll. The stores were very cute.. children's clothes,kitchen stuff, decor, antiques (of course), a soap store (nothing in comparison to Out of Eden .. my FAVORITE NC store of all time.. *tear)






And there was a Salvation Army Thrift store.. I LOVE IT.. I take after my Grandpa Sam..(another post story for another day) .. But he would take me there when I was really little.. and ever since I've been a thrift store/garage sale addict.

Anyways.. I found an old milk glass container, perhaps for an herb in the kitchen or paint brushes in my craft room (coming soon!)... and a cheese dome, to be used for anything really.. these two were $1 each! - I think the thrill of the hunt, finding something and the awesome deals is why I like it so much. Why would you pay for something in a store that costs WAY WAY too much?



After our little country drive, we headed back towards the Lake House. Sam was a hot mess in the car.. I knew she was getting loopy and tired.. but she was hysterical! Not crabby...



She passed out when we got home, and Daddy and I just relaxed and layed on the couch.. something we dont do very often.. Dinner was Burgers, Fries, and Steamed Broccoli, and before dinner Samantha decided she'd like to start walking now..



It was so funny.. She was getting so excited that she could MOVE by herself .. since crawling was never her thing... She was laughing hysterically and was closing her eyes.. almost like she was excited/scared.. aww..







She took maybe 5-6 steps before we had to catch her, but Im sure it wont be long now.. Now that she knows she is getting there, her need for mobility has shifted into overdrive. So lots of walking around the house/yard these days. I only hold 1 of her hands now to make her practice balance.

Sunday morning we cleaned up everything and headed back to Buffalo.
But we couldnt leave without a few lake pictures!



look at these two.. can you tell she's her father's daughter or what?...



It was a much needed nice vacation for the 3 of us, just away from all the house talk, internet, tv (which we still watched a little).. and we just took time to enjoy being a family.. we realized we need to go on more vacations!

We had a wonderful weekend, and we didnt realize how close the lake is! And Rochester too, which we definately will be visiting in the future.

Thanks so much Mark and Lori! Your lake house is a beautiful place, we will be back!