Spring Cleaning 101

Okay, so I am a clean/neat freak. I know I am. I like a clean house. I've gotten in the spring cleaning mood the last few days and decided to get busy cleaning the house from top to bottom. I am big on making lists because I love to check things off when they are done. I guess it gives me a sense of accomplishment. So, I sat down and made my VERY specific list of all that I'd like to do to get the house spic-n-span. Believe it or not, I came up with about 101 things to do. (I'm such a dork!) I decided not to list them all here because I know people are probably not that interested, but here are a few just to give you an idea of what I mean.

Clean out pantry.
Clean behind washer and dryer.
Clean/dust tops of kitchen cabinets.
Clean inside and outside of kitchen cabinets.
Clean windows inside and outside.
Clean baseboards in each room.
Wash curtains in each room.
Clean fans in each room.
Clean out closets in each room.
Organize dresser drawers.
Clean blinds in each room.
Rotate mattresses.

Fun stuff, huh? I've done 7 of the 101 things on my list. I'd love to get it all done by May. I guess there are a couple of reasons for trying to tackle such a big job. Besides the house just needing a good, deep cleaning, I'd like to get things together for a possible garage sale. Secondly, Kris and I would like to move at some point, so this may help when we try to sell the house eventually. Kris thinks I'm doing this so he'll get more serious about moving. Well, maybe. I guess. I'm ready for a bigger house!

Well, Hannah has to do what I do, of course. So, I put her to work yesterday with me as I was cleaning the kitchen cabinets.

I know this is going to be a big challenge, especially since I have TWO very messy little ones! Here's Lincoln playing in Hannah's closet, getting out whatever he could.
I don't know. Maybe I'll keep you posted on my spring cleaning progress--and then again, maybe I won't!!!

Lincoln is 13 months!

Wow! This has been a fun month with Lincoln! It seems like he has started doing so much. He has gotten a lot better at walking. It is SO cute to see him toddle around the house from room to room. He is still very wobbly. Sometimes I laugh because it looks like he is walking around drunk. I can tell he is enjoying the freedom that walking has given him. He has also started trying to climb on things alot more. Here he is yesterday climbing.



He has also started saying a lot more words. He is definitely not as clear speaking as Hannah always was, but I am able to understand what he is trying to say. He can say "Ca Ca" for cracker, "Maaa" for milk, and "JJJJa" for juice. He can say "Nana" for banana. He loves bananas. When he sees them he starts screaming "Nana Nana." Sometimes when he is really hungry and is waiting for me to give him his food, he shouts "Nana Nana!" It is cute!

Lincoln really likes socks and shoes. He tries to say sock ("ssssaw") and shoe ("shhhh"). He likes pictures of babies. Whenever he sees one, whether in a book or one of the many pictures of the kids we have in the house, he says, "BaBa" for baby. I think he says "no" sometimes, especially when he is about to get something that he knows he's not supposed to have. It is funny because he'll look at me and shake his head no! He seems to like frogs. Everytime he goes into his bathroom and sees all the frogs, he gets really excited and says "dog" or something like it. The other day we were at the Bittles and he saw a big bag of dog food that they had with a picture of a dog on it. He pointed and said, "dog." It is neat to hear him trying so hard to communicate with us!

He has gotten 2 more teeth--the top 2 molars. So, he now has 10 teeth. He may be on the verge of getting some more. His appetite is changing. He seems to be getting more picky. If he doesn't want something he will either throw it on the floor or shake his head no.

Lincoln is still my cuddle bug. I love his sweet hugs and kisses. I love how he says "Mama" all the time. It is the sweetest sound! He gets excited when his Daddy gets home from work. He goes to the door as fast as he can saying "DaDa!"

This has got to be one of my favorite stages. I know the terrible twos are probably just around the corner. So, I am soaking in all these precious times with my precious Lincoln!

Here he was trying so hard to fit the Bert/Ernie ball in the box. He worked at it for several minutes.

I wonder...

Have you ever wondered what your kids will be when they grow up? I have.

I remember growing up playing "office" as we called it with my 2 younger brothers. My dad is an accountant and he and my mom did some bookkeeping from our house for years. So, we always saw them working at the desk in the office, using the 10-key calculator, computer, etc. I knew from very early on that I wanted to be an accountant. On the other hand, I also knew from very early on that I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom. My mom stayed home with us. I loved playing with my baby dolls and just have always known that it was important to be home with your kids. It is amazing the influence we can have on our children.

So, what will Hannah and Lincoln be when they grow up, I wonder???

Let's see. Will Hannah be a chef? (She got into my spices last night while I wasn't paying attention.)

a musician?

a doctor?

a banker or accountant?

a stay-at-home mommy?

Will Lincoln be a wrestler?

a ball player?

Will he love books and be a writer or something?

It's fun to think about. It's scary to think about how much we as their parents can shape them into the people that they become.

At the baby blessing at church a few weeks ago, we were given a magnet with a scripture and a prayer to pray over our child. It was for Lincoln, but it can be applied to both my kids. This is my prayer for my kids:

That they will "have faith and follow the Holy scriptures as a foundation for their lives. Be a man/woman of integrity, courage and faith. Live by the highest standard that calls for complete honesty--an honesty that encourages a consistency of values. Be a giving and gentle friend, spouse, and parent. Be humble before God and deeply grateful for God's mercy on their lives. Be safe from disease, accident, or injury. Be proud of who they are and all that they will become."

Haircut

Well, I decided to change my hair up a bit. A week or so ago, Kris and I were watching Wheel of Fortune. I thought this girl on the show had the cutest hairstyle. It was really short and really straight. I imagined what I would look like with hair like that. I asked Kris if he thought my hair would look good like that. Honestly, I don't remember what he said, but it probably wasn't much as he doesn't really give me hair advice. Anyway, I've thought about it for a while and mentioned it to Jennifer the other day. I guess it's pretty drastic. I really like it. Jennifer can always make it look good. I just hope that when I try to style it for the first time tomorrow, I can make it look good too! I don't have any before pictures, so if you don't know what it looked like before, scroll down a few posts. I think there's a recent picture of me with Lincoln.

Hannah got her hair cut too. I'm still not ready to get hers cut short yet--one day. She had to have her picture taken too. She is so funny. She really likes to get her hair cut. Check out her kool-aid mustache!

Emma's Tea Party

Hannah's friend, Emma, had a tea party for her 3rd birthday party. It was so neat! The little girls dressed up and so did the mommy's. It was so much fun--even for me!!!

Hannah wore a dress that my mom made me when I was little and she wore a hat that Kris' mom gave her. I thought she looked so precious!

Here she is ready to have her tea! Emma's mommy had her house decorated like a Tea Parlor. It was really neat.

They played a few games. Here's Hannah playing Toss the Tea Bags. She had to take her big purse with her to the party. As a party favor, though, they each got a little princess purse with some jewelry to go in it. Hannah loves purses!

Here are all the little girls that were at the party. Kristen (Emma's cousin), Ella, Kenzie, Kaylie (Emma's cousin), Hannah, and Emma. So cute!

Hannah and Emma

My little princess!

The sweet birthday girl!

Here they all are about to have their tea! They had just had a tea lesson to learn how to drink it-- you know, with their little pinky fingers sticking out! They thought that was fun!

Happy Birthday Emma! Thanks for inviting us to your party!

Valentine's Day

Last weekend was our church's Father/Daughter Banquet. So, Kris and Hannah got to go on a date. Here they are before they left. Kris got her a little Valentine basket with a stuffed tigger and some chocolate in it. She thought it was cool! We told her all day that she and her daddy were going on a date that night. I loved seeing the big smile on her face as they were leaving. I think she's been missing her daddy some lately. Since starting his new job, he doesn't get to come home for lunch anymore and he has been working later than he used to. This was a good night for them. They had a good time.

Lincoln and I had some good one-on-one time that night. It was nice just to be able to devote all my attention to him for once. We didn't do anything very special, but I enjoyed it.

For Valentine's Day yesterday, Kris got me some BEAUTIFUL rainbow colored roses and some delicious chocolates! What a sweetheart!

Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!

I've been tagged...twice

TAG #1:

Here are the instructions: Pick up the nearest book with at least 123 pages. Find page 123. Find the first five sentences. Post the next three sentences. Tag five people.

Here we go: "When he lowers his head, clenches his fists, and makes it clear he is going for broke, justice must speak swiftly and eloquently. This response does not create aggression in children, but it does help them control their impulses and live in harmony with various forms of benevolent authority throughout life.

There is another reason I believe the proper use of corporal punishment is in the best interest of children."

Does that grab your attention??? If so, check out The New Strong-Willed Child by Dr. James Dobson!

I now tag Rachel, Shelly, Jennifer, Kelly, and Dixie.

TAG #2:

The Rules: Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog. Share 5 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog. or Share the 5 top places on your “want to see or want to see again” list. or Share 5 things you never pictured being in your future when your were 25 years old. Tag a minimum of 5, maximum of 10 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. The tagees have a choice of which they want to do.

Five Random/Weird Facts About Me:

1. I'm TERRIFIED of tornadoes! Just last night I woke up because it was hailing outside. To me, hail goes along with tornadoes. So, I had to get up and turn on the tv to see if there was any bad weather coming our way. Luckily there was not. I have to say that after last weeks devasting tornadoes in Arkansas, I am even more terrified. It took me a while to reassure myself that it was okay to go back to sleep. Kris laughs at me all the time because at the first sign of bad weather, I want to pull a mattress into the hall.

2. I sucked my thumb until I was like in the fourth grade or something. I'm not sure exactly how long, but it was bad!!! Because of this, my two front teeth were extremely horrible looking buck teeth. I eventually got braces (thanks mom and dad) that completely corrected the problem. I guess the weird fact about me is that I still have the before and after molds of my mouth. I can't bear to throw them away. Weird, I know.

3. I love watching American Idol. I think it is because I secretly wish that I could sing well enough to be on the show. I love to sing and love to watch others sing.

4. I've only had two jobs in my life. My first job was working at the local movie theater back home. This was the best job ever! I got to eat all the popcorn and drink all the coke I wanted, watch movies for free, and work with people mostly my age at the time (college) and goof off. It was great! My other job was working for alltel right out of college. I worked there for 5 years. It was also a great job.

5. I've ALWAYS known I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom ever since I was little. I am living my dream--thanks to my wonderful husband.

On this one, I tag Amanda, Jill, Julie, Cortney, and JoEllyn.

Have fun!

Full House

Today I had a full house! A couple of weeks ago I decided that I wanted to host a playdate at my house for all the mommies and their little ones in my Sunday morning Bible class at church. Back when our class first started having babies three years or so ago, one of our teachers' wives, Angie, had some of us new moms over for lunch. Hannah was not quite a month old yet.

Here we are at the first "mommy lunch"-- myself and Hannah, Rachel T. and Nathan, Carmen C. and Ava, Stacey S. and Kenzie, and Rachel W. and Madeleine.


We met pretty regularly for a while, rotating houses every month. The babies would lie down or sit on the floor and the moms got to really get in some good talking! Here are Hannah and Madeleine when Hannah was 5 months old. Aren't they cute!!!

Look at them now! Still good little friends! (They had so much fun together today.)

So, today there were 11 mommies and 14 kids at my house!!! (Stacey and her 2 girls had already left when we took this picture.) There were 9 little boys ranging in age from 6 months to 17 months and 5 little girls ranging from 3 months to 3 1/2 years. Needless to say, it was CRAZY at my house!



Most of our time was spent watching all the little ones crawl all over the living room floor and keeping the girls from making each other cry back in Hannah's room. Hopefully there was some good adult conversation while we ate frito pie!

Here are Lincoln, Ella T., and Eric D. sitting sweetly (preoccupied with their toys).

Enter Christopher A., Ethan G, and Elijah B.

Here comes Carter B. and Harrison W.

Poor Jackson B. was not liking the situation at all!

Neither was Ethan, but Lincoln was just chillin out chewing on a pen!

Okay, so here they all are: Carter, Jackson, Ethan, Lincoln, Jack, Eric, and Elijah. I love this picture! I can't wait to show it to Lincoln when he gets older!

What a great time! I hope everyone had fun! We missed those who couldn't come. Hopefully, we will do it again SOON!

Just a boring day

Well, yesterday was just one of those days--boring. We didn't go anywhere or do anything. Lincoln was sick with fever earlier in the week, so I really didn't want to get him out. My house was trashed because Hannah wanted to bring all of her toys in the living room to play with them. Here she is sitting in the baby bed that my grandfather made me years ago! She was putting her baby to sleep. It was so cute to hear how she was talking to her and cuddling her.
I got this picture when she wasn't looking.

Once she saw I was taking pictures, she wanted me to take one of her....
and then she wanted me to take one of her baby! She just giggled and giggled when I showed her the picture.

Here she is reading her baby a story.
Lincoln has discovered my cabinets lately and pulls things out to play with them often. I thought he was so cute playing with these popcorn containers. He was trying to stack them together. He was very determined.
Hannah decided she would fix Lincoln's hair. I heard her say, "Lincoln, you're so handsome." She started laughing and then I heard her say, "He's cracking me up." She is so funny!
Lincoln has finally started to like books more. He will sit in the floor now and look at them for a while.

Oh, and we think that Lincoln may have cut a tooth---finally!! Kris thinks he felt a molar this morning after Linc woke up around 5:00 crying. I really believe that the fever he had earlier in the week may have been due to teething. Hannah used to run a high fever right before she'd get a tooth. I just pray that he will go ahead and get all four molars at one time, so hopefully we can get back to sleeping all night soon!!!