Happy Halloween!

A Florida gator and Ragedy Ann

Mama's boy

So, Rob and I have pondered (as many Christians do) about what to do for Halloween this year. Avonlea is old enough to understand what's going on and we came to the conclution that trick-or-treating is only a celebration of what you make it. We did let Avonlea dress up in her Ragedy Ann costume and go to a few select houses in our neighborhood tonight. It was actually quite fun! All of our neighbors had lights on, doors open or were sitting out on their front porches giving out candy (one little old man was giving out quarters!) to the kids in the neighborhood. We met many neighbors whom we had never met before and it was such a "community event" if you will. So many people in so many places do so many different things for this day and I don't think there's a right or wrong per say, but it's in HOW you celebrate. (I'll get off my soap box now...he he!)

Anyways, the past few days have been quite eventful around here. The kids and I have had to really get creative this week in where we would eat breakfast, eat lunch, activities for the day and where we would nap (the toughest part!). We've had drywall crews here all week and some of last week so there's been a lot of loud noises and although Avonlea sleeps through some of it, Lincoln does not so we've payed some trips to Grandma's house this week.

The dust is neverending, in fact my hands are dusty just from typing this new blog entry! We always keep the kids' rooms closed during the day with air purifiers going constantly and so their rooms are definately clean and safe. However, our room is getting hit hard with dust due to the demolition in our bathroom now. The rest of the house is slowly coming together and we're really getting excited. The guys got the wall and ceiling textures up today and it looks great. The only things left to do are the kitchen, the whole outside of the house being stuccoed and painted, wood flooring, baseboards and the rest of the master bathroom. It sounds like a lot, but from where we've come it isn't.

We've also been enjoying some fun fall traditions in our house this week: making caramel apples, baking fall cookies, carving our pumpkin (we've named her Dusty the Pumpkin...quite fitting huh?) and yes, watching It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (or at least I think that's the title). The kids and I made Rob and shirt with "Happy Halloween" and their hand and footprints on it. He needed a costume for work to participate in festivities so instead of an actual costume, he participated by wearing the shirt we made for him. He was pretty proud of it.

Well, I'm signing off. Rob and I are taking Avonlea to see Elmo Makes Music this weekend so stay tuned for pictures from that!

At the Fun for All at church

Avonlea and Emily at the Fun for All (Best Buddies!)

We Have Drywall!!!

Today was a very dusty day as drywall was being put up EVERYWHERE. I never thought drywalling was a dusty process, but I was wrong after seeing what happened in the Bates house today!


Entryway drywall...Hooray for drywall!

more drywall

Kitchen drywall

Potty training...round 2!



Lincoln and Papa K.

A Visit to the Farm

Rob and I decided to try a new outing to a place we've been wanting to try for a year now. It's called Hundsader Farm and it's about 45 minutes south of us in Bradenton, Florida. We had a blast yesterday petting animals, playing games, Avonlea rode a pony for the first time, eating barbecue, listening to TRUE country music (I've never heard a man sing so "twangy" in my life!) and just having a good time. The first thing we did when we got there was go into a butterfly house/garden. It was enclosed and had so many butterflies. That was definately Avy's favorite event. Rob and I were thinking about maybe making one (you know us and how much we love projects, especially landscaping things!) for our backyard. I've been researching greenhouses (and just using it for a butterfly house) and butterfly gardens, the plants/flowers that make it inviting and help reproduction, etc. It's really quite interesting and we definately have a big enough backyard to do it now. (I've also been plotting out where to begin a fall vegetable garden...when I get some free time.) For my birthday, my dad (we share a common interest in gardening, landscaping, etc.) bought me The Southern Living Garden Book for 2007. It's AMAZING! Sure enough, there's a section on plants/flowers for a butterfly garden. This would be a major project and we first need to build a dog run for Riley. That's the most important before anything gets planted or built in the backyard (or she'd destroy it). There used to be a dog run in the yard, but Riley is a big dog and we have to make a bigger one so we're now deciding whether it's cheaper to make a fence or buy the fencing pre-made. Again, another Bates family task in the works. (Stay tuned for pics of this.)

BAck to the farm...I was taking pictures all day and then realized I had my video camera on the wrong setting so it didn't save any pics accept these three. (My regular digital camera lost battery power and I realized it as we were on our way there.) So, we had fun and we'll definately be back. If anyone locally wants to visit, next weekend is the last weekend for the annual Pumpkin Festival.

Rob and I also enjoyed getting out this past Friday night to see The Last Comic Standing Live. We've really enjoyed the show and now to see the last five finalists live, well, it was HALARIOUS. We really had fun and even though I tried to make it a surprise for Rob, he found out about it and we still had a fun time. I took some pictures and even though we had great seats, the pics still came out as though we were far away. You'll just have to squint to see the comics.



I hope everyone got some time to enjoy the Lord's day of rest today. I know I enjoyed the 3 hours of sleeping silence amongst our house. :) I especially enjoyed it today because I spent the night at a friend's house last night helping her our with her newborn little boy. He's not sleeping through the night and for any new parent, someone to watch your crying baby through the night is the BEST gift ever. I was happy to do it and glad she got a little shut eye (her hubby is also away doing rotations for medical school so she's on her own, poor thing. Love you Corlee!).

"I want them back, every last one who bears my name, every man, woman, and child whom I created for my glory, yes, personally formed and made each one." Isaiah 43:7

*Doesn't this verse make you feel loved and wanted by God? I feel so special after reading it. Remember that the Lord made YOU, wants YOU and loves YOU today!

Signing off...Mommy Bates

"It's Beginning to Look a lot Like....Fall" (except for the Florida temperature!)

As for what's been going on this week...well, we visited the pumpking patch last weekend and had a blast of a time! We picked out our family pumpkin plus two additional "baby" pumpkins for the kids. We also got involved in a hay fight before we left which was fun. Avonlea was so worn out by the time we got home, we skipped her bath and reading books and she went straight to bed. It's weird how every year I'm always so excited about the holiday seasons and somehow this year, it's taking a little more effort (construction and all). I stayed up late baking pumpkin cookies and pumpkin bread the other night. The house smelled good and I was beginning to get into the spirit. Then we went out to get our pumpkin which was fun. It's sitting on a slab of cement outside our front door amongst the 2x4s, tarps, roof shingles and other building supplies, but it's there! I'm going grocery shopping this afternoon so maybe I'll pick up one of those wonderful smelling cinnamin brooms from Publix. (Love those things!) Rob, the kids and I are heading to Hudsader Farms this weekend. We've never been and my good friend Sarah told us about it and we've been dying to go for over a year now. They're having their annual Pumpkin Festival this weekend and next so it should be fun.

As for other things going on...

MOPS/Bible study has started up again at church and I'm really enjoying being back and talking with my girly friends. We've been getting into some interesting discussions in Bible study and I always look forward to listening to what others have to say on certain topics. It's amazing that as mothers, we're all going through such similar things in our lives and it's so wonderful to get together and share advice.

Rob and I have decided to get more involved at church by singing in the Christmas production and I have committed to teaching our three-year-old Sunday school class every Sunday at 9:00a.m. I used to teach preschool (3s) for two years at two different schhols while I was still in college so hopefully those skills of managing a room of 15-20 three-year-olds will come in handy beginning in November. There are so many needs in our church (and in all churches) that I feel strongly about volunteering as a stay-at-home-mom. These are all things I wish I had time for when I was teaching middle school, but never had the time or energy to help out. Now I definately feel called to volunteer more and I enjoy it, really I do.

The kids are keeping me on my toes each day. Lately, Avonlea has begun a defiant stage and has been a little bossy. She will say things like, "Mommy, stop singing!" Well, we'll be nipping this in the bud quite quickly. Her new favorite phrase is "Mommy is the boss". She has said "Daddy is the boss" as well. :)

I'm trying to decide whether or not to begin the potty training phase again. I was going to wait until construction was over, but lately no one is even showing up to work so I feel like I'm wasting days that I could be potty training her. My pediatrician said that girls begin potty training between 2-2 and 1/2 and boys between 2 and 1/2 to 3 years of age. She's showing lots of signs except the fact that she doesn't care if she needs a diper changing. She'd go all day with a dirty diaper and not care. That's the one big factor that's still throwing my off. I always thing to myself, "Will this be the last package of diapers I'll ever have to buy for her?" We have about 8 left and I'm still debating. Any potty training advice would be great!

Construction is still chugging along. The electricians have been here all week (except for today) moving around and adding lighting for the house. They like to listen the 80s music and sing really loud and obnoxiously! It's pretty funny and I've cought myself laughing outloud at them (not on purpose), which I hope they didn't take personally. They're funny guys. There is DUST EVERYWHERE and by that I don't mean large quanities, but little bits in places I didn't know existed and I just can't keep the house clean enough. The hallway closet has become our pantry and place we keep dishes, silverware and paper products. Our bedroom has become the "everything room" and Lincoln's bedroom has become the "media center" for Playstation, tv, movies, etc.

We've been hanging out outside a lot more and unfortunately, Avonlea got stung by a wasp yesterday. She was pretty upset for roughly 30 mins., but the swelling went down immediately when we put frozen blueberries on it (her pinky finger). She wouldn't take Benadryl, but that didn't matter since the swelling had already subsided.

I'm very excited that I have BOTH my children napping at the same time today (that's why I have time to blog). I had them on a schedule where this was normal, but once construction began, it threw them off. The construction guys can get really loud and although Avonlea usually sleeps through the noise, Lincoln will not. He also isn't at the age of just sitting anywhere and being happy anymore. He likes to be entertained and hence, that is why I don't blog as often. Today, there was no one that showed up to work on the house so although I'm upset that nothing is being done, I have a few hours to myself to get much needed laundry folded, the blog updated and the cleaning up of the kitchen done before my angels awake.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and for all you moms out there, visit Familyfun.com for neat recipes, craft ideas and more. I've gotten a TON of great ideas from here and I know you'll love it too!

Happy 4-Month Birthday LC!

Lincoln is officially 4 months old today! At the pediatrician this afternoon, he weighed 18 pounds even, was 26 inches long. He's in the 95 percentile for both his height and weight. We're finally back on the charts. For awhile, he was measuring off the charts!! He's in 12 month clothing already. In fact, his 12 month onesies are too tight! Anyone wanting to buy this kid clothes for Christmas, get them BIG! The shots he received today were: DtaP, Hib, Polio and Prevnar. 4!! Avonlea still has a cold as do I, but nothing serious. We all got flu shots last month, but the shot doesn't fight off the other 200+ viruses out there. Oh well. What's a mother to do? Have a great Thursday!

So here we are getting ready to hit mid-October and I keep asking myself where the time has gone. Lincoln will be 4 months old tomorrow and everyday he's surprising me with things. He can now support himself very well on his stomach. He loves to reach for toys/objects when you play with him. When I rock him for his afternoon nap, he loves to reach out and touch my face as if to say, "I'm discovering you Mommy". He laughs these awesome belly laughs and loves to "talk" to anyone who will listen. He's not quite rolling over yet, but he's very close (back to stomach). He's still sleeping through the night, but occationally wakes up for a "midnight snack". :) I love my little guy to pieces!

Avonlea on the other hand, is talkig non-stop!!! The girl talks in full sentences like a 3-year-old and understands directions very well. The poor thing is sick today with a runny nose, cough and very slight fever. She still loves helping me cook/bake, enjoys our evening walks (there's a little trail beside our house that each night the four of us go walking on), loves playing on her playground outside and really likes learning new songs to sing. She's been waking up 3-4 times a night for the past few weeks so I don't know what that's about!!! We started going into her room the first week to cover her up and make sure she's okay, but we had to stop that. It's kind of like letting a two-year-old "cry it out". She doesn't actually cry, but she yells "Mommy, Daddy" for awhile until she gets tired and falls asleep again. I think it has something to do with her two-year molars, but hopefully it'll end soon.

Rob and I are doing well and needless to say he earned some brownie points Monday. Monday was my 28th birthday and he took me out to dinner at Maccaroni Grill, he bought me flowers and a card and to top it all off, he scheduled me a day at the spa for a massage, manicure and pedicure. I was so excited and felt so spoiled. He's going to watch the kids for three hours this weekend while I go get pampered. Do I have an awesome husband or what?!!!

Construction is going well this week. The guest bathroom is tiled and almost finished. I'm waiting for the plumber to stop by and install the new toilet and hook up the water to the faucet and bathtub. Hopefully, this Friday it'll be finished so Rob and I can paint it. It's going to be a silver-blue color. We went to Bed, Bath and Beyone last night to pick out the shower curtain, bathmat and some little accessories. That was fun. It'll be good to finally get one room totally complete.

I've been reading this book called "Understanding the Prophecies of the Millennium" by Edgar C. James. It's published by Moody Bible Institute and was given to me by our pastor at church (the whole congregation received them). Anyone who has been interested in disecting Revelation or Ephesians (end times) from the Bible, this is a great book for you. It simply lists facts and information about the order of prophecies to come and the prophecies that have already been fulfilled for the second coming of Christ. I've read a book called "Revelation Unveiled", but it didn't break things down quite like this new book I'm reading. This is not to say that I think Christ will come back next week or even in my lifetime, but it is interesting to read about and discuss with other fellow Christians. The Bible says that we know not the time nor the hour when Christ will return. All I know is that I'll be ready for Him. I guarantee you that if you do read this book, you will learn things that you did not know before.

Don't forget to thank the Lord for all your blessings today!

The bathroom is now tiled and ready for paint.

Front entryway (shingles were being put on today)

see-through kitchen

archways

Oh No! We Have No Ceiling!

So, we don't have a ceiling tonight, but all that will change tomorrow. We had some surprises come about and found out that the beautiful wood ceiling with original beams couldn't stay. :( It's a long story, but the 4th bedroom will still have that ceiling and 2 beams in it. We've grown accustomed to having picnics on Lincoln's bedroom floor and watching tv in his room as well. Lincoln's room is serving as the "living room" right now until we gain walls back in our original living room. The house looks so much bigger now and the construction guys are moving very quickly. Our guest bathroom now has drywall in it and tile comes tomorrow. We also have a bathtub, but it's not functioning quite yet. Avonlea and Lincoln's schedules have been thrown off a bit and Avonlea is getting used to sleeping at other people's houses. Today we slept at Grandma Gigi's house and Avy did quite well taking a 2-hour nap. Yeah!!

Gotta go start dinner...

More Demolition...

So today is Monday and most of the demolition was done today. We no longer have a closet/pantry or walls in most of the rooms. The kitchen looks HUGE, even bigger in person versus the picture I took. Being out of the house has definately been difficult today and last week. I think we've got it down to a science though. I try to stay organized and pack everything we need in a day. I also keep a bag of necessities like our phone book, my Bible, daily planner, to do lists, grocery lists, etc. in a small bag and take it everywhere with me, that way if I need something and we're not home to access it, I've still have it with us.

We've recooperated from Avonlea's birthday party this past weekend and she's had so much fun playing with her new toys (where am I going to put them all?!!!). It was great because she didn't get anything too big so we've found homes for most of her things. Thanks again everyone!

Lincoln is growing more and more each day. He's beginning to grasp things with his hands now. He loves rattles and uses his burp cloths to snuggle. Avonlea has a little bear that she goes to sleep with and Lincoln has become rather fond of it so today we were off to Burlington Coat Factory (baby section) to find another bear for him. We looked for blue, but white will have to do. (They were out of blue.)

I know there are a lot of people that get frustrated with demolition, but Rob and I are so excited (granted it's only been a week, so I may change my mind in awhile). We love coming home and talking about what will go where (furniture-wise), how big and spacious things look and how different everything is. As for the dust, it's not nearly as bad as I thought. American Housing has done a great job in making sure they clean up everyday and leaving it livable for us. I was a little leary at first about having the kiddos around everything during the process, but so far so good. We've sealed off the hallway/bedrooms with a large tarp so the dust stays on one side of the house and since we're only here for the nightime, they're really only in their own rooms anyway. The not-so-fun part is (like I said), not being home during they day.

Well, I'm off to spend some time with my hubby and son (Avonlea is asleep)...