Going Once.....SOLD!

Today was somewhat of a first for me. Driving Connor to preschool a few weeks ago I saw a house that was having an auction. Furniture, Glassware, Antiques.... you name it. Even though my wonderful hubby would have accompanied me, there was no way in the world I was going to attempt it with C in tow. As I thought more on the idea, only one person entered my mind: Amanda.

Amanda is Martha Stewart minus the snotty attitude and prison record. She and I have become friends and her Frugal Fran mindset is the perfect match for mine. She had never been to an auction either and we weren't quite sure what we were getting ourselves into. We agreed to meet at the auction site right at 9 and try our luck.

All in all it was a HUGE success for us. We stayed for 90% of the auction and managed to end up with practically two vehicles worth of "stuff" for a whopping $14.00! I got 2 boxes of Christmas decorations that are being taken apart and used for their pieces! My huge steal was a semi rough looking small table with two shelves. If the weather cooperates, tomorrow it will be brought outside and sanded down, with a new coat of paint to follow. It's designated location: the nursery! Amanda had several steals, including a really cool chair, ironing board (perfect for sewing) and over door organizer for $4! (We're ignoring the scary cushions that got thrown in on the lot as they didn't make it further than the dump- I believe they were too scary for goodwill).

Needless to say, after going once we're sold! Watch out auctions.... here we come!

Parent's Night Out

Tonight was Parent's Night Out! I've been going to MOPS at a local church the past few months. One Friday night a month they provide childcare from 6-9p.m. for $4.00 per child- not to exceed $10 for a family! Seeing as that $4 is a little less than half of the normal price we pay hourly for a sitter, we take advantage of this generosity without fail!

Tonight we went out to dinner at Outback to celebrate our expanding family and the joy and happiness we've created in our lives together. We had a wonderful dinner together, and even were able to get a little bit of holiday shopping and browsing done.

This is the point in the blog in which I veer off course and brag for a minute. Romance has never been my husband's strongest point. He's a WONDERFUL man. More than I could ever want or dream for in a spouse. He's kind, generous, funny, sincere, warm, loving but romantic is not his strong point. In the past weeks and months he's totally taken me by surprise. I don't know if it's the tiny (teeny tiny) life growing inside of me, or the upcoming holiday season, or if it's just the realization that things get taken for granted all too easily, but lately the way he looks at me, talks to me, and holds me surpasses every other way that he is wonderful.

Tonight brought out more of this and I had to stop in the middle of dinner to take a breath to keep myself from tearing up. We were talking about how happy we are and excited we are and he kissed me. Right there at the table. Without caring who was there or watching. Then was the cherry on top. The forehead kiss. It made my night. God, I love that man.

At 8:30 we had eaten, shopped and were dumbfounded by what else to do, so we went and picked up our little Boodle. Then we picked up Ice Cream. Now we sit on the couch, eating ice cream, wearing comfy clothes and preparing to stay up late and watch a movie. So after my parent's night out, with my wonderful husband, I get to end the night with my two favorite boys snuggled up on the couch with me. Who could ask for anything more?

Favorite Places, Birds and Boys

One of my favorite places in Clarksville is Dunbar Cave. We go there quite often, but it's never quite often enough. Today was a wondeful day even if it was on the chilly side. We had several leftover hamburger buns that we knew the ducks would love and that we wouldn't be eating. With sweatshirts on and Sadie in tow, we were off. It was another trip with more wonderful memories made.

Favorite Duck "Bianca"

My Favorite Boy

Favorite Season

Full Week

What a fun, wonderful week! As if finding out that we're expecting baby #2 wasn't great enough, we got to carve pumpkins, go trick or treating and we were finally able to have Connor's birthday party this weekend! The party was a HUGE success! We had so much fun seeing all of our friends and his. This was definitely a memorable week!

A Positvely Blessed Week

There's only one way to describe this week:

Absolutely

POSITIVELY

BLESSED!!

Hallo-Wee-Ones

Saturday night was our 2nd Annual MC Hallo-Wee-Ones! We do a LARGE potluck style Halloween Party for our families! We have games, a spooktacular story teller, and trunk or treating! This year we had over 100 RSVPs for the event and it was another huge success! It was a lot of hard work, but was definitely worth it! One of Connor's best buds dressed up as a clone trooper- the perfect companion to Connor's Anakin Skywalker costume.

Falling For Fall

We're definitely falling for fall around here. Today we all played outside and enjoyed the crisp autumn air! Gabe made Connor a "Bow and Arrow" from two sticks and a string. Needless to say, Daddy became a hero with that one sharp move! After the fun of that died down, Connor felt the strong urge to jump in the HUGE pile of leaves I had been raking! Do you think he enjoyed it?

Random List

I'm taking this from Troy's blog...

Here goes:
I search: for my car keys virtually everytime I attempt to leave the house, since I can't ever find them.
I wonder: whether or not I'm a good wife and mother.
I regret: losing my patience when Connor gets distracted walking from Point A to Point B.
I love: my two boys more tan I could ever love anything or anyone.
I care: about standing up for what I believe in.
I always: take on too many things at a time.
I worry: that I'll fail.
I am not: a girly girl.
I remember: holding Connor the night he was born and realizing the power and the meaning of unconditional love.
I believe: Phil. 4:13
I sing: very poorly, and loudly while driving in the car.
I dance: like no one is watching.
I don’t always: fold laundry as soon as I take it out of the dryer.
I argue: about sports quite often.
I write: to stay true to myself.
I win: at scrabble.
I lose: my patience too easily.
I wish: I had the words to tell my husband and son exactly how much they mean to me.
I listen: to the wonderful and silly things that Connor comes up when he's using his imagination.
I don’t understand: why mothers and women spend so much time in competition with one another, when we're all supposed to be on the same team.
I can usually be found: wearing mommy clothes
I am scared: of losing my family
I need: nothing. I have all I need. (See my post below)
I forget: why I thought life in college was so wonderful.
I am happy: and I know it. Clap my hands. (Clap clap)
I tag: anyone who wants to think about things for a moment…

Livin' The Dream

Gabe and I have made a habit of responding with "Livin' the Dream" whenever we're asked how things are going. That's partially where our blog url came from. The truth of the matter is that we truly are busy living the dream.

When I look around me right now, at this very instant, I see a pile of books and movies that are ready to go back to the library tomorrow. Connor's got a tractor, dinosaurs, Power Rangers and Bumblebee strewn across the living room floor. Speaking of the floor, it needs to be vacuumed. In the kitchen there are dishes on the counter that I just don't feel like putting away. They'll be there in an hour. Connor's wearing playclothes and I'm in comfy sweats and a long sleeve T-shirt. Gabe's hard at work right now, and we're missing him. (Hopefully, he's missing us too).

We have a wonderfully quaint, little 3 bedroom house. It's full of our furniture and while quarters are somewhat close, we each have our own "space". It's not the house you'd buy or build if you struck it rich in the lottery. Or maybe it is.

We have a vehicle that's old. We lovingly have named her "Gimpy". She's our 1992 Corolla that we won't part with because we refuse to have more than one car payment at a time. The air conditioner doesn't work and it leaves a lot to be desired, but it's a reliable second car none the less.

When I look around at all that we have, the thought enters my mind that we have it all. We truly are living the dream. I'm married to my very best friend. I am blessed to know that my very best friend is married to his. We were given an amazing little boy to raise and guide and support and love. We speak to one another without using words. My husband isn't home at this very moment because he's working, which means he's employed. Our crowded little house has pictures that adorn the walls and an environment that is warm and comfortable. It's more than a house, it's our home.

We have it all. We're living the dream, except this dream is one I never want to wake from.

Happy Birthday Boodle

Four years have passed since our lives were forever changed by the most wonderful gift in the world. At 7:26p.m. Connor came into this world and we learned the true meaning of unconditional love. He truly is the light of our lives. Each and every day he encourages us to see the world through a child's eyes. We've learned about dinosaurs and trucks and cars. We have fallen back in love with Star Wars, Transformers, and Super Heroes. He loves to play and have fun and just be an all out boy. Happy Birthday Booh! We LOVE you!

20 minutes old!

Connor's First BirthdayConnor's 2nd Birthday Connor's Third Birthday

Connor's Fourth

Funtastic Fall Break

This week is Fall Break for Connor! (Because apparently the stress of preschool is so extreme that within a month of starting they need a week long break to rest their overworked brains...) So far we've had something planned each and every day this week, and as you'll soon see we've only got more fun ahead of us.

Today we ventured to Honeysuckle Hill Farms Pumpkin Patch! It's about a 30 minute drive, but worth every second of it! This is at least our fifth trip here, and our trips here are one of my favorite traditions our family has! If ever there was a perfect pumpkin patch, this one would be pretty darn close! They have everything from pigs to rabbits to calves to bees! They've got slides and playground equipment galore, hayrides, corn mazes and SO MUCH MORE!
We had a wonderful as a family and with our dear friends. Life is good. Life is SO good.

Friends In High Places

Today the MC took a fun and yummy tour due to the wonderfulness of my husband! Gabe helped arrange a tour at O.C. for us! It was AWESOME! The kiddos got to make their own pizzas and play with pizza dough, while the grown-ups got in some much needed adult conversation! It was a ton of fun and a HUGE success! Thanks OC!

Child's Play

It's been a week full of wonderfully amazing weather. We've had the air off, the windows open, and have enjoyed every ounce of it that we could! Gabe's been slaving away with a full week of closing, and Connor and I have had PLENTY of mommy and Connor time!

After church today we treated ourselves to lunch out and came home to change into "play clothes". We mowed the lawn for what is likely the last time of the year, raked some leaves, pulled some weeds, and then it was time to PLAY!

The Jedi battled Darth Daddy and Mommy. Darth Daddy and Mommy won.

Then it was off to Dunbar Cave for a long hike through the woods, where we crossed troll bridges, ran through the Spooky Forest, searched for Tyrannosaurus Rex footprints, and escaped from sinking quick sand. There's nothing quite like seeing things through the eyes of a soon to be four year old.

Perfect Playday

The weather today was about as perfect as it can get. The morning was a crisp autumn morning, with crisp morning air and a bright golden sunshine. I cannot express how much I love this time of year. Thankfully, my husband shares my love for the beautiful days of fall!

After getting up and heading to MOMS Club meeting, the boys ditched me to head to the barber shop! We all met up and decided that a day like this was too perfect to waste sitting around inside. We packed up and headed to the park!

We threw the football, played Red Light/Green Light, took a hike, had a few science lessons, and enjoyed the perfect day of play. Tonight we're making fajitas, listening to Colin's game, having family movie night, and planning on having an evening that carries as much joy as the afternoon did. Life is good- make that great.

Think Pink

October kicks off National Breast Cancer Awareness month....

Did you know:

*That 1 out of every 8 women will be diagnosed with Breast Cancer?

*That every hour 20 people hear the words "You have Breast Cancer?

*70% of women diagnosed with Breast Cancer do NOT have a family history of Breast Cancer?

According to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, 25 million women around the world will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the next 25 years, and10 million of them will not survive.

There are ways to change this. There are ways to stand up to cancer. There are ways to help. There are ways to make a difference. Here's how:

*Write! Write your congressmen & women. Write. Tell them that they it's important to fund research projects trying to find cures for Breast Cancer.

*Shop: There are products EVERYWHERE that are linked to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Click here to see some cute ideas. There's pink M&Ms! There's Yoplait yogurt! There's pink EVERYWEHRE! BUY SOME PINK!

*Take Action: Visit http://www.komen.org/ Find out how you can help!

We lost my mother in law almost 3 years ago to Breast Cancer. It's something our family deals with daily. We fight, hope and pray for a cure. This month, this week, this day, this year I ask you to do the same. Do it for yourself. Do it for your family. Do it for the women in your life and mine.