My Boy...

...is almost three. Almost three?? It kills me just to type it.

He is...
A most amazing boy.
One of my greatest sources of joy.
One of my two greatest accomplishments.
He has a smile that lights up a room.
And eyes that dance.
He is sometimes reflective...

Full of silly laughter... A messy eater...

He's at times a bit pouty...

Sometimes a bit more so...

Excited about Christmas presents...

One amazing big brother...

He can be a bit mischevious...

And he's quick to smile...

All in all...he's one awesome little dude!

Happy birthday baby boy! Thank you for all of the laughter!

Yes, I'm Still Alive

I knew it had been a loooong time since I'd blogged, but I had no idea it had been that long until my sister pointed out that it had been since September!

Between blogging, facebook, and scrapbooking I was spending way too much time sitting at this computer and neglecting more important things like spending time in God's word, spending time with my precious family and less fun things...like housework.

So, I stepped away from blogging and facebook completely. I needed to prioritize. I decided that these things too are important to me, so I'm now allowing myself a certain amount of time per week to enjoy them.

I have so much to catch up that it's a bit overwhelming. I'm starting here with this post. I know you've been wanting to see pictures of the house, so here ya' go. It still needs work, but this is where it stands right now.

Thought I'd start ya' off with a little Christmas cheer! :)
The living room. I love that wall of windows. I just need a nice window treatment to dress it.

The kitchen. I took this picture before we moved in. The lighting stinks. It was dark and rainy and it makes the cabinets look yellow, which they are not. They're really gorgeous.

A better idea of what they really look like.

No explanation needed.

I love my pantry door. I love the fact that I finally have a pantry!

The dining room, currently.

Again, before we moved in, in bad lighting. The walls really aren't pea green. They are green, but more like what you see in the picture above. I just wanted to show off the ceiling. :)

Half bath.

Master bedroom. It needs work. I have material to add to the curtains, and pictures to hang on the walls. I'll get there...eventually.

The master bath. Possibly my favorite room in the house. But, again, it needs work too. I need a window treatment for over the tub and some things to hang on the walls. One day, I'll find the time. Until then, it's functional. For the first time in my life, I enjoy showering as much as bathing.

Ahhhh...the closet. I can actually put all of my clothes out at once and have my shoes and purses in plain sight. Buck has matching shelving on his side too. It's perfection.

The boys' bath. In here I need to hang a few things on the walls and have the shower curtain monogrammed with their initials, and buy a bigger lamp. The towels look black in the photo, but they're chocolate brown.

My little No-Way Jose's room. It's so calming and peaceful. Perfect for my sweet baby boy.

I still have to work on the wall over his crib. I know what I'm going to do. It just has to wait until after the holidays.

And, B-bop's room. I love, love, love the striped wall! It turned out just how I pictured it in my head. I went with a sports themed room. It's the Jr. Varsity collection from Pottery Barn. Yes, it breaks my heart that he's actually big enough for a "big-boy bed".

This little basketball goal was a great buy! It's B's favorite thing in his room.

And, I had one more picture for you of the playroom, complete with a silly little boy making faces on the couch, but I somehow managed to delete it from the post, so I'll put it up later when I post the progress in the other rooms.

And, I just realized I don't have a picture of the outside now that it's not a dust bowl. That one will come later too.

Walking In Her Shoes

We've all been there. Wal-Mart, the doctors office, the mall...the location varies. We witness this poor, pitiful mother, one kid in the buggy, a sweet smiling baby on her hip, and then...there's her toddler. Screaming to the top of his lungs, stomping his feet, throwing himself on the floor, replying with an emphatic, "NO!!!" to her every request, limbs flailing in every direction, his face contorted into the most unpleasant of faces, covered in a filthy mix of tears, spit and snot. We walk by, disdainfully staring at this train wreck of a child, wondering what his mother did, or most likely didn't do, that she would have a child who would act this way in public. We wonder what brought on his outburst (apparently the devil) and think to ourselves, "That woman needs to do something with that kid! He needs his butt tore up!!". Yes, we snub our noses as if we are better parents, because, "I would never let my kid act that way.". Right??

Yeah, well, not any more. Last Thursday, in the doctor's office, I didn't witness this scene. I was this scene. Yes, my friends, I was this mother, and Brady was this child.

Noah had an appointment for what I suspected was an ear infection. Turns out my suspicion was right, but that's irrelevant.

Brady had to come with me to the appointment, so I went armed. I had his portable DVD player, every movie he owns, an arsenal of snacks, and his beloved blanket and "O-Bear". I just knew I was safe. Yeah. Right.

For the first 20 minutes, my child was an angel. Perfect! Brady sat in the chair with his milk and bear and watched TV. He'd occasionally get down to talk to this sweet little girl, but if he wondered off too far, I just had to say, "B, come back. Sit down and watch TV.", and he'd comply without the slightest hesitation.

Then in comes a mom with three boys, the oldest of whom, was probably about 6 and a bit rowdy. He immediately sought Brady out. (Why Brady is a magnet for these type of kids, I'll never know. It's like he has a smell, or something.) Anyway, the kid starts crawling under the chairs and running around the room. Brady, the 2 year old in perpetual motion, begins following him under the chairs squealing like a pig in the mud. I tell him no, that he can't crawl under the chairs. He stares me down for about a minute and then, deciding that I must not mean business, tries to crawl back under the chairs. Because I have Noah in my lap, I give him one more warning that if he crawls under the chairs again, I'll take him in the bathroom.

Now, he knows, from past experience, that if we go into a public restroom that he's really messed up. He knows that I carry my "spanking spoon" everywhere we go and that it's in the bathroom that I wield it.

It was this one, simple, warning that prompted a fit that could have been included in the movie trailer for Poltergeist. Seriously. It was like I flipped a switch.

He threw himself on the floor, and began to scream at a decibel, that at times, I'm pretty sure, only dogs could hear. He completely ignored my commands to get up and the more I talked, the louder and more violent he became.

I put Noah in the car seat, grabbed the diaper bag, my child off of the floor, who went limp, yet still managed to kick and punch (which made it near impossible to carry him to the bathroom) and picked up the car seat and carried it cross the waiting room to the bathroom, which seemed miles away. Once behind the privacy of the locked door, I pulled his little shorts down and popped his legs twice with the spoon. I waited for him to calm down, which he never did, to talk to him about his behavior. When he became even more violent, I left the room thinking he would follow me. And he did.

He flung the door of the bathroom open, and flung himself onto the floor, screaming even louder than when we went in. At this point I was getting pretty. darn. angry. Not to mention, embarrassed beyond words. (I know, your thinking it must end pretty soon. Right? Well, think again. You obviously don't know Brady very well.)

Since I could do nothing with my child inside, apparently his audience was fueling the fit, I asked another mother, with a well-behaved, sweet, quiet child if she would mind watching Noah for a minute while I went outside with Brady.

We get outside and the screaming continues. I take him around the side of the building, away from the windows and watchful eyes, and grab him by his shoulders. All I wanted was for him to look at me, in the eyes. At this point I just want to calm him down. Somehow, he pries himself away from my grip, throws himself back and smacks his head on a brick column. This sends him into orbit, running and screaming away from me. Remember we're outside. In a parking lot.

So, I have to chase my child, in circles, around the parking lot. 3 times. (Yeah, he's a quick little sucker). Looking back, at this point, I'm thinking we must have looked as if Barnum & Bailey had come to town. I should have charged admission.

I watch in horror, about 15 yards away, as a Suburban pulls into the parking lot. My heart literally. stopped. beating. Thank heavens that the driver was paying attention and slammed on her brakes. If she hadn't, I wouldn't be writing this post from the comfort of my home. Instead, I'd probably be sitting by my child's bedside in ICU. Or worse.

I ran over, grabbed Brady and whisked him inside. As I walk in, the woman who was watching Noah, was holding him and my bag and the nurse was at the door to take us back. I carry them both, crying, to the back. I just left Brady on the floor, screaming as I sat, clutching my stomach, head reeling, waiting for the doctor.

Finally, after Dr. Rhodes arrived, witnessing the fit, and ignored it, it stopped. After he examined Noah, I in tears, recounted the entire story to him and asked for advice. His opinion...Brady was acting out for attention, because of the baby. I should set limits, follow through with consequences when he crosses the line, and then ignore the tantrums. "So he's not a bad child? I don't need to be concerned about his behavior?". No. Apparently not.

If I learned one thing from our circus...don't judge other mothers. They are, most likely, as I am, doing their best to parent their strong willed toddler. They are, most likely, tearing up his butt when he crosses the line. His fit was most likely not caused by anything that his mother did, or did not do. And, now that I've walked a mile in her shoes, instead of disdainfully judging her, and her child, I should pray for her sanity and work on my speed!

This Is Why...

I haven't been blogging much lately. Because whenever I have a spare moment (after the boys are in bed), I scrapbook instead. It's my therapy. My outlet. I love taking a blank canvas and turning it into something creative and beautiful. I love knowing that my boys will have their most special memories and moments (okay, I know it's more like EVERY moment that I document, but it's in those everyday moments that life is at it's best) captured for a lifetime.

And, no. I haven't forgotten that I promised some of you a few PSE/digital scrapbooking tutorials. I've just been lazy. I haven't felt like sitting down with PSE and doing all of those screenshots and then typing it out step by step here on the blog. But I promise...it's coming...eventually. Until then, I hope you enjoy a few of my latest creations.

As always, images are linked for credits.


Pure Beauty
Fall Majesty

Shhh

Believe In You

Space Cadet

San Diego, A House, And A Baby Who Doesn't Like Apples

I know it's been forever since I've posted, but I've been a little busy. Between my family, two kids, their doctors appointments (Brady has had strep and Noah an ear infection and a 6 month check up), traveling, and building a house, I don't have much time to blog...or bathe for that matter!

So, to save time, I thought I'd combine a few topics into one post to get ya' caught up on where we are.

First up, San Diego. We flew to San Diego 5 days after arriving in the states from Germany to visit Buck's family. His parents are both from San Diego and his grandparents still live there. The last time we were there, I was 6 weeks pregnant with Brady, so the great-grandparents hadn't seen either of the boys yet. It was a wonderful time! Of course, perfect weather and family always make for a good time, right?

In this photo: Buck's parents and siblings, (minus one sister who couldn't make it out) and his paternal grandparents, a.k.a, Granny and Grandpa.
Four generations of Carroll men; all of whom have the first name Allan and the initials, ABC. :)

Granny with the boys. And this is again Buck's family, but with his maternal grandparents, his aunt and two of her three kids.

The boys with Nana and Papa. Brady was in no mood for pictures this day!

Me with two of my beautiful sister-in-laws. :) (I decided to throw this one in since I rarely post a picture with me in it.) The House: It's coming along...slowly! I didn't realize how long it took to build a house (the lot was cleared in April!) or how involved a process it truly was. (Bless you dear mother for the months of work you did without me here to help!) We finally have stucco outside (which has been re-done since this picture was taken thanks to a composition problem) and painted walls inside. The doors, crown and baseboards were going in today, and cabinets are being delivered tomorrow. Eventually, we will have a driveway, and flooring put down, and be able to move in...eventually. The baby: I swear this kid has taken the term, "picky eater" to a whole other level. Remember this post. Well, the grains weren't agreeing with him. A few hours after eating the cereal (oatmeal too) he would vomit. Not the baby spit up kind, the projectile kind involving coughing and spitting. I took him off for a month and tried again at 6 months with the same result. His pediatrician told me some babies don't tolerate grains well and to just start him out on apples, bananas or pears. So I did. And he hates them. ALL of them! He makes the awful face (pictured below), gags and spits them all over me. So far he's hated apples, peas, bananas, squash and pears. I continue in my futile efforts, hoping that one day he'll choke down a bite or two and find something other than Mama's milk palatable. That's about it for now. Hopefully, I'll find time to post before October rolls around.

**Disclaimer: I know that these pictures are in need of editing, but I'm too tired and busy, (or maybe just too lazy) to edit them.**

One Breath At A Time

It's been a whirlwind lately.

I felt like I haven't had time to exhale.

We spent our last few months in Germany traveling, packing for the move and living out of suitcases. When we finally got back on U.S. soil, we had time to unpack, do some laundry and re-pack for a (wonderful) trip to San Diego.

Not that I would have changed any of it...I'm so thankful to have the memories of Cologne, The Netherlands, Normandy, Paris, Garmisch and Austria. And, it did my heart good to see our family in San Diego. We made some precious memories. But it's good to have time to just be...

To be home with family. Today I got to hold my two beautiful nephews and spend quality time with my sister and brother in law.

To be able to order sweet tea in restaurants. I'm a true southern girl and I so love my sweet tea. As much as I loved Europe, I truly missed being able to order sweet tea!

To be taking an active role in building our house. Until now, I've made all of my choices by looking at options on my computer screen. Now I can actually see it and feel it all coming together. It's finally real to me. I'm not just watching a dream come true, I'm taking steps to make it happen. It's tangible now.

To be able to rock my Noah to sleep. Tonight, for the first time since they packed up my rocking chair, I held my baby in my arms, sang him sweet lullabies and rocked him long after he was sound asleep. I forgot how sweet it was. I forgot how sweet he smelled and the way he lets out the softest little sighs when he's safe in my arms. The time is just going by too fast (he's already 6 months old), so to be able to hold him and turn off the world for a few minutes is like stealing a little bit of heaven.

To be sitting and watching Brady stomping ants, catching bugs and digging in the dirt. He loves to play outside (and much to my dismay, he loves bugs). I love to watch as he chases the birds and the heat flushes his pretty little face. I love to hear the sound of his laughter as the bugs "tickle" his arms.

To be here, on the couch, catching up on blogging and scrapbooking and unwinding with a good cup of hot tea.

I feel like for the first time in a long time that I don't have to hold my breath. I can relax and enjoy all of the blessing God has placed in my life. Of course, there's a million things I could name that await me in the morning, but for now, I'm just taking life one breath at a time.

An Update and A Few Pages

The house is moving along! It's bricked and lots of progress has been made on the inside as well. The stucco guy is coming tomorrow to begin, so where you see the Stine plastic...that will be stucco. Obviously, the boards will down too...they were needed to keep the rain out.
And here's a view of the back. I LOOOOVE, LOVE, LOVE the huge windows!! I want (translate neeeed) lots and lots of natural light, so I'm head over heels for these windows! The small posts on the patio will also be replaced with 10x10 cypress posts. I have so many ideas swimming in my head with how we will landscape the back yard. :) And now, on to a few scrapbook pages I've done this past week.

Ordinary Moments:
Journaling reads: It's in the ordinary moments that life becomes extraordinary.


Remember This Moment:
Journaling reads: Flowers. From my little boy. We had just arrived at Point du Hoc. I had to stay in the car to feed Noah. Brady and Daddy got out and started looking around because B was in the middle of a tantrum. About 15 minutes later they showed back up at the car. I could tell that B had a handful of something. Rocks, I assumed. Instead I was sweetly surprised. For in his little outstretched hand were a bunch of the prettiest little yellow and white flowers. I'm a sucker for these offerings. These tiny little treasures made me pause in my frustration. They made me realize that though our parent/toddler relationship isn't perfect, I'm doing okay by my boy. After all, he still wants to give me flowers.
Very Sweet:
Journaling Reads: Life Is Very Sweet Being Your Mom

Window: (This LO is for a "Life Lessons" book I'm putting together for the boys.)

Journaling Reads: Life Lesson 102: If one door opens to another door closed, keep on walking til' you find a window.

Free Bird:

Journaling Reads: Oh, B! This is what you most loved about Paris. Chasing the pigeons at the Louvre. I think it may have been my favorite part too! :)

That's it...have a great week, y'all!

Images are linked for credits.