He's a Big Kid Now!

Look! 2 posts in one night! What are the odds?!

So Jaden has been going through lots of changes. He's no baby anymore, which makes for a sad mommy! A little over a week ago we lucked into a free full sized bed for him (which worked out really well since his crib converts to a toddler bed then to a full sized bed!) I managed to find some great bedding on sale, which is always a plus! Jaden is in HEAVEN in his new bed!

He also FINALLY decided to potty train, so this weekend, as promised, I have to buy him a fish tank. What was I thinking.....

Punkin Patchin' It

Hello all! I've been in purple madness while writing and sewing for our 2010 marching show "Amethyst Dreams." We just went to our first contest and have a little over 2 more weeks left of marching season, then we start WINTERGUARD!

Last week I took a break and we hit the pumpkin patch at a local church. Here are some pictures of that:

We ended up with three pumpkins, which promptly went on our front door step. We are waiting until a little closer to Halloween to carve them. Every time he walks by them he tells me how much he loves his pumpkins!

Celebrations, Birthday, and Band Camp

Well, our summer is about over! Where did the time go???

For the 4th of July we stayed in town and went downtown (which is approximately 2 minutes from my house) to watch the fireworks over Heritage Park. They close down a portion of the street that runs along the park and we were able to just walk over and plop chairs down on the sidewalk. It was great! Jaden enjoyed it, even though he was a little freaked out by the big booms and pops.
We celebrated Jaden's 3rd birthday on the 13th. Because his birthday fell on a Tuesday this year, we just did a small thing at home on his birthday (a few small gifts, hot dogs, and cupcakes.) Then on the weekend we celebrated with the Kosutics. He got his first real bike, which made him a VERY happy boy! Everything went really well -- except the birthday cake that cracked while we were in the car on the way to his "party."

The weekend before his birthday we drove to Gulfport, MS to check out the beach and do some shopping. I was actually shocked at how nice the beach looked in spite of all the oil floating around in the gulf. I fully expected to see tar balls all over the beach, but we didn't see any of that! It was a relief.

We just finished band camp and the kids go back to school on Monday. Fortunately we were able to get the first 2 songs on the field before the end of camp, even though we had a few reminants of TS Bonnie messing up part of the first week a little. Now I just need to finish teaching the girls the flags work and clean it up before we start on the final 2 songs. Our show will be great this year and I will share the finished product when I have it.

I hope you all enjoy what's left of summer! We will be relaxing and gearing up for MARCHING/football season around here! GEAUX SAINTS -- and NHS Panthers....

Not So Lazy Days

Who ever said summer is time to relax and be lazy? That certainly hasn't been the case here. We've been on the go a lot!

Jeremy has really started settling in to his new job and is making some great changes in his department at the hospital. They're very pleased with him so far. Way to go Jeremy!!!! One thing we did learn, though, is that having a work cell isn't the greatest, because they really do just call you at any hour of the day! HA! Anyway, he had been playing raquetball on the weekends with our brother-in-law, but that got put on the backburner for a bit due to a leg injury. I'm sure they'll be back at it as soon as Rob is 100% again!

I have been working with the colorguard at Northshore High School. I have 26 girls that I've spent the past few weeks whipping into shape and prepping for the fall. We're going to have an outstanding show that I can't wait to see! I've been working on designing their flags and will be making 2 sets, which comes out to about 80 flags, so I will be one busy bee! I'm also working on my inventory of jewelry. I've set up a store on etsy.com and am working on getting more than the 3 things that I currently have in my shop! I've also thinking about getting involved with the Camelia City Market on Saturdays here in town. We'll see where this goes! I've also been taking Zumba classes at the gym with my nieces. That has been a lot of fun, too!

Jaden is growing like a weed! The last time I measured him he was right at 3 feet tall and weighs 37 pounds. He's talking up a storm, singing, dancing, and just acting like a goofy boy! His 3rd birthday is in just a few weeks and he's dying for a new bike. I think we'll make that one happen! We've been spending a lot of free time swimming, either at my sister's house or at our gym. That's probably his favorite thing to do. He really is like a fish! We've been working on potty training and have had a few setbacks, but he's doing alright. I'm adding a few pictures of him so you can see how he's grown!

So that's our summer! We won't be doing any traveling this year because of the move and because we're just too busy, but we're enjoying our new home! I hope I didn't bore you too much!

The Gym

We joined the local gym this week. It has been much needed for both of us and the place is absolutely amazing! The have a deal with the hospital Jeremy works at that his membership is covered as long as he makes so many visits a month. Therefore, we have resolved to go every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from now on (we decided this on Wednesday.)

When we got there on Wednesday, we took Jaden to the daycare, which was exciting for him because he got to play with new toys! The gym was VERY busy, but we managed to make our way to a few elliptical machines. I quickly remembered why they are not my favorite machines...or maybe it was just this one. In any case, as soon as a treadmill opened up, I was on it and Jeremy came with me. I ran/walked a little over a mile and was BEAT (NOTE TO SELF: YOU'RE IN BAD SHAPE, LYNETTE!)

So here I am a few days later and still kinda sore. Oh, and we didn't go to the gym today. Maybe I'll just call it a holiday. I do plan to make it to Zoomba on Wednesday. I will hold my niece accountable for getting me there, she just doesn't know it yet.

The name of our gym is Crossgates Family Fitness, check out their website! We really got a fabulous deal!

Mother's Day

I had a great Mother's day this year! My mom was here for my niece's high school graduation, so we spent the afternoon in the French Quarter.

We enjoyed shopping...

...sightseeing... ...and eating beignets.

You never can tell what you'll see in the French Quarter!

In the evening, we went back to my sister's house and the guys grilled steaks and sausage. Jeremy and the kids got into the pool...

and Jaden conquered his fear of water by jumping into the pool! WOW!

It was a great day for sure! Jeremy got me a gift certificate for Woodhouse Day Spa. I'll let you know all about that after I get to go!

New Blog

I was asked to start a blog for my beading, so I did that today. I have posted most of the stuff that I have made on there: the good and bad, from the beginning. I think I did about 30 blog posts today, so I'm a little tired of blogging, but if you're interested, please check it out!

The Beaded Lady

Rug Update

I haven't gotten a lot more done, but have been asked for an update, so here we are! It went fast at first, but I haven't spent a lot of time on it and it seems to be moving slower even when I have been working on it! Here ya go!

as promised...

So I KNEW I wanted to hang something scrolly and pretty over our bed, but wasn't sure exactly what. I started shopping online and wasn't finding what I wanted for a decent price. One day, we were heading towards Bed Bath and Beyond here in town, but we hit traffic. So, while we were in front of Big Lots, we decided to check it out. I found exactly what I wanted in the CLEARANCE section for $15! Well, almost exact. I knew it couldn't be this color! LOL

So we got some rusty looking spray paint and painted it with a few coats...

...and this is the finished product! We love it!!!

...and now the upstairs!!!

Just in time for my mom to come in for my niece, Lindsay's, high school graduation this weekend, we have pretty much finished the house. Well, as much as we can for now. Everything is hung downstairs and we've worked tirelessly to get the rest of the upstairs done today. Enjoy your little tour of the upstairs...

This is the top of the stairs. If you turn left you go to our room or right to Jaden's room (see pictures below)

from landing looking left at our room. Yes, we had to gate off our room from a rambunctious 2 year old boy.

this is looking right from the landing, into crazy man's room

So we'll start with Jaden. Here is his reading area, window and closet.

Here's his bed.

This is the sign on the front door to his room.

This is his dresser and entrance to the bathroom, which we share.

Door on left = bathroom. Door on right = closet

Water Closet view from inside Jaden's door (yes still needs touching up)

shower

view toward our room from WC area

view toward Jaden's room from our room

The laundry room in our bedroom. Odd-shaped room, yes. I fight to keep the cat out from behind the washer on a daily basis.

Finally got our TV mounted...as close to center as we could!

We have a tiny closet...BUT - I HAD to put my Vera Bradley purse display on here (for those who know of my love of all things Vera)

looking in from the bathroom area

coming into the room (that door goes to our balcony) -- feelin love for my Texas roots!

our project (see next blog enrty)

other wall. Door on left is bathroom door on right is landry room

One last look into the bathroom from our room

and that's our house! Now to finish getting it ready for Thursday...