The Harthcock House

Catching up with December

2011-12-30T10:03:00.001-06:00

December came and went, much quicker then expected, but here are the highlights from the month leading up to Christmas.

It snowed early in the month and left just enough to make for a little fun the next morning. This was definitely my kind of snow. Pretty, with enough to make a snowball, but perfectly dry on the roads!

Ethan and Stella enjoyed some brother/sister bonding time. He really is a great big brother, and for that I am grateful!

We helped Nonna pick out her Christmas Tree at a new farm that was huge. Ethan had a big time playing with bamboo sticks he found along the way, and sister screamed most of the time, partly because of the hat on her head and partly because she was tired and wanted to go to sleep.

The girl turned 2 months. She weighted 11lb, 13oz and had to get those awful shots. One more example of how my children are polar opposited. This girls screamed a sweet forever after her shots, refused to eat for quite a while and wanted to not be disturbed. Her brother, on the other hand, only screamed for the second he was poked with the needle and was perfectly fine after we picked him up.

Ethan painted the salt dough ornaments he made at Grammy's house during Grammy Camp back in the summer. I think they turned out beautifully!

We decorated cookies at Grammy's house with cousin Caroline. The kid did an excellent job with his cookies, and did not consume too terribly much sugar!

The girl allowed me to torture her for just a few minutes so I could try and get her picture in one of the adorable bloomers my friend Ashley made for her. Cute, huh?

That about sums up our December. Stay tuned for another post on all of the Christmas happenings!

Christmas Card 2011

2011-12-19T11:22:00.000-06:00

"For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:11

May your Christmas be filled with joy and laughter as we celebrate the birth of our Savior. Make memories with the ones you love and give like you have never given before. It IS the most wonderful time of the year!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!!

Recent Happenings

2011-11-09T13:52:00.000-06:00

My goodness, I cannot believe that it is November already! This whole year has flown by so quickly. I have been a little busy lately but I just wanted to take a minute before it gets really busy with the holidays fast approaching to remember a few things that have happened around here.

This girl is something else. She is so good at humoring me for a few minutes while I attempt to do mini photo shoots with her.

She tends to be a complete opposite of her brother. For example, she is an excellent sleeper while brother could have cared less about sleeping (and still doesn't care). She is a sloppy eater who could care less about finishing a bottle and takes 45minutes to an hour to finish. Brother, on the other hand, would never let a drop drip out of his mouth and would suck it down as quickly as he could.

That brother really does love his baby sister. We were worried about him there for a while before Stella was here but he has been nothing but loving with her since she has arrived. I can't wait to see how these two will get along as she gets bigger and their differences and similarities start to show more and more.

Halloween came and went without much regard around here. We did go to a party at some friend's house so Ethan could go trick or treating with some of his friends. We also went to Funfest at church for a little while, too. Stella has been a trooper and just gone along with whatever it is we have had planned. I love how our family never missed a beat even with a newborn. She just fits right in!

Ethan was a pirate this year, after much debate. It is funny to me that his costume selection revolved around whether he wanted to carry a sword, a gun, or a light saber. Little boys are something else. This year I gave him a costume catalogue we got in the mail and told him to pick out what he wanted to be. He looked over that thing for days and finally decided on a pirate. Then, Noel and I went to the store and bought the costume for him instead of taking him to the store with us. Genius idea!!

Also on Halloween night, sister got to take her first real bath! This girl loves a bath. She loves having her hair washed. She loves just having her face wiped down with a warm washcloth. Another example of her being the opposite of her brother who screamed bloody murder during bath time.

Thanksgiving is fast approaching and things are about to get crazy around here. Holiday season is my favorite!! Now, to find the perfect outfit for that sweet girl!!

The First Few Days

2011-10-25T22:48:00.001-05:00

What an adjustment it was to not have our sweet girl in our hospital room with us. We were very fortunate to only have the minor breathing issues to deal with but it was still hard having to go down and see our girl (especially after a c-section) and not having here at arm's reach.

Thankfully, the girl was quickly "demoted" (or promoted?) to the 1st step-down NICU by evening the day she was born.

Ethan stayed with my mom while we were in the hospital but he came by to visit every day. He had gotten to take a quick peek at Stella right before she was whisked away to the NICU but the next morning he met me down in the step-down unit to get up close and personal with baby sister.

By Wednesday night, the girl was moved to the final step-down unit where she spent most of her time. She finally got her feeding tube and oxygen taken out and started on taking a bottle. Bless her heart for having all that yucky tape stuck to her face. It sure did leave a nasty mark for a while. But I still think she was the most beautiful girl even with huge red marks on her face!

A special thanks to a girl in our Sunday School class who made this sweet gown for Stella. It is the most adorable thing!! Thanks Anne!

Finally, by Friday afternoon, we were able to take our sweet girl home. Ethan picked out a little Piglet as a going home gift for baby sister. He was so proud to give it to her!

When we pulled into the garage at home, Ethan asked if baby sister got to come into the house, too. I am not real sure whether or not he wanted for her to come in, but Noel and I both had a good laugh!

And so begins our new life as a family of four!!

Stella Noelle

2011-10-22T12:42:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the world Stella Noelle!!

Our sweet baby girl is here!! Stella Noelle was born Tuesday, October 11th at 9:12AM. She weighed 8lb 7oz and was 20 1/4" long.

We left for the hospital at 5:00AM on Tuesday morning. We had to take one last picture before we left!

One last picture as a family of three. Poor Ethan was not too fond of the idea of mommy being in the hospital! He didn't want to sit on the bed with me or even get too close.

When Stella came out, the Dr. shouted "it's a boy!". What? Are you kidding me? I thought he was just kidding, but Noel says the look on the Dr's face when he corrected him was a look of surprise and a little panic. It must have been a long night/morning for him to be running on auto pilot.

Our sweet girl had some fluid in her lungs and was having some breathing trouble. She had to be admitted to the NICU shortly after we made it back to our room from the OR. More on that in a later post.

But, we have been home for a week and we are so thankful that our sweet girl is here safe and sound! What a blessing she has already been to our family. Our little family is finally complete! We love you sweet girl!!

HaPpY BiRthDaY DadDy!!

2011-10-04T14:26:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday, Noel!!

Here's to another year full of laughter and lots of fun. Thanks for being such a wonderful father and for being the best husband ever. We love you more than we can say.

PS - Thanks for letting me spend your birthday at craft night with the girls! Maybe you can go play golf soon without any grief from me (maybe!!). LOVE YOU!!

Playing Catch-Up

2011-09-29T10:13:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I may have fibbed a little about doing better at updating this blog. See, I've been a little busy getting ready for this baby girl to get here. So what we are going to do is a little catch-up. I just couldn't bare to have September go by without one little post. So, here you go!

The Razorbacks started their football season this month and we have spent many a Satuday at the neighbor's house partying. You know, as much as you can party with lots of kids!

We did spend one game at our own house and the kid was bored (with no kid's to play with) so he spent the game watching a movie on his daddy's IPad. Maybe someday he will care enough to watch!

We spent Labor day at my parent's house and since it was too cool (thank you, Lord!) to swim we had to come up with other ways to entertain ourselves. My mom broke out our old crocket set and the big kids and little kids alike had a grand ole time "playing" crocket.

Ethan also has his first ever playgroup with lots of the kids from our Sunday School class. I really hate to admit that this was the kid's first ever since he is three and all, but better late then never, right?

We joined a wonderful Sunday School class back in August and we have truly been blessed by everyone in our class. Since being married, Noel and I have never really plugged in anywhere in the church. We used to just go to big church and come home without really connecting with anyone.

It is so great to be able to live life with a group of people who love the Lord, who are in the same season of life that we are. I have always know that our lives would be enriched if we could find a place to fit into at church and it just so happened that one of Noel's good friends started coming to our church and jumped right in to Sunday School and since he was going then it much be ok for him to go too. So, such begins our new journey with an instant group of new friends.

Our social calender has never been so full, and that makes my heart happy. I think there are 31 kids between the 13 couples that are in the class, plus 3 new babies due in October. We are so thankful for this class and I could not be more happy to have found the right place for our family during this time in our life!

Wher're you going?

2011-08-12T14:41:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was clean out the car day and while E's seat was out I though it might be a fine time to wash his seat cover. While I was at it I ~~made~~ asked Noel to get the infant seat out of the attic so I could go ahead and wash it, too. You know, two birds..one stone.

Well, guess who thought it would be really funny to get in his clean seat sitting in the hallway? It was really funny until he realized he couldn't get back out, since he buckled the buckle. I, on the other hand, did think it was funny.

This is the look I got when I told him he had to get himself out.

At the time I was working on getting lunch together while he tried to free himself. I made him struggle for a few minutes before I let him out. Maybe I should bring that seat in the house more ofter. I might just be able to get a few things done around here.

It's finally the weekend and we have some projects to get started on around here. Baby girl will be here in 8 weeks or so!! Stay turned for some project reveals in the next few weeks.!!

Have a great weekend, everyone!!

The Weekend

2011-08-08T10:27:00.001-05:00

It is so stinkin' hot around here that it is hard to do anything but stay inside with the blinds closed. But, since my kid wakes up everyday saying "where are we going today?", staying home is not always an option. Just now he came in from outside and asked if we could go to Chick-fil-A!!

A few weeks ago baby girl's bedding came in so I figured it was time I get started on picking paint colors. I have a Craigslist dresser that needs to be painted, as well as the walls. Ugh!! I am the worlds worst at picking out paint (or anything else for that matter), especially with the vast amount options that are available. Can we say option overload?!

We finally narrowed it down to purple only for both the dresser and the walls so off to the Home Depot we went. I think I need to go with a lighter shade for the walls and a darker shade for the dresser all in the same family. Otherwise there would be too much going on in one little room.

I only came home with five samples so I thought that was pretty good!! Once the sun was out and I could get in there with some natural light it became obvious which color worked best for the bedding.

On Saturday, we also bought baby girl her first pair of shoes!! I never thought I would love Toms shoes as much as I do, but their shoes in tiny sizes are so stinking cute that I could not resist. I just think these adorable pink cords will be so cute for the fall and winter!

We had a great weekend around here, regardless of the heat. We had a great time visiting and cooking out with some friends Sunday night and now we are ready to tackle the week. Hopefully this week will be a little cooler then last. We can only hope, since my poor husband works outside and all. Bless his heart.

Happy Monday, everyone!!

Interview with Ethan

2011-08-01T08:29:00.000-05:00

On a few blogs and on Pinterest there have been some interviews going around to give your kids and I thought it would be fun to see what Ethan has to say these days.

An interview with a 3 1/2 year old!

What is your name? Ethan

How old are you? 3

What is your favorite color? red and green

What is your favorite animal? doggie and Mickey Mouse, too

What do you want to be when you grow up? Ethan, so I can go to work and mow yards with the big mower and cut with the chainsaw. (His dad has lawn care company)

What is your favorite movie? Spider Man (which he has never seen?!) and Veggie Tales

What is your favorite book? Toy Story and (Curious) George

What makes you happy? Emma (his cousin)

What makes you sad? crying

What is your favorite food to eat? chicken and chicken strips

What is your favorite song to sing? The B-I-B-L-E and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

What is your favorite game to play? the golf game and the shark game (on daddy's IPad)

Who is your best friend? Emma and Alyssa (cousins)

What is mommy's name? I don't know, only mommy (usually he says honey. ha!)

What is daddy's name? Noel

What fun it will be to go back and do this again in a year and see what all has changed. I just love that sweet boy!!

Y-E-S to V-B-S

2011-07-18T11:37:00.011-05:00

Oh my goodness, what a week Vacation Bible School was. I don't think I have been that worn out every day of the week in a long time.

I spent my week working in one of the Pre-K classes and we had about 20 kids each day. I think the final total of kids for the week was almost 1100 kids. Now, that is a lot of kids in one place!

I really did have a good time working VBS this year but it was also reconfirmed that teaching is not one of the spiritual gifts that God gave to me. God bless those of you that were given that gift and who are called to serve with children!! I was exhausted after one week. Maybe being pregnant had a little something to do with it, too.

This year's theme was New York: Big Apple Adventure. The kids had some super cute songs they learned and I am still singing those songs in my head today...

Ethan had a big time in his class, too. I had to sneak a picture of him because anytime he saw me he would tell me he wanted to go home. But he really did have a good time, I promise.

It's a good thing VBS only happens once a year because I think I may need that whole year to recover and be able to serve again next year.

The Fourth

2011-07-06T11:20:00.005-05:00

Our 4th of July weekend was celebrated with lots of food and lots of fun in the sun (and water). We even took an afternoon to go see Cars 2.

Ethan helped Poppy make some homemade ice cream. Actually, he did more ice eating then helping, but whatever.

Ethan also did his fair share of ice cream eating. As did the rest of us, too!

After our fun in the sun, we all went home to take a nap then we met back up at my sister's house for some fireworks. This is the first year that Ethan has gotten into wanting to participate, so sparkles of all sizes keep him and cousin Caroline entertained for quite a while.

Just another weekend making memories with my sweet family!

A Month at Once

2011-06-29T18:13:00.000-05:00

Well, obviously I did a terrible job at posting this month. Sorry about that all 4 of you that read this blog. So, what we are going to do is just do a recap of the month of June.

It had been so stinkin' hot around here that most of what we have done has involved water. I have a scary feeling that come August we are going to be saying "we thought it was hot in June!" Lord help us if that is the case.

We spent lots of time at Grammy's house in the swimming pool. All I can say is that we are very glad that we have a pool handy.

Ethan spent one day a week this month in swimming lessons. He has really come a long way in just the four lessons that he had. He is naturally a good swimmer with little fear but he has really learned a lot. Before this year he wanted to wear his puddle jumpers all the time and not spend much time without them.

Now, he wants no part of puddle jumpers or floaties. He can tread water for what seems like forever. He can dive down (3-4 ft) and collect dive sticks. He can swim under water for quite a long distance. The problem is he can't touch the bottom of the pool yet, so he has to be watched very closely to make sure he makes it to the side of the pool.

The main focus of his swim lessons is safety first so he has been learning to find the wall instead of a person when he is in the water. Surprisingly he has really caught on to this concept quickly. Let's hope he can continue to remember this valuable lesson.

This month we also found out that we will be having a GIRL in October. What a shock that was. We really thought it would be another boy, so we are having to do some major adjusting to get ready for this sweet girl.

We have nothing picked out for this child. No name, no bedding, no nothing. We are working on it though.

I think I can get used to hair bows and dresses and nail polish and lots more clothes to pick from. The question then becomes, what am I going to do the the nine bins of boy clothes that I have been saving??

Ethan and his cousin Caroline also just got home from a few days at the the First Annual Grammy Camp 2011. These two spent some quality time at Grammy and Poppy's houses doing fun things. They even have a t-shirt to commemorate the event!

That just about sums up our month of June. I'll try to do better next month!!

Homemade Laundry Soap

2011-05-24T11:30:00.002-05:00

Just so you know, I have really sensitive skin. Apparently I passed down this lovely issue to my sweet boy, too. When it comes to laundry detergent and fabric softener, we have to use things that are scent free, dye free, chemical free. All of the things that make your laundry smell yummy, yeah we can't have any of that.

Do you remember all of those commercials with that cute Snuggles bear bouncing around on fluffy towels? It used to make me so sad I couldn't have good smelling, fluffy towels.

Anyway, a while back I learned of a family who makes soaps and other things from goat milk on their farm. The Goat Milk Stuff people make a laundry soap that is all natural and perfect for people like me. I have ordered their detergent and loved it but I thought I might could make it myself for a little less.

I did some googling and found lots of recipes for homemade laundry soap so I kinda took an average of all of the proportions and made up my own recipe.

I ordered a few laundry bars from Goat Milk Stuff and bought the washing soda, baking soda, and borax at Walmart. All of these things are found in the laundry section. You can buy a laundry soap from the store called Fels Naptha if you prefer, or natural Castile soap from Whole Foods or other natural food stores. I also read that some people even use bath soap like Ivory or Dial. With my sensitive skin I just went with what I know works for me. Plus I really love Goat Milk Stuff!

Just take a box grater and use the small shred side to grate up the soap. This part probably takes the longest of the whole process, but still easy!

One bar of the laundry soap made about 3 cups so that is just what I used. The idea is to use 2:1 soap to everything else. Double or triple the recipe if you have the bowl and container to do so and you wouldn't have to make detergent but once a year!

Here is the recipe:

2 cups grated Laundry Soap
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Baking Soda

Use 1 TBSP for front-load washers or 2 TBSP for top-load. For extra large (or extra dirty) loads I use 2 TBSP in my front-load. This soap makes little to no suds which makes it all the better for front-load washers.

Store the detergent in an air-tight container. You could even get one of those super cute glass jars, tie a cute ribbon around it and make doing laundry a little less mundane.

My batch of detergent cost me about $12 and that should do about 120 loads of laundry! Plus, it's all natural, environmentally friendly, sensitive skin approved!

Over time I have come to realize that the smell of clean is not lemon, or orange, or yucky chemical. The smell of clean has no smell at all!

Happy detergent making!!

Happy Birthday, Grammy!

2011-05-06T08:53:00.000-05:00

Today is my mom's birthday!!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

We can't wait to eat cake with you tonight.

This morning I asked Ethan if he knew who's birthday was today. He said, "GRAMMY, and she's going to have a jump house, too!" He may be a little disappointed tonight at the party...

Ready or Not...

2011-04-29T14:10:00.001-05:00

The kid loves to play hide and seek. The thing is, he is terrible at hiding. I think his most favorite place to hide is under a table.

Obviously this table was no where near a good place to hide. Better luck next time kiddo. Ready or not, here I come!

Easter Weekend

2011-04-27T10:56:00.000-05:00

We had a busy but fun Easter weekend. We started the weekend off with an egg hunt put on by the church. This was the first year we have gone, but it was lots of fun.

Ethan's cousins Emma and Alyssa went with us. E and Emma got to hunt together in the same area. I didn't get a picture of Alyssa since she was over in the older kids area.

Surprisingly, Ethan had no problem getting up close with EB. Up until now he has had a healthy fear of all things in costume. I sure am glad he has gotten over that.

After the egg hunt we headed over to Grammy and Poppy's house for lunch and egg dying. It was super bright outside so E looks squinty in all of the pictures.

I think most of E's eggs were cracked because he has a small problem with being gentle. Oh well, he and Caroline had lots of fun anyway.

The EB made his delivery for E's Easter backet, with minimal candy. How did that bunny know?

Sunday was full of church and family and eating and more egg hunting and no napping. All of the family pictures are on my mom's camera so I will have to get those from her soon.

We hope your Easter was full of fun, but also full of celebrating our risen Savior. All weekend long I kept sings "He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today.....". Happy Easter!!

Cu-cakes

2011-04-22T13:30:00.000-05:00

Last night, Ethan helped me make some Easter funfetti cupcakes. I love it that the kid likes to help me with fun things in the kitchen!

His most favorite thing (besides licking the beater) is getting to use the mixer.

"Cheers"! E and his daddy love to cheers all kinds of things; french fries, beaters, chicken nuggets, cold beer (just kidding!).

It's kinda disappointing that I have to share the beaters with this kid. I guess that is just part of being a mom; having to make huge sacrifices for your kids!

I did the icing and E did the sprinkles. Some have more then others, some are all in one pile. What's the point in making them all look the same?

Ethan was begging to get to do some icing so I let him do the last one. He squeezed the mess out of the bottom of the cupcake, but his dad didn't care while he was eating it.

Dumping on the last of the sprinkles. That last cupcake was smooched and crunchy, but I am pretty sure it tasted just delicious.

We have got lots going on this Easter weekend. I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. He is Risen!!

We plant it, but God makes it grow!

2011-04-06T14:31:00.000-05:00

Last weekend it was gorgeous outside. We did lots of cleaning up and we even got to plant a few flowers. The kid's most favorite thing to do is dig in the dirt so doing some planting was right up his alley.

We have lived in this house for a whole year, and all we have ever planted was some azaleas. They were spaced out just right waiting for some other fun things to come and join them. We just so happened to catch knock out roses on sale at Home Depot so I insisted that we get them and plant them right away.

In case you didn't know, the hubs does lawn care and a little landscaping for a living so his least favorite thing to do on the weekends is yard work. Kinda like the cobbler's kids never have new shoes or the painter's house never gets painted? Yeah, that's how it is around here, except with yard work.

The kid sure did have a good time though! At least someone was enjoying them self, right?

At some point, the kid tripped on the metal edging and bumped his leg a little. There was no blood, maybe just a small bruise. Monday, when he went to MDO he told all of his friends, and his teachers, that he broke his leg while planting flowers. When we went to pick him up, his teachers told us that he got along just fine, even with his broken leg! Ha!

There is still lots and lots of planting left to do around here, but I am going to try and not overwhelm Noel all at once. Easy does it, right? Our front beds really need some attention. Maybe we'll get around to them sometime before next year.

The Hills Are Alive...

2011-03-24T14:15:00.000-05:00

with the smell of daffodils!!

Last Sunday, we look a little trip to Wye Mountain. The daffodils were so gorgeous. Daffodils are my most favorite flower in the whole world and I am not sure why I have never been out to Wye Mountain before now. It's not like it's that far. It's maybe 20 minutes from my parents house. I have been missing out!!

Ethan's Grammy and Poppy went with us and we ate some BBQ for lunch, put on by the Methodist church who maintains the daffodil fields.

The kid was not too keen on the idea of actually smiling for the camera, but I did the best I could with what I had to work with. His Poppy is the only one that he would smile with.

It was a lovely day to be outside. I think the temperature was in the low 80s.

Ethan did more running around then he did smiling for the camera, so I have lots of shots of his backside.

We will definitely be going back next year and the year after that and the year after that to see the daffodils. If you live in the area you should, too. This was the 33rd annual, so they have been doing this a while.

We are SO glad that spring is here. The flowers are blooming, the grass is turning green, and the birds are chirping. We love it!!

Whatever

2011-02-28T11:39:00.000-06:00

Sometimes you play outside with your rain boots on the wrong feet.

Once you notice what has happened you might decide to switch them to the right "foots".

Then you carry on about your business now that your boots are fitting properly.

Sometimes you play outside, in your jammies, with your boots on the wrong foots.

Whatever! Who care! Right? In the grand scheme of things it really doesn't matter if your boots are on right or if you even get your clothes changed before you go outside.

A Whole Lot of Fun

2011-02-17T08:00:00.002-06:00

My kid has the attention span of a fly. Very few things, beside movies and shows, keeps him entertained for for more than a few minutes.

My mom had a bag full of play-doh and toys at her house that the kids seem to love and Ethan asks to play with it every time he is over there. So, I decided we needed one for our house, too.

His favorite things are the spaghetti maker, the scissors, and a plastic knife I added just for fun. I really think the knife and scissors are his favorite because those are things that he would otherwise not be allowed to play with.

Thank goodness we have found something that the kid loves to do, other than watch tv. It is so hard to get him to use his imagination and creativity. I really hope that he can dig a little deeper into creative things.

We love play-doh!!

Snow, again...

2011-02-16T11:16:00.000-06:00

Last week, 2/9, we got lots more snow. I think our final total was about 8". Now, to some of you that may not be much, but here in the south that is more then enough to shut down the state.

Of course the kid took full advantage of the stuff and played lots and lots outside. The snow in the backyard came up to the kid's knees. That's how deep the snow was.

We dug up the shovel and rakes and things and E had a big time digging. He, of course, ate lots of snow too. Whatever, that's what I say quite often around here.

We even did a little sledding down our street. My parents loaned us my old sled I got for my 5th or 6th birthday (we can't remember). It is one of those classic metal runner kind of sleds. Ethan is too little to ride by himself but he had a good time riding behind the neighbor kids.

Riding the sled with neighbor Parker.

I love seeing pure joy in the faces of sweet kids. Kids sure do know how to enjoy life. We big people could probably take a lesson or two from them.

Thankfully, the snow is melted and the sun is out. We have enjoyed our snow this year but we are glad for spring to be on the way.

Here comes the sun, du du du du!!

Love Love Love

2011-02-14T20:28:00.003-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day! I am not a huge fan of the holiday, but I do like a nice bouquet of tulips so that made for a great day.

I made Ethan a corny heart-shaped peanut butter and honey sandwich ("peanut-jelly" he calls it) for lunch just for fun. He thought that was super cool.

Noel and Ethan went out Sunday night to pick out flowers. Ethan picked out the azalea and Noel got me a bunch of tulips. I didn't have a large enough vase to fit all of the tulips so I put a few in a vase on the counter and the rest in a vase on the kitchen table. I love having fresh flowers around the house :).

I thought I might just cook for our Valentine's day dinner, but as the day went on I just decided I would rather someone else do all the work, so we went to Dixie Cafe. It was so romantical!! HA!

I hope you day was filled with lots of love!!

This is the way...

2011-02-04T21:32:00.001-06:00

we dress our self, dress our self, dress our self. That's what Ethan is learning to do these days. I don't think he really thinks it's a good idea seeing as he would rather we just do it for the rest of his life. But that's what's happening anyway.

Every other time his pants get put back on correctly. They are usually inside out or on backwards. He typically gets his undies on right, but the pants are another story.

Although he may not fully appreciate this new skill, I am certain that he will be grateful that we taught him such a valuable life lesson.

Tada!! You will thank me some day kid. I guarantee it!!

Cain't Have Nothin' Nice

2011-01-28T13:08:00.000-06:00

I really love my kid. I mean, really! I cannot imagine our life without him in it. However, I have decided that I am never going to be able to have anything nice for the remained of the kids childhood / adolescent life.

Just last night the kid shot his nurf gun up towards the ceiling and hit one of the recessed lights. The dang dart got stuck up there and Noel had to figure out a way to get it down from our very tall vaulted ceiling.

Cain't have nothin' nice.

I find myself saying this all the time, but it is true. I cain't have nothin' nice.

The kid beats up my leather furniture.

He has knocked a rock loose from the bottom of our hearth (that I am going to have to hot glue back on).

There are dents all in my hardwood floors. Luckily I was smart enough to pick out hand-scraped flooring so the dents blend right in.

The tile grout around the toilet in his bathroom is permenently stained from all of the times he has "missed".

My lovely patio out back is constantly covered in dirt and/or mud from all of the digging he does in my flowerbed.

The coffee table has dings all the way around it from the kid trying to get his toys up on the table.

You get the idea. I cain't have nothin' nice. Hopefully once all of my children are grown and gone I will be able to have nice things again.

Until then I love to look around at all of the "uh oh's" in my house and laugh about all of the fun we have around here. I constanly remind myself (and the husband) that all of those things only add to the character of this house. Boy am I sure glad I have that sweet boy to destroy all of my nice things. I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Par-tay

2011-01-26T10:39:00.000-06:00

Saturday was Ethan's 3rd birthday and the day of his happy birthday party. Lots of cake was eaten and lots of jumping and sliding was enjoyed.

This year I thought ut would be a good idea to let the kid pick out what theme he wanted for his party. We took him to Walmart and he picked out Handy Manny. It was a tough choice between Cars, Mickey and Handy Manny, but he thought Handy Manny would be the coolest this year. We bought the invites and didn't think much about it for another week or so.

The weekend before the party Noel and I headed out on a Saturday morning (while E was at Nonna's) to purchase all of the needed supplies for the party. We went to Party City, the mecca for all party decor, and NO Handy Manny. What? Are you kidding me? How is it possible that they can have NO Handy Manny? We went to Target. NO Handy Manny! This was not looking good. No one in the metro area had Handy Manny, except Walmart and there selection was very limited. How was I supposed to throw the-best-three-year-old-birthday-party-ever?

Monday, five days before the party, I got online to try and find all the decor all while trying to avoid a huge shipping cost for needing it so quickly. I found a site called Birthday Direct that had every Handy Manny party supply ever created. I called them to find out if I needed to upgrade to expedited shipping to get it before the weekend and come to find out they are in Alabama and my supplies got to me the very next day! How great is that?

Remember the events of last year's party? I guess I should really quit using Disney themed parties because it just causes me more stress then is really necessary. But, if that's what the kid picks then that's what must be done.

We rented a bounce house again this year and it was a huge hit. Maybe next year we will have a location party. Just having to provide a cake and bring the kid seems like heaven right about now. I think I really do suffer from PPD (post-party depression). All of the prep and the build-up consumes my thoughts and time then is quickly over in just two short hours. It's just a party, for crying out loud.

Ethan still asks me every day when that man is going to bring his bounce house back. I keep telling him that we borrowed it from that man and he had to come and take it back to his house.

Another year in the books. Happy Birthday sweet boy. We love you BIG. We hope that you had the best day ever.

Here's to another year full of fun with my Ethan boy. I can't wait!!

Happy Birthday!

2011-01-22T19:51:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday sweet boy!!!

The best 3 years ever!!!

Round Two

2011-01-20T23:11:00.000-06:00

It snowed again today here in AR. It was gorgeous. Thick, heavy flakes that covered the ground quickly. The most wonderful thing about this snow was that it did not stick to the pavement. I really do love snow, but I really love it when I can enjoy it in all of it's beauty but still be able to go and do whatever it is I may need to do.

There was no playing out in today's snow since it was so wet, but I never did get day two pictures up from last weeks snow, so we are just going to pretend that these photos are not from last week, OK?

E took a few rides down the hill on the sled, only because I forced it on him, but it was not his thing this year. Maybe next year?!?

He really does love the snow. He gets that from me!! He would have stayed outside all day if we would have let him.

He and daddy had a little snowball fight. From here, it looks like E did not win. Later that afternoon we went to visit the neighbors for a little bit and had another snowball fight with them. Noel nailed Ethan square in the face (on accident, of course) and that ended our snow play for the rest of the day. Apparently Ethan likes to dish it out but is not very good and taking it. We may need to work that!

Ethan and his daddy (mainly daddy) built a lovely snowlady named Deloris. Too bad today's snow wasn't good enough to play in. I bet we are not finished with snow yet this year so maybe we will have some other chances to play in it!!

Let it Snow!!

2011-01-09T23:01:00.000-06:00

Here in the south we get snow about once a year. Everything shuts down and people raid the grocery store to buy two weeks worth of food. It really is stupid, but that is what we do and I am ok with that. My pantry is fully stocked if you must know!

It started snowing around 2:30pm and it is still coming down now at 10:30pm. By morning we will probably have 4-5 inches. Soooo exciting!!!

Ethan had a rough couple of days with the stomach bug and fever and general yuckyness. All he had really needed for the last 36 hours has been sleep. He slept for 3+ hours for his nap this afternoon. I was so afraid it was going to be dark when he woke up and was going to miss the snow for today. But, he woke up in a great mood so he got all bundles up and headed out to play for a little bit.

He had so much fun. He kept saying "wow" and "look at all that snow". He made snow balls and threw them at his daddy. He had a smile on his face the entire time he was outside.

We came in and warmed up by the fire when his cheeks were so rosy they matches his lips. We enjoyed a warm bowl of chili, and made snow ice cream before he reluctantly went to bed to rest up for the fun we have planned for tomorrow.

See, his cheeks and his lips are the same color. That means it's time to come in.

I added way too much vanilla to the snow ice cream so we'll have to try again tomorrow and see if we can't make it a little better next time. I'm sure there will be plenty of snow for tomorrow.

I love the snow and I can't wait to go sledding and make a snowman with my sweet boy tomorrow!!

High Tech Kiddo

2011-01-03T16:17:00.000-06:00

Noel got an Ipad for Christmas. He carries it around with him like it's his baby. It's really quite funny. I make fun of him for his mild obsession, but he doesn't think it's all that funny.

The man has more internet accessible devises then any one person should have. He has a laptop, a netbook, an Iphone and now an Ipad. I have threatened to sell the netbook because that's just silly to have so many things. (Anybody need a netbook?? I'll make you a great deal!!)

Anyway, Noel was feeling generous the other day when Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was on sale on Itunes. He downloaded it for the kid for when we are in a must-entertain situation. You parents know what I'm talking about.

Ethan thought he was big stuff when Noel let him watch it just for fun.

This was on Friday afternoon and he almost wasn't ready to go, because his movie wasn't over, when Poppy came to get him for "Friday Night at Nonna's" . He would never really turn down a chance to go to Nonna's.

The New Year

2011-01-01T21:00:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year everyone!!

The years are flying by. I will be turning the big 3-0 on Thursday and my kid will be 3 in a few weeks. I am not sure I'm ok with any of it.

But, a new year has come. That means a fresh start. We can change whatever it is we might not be happy with at the moment. I don't know why it is we think we have to wait till January 1 to start something new but whatever it takes to make a change, just do it.

Lamentations 3:22-23 says "Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed, for His compassion's never fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness!" As Christians, that means we wake up every day with a fresh start. But I totally get the new beginnings with the start of a new year thing.

This year has not been the easiest for us, but we are way better off then a lot of people so I thank my God everyday for all that we do have. We have a roof over our head, cars to drive, food to eat, and clients that keep our business running.

I look forward to all that God has in store for us in 2011. A few things we are hopeful for in the new year:

A brother or sister for Ethan
Less Debt
More clients for the business
Good health
Getting to a cash-only budget
Lots of quality time spent together
A vacation!! (maybe??)

I have joined the Beth Moore and Living Proof Ministries: Siesta Scripture Memory Team that started today. The goal is to memorize 24 verses over the next year. Every 1st and 15th you comment on the blog about what scripture you are learning for that time. You can flip through her blog to find out all of the details.

I went to a private school all my life and part of that education was memorizing lots of verses on a regular basis. I was even a member of the BMA (Bible Memory Association) when I was kid. We went to camp and everything. Do any of you remember that? Anyway, the point is, I have memorized LOTS of scripture over the years. I can tell you lots of fragments of verses and general ideas of verses, but over the years I have lost lots of then. I can't tell you where to find most of them and that is just terrible. So, this year, I am going to re-learn some of those verses and maybe even some new ones.

Let me know if you decide to join the SSMT. I think it is going to be tons of fun.

My first verse is the same one Beth Moore posted, Psalm 65:11.

Sorry this post has gone on forever. Bless your heart if you made it all the way to the end. Ha!

Happy New Year!! Bring it on, twenty-eleven!!

Christmas Day

2010-12-31T22:13:00.001-06:00

I have got to get all of this Christmas stuff posted in 2010. Why did I wait so long?

Christmas morning, Ethan slept until 8:30 or so. Remember, we stayed up late the night before. When he finally got up and walked down the hall he saw all of his gifts from Santa waiting for him by the tree. He kept looking at everything and asking "is this mine?". I think he was just a little overwhelmed.

E asked Santa for a big Buzz Lighyear, a big Woody, and a big Jessie. The scooter was just a bonus Santa thought he might like :).

Buzz Lightyear was the first out of the box (of course). E has had smaller figures of Buzz and Woody for a while and he was fine with that, but he kept asking for the one that talks so I recommended he ask Santa for them. He was so patient waiting for Christmas.

After we opened all of our gifts to each other we headed back to my parents house for breakfast. After breakfast we headed over to Noel's parents for an afternoon of chaos.

Apparently the theme for E this year was tools (again). This kid loves him some tools. I guess he comes by it honest. One of his Poppys is a home builder and the other likes to do wood working. He got three new sets of tools this year.

Noel built his mom a picnic table for her house and E had a big time banging on it with his new tools. The little kids ate at the little table for dinner too.

I am pretty certain that Ethan had a wonderful Christmas. We are beyond blessed by the generosity of all of our families.

Christmas 2010 was a wonderful time spent celebrating the birth of our Savior, and spending time with loved ones.

Bring on the new year. 2011, we are ready for you!!

Christmas Eve

2010-12-31T13:07:00.000-06:00

This year we did Christmas Eve a little different. As usual, we went to the candlelight service at church then home to my parents house for dinner. This year we opened all of our gifts too.

Ethan and Caroline actually got to sit by each other at the dinner table. They usually sit on opposite sides of the table to ensure better behavior, but they actually acted pretty nice.

Ethan wasn't really interested in sitting still, but he quickly changed his mind when the presents started coming around.

Ethan got a new ca-peter from Grammie. He wanted that sucker out of the box as quickly as he got it opened. This computer is a little too advanced for him (my fault) so it is waiting for him in the closet for a couple of months. Luckily he got another, less complicated one, from Nonna the next day.

Caroline picked out umbrellas for her and Ethan so they walked around with their umbrellas open and their new boots on after all of the gifts were opened.

We had a wonderful time at my parents house and didn't get home from all of our stops until 10pm or so. When we got home Ethan informed me that he didn't want Santa to come because he didn't want to go to bed. Instead, we read The Night Before Christmas and he went to bed. We had a big day ahead of us.

A Few Days Before Christmas

2010-12-30T17:40:00.001-06:00

My mom invited her kids and grand kids to her house on the Tuesday before Christmas to do a little cookie decorating. I think I was the one who made the biggest mess.

Since becoming a mother, I have become way more laid back about mess making and keeping on task and such. I let E walk through the grocery store and explore things he wants to explore (so long as I can see him), and I let him make messes so long as it is part of a project we are doing.

This new found freedom keeps him happier and me less stressed. Who would have thought? Ha!

Ethan has a pretty short attention span when it comes to crafty things. He only wants to paint for a few minutes (after it has taken me way more than a few minutes to get things ready) and he was only interested in decorating four cookies. I jokingly refer to him as having ADD (Lord, please let it just be a joke!). I know most kids have short attention spans.

Such concentration! Always with the tongue out. This was his last cookie before he quit.

I think he did a lovely job. I put globs of icing in the middle of his cookies and he spread it out and put on the toppings. Ethan went with more of a minimalist approach while his cousin went with the more is better theory.

Ethan and his cousin Caroline had a big time and were high on sugar by the time it was all finished.

Thanks Grammie for all of the cookie fun!!

Harthcock Family Tree 2010 edition

2010-12-17T11:58:00.001-06:00

Last Sunday we headed out to Romance, AR to pick out the Harthcock Family Tree. It was 32 degrees outside with 15-20 mph wind. Now that's cold I tell you.

There are not too many trees that meet the requirements so we found the tree pretty quickly. This years tree is {only} 11 1/2 feet. The old geezer at the tree farm was in better spirits then he was last year, thank goodness.

Usually we pick out the tree one day and come back to Nonna's house one evening during the week to decorate, but this year we did it all on Sunday. Nonna made chili to help warm us up. I think two trips to the store were made, one for a chain since the old chain (to secure such a massive tree) was misplaced (or thrown out with last years tree). The second trip was for more lights since no one could remember how the lights went on last year.

I got lots of cute pictures so I had to include a bunch. Sorry for the picture overload. Ethan sure does have lots of fun with those cousins of his.

Regardless of the cold, it was a beautiful day. The sky was so blue. Scenery like that really makes me think of the creativity our God has. I'm pretty sure if I was the one in charge of landscape it would be awful in comparison to the work God did.

Another year at the tree farm is down in the books. I love looking back at all of the previous years and how much E has grown. I am so thankful for that sweet boy.

The tree in all it's glory.

Christmas is 8 days away. Are you ready? We sure aren't, but I have decided that we can only do what we can do. In all the stress we seem to forget what this season is really all about. I am getting back to that, really reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas.

Christmas Card Carousel 2010

2010-12-15T10:29:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year again! Time for Christmas cards!!

Faith, over at Walk With Me by Faith, is once again hosting a Christmas card carousel, so head on over and take a look at all of the beautiful cards.

Everyday I cannot wait to check the mail. I usually dread the mail since all it carries these days are bills. But come December I love the mail!!

I keep all of the cards that we get each year and in 10-20 years it will be so fun to pull them out and see what time has done to all of our family and friends!

Presenting......the Harthcock Card vol. 3

I pray that each and everyone of you, no matter what your situation or circumstance, will be blessed this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas!!

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:11

Thanks for the help!!

2010-12-10T11:26:00.000-06:00

I love that Ethan is old enough to help me with things. When we were decorating the tree a few weeks ago, he wanted so badly to be a part of it. I love that he wants to be right in the middle of whatever it is that we are doing.

I made the terrible mistake of trying to put the glass ornaments on the tree. I thought surely E is old enough to leave the tree alone and it would be fine to use all of the ornaments Noel and I bought for our first Christmas. I think I put 3 or 4 on the tree before I had horrible anxiety about all of my gorgeous ornaments being broken. I looked at Noel and said "this is a bad idea, isn't it?" He confirmed, and I carefully put the ornaments back in the box to be used in 10 or 15 years. No ornaments were harmed during my brief moment of insanity.

Last year, E's first fully mobile Christmas, we bought two huge containers of shatterproof ornaments. I have come to terms with the fact that those will be the ornaments that we use for a long time. My decision to use all shatterproof was confirmed to be a wise decision as I was in another room doing something while Noel and E were hanging a few and all I heard was the bouncing of little round plastic balls all over my hardwood floors, followed by a sweet voice saying "sorry, it was an accident".

Every now and then I have a moment of clarity!

The kid had so much fun with the tree that he was quite sad when there were no more ornaments to be hung.

See, it's some serious business. He was so careful with every ornament. He had such focus. Quite entertaining to watch!

This was taken when we first started, so the tree is still pretty empty. I just couldn't break it to him that you are supposed to spread out the ornaments a little. His side of the tree looks fabulous, I think!!

I love all of the special memories we are making with this sweet boy.

More tree fun to come!! We are going to get the Harthcock family tree (for Noel's parents house) this weekend. Stay tuned for some tree farm fun!

Osegions 6:1

2010-12-05T18:35:00.000-06:00

aka: Ephesians 6:1

A few weeks back I was having a hard time with Ethan being the obedient child that I know he can be. In the midst of losing my mind I reminded him what the Bible says about obeying. Here is the result of that lesson.

Let's hope he remembers what the verse actually means. It's a start, right?? It is music to my ears to hear that sweet voice reciting scripture!! I sure do love that boy!

Something Crafty

2010-12-02T16:28:00.000-06:00

I have finally finished a gratitude board that I have been working on little by little for the last few weeks. Jellybean Junkyard has lots of crafty things she posts and I just couldn't help but do this one.

Every day during the month of November (yes, I know I'm behind) everyone in the family is supposed to say what they are thankful for and write it down on the card for that day. Obviously we didn't actually get to use the board this year, but I think it will be so much fun to do this and then be able to look back on years past and see what everyone was thankful for.

The project really wasn't that difficult, it just took me a while to get all the stuff together and I didn't really spend lots of quality time on any one given day. So, if you had all the stuff and worked at it for several hours all at one time it wouldn't take long at all.

Y'all didn't know I was crafty did you? Neither did my husband. Ha! I have always had a hidden crafty side. I have always wandered around Hobby Lobby thinking of all the crafty things I could do, but I just never did anything about it. I'm not sure if it was a money issue (you know being crafty can really add up the $$) or just a lack of motivation. Who knows. But, I am exercising my creativity now. Look out world, I am on the loose.

Stay tuned for more crafty things. I have a couple of things I am working on now.

Pumpkin Carving 101

2010-11-11T10:19:00.001-06:00

Step One: Beat on your pumpkin to make sure it's ripe.

Step Two: Take the top off for inspection.

Step Three: Take a closer look.

Step Four: Upon determining that the pumpkin is good, humor your mother and pose for a picture.

Pumpkin Carving 101!!

Trick or Treat 2010

2010-11-10T10:00:00.002-06:00

I am not a huge fan of Halloween. We never did trick or treating as kids and we rarely dressed up so I just don't get all of the excitement. But, I do what I can for my kid so trick or treating as Buzz Lightyear is what we did.

We went to Boo at the Zoo again this year with Noel's sister and her family. It was crowded and the candy was junk so I don't foresee us doing that anymore. As Ryan liked to refer to it as, Poo at the Zoo.

Ethan and "Sissy"

The cutest Buzz ever!!

Happy Halloween!

E with some neighbor kids and cousins ready for it to turn dark.

We went Trick of Treating in the neighborhood like we have done since Ethan was born. He got the concept of TorTing way better this year. The first house or two he did just walk in to the people's houses so we had to be sure he didn't try and do that all night. He was sure to say thank you for the candy, but he wanted to stay and talk with everyone. Grab and go, dude, that's the method on Halloween.

Pumpkin Patch: The Finale

2010-11-09T11:00:00.000-06:00

I know this post is a little late, but I must get it on here for future reference.

The weekend before Halloween we took Ethan back to the pumpkin patch to do all of the fun things this time. E wanted to invite his Grammy and Poppy and Qualine (is name for Caroline) and her parents so we all met at the patch on Saturday morning.

We took a hayride out to the patch where the pumpkins are grown and I took way too many pictures. Here is a small sampling from the hayride.

Ethan and cousin Caroline

Searching for the perfect pumpkin!

Me and my sweetie!

Perfect pumpkin found!!

When we got back from the hayride we had a little lunch then Ethan could not wait any longer to take a ride on the "train". It was a dusty mess but I don't think the kids even noticed. He wanted to ride it again and again.

Ethan played on the swing sets, made some new friends and got super dirty! Lots of fun was had but it was time for a nap. We headed home with thoughts of hayrides and John Deere trains on the brain.

Until next year, pumpkin patch!!

Pumpkin Patch Part I

2010-10-28T10:01:00.001-05:00

Two Sundays ago we made a visit to the pumpkin patch. It was a short visit to collect pumpkins and a bale of hay and that was it.

It was a good thing we didn't intend on taking the hay ride because the line was wrapped completely around the building and was about a 30-45 minute wait. There had to have been a thousand people there. Besides all the people it was a little warm and way dusty. We did stop for a moment to take a few pictures.

We ran into our old neighbors when we got there so Ethan had fun swinging with Ms Jane while we shopped for the perfect pumpkin(s).

When we got home I put together our "harvest scene", as I like to refer to it as. Ethan posed for a few photos just to make his dear old momma happy. Ha!

We are still trying to work on a smile-on-command that does not look painful. Still working on is the key phrase here.

That's a pretty good smile. Not too painful, right??

We have since visited the pumpkin patch again. More on that trailer load of fun later. Maybe tomorrow since Halloween is in a few days. Too many posts, not enough hours in a day.

Go Hogs Go

2010-10-13T14:29:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we headed west to watch the Hogs play A&M at Cowboy Stadium. Wow is all I have to say about the stadium. It was amazing. It was huge. It was loud. That's all.

We went up on Friday and just walked around the mall and ate dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, YUM! We stayed at a hotel right next to the Galleria and the hotel was super nice. Pillow top mattress, down duvet, flat screen. You know, really important things. Ha! I could not care less about the Galleria but the hotel was the right price for the right amenities. I hate to admit it, but I am kind of a hotel snob. Apparently my expectations far outreach my wallet. Whatever.

Saturday morning, game day, I woke up feeling awful even though I had been on antibiotics for 7 days at this point. We went out in search of a walk-in clinic. We found one just around the corner and it had the nicest staff and doctor that I have ever encountered in a clinic. Anyway, a shot, some nose spray, and a script for a new, better antibiotic and we were on our way to the big game.

We headed down to the stadium in time to meet up at some friends tailgate. We enjoyed a few drinks and a bite to eat then headed in to the stadium. Thanks Bill and Allison for letting us join in the fun!!

My high school friend / college roommate came with us to the game and we had the best time. We apparently sat in the drunk section, which was rather entertaining. But come to think of it the whole place kinda seemed like the drunk section.

The game was far too close the entire time. We should have played way better then we did, but whatever, we won and that's that. But, it should not have been so close. Just sayin'.

Sunday we woke up and headed north to the Allen Premium Outlets to do a little shopping. Ninety-two percent of the things purchased were for the kid, but that's ok. I don't mind!! The other 8% was for me and that leaves a whopping 0% for the hubs. Sorry babe.

We had a fabulous time in Dallas and we can't wait to go back next year. I think next year Arkansas will have the home team advantage which will make it more fun for us.

Thanks for hanging out with us this weekend, Lindsey. We had lots of fun times. We'll be sure to do it again next year.

Happy Birthday!!

2010-10-04T17:14:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Babe!

Ethan and I love you very much!

We hope that this year is full of wonderful things and lots of blessings!

......and many more

A Table For Two

2010-09-28T10:57:00.000-05:00

or three or four. Depending on how many friends you have over.

Some time ago I found the blog of a girl who makes things. I bookmarked it and forgot about it, until last week. This girl builds just about any piece of furniture you could want. Tables, book shelves, beds, bunk beds, playhouses, you name it, it's on her site. The thing about it is she gives you step-by-step instructions on how to do it yourself. She gives you a cut list of all of the sizes of pieces to cut, with a shopping list of all the things you will need to do the project. How much easier could it get, besides someone else just doing it for you?

I found a plan for a picnic table that I just knew Ethan needed. I forwarded the site to Noel in hopes that he would have the great idea to make it for our sweet boy. That afternoon, Noel started scouring the neighborhood for scrap pieces of lumber that he might could use for the table. Sunday afternoon he went to work on making the table. The whole project only took about four hours, which is pretty darn fast for constructing a piece of furniture.

Noel found all of the wood from various sites around our neighborhood that were castoff pieces (or so he told me, HA) so the only cost we had was screws and wood filler. Cheap I tell you. But, ever if you have to buy the lumber, Ana says you should be able to buy everything for about $20, providing that you have things like saws and levels and a drill and a sander and things like that.

This table is the cutest thing ever. And it was considerably easier then Noel thought it would be. I think he was a little skeptical about the plans being accurate.

It is sanded and ready for paint. I am thinking about painting it Razorback Red, so hopefully I can get started on that this weekend. I need to do a little research on how to make it weather proof once it's painted. I think Ana has some tips on her site so I'll have to go check it out. I can't wait till it's all finished!!

Hopefully my husband will not need to have a shop built for all of the other projects that he now has planned after perusing thought this wonderful site!

Happy Birthday Poppy!

2010-09-20T10:58:00.000-05:00

Today is Ethan's Poppy's Birthday!

We hope you have the best day!

Thanks for letting us join you for a party yesterday, we sure did have a good time.

Here is Ethan making Poppy a special card yesterday before the party.

Love you Dad!

Just Like Daddy

2010-09-15T11:24:00.001-05:00

In case you didn't know, Noel has a lawncare business. This business involves a trailer and a couple of mowers and lots of other fun things that are very fascinating to a 2 1/2 year old. Ethan has witnessed all of the things that his daddy does to get ready to leave for the day. He watches from the window in the playroom above the garage. He also watches daddy mow whenever he can.

For a long time E has had a Little Tike's Hot Wheels 4 wheeler. He rides it around the backyard whenever he can. The only thing is he calls it his mower. See, his dad rides around on a mower all day (so I tell him :) so E thinks his is a mower too. To make it even better E has a wagon that he uses to haul dirt around the yard. He has recently started call said wagon a trailer. Just this week he has figured out how to actually hook his trailer up to his mower.

He's very innovative, perhaps his dad showed him how.

And he's off!

This is made even better because of the shades.

Off he goes into the sunset, or to mow the yard he would say.

Maybe the kid has a career in lawn maintenance ahead of him. I am sure his dad would be more then happy to put him to work!

Woo Pig Sooie!!

2010-09-03T10:43:00.000-05:00

Football season is upon us! The thought of cool weather, chili, and hog football makes me very happy. We are gearing up to cheer on the Razorbacks this weekend in the seasons first ball game. The game is PPV so we won't be watching, but we might steam it live from the internet if we can figure that out!

Next week is the first game in LR and we can hardly wait. Plus we have tickets to go to Dallas next month for the UA vs A&M game at Cowboy stadium.

Who will you be cheering on this weekend?

Plus it's Labor Day weekend! I hope you have a fabulous weekend! The weather is beautiful here and we plan to enjoy it!!

Woo Pig Sooie!

The Little Red and Greers Ferry

2010-08-12T16:13:00.000-05:00

The same weekend Ethan had his reaction we went to the river/lake with some friends. Noel has been friends with Brandon for years and years and years and he and his family invited us out to the cabin to spend the weekend with them.

Brandon and Lori have 3 boys (Braden, Brock, and Brett) so Ethan had big fun playing with them. We spent the day Saturday on the lake.

I didn't take many pictures because I was worried about Ethan the whole time. But here are a few that I did get.

Ethan and Daddy tubing with Braden

Ethan had a big time trying to keep up with the older boys. He was the youngest so of course he wanted to do everything the other boys were doing.

The cabin is on the Little Red River so after we got back from the lake we went down to the dock for some fishing. This was Ethan's first time fishing and I think he had a great time. No one caught a fish but it was fun nonetheless.

This is Ethan with his new BFF Brett (and Jersey)

Since Ethan was having issues we cut the trip short on Sunday, but we had fun while we were there. We hope to spend more time with the Jays again. Thanks for all the fun!!

No more moldy bread

2010-08-03T13:28:00.000-05:00

Just kidding....kind of! None for Ethan that's for sure. He is allergic to penicillin.

We had been going to VBS a few weeks ago when Ethan got a fever that Thursday. The fever got up to about 103 when I called the doctor and took him in. He tested positive for strep and we went home with a prescription for amoxicillin. This was the second time he had taken an antibiotic so no big deal, right?? Wrong!! He took every drop of his medicine and on the last day broke out into a rash and hives and started swelling in the face and feet and hands.

The night before we had been playing outside and I forgot to spray him down with bug spray so when he work up Friday morning he was covered in bites. He is highly allergic to mosquitoes and gets whelps from them but he went to his Nonna's house on Friday night as usual and I figured he would be fine on Saturday. When we went to get him on Saturday morning he was covered in a whelped up hivey mess. Everyone assured me that it was just the bites and to keep giving him benadryl and he would be fine.

We had plans to go to the Little Red River/ Greer's Ferry with some friends so we headed out to the lake. He kept getting worse and more red and the hives were spreading out into bigger half moons. What's crazy is the spots turned a blueish grey color on and off and the swelling would come and go. He was acting fine and not complaining of anything so I just kept an eye on him. We woke up on Sunday and headed home because I was no ok with how he was looking. I was trying to hold out to take him to his Ped on Monday morning but I couldn't take it anymore and we headed to the ER (his first of many trips I'm sure).

After a couple of hours at the ER and a throat swap for strep and a blood draw for mono (why???) the ER doc decided it was a reaction to penicillin. Not trusting him fully, we visited his Ped on Monday morning and she confirmed.

So, now we know. We will forever be avoiding penicillin like the plague!!

A Trip to the Lake

2010-06-08T09:34:00.012-05:00

Since the day Ethan was born our neighbors (wife) have begged for us bring Ethan with us to the lake when we go with them. I have resisted, but finally gave in on Memorial Day weekend. See, these neighbor friends (from our old neighborhood) are older and have grown children so throwing a child into the mix changes things up dramatically.

Usually when Noel and I go to the lake we leave Ethan with his grandparents and pack one tiny bag with sunscreen and towels and a cooler full of cold drinks. But when you take a two year old with you it requires completely filling up the back of the SUV with things. For Ethan we had floaties and a life jacket and a beach ball and noodles and a backpack full of clothes and underwear and cups and bug spray and lotion and shoes and a hat and sunglasses and more towels. You get the idea. Our one tiny beach bag turned into a car full of stuff.

Regardless of the amount and things to pack we had a great time. E really is a water baby and would rather be near water then anywhere else. Our time on the boat was limited with E being there and things were way different then usual but the fun he had makes up for all of that.

This is Jane and E on the jet ski. Never fear, it was tied to a tree! We are a little more responsible then that!

On the boat! He loved it!!

Taking a break for lunch. He loves caps and sunglasses.

Swimming with daddy in the middle of the lake.

After dinner we headed out on the boat one last time to watch the sunset. This kid knows how to enjoy the simple things in life.

Thanks so much, Tom and Jane, for letting us come visit you at the lake. We had a great time and we can't wait to do it again!!

Recently

2010-06-04T10:20:00.000-05:00

I have been a bad blogger. It recently came to my mind that now since the kid only takes one nap and that nap typically only lasts one and a half hours and since I shower during that nap and it takes me one hour to get ready that leaves approximately 30 minutes to exercise, do dishes, pick up the house, think, business work for Noel, or any of the 100 different things that need to be done while the kid is out of the way. Therefore, blogging is not on the top 10 list of most important things to do during said nap.

Plus, my husband looks at me all funny in the evenings if I am sitting in my chair banging away on the keyboard. Apparently it distracts him from watching tv. Ha!

Anyway.........

These days, the kid is never without a boo boo of some sort. Recently he face-planted on the concrete and scraped all the skin off of his left temple. On another evening he fell into some rocks we have stacked at the end of the retaining wall and scraped all down the right side of his face. Every week when I take him to Mother's Day Out I am always greeted to the statement, "Ethan what happened to you??" Apparently Noel's mother calls this payback!

Here is a picture with the forehead scrape.

Enjoying some sidewalk chalk.

My two favorite guys ever!!

We are glad that summer is here. The pool opens for the summer next week so that reminds me I need to get down there and sign up for our membership.

I forget how much I enjoy blogging until I get started doing it. I will be back soon with more updated!!

Have a glorious weekend!!

Mother's Day!

2010-05-10T23:07:00.003-05:00

What a wonderful weekend we had celebrating Mother's Day! We spent lots of time with our mothers and I got to spend lots of time with the sweet boy that made me a mother. Whomever invented a day especially designed for honoring your mother was a genius. What a brilliant idea. After all, being a mom is hard work!

Truly, I am one lucky momma to have such a sweet boy. My heart aches for all of the women that I know, and for the ones I don't, who are desperately longing to be a mom and are having great difficulty. I never really thought about until a few years ago when I really got into reading blogs. This whole blog thing has really made the world quite a bit smaller and the reality of trial and tribulation much more real to me.

There are so many women who are suffering from infertility that it really makes me incredibly grateful for my sweet boy. There is also another group of women who have suffered the loss of a child and I cannot begin to know what those women go though on holidays such as this. Then there are those women who have yet to find the man God made for them and have yet to be blessed with a child. For these women, I think about and pray for them on this Mother's Day.

Both Noel and I are blessed to have wonderful mothers and for that we are grateful. I am also so very grateful for my sweet Ethan. He makes me appreciate my mother even more then before.

So, Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him.

Psalm 127:3

5 YEARS!

2010-04-23T15:28:00.004-05:00

That's how long the hubs and I have been married!!

Happy Anniversary Babe, I love you!!

Finally....An Update

2010-04-08T20:35:00.014-05:00

I do apologize for taking so long to post an update. Life has been crazy busy around here. I went to Vegas with my Arbonne girls for a conference, we packed up the house the week I got back, then we moved the following Monday. So, sorry about that, but I am back now and will do better on my posting. Now on to the good stuff........

Easter this year was interesting to say the least. The kid was old enough to dye eggs, but so into being 2 that he was not interested in cooperating for any sort of organized family photo.

This year we let the kids (E and his cousin Caroline) do the dying by themselves outside. It was a big fat mess but I did not care since it was outside, at my mother's house, and no clothes on to ruin. I think it worked out great.

Look at that sweet angel face. I love him!!

Nast-Y!

Just use your hands...whatever

Doesn't he looked thrilled?

This is the best we could do. And I had to tickle his leg!

Sweet cousin love!

And the hunt, I mean sharing, is on.

OPEN it!

You know you have a toddler when your Easter eggs are filled with raisins, gummies, a few pieces of chocolate, gold fish, and grape tomatoes.

The kid had all of his eggs emptied within 2 minutes of finding them all. Oh well, at least he had a good time! Maybe we'll get a family photo next year. Here's hoping!

Ice Skating

2010-02-15T11:00:00.007-06:00

Last week we took the kid ice skating for the first time. We went with Noel's sister and her kids. Once he got used to the cold and walking on a thin blade he was good to go.

For those of you who don't already know, Noel and his sister are former "ice dancers". The sister skating is not a big shocker, but if you have met my husband he does not look like your typical figure skater. Hockey maybe, but not "ice dancing". I have photographic evidence if you need cold hard proof. It's ok if you are laughing, I laughed too when I first found out.

Apparently the two siblings were pretty good and even did some instructing way back when. So, what better thing to do then introduce your child to the ice.

Skating with Daddy

With the cousins and Aunt B

Noel had quit at this point because he said the cheap rental skates hurt his feet

Taking a ride with Aunt B

The "Ice Dancers" and there kiddos

Perhaps we'll visit AR Skatium again. Maybe in the summer when it's a little bit warmer. And Noel will have to get some better skates so the kid's mother, who was not a former "ice dancer", can take a break when the kid says "I'on do one time".

Be My Valentine

2010-02-14T22:09:00.002-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day! To be honest, I could really care less about this lovely holiday. I am grateful that I have a forever Valentine, but I really don't need one particular day out of the year to prove my love.

I have no interest in waiting in lineforever to eat a meal, or have to plan ahead enough to actually make reservations just to pay out the wazoo for a meal over candlelight. That is just not my sort of thing. Just ask my husband. However I do support Hallmark and always purchase a card.

I don't mean to sound like a prude, so I should probably work on that. My dad (I mean "secret admirer") always had flowers sent to school for us girls when we were in school and even delivered flowers to our houses once we were out of school. He kept that up for a few years after we were married but eventually decided to let our husbands take it from there. He still sends flowers on our birthdays though!

It's not that I have ever had a terrible vday, or that I never had a valentine, I just don't think I wouldn't miss it if it ceased to be on the calender. Maybe once the kid is in school and we get to do valentines for his class I will get back into the spirit of the holiday. Come to think of it, I used to rather enjoy the day. My mom always had candies for us and helped us with our valentines for our friends.

I really don't know where this dislike stems from. I am beginning to concern myself.

Happy Valentines Day, Dear. Thanks for being my valentine, and for my gold dipped rose that will never die. The best kind of flowers if you ask me. I love you!

Show Us Your Life - Favorite Beauty Products and Tips

2010-02-05T10:48:00.017-06:00

I am by no means someone to look to for beauty tips, but I do have some favorite products that I won't do without. For Kelly's weekly Show Us Your life, the topic is beauty/hair/make-up tips or favorites.

I have yet to find the perfect shampoo and conditioner, but I do love my CHI hair dryer and flat iron. If you don't already know, if your CHI product has a little silver warranty tag on it, you have a lifetime warranty. If anything ever goes wrong with it, all you have to do is send it back to the company and they will fix it or send you a new one to replace it. That totally make the price worth it to me.

I love my Arbonne products too. Especially the RE9 skincare system. I refuse to do much aging if at all possible and this system is helping me do that.
I also love the Makeup Primer. It goes on after your moisturizer before foundation. It basically smooths out your "canvas" and gets it nice and ready for your makeup. It is silk down from heaven if you ask me. Being a contact wearer, and a sensitive eye haver it was totally hard for me to find a mascara that did all that plumping and lengthening and lash defying mess without leaving clumps of mascara around (or in) my eyes. I wanted full lashes like everyone else, but it just wasn't happening until I found my Duel Volume Mascara. Color one one end, lash enhancer on the other. It's fabulous I tell ya.

Here's to being the looking and feeling your best! Have a great weekend everyone!

Amazing

2010-02-04T19:03:00.004-06:00

My kid amazes me on a daily basis. Sometimes in a good way and sometimes not. You just never know. But today, he amazed me in a good way.

The kid goes to Mother's Day Out on Thursdays at the church and he loves it big time. A long time ago he came home singing some words that I had no idea what he was singing about. We finally asked the teachers about it and they cleared it up, but I still had never heard the song. Anyway, about three weeks ago I was singing Jesus Loves Me to him and I noticed he was mouthing the words. Well, I stopped singing and told him to sing it, and to my delight he started singing and knew EVERY single word. And he has not stopped singing since.

Today, after we picked him up from MDO, he started singin The B-I-B-L-E. He also knows Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, Happy Birthday (of course) and some song about building a house (or a church?) for Jesus with love all around. He even knows the motions to that last one.

It thrills my heart to hear him singing such sweet words. I am so grateful for those sweet women who teach him every week at church. The crafts he brings home every week are not too bad either!

On the same note, I have also heard him singing such phrases as "boom, boom, pow" from the back seat. Perhaps I should start playing Veggie Tales in the car instead of the Top 20 on 20.

Mickey Birthday Party

2010-01-27T10:35:00.005-06:00

The thought of planning a birthday party seems to cause slight anxiety for me. I love the idea of throwing a party (of any kind) but the actual planning is a bit overwhelming. I am always afraid that I will forget something or that there could be something way cuter that I am missing. Stupid, I know, but that's just how it is. And I always seem to have a vision that can never quite become a reality either do to the fact that what I envision does not exist or the vision is way out of the realm of financially possible. This time the cake I had visions of was impossible due to copyright laws.

Disney, if you are reading this, I think your rules are ridiculous. Does it really hurt to allow a bakery to recreate your beloved Mickey face onto the top of birthday cake for a sweet two year old baby boy? I think not. Please rethink your rules. I am sure that you are profiting plenty off of the bazillion other Disney products that are on the market. Thank you for your attention in this matter.

The kid has a slight obsession with Mickey "Cubhouse" these days so what would be more fitting then a Mickey birthday party. We looked into having the party at various locations around town, but decided that the kid was a little too young to fully enjoy such a party. Then I had the brilliant idea of renting a bounce house for the backyard. Typically this would not be a good idea for the middle of January, but I consulted with God all week about having a great day on Saturday and He did not disappoint. The kid was even running about outside with no shoes on.

We rented the bounce house from a company out of Conway, Inflatable Adventures of Arkansas. Joey, the owner was great to work with, had super reasonable prices and made the day totally easy for me. He came and set it up late morning and came back just after the party was over to take it down just before the rain started. I definitely recommend renting from him if you are in the market for a bounce house. I know we will certainly rent from him again.

Thanks everyone who came and made E's second birthday special. I am pretty sure that he had a great time. Until next year!!

Happy Birthday!

2010-01-22T22:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

2 years have gone by so quickly, and we are so glad that God chose us to be your parents.

I love you big!

Oh What Fun

2010-01-19T20:53:00.002-06:00

"I no wanna peep in the potty"! This is what I am hearing these days from my sweet boy. Obviously we are potty training around here. Fun times I tell you. Does anyone want to come and do this for me, PLEASE??

The kid totally gets the whole going in the potty thing, but I really think he just doesn't care. He will be 2 on Friday and some would say that it's too soon, or that he just isn't ready yet, and some would say it's about time. I for one think that he is fully capable of mastering the fine art of using the bathroom like a normal person.

We have a wonderful reward system in place that involves flushing the goods and getting mar-pillows (marshmallows) after each successful use of the big boy potty. I have to constantly ask him if he needs to go or he just goes in the floor whenever he wants to. Surely he will get the hang of this before too long. I am not sure how much more I can take. This parenting thing is hard sometimes! Can I get an AMEN??

Occasionally he will sit on the potty like I ask him to do and he will try his best to produce results but if he can't he has been known to tell me "there's nothing in there". What can you say to that? At least he's trying.

So, if you need to come and visit us, please call first because the kid will need to get some clothes on.

Get ready Nonna, he's coming to your house on Friday!!

So True

2010-01-13T23:45:00.004-06:00

I just read a post from a "famous" blogger about cherishing your children when they are small. I really needed to read that this week. My kid is 2 (almost) and it is easily made known by the way he has been acting. I really want to lock him in his room and run for the hills sometimes. He screams in his room when he doesn't want to take a nap. Three times this week he has intentionally knocked over a glass of water into the floor. He throws things, and beats on walls with hammers, and rams his bus into walls and furniture. He shakes his milk cup with such force that it comes out of the spill proof top. He dumps out every toy in his (rather large) basket and throws them all over the living room. He rakes all of his books out of his book shelf onto the floor. He tries to jump off of the furniture and tries to get into everything he KNOWS he is not supposes to......

And then, he wants to "rock a minute" or "pid uh peer" to read a book (over and over) in my lap, and give hugs and kissys, and my raised blood pressure is quickly returned to its normal, more pleasant rate.

I can guarantee that when my sweet boy is older and has no interest in sitting in my lap or rocking with me I will desperately miss the days when he was two. I probably won't remember most of his crazy two year old behavior, but I will certainly remember him sitting in my lap begging to read the same old book "again, one more time".

So, with renewed grace and patience, I will wake up tomorrow and cherish the time I get to spend with my bubbalou. I will read that same book 132 times if that is what he wants, and sing the same song again and again, because I know that when he is grown I sure will miss the days when he wanted to spend his time with me.

Poor Baby!

2010-01-12T12:57:00.000-06:00

Last week, E had to have a procedure that required him to be sedated. He is perfectly fine and was back to his normal self by the afternoon, but I thought the whole thing was awful. I totally feel for all the parents out there that have really sick babies and kids. I cannot imagine having to send my kid off to surgery all the time. I, for one, don't want to ever have to do it again.

E did great with the entire thing, although I am sure he was clueless about that was happening. Shortly after being taken back to the room he was given some medicine to chill him out. Let me tell you, that was some funny stuff. The kid felt so good and looked like he had a few too many beers. Noel and I could not stop laughing.

This is before the good drugs. The anesthesiologist made him a glove balloon to try and keep him happy.

See how drunk he looks?!?

All I can say is that I am glad that the whole thing is over.

It's about time

2010-01-07T19:33:00.002-06:00

I am so sorry for having not made a post since last year. Christmas came and went, as did New Years, then my birthday (the most important :). My husband has not worked since the week of Christmas so its way harder to sit down with a quite moment to write a post worth reading. "It's too cold" he says. Good thing he works under contracts that allow him lots of leverage with his time.

I, Anna Harthcock, promise to be a better blogger, take more pictures of my kid to add to my posts, and come up with creative things to write about.

As we speak, the husband is doing Biggest Loser on the Wii and it is hilarious. I may have to try and take a picture so you all can see. Hilarious I tell ya!

Come back soon for some good blogging!

Tree Farm

2009-12-21T21:50:00.001-06:00

Every year, Noel's family goes out to find the perfect Christmas tree from a local tree farm. His aunt, his sister and her family, his mom and dad and us all headed to Romance (the city) to find the 2009 tree.

This tree must meet several requirements before it can be deemed worthy to be names the Harthcock family tree. Said tree must be at least 10ft in height. It must have minimal bare spots, if any. It must be of the variety (I forgot the name) that can hold heavy ornaments and lots of them. It must be straight as an arrow, or at least give the allusion that it is. And regardless of what the rest of us think, it must be approved by Nonna. After all, she is the lady with the power.

The perfect tree was spotted within minutes of arriving at the farm, the old man who runs the place came and cut it down (with a chainsaw scaring all of the children) and took off down the hill with the tree on the trailer of a four-wheeler.

Here is where the story gets good.... Noel and his father had to lift the tree into the shaker thingy because apparently the old man's help for the day didn't show up. By the time the tree is cleared of all it's dead needles, Noel and his dad are covered in pine needles and sap. Then they have to carry it to the netting station while the old man gets the tractor to pull the 12ft tree through the net. Apparently we ruined the old man's day by wanting to buy a tree from him. Lots of kicking things and groaning and bah humbugging was witnessed from that old man. Bless his heart is all I have to say.

My sweet baby boy sure did have a good time!

One more year down as a success. Here's to another year of family fun!

Just a few more days till the big day!!! Are you ready?? One more trip to Target and we should be good to go. Oh, and a trip to have a photo taken with the big man himself.

Poor E has a double ear infection, his first ever, so hopefully he'll feel well enough tomorrow to go and see Santa. Say a prayer for my sweet boy if you would? I really hate it when he feels so bad. But he will be all better in no time.

Lightroom 2

2009-12-18T11:51:00.004-06:00

Oh how I love taking pictures. Now that I have a good camera and lens I am a picture taking fool. Poor E doesn't stand a chance.

MckMama is giving away a copy of Photoshop Lightroom 2 and I am doing all I can to win it. Just think of all the fun things that can be done with this awesome photo editing software.

You too can enter to win if you want. If not, better chance for me :).

Happy Friday. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Only one more week 'till Christmas!!!

Christmas Card Carousel 2009

2009-12-16T11:14:00.007-06:00

I really do love checking the mail everyday this time of year. Too bad it is not a tradition to send out cards more then once a year, like maybe for the 4th, or maybe Easter. That would be fun, don't you think??

Faith, over at Walk with Me by Faith is doing a Christmas Card Carousel so head on over and check out all of the wonderful cards!

Presenting....Our Christmas Card:

Most of our cards should have reached their destination by today so I thought today was a good day to share it with everyone.

Not to brag or anything, but this photo was captured in 5 shots this year. This is a great accomplishment in my book. Last years photo involved much tears on my part, as well as E's. So I am very proud of this photo.

Before we had E, I could not wait for the day to be able to put our family photo on a Christmas card. Little did I know what an ordeal getting the perfect photo would be. HaHa.

Merry Christmas Everyone!! Wishing you peace and joy that only comes from the Father this holiday season!

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men" Luke 2:14

Big Helper

2009-11-29T21:07:00.011-06:00

It has recently crossed my mind that the kid is old enough to help out and get dirty and do things that he was, before now, too little to do (or I didn't want to clean up after). Since the holidays are upon us and lots of baking is sure to follow, we let E at it with an electric mixer. He did so well and did not even make a mess. He just stood there and held on to it and mixed up that cake like he had done it lots before.

I think he was a little scared to move too much, but he earned his place at the kitchen counter. I can't wait for lots of more fun cooking in the kitchen with my sweet boy.

There was a commercial a while back of a little boy who comes home from school and hands his mom a note that says something about a party and needing to make a snack to take. The mom keeps reading and says "you need 64 cupcakes by the morning?" and the little boy looks up at her and says "yeah, but I'll help". I often have flashes of that happening to me in a few years. Oh boy, at least I might can count on a little help!

He even got to lick the beater too!

That is the face of a happy kid!

And a little milk to rinse it all down.

I sure do love this kid!

I had so much fun letting the kid help out. I forget that he is almost 2 and needs to be allowed to do things that might cause a mess, but who cares. These are the memories that well last forever and I don't want to miss a one of them.

On another note, I have no pictures from Thanksgiving. All of the photos taken were on my mom's camera so I don't have them. Sorry. So, there may or may not be any of those posted here any time soon.

Work, Work, Work

2009-11-17T21:40:00.015-06:00

Building a house is lots of work. Seriously, I have done this several times before, but never for my self. I am s.t.r.e.s.s.e.d out. Too many decisions to make. Too many choices to pick from. And everything "adds cost". I am sick and tired of hearing those words come out of my dad's mouth. Just about daily I ask him about something and he says "yeah, you can do that, but it adds cost".

I have a hard enough time picking what to eat for dinner, much less what color to paint the brick so it matches the vinyl and the rock and roofing. Then there are cabinets and I have not even started to think about floor covering or paint colors for the inside.

Now, please don't get me wrong. I am very grateful that I have to opportunity to pick all of those things out. That I have a father who is willing to build us a house. That we have the means to even build a house in the first place. The Lord has provided and for that I am very thankful.

I look at my sweet baby E and wonder what is going though his little mind sometimes. If only I could look into his ear and see what he is thinking. He has no idea what is going on when we spend an house and a half at the new house with the cabinet maker. All he cares about is a piece of PVC or a piece of board to play with. What a blessing to be stress free.

This is what our sweet baby boys does while visiting our new house. A close eye must be kept on the kid at all times when in construction zones. Remember, no fear!

Dear Husband: I promise to try and remain calm when faced with a decision (no matter how big or small) regarding our new residence. I also promise to do my very best not excede our budget, too much. Thank you for being understanding and patient in this matter.

Booooo.....

2009-10-27T21:23:00.018-05:00

.....at the Zoo! That's where E and ALL of his cousins went on Saturday night. Are you aware of how many dollars it takes for a normal trip to the zoo? Way too many if you ask me! None-the-less, the kids had a good time, and we now have more dum-dum suckers then we know what to do with. And we aren't going to tell E we have them either.

Is that not a cute bunch of kids or what!!

At least the kid got to wear his costume more than once! We rode the train and the carousel and collected candy from the many candy stations. We also enjoyed jumbo corn dogs and $5 diet cokes. Oh well, memories in the making, right?

_________________________________________________________

PS: HAPPY BIRTHDAY NONNA!

Today is E's nonna's birthday! So, happy birthday! We love you very much. We look forward to dining with you, in celebration, on Friday. And, enjoy your new heart rate / calories burned monitor (when it comes in).

All Ready

2009-10-26T22:50:00.004-05:00

Last Wednesday, E went to get his annual flu shot. I really hate pumping my kid up with vaccines and such but I really don't want E to get the flu either. So, off we went to get a shot. My biggest concern was him actually getting sick just from being in the doctor's office. How ironic would that be? But it appears that he is well and good, so mission accomplished. He cried for a second after the nurse stuck him then looked up at me and said "io'n bane-naid". That was all she wrote. He could have cared less that he got poked. You would have never known he got a shot, except for the awesome stickers on a stick the nurse gave him!
See, still full of smiles! Now, bring on the regular flu season. We are ready!

PS: remember the big boy bed post? Yeah, well, that lasted one week. His bed has now been turned around so the back (which is taller than the front) is facing out, now there is no way he can climb out. He just was not ready for all that freedom.

Pumpkin Patch 2009

2009-10-20T14:18:00.006-05:00

Boy was it muddy at the pumpkin patch on Saturday. But we had fun anyway! We went to BoBrook Farms, which happens to be owned by our hairdresser. This was their first year to be open and they did a pretty good job. All the rain we had this month hasn't helped, but we made the best out of it.

Ethan had fun talking to the animals, and throwing the pumpkins like balls. When we made our way out to the field where the pumpkins were Ethan went to get a pumpkin to throw and lost his balance in the mud. He caught himself with his hands but mud covered both of this hands and the sleeves of his shirt. If you don't already know, the kid has a thing for dirty hands and insists that whatever has gotten on his hands be immediately removed. So, off we went back to the barn for some water and paper towels. Oh well, at least we tried.

This is one of my favorite times of the year and I am so thankful that I have a sweet pumpkin boy that I can take to the pumpkin patch.

Big Boy Bed

2009-10-15T20:23:00.022-05:00

My sweet baby boy is grown (might as well be). This makes me very sad and I don't like it one bit. However, his safety is a priority.

It has recently come to our attention that E can climb out of his crib. Noel and I both have walked in several times to find him hanging over the rail. He never actually made it over but he has the ability and it was only a matter of time before he took the fall. So, Noel made me order the toddler rail that goes with his crib. I resisted big time, but it really is what has to be done. Now the kid is in a "big boy" bed and I don't like it even a little (well, maybe a little).

I am aware that it is inevitable that the kid will grow up and be more independent and all, but he is only 21 months, this is too soon right? I think so. Really it is for my own benefit that he be confined when I need (or want) him to be. His crib was the only place I had left that I knew he was safe and sound. Now, I have nothing.

This new phase will for sure be an adventure. I for see sometime in the near future that I will enter his room to find his clothes from his dresser all over the floor. Perhaps he will get in his closet and empty it out too. Good times I tell you. Good time.

We have put a baby gate across the door so at least he can't get out without us knowing it. We definitely don't want to feel any little hands on our legs in the middle of the night. I just hope he gets the rest he needs with all of his new freedom. Heaven knows we all need to get our daily allotment of rest.

I will always refer to the kid as my sweet baby boy, even when he is grown and married and has sweet babies of his own, but I guess I must accept the fact that he is getting a little bigger. What's next, potty training? Say it ain't so!

As you can see he had no trouble sleeping last night. This morning I found him sitting on the floor in front of the gate trying to pull his bankie through the holes. Apparently he had thrown it over when he got up then decided he wanted it back. I have to admit that the rail is pretty cute on his bed!

I hope everyone has a good weekend. We have some fun stuff planned so I'm excited!

Please Stop!

2009-10-13T16:30:00.001-05:00

Seriously! This rain has got to stop! My husband has not worked in 6 days. Good thing most of his contracts are year round so it doesn't matter if he misses a few days. But I am about to go crazy stuck up in this house. The kid is wild and I am bored. Noel could care less because he could watch tv or play video games for days and never get bored.

Now, I love my husband, and I am so thankful that he has a job that is flexible, but come on, I need some piece and quite around here. The tv is blaring all.day.long. Maybe I should leave :).

In other news: We took the kid to find a winter coat and WOW, it did not go over well. Apparently wearing a coat is not on E's list of fun things to do. Who knew? I guess we are going to have to phase it in a little. A good fit was thrown in the store with all of the employees watching and laughing. E was saying "I no like it" and Noel was saying "that's fine, call the cops". A good time was had by all.

Here's hoping the sun comes out SOON!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2009-10-05T21:57:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, E's daddy turned 3-5!

Holy Moly I married an old man!

Happy Birthday babe, we love you very much. Here's to the best year yet!

(sorry for the lateness of this post)

Nothing New

2009-09-30T10:20:00.002-05:00

Life at the Harthcock house is a little busy, but normal. The kid is just growing and saying things that surprise me everyday. He is at the stage now where he picks up at least one new word every day. He can even count to 10 all by himself and if you start counting he will say the numbers that you leave out. It amazes me every time I hear it.

He has picked up on the fact that he can stall having to do something he doesn't want to do by using his charm. When he doesn't want to take a nap just yet he tell me he wants to "rock a minute". Or, when it's time to go to bed and his dad is hauling him off to his room he comes to give me a nite nite kiss and reaches out and says "I want hug". How can you turn a kid down on something like that? I guess he knows I am just a sucker.

I have changed the dates for my Arbonne launch parties to next week (Thur and Sat) so I am excited about that. I have been learning so much and having a great time with all of the new people that I have already met. I really think that this is the next phase in our lives and I can't wait to discover all that God has in store for us as I dig deeper into this new business.

Our lot for our new house has officially been cleared and a retaining wall should be going up today, then on to digging the footing. We are very excited to finally have some progress on the house and we want to move in right now. There are lots of things to decide on and pick out so I should be pretty busy in the upcoming months, but I look forward to the work. I love having lots of things scheduled on my calender, so bring it on!

Yet again I don't have any pics of the boy. My camera is feeling neglected, but I will get it together and take some pictures. I promise, although I think I did that last time too ;)

It's hump day and the downhill slide to the weekend has started. Yea for that, right? Can I get an Amen!

Arbonne!

2009-09-24T14:38:00.008-05:00

Guess what? I have decided to start selling Arbonne skin care products. I love their stuff, and my face feels so good.

I have been thinking for a while that I needed to find something to do with my extra time that could bring in a little extra money. I have tossed around several different ideas, but the majority of them were going to cost us lots of upfront money that I was just not willing to spend. Arbonne just seemed to be the fit that I was looking for. Minimal startup costs, products that I LOVE, and I can work when I want to with no requirements. Plus, I have the BEST sponsor that I could every imagine. Thanks Amy!

So, if you know me IRL (in real life) be looking for an invite to one of my debut parties. They will be in mid October and I can't wait. I really hope that you will try and come if you can.

I hope that you all will support me in this, and I don't just mean by buying products (although that would be nice:). This is going to take some extra bravery on my part to be successful with this. If you know anything about me you know that I really don't like meeting new people. It totally freaks me out. But, I am going to get over that because I really think that this is the direction that God is leading me in right now. I have been praying for an outlet for me to make a little extra money but still be able to spend my days at home with E. I look forward to what He has in store for me.

I have lots of samples coming and catalogues to look thru so if you interested in discovering Arbonne I will be more than happy to help you do that. But, this blog is not going to turn in to one big Arbonne advertisement, I promise. I just wanted to let you all know what is going on in the Harthcock house which is what this blog is all about anyway, right?

If you think about, say a little pray for me as I get started in this new venture. Before you know it you might be seeing me driving around in a white Mercedes!

Happy Birthday Poppie!

2009-09-20T20:25:00.004-05:00

60 years ago today, my father was born.

Happy Birthday Poppie!

We hope that you had a spectacular day!

Busy Busy

2009-09-02T11:06:00.003-05:00

It would be an understatement to say that we are busy around our house. This week and part of next week are slightly more hectic then I really care for. I have said that I work best under pressure, but I had forgotten how stressed out I can get under all of that pressure.

Here is an abbreviated run-down of all the things that have to happen in the next 7 days or so:

pack up our house
move to the next house (for 6-7 months)
close on our old house
close on the loan for our new construction (and get started building)
somewhere in there make time to attend my HS reunion
attend the Razorback game on Saturday
partially unpack at the temporary house

Good luck with that, right?

I'll be sure to post some pictures of the kid, which I'm sure is the main reason for most of your visits, in the next day or so. It just occurred to me that I have failed to even take the lens cap off the camera lens in at least a week. What a terrible mother. I must do better, I promise.

The End is Near

2009-08-26T17:49:00.025-05:00

We have had lots of fun swimming at Grammie's house this summer. E has improved greatly in his swimming ability since the first of the summer. He can now swim about 6 feet with fwoaties (as he calls them). He loves to go under and to jump off the side. I am confident that he will be an excellent swimmer next year.

Here are a few recent pictures from our swimming adventures.

All by himself! He's good!

Sun and popcicles are one of E's favorites and we are already anticipating summer 2010!

I am kinda sad to see the summer come to an end. But, I do love me some fall so once fall starts I will quickly get over it.

E goes to mother's day out tomorrow, so stay tuned to see what kind of craft he comes home with!

Crafty Kid

2009-08-21T15:52:00.008-05:00

Yesterday, at Mother's Day Out, E got promoted to another class. Noel dropped him off for me so I didn't get to meet any of the teachers or find out any info. He normally does find so it was no big deal. Since it was raining, Noel didn't do any work yesterday so we did some errands while E was at MDO. When we went to pick him up, much to my surprise was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. E had made a craft for me (at least that's what I like to think!). Apparently, they sing songs and do crafts in his new class. How exciting.

I was beginning to wonder when he would be in a more structured class that eat lunch together and napped together, and did activities and things. Before, it was just a free for all and each child did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. I really think that a little structure will be good for the kid. We pretty much do whatever during the day at home, so organized activities is exciting, I think.

Since the kid was born I have been anticipating the day when E would make arts and crafts for me to hang on the fridge. Since he doesn't go to daycare, MDO and Sunday School are his only options. It makes my heart happy that the day has finally come. I may start taking him two days a week now :).

Is that not the most beautiful piece of art you have ever seen? I think so!

Now I need to go purchase a keepsake box to house all of his artwork present and future. Be still my heart!

The Greatest Game on Dirt

2009-08-20T21:41:00.013-05:00

We have been super busy for the last two weeks and the blog has been neglected. Sorry about that. Family from Cali were in town for a couple of weeks so we did lots of fun stuff while they were here. Life has slowed down (if only for a minute) so lets all get caught up.

What better way to spend a summer evening than at the ball park, right? I was pretty hot, but we all survived, and ate our weight in hot dogs, and BBQ, and nachos, and funnel cake, and cotton candy. You name it, at least one person in our 11 person party ate it. A good time was had by all (except maybe Timmy :).

Ethan had been to a game last year, but he was too little to enjoy it, but he sure had a good time this year. He ate an entire hot dog (bun and all) all by himself, then proceeded to beg for things everyone else was eating. Definitely a boy after his dads own heart.

I couldn't tell you who won the game, but frankly, that was not the real reason for going in the first place. I see lots for Travs games in our future.

Mona, Hannah, and Timmy: We are glad you got to come for a visit. We had great fun while you where here. Please come back to visit any time.

#2

2009-08-13T16:11:00.003-05:00

My sweet baby boy will be 19 months old next week. No big deal, right? Well, let me tell you that he has pooped in the potty 2 times this week. Tuesday was the first day, then again today. I am sure he would have yesterday also, if he had gone at all. He has been telling me for several weeks that he has to poo-poo and we go and sit on the potty and wait, and play with the toilet paper, and wait, and talk, and wait. Nothing. But Tuesday he started getting fussy at me because I wasn't taking him to the potty quick enough, so when we got in there, same sort of things, but then it happened! What a big boy. Now we just have to work on the peeing thing. Apparently the pee doesn't bother him enough like the poop.

Sorry if that was too much info for you on this lovely Thursday afternoon, but I am pretty proud of my sweet baby boy!

Whouw...

2009-08-05T09:49:00.005-05:00

That's what E calls his 4-wheeler. That is the sound it makes when it goes, so I guess that is where he came up with the name. We never referred to it by it's name, but the kid came up with a name himself. He only uses one or two fingers to push the button, usually his pointer and middle finger instead of his thumb like a normal person. He typically has one hand full (a spoon in the pic below) so depending on which hand is full he has been know to use his fingers on the opposite hand to push with. Whatever floats your boat kid.

In other eventful happenings: I was served raw chicken last night at dinner. I am not talking about undercooked. It was actually raw. It has some breading on it, and super thin, so I ate about two bites before I realized it. Now, if you know anything about me, I am a meat inspector when it come to things that I eat. If it has any fat on it, or gristle, anything, I cut if off and won't eat it. If it is not cooked right I won't eat it. Very few pieces of meat actually pass my inspection. So, for me to have actually eaten some of this chicken, wow, I must have been off my game.

Needless to say, the thought make me sick. I have been informed by Noel's mother (in the chicken business for many years) that I have 12-72 hours to get sick, at which time I must immediately go to the doctor for antibiotics. Lovely! I am surely hoping to not get sick. That is really something that I wish to not experience. Here's hoping for the best. I still have 60 hours worth of wait time.

Also, my cousin Mona and her two kids are coming in town today for two weeks. We haven't seen them for a while so it will be fun to catch up and have some fun. More updated on that to come!

Noel and I are going to an estate auction tomorrow so stay tuned to see if there were actually any finds that I just can't live without!

Big Boy

2009-07-24T13:00:00.004-05:00

For lunch today, E had a peanut butter and honey sandwich. This is not the first time he has had one, but today, he ate it like a big boy. Usually I cut it up into bite sized pieces, but today I decided to try giving him the whole (half) sandwich. He took bites like he was supposed to and everything and I didn't have to go in after any too big bites. He even ate the entire thing. Plus, he ate it with his left hand, which makes this left handed mom very proud.

In other news, I taught him to say "cheese" when I take his picture so that I can actually get a smile out of him. This makes for much better photos. He thinks it is so fun. He will stop and pose and say "cheese". Lucky for me!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! What do you have planned?

18 Months

2009-07-22T15:28:00.004-05:00

Today, my sweet baby boy (althought not so sweet today) turns 18 months old. Where has the time gone?

As a matter of fact, I had to get him a size 6 1/2 shoe today. He was in a 5 (from 3 months ago). Poor kid must have welcomed the relief.

We are glad God gave you to us 18 moths ago. I remember it very well. Life has not been the same since, but we wouldn't have it any other way. We love you very much.

And many more.......

This and That

2009-07-20T21:43:00.005-05:00

The last week or so has been a little slow around here. For some reason we didn't do much last week so I was at a loss for things to report on. But we are going to do better this week and actually get out and get some things done.

I am working hard on getting things together to get started on our new house. I have to call the designer tomorrow and see how far he has gotten on our plans. I am really hoping that we can close on our construction loan at the end of the month, but this month has flown by so I am not so sure anymore. All I can do is try right?

Here is a sneaky peak of our new house. This is just out of a magazine so the actual look will be similar but not exact.

I am very excited about building our house. I have done lots of building stuff over the years but nothing for myself. I think it will be very much fun to pick out EVERYTHING for our house. I have big plans (budget allowing). In the next month or so I will have plenty to talk about as we finally get to start on the construction.

If you think about, we would really appreciate a little prayer on our behalf over the sale of the house that we live in now. It has been on the market for three weeks today and we have only had one call and one showing. We would like to be able to stay here as long as we can so we don't have to rent for too long. But, we also don't need to be making two house payments when the new one is ready.

So tuned tomorrow for a picture of the kid on his new Power Wheels 4-Wheeler. It's too cute!

Where is your mother?

2009-07-10T09:56:00.007-05:00

Seriously, someone should be watching this kid. I wonder where his mother is? I mean, really, a kid could get seriously hurt or something. Someone needs to speak with his mother about this.

Like any good mother, I had to take his picture first, before I removed him from the kitchen table.

Happy Friday everyone, I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Birthday USA

2009-07-08T10:34:00.016-05:00

I am a little late on this post, but better late then never, right?

We had lots of fun on the 4th. This was E's first 4th to participate in, so we had a big time. Saturday morning/afternoon we went swimming (of course). As you may remember, E has lost his fear of the water, but this time I made him wear his floaties and he actually did not mind, most of the time. That made for a much less stressful pool time. There is hope yet!

Saturday evening we went to Austin for a party at one of Noel's old friend's house. For those of you who don't know, Austin is out past Cabot. There were lots of kiddos there so E had tons of fun. The house was in a neighborhood on about 5 acre lots, so there was not a shortage of fun toys and things to play with, or on. E's favorite thing was the big slide. We only have a small woosie slide, so he was much excited about this.

Here are a few pictures of the kid on the slide. He could care less about other things, like swings and such.

This little boy is the youngest of Noel's friend's kids. He just turned two and was so sweet to E and wanted him to play with him. So sweat.

Climb up, up, up....when you get to the top, slide down on your belly...repeat

That is the face of a happy kid

We sure enjoyed our holiday weekend, and we are thankful for all the military men and women who work so hard to keep us free.

Happy Birthday USA!

Chick-fil-A Song

2009-07-07T09:24:00.007-05:00

I love Chick-fil-A. I always have, ever since I started going to the mall, way back when. I was in heaven when I went to UofA and they had a stand-alone place. Seriously, I don't have to deal with the mall (which I was totally willing to do) just to eat nuggets? It was heaven. Now, apparently, the rest of the world has decided that a stand-alone is the way to go, and I am grateful. We just enjoyed some nuggets last night, as a matter of fact.

I saw this video on another blog I read. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. It's words ring true.

I'll post about our 4th later today. Stay tuned!

Just Normal

2009-07-01T10:06:00.004-05:00

I really haven't had much to blog about this week. We have just been doing normal stuff around here. You know, like, going to Target, and Chick-fil-A, and the office, and hanging around the house.

Remember the last swimming post I told you that the kid was not too fond of the pool. Well, that has all changed. The very next weekend we tried it again and he had lost his fear. He now thinks it is hilarious to shove his face into the water, and throw his head back to dip it in the water. He also tries this now in the bathtub. I am glad that he has a new love for water, but a kid could get hurt. Especially since he screams bloody murder if we try and make him wear his life jacket, or floaties, or some other type of personal floatation device. I guess now we are going to have to work on that.

Cousin Caroline and E walking up to the pool!

In other news:

We put our house on the market on Monday. We are going to be building a house as soon as our house goes under contract. We are hoping for 30 days or less to get on offer. Houses in our neighborhood have been selling pretty quickly so we are hoping for the best. Wish us luck!

Another Awesome Give-Away!

2009-06-25T10:05:00.002-05:00

Is this not the cutest tote you have ever seen? It would be made even cuter with my name on it. But, if you must, you can put your name in the hat for it as well. Even better, if you mention that you heard about this from me, I get one too. How cool is that?

So, head over to the Monogram Chick's blog and check it out!

GOOD LUCK!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T21:40:00.003-05:00

Happy Father's Day Dear!

Thanks for being the bestest da-t to E. We love you very much and we appreciate all that you do to provide for us. You work super hard and we are grateful!

Happy Father's Day to our dads too! We have some great dad's that we are grateful for also! We love you both!

A Little Water Never Hurt Anyone

2009-06-17T21:54:00.012-05:00

Last weekend we did a little swimming at my parents house. E was too little to do much swimming last year, but I thought he would, for sure, have much more fun this year. Apparently we are going to have to work on enjoying the water a little more with the kid. So long as someone was holding him close he was fine, but the second you gave him any space he would flip out.

He did enjoy sitting on the mat for a while, playing with leftover egg-dying cups. Why is it that non-toys always make the best toys?

Look at that white skin. We are going to have to do something about that. He had better get used to the pool soon. Maybe I should check into some of those swimming lessons I have been hearing about.

Saturday was also E's Grammie and Poppie's 33rd wedding anniversary. We are glad we got to join them for the fun.

Happy Anniversary!

Bubbles

2009-06-14T21:13:00.008-05:00

The kid loves him some bubbles. It seems that just about every night after supper we go outside and play in the bubbles. Not too many bubbles are actually made, but the act of putting the wand in the bottle, pulling it out, and slinging bubble juice everywhere is mighty entertaining. It is a good thing that bubbles are so cheap because I have a feeling that we are going to go though several bottles before the summer is over with. Occasionally cousin Caroline comes over with her own bottle (because neither have mastered the art of sharing or taking turns) to join in the fun.

I love the concentration the kid has when he has discovered something new. I wish that we all still had the wonder of a child. We as grown-ups rarely find the new in life.

Whatever it takes to make the kid happy is what I'm here to do. Bubbles seem to make him pretty happy don't you think?

A Fancy Schmancy Give-Away

2009-06-11T17:17:00.009-05:00

Fancy Schmancy Designs is giving away a personalized cake plate. She makes some really cute stuff over there, so go and enter her giveaway too. She started it yesterday so I hope she is still taking comments.

Cute Huh!

I hope I win, but if I don't maybe you will!

Fun in the Sun!

2009-06-08T11:01:00.008-05:00

Happy first of the week everyone. We had a pretty good weekend. Ethan spent some quality time with his Grammie and Poppie on Saturday while Noel and I went to the lake with our neighbor friends.

So I have heard, E had a big time playing outside at his gparents house. He got to go swimming for the first time of the season. He played lots on the porch and had lots of yummy food to eat. I have no pictorial proof but I'll take their word for it. Thanks a bunch for watching him for us M&D.

Our neighbor friends go to the lake every weekend during the good months and invited us to join them on Saturday. It was super windy and the water was a little cool but we had fun none-the-less. I have a weird splotchy burn pattern where I apparently missed a few spots with the SPF but other than that, a good time was had. We look forward to a few more fun times at the lake over the next couple of months. We are just glad our neighbors like for us to join them.

Thursday or so last week we decided we needed to let E start getting used to using a spoon so we gave it a go with some mashed potatoes. He has left-handed tendencies with most things he does, but since he can eat better with the fingers on his left hand he switched the spoon to his right hand. I am not sure how much he actually ate off of the spoon, but he had a good time anyway. It made for a little messier dinner time, but I suppose a kid has to learn sometime.

We'll keep trying with the spoon (and keep cleaning up bigger messes) so the kid has a fighting chance later in life.

Hope everyone has a good week. We are two weeks into June, can you believe it?

PS: The husband needs someone to work full time for him doing weedeater work. If you know of anyone, send them my way!