random life since we got back from vacation and a few more house updates

I thought I'd catch you up to let you know the latest and greatest that has gone down since we arrived back to Texas two weeks ago.  Then, one day, hopefully before all the moving happens, I'll catch up you up to speed on our trip AND beyond.  At one point in my life, I made the goal to have all my blog books printed before the baby came.  HA! That's a pipe dream.  I'll be lucky if I can just get our pictures sorted through from the last few months.  

One day. One day.

::: Don't you love those melamine bowls that Becca found for me at Costco?  me too.  And they all have lids and a grippy bottoms too.  Perfection.  Great find, Becca.

::: Aaron and I went on a little date once we returned home.  We hired a babysitter and everything.  We went to a really good Italian restaurant with some friends and it was a lovely evening out.  After dinner, we raced to our favorite hangout, our new house, before it got too dark to take some pictures and do some measuring.  We did have to pull out the flashlights to finish our measurements, but it was a grand ol' time.

::: These days I'm a measuring AND researching fool.  I have pages upon pages of measurements and photos and notes of purchases coming up.  Since we are renting, we currently don't own a fridge, a washer, and a dryer.  We sold all those when we left San Antonio.  So, we've been on the hunt for good deals and I'm happy to report that after months of searching, we finally found ALL THREE at the Sears Outlet (aka scratch and dent center) this past weekend.  Hooray for checking off all three in the same evening!!!

Now it's on to finding things like garage door openers, a water softener, ceiling fans... who wants diamonds and pearls for birthdays?  Give me a water softener and I'm golden.  :)  

::: Yes, I did just casually mention birthdays.  Why? Because my birthday is coming up and I can't believe I'm going to be 28.  Why? Because I thought I was ALREADY 28.  How's that for lame fuddy-duddy?  Amazing.

::: In other news, Tillie continues to astound us in the drawing department.  These were drawn a few weeks ago, and really, I need to start photographing the literal STACKS of papers she's gone through, but for now here is her latest gift for Calvin.  HIS new obsession is having us draw out all the Toy Story characters.  Finally, one day after begging me AGAIN to draw them out, I told him to ask Tillie.  Here she drew Woody (on the left with the swirled hair and cowboy hat), Buzz (with the retractable bubble thing on his head) and then BoPeep in the sky.  So cool!

This next one is Belle, Ariel, and Jasmine.  Notice the tail of the mermaid and the dark skin of Jasmine. Also, a favorite detail of mine is the polka dotted border.  !!!  Too cute.  Their accompanying princes are featured on the back.  She kills me.  

After she drew these, she promptly asked for a few strips of tape so she could tape them up in their room.  Too fun.  I couldn't be prouder.

::: Speaking of the kiddos, I've been trying to motivate them AND myself to accomplish things in life.  Here's one of the latest quicky chore charts I made.  The goal was to earn 5 smiley faces so they could earn the prizes at the bottom.  Too bad they only earned 3 happy faces a piece. Insert a sad face here for me. We're STILL working on it.  Yeesh!

::: Our neighbors picked up our mail while we were gone (I'd forgotten to log onto the post office's website and hold our mail), and had the high hopes of baking some delicious treat to thank them.  Maybe it's because I had just gotten back from vacation, or maybe it's because it was 100+ degrees outside, or maybe it's because I'm really pregnant and am super unmotivated?  Luckily, we have a billion Airheads here.  There was a sale.  Aaron loves them.  I broke down and bought a box.  This is what they got instead.  And, I pulled the idea out of my brain without logging onto Pinterest!  Wow.  Pathetic.

::: Summers in Texas are ridiculous.  You don't go outside unless you have to (think of snowy winters elsewhere), so Tillie has been creative on her own accord.  Here is her indoor picnic she got ready for Calvin and me the other day.  Good thinking, Tillie!  This is MY kind of picnic. No big clean up and indoors using FAKE food!  Do you love how pleased her face is?  Me too.

::: Okay, MORE on the new house?  Sure!  Tile has been grouted!  View inside the master shower.

 Yard has been graded.

 more views of the backyard.

One thing to note, where the line of trees are, there is actually a 10 foot stone wall holding up our property... meaning we are a lot higher than where those trees are growing.  Does that make sense?  Crazy.  I hope that because we are raised up, that will keep away any scary forest animals!!

We have a love/worry relationship with this backyard.  We love that it is so big, but are worried that it will be so overwhelming!

Aaron and the kids are collecting the big stones left behind and chucking them out over the trees so the sod will grow better.  I don't think their efforts made a big dent, but here's hoping!

I'll rest much easier once the fence is put up against those trees.  When the kids go close, I get so stressed they are going to fall off the literal cliff!

 Here the kids are admiring the mailbox.

 And, enjoying the last water bottle I could find in the car.  They were both so parched after throwing all those rocks!  hA!

This is just minutes after the granite was installed in the kitchen.  I love how it turned out!

 Our non-creepy Peeping Tom.

I'm sorry, but I just LOVE that face of his.  What a dolly that boy is!

 Another shot of the newly granite-d island.

Light fixture installed in the dining room.  We'd never seen what they chose, so I was surprised.

 Kitchen backsplash is in!  YESSSS!

 Close up?  Sure!

 I found super cheap bar stools online and ordered two of them to see if they'd work.  Here we are testing it out with our two littles.  Still a little short, so I think we're going to do two different sizes like Aaron's parents just did.  It looks good, I promise.
And, let's talk about this little boy, Cal.  Doesn't he look like he's looking toward his bright future?  Man, he is a great boy.  And, for the record he looks like he's 10 years old here.

Tillie is pretending she is eating something.  Nice role play, Til.

 Our kitchen sink.  Love the single basin they found for us!

 measuring out sofas to see what space is like in here.

Okay, okay... that's probably enough house info. for the moment.  Hope you aren't too sick of it all, b/c it provides us the most entertainment and excitement in our lives at the moment.

::: I don't know why, but lately the kids think they can come in and konk out with us in the middle of the night.  Because I'm so pregnant, it's tricky to lift them in the dark from laying down position, and if Aaron is working the next day, I don't have the heart to wake him up.  

But after this night's sleep, and realizing the kids LOVE sleeping on a diagonal, Aaron and I decided this game is OVER.  

Had to document it.

::: In other news, I've been doing a few more stationery orders for my delightful friend, Bekah. 

I pulled out this design Becca and I had created a few years ago for a fabric possibility.  Unfortunately, the idea was shut down, but we still have a special place in our heart for the lace doily patterns we did.  Luckily, it translates really well to paper.  

So well, that I decided to experiment a little bit with some new colors.  

And, Becca was headed over here that afternoon to get a teeth cleaning at Aaron's office, so I printed out her a few cards too.  

::: Yes, lucky us, Becca opted to stay over for the weekend and we couldn't have been happier about her decision!  She works at a fancy-pants advertising agency downtown and one of their clients is Chik-Fil-A.  They were big time promoting their "Cow Appreciation Day" and Becca suggested we go and get a free meal if we dressed up.  Boo yah.  We got our "cow" gear on and made it happen.  Free dinner all around?  I love that game... even though I felt like a big dork.

p.s. Aaron forgot his glasses in the van, so he had his prescription sunglasses on so he could see.  hA!  he looks so RAD.  almost as RAD as I look... oh wait.

This was the night we were able to find the fridge, washer, and dryer!  I think the free meal from Chik-Fil-A was the beginning of our lucky streak.  Becca was a TROOPER and helped to entertain the rascals while we talked numbers with the sales lady.  

The next day we ran a few errands and then laid low the rest of the day.  Aaron suggested that Becca and I go see a movie or do something fun, so we did!  Good idea!  We went to a movie and on our way back out to the car saw a Cheesecake Factory.  A little cheesecake to go at 10:30 pm?  Why not?!  We are so spontaneous and adventurous.

::: We have late church on Sundays, and I've been toying with the idea of cutting Tillie's hair short... like bob short.  And, Cal gets SO sweaty these days, so I really wanted to cut his hair too.  Here are a few shots of Tillie's pretty long hair.

Well, I chickened out and couldn't bear to cut a bob.  Why? I have zero experience in that department, so I thought a trim would suffice for now.  I think I might have my LEGIT pro friend cut her hair instead. And, I'm happy to report Cal's hair turned out pretty well too (if I do say so myself).

Here'a shot of both the kiddos after church.  Matilda had just gotten a mosquito bite on her arm, hence the "happy face" she's making.  And, yes, I am now putting Cal in shorts for church.  Like I said before, he sweats SO much that I can't bear putting him in long pants and shoes/socks.  So, I found sandals for him and we're going a little more casual these days.  Hope they don't kick us out!  hA!  

Gotta love the grill master.  Lookin' good in the neighborhood.

And, here's the belly button.  Oh wait, I mean, the belly, Melissa, and the kiddos.  

Sheesh, we're getting large and in charge, but feelin' pretty good.  It was funny, I told my friend in an email that I'm doing well and can't complain (but Aaron will scoff at that comment).  Really, though, we are feeling really blessed and are trying to wrap our brains around all the mega life changes that will be happening in just a minute!


Let's cross our fingers that a few more updates from the past while will happen sooner than later.