Random Moments Monday

In an effort to write down more of the little things that happen in my family's life, I am introducing "Random Moments Monday". (Lori, this idea was stolen from you!) Look out, because "Dancing With The Stars" is no longer the best thing that Monday has to offer. I'm not sure what my format will be, or how frequently I will post this, but I guess that's part of the randomness…

$16- The amount I had to pay for Sam's Kindergarten field trip. Seriously, $16 for a field trip??? For kindergarteners??!! I can think of a million other things I would rather spend my money on, like treating myself to Chipotle. I did pay, (do I have a choice?) and Sam will be going to some local farm tomorrow. He did mention something about getting a pumpkin. Maybe it will be a magic pumpkin.

Phillies Games- Pretty much the only thing that has been on our TV lately. I believe this Wednesday is the first game of World Series...its about time we bought a second TV.

8 pounds- How much weight Andrew gained during his 3 day trip last week. Andrew went to Connecticut to visit his friend Ryan and aside from playing video games and driving a Porsche (Ryan’s Dad’s), those two ate…a lot. The kids and I were supposed to go too, but with lingering illnesses we thought it best to bow out. Andrew had a great time and I was bummed we missed out on the fun.

35 Miles- The round trip mileage from our home to Andrew's work. Andrew bought a bike (not a motorcycle) a few months back, and he's been tying to bike to work twice a week. With the extra pounds he put on this past weekend, I think he is shooting for 3 times this week.

Not sure- How I feel about Andrew riding bike into the city.

A half eaten peppermint, fruit snack, cheerios and paper- All things that Afton managed to get into her mouth at church (none of which originated from our family). That baby is insane. At one point I set her on the ground, and the next thing I knew she was on her belly ferociously licking a peppermint which was stuck to the ground (I don't know how I missed it). Gross, but kind of funny.

12 recycling bags full of leaves and branches- How much I cleared out our yard this past week. I am dealing with a neglected yard here, so I’m really hoping that there won’t be so much maintenance required in the future. Here's to hoping!

Home Progress

\We've been settled for nearly 3 months now, and I'm happy to report that none of our rooms look like the above picture anymore (I cannot say the same for our closets). Since Andrew officially declared us "house poor", we've been taking it slow. Well, slow at least according to my standards (Andrew starts to hyperventilate if I even say the words "Home Depot", which I probably do in my sleep). I am grateful for his balance and perspective, as it has been extremely gratifying to see each little change take place. Most of our time and energy has been focused on cleaning up the outside, and one of my biggest regrets is that I did not get a "before" picture of the backyard. I have, however, been pretty good at taking pictures of the progress on the inside. So here you go-

Family Room Before...

This is what the fireplace looked like prior to our purchase. I used to salivate just thinking about tearing off the stucco.

After we got home from settlement I went straight to the house and started to restore the fireplace. My mother-in-law and friend Merry (both below) also came over and were a huge help. THANK YOU!

The Family Room After...

The Kitchen

Look carefully for the oven. Yup, that's it, on the ground in the eating area. Eventually we'll put the oven back where it is supposed to go (in the kitchen) but for the time being, it works just fine.

The Dining Room

Boys room before...

The Boys Room After...

My sister-in-law Jen put up chair rail in this room (I helped a little). She did a fantastic job and I love how the boy's room turned out.

Afton's room

And of course, we have Afton's room. When my mom first saw it she said, "Ohh wow! It's pink! I didn't think you were a pink type of person!" I'm typically not, but then again, a lot of things seem to be changing as I raise these kids...I guess that's life for ya.

Fall Happenings

Guess how many times we went to the pool this past summer? Twice. Guess how many times we went downtown? Zero. Guess how many times we went to Cape May? Twice. You get the point...it was a pathetic summer for us. Since we spent most of our time house hunting and then recovering from house hunting, I promised myself that once we settled in we would not spend all of our Saturdays doing home projects. So far, I think we've made good on that promise. We've still been busy with the home (pictures to come), but so far I think we've done a good job making up for this past summer. Here are a few of our weekend activities this past month.

September started out with a bang when my little brother Joe decided to come home for a quick weekend visit. He was gracious enough to squeeze in a trip to our house (with my Dad) and for the occasion we decided to hit up Great Falls. We love Joe and it was great to see him.

The man himself, Uncle Joe

A couple weeks later we went to the National Book Festival with some of our friends. This was our first time attending and I have to say it was pretty cool. There were a ton of authors (Shannon Hale, Kate Dicamillo, Judy Blume, Nicolas Sparks, Sue Monk Kidd, Jon Meacham...just to name a few) who were stationed at different pavilions throughout the entire National Mall. Of course with the kids we didn't get to see most of these authors, but we did see some. They also had a massive PBS Kids tent where the boys were able to meet characters like Clifford the Big Red Dog and Arthur. It was raining, and a bazillion people were there, but it still was a lot of fun. I'm planning on going next year, but with some girlfriends instead.

After the festival we went to the Natural History Museum where we were able to see the new Oceanic exhibit- it is pretty cool!

Sam at the Natural History Museum's new exhibit

Our latest family excursion happened this past weekend when went to a local farm to pick apples and pumpkins. 30 pounds of apples, a gallon of apple cider, some fresh produce, and six pumpkins later, I think we got our fill. The boys had a blast, and now I'm busy turning those apples into baked goods. Have I ever mentioned how much I love fall???