seven years and not itchy at all

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend

Lucky to have been where we have been
Lucky to be coming home again
I'm lucky we're in love in every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home to stay
(totally cheesey and overplayed song, but my absolute favorite for quite awhile by Jason Mraz)

We had a great day.
I don't even care on our anniversary if we do it up big and celebrate or not... I really just enjoy honoring what was the best decision and the best day of our lives that happens to be seven years ago now. I loved that day. I absolutely loved our wedding and having our friends and family there and starting the rest of our lives together for forever.
(And I wish we could have a big, fun wedding every year, just like the original. But I'll settle for just celebrating that one for now.)
Most of all, I love being married to this guy.














We actually did make plans to go out and celebrate this year.
Then our babysitter ended up sick this weekend.
But, a fabulous friend offered to still take the kids for a bit so we could get out on our own and we took her up on it. First, since we weren't paying for a babysitter now, we decided to splurge and go out for lunch after church with the kids. Yay! I didn't have to cook at all today :)
After that we all came home for naps, Ryan and Savannah went up to the pool for a quick dip, and then we all got dressed and ready and dropped the kids off at our friends'.

Ryan and I went to a newish restaurant in a little town down the road, called Sherlock's. It was yummy! And we decided we should go out for dinner on a Sunday evening more often... we were about the only people in the restaurant! We sat outside on the patio and enjoyed the perfect early summer day.
After dinner, we were too full for dessert just yet and too full to even walk around somewhere so we drove for a bit. We drove around and found the other three houses that were on our final four list when we were moving here... just to see if they've changed any in the past two years with new owners and now that we are familiar with neighborhoods and areas, it was fun to compare what it would have been like in those houses rather than the one we ended up in. It was kind of a fun trip down memory lane, and it's hard to believe that was only almost exactly two years ago.








When our bellies weren't complaining about the amount of food in them anymore, we stopped at Coldstone to grab some ice cream (Mmmm... I could live on their watermelon sorbet!!) and headed to the park to walk around. It was absolutely the perfect evening to be outside. Gorgeous. We swang in a bench swing next to the lake and just relaxed next to the water for quite awhile. It was a wonderful evening out.



Happy Anniversary Ryan.
I do believe I'm so lucky to be in love with my best friend, for the places we've been together and for the fact that we are in love in every way.
Thanks for the best seven years of my life.

friday thoughts

Savannah's last day of school this year will be Monday.
Which means this is my second to last day with just one kid all morning. The second to the last day that I get this one on one time with my boy regularly.

While I think Savannah finishing a year of kindergarten and moving on to real, full-time school in the first grade next year is a huge (she'll be gone seven hours a day!)(and eat lunch at school)(and be in first grade!)(how did that happen and where did my baby girl go???) milestone, I'm not that emotional about it. Several people have asked me if I'm having a hard time with it; if I feel like moving on to first grade is the end of an "era" and a big letting go thing and if I'll be emotional about it, especially next fall. The answer is no, not really. I've never been one to get emotional about "letting my kids go" with tears on my part dropping them off on their first day. They love experiencing new things and I love watching them branch out and take in those experiences. Like school... Yes, I wonder every day where the time goes and how on earth did I end up with a six-year-old already when I swear she was just napping in her crib yesterday... but Savannah absolutely loves school. We are in a great district and are involved in a wonderful elementary school, we loved Savannah's teacher this year and honestly could not have asked for a better first year. As much as she loved her year of kindergarten, she is very much looking forward to what first grade holds in store for her and taking this next big step. I'm so proud of her and instead of being sad or emotional about it, I love that I get to watch her be proud of herself. I love that.

What I am strangely emotional about is losing this time I have each week with Sawyer. Not really sad I guess, just that I'm definitely going to be missing it. When Savannah started preschool, then kindergarten, and thinking ahead to next year, sure I was miss her and often miss those few hours a week with her, but I knew/know she was/is doing something, moving on to something, and I could/can be happy and excited for her. Plus, let's face it; I had another kid at home to keep me busy.
But all this one on one time most mornings with Sawyer for this past school year has been just really nice. And he's not moving on to anything new yet... I just suddenly have to share him (and myself) every day now. Not that he'll notice- he'll be thrilled to have his sister around to play whenever he wants and we'll be plenty busy with fun summertime stuff and hangin' at the pool all in between.

The realization I've come to over the last few weeks is that it's almost like I know Sawyer like I didn't know Savannah. It hits me almost every day how much I genuinely enjoy this kid and his personality and I'm having so much fun being his mom. And it takes me by surprise almost every time I think that. Not that I don't enjoy my kids in general, but I didn't get the consistent times to hang out with Savannah this way when she was this age.
I know she was every bit as cute and funny and witty and eager and sweet as Sawyer is... I just wasn't as free to appreciate it then as I have been the last few months with Sawyer. I had a newborn who morphed into a baby to chase around alongside her. The first four years of her life I also had a lot of Moving to keep me busy and preoccupied. Once a year to be precise, two of those across the country.

This is one of those times where I am so thankful I started blogging. Because Savannah was three three years ago and I don't remember everything that I want to. I didn't relish in it and cherish it like I should have. I'm so glad I wrote so much down, documented the funny things she'd say or the drawings she'd make or the struggles and victories we had parenting a three-year-old. It goes so fast, it really does. Especially faster when you're so busy with life.

So I feel like we're in a relatively calm part of life right now (knock on wood). We're not moving around, we've got a good balance of life busyness going. I don't feel like I'm documenting as much of Sawyer's antics as I did with Savannah... but I think that's because I'm appreciating it more in the here and now. I still want to write more; I want to have those written memories to look back on years from now. But I've been thoroughly enjoying having my baby boy all to myself.

It's funny how it seems to even out... I remember thinking months (years?) ago during a grocery trip with just me and Sawyer; while it was usually done with both kids- trying to juggle the shopping with keeping them both entertained and not whining and not fighting and just trying to hurry out of there- it was actually fun to go with just Sawyer. It suddenly hit me and reminded me of how many times I'd enjoyed shopping with Savannah when she was the only one (I was a secret shopper for grocery stores for a couple of years when she was little) and I felt a little guilty that I'd never thought to just take Sawyer and have the time to talk to him, to sing with him walking down the aisles, to let him have me all to himself.
How much guilt comes with the second and subsequent children about Mommy time and attention and energy???
And here I'm seeing the other side of it... it's almost gone the other way to where I get a couple of years with some Sawyer time to myself while Savannah's in school and it's at an age where I never had Savannah all to myself. Ironically, I felt often I didn't treasure Sawyer's baby time as much because I had a toddler to keep me busy and how that wasn't "fair" because I enjoyed Savannah's baby months so much and with Sawyer it seemed it flew by and I barely remember... now I realize I missed out some on Savannah's toddler/preschool age at the same time and am now experiencing being able to focus on Sawyer at this age like I wasn't fully able to having an infant around when Savannah was this age.

It almost makes me not want to throw another kid into the mix... how does that even out?? It'd be a whole new set of what comes around goes around. But I know it'll so be worth it and it'll work out to be the perfect timing for us and whoever comes along into our family. I can't wait to see who and when that is. I've been feeling anxious the past six months or so that I wanted to adopt another by now, that Sawyer is getting so old and so big and I was hoping to have already had another baby around by now.
But so I'm grateful for this time I did have to really experience my little boy for awhile :)

baby

Last weekend, while we were out at the Laughlins, Kasey wanted me to take a few pics of her big ol' belly quick before Evan arrived. We made a comical attempt at a (insert huge exaggerated quotation marks here) "maternity photo session".
I snapped a few of her and Mike, a few fun ones of the belly, and we went over to their house to get some in Evan's bedroom as well.
It was stinkin' hot outside, way dark inside, and I didn't think about bringing my flash along, so the choice pics I have are few and far between... I decided to play around with some in photoshop a bit to distract from the picture quality :)




I love this one of the kissing cousins :)























































































**********
Well we were lucky we got that one last chance to snap a few pics because guess who we got to meet last night?












































Evan Samuel Laughlin
born Wednesday May 27th
at 2:02pm
8lbs 2oz, 21.5"









and completely adorable





















with lots of hair









































(Doesn't Kasey just look amazing?!? This is just six hours after Evan was born.)
















I don't think I have to tell you, this was one happy family yesterday.
Congrats you guys! You done good!!

he's cool

We're just hanging out stayin' cool around here today...




















Apparently to stay "cool" you need to hang around in your underwear and your too big hand-me-down-from-your-sister soccer shoes without socks.
Otherwise, you just can't compete.

top ten for summer

Well with the "Kick-off of Summer" weekend behind us (although doesn't it seem so awfully early this year?!) we're ready to be in full Summer Mode around here.
Savannah still has a week of school left, and of course it's been raining since our pool opened on Saturday, but in our minds it's summer! (the heat and the humidity regardless of the rain the past few days have helped in the convincing!)

So in honor of this, for Top Ten Tuesday here are
the Top Ten Things I'm Most Looking Forward to regarding Summertime....
(in no particular order)

1. long days at the pool. Our neighborhood pool is around the corner from our house. It has been so awesome to live so close to the pool and have it be so convenient to hang out there. When the kids were littler it was nice to be able to run back and forth for snacks, meals, naps or just needing a break. Now that they're older, I'm thinking we'll be there without interruption for most of the day. Also now that they're older, I'm thinking I'll have to be less hands on and be able to spend more time at the pool lounging and reading. Oh that sounds good!!

2. tan lines and my boy's golden skin. My kids were blessed with their daddy's skin and brown up nicely without any effort at all. Sawyer's already sporting the white bum line with only one (sunscreen-filled) day out in the sun from last weekend under his belt. I just love the lightened hair/sunkissed look little kids get from so much fun in the sun and water.

3. frozen Gogurts. My kids LOVE Gogurts (you know, the portable yogurt in the tube). We never buy them except for in bulk in the summertime. And we like to keep them in the freezer. Then we grab them for the pool or a park outing and by the time we eat them they're a pefectly slushy half frozen yogurt just right for a cool snack. Mmmm. That just screams summertime to me.

4. sunscreen. I love the smell of it. We aren't hardcore users... usually just one good application at the peak times for the kids to cut down on the harmful rays. Like I said earlier, they never burn so I have to make myself remember to screen us all up. But I just love the smell and feel of it and I'd use it just for that. So summertime.

5. summer hours. Ryan's company adopts "summer hours" each year from June thru September. They (supposedly) work 9 hour days the first four days of the week and then have half days (or less) every Friday. It's so nice that he's home at noon on Fridays to start every weeekend throughout the summer. Whether we have plans in place or we're just hanging out, those slightly longer summer weekends are something we're spoiled by.

6. camping. I love everything about camping. Doesn't really matter if it's spring, summer or fall, but we usually end up in the summertime. I love how the kids love it; being outdoors, sleeping in the tent, cooking over the fire, usually with friends. So relaxing. I can't wait to get our first trip planned this year!

7. bare feet. You'd be hard pressed to find us with shoes on around here in the summertime. between the pool and the backyard, we pretty much forget what shoes are for these three months.

8. little girls in sundresses. I'm not, nor have I ever been, a girly girl when it comes to frills and dresses. And having a daughter of my own to primp and pretty did nothing to further that either. I actually try my best to steer Savannah away from the frilly and froo froo just because I don't find that cute, even on her. But there's something about a gorgeous sundress that makes me melt. Maybe it's my love affair of summer in general influencing me, but I love nothing more than a cute sundress. That's the one place I can tolerate pretty and flowers and ruffles. I wish Savannah could wear them all year long. Sundresses are just so adorable!!

9. the beach. I hope we can find the time to get to a real beach this summer. Nothing beats the sun and the sand and the surf in my book. I would spend every weekend at the beach if I could. I've always been a fan and throwing kids in the mix has only made it even better.

10. our neighborhood. If I can't spend my summers seaside, then I honestly believe this is the next best place to do it. Our neighborhood is a great place to be year round, but summer brings out the best in us. There are kids everywhere, sprinklers going, chalk drawings everywhere you look, parents always meeting up on front porches or driveways for refreshments and chatting, impromtu get togethers for backyard bbq's, pizza parties at the pool, ball games, fishing at the ponds, block parties, etc, etc. This is the kind of neighborhood that makes you want to stay home all summer. We are so thankful to live here and to really enjoy so many of the families surrounding us.


Visit OhAmanda for more Top Ten Lists.

And what has you most looking forward to summertime??

the rest of the weekend

Well, the rest of our long weekend pretty much consisted of rain.
Which on one hand was awesome; that we squeaked out such an amazing day of sun and fun just in time... but also, wasn't this supposed to be a whole "yay summer's here!" weekend?? It was still warm and humid, just wet wet wet. We still had friends over, we still grilled, the kids still played outside some (in the rain) and we still had a great relaxing weekend, even if it was sans sunshine.

Sunday we had some newer friends over. The kids had all never met before this weekend, but they hit it off beautifully and everyone had a fabulous evening. We had a lot of food, played some games and just hung out and chatted away. H and JT are a fun couple to hang out with.
For dessert we all went outside to shake up some homemade ice cream, which we like to do with the kids' friends in the summer (here's a link to a recipe for that if anyone's interested. we usually put the bag inside tupperware bowls which makes it easier for the kids to shake and not so cold on the hands!) and we added some fun toppings for the creamy yummy stuff. I also made some oreo cookie brownies. YUM.
I didn't take any pictures because all my camera cards are full and we've been having issues with our network, Ryan doesn't want me saving photos on the laptop and of course I'm lazy and don't want to deal with the extra trouble of figuring out how to work around that. So all my cards are still full and I haven't been taking more pictures. Luckily H brought her camera and she was shooting away, so hopefully she caught some of the fun.

Monday we lazed around most of the morning and then headed out to the Mills Mall for lunch, some shopping and some indoor glow-in-the-dark mini-golf. We had a lot of fun. The kids were actually very good at Putt-putt.
There was also what looked like a pick-up game of hockey down on the rink so we stopped by and watched some of that and Sawyer was thrilled.
We headed home, played outside in a break from the rain for a bit, and ended our weekend with pizza and a movie night.

We have a quiet week on tap around here I think. It's still supposed to be rainy for a few more days. Luckily the kids still have lessons at the indoor pool this week and next, so that's something to keep them occupied.
Other than that, bring on the sumertime!

take two

I cannot believe it's been two years since we first moved here and last spent a fun-filled hot summer day out in Columbia with the Laughlin family. I just cannot believe it's been that long. I cannot believe that last time Sawyer was just eighteen months old -and he's now three-and-a-half (!!). I also cannot believe it's only still May and yet it felt completely like we were in the middle of summer break!

Honestly, it felt like we were just doing that yesterday.

But it's beeen two years.
Well this weekend we had very much the same day we had back then.
Mike and Kasey's parents invited us out for a day of family fun and so we joined them along with the Indy Laughlins, as well as the third little brother David and his wife Sarah Beth (hey- I thought you guys had a blog, why can't I find it??).
Ryan went to college with all three of these guys and we love getting together with this family. The guys all played basketball or lawn games all day, us girls all sat around with our feet in the pool catching up and chatting all day, and the kids... the kids had an absolute blast all day long. Madison and Mallory are 7 and 4 and all four kids got along marvelously the whole entire time we were there. We hardly saw them; they were so busy roaming the property, splashing in the pool, spending hours on the giant slip 'n slide, playing made up games in the grass, playing withe the dogs and "fishing". (the girls had brought fishing poles to take down to the pond and while the kids didn't actually go down there, Mal taught Sawyer how to cast and by the end of the day he was a pro casting all the way across the yard -with a plastic fish on the end of his line, not a hook!. He and Mal spent hours practicing, trying to outcast each other. It was adorable. They were pretty much inseparable the whole day in general.)





























More pictures:





(sorry Kase, but you're just so cute!)




























a little dish soap makes the slipping extra slidey!














...or a lot of soap!






































































We really had such a good time. It was the perfect day to kick off the summer, with great food and great company and an all in all great day.
Thanks Laughlins, again, for adopting us as part of your family for the day and including us in your summer fun!!

outdoor-able

We've been busy outdoors.
Evidence:





















Planting, playing, cleaning, digging, trimming, sneezing, running, riding, swinging, grilling, watering, sunning, relaxing, visiting and enjoying the amazing weather.
Eighty degrees and perfect sunshine All Week Long.
We've been loving it.

Aside from my allergies hitting me hard this year.

Our pool opens tomorrow.
We're heading out to visit and bbq with the Laughlins (all of them) Saturday.
And having some friends over for our own turn on Sunday.
And who knows what Monday holds. A long weekend, that's all I know!

Happy Friday everyone :)

lazy TFT

While I've had a few TFT's I have been wanting to get out lately, I'm taking the lazy way out this morning; directing you to someone else's thoughts this Thursday.

I found this blog post very interesting and am wondering what other's takes are on it. On the whole situation and what in the world can we do about it?

So if you have a minute, go read here (read through some of the comments too!) and come back and tell me your thoughts. I'll post some of my ruminations here later.

***
Okay, so my thoughts are I really don't know what to think.
I think Sheila makes some very good points; obviously debt is becoming such a "norm" that people (young students) don't give it a second thought. You "need" to go to college, so you go -whether you can afford it or not. And I don't agree with that.

If you can't afford a college education, if you haven't earned scholarships to help, if money hasn't been saved up along the way to get you started, then I don't completely agree that the right thing to do is to go off to a four year university and rack up $100K+ in debt. Especially if you're going for some general, or "just to get a college degree" degree. I agree whole-heartedly with the post Sheila linked to in the fact that degrees are often overrated. There are definitely jobs that you need a specific education for; things like education, medicine, law, counseling, some aspects of business, etc. But there are an awful lot of jobs out there that people without the degrees can do just as well or better than the "educated" job seekers. The sad thing is the fact that everyone is so obsessed with the degree factor, that those oppotunies are rare these days.
I know many friends who don't have a degree but have worked in their field from an internship in high school and are more knowledgable and experienced than those that have. Luckily they got into their jobs before the infatuation with fancy degrees and they are making substantial salaries. If they were now where they were fifteen years ago, I don't think the proffessional world would allow them that chance. They'd have to spend the mulitple years and the tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars to even have the chance to do the same exact job they're doing extremely successfully now.
I experienced that in my job; I was a preschool teacher for almost 10 years. I don't have a degree in Early Childhood education. I got a good in with a great preschool/daycare, and eventualy wound up running my own classroom in the pre-k program, then moved on to a prestigious priviate Christian preschool. All along the way I felt pressure from my superiors to go finish my degree. They wanted me to have that certificate. I adamantly refused. I was in the same position and making the same money (and was favored by parents and coteachers as more experienced, organized and knowledgable) that other teachers in my school with the degree were... why would I take a step back and have to spend thousands of dollars and many many many hours, just to prove I know how to do the job I'm already doing? It didn't make sense to me. I had great experience, great references and a great track record. And it almost didn't matter. I think that's silly.
Also, on this point, how many people do I know that got a degree in one direction and ended up in a completely different direction when it came to their real life career?? That's what I think is even crazier... that we expect a sixteen-eighteen year old to know what they want to do with their life.... and bet $100K on it. I know some people know what they want to do and where their passions lie. But the kid who doesn't know what he wants to do, who goes into school racking up all those student loans just to get a degree in something- anything? Is that really necessary??

But I'm getting off on a tangent. This issie isn't about education vs. no education. It's about the ridiculous cost of said education. (and I know, I know, how can you put a price on the value of the experience of your college years??) But my issue is the ease with which students take that on as debt and then expect someone else to take care of it.
I think the aspect of the debt being paid off at some rate consistent with what you're actually making in the real world is a good idea. The idea of just flat out forgiving said debt? I don't agree with that.

If this is such a huge problem that people cannot afford to repay a University education and are overwhelmed by the burden of the debt, then I do not think the answer is to simply have them pay a portion of it and then be "forgiven". Shouldn't the problem just be nipped in the bud and instead of it being a loan issue, why not force the schools to lower their tuitions in the first place. It's in this that I understand where Sheila is coming from... will it take a boycott of sorts to keep university prices reasonable?? I think we all know that will never happen. It's been ingrained in us now... you need a college education. The jobs dictate that. (albeit the theoretical jobs)
So is there really nothing we can do about it? It seems like such a depressing vicous circle. And I'm afraid the cost is just going to go up phenomonally from here on out. It's just inflated insanely. I mean why does it have to cost a student over a thousand dollars a year for textbooks?? Did you know that textbook prices have risen over 186% since 1986?? For books. Crazy. And yet we still pay, because what other option is there?

Anyway. I'm just kind of rambling. I don't have any concrete thoughts on this issue or solutions. Something needs to change, that's for sure.
As for me, I do agree completely with what the original post said:
I'm not against education. My kids will go to college. But with an appropriate plan for a specific career, and when we've saved money for it or they've worked hard for scholarships. I would never let my child get a liberal arts degree going into a humungous debt with no plan.

I think it's more an issue not of shouldn't everyone have a college education, but rather who is smart enough at this point to get that education responsibly and not become part of this problem.

movin' up in the world

The world of neighborhood foursquare, that is.

Sawyer had a proud morning today... he was granted his very own square in the morning ritual of bus stop foursquare.














He's been out there for nine months "playing" with the big boys (a kindergartner, a third grader and two fifth graders). One of the older boys (or a dad) usually takes pity on him him under their wing and lets him play in their square. But really, that doesn't make for much participation for Sawyer... sometimes they'd let him serve or send a starting bounce gently his way, but mostly they just let him think he was playing. Which is probably fine for most three-year-olds.














But these morning foursquare games before the school bus comes are something Sawyer looks forward to constantly. He loves "playing" with his bigger "friends". And it is really nice they let him play along.
So Sawyer's been practicing in the driveway with us... only I was beginning to think it's just that foursquare isn't really a preschool sport. At least when a preschooler is playing with people twice his size or more! He can hit the ball surprisingly well... think about how hard that little arm has to hit to stop and return the momentum of a playground ball sailing by! But he's been working on it, perfecting his punch. The problem is his little body can't cover the square very well and it's hard for him to hit it after just one bounce because usually it's too tall for him.

Well today he proved everyone wrong.














They let him hold a spot for someone and not only was he able to return the ball when it was tossed to him, but he got someone out. I think they were underestimating him :)














He even got Big M, the usual Ace of the foursquare court, out on a great sneaker shot.




























Sawyer had his share of ins and outs, but at one point worked his way up the squares all the way to the server spot!!! (of course I didn't think to grab the camera until after that part!*)














Obviously, the boys were going easy on him, but I was quite impressed. And proud!
And smiled to myself every time they were taken by surprise (again with the underestimating) and my little boy held his own out there!














*Yes, I took pictures. How long do you think I'll get away with that before Sawyer tells me to knock off the embarrassing paparazzi mimicking while he's hangin' with his friends??

n@ked painting

We started a laundry room project this weekend. Tear out the shelf in there to add more storage and then clean up/paint the whole area.

I say laundry room, but really it's nothing more than a glorified closet that happens to hold our washer and dryer and be the passage from the kitchen to the garage. I'm trying to make it a more appealing "laundry room" plus actual storage for extra pantry items, extra craft supplies and extra cleaning products.

Like I said, it's a tight spot.
And a hassle (read: near impossible) to move the washer and dryer out, so we're working around them. We= Mostly Ryan. It was my job to clean, now he's been in there painting this evening.

In his underwear.

It's too tight to maneuver in there around the washer and dryer pulled away from the wall without possibly brushing up against the wet walls, so he claims he needed to strip down as to not get paint all over his shirt or shorts.

I threatened to take a picture.
He threatened to then take it all off and do the job as an Ancient Olympian. (apparently they competed in the nude???)

Well, I did take a picture.
(and yes, he has striped boxers on even though they're
humorously inconspicuous in this position)

He, thankfully, did not follow through with his end of the threat.

soccer

Leave it to me to not get around to posting any of Savannah's soccer pictures until the weekend of her very last game! She actually played well Saturday... I think she got in there and touched the ball more than she has in any other game. Like she's finally getting the hang of it :)
Monday evening is the big final awards celebration for the whole league and then that'll be that. I think she's ready to move on; she's had a lot of fun these past eight weeks, but not sure she's cut out for soccer. We'll see how she feels next spring.

Both kids are in swimming for the next three weeks... just enough time to get us through until our own pool opens for the summer! Woo hoo!! Well actually it'll open before that, but I'm not counting on warm enough weather to really be in there until we get into June.

Anyway.
Here's our soccer girl.
Eight weeks ago in her first game:



























































And this weekend, the girls' last game:







































































































And of course little brother had to get his mug in some shots.
He reminds me so much of Ryan in these pictures.
And it's obvious he has the squinty-eye syndrome like his daddy and his sister...
















I was reviewing these pics he snuck in on from this weekend and kept thinking how on earth did he turn into such a Little Boy?!? Gah!