2/5/2017

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We had a pretty uneventful weekend, which is just the way we like it nowadays!!  With so much sickness (flu) going around we haven’t been going out much anyway!

Biscuit is fitting into the family super well, and is doing super awesome on her potty training!!  She’s a super smart dog with a ton of energy so Wyatt and I are getting in some good exercise daily with her walks! (Well, I am anyway!)  Checkers is not as into the new arrival, but she tolerates her unless Biscuit gets too close and then Checkers gives her a thumping. LOL!

Let’s see, some “Mom Problems” I’m currently working on:

Tatum: Bedtime is still a challenge, though she doesn’t complain at all about GOING to bed, nor does she typically cry.  It’s mostly a self-made solo party in her bed complete with talking stuffed animals, talking to herself, trying to sneak out of bed to “read” books, etc.  If she didn’t keep herself up until between 10 and midnight it wouldn’t really be an issue, but it’s something we’re currently trying to improve!

Wyatt is really enjoying learning to eat “real” food and has developed a love affair with purees of any kind.  I also just started letting him watch a little “Baby Einstein” today and he really seems to enjoy that.  He is SUPER close to crawling, just hasn’t QUITE figured out the mechanics of it all yet!

I managed to get the pantry cleaned out today, and for a Monday I’ll take that little achievement.  ha!

Wow, it has been a LONG time…..

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So, like almost everything I start with good intentions, this blog has gone by the wayside. LOL!  So sue me, I have a commitment problem. =)

Let’s see….  The Stay at Home Momming thing is going pretty smooth!  Of course, I have the threenager in daycare still so technically I only have Wyatt and myself to care for, but still, I’m feeling fairly good about it.  Ha!  I have dinner on the table, laundry done, bills paid, and even still have time to crank out my crafts AND I’ve started a new booth at The Hilltop Cottage in Sunnyvale!  If you live locally, you NEED to go check that place out, it’s super cute and the owners are AMAZING people!  Love them!

Wyatt is now almost 7 months old!!  Can you believe it??  Time flies by so fast!  Tatum continues to both completely entertain and completely frustrate me with her antics, but I’m guessing that’s just what being a Threenager is all about.  I’m getting ready to read a book recommended to me by a friend, “1-2-3 Magic”, and I’m hoping that will give me some insight on how to curb some of her more….. undesirable behaviors.  The other issue we’re having right now is potty training.  She was doing AMAZING for 5-6 weeks and all of a sudden she has absolutely no interest in using the potty anymore.  She’ll still go #2 in the potty probably 95% of the time, but peeing happens anywhere and everywhere and no matter what I try I just get “It’s ok, Mommy, I’m not potty trained”.

Cue beating my head against a wall….  *sigh*

The other nightmare we’re having right now is bedtime.  I’ve tried just about everything there too and am hugely unsuccessful.  She doesn’t cry or scream or any of that, she just plays by herself in her bed….. for HOURS after we put her to bed.  It doesn’t seem to affect her if I take her animals away, or threaten anything else for that matter, even if I follow through.  Someone tell me this is a phase and it will end.  I’ll give you cookies.

My eyes have improved, I started immunosuppressants beginning of December, and had a checkup last Friday.  He was really pleased with my progress, and I’VE been really pleased that my eyesight has started clearing up and my headaches are coming now few and far between….  YAY!!!  The immunosuppressants are a little scary, but hopefully I’ll only be on them for a year and then they’ll wean me off and see if my immune system can reset itself.  Time will tell, I guess.  I did end up totally embarrassing myself today as I went to get my CBC/Chem Panel drawn (to make sure the drugs aren’t wrecking my liver among other issues) and for the first time in years I passed out while getting my blood drawn….. TWICE.  Super embarrassing because I had taken Baby Wyatt with me and one poor nurse had to look after him while the other one tried to keep me from falling out of the chair both times.  UGH.  I seriously thought I was past that, but I guess not.  =(  I probably wouldn’t have passed out the second time but the person taking my blood decided to launch into the gory story of why she hates the dentist as I was coming around from the first time and that just did me in a second time.  =(  I’m such a weenie.

Some good news though, (though if you’re on my facebook or instagram at all, you already know this), we’re getting a puppy!!!  Her name is Biscuit and she comes home TOMORROW.  She’s an 8 week old Border Collie puppy and I couldn’t be more excited!  Tatum is pretty amped up about it too, and I plan to use them both to wear each other out!  One of Tatum’s “chores” is going to be to “help” me with the evening walk, and also help me with her evening feeding and potty times.  I’m hoping the sense of responsibility will help her with her little hard-headed phase she’s going through.  She does love to help, so I think she’s going to really enjoy having some little jobs to do.

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How can you not go nuts over that cute little face?? (pictured at 6 weeks)

We also finished off the fireplace and tiling projects and I can’t get over how amazing our house looks.  Of course, it’s now COVERED in toddler and baby toys and whatnot, but hey, living the dream right?  Of course we are.  =)  Two kids, a dog, and a cat.  Isn’t that the “All-American Family?”  =P

More to come tomorrow after I pick up Miss Biscuit!  And I hope to keep this a tad more updated now, but we’ll see how that goes….  LOL!

 

9/23/17

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Whew!!! Happy Saturday!!!

Tatum had a super full awesome day of playing with her friends!! Dance class was a total bust again, we didn’t even get in the door before the sob-fest started. So no more of that! If anyone is looking for dancewear I have a full set of 4T plus tap and ballet shoes in a toddler size 9 to sell you on the cheap! *sigh*

After that we met up with her friend Claire and her parents at Park In Play. I love that place, and Tatum adores just running wild and crazy in there! They played super well together, and then they were so cute together at lunch too! Claire was Tater’s very first friend at her new school and she really loves playing with her!

After nap Layla came over while her mom had her bridal portraits done and those two played HARD for hours while the men watched football. 🙂 They had an absolute blast!!!

Of course getting Tatum wound down to go to sleep was a challenge, but hopefully she’ll sleep late tomorrow! Lol! I don’t really have any plans besides emptying the bottom cabinets and the pantry in the kitchen in prep for the tile so who knows what we’ll get up to?!?

Wyatt and I took a selfie at Park In Play…. I don’t think he’s as in to the selfies as Tatum was! 😜

9/20/17

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Let’s see, biggest news first… apparently the Pars Planitis is flaring back up again.  I’m really disappointed/discouraged because it’s only been a month since I got cleared after an entire month on hardcore steroids.  So I have another month of hardcore steroids to look forward to.  =(  The good news is they don’t know why I’m having problems with this as all my blood tests came back negative, so at least it’s not something BAD, but it seems to like to pop up when I really NEED my vision to be clear and not have a splitting migraine for days on end.  Oh well, back to the sweat fest that is steroids….  =(

The home reno project is coming along.  The fireplace is looking AWESOME, I can’t wait to post pics of it with the crown molding we’re currently doing up top.  Once this thing is painted and the stone is put it it’s going to look freaking amazing.  Wade is a serious genius.  The tile was supposed to be delivered today, but apparently the delivery guy decided to stack one pallet of it on top of the other, took a corner too fast, and the top pallet came crashing off of it and was completely destroyed.  Then they had to go get another pallet to replace that from another store…. THEN they apparently put all three pallets in the back room of the store and forgot to deliver it.  *sigh*  Ugh.  So SUPPOSEDLY the tile will get delivered tomorrow, but we’ll see.  We’re still on track to start install on Monday the 25th, and my next couple days will be clearing out all the stuff in the pantry, hall closet, and the stuff in the hutch and island so we can move all this furniture out of here.  Seriously, it’s like moving.  I hate moving. =/

I did manage to convince Wade that since we were moving the stove out of the kitchen ANYWAY to tile underneath it that I needed a new stove.  =)  I went out and bought a beaut today and I can’t wait for it to be delivered!  =P

The kiddos are doing great!  Tatum is doing AWESOME with her potty training.  The second we took the pressure off and decided we didn’t care and she could go at her own pace was the second she started being stellar at it!  She even asked to go to the potty tonight out at a restaurant and we had our first #2 away from the house/school.  Woot!!!  We may get her out of pull-ups yet!

We’re still struggling through the formula thing with Wyatt but it’s getting better and he’s still growing so I’m trying not to obsess over it as much as I have been.  My SIL says “Watch the baby, not the oz” and our pediatrician says the same.  That’s tough for me, but I’m trying!  Maybe he just has a better metabolism than the average baby?  =)

Some pictures to round out my post!  Enjoy!

OH! I almost forgot, made this “Inside Out Stuffed Pepper” recipe last night and it was super simple and VERY good!  I added Italian Seasonings to mine and a little extra tomato sauce, but it was Hanchar Fam approved, even by Tatum!!!

9/17/17

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It’s crunch time y’all!! We’re on a mission to get this fireplace mostly finished in the next couple days as we still have to clear out/move all the furniture in the main living areas, the island out of the kitchen, clear out the pantry and hall closet, take down all the pictures on the walls, and rip up all the baseboards throughout. Whew!! Tile starts Monday the 25th and should take about a week!

I’m ready to be done with this project. I am so over carpet. 😂

9/7/17

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So somewhere along the line the home remodel project of replacing the carpet in the main areas with wood-look tile has now turned into all that PLUS a complete fireplace renovation.  LOL!

Wade is going to completely revamp the mantle, add wood trim and stone to the bottom, and shiplap (yes, I’m a shiplap lover) to the top.  We’ll also add custom built-ins to that funny little indent to the left of the fireplace!  Really looking forward to our “new” living areas!

So for comparison, here’s some “before” pictures of the house! Some of the walls are kind of plain as we’ve already started to remove pictures and furniture in prep for the tile work in a couple weeks. =)

9/4/17 Labor Day

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I haven’t posted much lately, but all this weekend we’ve been in the throes of potty training and while the first day went relatively well, the last couple days have been meh… I swear this kid will never get potty trained, she just doesn’t seem to care when she goes on herself. It’s the total opposite of the way I thought she would be. I guess I’m just going to send her to school tomorrow with extra clothes and see what happens! Man, toddlers are tough!!!

We saw lots of friends this weekend! Cory, Emily, Landon, and Logan came over today and the kids had a blast!!! Yesterday we saw Claire and her family at their house, and Saturday morning we met some new friends at our neighborhood park!

We also put Tatum’s dollhouse together on Sunday, what a crazy cool gigantic toy that is!! She loves it!

Looking forward to some time with just Wyatt home tomorrow! 😜 I still need to get over to Lonestar, Stacie and I had a GREAT first month there especially considering it was only open half the month! I’m hoping the momentum continues!

Some pics from this weekend:

8/23/2017

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Wyatt turned two months old yesterday, and he had his 2 month appointment with the pediatrician today!  He’s gained some good weight, but still isn’t really eating as much as the doc thinks he should per day.  At least he’s gaining weight!

His Two Month Stats:

-11 pounds, 5 ounces (25th percentile)

-23 inches tall (48th percentile)

-41 cm head size (94th percentile, the Ukranium is strong with this kid!)

He also got three shots which have made him feel pretty crappy this evening.  He’s been fussy but mostly just wants to sleep, and he’s not eating much today either.  Hoping he’ll perk up some tomorrow – just feel really bad for him. =(

In other news, we picked out a wood-look tile for our house today!!  It’s the one in the bottom right two pictures.  We started with 6 different options we’d picked out and fairly quickly narrowed it down to two, then we actually managed to both agree on which one out of the two we liked the best.  That doesn’t always happen!  =)  Now we just have to buy the tile and find a good tile guy to install!  We’re going to put it in the living/dining, kitchen, foyer, down both hallways, the guest bathroom, and the laundry room.  Eventually we’ll put it in the master bathroom/closet but we’re going to just buy the tile for that and wait until we have the master bathroom remodeled.  Doesn’t make sense to put the tile in there now and then have it get messed up when we do a total redo of that bathroom.  I’m really excited, I think it’ll look really awesome (and hold less allergens for the kids!)

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Tater took a trip to Home Depot with Daddy this evening after school.  She announced that this storage shed was “Her Farm” and had a blast exploring it.  I’m sure the Home Depot people were thrilled to have a threenager running through their displays, but hey, that’s what happens when you leave Daddy in charge. *grin*

8/21/17

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More pictures!!

Let’s see, my day in order of pictures:

I attended Baby Boot Camp for the first time today in an effort to look less like I’m still 5 months pregnant. After today I’m really regretting letting myself go between babies. Man, am I painfully out of shape!! At this point I’m coming to dread hearing these exercise terms like “Burpees” and whatnot, but I’m sure if I stick with it it’ll get easier. I’m hoping anyway! Anyway, I got there early and had a little fan section of brewery cats to play with. They stayed pretty interested in me and my towel and stroller the whole time. Lol!! BBC was held at a brewery which I find ironic, but it was actually a really nice, low-key location and the ladies in class were very nice!

The flower is from my turmeric plant that I got from a gardening friend last year! I’m super happy it bloomed, and that means it’s apparently happy where I put it!

Of course the big news of the day was the eclipse. I didn’t manage to get any good photos myself so all of these are photos I stole from friends!! Really cool to see in person, and it looks like we’ll have a total eclipse here in Dallas in several years! The kids will be old enough for that one and I think it’ll be really neat!!

Finally my “Sun’s Out, Guns Out” photo of Wyatt. =P I really love that photo of him. Lol!!

8/19/17

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I’m just going to start with the pictures since I know that’s all anyone ever looks at anyway lol!

Had a pretty good day today!! Started the day with something exciting that I can’t talk about right now but it’s pretty big/good news from our perspective. We took Tatum to the grand opening event at Lonestar Mercantile this morning and MAN what a crowd!! Stacie and I had pretty good sales today and I’m excited for what is hopefully to come from the booth there!

After nap we had Avery’s third birthday party and Tatum had a blast! She loves playing with her friends! ❤️ Can’t wait for Tatum’s pony party next month, I think all the kiddos will flip over that one!!

Tomorrow we’re headed to the flea market for our monthly pony ride and kettle corn and then not really sure what we’ll do after that besides dinner with the fam! Hope everyone is having a great weekend so far!!