WE SURVIVED!!!

I thought I posted this back in June, I guess not...

Well here we are, the other side of a 4 month long transitional move & we survived! LOL

We've been in our new house back in the town we lived in when we conceived the boys 7 years ago. So I guess that means we've come full circle...

Anyways, our closings both went smoothly, we closed on our old house the day we were scheduled to & we were able to move the closing on our new house up a few days since the boys got out of school a day earlier than expected. Everything happened so smoothly we were sure something would go terribly wrong any moment... not the case though. I think we may have had a guardian angle guiding us along the way back to where we really belonged.

I'm so in love with our new house! It really suits our needs so much more than our last house. We aren'y completely unpacked yet but mostly. We still have pictures to hang & a room to furnish but also the boys to keep entertained since it is summertime. We are getting there slowly but surely.

The boys have settled in nicely & LOVE having Grandma so close! The pups have also settled in well. Cecil Cat has also survived the moved, Murphee however decided she wasn't making the move & took up with a neighbor a few doors down. It is probably for the best since she decided she was a an indoor/outdoor cat. Our old neighborhood is complete as far as building goes & our new neighborhood still has a lot of construction going on.

We are still finding kid friendly, fun things to do here since we didn't have kids when we lived here before. Funny how your perspective changes...

So I just wanted to give a quick update now that we are mostly settled, I will get caught up on pending posts & back to regularly scheduled blogging soon.

Oh Well...

I have 7 drafts waiting to be finished & uploaded but I don't really have time for that right now.

I did want to write an update though because it's been a crazy, busy, chaotic few months!

So we are in the process of moving AGAIN!!! Definitely not my choice but...
Donna accepted a promotion. The position takes us back to Orlando. It's not a completely terrible thing. My bonus mom is there & Donna's parents are only about an hour away. The problem is, we really LOVE it here! I love the community, the proximity to everything & of course the home we built here. Also my sister is nearby & my mom & bonus dad are closer here than they will be to Orlando. This is the first place we've lived since having the boys that truly felt like home. So, while I'm happy to be moving closer to some family & friends, we are also leaving some family & friends. Bittersweet to say the least!

Donna is already working in Orlando. She started Feb 1st. The boys & I stayed behind to get the house on the market & for the boys to finish out the school year here. We gave them the option of transferring or finishing here & they wanted to stay with Ms Webber.
It's been hard being separated. We travel back & forth to Orlando most weekends so the house is free to be shown & we can all have some time together. The longer it's gone on, the harder it has gotten on the boys.

The house in under contract now & we will close in another week or so. The boys & I will finish out the last 2 weeks of school in a hotel on the beach. Not a bad deal really!
We are also under contract on a new house in Orlando & should be closing there around the end of the month.

It's really been a whirlwind of a time, getting everything ready here & there, meantime Donna is emersed in a new position, with 3 new stations. Our only saving grace is that she is able to stay with my bonus mom & she is taking great care of Donna!

That's it for now, I'll get caught up & post again probably once we are all back together again in Orlando...

Goodbye Baby Teeth...

Our baby is losing his baby teeth! Well if that doesn't concrete the idea of your child being a baby anymore, I don't know what would, lol...

About a week after the boys' first dentist visit, where the dentist didn't suspect they'd be losing their baby teeth anytime soon, Garren suddenly had a very wiggly tooth. He showed it to me at school so my first thought was that he or something hit his mouth but that sliver of a new tooth sneaking up behind his baby tooth provide different.

Garren's first wiggly tooth

It was only about a month before he had a second wiggly tooth. Luckily the other tooth from his first lost one was already in place when the second one finally, literally fell out. I'm not sure why he was so nervous to let Donna pull the second one out like she did the first when it was ready but he was & so one evening it just fell out & onto the floor. Darren realized it right away & picked it up so the Tooth Fairy could leave him a little something.

Darren's first grown up tooth & second lost tooth

Fall in Florida

Waterslide fun with Bella in October

The water may be too cold to submerge in, 

but it was perfect for splashing in & cooling off on this unseasonably warm day

4 wheeler & jeep riding afternoons

More waterslide action

Tornados, Tropical Storms, & Hurricanes...

Our little town in Northeast Florida took quite a beating this past fall. We had a tornado touch down right in the middle of town. It picked up & flipped over a tractor trailer that was driving on the main road through town, unfortunately the tractor trailer was flipped onto another car. Thankfully neither driver was injured just shaken up obviously. The tornado did quite a bit of damage in a couple of neighborhoods, an industrial park & to lots of trees. The only fatality from the tornado came in the aftermath of clean-up when a local landscaper & tree remover was crushed by a damaged tree he was removing. It was a very sad & emotional loss for the whole town.

Not too long after the tornado, Tropical Storm Hermine headed our way. School was of course canceled as the storm approached & we prepared our supplies...

One of my neighbors made this meme out of a photo of the boys, lol...

Thankfully the he only damage we sustained 

was a few pieces of roofing came off the boys' playhouse

The boys kept calm with headphones & their tablets.

They are not huge fans of thunder & lightening so when it starts we make sure these are close by!

Well we just couldn't end hurricane season without an actual hurricane!!! Hurricane Matthew paid a visit to most of the eastern coast of Florida & we were no exception! 

Donna & I have weathered our fair share of hurricanes so we know what to load up on as far as getting through the storm & what we may need after depending on the extent of damage & power loss. When trapped inside with 3 boys for & undetermined amount of time, you stock up on beer, lots of beer! You can't forget snacks & easy foods that don't require cooking & won't spoil if you lose power, peanut butter & jelly, chips, fruit, nuts, & bread. There was water & batteries & such too.

After hurricane Charlie in 2004, we didn't have power for a while. Luckily my dad kept 2 propane tanks on hand for the grill so he was able to cook & use up the meat that would have spoiled in the fridge & freezer. So I bought a couple bags of charcoal & as much ice as our freezer could hold.

supplies...

the ugly face of the storm :(

My cousin was trying to find us on the map...

not my photo but a great shot of the storm rolling in

I managed to get get dinner cooked just before we lost power for the night,

dinner by toy lantern light, lol

The boys were a little nervous about not having electricity so they all piled in our bed for the night,

Kellan burrows under the pillows & blankets to sleep, he's under there...

We worked on halloween projects to keep the boys busy inside

It was a day or 2 after the storm passed before they could get power restored & the bridge to the island opened back up. Someone local that rode out the storm on the island posted this photo from the beach. I was pretty anxious to take the boys out to treasure hunt. They are pretty obsessed with finding sharks teeth & cool shells. There is always a good bit of both along with starfish & sand dollars too left behind on the shores after a hurricane.

I was a bit surprised by what we found when we finally got out to the beach. The locals had already returned most living creatures back to the water & clean-up was well underway. I didn't expect to see most of the boardwalks in piles & telephone poles washed up on shore. There were also a lot of nails & building debris in the sand.

Luckily the sand dunes protected most of the homes in our area. We didn't suffer any damage to our house inland nor did most of our neighbors. There were lots of trees down, we lost power for 10 hours but that was minimal compared to others who were out for days. We're very fortunate to have come through one more storm unscathed & grateful for that!

First Dentist Visit

In September the boys finally had their first dentist appointments.

I honestly did try to get them in long before they were 5 years old but the stars never aligned & everytime they had an appointment something would happen... they would be sick, Donna would have a work thing she couldn't get out of, a family emergency... As it turned out, Donna got tied up at  work during this appointment but I decided to bite the bullet & took them by myself. I take the boys to many of their appointment on my own but I was hoping for back-up since this was their first time at the dentist.

The boys actually all did really well. The dentist office staff were amazing & incredibly patient. Everyone was a bit resistant but eventually came around without being pressured. The staff let them hang out for a bit, walk around & see what everyone else was having done & gently encouraged them to give it a try when they asked questions. It was an awesome experience! All 3 boys ended up having exams & even got x-rays.

Caden

Kellan

Garren

The results were all good, no cavities! The dentist said he could see the next set of teeth descending but that their baby teeth roots were still intact so he didn't think they'd start loosing teeth anytime soon. Garren will eventually need braces for his overbite, I inquired about his thumb sucking since he does it when he sleeps. The dentist said to let it run it's course, he'll quit eventually on his own. He recommended praising Garren when we notice him doing it less but not to pressure him to stop.

The boys were super excited about the goody bags they were given & are excited to go back in March!

Soccer - Fall 2016

The boys decided to give an actual soccer team a try. They had played for a noncompetitive group at their school last year. They had the skills down & were ready to put them to use on a team.

 They were hit & miss with their feelings about practices but absolutely loved playing games!

Kellan started the season a bit slow, he wasn't sure about the physical contact required to get in there & take the ball. He got the hang of it though & started scoring some goals!

Caden was totally into it too but there was a little girl on their team & if she was playing the same time as him he just ran interference for her & made sure no one ran into her or knocked her down. He mostly just wanted to run anyways & didn't care much about the ball or scoring.

Garren was really into it in the beginning & did well keeping up with the ball & scoring, his love of the game was short lived though & he decided he didn't like running all the time. We asked him at one point if he was having fun playing soccer, he answered "No but I'm really good at it so my team needs me." LOL!!! At least he realized his commitment & carried through with it, lol.

All 3 of the boys did finish the season. Our only request is to give whatever they decide to try one entire season before deciding if they like it or not.

After the season ended we asked who wanted to sign up for the spring season. Kellan was the only one that wanted to play again. Garren wanted to sign back up for T-ball & Caden is holding out for football.

Hello Again!

Hi!

So it's been a while...

Who knew the boys starting school wouldn't give me a ton of free time but instead a busy schedule & somewhat of a life outside of my home?!

My intentions were not to stop blogging, quite tho opposite really but here I am 5 months later, finally sitting down at my computer, logged into blogger & on a holiday, so the boys are home destroying the family room with legos as I type...

Well, I think I left off with the boys getting ready to start kindergarten. They half half a school year under their belts now & are doing fantastic!!! Darren is the same girl obsessed social butterfly he has always been. Caden is only slightly shy anymore & LOVES his classmates & his teacher! Kellan is a totally different kid than he was last year! He LOVE LOVE LOVES his teacher & going to school (if you don't recall or are new here, he had to be peeled from my leg, screaming, every.single.day last year) This year I pull in to the car lane, open the door & away they all go happily. It's such a relief!

Meet the teacher day

Backpacks

One of the boys' school supplies...

First day of Kindergarten

Already loving their teacher

Caden

Kellan

Garren

Academically the boys are doing great! They've gotten 2 report cards now & have all E's with the exception of S's in handwriting. I can't really complain about that. They are doing well conduct wise too.

Kellan had one little hang up at the very beginning of the year, he didn't like the noise in the car rider room at the end of the day. He's always been sensitive to certain sounds & the static of the walkie talkies was too much for him. He broke down in class one afternoon & told his teacher he couldn't go there anymore. My poor baby, she worked him through it but called me immediately after school to work out a plan. I had signed up to volunteer in the class already, so we worked out a schedule that would allow me to be there at the end of the day, making it possible for me to walk out with the boys instead of sitting in the car line waiting for them & them going to the car rider room. It's been a win/win/win for all of us.

Ms Webber's Birthday

Volunteering at the end of each day has made me room mom/party coordinator by default, lol... There are 2 other moms that volunteer too but one substitute teaches also & the other has 3 kids in 2 different schools so she rotates between them each week. They are my right hands when it come to parties though! I love the daily interaction with the boys' class this year & the constant feedback from their teacher, who's become a good friend. It has made me consider substitute teaching myself, but we will see what the coming year holds...