Cole's Shots

Every time I look at this child, I just quite frankly can't believe that he is only 3 1/2!  He's so grown up, but still my little cuddle bug.  

Summie Lou's Dress-Up Pictures



Here are Summie Lou's individual shots.  Is it any surprise that her favorites are the pink & purple ones?  She was so excited about all the headbands and hairclips that she got to wear.  Doesn't the umbrella make an adorable backdrop to her close-up shots?  

New Pictures - Sibling Love

A couple of weeks ago, the Summer & Cole had pictures taken at daycare.  I have stopped ordering pictures from school, because the previous company made you choose your package prior to the photos being taken.  At this age, that just doesn't work for me.  You never know what child is going to appear when the photos are taken. 

This photographer was completely different.  I didn't have to send the kids to school looking spiffy!  The photographer was bringin all sorts of "dress-up" clothes and props.  I didn't have to worry that their hair was just right and if it would stay just right!  The teachers were doing their hair for the photos.  The photos went by class and my kids were not taken until Thursday.  However the room of props and costumes was set up all week.  From walking by the room every day, the kids were SO excited for their turn!  I really think that was a MAJOR part of why they got so many AMAZING shots!  I hope you agree.  Here are the together shots.  I will post their separate poses tomorrow.  

Family & Friends... I have a disk of all of the images, so please let me know if there is a particular pose that you would like a copy of and what size.  

Finishing up March and Kick Starting April

Okay... well March month certainly threw me for a major loop! Here is what I got accomplished this month...
1) Continue Progress on Clothing - So I did fabulously well on my consignment sale.  I went through all of the summer clothing and sorted out what will fit this year, tagged what was in sell able condition and donated what wasn't.  I left with an SUV full of stuff and came home with one small bin. 
My washer was broken for a week and a half and when it was fixed, I was unable to lift for the remaining 2 weeks of the month.  My mother-in-law really stepped in and saved the day, taking wash to her house to keep me on track.  I still can't carry the wash up and down, but as long as Jim takes it down for me I am able to keep up for the most part. 
Still no under control, but I'm making progress!
2) Cook at least 3 nights per week - Um... a big, fat NO.  Towards the end of the month, I had many wonderful people bringing me meals as I recovered from my surgery, but for the rest of the month... NO.
3) Read a book - Well... I finished the book that I've been working on for awhile.  I kind of thought I would have plenty of time while recovering to read a lot.  Well I didn't anticipate being so extremely tired... I'm talking almost comatose for most of the first week.

April Goals...
1) Organize my pantry, linen closet & play room.  I've never been a neat freak, but I'm trying to get better. 
Playroom: I'm slightly cheating because my mother-in-law and I started the play room last Thursday.  We sorted out every single toy (which had been amassed into huge buckets of mishmosh) into small categorized bins.  I still have to sort through the clothing down there as to what needs to be purged and what needs to be washed and find a home.  I also have some boxes of stuff that were stored from the first floor renovations to find homes.  And some other odd jobs.  I should have taken before pictures, but quite frankly I'm not willing to post how bad it looked.  I will however post pictures if I get it completely this month.
Pantry: I actually did the entire inside of the closet today (which counts since it is April 1st!).  I still have the shoe organizer that I have hanging inside the door for miscellaneous junk drawer items to go through and organize, but looking good so far.  I can actually see everything in it, instead of having things thrown all over!
Linen Closet: This is kind of in the state that the pantry started today.  Things thrown all about.  I hope to empty, purge, organize by the end of the month. 
2) Stick to my diet plan -  I've never been one to diet much, but since my recent gallbladder issues began have been toying with seeing a nutritionist.  One had been advertised in my general practitioners office so I decided to call last week. After having your gallbladder removed, although some have no dietary restrictions, your body can have problems processing too much fat in your diet.  Your liver takes over this job for the gallbladder, but can have trouble breaking down large amounts.  I am having this problem, and I was needing some help with figuring out the right amounts.  I made an appointment and really loved her!  She was extremely helpful and has put me on a plan.  I'm hoping to stick with the plan (90% of the time).  It's going to be tough, so I'm giving myself some leeway.
3) Create a new morning routine - I am happy to announce that beginning next Monday, my husband will be working 8:30-5pm for the first time since we've known each other.  I am so excited that he will actually be home 2-2.5 hours earlier EVERY night!  The only complicating factor to this (which I am not complaining about) is that we need to adjust our morning routine.  Jim didn't have to leave until 9am in the morning, so this gave us a little flexibility with getting the kids ready and dropping them at daycare.  We also have gotten severely off of our normal schedule since I've been off of work for 2 weeks.  The kids have actually be sleeping in until 7:30-8am which is later than we will need to be leaving the house. 
Wish me luck!