Home Sweet Home or as the kids call it...The Pool House!!

We bought a house...our very own Home Sweet Home!  So excited and a little nervous all mixed into one. 

Finally, after making an offer on July 5th, we closed Sept 12th!!  Buying a house is a long, drawn out process(at least for us) and I didn't like it one bit.  The reward at the end was however wonderful. We have a house, a room for each kid and bonus...it has a pool!!

The house is pretty much move in ready, rooms all painted(although not my favorite colors but livable), a brand new remodeled kitchen, a finished basement so Paul can finally put his pool table back up and a pool to boot!!  Living in Kansas though we only got to use the pool a couple of times before it started cooling down.  However this is Kansas and the weather has been pretty crazy in the midwest the last few years so who knows, we could be swimming in December!! 

Now that things have finally slowed down(its been a little busy for me lately), maybe I'll finally get caught up with my blogging!  Thanks for the support!!



 

Leaving On A Jet Plane(or driving a Cadilac) to Memphis

So remember a month or so ago I posted about being home alone while Paul was out of town for the weekend and it was a trial run for when he had to leave for work training??  Well that day has come, he left Monday night to drive to Memphis with a couple of coworkers.  Sad that he left but happy cause his trip isn't going to be as long as originally planned.

Tuesday was the first whole day alone and I did absolutely nothing.  It felt good to relax and not have the house to worry about.  I didn't clean, pick up anything, or wash a single dish.  It was pure bliss(although I did feel a little bad at the end of the day since I hadn't accomplished anything).

Wednesday I went to my mother's around 10am.  We went swimming, shopping and just hung out for a little bit.  After that I went to my father's where I had an awesome dinner that my stepmom cooked.  My sister even came over to see me, or rather to see Kaden but that's all good.  I know she still loves me, I'm just not as cute as Kaden!!  It was nice not to be home, for it made the day go by really fast. 

Today...today my man comes home!  I'm excited to see him as I know he's excited to see me(and I know you read this so if your not then you better act like it...jk).  Luckily the house is pretty clean, and I already did the dishes this morning so all that's left is to shave my legs!!  And get your minds out of the gutter, its 90 degrees out and I want to put on shorts not wear pants(and maybe for him a little but really for me).  Hopefully he wont be too tired when he gets home so I can spend a little "time" with him before he crashes for the night then has to get up and work a 12hr shift tomorrow.

Welcome home babe, I love you!!

Ahh...fresh air...mixed with a little cow sh*t

So Friday night we drove overnight(cause an 8hr drive with sleeping kids is awesome) to Minnesota to visit my mans family for the weekend.  We arrived around 530am, socialized for about an hour before leaving the kids with grandma and auntie Rosie so we could catch some zzzz!!

 

I love going to the farm, there's always something going on and the kids have a blast.  They also get to learn things a lot of kids never even get exposed too.  They help feed the chickens, the baby cows, the dogs.  They ride out into the field to help herd the cows in for milking.  They get to ride along in the tractors and climb into the wagons full of corn. 

 

 



I haven't been able to help(gotta learn first) out too much, I was pregnant when I started going to the farm and now Kaden is 3 months so I take him out and around the farm in the carrier but that still limits me to what I can do to help.  I did get to learn how to drive a snowmobile this past winter and my goal for this summer is to learn to drive a tractor.  My "brother in law" says he's going to teach me to rake hay.  That should be interesting, me driving a tractor in circles around the field.

 

 

 

I love taking pictures of all the building, some still being used others not so much.  And let's not forget the smell...good ole cow sh*t.  Gotta love it(or hate it, that's your choice), but I love it.  Maybe not the actual smell of sh*t but the fresh air mixed with the animals.  I might have grown up in the city but I'm a country girl at heart

 

Schools Out For Summer(singing like Alice Cooper)

Now that pre-school is over, summer finally begins!  So after reading all these thing that people are doing with their kids this summer I decided to make a summer bucket list.  A family one full of fun things for us to try and do, and some learning activities for the kids to help prepare for kindergarden and preschool next year!!

Family Bucket List
1. Camping-start with one night maybe in the backyard and see how the kids do
2. Zoo-lots of cool things to see there
3. Pool on those hot hot days
4. Slide-n-slide
5. Parks-to tire them out so I can rest :)
6. Art projects
7. Make kid gardens(each have their own pot to take care of)

8. Crown Center(aquarium, Lego, the fountain)

Rylan's Bucket List
1. Learn to ride bike without training wheels
2. Tie own shoes
3. Read the clock
4. Write full name on own
5. Flash cards(spelling, numbers, etc)
6. Help put laundry away

Lilly's Bucket List
1. Write name on own
2. Flash cards(spelling, numbers, etc)
3. Sleep in underwear all night
4. Help put laundry away

I'm sure I'll add to the list over the next few weeks as I play on Pinterest and find more things for the kids to do and feel free to comment and leave suggestions!!

Time to cuddle

I love days like this...especially when Paul is out of town.  Yes Kaden is only 7 1/2 weeks old but he's pretty independent already(like his mama) except at night.  He's loves to cuddle at night but during the day a whole other story.  

Kaden loves his play mat(my favorite thing I have for him), bouncer, and swing.  During the day he spends a great deal of time looking in the mirror on his mat making faces at himself and talking.  He does like when I sing to him(no matter if its patty cake or a song on pandora)!!  

However today is different.  He's all cuddled up against my chest just talking and looking at me.  We blow bubbles together, makes faces at each other and talk pretty much about everything.  Well I talk he just kinda stares at me.  

I know these moments won't last forever so I plan on cherishing the ones I have.  He's my baby boy and always will be no matter how old he gets I will always remember these days.  

Home Alone...Take 1

I've always been an independent person, cherishing my time alone when needed. However someone once told me that would change when I met the right person.  I've had roommates and I've lived with boyfriends but still needed my time to myself...until now!!

I moved in with my boyfriend last August and since then we have not been apart...until last night.  Sure we're apart during the day for long stretches at a time. He's even fallen asleep with one of the kids from time to time but I know he's in the house so I don't feel alone!  He flew to Wisconsin yesterday for 2 days to visit a friend and our home has never felt so quiet. 

I'm using this time as a practice home alone run for when he has to leave town for a week in June and Sept for work.Not really looking forward to those weeks but I know I can handle it. Thanks to technology we can call, text and even facetime now.  So even though I can't see him until tomorrow I get to see him.  I'm still independent but I've learned that you can be independent and still be with someone you love.  You as a couple learn to do things together but with your own twist on it that's just a little different from your partner.  Got to keep things interesting and your partner always on their toes excited about what's to come!! 

My (not) Average Morning

My average day starts whenever my son Kaden decides to wake up which is anywhere from 5a-7a!!  Since he's usually in our bed after his 2-3am feeding(and yes I know it's starting a bad habit) I usually try to get him to sleep a little longer and when that doesn't work I roll my eyes at him thinking its way too early to be up.  Funny thing is before him I got up at 3am to be at work at 4am.  After laying there for another few minutes we get out of bed and make our way to the other room where he goes to his playmate while I go to the kitchen to make my chai latte, best drink ever and which I can now make from the comfort of my house thanks to Costco.

Today was a little different, Kaden was upset and nothing was calming him down.  I tried rocking, patting his back, more boobie juice but no go on it all.  Finally took him to the livingroom and turned on the tv and silence.  He's happy, should have known since he's my child.  I'm still not happy about being up so early but he's happy and that's what really matters.  But what really makes it worth while is after about 30 minutes he laid his head on my arm and cuddled in for some more sleep!  Mornings like this will never get old! 

Cherish the one on one cuddle time cause from what I've been told it won't last forever.

The Beginning...

This being my first post I'll tell you a little about myself.  My name is Ingrid and I live with my boyfriend Paul.  He has 2 kids, a 4yr old named Rylan and a 3yr old named Lilly.  In February we had a son together.  His name is Kaden, and like every mother I think he's the cutest thing ever.  I grew up in the Kansas City area and went to KU.  Although I didn't finish college, I learned a lot of things and met many great friends.  

Friends and family are very important to me.  My family is very extended and thanks to Facebook I'm able to keep in touch with most of them.  Paul's family is in Minnesota so we try to visit them as often as possible.  I'm sure I'll write many stories about our adventures in the north.  

I love crafting, organizing and taking care of my family.  It's my job and I love it.  I like trying new things and sharing the results with friends and family so I figured why not share it with everyone else too.  I hope everyone enjoys my posts, please feel free to leave comments about things I post and I'll try to answer.