Mr. Teague One-On-One

I had to jot down some of the sweet moments I get to share with Teague.  He is quite a character at just three years old.  I love the moments we get while the kids are at school and between. Our afternoon routine is potty, books and cuddle until this little guy falls asleep.  We always have a fun conversation. 

Today I asked him to get his books ready and I would meet him in his room.  He called to me to let me know he had his books.  When I came into his room, he was sitting by his bed with a blanket and a pillow.  No books.  I asked him if he had his books, he said, "No," with a big smile.  I asked what I was going to read to him.  He responded with the great smile and giggle, "Just kidding.  They are right here," behind his back.  We laughed.  I sat down beside him to read and he said, "Wait, Mom."  Then he got a pillow for my back and a blanket for my lap.  What a gentlemen.  I told him he was a gentlemen and he said, "No, just Teague."  He says that all the time if we say he is silly, handsome, etc.  What a good kid.

Later I was cooking dinner, Teague came and stood by my side.  He looked up at me with puckered lips.  He just wanted a kiss and went on with his play. 

I was wrapping up dinner and Teague stood next to me on the stool.  He said, "Mom, you're pretty.  I love you."  Sweetest thing!

I love these kids!  What a blessing they are.  Each of them touches my heart every day in one way or another.  Teague was on a roll today. 

What October Brought

October was a slightly dreaded month.  David was on Liver rotation.  These are sick kiddos, so the hours and know how are intense.  In the middle of that, he had his Pediatric boards to take.  Not a small task.  There were several, well most, nights we set a plate for David.  Then we ended plastic wrapping it and putting it in the fridge until he got home.  At the beginning of the month, our microwave broke (the one that came with the house over the stove).  Fortunately for David's dinners that had to be heated up almost every night, we kept our quirky one that works beautifully. 

 

We survived by a few methods: 1. I quit checking my phone for messages around dinner time that said David was on his way home.  That way, if he made it...we would be pleasantly surprised.  If not, we were sitting around watching the clock and causing grief. 2. I played a lot more music while getting dinner ready.  Sounds funny, but it helped my sanity.  3. Lots of prayers.  4. Very understanding kids and husband.  4. Lots of activities going on!! 5. The beautiful weather changes we have experienced.

 

Lego Table

From $5 Coffee table I picked up from a curb sale to a Lego table.

(Insert before picture here...when I find it, oops!) FOUND! 11/2/13



After thoroughly sanding. 

 Probably more thorough than needed since I wasn't refinishing it with a natural color.  I was experimenting with the sander for future projects.  It was also a dark paint.  Nice design comes through.

Family Outing at the Museum

We usually pass up museum or zoo passes.  There weren't any other deals or very many freebies, so I broke down and got a museum pass.  Our family no longer has anyone underage (free), so the museum pass pays for itself in one and a half visits.  David wasn't so sure about my purchase.  I made this decision on my own.  We went and he agreed I made a good decision.  It helps that the museums are in an old train station.  He turned into a big kid and loved it just as much!  We love the museums. Our kids are starting to vary in interest, so it is more challenging to keep everyone in one place and happy.  Different attention spans or levels of interest.  It was a great weekend!

Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time

A few days last week I woke up with an attitude to make it a great day.  My thought was, "today will be gone tomorrow...how are you going to make it count?"  By Friday evening I was ready for Sunday to start anew.  I obviously didn't hold tight to my optimistic attitude. 

Number 5

We are welcoming our fifth blessing to the family in January 2013.  We were able to see picutures of this sweet, healthy little baby at 20 weeks.  Taylin and Cohen were at school, but David was able to join me along with Teague and Kennedy.

 This little one will be a tiebraker: 3 boys or 3 girls?

Perspective

After Cohen had been awake for a little bit, I guess he had taken a gander in the mirror (which is hard for the kiddos to do here...they are all so high).  He came down with what most refer to as bedhead and said, "Look, the bed fixed my crazy hair today!" He did so with his dimple smile.  Sure love Mr. Cohen and his perspective.

We are adjusting here.  Most everything is unpacked.  We finally opened up the boxes of decorations a week ago and we hung most of them this weekend.  The basement and a search for a few furniture pieces is all we have left.  We have made it one month.  This single month feels like two months worth crammed into a one.  David finished his first month/rotation.  It is supposedly the easier months, with the exception of elective months.  Knowing that, I had to seriously lower my expectations for the first year.  The simpler month was wild.  He would leave before 6AM and return around 7PM (that means late dinners if we wait).  We do get him home in the evenings, that is a positive.  We are all on summer schedules, which means we stay up until the dusk of the day.  Here is 9PM at the earliest.  Waiting for David to have dinner isn't that big of a deal.  We usually eat around 5:30/6PM, so it has been an adjustment to eat a little later.  This won't work when school starts in two and a half weeks.  He is also on call two times a week.  He works (meaning goes into work) only 6 weekends this year.  Which is huge compared to how many weekends he pulled the last 4 months of residency.  One of those weekends happened to be the first month.  Perspective: one down, wahoo or what a full month! 

New Spaces

The monkeys all in a bed (on a mattress) for the last few nights in Phoenix.

 Teague shared with whomever would let him squeeze in.  His crib mattress sprung a spring, so it was sent to the garbage. 

Move Cross Country

I think I am into the swing of living and not just moving.  It has taken me a while to want to post.  One, I felt like it was never ending and two, it is a bit emotional to think about (and a third, this is a new computer that I am getting use to).  Some day, hopefully our next move, we will move into a place and people won't ask how long we will be in x location.  If they do, I will answer indefinitely! 

This move was rough for a handful of reasons (Please don't feel bad for me/us.  We really are enjoying ourselves and the journey.  Rough is a true and honest feeling at times of being out of our comfort zone.).  When we moved three years ago it was emotional because we were moving so far from family.  We were excited and slightly unsure of what was in our future for the next three years.  Little did we know we would over look the brown landscaping (and actually find beauty in the green there was) and love Phoenix.  The weather was great year round.  Most of all *edit the tears here* we added to our family with great friends; along with the ones we were able to have with us from medical school nearby, the Cervantes and Chapmans!   David had a positive experience from his training at Phoenix Children's Hospital.  With added relationships the strings are now tied to Texas and Arizona.  To avoid a flood in our new home I can't elaborate much more. I might sneak some of the greatness in.  It was that good and that hard to leave. 

Secretariat Family Movie

We watched "Secretariat" as a family.  Some fun things came out of it as we watched. 

1. A character on the movie said, "Give my regards to..."  Cohen then asked, "Are regards cigarettes?" *chuckle, chuckle*
2. The scene was talking about naming the horse Big Red.  Teague then said with a face in intense thought, "If I have a horse...I am going to name him...Pappy, yah Pappy."  Cute!
3. Diane Lane's character, Penny reminded us of my mom:

We kind of like horse racing in our family already.  We draw our picks out on a large dry erase board and cheer for whatever horse has a fun name ;)  I'll Have Another is two of three for the triple crown.  We enjoyed the movie as a family.  Good times.

Our Ten Year Anniversary

The Friday before we left, March 9th was our actual anniversary.  I got a babysitter and David found a yummy place for dinner.  Quaint and delicious, "Asi Es La Vida."  We enjoyed good company, good service and a good meal.  Thanks, Love!

Ohio Bound

I don't know that I can write much here.  I am not prepared to get emotional at this time.  I did want to drop a brief update.  If I haven't shared (I don't think I have here.) we are moving to Cincinnati, Ohio in June/July as David completes his Pediatric Residency in June and starts a Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellowship for three years (or four) in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Talk about a climate change! 

In March we went house hunting, which was way early, but the only time we could go.  We thought we would only be looking for good neighborhoods and schools and commutes.  We had some good connections and were able to get in touch with a few people who knew their home would be available the time we were moving in.  They weren't "show" ready.  That is what they kept telling us, because it was a couple of months early to even put homes up for rent.  We saw four and then drove around for a few more ideas.  One house we loved.  This same house was too good to be true: it had a garage and a fenced yard (neither are common in Cincinnati, but desired by us), it had a basement, it had four bedrooms and a place for me to sew (the basement), awesome neighborhood, awesome school and awesome church...and an amazing tree in the front yard and the right house, with the right people, at the right time!

Great State of Texas

One of the Great things we miss about Texas,  my grandparents and the kiddos GREAT Grandparents, Papa Dan and Mama Mary.  I have been thinking about them a lot. 

Taylin's Baptism--January 7, 2012

What a special day!  A day I will never forget.  I am pretty sure it is something will stick in Taylin's mind and heart forever.  She is an amazing gal and has always been on the tender side.  She amazes me at how in tune with the spirit she is.  Taylin started her day with a few materials to help document her day (i.e. journal, scriptures, book of remembrance).

This is all it takes for me to have moisture in my eyes.  

David and Taylin before the baptism. 

Taylin's 8th Birthday

I never knew how big turning 8 was...until a few months ago.  This year was a friend party for Taylin.  She wanted to plan the whole party.  I was ok with that, especially when she went simple and traditional.  She loves fairies!

Taylin's Birthday Dress--$5 Fairy Dress

We do friend/themed parties every four years.  This year was Taylin's 8th.  She wanted a fairy party and a fairy dress to go with it.  She was specific about her vision:  Primrose Fairy from the Fairy Chronicles.  I already had so much sewing for Taylin's birthday this year.  She didn't know I was working on a quilt for her, so I couldn't explain to her that I didn't have time to sew her fairy dress.  Baptism dress wasn't a good enough excuse, because her baptism was a month later.

 

I had picked up this skirt at the thrift store for $5.  I hadn't pinned it's future until now.  I could do a quick fairy dress.

Birth Control Confusion

I found this little set up in the doll house.

Mini Mission Reunion

 David's mission president was in town visiting his son.  President Shallenberger and his wife met up with a few of his elders from the Spain Madrid mission for a little breakfast.  It was great to see each other and meet all the new additions.  I have met President Shallenberger a few times.  I was delighted to finally meet his wife.  She is a wonderful lady.  There were some great memories and photos shared. 

All the kiddos behaved themselves. It even helped to have a handful of armed police officers come dine towards the end to keep them in line. The kids were curious, but no threats were needed. They did a good job.  David really looks up to his mission president (and probably the only one that physically looks up to him too.)  He has learned so much from this great man and continues to learn from his experiences.  I love to hear stories from his mission. 

I had to share...

 Legos have successfully made their way into our home.  I love it! So do the kiddos.

 

High On The Mountain Top

We love the mountains and great weather.  We have hiked a few small mountains.  This is a little spot where we can over look the city.   It was pretty neat in the night.  I won't say how uncomfortable I was with sneaky critters in the night.  There weren't any (that I saw or heard).  All in all it was a nice little family hike.

Our Family House

After a day at Home Depot doing a project with the kids, David was inspired to bring an empty box home.  With the supplies we had, David made the shape and openings.  He then spray painted it.  After a good coat of silver and red (from Cohen's robot costume two years ago), we let the kids do some painting.

 Cohen seems to be the project manager.

 Galloway teamwork.