I Walk The Line

Ryan, Caleb and I packed up and headed to Tellico this past Friday. We have been in prep mode for the last couple of weeks at the camper. Ryan and I decided to have our family vacation there this year and have been busy with much needed projects to make our stay nicer. We have put down new carpet and linoleum, hooked up and plumbed the water heaters, and brought a grill up. Other than stocking the freezer with food, we are ready for a vacation!

This weekend we were finally able to give Caleb a bath in our own camper! He absolutely loved it! The toilet is right beside the tub, so I had an easy way to bathe him!

Looking at Mommy

I know being in a camper is not totally roughing it in the wilderness, but I don't care. I have to have a real bed, a bathroom, kitchen, and TV in order to "rough it"! Being by the campfire is plenty enough outdoor adventure for me!

On Sunday, Caleb spent the afternoon with his Giggy. While he was there, she tried to teach him how to pull himself up. Looks like he learns pretty quick! I sat Caleb in his crib while I gathered stuff for his bath that evening. I turned around and found this:

Caught!

Looks like it's time for Daddy to lower the crib matress!

Daddy and Giggy thought this was hilarious. I think things are about to get very busy for me...

Before bed, I tried one more time to get a picture of the teeth. We're getting closer!

Okay, so it's fuzzy and I had to get bitten in the process, but it was worth it!

Caleb tried Cheerios this weekend and just loved them! He's already using his two teeth to crunch things up!

It seemed like all he did was eat this weekend. He must be going through a growth spurt right now.

I made cornbread with our dinner last night and Caleb really seemed to enjoy the piece I gave him.

Other than that, we've had a pretty normal weekend. Caleb seems to be learning new things every day. I actually cried on our way home from Tellico this weekend. And Ryan laughed at me. Time is passing too quickly. The newborn stage flew by. He's looking more and more like a little boy every day. As a mother, it is hard to see all of the stages pass so quickly. I know the day is coming that I won't get to rock him to sleep or have him totally dependent on me. At the same time, I've never been so proud to raise such a healthy, happy child and see him grow. It's a balancing act and I never have been accused of being graceful! I'm stuck in the middle of clinging to him as a baby, but so ready to see the little boy he becomes.

 Oh, what a fine line I'm walking...

Making Friends Monday!

Each week we will randomly pick a Spotlight Blog of the Week! To be choosen you must follow the rules and have our button somewhere on your blog. (We have to be able to find it!)


Join us on our journey as we discover new blogs and gain new followers every week!

The rules are super simple!


1. Follow the Making Friends Monday Hosts (Listed as # 1-5) as well as the Spotlight Blog of the Week (listed as #6)--They WILL follow you Back!

2. Link up the Making Friends Monday post on your blog.

3. Grab our Making Friends Monday button and include it in a post on your blog.

4. Visit as many blogs as you would like and follow them. Be sure to tell them you are a new follower from Making Friends Monday!

5. Follow back as many followers as you would like from Making Friends Monday. Following back your new friends is appreciated!


Help spread the word and get more followers:

-Put the same linky list code on your blog and you'll have the exact same list!

- Your blog visitors can add their blog to your list and it will show up on all lists!


Don't forget to follow the rules so you have a chance to be the "Spotlight Blog of the Week"!
ENJOY!




Welcome to Making Friends Monday Blog Hop, hosted by Living on Love and Cents, Mon Cheri, The Thrifty Things, Reviewed By Mom , Coupons are Great. Each week we will randomly pick a Spotlight Blog of the Week! To be choosen you must follow the rules and have our button somewhere on your blog. (We have to be able to find it!) This week's Spotlight of the Week is Mom's Mutterings. The writer of Mom's Mutterings is Pam and she is wonderful! Pam is a mom to two kids, two cats, and two spare kids. She enjoys thrifty living and couponing. She usually writes about the misadventures of her family and shares reviews and giveaways. She can also be found at her other blog, The Thrifty Things.
 

Joy in Our House

Last night was exhausting! Ryan and I didn't even climb into bed until about midnight! When we first got home, we gave Caleb his new toy. Before I show you what it is, let me show you his face when he saw it:

That's pure joy right there, people!

(I looked and you still can't see that new tooth showing through in this picture)

Caleb got his first car last night!

It's a stroller that I can push him around in!

Everytime he gets on the golfcarts at work, he tries so hard to grab the wheel, so we knew he would love this!

For about twenty minutes, Ryan and I took turns pushing him around the living room, down the hall, into the rooms, and back through the kitchen. Caleb just couldn't get enough of it!

We tried to set the camera to take a couple of pictures of the three of us, but Caleb was more interested in his car!

The boys didn't want picture time, but we did roll around on the floor.

After Caleb went to bed, Ryan and I tackled the laundry room again. I now have a functioning laundry room! I am not finished decorating, but I can wash my laundry at home again! I have a lot of cleaning to do on the tile, but I'm getting there! Here's our progress:

I am looking for some decorative containers for my laundry detergent. I'm thinking of going to an antique store soon to see what I can find!

This is hung beside my built in ironing board. It's cream with mauve speckles, which just so happens to bring out the mauve stripes in my laundry mat:

I found this at Lowe's and just fell in love! It's an anti-fatigue mat!

Seriously, I don't plan on doing THAT much laundry right there, but I loved the colors!

What does this all mean:

One Joyful Mommy!

Thankful Thursday!

This week I am so thankful for the following:

1. Tonight my laundry room will start to get put back together! I cannot wait to decorate!!! I am so thankful for my awesome hubby's tiling talent and hardwork in making me a nice room!

2. I am thankful that I finally am getting some relief from my ears. I went to the ENT today and got one unstopped. I can hear a little better now and the pressure is much better!

3. I am thankful my grocery shopping for next week is done. I'm on top of things this week! Woo hoo!

4. I found a special toy for Caleb that I have been wanting for a while marked ridiculously low and bought it for him (I'll post pictures after we give it to him this evening)!

5. I am so happy my family got together and had dinner this week at Mom's. It was so nice to sit down and enjoy being with everyone! Maybe we should do it again at my house next???


What are you thankful for? Have you taken the time to count your blessings this week?

Just Be Patient....It's a Work in Progress!

Cheesy title, I know! But it just happens to reference one of my favorite country songs (Just Be Patient, I'm a Work in Progress) and it is very appropriate for this post!

When Ryan and I moved into our home, we soon discovered a mold problem in the basement. The man that sold me the house refinished the basement and covered the initial problems. Lucky for us, the guy tried to cut corners and save money by not sealing the walls before putting up the panels. Nice touch, right? Ryan completely gutted the entire downstairs of our home and we have slowly been rebuilding. It has been quite the project! When we initially started out, we were newlyweds and young. We thought it would be the perfect entertaining room, so Ryan began building a custom bar with a built in display area behind it. Off to the side, I would have a huge scrapbook room and laundry room. When I got pregnant, we used our energy to decorate the nursery and plan for the baby. The basement got put off longer and longer. We had most of the dry wall up, but no one really wanted to finish the walls. Now that we've had time to adjust to Caleb and get some of our energy back, we have started on the basement again. Since we have matured and our lifestyle has changed tremendously, Ryan and I have decided to turn the basement into our family room. I can just see us sitting down to a Disney movie in the evening with a bowl of popcorn and our angel between us. Caleb and I are snugglers by nature, so I can definitely see us spending a lot of time on the couch! In order for us to do this, we have to rip out the bar and display area frame and drywall. Ryan and I went and looked at furniture this weekend and found the perfect couch, chair, and ottoman! I still would love somewhere special to display my wine glass collection, so Ryan told me he would get me a beautiful hutch to go downstairs! I have collected gorgeous wine glasses for years now and would love a way to display them. Every time I have something major happen in life or go somewhere special, I find two wine glasses to celebrate the memory. I have our wine glasses from our wedding, ones where we visited a winery on our honeymoon, a painted wine glass celebrating my pregnancy, and many more! Each one has a story and each one is unique. If I'm in a particularly fancy mood, sweet tea is always a favorite drink in them with dinner!

Now, you all know how much I've been jumping up and down for my laundry room. I've never had a pretty laundry room to enjoy and I am finally getting one! Not only will it be super organized and functional, but it will be absolutely gorgeous. I have taken a couple of pictures along the way and I really wanted to show them all at the end, but I am so excited that I want to show a couple so far! It's just killing me!

So, here is the ugly, icky before:

Just drywall, concrete, and a mess. The yellow thing in the wall is my built in ironing board that hubby installed. The little closet contains our water heater....

So after some cleaning, mudding, and painting, this is where we are as of last night:

The walls are a light cheerful blue and the tile is 18" by 18" dark brown with a hint of tan and gray-blue. Tonight, Ryan plans to apply the mortar and after it dries, we will be able to grout the tile! After that is sealed and dry, then we can move things in and decorate! I have the cutest things to put on the wall and am really looking forward to finishing it up! Mom and I are trying to think of a quote or some type of saying to put on the wall in vinyl with our Cricuts! Any suggestions? I am making a cream curtain to hang in front of the closet to the water heater and we will be installing a folding door to this room too. The ironing board door is probably going to be painted white tonight, unless I change my mind in the meantime!

I also realized that I have not shown any pictures of the progress in our living room. We're still decorating here and there, but I am taking my time to really get the look I want. So far, this is our completed wall with our TV and fireplace. I am finished with it for now and am moving on to the next wall.

I found the blown glass sculpture at an antique store in Chattanooga. It is mainly green with some blue mixed in. Ryan bought me the "Blessed" sign. We truly know how much God has blessed our family and are constantly reminded to be thankful everyday! Then, I decided to put the "D" plate on the mantel as well. Mom gave me the wall hanging for Mother's Day and I found another one to match. They have light green candles in them. I would like to find some green throw pillows for the couch, but have not been able to find the perfect ones yet. Still searching....

You may laugh at my progress here because it really doesn't look like much, but I have been collecting pictures frames and other things along the way! I've just been really cautious because I have this pictured in my head and I want to get the look just right!!!

I haven't posted any Caleb pictures lately, so I'll catch you up! When I had the tubes put in on Friday, Caleb was sweet enough to sit in the recliner with me!

We both got some rest with Daddy taking good care of us!

I think this picture shows how Caleb is looking less like a baby and more like a little boy.

I'm not ready for this yet...

Daddy and Caleb being silly. I love those guys!

Super hubby to my rescue this weekend!

(Seriously he is so silly sometimes!)

Sometimes you got to hurt something to help something...

I know all about that by now! Remember how I declared that I would visit an ENT if my ears didn't get any better? Ryan has been urging me to see a specialist because I always get ear infections. Friday I had an appointment with an ENT one of my coworkers really likes and goes to. The whole time I thought, "This will finally solve my problems and I won't have to hurt anymore!" Boy, was I wrong!

On Friday I went into the doctor's office and was led back into a room. A nurse began asking me many questions about my ears....do they ring....how often do they hurt....are you dizzy....yeah, I answered everything and thought, "I'm finally going to get some relief! I'm on the right track now." The nurse informed me that I would need to do a hearing test, so I was led to a soundproof room with lots of equipment by another lady. I took the hearing test and became hopeful that I would finally have some answers. No one had ever taken the time to ask all of the questions and do all of these tests when I have had so many ear problems as an adult.

I was led into yet another room and the doctor finally came in. He looked in my ears and looked up my nose. He asked me, "Can you breathe?"  I thought for a second and breathed in through my nose to just make sure and said, "Yes." He said it was quite amazing as the inside of my nasal cavity on one side was pretty bent. Um, excuse me??? Bent? How many times had I been to a doctor with a cold or whatever and no one had ever mentioned this to me? I've never broken my nose. It doesn't look bent. The doctor informed me that he couldn't believe I could breathe and said if I could there was no sense in messing with it. As I was pondering this new information, the doctor also mentioned that I need tubes in my ears. He said it would fix my problems and give me a lot of relief. He said he had an opening that afternoon and could go ahead and do the proceedure. I was so stinkin' happy! How awesome would it be to be solved in one afternoon?

I was lead into a proceedure room where another nurse began prepping me. She said I would feel some stinging as my ear drum was numbed and then it wouldn't take but five minutes to put them in. No big deal! The doctor came in and put this piece in my ear. It became a little uncomfortable because my ears were so sore from hurting. I should have known that when the nurse put her hand on my shoulder something wasn't going to feel right. The doctor said I would feel some pain and to let him know when the stinging stopped.

Oh, my ....................... Owwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What in the world did he put down my ear? Acid????? My whole body tensed and the wait seemed like forver. Then it stopped. Then I could feel the pressure of the doctor literally cutting a hole IN MY EAR DRUM for the tube. No, it didn't hurt, but I could just visualize my poor ear drum being punctured. It didn't take long, but then it was time for the other ear. Excrutiating pain and suffering because I knew what was coming this time and it made it worse.

When I stood up, the doctor gave me some care instructions and said it was nice to meet me. Sorry, buddy, but I can't say the same! Dad was going to drop Ryan off so he could drive me home. I hobbled to my car and climbed in the passenger side to wait. My head felt like it could explode! I would much rather endure twenty-one hours of labor and a C-Section again instead of that terrible pain! Seriously, I hurt worse than any contraction I ever felt while having Caleb. Dad went the wrong way and took forever to get to the doctor's office. I was just in tears by the time they got there. Ryan slowly drove me home. He stopped to get a Mocha Frappe from McDonald's to help me feel better. It did help a little. I got home and finally got some pain medicine in my system and was able to rest.

Today, my ears are still a little sore and feel like there's a lot of pressure. I feel like they need to pop, but am afraid to make them. I don't want to hurt more! It can take about a week for them to heal and I have to go back in six weeks to make sure they are placed correctly. Um, if they aren't then that's just too darn bad. I am not doing that again. I think I would rather just have the ear infections. I'm a weenie when it comes to pain, so they can just forget doing anything else to my poor ears!

At this point, all I want to do is lie down and rest. Ryan has been great to me this weekend. Not only has he taken care of me, but also taken care of Caleb. I think Caleb sensed I didn't feel well because he snuggled up to me quite a bit in the recliner. I am so lucky to have such great guys!

Thankful Thursday with the Del Signore's

I have a lot to be thankful for this week!

- I am so blessed to have a wonderful family to stand by me and guide me in the right direction!
- I am thankful to finally have one coat of paint on my laundry room walls this week!!!
- Ryan is thankful to be over his rotten cold!
- I am thankful that Caleb and I got a full night's sleep last night. Since he's been feeling icky, we have had a rough time lately!
- I am thankful for all of the cute outfits my mom got Caleb this week. We've got to start on his fall and winter clothes now!
- I am thankful for the beautiful picture frames mom got me for my living room. Now I get to add the awesome pictures I have!
- We are so thankful that a court date for Ryan's adjustment to the parenting plan as been set for the middle of August! Finally an end in sight!


Above all of this, I am thankful to have had the time to be with Caleb through his "I'm clinging to Mommy" phase. As I rocked him to sleep last night, I thanked God for sending us an angel. I feel as though Caleb has brought me closer to the Lord. Caleb's peaceful innocence is a constant reminder of how great our God is. He creates the most beautiful lives and blesses us with so much happiness. I never understood how strong love could be until He placed Caleb in my life. In return I saw a glimpse of God's love for us and I am thoroughly amazed!

Clean House Episodes = My Guilt Pleasure!

Okay, as I looked back over my blog I noticed that the last few posts are a little too serious for my liking! So, why don't we pick it up a little bit?

In my quest to finally finish my laundry room this decade, I have found a great organization and storage website! Imagine me in all of my OCD happiness!!! Just check out Organize It if you think I've lost my mind! If I had a thousand dollars to spend all for myself, this is more than likely where I would go! As I sit here, my mind wonders what it would be like to be so stinkin' organized with little racks and gadgets that make everything easier!

Speaking of making life around the house more organized and clean, have any of you been to Fly Lady? If your house looks like something that stepped right out of a before portion of an episode of Clean House, then this is absolutely for you! Go from this:

To this:

And who doesn't love Niecy's attitude? Not only is she witty, but she will flat out tell you how it is!

If.......

If I don't finish my laundry room this week, I will literally scream!!!!
If I don't get the carpet on my stairs cleaned, I will go nuts....
If I don't finish decorating my newly painted living room, I will feel as if everything is out of order!
If my basement isn't finished soon, I will quite possibly loose any sanity I have left....


As I look around me, I notice all of the things that are so undone. Half completed projects here and there. Little things that add up to a lot of frustration. How am I supposed to keep the home running if so many things are incomplete? Is there a point where it all becomes too overwhelming? I feel as though I am there. I've slowly been hacking away at things here and there, but when I took a step back today to look at the big picture I realized there is so much left. When it finally started to look like I was making progress, I saw that I had only chipped away just a bit. My dream scrapbook room is just within reach, but seems so far away. I have twenty things ahead of it on my list of projects to complete.

At this point, I am beginning to wonder if I will ever get it all done. Will I ever have a home I can just sit in and enjoy? Will there ever be a time that I just don't have a pressing project? Why, oh, why is my house torn into a million and one pieces right now???? Okay, maybe it's not that bad and the drama queen side is showing through, but it really feels that way....

Sickly Weekend

So, I've had double ear infections that antibiotics will just not knock out for the past couple of weeks. I've always had problems with my ears and this is pretty routine for me anymore. I've decided that if this round of medicine doesn't work, I am scheduling an appointment with an ENT. I believe this is going to take some more serious measures.

On our way home from Tellico Saturday night, Ryan started feeling like he had a cold coming on. Sure enough, when we finally crawled into bed that night he was sniffling and sneezing like crazy. Needless to say he was up most of the night.

Sunday morning, Ryan felt even worse. I got up and started getting ready for work. My left ear felt like it was going to burst and I felt dizzy. So, we decided to keep our butts on the couch. Caleb was fairly calm and snuggly yesterday, so it worked out perfectly. He sat in the recliner with me and took a nap and was such a sweetie!

I felt so bad that I didn't put my contacts in until the morning was about over!

We took a couple of pictures and finally fell asleep....

Daddy took this one....

When Caleb woke up, it was definitely time to play!

Mommy decided to try to get a picture of the first tooth and this is what happened:

You guessed it! I didn't get a thing!

I made up for making him pitch a fit! And he was much better...

Look how tall he is at eight months!

This is his new "thing" - standing up!

Poor Daddy can't snuggle Caleb.....

This little puppy has to be the most ANNOYING toy on the face of the planet!!!

Not only does it name body parts, say the ABC's, and count, but it also does nursery rhymes.

Normally I would say it is too precious and very educational, but Caleb LOVES this thing. Daddy just so happened to show it to him the last time we were in Babies R Us and Caleb pitched a fit for it when we put in back on the shelf. This pup is loud, has VERY sensitive buttons, and has a very agitating voice.

Lucky for us, it's Caleb's favorite toy right now.....

First Tooth!!!

Last night Ryan and I decided to switch things up a little. While he gave Caleb a bath, I started fixing dinner. I do appreciate the help, but oh what a mess those two make! There was a lot of squealing, laughing, and splashing! My floor was covered in soapy water as well as both of the guys. Ryan got Caleb laughing last night and all of a sudden he says, "Wendy, come here! He has a tooth!" Sure enough, Caleb had his first bottom tooth poke through. I'm sure you can all imagine my excitement! Not only was I calling and texting relatives, but I was updating my Facebook status. Many of my Facebook friends must think I have absolutely lost my mind, but when it all comes down to it, I DO NOT CARE! My little man just had his first tooth come in! Let them think what they will. I am celebrating a huge milestone for my baby.

Before I was a mommy, I never quite understood why some of my mommy friends got so excited over what seemed like small things their children were doing. I'd see the posts and think, "Isn't that nice, but are they seriously going to post about it???" Shame on me! Now I am one of those moms! I'm sure my single or newlywed friends out there are thinking I have gone over to the dark side, but there's nothing like seeing your child progress and telling the world about it.

I would take a picture for all of you who read, but every time Caleb opens his mouth he just so happens to have his tongue in the way. I'll get it eventually, but this picture is going to take some work. I don't think I will post a picture of my son's mouth on Facebook, but this is my blog and I will post here! For those of you who think it's strange, just bear with me. My mommyhood has made me a little bit insane when it comes to the child Ryan and I created. It's amazing to know that I helped make this beautiful little boy and he's growing right in front of me. I personally have never done anything more awesome than making a human being and I am definitely going to enjoy every moment! I promise I will be insane over my Boogie, but I will make it up in other posts for you guys! Seriously, I promise!

Caleb's First Independence Day!

When I left work yesterday, I went to my in-laws' house for a big steak dinner! It was soooo good! Caleb tried his best to crawl and ended up taking a nose dive. I am so not prepared for all of that. My poor angel has a little bruise on the side of his face. Ryan laughs at me and says it's just beginning, but my heart has already had too much! I've seen him fall on his face twice and that is more than enough! I honestly believe my baby will be crawling this week. We tried so hard to get him going, but his little feet are still getting tangled up.

When his puppy was out of his reach, he lost interest!

Daddy got in the floor and that still didn't work!

Mommy and Caleb got a quick picture!

Then he tried to snuggle a little!

Ryan, Caleb, and I went to Collegedale with my in-laws and some of their church friends. We set our blanket down and prepared to watch the fireworks. I was so excited that Caleb was going to see his first fireworks! He flirted with all the ladies and was such a little ham. Caleb had so much energy and I just knew he'd be excited to see the fireworks!

Bouncing on Pappy = A Favorite Way to Pass the Time!

Then he spent some time snuggling with Nana...

And a lot of playing with Daddy...

I just love my hubby!

It started to get dark and Caleb started slowing down. Five minutes before the fireworks started, he fell asleep. I thought surely he would wake up as soon as they started, but this is what happened:

Sound asleep, even through the finale! He missed the whole dang thing!

When I picked him up and put him in the stroller, he stayed asleep!

He was absolutely exhausted!

I hope everyone had a happy Fourth of July and stayed safe! Maybe next year Caleb will enjoy the fireworks!