Theres a roof!

Our house excitement continues! We have now officially made it tradition to drive out to the house every Sunday when George is off to see how far the builders have gotten on our home. It is SO much better than going out there everyday because you can really see how far its coming along. I still feel like its being built faster than ever. So this last Sunday we went out there to see that the roof has been put on and it is start ing to resemble an actual house! i have been obsessed with looking at decorating blogs. I have SO many ideas but i dont even know how to clear my head enough to make my ideas really happen. I have gathered so many images of inspiration and as the time comes closer to us moving i will share some of the pics of inspiration to see wh at y'all thin k. I just still cant believe we are go ing to be homeowners! Here are the latest pictures :)

A perfect saturday

So on my new quest to be more green i have read that it is best to buy produce at a local Farmer's market where locals sell the produce they grow. Well good news for me that we actually have a Farmer's Market here in Augusta, GA and i've never been so that was where i set out to go on Saturday morning. George usually works on saturdays and is off sunday - monday but this saturday he had off so i was so happy the whole family got to go. I really just wanted to check out the prices and what they had so that way when i grocery shop next week i can plan accordingly and go back next saturday knowing exactly what i need to get. I LOVE downtown Augusta because its unlike anywhere i'm use to and there is a fabulous little cafe down there call New Moon Cafe that serves wonderful food and coffee made from organic and all natural products. We stopped there to get a little bite to eat and although Noah had breakfast before we left the house i shared my homemade blueberry muffin with him which by the way was SO good that i could have eaten a dozen.
Blueberry face



After our breakfast we walked down to the Farmer's Market and i was amazed at how many vendors were out there! Augusta is rather a small town so i didnt think it would be that big. They had amazing prices and i was SO excited that now every saturday Noah and I can go together and pick out some of our favorite fruits and veggies. Hes just like me in the fact that he will eat ANY kind of fruit all day if i let him. Veggies on the other hand are a different story. After walking through the Farmers Market we decided to take a stroll down to the River Walk and just enjoy the scenery. One of my pet peeves is when people LOVE to complain about where they live. I think i hear this alot because we are a military family and are not originally from here. We tend to hang out with alot of other military families that just LOVE to talk bad about this town. I know it isnt huge and doesnt have everything everyone wants, but i do think its beautiful and it has alot to offer for families with young children. Plus the cost of living is AMAZING. i dont know alot of places in our country with the economy right now selling new houses at the price they sell them here. I just dont like negativity, i always tend to stay on the positive side of things. Anyhoo i took some pretty pictures of the scenery and the river and i will take some more next saturday when Noah and I go back.

Yep, it's a beginner mullet

Noah's hair is getting so long and i really dont want to cut it because its so soft and has these really cute curls. And now the back is starting to get alot longer than the front and its basically a mullet. Hey, we live in Georgia so i think its ok to let him have a mullet the first year of his life. Hopefully he wont disown us when hes older.

Also, Noah use to be one of those babies that would eat anything and everything but now that hes turned 1 he likes to make a liar out of me and has become one of the pickiest eaters EVER! Nine times outta ten he refuses to eat what i cook for dinner so this is what we have to resort to giving him. Cinnamon raisin bread with creme cheese. I figure its as healthy as i can get considering he wont eat much anything else.

Addicted to blogs

Its official: I am addicted to blogs. I love reading other women's blogs on children and going green and so many other interesting things. I think i learn something new everyday! I cant believe I've waited this long to start blogging! I've always loved journaling since i was young and thats probably why I am an English major now because reading and writing were always an escape for me. I know i dont write well, or as well as some people, but it helps me on stressful days and most of all it helps me realize what is really going on in my head.

Lately i've been doing alot of thinking. More thinking than usual. And it might have to do with how many other blogs i've been reading, but i feel like i am on the brink of something. Something brandnew. I'm excited to start encorporating greener ways into mine and my family's lifestyle and i guess i just have alot to look forward to in general. The last few weeks have been some very stressful ones in our home. We are moving in less than 3 months to our very first house we've bought and i dont think either one of us realized how stressful it is buying a house. There is SO much to think about! On top of that, my husband is geting out of the military in 6 months and that is going to be a huge ajustment as well. I think we've been taking too much of our stress out on eachother and although its a stressful time we really need to be leaning on eachother instead. My husband gets 3 days off this weekend, instead of his usual 2, and i'm looking forward to doing some family things together. I think tomorrow we are going to head down to the Farmer's Market to walk around with Noah and sunday we will go on our usual drive to the hosue to see how far they've gotten on the construction.

Noah is now full blown walking and boy does he love it. He does not want to sit STILL! I have more and more fun with him everyday. I cant believe how big he has gotten and i really do miss the infant phase. Hopefully next year we'll get pregnant again. I love everything to do with pregnancy and kids. Being a mom has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. I hope everyone has a good weekend!! Catn wait to read some more blogs later. I have read so many inspiring things from other women, its really neat to know that i'm not the only one trying to do the best for my family.

The cloth diaper debate continues

So since my son was born (a yr ago!) I have been DYING to try cloth diapers. Everytime i mention the idea to my husband i get shot down. Finally today after a long discussion with a friend of mine who uses cloth diapers i have decided to put my foot down. I think that it will not only save us a ton of money but it will help in my new quest to go green. After all, i am the one who does all the laundry in this house.

After searching online for a good hour i was so lost and confused on where to even start. There seemed to be SO many different kinds and ways to cloth diaper. I had to consult my friend who is the only person i know that uses cloth diapers and i think she sent me in the right direction. She said that she hears TONS of great things about Gro Baby diapers and was going to order her first one today. After checking out this link : http://www.thenaturalbabyco.com/grobaby%E2%84%A2-ic-11_16.html
I discovered that this is exactly what i was looking for. They look easy and are very affordable. I am so excited to start this cloth diapering adventure and look forward to using strictly cloth diapers with my next baby.

Dont you think their cute???

Spring Cleaning is coming a little late in this house

I was so overwhelmed with the first part of my summer semester that i really didn't get to do any of the things i planned on doing. Thankfully my 2 classes have ended and before another 2 start i get a 2 day break in between. Lucky me right? I had my heart set on working on my scrap booking these next few days because I have fallen SO behind! I'm still working on my pregnancy scrapbook and Noah is already 1 years OLD! I have this thing where i cannot start on one project till another is finished so just the thought of working on Noah's 1st year scrapbook before the pregnancy one is finished makes me nervous. Then last night i was spending some time on different blogs, which by the way i have learned so many new things about going green and little tid bits here and there on how to make my daily life better. i love this whole blogging thing! Anyways, didnt mean to get off track, so last night i realized that our townhouse needs some major organizing and cleaning up to do. Schoolwork has really kept me from cleaning and our place has really suffered. i HATE clutter and feel like there is a place for everything and everything in its place. George sometimes tells me that its a good thing we're moving into a bigger house because we just dont have room for anything in this townhouse. I tell him that a family of 3 should have plenty of room here and that it is my fault for not being better at keeping things organinzed.

So this morning i went at it! I tackled the kitchen and Noah's closet which has become the storage for all the random things we dont want to look at. I must have thrown away 2 full trashbags of random stuff. It feels so good to get rid of junk and clutter and tomorrow i'm really looking forward to tackling mine and George's closet and the attic. So there you have it. My only 2 days off before another hectic 6 weeks of classes start and i've spent them cleaning. At least Noah kept me company. It was so funny watching him try to climb over everything to get to his closet where i had barracaded myself so he couldnt get to me. How he managed to get to me i still dont know.

Oh, but before i lead you to believe that my only 2 days off were horrible and only spent cleaning let me mention that Noah and i got to spend saturday at the pool together and it was such a nice break from this heat! It was Noah's 3rd time in a pool but i would like to think it was his first because it was the first time he actually played and cried when i tried to take him out. He is absolutely a water baby. Hopefully my girlfriend will invite us over again to swim in her neighborhood pool because noah and i both had fun and the 3 hour nap he took after was amazing :) Couldnt leave you without some pictures from the pool day. The neighborhood must have been having a little party or something because they even set up a huge blow up foam pool that was fun and of course Noah tried eating the bubbles. Go figure.



My little water baby

They both wanted the toy.
I think it's safe to say that Noah is in love with her.
Bubbles!!!
Talk about slippery! We barely made it outta there!

The new chapter begins....

So George and I are about to embark on yet another exciting thing together....building a home. Literally. We have decided to buy a house and we got lucky that we get to be a part of the whole process and somewhat choose what we want it to look like. George has shown more excitement and enthusiasm then i have but i believe its because i don't start getting excited until i can actually see it and the packing begins. I take one day at a time and try to tackle one obstacle at a time, so school has taken precedence to everything else lately. We have made it our little weekend routine to drive out and see how far they have gotten on the building process of our house and it is something i really do look forward to. The construction was delayed a few weeks due to city inspections and what not but the first weekend we went out there and saw the smallest sign of construction was so exciting!!! I take my camera every time we go out to the site because i want to capture the whole process so we can look back on it someday. This past weekend as we drove up i think we were both taken by surprise. The frame of the house was already up! It was neat to finally get to envision where it will actually sit. It was then that i felt as excited as George. I still cant believe that in a few months we will be living in our very first home. I want to take my time getting everything we need and decorating because i want to do it right. I DO NOT want to rush because this home is where we are going to be living for a long time. Last night i couldn't stop thinking about colors and just so many other things involving the house. Its then that i realized this is a fresh start for me. A clean slate. Since i was little i've always been interested in natural products but obviously didnt have a home or a family of my own. So i told George that i think i want to go "green" with our new home. If you dont know what that means, its basically using alot of recycables and energy efficient products in your home. I know some eco-friendly products can be pricey but some are really worth it and end up saving you alot of money in the long run. He said that if we take our time and slowly buy what we need that he will let me choose whatever i like. This such an exciting time in our life and I am so happy to get to share it with our family and friends. Here are some pictures i have taken over the last 3 weeks. The first 2 are of the first weekend we saw some signs of constructon (holes in the ground lol). Then the next 2 pictures are from the following weekend when the foundation was laid, and the last pictures are from this past weekend when the frame was put up. Enjoy!

Noah's 3rd First birthday party!

Noah is one lucky guy. He had not one, not two, but THREE birthday gatherings in the last month! It started in Virginia Beach where he got his first taste of cake, and then when an unexpected event occurred in California Noah and I traveled there the day before his birthday and he had yet another party. But his original and best party was here in Augusta, GA at a fun place called Monkey Joe's. It was nice because our friends were able to come and bring their kids. So many of our friends here in Georgia have young kids around Noah's age, so it makes it perfect for throwing birthday parties. Monkey Joe's is a place filled with inflatible jumpers that kids can go through and i thought for sure Noah would have a blast since he's discovered the climbing phase. Although he was in a great mood the whole time he did not want to climb on anything. He did love eating pizza and cake and opening his presents. Anything that involves food makes him happy. Here are some of the pictures from his party. I still cant believe our little Noah is already 1!! It went by WAY too fast. I miss the bundle we brought home and that would sleep practically ALL day :P But as he gets older he learns more and makes our life so meaningful and bright!

Study Break!

So as most of you know I am currently going to school to be an English teacher and I am enrolled in summer classes this semster. Summer classes are condensed so the workload has just been so overwhelming for me. Especially with taking care of Noah and George. I've started my first upper division English class and it feels like we have a paper due every week until the semester ends! This weekend i have been studying for my midterm which is monday but yesterday the weather was so nice that i just had to take a little break to spend some time with my favorite little man. I took Noah out back with the a little pool i just bought him and it was SO hot here in Georgia i was sure he would play in it. Well he didnt really like it. I got some cute pictures of him and Chloe though. He was being so sweet to her and when she came and sat in his lap he just patted her little back. i was very proud. It was a change compared to his usual chasing her and trying to pull her hair. i think he is learning! He just wanted to sit on my beach blanket with me and eating some watermelon and cantalope. Could I resist?? Not at all. So thats how we spent yesterday afternoon and it was so nice to get away from the books for a bit. Hope y'all enjoy the pictures. :)

This is a blog where we can update our friends and family on our lives and especially on our son's life which changes everyday as he gets older. I'm new to this whole blogging thing so hopefully i will catch on soon and be able to start posting new things.

Brooke