Yellow Daisies

We have had an abundance of wood scraps around our house these days so I decided to put them to use and have started making wall hangings. I put them for sale on etsy.com from the encouragement and pushiness of my husband who for many years now has been saying I should be selling my paintings I still don't think I'm ready to sell artwork, so I'll try out craft projects. I just listed them today and it said that it would probably take 24 hrs before it's up and running. So if you're interested let me know and I can make you one with colors and quote of your choice. I'm, also, going to making some for Parkes' teachers for teacher appreciation week so let me know if you are looking for a gift for your child's teachers. We'll see how it goes, but at least Brandon can't pester me anymore about it.

Before the Chaos...

Here's how we start the day every morning.... Parkes always wakes up while I'm feeding Cash his bottle in the boppy in the morning. We hear his footsteps coming down the hall where he runs past Brandon and ignores me to get to Cash where he says "Good Morning Cashie" and lays his head on the boppy next to him. It's a moment of peace before it is time to start our day and try to get everything ready for what we have to do and before Parkes starts getting mad that he can't have a "black bar" (Brandon's chocolate bars) for breakfast. And here's a few more pictures from our week. Parkes has 3 Curious George's that he must sleep with every night and lately he gets mad if his favorite one (the one that is actually just a monkey, but he still calls George) cannot ride with us in the car wherever we go. And then here's Cash taking a bath which as you can tell he absolutely hates. Parkes enjoyed bath time, but Cash wants nothing to do with it.

Cash Sleeps!!!!

I have been reluctant to post this but since we are just past a week I press my luck and say Cash has been sleeping through the night!!!!! He's been sleeping from about 11ish to at least 5 on good nights 6. Needless to say we are very excited. You might notice the abundance of blankets surrounding him, he will not fall asleep without them so I have to go and move them after he's asleep. Other news around our house is I am finally getting the kitchen wall down tomorrow. So the boys and I will be out and about all day tomorrow while that is getting done. I'll post some pictures of that later. Have a great weekend!

A little about Parkes...

I haven't said really what Parkes has been up to and all the changes we have noticed now that he is a three year old (almost 3 and a half which is crazy). And Cash has settled in for a nice long nap which is becoming normal around this time of day which is nice to start to get an idea of the schedule he likes. But anyways, Parkes really has seem to grow up so much in these past few months it is amazing to watch. He has become quite the artist being able to draw stick figures and understanding the idea of coloring an object and tracing letters. He, also, lets his extrovert personality shine. I find him all the time yelling at people on the street asking them their names and if they would like to come to his house. Actually just the other night the director of his school was walking down our street to a greenway near us and Parkes of course started talking away until Brandon walked on the porch to see who he was talking to and found Parkes asking them to come into our house. He never meets a stranger and leaves quite the impression on people when they meet him....he definitely gets it from his Daddy who too is always meeting new people no matter where he is. Parkes has very much enjoyed being in a house of boys. He is always telling me to go out so they can hang out "just the boys" which some nights is a very tempting offer. He has always been very good about sharing so much so he often gets upset if the other kids won't take the toy he is giving them, and he is always telling me, "it's nice to share." I guess I must of said that a lot. Three years old is definitely a little more tiring on me then two (which was a wonderful age for him) because he has definitely realized he doesn't necessarily have to do what I say especially when he knows I have my hands full with Cash and won't be able to make him stay in time out, but then he comes over and says something really funny and I makes me laugh. So that is a short version of Parkes these days...he is no longer our baby, but a little boy.

Parkes' Favorite Movie

I just added the song from Parkes' favorite movie, Curious George. So y'all can all hear what I hear all the time.

Cash's Future Career

With the amount of time Cash spends with his tongue stuck out of his mouth he is working towards a future career in a Kiss cover band it's just too bad he doesn't have a lot of hope to get a good singing voice. A few weeks ago he noticed he had control over it, and he has stayed like this the majority of the time stick it in and out.

The Bumbo Seat

Cash has found a seat that he likes. He is not a fan of the swing unless he is just so worn out he doesn't have the energy to cry that I put him in there, but he enjoys the Bumbo seat...and yes it is purple, it was my sister who has two girls so he gets there hand-me-down since these weren't around or too new when Parkes was young. And it is hard to believe but Cash was 3 months yesterday. I'm already starting to get foggy on those long first nights home from the hospital, but Cash does still like to throw one in now in then just so it doesn't get too far from our minds. And it is definitely time to start pulling out the bigger clothes as I have already had to put clothes in the too small pile. And we are all adjusting better to having him around us. Parkes is not happy unless he knows where he is at all times, and I have even ventured to the grocery store with both of them. However, when I have Parkes up front and Cash in the back it really leaves no room for groceries and I refuse to push those car carts at Kroger as I spend more time running into things then being able to push them. So that's our week so far, hope y'all are all enjoying the nice weather!!

Please say a Prayer

One of my sorority sister's fiancee past away this weekend in a car accident and the funeral is this morning at 11. Please say a prayer for her and his family as they need as many prayers as possible to get through this hard time. thanks.

Kids and Dogs

Parkes is absolutely obsessed with our dog Daisy. It took three years but she too has finally warmed up to him. She was on doggie prozac after we had Parkes so this is a huge step for her. He is, also, obsessed with his brother. Parkes would hug Cash's head all day long if I would let him. So I spend most of my day telling Parkes to please be gentle with Cash. And finally we are getting more sleep these days, not as much as I enjoy, but I am not complaining. We spent the weekend getting Cash accustomed to his bed and after a really long Friday night where Cash might of only slept 15 mins Saturday night was wonderful with him sleeping in his bed from midnight to six. Which I knew was a little too good to be true and he has not done quite that well since, but he is not doing too bad.

Chubby Baby

As promised here's a picture of Cash, very happy after having a bottle of soy formula. We are trying soy out to see if it helps with his colic...and he is napping nice and soundly right now by himself, but could just be from his restless night last night.

Doctors Check-up and New Job

Okay one more post with no pictures...i promise i will put some up soon. but just was going to put Cash's latest doctor's visit stats for everyone to see how quick he is growing. he was 13 lbs 2 oz (i really expected that to be bigger, but not to far away from doubling his birth weight) and 22 1/2 inches long which is on the short side but no surprise there he really has no hope of being tall. And say a quick pray for us as Brandon resigned from his job yesterday to start full time working for the company him and our friend Matt have formed called Creative Concepts...they do Home Services for any handyman/construction jobs you need around the house from the small to the very large and work a lot with realtors to get houses ready to be sold and doing punch lists. But they also have a Purchasing Agent to find fixtures, door knobs, appliances, etc. to remodel your home at a fraction of the cost of retail and are doing Home Staging with Mary Alice as the decorator...so if you need anything done to your home let us now. You can check them out at www.creativeconceptstn.com.

Deals of the Week

A quick post for those that use coupons....Harris Teeter is tripling coupons this Thursday thru Saturday. And Garnet Hill is running a special where if you buy $50 then you'll receive $50 gift card when you purchase is delivered.

The Easter Bunny visited all of us...

by finally getting Parkes potty trained this weekend!!!!!! For having so much family actually right near us we actually had no plans for Easter so with Parkes out of school on Friday for Good Friday and his Spring Break (which luckily was only one day so he didn't have a whole week at home) I decided to give potty training one more shot, and after a absolute horrible day thursday where we went through at least 10 pairs of underwear he started to catch on on friday. and by saturday he wore the same pair of underwear all day!!!! We did sacrifice going to the church easter egg hunt for potty training but it was well worth it to only have one child in diapers now. And Parkes did join Abby James and Draper at their church's egg hunt so he got one in this year. The Easter Bunny did visit Parkes with a few goodies and brought Cash some formula. Sadly I did not get many pictures this Easter so I'll have to do a photo shot of the boys in their outfits sometime this week when it is warmer out and Parkes is a little more well adjusted to the potty and doesn't go every 10 mins in order to get a treat which he is taking complete advantage of so I'll leave you with this one picture of Parkes with his Easter basket. Hope y'all had a wonderful Easter, too.

Windy Day

Well I have no pictures but since it had been a week since I lasted posted and it was such a windy day here I figure I would share this story from a couple weeks ago. We were playing with sidewalk chalk out back and Parkes keep running into the middle of the yard and would stop and talk while moving his arms all around. I keep asking him who he was talking to, but he keep running away as he was telling me so I couldn't understand him. Finally I got him to stand still for just a second to tell me that "I'm telling Jesus who's right over there (as he points to the middle of the yard) to stop the wind". Hope everyone has a great Easter.

Snow Day

We woke up Saturday morning to lots of snow on the ground. After a slow start to the morning as Brandon and I went to see Bret Michaels the night before downtown and acted as if we were 24 years old again which we definitely realized that we are not meant to stay out that late anymore but had a blast anyway (thanks Matt & Keri for watching the boys), Brandon finally got out in the snow with Parkes while Cash and I enjoyed the warmth of inside. So the pictures above are after most of the snow had melted. Here is Cash at two months. He is getting quite big and starting to find his hands and smile more...I just wish he would get better about sitting by himself, he seems to be getting worse about letting me put him down. I have finally decided that he most have some colicky behavior so hopefully he'll start to grow out of that soon. The good news is Parkes really doesn't mind me holding him all the time too much and Cash will sleep from about midnight until 4 or 5 and then take a nap in the morning all those in his carseat so we are getting some sleep and I can work on things around the house like rearranging the living room the other day (I'm strange and like to rearrange furniture and paint rooms at least every 6 months so I do have paint colors picked out for some rooms for upcoming projects and I did get the cabinets and the laundry room painted so now I just have the kitchen cabinets to get done). Cash just gets fussy in the afternoon and evening so we can prepare ourselves for when it comes. And then finally a picture of Parkes so you can see both boys. He loves to pose for the camera. He got his Spring school pictures taken last Tuesday and I pick them up on Thursday so we will get to see those soon...we get a free 10x13 canvas print because the poor mans camera broke so most people ended up leaving but we went and ate with Parkes' best school friend, Holden, and came back afterwards.

What to do with extra wood and a pretty weekend?

And when your wife puts a stop to indoor projects until Cash gets older...build a huge shed. This was the project of the last two weekends, and I am impressed to say that Brandon did actually get very close to finishing it today. Cash and I enjoyed the day sitting outside and watching him work while Parkes played with the neighbors as their dad helped Brandon. Cash took a few naps outside and definitely enjoy his first look around at the great outdoor. It is a little tiring having babies during the winter as I feel so cooped up most days so I am definitely looking forward to more days like this of course I'm sure this is just a teaser for awhile, but at least it is something to tied me over for now. Finally here is a picture of Cash's smile...definitely his daddy's smile (just the corners of his mouth turn up). Also check out that belly!!!!!

Birthday Fun

Parkes' cousins Abby James and Draper turned 2 and 1 this week and celebrated at Build-a-Bear on Saturday. Parkes had a great time as he had never been before. Here he is with his Aunt Hayley. And here is Parkes and Draper. Cash came along for the fun, but didn't participate in the bear making. Instead he just enjoyed being held. Here he is smiling at his Grammy. Parkes favorite part was bathing his newly formed Koala. Here he is with his friend Gates. And finally after all the fun here Parkes is with his Koala that he named "Girl" which he told me was in honor of me since I'm a girl. After the party Brandon, Parkes and Cash dropped me off to meet the girls out celebrating Laura's birthday and since Laura asked if the picture would be blog worthy I had to include it for her on her birthday....Happy Birthday.

Here's some sweet pictures of Parkes and Cash hanging out together last night before bedtime. Parkes always wants Cash right next to him, and we have found that Cash really enjoys being on his stomach showing off how strong he is.

Baby Blessing and Doctor's Appts.

Well we have had a busy week so far here with our church's Baby Blessing for the 30 something baby's born this past year (Cash was the second youngest baby there). Parkes had the option to go up on stage with us when they announced Cash or sit with Mrs. Laura and he chose to sit...thank you Laura. Then everyone in the family has had a doctor's appt this week. I had my 6 week check-up from the c-section and all is good. Parkes had his 3 year check-up which he finally made it to the 50% on height, but he was also almost two months late for his check-up so he got a little extra growing time in there. And he is up to 35 lbs. Then Cash had his 6 week check-up and he is up to 11 lbs...yes that is right 11 lbs!!!!! Everything else looked good on him as well. And then Brandon had a appt. to try to get into a study for a diabetic pump so he'll have his insulin provided for 2 years and get on a pump as opposed to the shots he takes now, but as of now he is too healthy which is good, but free medicine for 2 years would be nice too so he'll try again in a couple of weeks. So it's been a good week since we all are very healthy.

Happy Valentine's Day

Hope y'all all had a great Valentine's Day!!! We had Parkes' party at school today and Cash and I went with him. And then we went to dinner as a family tonight to celebrate. Tomorrow night Brandon and I are going to celebrate with a kids free evening. Cash likes to look at his big brother in the rare time that he is actually awake. And as far as my free stuff shopping is going...I got my first thing of free formula earlier this week from CVS, and for the deal of the week I got 2 cans of Oust Surface and Air for a profit of a quarter after the sale price and the coupons I had and 2 bottles of Robitussium for a profit of $2 after the register rewards and coupons both deals at Walgreens.

Sorry No Pictures

Well I have not been very good about getting my camera out lately (Brandon does keep taking it with him to work so I do have a little bit of an excuse). Which for all those that have asked since I have not updated on Brandon's job...he is working for a construction company that specializes in remodels and is doing sales and estimating for them and loving it. He, also, is working with our friend Matt to start up a company that does smaller handyman jobs especially working with realtors to do the list of repairs before houses are sold. And finally he is working at the Y one early early morning a week for our insurance. So with all that and the schedule of a newborn we hadn't spent much time together these last 5 weeks until friday night when our wonderful neighbors watched the boys so we could go out to eat downtown. We then came home to a house full of guys playing cards since Joel was in town and we are actually one of the only houses not under construction right now that had space for them to play. Saturday Laura and Keri hosted a sip-n-see for me and Cash. It was so thoughtful of them and I did not do a good job getting pictures (Laura did take a few but I don't have my camera right now). Cash has been having pretty good nights now that I have given up the idea that he is overeating and given in to how much he would like to eat (Parkes ate like crazy and he is doing well so I guess that is just how our children are). Parkes still refuses to take naps and doesn't go to bed until at least 11 and it's about to exhaust me how much energy he has without sleep, and he has taken to some of the Jessica Seinfield recipes I've made to sneak veggies or fruits in him...it does still have to be only snack food so we've made lots of french toast and muffins. This week should be pretty quiet with the cold weather we'll be staying in as much as possible.

Yeah Eli!!!!!!!

We went out on a family outing over to the Essner's for Super Bowl festivities. And we were very very excited over the Giants win (I was excited to see an Ole Miss boy win the big game, however, I think Brandon was more excited to see the Patriots loss, Parkes was just excited to play with Jay, and Cash didn't really care what was going on as long as someone was holding him). Here's Brandon and Parkes' Eli action figure Santa brought him...Brandon held him for the last 2 mins of the game for luck. And here's the girls with Cash...I look a little tired as it was after the game and sleep is limited these days.

So much for free!!!

Well my sister went to a coupon cutting class a couple weeks ago and has been sharing all the knowledge she learned with me, and it is amazing what all you can get for free. I had no clue that Walgreens and CVS offered products each month that you get the total cost back. I always just thought of drug stores as higher prices on most grocery items and just ran in them when I didn't feel like dealing with a big grocery store which was rare anyway because we've got our neighborhood store down the street that Brandon loves to go to and knows the workers (big shocker I know). But anyway you can go to www.moneysavingmom.com and it outlines all the CVS deals right now, and when you go into Walgreens they have a Register Rewards booklet at the front where you can see the deals for the month. We just got 6 12 pk of pepsi products for $10 at CVS. And at Walgreens this month you can get razors, deodorant, lipstick and more for free after the rebate. I might be a little overly excited about these deals as it is what I'm using to keep me sane and use my brain while I try to cope with not leaving the house too much with 2 kids since it has been so cold and a little overwhelming to take them both out right now...the thought of shopping with both of them is a little scary right now as Parkes is having a few adjustment problems with not having my full attention all the time. We did make our first outing though to storytime at the library this week and it did go pretty well so hopefully it will continue to get easier and it will warm up soon.

The world through the eyes of Parkes

Parkes got his very own digital camera for Christmas from his Grammy and Grandad and has been very busy ever since taking pictures of everything (I just downloaded 402 pictures that he had taken since Christmas). So here are a couple of his shots to show you what he sees as picture worthy...the quality isn't the best because we have the camera on the lowest setting so he could take more pictures and it is a camera made to be sturdy for 3 year olds. Since I lasted wrote we have been busy getting back to life and trying to get Parkes back into his normal routine and adjust with having Cash along with us. Cash did get a cold thanks to his big brother but there is only so many times I can try to explain to Parkes why he can't touch Cash so it was bond to happen and we made it through with a few nights of no sleep, but we are back to doing much better for a 3 week old. Cash did have his 2 week check up and he is growing quickly just like his big brother did and is already up to 8 lbs 1 oz....yes I know crazy how quickly our boys seem to grow probably because they eat as if I'm never going to feed them again. And everything else looked great on him according to the doctor so that is always good.

Too Good to be True

Well Cash's first week of being a great sleeper came to a quick stop Friday night when he decided to begin to not only look just like his brother but act just as he did as a newborn and want to eat every hour on the hour. So after a very exhausting night for me and Brandon we decided instead of driving ourselves crazy we would start giving some him some formula at night which seemed to work pretty well last night. Cash also will sleep all day on his own in his crib during the day but of course when night time comes he refuses to sleep anywhere but laying on top of me or Brandon. Parkes spends his days now begging to feed Cash and hold Cash. We did go on a family outing yesterday to Chuck E. Cheese to let Parkes get some much need attention and he had a blast playing all the games. Then we head to Lowe's so Brandon could get some wood to start building his shed and carport out back...we will never be done with all the home renovations we have planned because they keep growing. But for anyone else doing some work or need some stuff from Lowe's the one on Nolensville Rd is moving to the old Wal-Mart building and they are not moving any of their inventory so it is right now 20% off, but should go even more. Stuff is going quick though and they even have their paint on sale.

Home for a Week

Well today Cash and I have been home for a week and so far so good (of course I still am on the drugs so it could be them talking). But so far Cash is sleeping for a few hours at a time on his own, and Parkes loves being a big brother but doesn't like to leave Cash alone ever even to go to school. Last night wasn't great, but compared to Parkes coming home from the hospital and mine and Brandon's illusion of thinking how great our child was in the hospital it still doesn't seem that bad this time around (I think I had myself so scared about the first week home with two kids). And the night before last Cash sleep the whole night going to bed at 9:30 to only wake up at 1:30 to eat and then not again until 6 in the morning....it was so wonderful.

A Few more Pictures

Thought I would add a few more pictures for y'all to enjoy. This is my first night at the hospital alone as Brandon's Dad and Grandma had to head home so he is home with Parkes tonight, and I just put Cash in the nursery to get some rest before they bring him in at some point to feed (however here I am on the computer instead, but it's nice to have some just me time before I fall asleep so I do plan to look at a mindless magazine as well before I go to bed). But here is Parkes first attempt at holding Cash...it took him a little while to feel comfortable, but now he is all about holding his "baby brother." In fact Brandon said when they went down to get food that he told everyone in line that he was a big brother and had a new baby brother. Then here's Cash and his massive paci. I did not want Parkes to have a paci at all, but he still ended up with one so this time around I just gave in earlier and it looks so funny in his mouth. He's also scratched up his face some so those are the red marks you see. Then here's me and my boys (not a good pic of me, but thought I would still through it in) So we will be headed home tomorrow or the next day (my doctor comes tomorrow so I will find out then when Cash and I will go home).

It's A Boy!!!!!!!

Cash Edwards Waymire 7 lbs 5.6 oz 19 inches 12:15 PM

Well for everyone, but Parkes who was the only person who thought this baby was a boy we were all surprised when Cash came out. He's very healthy, and we are all doing great. More pictures will come later, but wanted to let those who hadn't heard yet know.

Ready or Not....

The baby will be here Monday at noon. We actually just got the crib up this past weekend and got the car seat out of the attic so I guess we are as ready as we ever will be (although I have moments of thinking am I ready for 2 kids). This one won't have quite the welcoming to the world Parkes had with him coming while everyone was off work or home for Christmas he had over 20 people waiting to meet him when he came down to the nursery with Brandon, but it is nice that it is planned and we can prepare for it. So we will post a picture as soon as we can to let those that aren't here know whether we have a little Sage or Cash (yes we changed the boy name once again, but this time we are sticking with it). Below is a picture of the nursery and of the baby's first outfit thanks to Keri and Matt.