Tahoe and end of summer

Its clear that our summer hasn’t gone exactly the way we had hoped. Too much anticipation and planning for our Canada trip in the wait for 2 years. Hours before departure it was cancelled and we had to come up with another plan. We were lucky to have found a family friend with a cabin available and left to enjoy the CA sunshine and beautiful Lake Tahoe. Raegan came and joined us and it was a highlight for me. Having not seen her of the kids for a few years it was wonderful to spend time together. However the mountains of CA didn’t make up for our lost opportunity to return to OUR heaven on earth. The cabin in Canada offers us undeniable relaxation and complete disconnection from the world which we so desperately needed. It wasn’t to be in Tahoe however we made it work. We returned not rested but even more exhausted as Jett was out of his element and hadn’t slept much. A week later and we are still recovering. We got in a few hikes, couple days at the beach and in all I hope a few good memories with cousins for the kids to remember.

Kindergarten starts soon for T. I cant believe for one minute he is starting school. Its been a bit of a roller coaster with that- wishing him anywhere other than where he will go…but we will make it work. Elijiah returns to Lourdes and he continues on his journey and the fall soccer season and activities have begun. I will be coaching Tristans soccer team this year as no other parent offered up their time, so I will be especially busy for the next two months. Jonathan starts his final semester of his MBA program. He has a 10 day trip to China in October planned and work is hell. Not sure how we continue to cope with the endless stress of our lives, but I suppose that is life. You cant quit work, school or activities so we keep plugging along. Jett is fast becoming more vocal about his likes and dislikes, and is on the move. As with any mobile infant you have to keep them contained or an eye on them every second and he is a bundle of trouble. His sleeping has taken on a less reliable pattern. We are never sure if he really is down for the night these days. He will often either sit up or stand and make his funny whining noise and flap his hands like a little bird. Regardless of being tired its not till you reposition him to sleep will he lay down. Hes an easy baby if you know what he wants and needs as hes not necessarily a content child, but happy one overall.

Masterbath renovation has begun and we should be receiving our custom cabinets next week. Im really excited to have this last project for now be almost done. Well not done, but in the works. My home, our home is feeling like me now. I look around and still have a list a mile long, but I come home and feel good about the space we are in and I am happier in that home now more than in the last 2 years. It still feels like the place we need to stay, and hopefully the house we are raising our children in.

The last bit of unrelated news is that Noel will be coming out again in Sept we cant wait to see her. We miss her soooo much. However lots of stuff with that and its been a difficult time in our adoption journey and processing everything with it. She and I have both had and still have a crisis of sorts and we are working through the difficult emotions adoptions place on relationships. I only mention that here to serve as notice….from the outside our adoption situation has been ideal, but not without challenges on the inside.

8 months and more house progress!

Oh how time flies...( do I say that alot ? :) ) Jett turned 8 months - and is crawling! Did I actually write that? With the other boys, I was soo excited by each new milestone...but not with Jett. I just want to freeze time. Hes the bestest baby and I love love him and every stage. Hes babbling tons, eating more variety finger foods, hes loosing interest in his afternoon nap( ALREADY?!) and unsure how long that will go on. Hes difficult to get down to sleep these days...and honestly hes in a terrible habit of wanting his back rubed until he does fall asleep. And believe me depending on the night this can last 30 minutes or more. Its Jonathans fault! hehe. He loves spoiling our little one but its created some bad sleep habits. We are planning on our Canada trip still in a few weeks and we are itching to get outta here! The other night we got tickets to the SL REAL game. Oh boy...soccer fans are crazy...and we had the BEST time. Or I did!! I would take the boys again it was quite the treat. Jonathan has been busy as usual with the house. Its a lot of time, which is scarce to finish up and or start new projects but one more project down! The boys bath took a long time as the details and plumbing issues but Im thrilled with the end result. I really had fun picking out the finishes and details, and Im trying to keep consistency in the home as we remodel. I have stuck with the subway tile for the bathrooms intentionally but wanted to break it up with the penny round. For the master bath that is the next project, we will continue with the subway tile but with a few twists...Im excited to see how things end up. I really am happy with the way the house is coming along. Its been a long road. Its a home that has a footprint I cant change, and issues that I have with things that wont ever be different, but when I walk into rooms now there are less and less things I dislike. I find myself happy when I am home and enjoy being there now. I see how much work and investment Jonathan has made in making our home a place we can enjoy at the expense of his own personal time and its made me love him all the more. He constantly is learning new things and I hope that its a labor of love.

House progress and Jett is 7 months

2 teeth have made their debut - and boy is jett getting use out of them.  chomping on just about anything he can...
some strange sickness hit our house...the parentals have been down and out for about 2 weeks.  between bouts of migraines, and head colds, a case of vertigo, its been a fun ride!  colby has spent the week tiling our main living area and up next the boys bathroom.  while I love the look, its construction zone for a while again!~

 out-takes of me trying to get pictures of the kids when Noel was here....BLAH...nothing worked :(

...And that look on Noels face! lol!

 The after ripped out pergo floor with hardiback laid....and the tile once installed.  Still need to grout and redo the entire main floor trim.  FUN times for Jonathan!  But its such a nice improvement...while I cant re-carpet the house yet...this is a step in the right direction!

Far too long

Well goodness Im terrible at this blogging thing. Blame it on everyone that has an Iphone and taking pictures but never sending them my way. So I have to rely on facebook these days. We have been busy- who isnt? We have done a significant amount of backyard planting...and love seeing progress. Basement is 99% done! SO happy about that. Details are just left. Finishing up the closets, getting the lights installed....but its functional...and we are using it for the most part. Noel came out for a long weekend. Not nearly enough time honestly. We love having her whenever- but it was a quick trip....we miss her so much. Jonathan had a birthday...37!!!!! the picture below is when he was way deep into his martial arts practice....a fun find. ;)Im not sure really what to say. Our lives are so hectic...the house is in the middle of demo ( we are redoing the pergo floors on the main level and redoing the boys bathroom. Then next on the list is the master bath. We have so many projects going on...its exhausting. However we are close to completing the main items on the list from when we moved in the home 2 years ago. We have a long way to go still- window treatments, replace all the doors, finish the backyard details, eventual full remodel of the kitchen( the lipstick on a pig thing will last a few more years) new carpet. So all in good time but once the main floors, and the bathrooms are done we can do things as time progresses. Work is a big challenge for Jonathan. Its a roller coaster of sorts- and not in a good way. Its been a significant issue for us and we are hoping that things will someday mellow out. Grad school is still plugging along. 3 more classes and his international trip and hes done! so hopefully by December it will be over and next up the student loans yipee! ;) Summer plans? Well other than our trip to canada we are staying around. we are so looking forward to the time off we can hardly stand it! Crossing fingers the weather will be divine. Jett is the cutest thing on the planet these days. Happy, healthy. He is a joy to us. Seriously I cannot express the amount of love I have for all my boys, but Im just so thrilled that our last child is a happy one. We just cuddle and kiss him non-stop and Im in heaven everyday being his mom. While not doing anything specific...hes eating solids, sitting up for the most part...hes just hanging around getting fatter by the day and watching his big brothers run around him. I guess thats it! The update for the last month. Hopefully Ill be doing better regarding updates here....Im still interested in capturing our day to day here and posting pictures so family- send them my way!!! xo