House PLANS!!

So here's a quick and dirty post about the progress of our house!  We have finalized phase one of the design and will be moving forward with selecting a contractor and nailing down the price/budget/financing soon!  Below are two schemes of the new roof line.  Although neither one is "bad" we are going with option 1 unless budget restricts us to option 2.

Roof Line, Option 1

 Roof Line, Option 2

Here's the more up-to-date floor plan.  We are really happy with it.  I especially like the laundry room off the new entrance on the side of the house.  (click on picture to enlarge it)  There are still a few more tweaks to be done such as window and door placement, but overall we are very happy.  

MOPS is a blessing to me

The second and forth Tuesdays of the month are MOPS days.  Oh what a blessing they are to me.  It is a welcome break in my morning, a time to unwind with other preschool moms, and a time to be blessed and be a blessing to others.  Today was a special MOPS meeting because it was our Christmas party.  Our MOPS mentor, is also a very good friend of mine and I had made her a very special gift that I was so excited for her to open.  It was my first attempt at such a painting and I was quite pleased with how it came out.  I have always enjoyed doing artsy/crafty stuff, but I'm such a perfectionist and so critical of myself that I often don't like the end product.  This however was something I could be proud of.

The verse is their family verse and the colors are the colors that she has in her home (hopefully the colors came out okay....they were all hand blended by me using only the primary colors and white!)

Here's my friend, Mindy, holding up the painting.  After a time of food and devotion, there was a presentation of the steering team's favorite things.  There were about 10 different items and then they were raffled off and I was a lucky winner.  I selected the book by Ann Voskamp  called "One Thousand Gifts"  I felt like this book was meant for me and I can't wait to carve out some time to read it.  I've read some of her blog before and I really enjoy it.  I hope that during this season of Christmas that you will take the time to show people what a blessing they are to you and you will be blessed so much more than you can imagine!

Time for a cup?

I rarely post things in "real time" but had to make a quick post about this one.  Chandler came dressed in his football pants and pads and wanted me to play football with him.  I'm not that great at teaching a sport I'm not really familiar with all the rules, so I told Chandler he'd be the Quarterback.  I told him to stand behind me and yell, "Hut, hut.....Hike!" and that I'd hike the ball to him.  We were all set up ready to go and I hiked the ball.  Let's just say I did not hike it that hard but Chandler missed the ball and the next thing I heard was, "Ow....my penis!"

Let's just say he wants to play baseball now!  I'm still laughing!

We love research studies $$$

I know the above isn't the best photo, but oh well....

Maverick and I have been doing several research studies lately and we love them.  In the past 10 days we've earned over $100 and have also gotten some "gifts" (certificates, t-shirts, bibs, rattles, etc...)

I find it's a nice diversion in our day to have something to do.  Sometimes, it's just me and him, and other times, the big boys come with us.  They have a good time as well and have both participated in research studies themselves.  Usually we do our studies at Duke, but this past week has had us at UNC too.  I much prefer Duke since the parking is not a nightmare like at UNC, but now that I've familiarized myself with the procedure, next time shouldn't be so bad, right?!?

Today was an especially good pay out of $20 for 4 minutes.  Too bad I can't earn that pay rate for an hour or so!

Holiday Express

Tonight we went to Raleigh's Holiday Express at Pullen Park.  We went four years ago when they first did it and you can read about that here  

We didn't go the following year, since Brighton was only 1 month old.  The year after that Pullen Park was closed for their renovations, so we are so happy that after TWO LONG YEARS the park has reopened.  We all had a great time and even met up with some friends that I know from MOPS that also has three boys.

Our first stop was Santa.  I thought Maverick looked so cute in his matching Santa suit.  He is fascinated by Santa and everybody said he was the best baby!

Next, I let the big boys have their turn.  They are sticking true to what they want.  Chandler wants a real fish and Brighton wants a flashlight.  I also think it's funny that Brighton says he needs a new one because Daddy broke his!

After seeing Santa we rode the carousel and the train.  Then we ate dinner that I had packed at the playground and played for a little while before catching the bus back to our car.  We can't wait to do it again next year!

Backwards Binky Baby

Maverick has some quirks that are truly his own.  His is definitely more of a talker/screamer than the other two were at this age.  He needs to have his voice heard in this loud house.  Another thing he does that the other two never did is put his binky in backwards!  I've yet to catch a picture of this until now.  He usually does this when he first wakes up and not at other times.  Silly boy!

House Plans Update

So, here's the house plan that we are liking the most.  Click on the picture to enlarge it.

There will be some tweaks to this plan including enlarging the master bath (Lindsay wants a separate bathtub) and possibly adding a garage onto the front right of the house.  Then there's the question of affordability.....

Compromises ahead!