Go, Go, Go

This morning we hit the ground running. John was off today so we each picked a house project and got busy. He fixed our gutters and pressure washed. In the mean time I kept the kiddos inside with me while I cleaned closets and worked on the office. It is amazing how much stuff we've accumulated over the last 6+ years! I have a car full of stuff to giveaway and filled 7 trash bags, crazy thing is you can hardly tell I did anything at all!

Here are some pictures from the last few days:
Wyatt LOVED that he got to hold Ava all by himself.

Sleepy little peanut wrapped up in my scarf.

Bedtime for all of us

8 Years!

I can't believe it's been 8 years since John and I said "I do"! Happy anniversary hubby :)

We celebrated this morning by going to see the new house lot, then meeting with the contractor and finally had brunch at Wendy's drive through (how romantic!). At least we had a little time alone on the road - I savor the quiet moments!

Happy birthday to my Dad too! We'll have to celebrate soon!

Ikea is suppose to be fun!

With two kids and a full cup of coffee Mom and I headed off to Ikea at 9:30 am. The mission was to find the perfect couch bed for the cottage. The morning went smooth, the kids traveled great (no crying).

I LOVE Ikea's showrooms. They always make everything look so stylish. Mom found all kinds of good buys. In addition to the couch; a microwave, dresser and daybed. Then came the interesting part of the day... We have all this cool stuff, now what! We have 10 pounds of sh-- for a 1 pound bag! An Ikea staff member (who was smaller than me) man handled it all in to the back of our truck. He made it look so easy, but couldn't help us with the tarp or ratchet straps. I've never had to tighten up a load like this! It took us almost an hour to figure it out. We looked like monkeys crawling over the back of that truck trying to tie it all down.

Running almost two hours behind schedule I called Dad, who was at the cottage, to tell him to hold tight we are FINALLY on our way. To my dismay he was leaving (I'm sure there was a good reason - right?)  OMGosh!!! We have a 200 pound couch in the back of the truck among other stuff! After a deep breath and a few choice words, Mom and I had a two hour drive to talk out a plan. Had to stop 3 times to re-tie the tarp. John always makes moving stuff look so easy, but that's it for me! I'll pay for shipping! We saw a rainbow on the way, a small consolation prize to an otherwise crap situation.

6:30pm and we finally arrive at the cottage. Ava was screaming, Wyatt was bouncing off the walls, it was raining and we still have to unload the truck which was now in the dark. Once the kiddies were situated the heavy lifting began. In and out, one box after another. We were soaked and exhausted, it was absurd! We must have looked ridiculous. It got so funny. I smelled like a teenage boy, and after one box dumped a ton of water straight down my shirt I also looked like a sponge! If you've ever worn nursing pads, you know what I'm talking about! It was a 12 hour marathon day by the time we made it home.

I use to tell John that our vows should have been: "To love, honor, cherish and never have to put a fitted sheet on the bed by myself again". After this Ikea adventure I think I am changing this: "To love, honor, cherish and never have move furniture".

My Creative Mom

I'm so proud of my creative Mom! She managed to pull a whole booth worth of crafts, floral arrangements and art together for the Fall Festival at Church. Awesome job Mom! Next year I hope to make a few contributions too, you've inspired me :)

Stopped by the new lot on the way home from Williamsburg to check out the progress. The lot has been cleared and it's lookin' good! Happy to see they left so many trees. John and I both wanted it wooded and natural as possible, I think they have done it! Let's hope when the house goes up we don't have to take any more out. There is so much natural beauty there and I don't want to ruin it, I want to live within it.

Standing in the middle of the lot.

John's at the edge of the driveway. In a few months there will be a house in that clearing!

I'm Out Numbered

John went back to work this week. For the last two days I've had both kids by myself from 5pm on. The first day went really well, when Wyatt was awake Ava was a sleep and vice versa. We made it through dinner and baths for both without any tears or trouble. Then there was tonight... should have known it was too easy yesterday. Ava was awake a lot tonight, problem being when she was awake she was screaming. Wyatt kept saying "Ava MAD.. Ava fussy", at least we can laugh about it. Got to keep the humor. Here she is earlier in the day when she was a happy little peanut.

Wyatt's new trick of the day: Using his head to make the alphabet magnet play, he bumps his head on the button. I guess using his finger was taking too long, my little man is so resourceful!

As for the house. Today we finally bought a new back door! It's needed to be replaced for almost 2 years now. Getting it purchased was a major step in the right direction. Dad said he'll help us install it before the end of the month - I'll have my chainsaw ready :)

The Earth Is Moving!

Rain, rain, rain for the last few days. We haven't been doing much because of this. John went back to work Monday. Mom kept the kiddies for me while I treated myself to some much needed me time. I got my hair cut and highlighted, and what a treat it was! Besides being the captive of an over-sharing hair dresser, it was two hours of new mommy bliss!

My new do!

Today was a big day for these four Marshalls. This morning we signed paperwork to list our house here on Exton Lane. As of November 1st it will be for sale, lease or rent. This means we have one long to-do list. I could share, but it would just stress me out! So instead I'll let you know as we get them done :)

This afternoon the family headed to New Kent. We were thrilled to see that the earth was moving! They started work on our driveway today. We walked the property and checked out the location for the house and detached garage. John saved us from stepping on a yellow jacket nest - yikes - while Wyatt took a header right into the mud not two minutes after we got out of the car. Finally, armed with a yellow string, we tagged trees we wanted saved from the lot clearing. I'm excited about a few beautiful beechnut and dogwoods we found, one of them has to be 100 years old. Wyatt and Ava had fun while we talked business. The Lil' Man stomped around in the leaved and played with sticks as Ava slept the whole time away cuddled up in Mommy's jacket.

Out to the Rivah!

Spent yesterday afternoon over at the "Rivah" - The cottage over in Urbanna (yet to be named) is coming along beautifully! Can't believe how much work Mom and Dad have done already, it's such a perfect retreat. This was Ava's first trip over, first of many I'm sure.

John put the chain saw to use and cleared a ton of brush outside. I think he was just happy doing work that didn't involve diaper changing or toddler wrangling. Mom was letting her creative juices flow by painting some old furniture. And me... well between feeding one kid or the other - I put some picture frames together. That sounds so lame, but hey I'm a mom of 2 kids under two, what can I say!

Today has been interesting so far. Wyatt was suppose to go to the babysitters for the day so John and I could catch up on sleep and have some one-on-one time with Ava. On the way to Becky's Wyatt puked all over John's back seat (lovely). Hope the little man gets to feeling better! It's now after 1pm and both babies are sleeping, John went to the store and I have a quite house. Let's hope round two goes a little better :)

The "B-B-Beach"

Our first trip to the beach as a family of 4.

We just spent two days in Nags Head with some of our best friends, Lori & Jason. What a great overnight getaway. It was tough getting out of the house Monday morning. Little to no sleep + packing for 2 kids = exhausted parents. Once we got there it all seemed worth while! Ava got to go to the "B-B-Beach" (as Wyatt says) for the first time!

During our visit we took it easy at the hotel. The weather wasn't great leading Wyatt to find other ways to stay entertained. Check out this video, it's with out a doubt the hardest I've laughed in a while! Jason was spinning him around in a pot. Here's to rainy day fun!

PA Family Meets Ava

Over the weekend Ava got to meet her Daddy's side of the fam! Jenny, Jackie and the girls arrived late Thursday night, fortunately (in this one instance) Ava is still up all night, so she was ready to greet the aunties!

Lil' Chris, Grandma & Papa arrived Saturday morning in the twilight hours, and guess what - Ava was awake to meet them too! Got to love a newborns timing. (Don't know how I missed getting a picture of Ava with Grandma, but I know Jen did, so we'll have to wait for those pictures - bummer)

It was a pretty laid back weekend. We never made it out of the house early enough to do very much. Chick-Fil-A play place and birthday cake for Callie on Friday then the pumpkin patch on Saturday was just enough to keep the kids from going stir crazy. The one thing we learned from the weekend,  Ava can sleep though anything (except between the hours of 1 and 5am).

So happy we got all the kiddies together. They do really well, it's a little chaotic, but thats what makes the memories!