Last Friday night Riley and I finally had our first date night since being in Ethiopia together, 3 months ago! Our friends, Isaac & Kerry watched the kiddos and then we swapped and watched theirs on Sat night...perfect! We went out for dinner at The Hudson House in Cold Springs. It was a perfect evening to enjoy seafood outside on the river. We both left our meal ready to schedule our next date night
It rained all last night and we've already gained 6" of water. The rain hasn't let up yet and we're expected to get another 4" or water. The wind isn't very strong for us right now, but all the roads are closed, church canceled, etc. Here's a picture of the creek out our front door...looks like we could go white water rafting!
Our street is empty of cars in case any of these old trees fall
The girls room was somewhat easy to decorate because I already had the bedding that I loved. However, the shape of the room is odd...very long and narrow. Meghan helped me pick out a rug from The Carpet Mill, curtains & the swing from Ikea and from there I was inspired on my own. I re-painted Ellie's white dresser and stuck that in the closet. I moved Saedi's dresser into the boys' room & replaced hers with the cubby unit from Target. The cubby is great because she can maneuver the baskets easier and clothes stay more organized. Saedi picked the pink baskets, which happily go with the pink paint that the girls chose.
Fun Reading Swing
Sunday was the kids first jaunt into the city! We spent most of the morning playing in Central Park, and Uncle Kyle linked up with us too. We walked around Times Square, ate ice cream & then hit up Rockland Bakery on our way home. Fun Sunday!
Friday was Ellie's first day of Kindergarten! When I asked her what she was most excited about, she said, "Wearing my new clothes & my necklace from Mimi." She is her mother's daughter!
Riley got dressed up and took the girls out for coffee & donuts the morning of their first day. Ellie was up, dressed, teeth & hair brushed, & accessorized by 630 am waiting at the front door for Daddy to return from his run. She was jumping off the walls excited for her first day! Saedi, our sleep-lover, had to be woken up...just like most mornings.
Ellie's necklace that Mimi made for her first day
The girls standing outside the Post Chapel, where our co-op meets every 2nd & 4th Friday. Yes, we decided to home school again this year & we're all excited about it!
There is a fantastic homeschooling group at West Point & a new Christian homeschooling co-op that formed this year. We meet 2 Fridays a month & while Saedi is in the preschool class, Ellie gets to do Science & Drama with the Kindergarteners & first graders. I'm helping out in the nursery so I can stay with Isaac & Solomon once he arrives. At home, we're using a mix of programs:
Saedi's pre-school class. She & Julianne are the only girlies.
I love our bedroom! It's a nice sized-room with 3 bright windows. In decorating, I knew I wanted to use the color slate. I started with the bed as we were in need of new bedding. For the longest time I had my heart set on this bedding from West Elm (in slate), but it never went on sale! And it's really tough for me to buy things that aren't on sale. Then, after talking with Riley we decided we'd be better off with a quilt as were were always hot using a duvet. Anyway, when I saw this quilt I loved it immediately and snatched it up before it sold out. I thought it would work perfectly with slate walls! After I purchased the bedding, Meghan introduced me to the Carpet Mill Outlet where we found this cute light grey shag rug. Next, I painted my walls Paramount by Behr from The Home Depot. I loved it! Curtains are from Ikea. Piece by piece, I found the small nightstand and painted it white. And the best deal of all was our fantastic dresser we got for FREE off Craigslist. All we had to do was get rid of a couch for someone and in return they gave us this dresser. After a little wood putty this Pier 1 beauty looks great! Meghan helped me choose an accent color (berry/magenta). I found the adorable pillow, candle, & lamp with shade on clearance at Target. We also added the white ceiling fan (less then $30 from Home Depot). Lastly, I wasn't sure what to put on the dresser and my budget was gone so I used a mirror & 2 frames that I had and got crafty. I taped berry-colored yarn to tissue paper and that worked great as a picture inside the frame! And I had a magenta/grey scarf in my closet that adds a nice pop of color. The walls are still bare, but at least it feels comfortable & classy, which I guess is my style :)
My free dresser, free plant, & homemade artwork.
$15 Goodwill stand that I sanded & painted white.
Magenta accents from Target
Fantastic view & sound of creek out our front bedroom windows!
The girls' neighborhood friends, Bethany & Blanca.
"Isaac" means laughter and it's a fitting name for this boy! Looking back, I was definitely in a funk after I miscarried, but 6 weeks later we found out we were pregnant & God used Isaac to get me out of that sad time. Isaac was my easiest & quickest labor & already at one his sense of humor is evident. Just the other day I was nursing him and he was passing gas on me, so I laughed and said, "toot toots!" He looked up and started laughing and saying, "toot toot" every 15 seconds while laughing. He loves to cuddle and likes all types of music. He's very verbal and mimics words, sounds, tones, etc. Although he's taken a couple of steps his 23# is not walking as he still prefers to crawl everywhere. Jack is his buddy & Isaac feeds him every chance he gets. Isaac loves to eat...everything except eggs! He's joyful and still sucks his "gang" fingers.
Isaac thieving Jeremiah's food
Dance Party Fun
Saedi, Meadow, Brooke & Ellie
6 Bugs in a Tub with Isaac begging for freedom!
In my inbox today I received 2 things:
