Bathroom Cabinet

 I have a lot I want to blog about, especially with our new house and all the boys are doing in Kindergarten, but I'll start with something I've been wanting to blog about since June-our bathroom cabinet. I pinned a bathroom cabinet on Pinterest ages ago and always wanted to have one like it in our bathroom. When we bought our new house and there was the perfect spot for it in our master bathroom, I started making plans to build it. The pin was from Shanty 2 Chic, which is a blog by two women who build all kinds of amazing things for their homes, like farmhouse tables, jewelry storage, and this bathroom cabinet.

I printed off the plans and we bought the material for the cabinet and then had to build it at my parents house. They had the tools to cut the wood and the space in their garage for us to work on it and stain it. Carter loved watching this thing be built. Anytime we were working on it, he had a chair pulled up, just watching us.

It's definitely not something Greg and I could have done ourselves. My parents helped out a lot!

It was the middle of summer when we were working on this thing and it was HOT, but I was so excited to get it done.

 I ended up going back over to my parents while the boys were in their summer program and staining it and working on it with my parents.

It took several days to do.

I was so excited to get this hung up in our new bathroom. It has a full length mirror on the front, which I love.

Since we built it, we could put the shelves where we wanted them. I brought a couple items over to my parents when we were making it so I could have all the shelves be exactly where I wanted them. I love having the top two being the perfect height for nail polish.

Just like the Shanty 2 Chic tutorial, I put two handles up for my hair dryer and flat iron.

I also glued a magnet strip to the inside door for bobby pins.

I absolutely love our bathroom cabinet and love that we were able to make it. I looked online for cabinets the same size as the one we made and they were outrageously expensive. Now that things are starting to calm down, I'm making a little list of other things I want to make for our house.

2015 Recap-Second Half

So, here's the second part of my 2015 recap.

July

Greg's friend, Brady, came to visit in July and the boys really enjoyed having him. He was able to go with us to take the boys to their first ever 4th of July fireworks. They were so sad to see him go, when he had to leave. The boys started indoor tball. We went to the Aiken Touch-a-Truck. We checked out the cutest art studio, called Artsy Me, with some friends. Some family came down to visit my parents and we were able to see them while we were in town. The boys just adore their cousin, Kendra. The boys finished up their summer school program. We celebrated Greg's 36th birthday. I finished my online math class and somehow, managed to get an "A"!

August

The boys started Kindergarten on the 5th, at a private, Christian half day program. We put them in two different classrooms this year, which broke my heart, but it was what was best for them. They've done great being in different classroom and have really enjoyed it. They both love their teachers and their friends in class. When school started, they had "color" days for the first couple weeks and the boys loved picking out that day's color to wear to school.

The boys had their first sleepover. Their friend, Cooper, got to come over and spend the night while his mom was in the hospital having a baby.

We were supposed to close on the 5th on our new house, but it ended up getting pushed to the first week in September, which was frustrating, but not the end of the world.

I signed up for Public Speaking, which is the last class that I plan on taking outside of the nursing program.

August/September was when things really started getting busy for us. The boys were in school 5 days a week, (which after we moved, I end up spending almost 2 hours a day in the car taking them to and from school and waiting in car lines) I was still in school and I still volunteered one day a week in the same 3 year old class room. and then when we got the keys to our new house, we just stayed really, really busy. I wasn't able to attend the weekly mom's bible study that I loved so much and there were a couple other things that I just wasn't able to do those first few months after moving in.

August--the boys had their first "real" birthday party. We had it at a place called Gymnastics Gold and they had the best time. The perfect amount of people came--not too many, but plenty between their friends and school friends. We did a Lego theme and it was just a lot of fun.

The boys on their actual birthday. 5 years old.

September

We moved into our new house! The first week or so was really busy, so we did our best to still do fun things like Hoppy Feet, playdates, etc.

The weather started cooling off and we were able to get out the long sleeves and jackets.

September
We made a trip to Tennessee. We try and go every year and the boys always enjoy it. We get a hotel with a pool to make up for the 4-5 hours they're stuck in the car on the way up there. But they love playing with their aunts, uncles, and cousins.
The boys also started indoor soccer.



October
We had fall break in October, so I took the boys to the zoo. Something I missed doing since they're in school 5 days a week now.
The boys had Dress Up Like Your Favorite Book Character day at school. Evan is Pete the Cat and Carter is Jake the Pirate.
The boys finished up Soccer
My friend, Emily, her husband and her two kids came to visit us for the weekend. I went to KSU with Emily and haven't seen her since 2006, so it was great seeing her and catching up. The boys loved her boy and they had a great time.
Greg's parents came out to visit in October also. The boys really enjoyed having Grandma and Grandpa here.
The boys went to an IKEA for the first time ever and they love it as much as we do.



October (continued)
We went to Steed's Dairy with friends and had a blast
The boys had their pictures made by a wonderful photographer in town. We love her so much we've already bough a session for 2016
We went to a Fall Festival at Wesley Church
I hosted a Pumpkin Painting Party at our house for the boys and their little friends.
We had a potluck, Halloween party in our neighborhood and then we went to our friend's house in another neighborhood and trick-or-treated there.

November
We went to a fall festival at a new park we've never been to before.
I got to help out with Evan's Thanksgiving party, which was fun.
I resisted the urge to go straight from Halloween Decorations to Christmas Decorations.
We had some friends who were moving, stay with us for a few days, after the moving truck came and loaded up all their stuff. We were so sad to see them go, but it was fun getting to hang out with them before they left.
We had Thanksgiving at my parents and the boys had an entire week off school for Thanksgiving break.
The Sunday before the boys went back to school, I got a call from the preschool director asking if I could substitute in Evan's class because his teacher was sick. I said yes and his poor teacher ended up being sick for the entire week, so I subbed the whole week. I ended up really liking it.

December
We had our Northpole breakfast, where Dennis (our elf) comes. He brings a Christmas book advent with him, along with all kids of other goodies, like Christmas puzzles, the Little People nativity set, etc.
The boys made it a year, going to every single Home Depot Kids workshop since last December.
We went to a Christmas Parade, the Fort Gordon Tree Lighting, the Polar Express at Ft. Gordon, we looked at lights in our pjs several times.
We baked Christmas cookies. The boys helped me decorate their tree.
We celebrated my 33rd birthday.
We went to a birthday party for one of the boys friends.
The boys had their Christmas program at school and my parents were able to go with me.

I subbed a couple more times and the day before the boys went on Christmas break, I was offered a job at their school. The woman I was subbing for called and said she wouldn't be returning, so they offered me her job. I'll be working 11:30-12:50, Monday-Friday and the boys get free tuition. I'm also able to still sub to make a little extra money. I'm really excited, I enjoy helping out at the boys school, I volunteer and help whenever I can, so to have an official job is really nice. It's also so nice not to have to pay tuition for the boys school anymore.

We had some play dates and did some fun things on our break.
The boys had a great Christmas. We opened presents at our house and then we went to my parents house to exchange presents there and have lunch. The boys spent most of the time there on their scooters, which they absolutely love. When they're not on their scooters, they're playing with their light sabers.
Greg's aunt, Janet, came to visit the day after Christmas. This was the boys first time meeting here and they were so excited she was coming. They just love having guests and if they find out a guest is spending the night--they are ecstatic. So, if anybody wants to come visit--you're more than welcome. The boys may talk your ear off, though.

 So, that's pretty much my 2015 recap. I didn't get out my hard drive with all the pictures I've taken this year. I just stole the ones off my Instagram page that I posted throughout the year. I hate that I didn't blog about their party. Or their first day of Kindergarten, or moving into our new house. So many things that I would love to have to look back on, but I'm going to start doing better as of now.
I hope everybody had a great Christmas and Happy New Year!

2015 Recap-Part 1

I've been so bad about updating my blog this year and I really regret that. I love having this to look back on. So, I'm going to do a recap (over two posts) of 2015 and one of my New Year's resolutions is to update my blog on a regular basis.

January
In January, Greg and I started attending a Sunday School class at the same church where I was already doing a mom's bible study. We went for about 6 months and really enjoyed it, but then when things started getting busy, we stopped going. (probably should add that to my New Years resolution list!) The boys were going to PreK-4 three days a week, which left two days during the week for crafting, playdates, trips to the zoo, etc. I also volunteered one day a week a their school in a 3 year old class. I took Anatomy 2 at Aiken Tech, which definitely kept me busy.

February
In February, I registered the boys for Kindergarten. We took a trip to LEGOLAND. The boys had Donuts with Dad at their school and both my dad and Greg were able to go. We joined the Kroc Center gym for the amazing indoor pool. It was a much further drive, but the winter weather was getting to us and we needed something active that the boys could do, so we put our YMCA membership on hold until May and went to the Kroc Center pretty regularly so the boys could swim and get some energy out. Greg took a week long, online training class for his job, so the boys and I went and stayed the week at my parents so Greg could concentrate on his class. The boys had their first little "photo shoot" with the photo booth that my parents made for me after I saw it on Pinterest. Greg's online class got out early on Valentine's day, so he was able to surprise the boys at school by coming with me to help with their Valentine's day party. He read the class "I love you, Stinkyface" and it was really, really cute!

March
The boys had the cutest little skating party at their school. They had to dress up some potatoes for school and they picked "Ninja Turtles". The boys and I attended the weekly moms' bible study on Thursdays from January-May. The weather started warming up, so we were able to get outside more. And Greg ran a 5K! I also went on my first Women's Retreat with the church to Charleston. The boys school put on a parade for St. Patrick's day for all the parents to come watch.

April,
the boys had spring break, so we tried to get outside and try some new parks. My parents kept the boys overnight and Greg and I went on our first overnight trip without the boys to Athens. We wanted to go to Savannah, but with it being spring break and a last minute trip-Savannah was all booked up. But, Greg and I ended up having a great time in Athens. It was that trip that we decided to start looking at houses and we ended up signing the papers for one that weekend.

April (continued)

We were able to go to the zoo with our friends, go to the park a lot, a few birthday parties, and we went to Steed's Dairy for the Moms Club Day (which is my favorite time to go) I also finished up my Anatomy Class with an "A" and was so glad to be done!

Easter

The boys had Breakfast with the Easter Bunny at the mall. There was a huge Easter festival at the church and then the boys had a great Easter day.

May

The boys finished up PreK-4. We actually missed their last day of school because we went to Arizona. It was the boys first trip to Arizona and first time on the plane, so I took lots of pictures and blogged about it back in June (you can read about the first day here) The boys had muffins with Mom at their school for Mother's day, and my mom was able to come with me. I started an online college algebra class that ended up being 100 times harder than I expected. We had my family over for Cinco De Mayo, because I love any excuse to make Pork Barbocoa!! Yum!

June
The boys started their summer program at school. It's twice a week for about 6 weeks and they review things they've learned, make crafts, play outside, etc. The boys LOVED it. We went to Members Night at the zoo, playdates (at the pool, whenever possible) Greg and I made some really great friends through the church and we started having playdates with them, guys night out, girls night out, and family bbqs.

June-Vacation Bible School
The boys went to a week long VBS at Wesley and really liked it. I was asked to volunteer with the arts and crafts and really enjoyed it. I volunteered with a great group of girls and it was just so much fun. I'd definitely like to volunteer again next year. You can read about it here and here.

That's the first half of the year recap. I'll post the second half tomorrow.

Aiken Touch a Truck

I have been wanting to take the boys to a Touch-a-Truck since they were infants. They were very popular in Virginia, but there were never any really close to us and the boys were still too young to justify driving a long time to go to one. We missed the one last year in South Carolina because of weather. We finally took the boys to their first Touch a Truck last month and it was as fun as I expected.

The ad for the Touch a Truck said that the firefighters were going to turn on the water for the kids to play in, so to wear their bathing suits. I put the boys in their swimming trunks, but the water wasn't turned on before we left. It was a VERY hot summer here this year, so we got there right at 9am when they started, to try and beat the heat.

The first thing we saw when we walked up was a couple fire trucks and one with the ladder extended.

The point of the event is for kids to get to explore all different types of trucks and vehicles, so it was very hands on. This was perfect for the boys, they loved being able to climb in and touch everything.

Carter in the fire truck.

In the back of the firetruck.

There were several different law enforcement vehicles and one police officers brought a dog for the kids to pet.

This police officer let the kids sit in the front seat, talk on the walkie talkie (to get a call) then they had to "respond" to the call, so he told them to turn on the lights and drive to the scene. It was so cute, the boys loved getting to play with all the things. The police officer was so sweet and good with kids.

After the fire trucks and police cars, we started exploring the huge field of other vehicles. They had everything you could imagine, ambulance, power company trucks, garbage trucks, school buses, helicopters, etc.

The boys, especially Carter, really love garbage trucks. They even got to pull on the rope that honks the horn.

All kinds of tractors, lawn mowers, etc there to explore.

I'm so glad we got there right when it started, because it was so busy. The boys were able to get on pretty much everything they wanted and we didn't have to wait too long.

In the back of a hum-v. I don't know if that's how it's spelled, I've never seen it written down, I've just heard people talk about them. Like an army hummer?

The ambulance had a stretcher out that the kids could lay down on.

The helper wanted to strap them down, but Carter was like "Nope!"

Haha, I love how Evan looks in this picture, he reminds me of a fish flopping around.

There were also several bounce houses--big ones. The boys spent some time over here, too.

They definitely have to try out all the bounce houses at anything we go to.

State Farm was there, handing out free waters and other goodies. I guess this bear is their mascot, but Evan went straight for him and just hugged him! I wish I would have got a picture of him hugging him, it was very sweet.

It was a little less than an hour to drive up there from our house. I plan on going next year also, I think it's so fun, even Greg was checking out different things. The boys really enjoyed it and it was free, so you can't beat that!

Saturday, August1st

The first Saturday in August was a busy one. We started off at Home Depot, right at 9am, when the Kids workshop started.

The boys do so much of the project themselves now.

They love being able to use the hammer and not need our help as much.

They made these cute little chalkboard signs.

They wrote on them, right away.

Straight from Home Depot, we went to their tball game. We got there a little early, so the boys entertained themselves by letting me take pictures of them on my phone.

They love to make silly faces. I usually have to promise to take a silly picture also, before they'll give me a normal pose.

They were very excited about their game. Carter didn't play in the first one, he was shy and just wanted to sit next to me, but he warmed up and played in every game after that.

The boys are so much better than they were last year. They know and understand the basics. They're coachable. It's been a fun experience.

Evan on first base.

Carter up to bat.

He had a game where he would not keep both hands on the bat. He'd let go and end up swinging one handed. We've worked on it and he doesn't do it anymore, but it was pretty funny when he was.

After our t-ball game, we ran some errands and then it was time for a birthday party. The boys' friend, Cooper, has a little brother named Sullivan. It was Sullivan's 2nd birthday. They had the party at Putt Putt, which the boys have never been to before. They had a blast. When we first got there, they ended up playing on the play area, climbing sliding thing that's outside the party room.

Then, everybody had pizza and Sullivan opened presents.

The boys loved watching what he was getting.

Group picture!

Evan, Carter, and Cooper.

Another group shot.

The boys before going in to play laser tag.

After laser tag, the boys went on the bumper boats. Each boy was able to ride with one of the older cousins that were there to help with the party. Evan and Carter loved that you could squirt people with the gun on your boat.

You can see Evan squirting away!

Look how soaked they are! I am not sad about sitting this one out at all. :)

Look how wet they are! After bumper boats, they played a little bit of putt putt golf, before getting bored with that and then going inside and playing with the arcade games.

We weren't out here very long. It was hot and the boys just didn't have the patience to sit and play golf.

Although he looked super cute doing it.

The boys played arcade games and got several tickets and they combined them and got a little prize at the end.

The boys had the best time here, we'll definitely have to come here again sometime.