Kindergarten

Well, by God's grace David fell into a pond 10 minutes before the first day of kindergarten.

Mmm hmm. Ya.

And not the pond in our backyard. The lovely water feature OUTSIDE HIS SCHOOL! This really could have sent my first born, type A guy into a tailspin, but he took it in stride (thanks to first day jitters, I'm sure). Amidst his dripping shorts and sopping tennis shoes and socks, he stated "no problem" and "it felt great...very refreshing". O to the M to the G.

While frantically fishing into my bottomless pit of a diaper bag for my keys: "Matthew...go get his keens! I have no idea where they are!"

We are 10 minutes out from the final bell and parents are quietly gasping and while trying to non-verbally communicate empathy, but really look terrified on my behalf. Oooookay.

Meanwhile the .3 mile distance drive to our house has turned into a mile and half because you can't turn left out of the parking lot during drop off hours. Of course. So Matthew is navigating the school zone speed limit complete with the crossing guard on a mad dash for a dry pair of shorts and shoes all while having to take the backway to our house. Awesome.

I'm just going with David's reinvention of his personality and agreeing that it was indeed refreshing and it's seriously not a big deal. I'm stalling big time outside of his classroom wondering where his father is and literally a minute before the bell, Matthew rounds the corner with dry supplies.

No, my child did not wet his pants; he fell into the pond on the first day of kindergarten. We quickly yank off his wet socks and shoes, we decide the shorts can dry, give him kisses and hugs and send him into his first day.

Upon entering the classroom, David (in a rather loud voice) says "Good morning, DEDON!" Oh. My. Word....who is this kid? How about a Mrs. in front of that? Just go with it.

So there it is. My oldest went off to kindergarten. There is certainly a knot in my throat, but there were no tears. There was no time! Thank God for the comic relief this morning. Grace. God's good grace. We will never forget the first day of Kindergarten. No we won't.

The TJ Boutique

Lavender bouquets on sale now at Trader Joe's. $3.99. What?! That store...sigh. It is absolutely delicious in every sense of the word.

5 months of Ruthie

Well, I have been chastised enough from my out of town friends and family, that I thought I should actually draft a blog post with pictures of Ruthie! Gasp! Pictures speak a thousand words, so I'll let them do the talking. She has been an absolute blast and by God's good, good grace I truly have soaked up every ounce of her infancy. If you are really bored, you can watch Ruthie's birth story through video at the bottom. With David headed to kindergarten in about a week (tears indeed flowing), I have been really sentimental. So, I am trying to document our family better through video montages and pictures. Enjoy!

Birth: 3-4-11 around 11 am

1 month

2 months:

3 months:

4 months:

5 months:

Ruthie's Birth Story

Ruthie.

She's here and we love her!

Ruth (Ruthie) Marilyn Severns was born on March 4th at 11:09 AM, weighing in at 8 pounds 2 ounces and measuring 18 3/4 inches long. After just 2 hours and 20 minutes of labor, out she came in one push! We are OVER-JOYED!

Monkey Child

How many almost 3 year-olds can do this?

(sorry for the quality...it was on my phone!)

Annie doesn't have a whole lot of weight to flip, but what little meat she has on those hollow bones is pure muscle! I think she inherited her daddy's muscle tone for sure. Matthew is currently in denial that he has a budding gymnast on his hands, but this video might snap him into reality.

On another note, no news on the baby front. Baby Girl is still nice and cozy inside...but mama is not! I told Matthew I'm not sleeping anyways, so I might as well be nursing a baby! I was ready about 2 weeks ago to deliver this child, but so far she has not cooperated. She is going to get a big spankin' upon her arrival! All kidding aside, she's already got it figured out: I wouldn't want to come into this cold world either. Stay tuned for the announcement. We are brimming over here: the cameras are charged, the playlist is set, the bags are packed. COME ON ALREADY!

My Sweet Guy Turned 5

Happy Birthday, David! Well this has been the birthday parade year...its the birthday that just keeps on giving around here. In the attempt to make sure my little man got celebrated this year with the immanent arrival of his newest little sister, we started things off a tid bit earlier.

We celebrated David's 5th birthday and Annie's 3rd birthday with a bunch of wild and crazy friends at Pump it Up. Annie, my monkey child, was in her element! I had plans to bring everyone back to my house for lunch, but Mimi got wind of that idea and re-routed everyone to her house. She was certain that many people in my house would send me into labor and, retrospectively, she was probably right. Plus, my kitchen was in the middle of a mini-remodel. Check out the video footage of labor-inducing madness (um, thanks, Mimi!):

Chic Fil A Nuggets anyone?

Chips? Cupcakes?

Yes please!

David's actual birthday rolled around and baby girl is still cozy inside (so maybe I should have had the lunch at my house!), so the grandparents and the 4 of us headed to Fritz's for his big day. I told him he could pick whatever restaurant he wanted and he told me that he would let me know when we were in the car, headed there. Hmmm. I finally got it out of him: he wanted to go to McDonalds (insert pregnant woman throwing up). I gently suggested other "fun" restaurants, and was honestly thrilled to go to Fritz's!

David also randomly requested a bulldozer cake for his birthday. Um, ok. I googled it and this is the best I could come up with!

Here is a picture of the 4 of us. It might just be the last family picture where there are only 4 members (I conveniently hid the belly behind the other three. Sorry...its just large) !!

This was a very happy birthday, indeed! David also went on to celebrate with his preschool class at school as well as our community group. You are deeply loved, David, and the overflow of celebration reflects that. You are my favorite guy!

Before and After Series: Part V

The kitchen nook. Everyone says the kitchen is the heart of the home and if there is a heart to my kitchen, it is my range. I cook most of my meals on my cooktop. Not that I don't use my oven to finish things off, but there is rarely a night I don't "click click" my burners on.

When we first moved into our home 5 years ago, it was an electric range from 1950 (and I'm not exaggerating). 2 of the 5 burners worked and they only worked on high.

I cooked on that range for 6 months in that state.


I kid you not.


I learned how to turn the burner on and off and remove the pan in order to maintain "medium" heat. I kissed low heat good-bye during that season. Matthew was in the construction field during that time and one of his buddies was doing a renovation on a really nice home. The woman wanted all matching appliances (i.e. the same brand), so she was tearing out a perfectly good, Dacor, 5-burner gas stove and throwing it away. Matthew's buddy called us to see if we wanted it.

Um, yes, please.

We had a gas line installed and momma was happily cooking not only with 5 burners again, but ones that worked with an upgrade to gas! Hallelujah!

Well, 5 years has passed and I have been cooking away on a gas stove with no ventilation. We always practice safety first here at the Severns'! Besides the fact that we could have died from carbon monoxide poisoning, I also had no light over in that corner of my kitchen. I literally could not see at night when cooking. So for Christmas I asked for a lamp that would fit under my cabinets and a new tile back splash.

Well, lets just say my husband is a wonderful gift-giver. Because here is the before of my kitchen:

And here is the after of my kitchen:

BAM!

BAM!


And BAM!

He not only gave me tile and a light, but a hood! I love my new little space and even though I'm 9 months pregnant, I can't wait to cook!

{please take note of the yellow pot on my shelves. Yes, it is what you think: a 9 1/2 quart Le Creuset Dutch Oven. The crowning jewel to my new space. Yes, he also gave that to me. It was a very merry Christmas and now I feel like a real woman with a real dutch oven. Stop laughing.}

Thanks, babe...you're the best.