LIFE AS A LANKFORD

I'm linking up at Kelly's Korner to share a super-easy slow cooker recipe.  It was hard to choose my favorite, but I wanted to share something that's both simple and delicious.

Pork Chops and Gravy

Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
6 1-inch pork chops (boneless)
1 10 3/4 oz can condensed chicken broth, undiluted
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Combine first 4 ingredients in shallow dish.  Dredge chops in mixture and set aside  Combine remaining dry mixture and broth in slow cooker.  Brown chops in oil until just brown.  Place in slow cooker.  Cover and cook on high 2 to 2.5 hours.

This is great with sweet potatoes and a green vegetable.

Other slow cooker favorites include taco soup and Paula Deen's Creamy Macaroni and Cheese.  I have already browsed lots of good recipes posted today, and it looks like I'll be doing a lot of printing.  My slow cooker and I are going to become best friends this school year.

I awoke early Saturday to the sound of rain hitting the windows.  The morning wasn't too bad; Ned got breakfast from Bojangles, I did laundry, and Avery and I hung out in our pajamas.  We heated up leftovers from dinner out the night before and got Avery down for her nap.  The lights when on and off several times before leaving us completely about 1:30 p.m.  Avery still managed a good nap without her sound to cover the wind and rain.

Things started to pick up as the afternoon progressed.  Avery and I thought it was time for more pink cupcakes.  Avery had to share the iced cupcakes with me but had her own unfrosted one.  Pink cupcakes are pretty and delicious!



Our local NBC station broadcasted on several radio stations, and we were thankful to pick one up.  Please note Ned's ingenious use of foil.  Otherwise, someone had to sit there and hold it.  Several people told us how beautiful it looked through the window.


Dinner was a random assortment of sandwiches and Pasta Pick-Ups.  Ned kept a big cooler of ice, so we rescued some items from the fridge.  I was thankful that the winds had reached a point where it was unsafe for fire and rescue to go out, but I was ready for it all to be done.  We could watch the radar on our phones and were dismayed to see the storm moving very slowly.  We put batteries in Avery's sound machine and let her sleep in shorts and a shirt.  She went to bed without a peep.  Ned and I slept downstairs, on the floor and couch respectively, to keep Sammy from waking Avery up since her door was open.  We got some sleep but not ton.

I was thankful to see two things Sunday morning: sunshine and the clock reading 7:20 a.m.  Avery slept all night.  Ned got up to help in the neighborhood.  Avery and I had breakfast and set out to explore.  We found quite a mess.

Our neighborhood is basically one block with very few roads leading out.  This tree fell down the road from my in-laws, blocking one way out for some people.  There is a car under the part of the tree on the left.



The tree reached across the road to damage a house.


My in-laws have lots of trees but luckily sustained little damage.  My father-in-law's fleet did take a beating.  And yes, the trailer with the piece of furniture, washing machine, etc. did ride out the storm outside uncovered and unattended.  This is how Lankfords do things.  Please note: none of these three boats were functional before the storm.


This is at the corner of our street, blocking another way out for many.  This huge tree luckily missed the house.



I missed some damage on the street connecting the two areas of damage.  There was another tree on a house, but luckily there was little damage.

One of our few trees that could have damaged the new house did fall but missed it.  Our contractor said he was a little disappointed he wasn't going to get to build it again. HAHA.



This is the only damage we've seen so far.  I think had the other side been finished it would've held.


When we weren't surveying the damage, we were trying to stay busy.  We tried out Play-Doh and had to have a few lessons about not tasting it.



We ate hurricane-approved lunches that don't taste as good as they did during hurricanes when I was younger.  The Pepsi tasted fantastic as always.


Avery took another good nap and then we went out for another ride.  We went to Lowe's and bought our own generator so we wouldn't have to share, but it wouldn't be in until Monday morning.  Some gas stations were running on generators and the lines were crazy.  It made me feel a little panicky, although we didn't need gas in either vehicle.  Ned cooked hot dogs on the grill and warmed baked beans, and we had a pretty good meal.  My father-in-law returned the generator for a bit, and Ned got to work so that we could run the window unit in our room before bed.  Avery was a big, sweaty mess.  When I put her to bed, it was 84 degrees in her room.  I put her down in just a diaper, and her hair was dripping wet.

The generator did not give us a restful night.  I checked on Avery a little before 9 and was going to leave her door open.  She woke up and cried.  She had just settled down when Ned got the air going and brought a fan to blow the cool air into her room.  We rocked, we drank water, we brought in a light, but she was wide awake.  I went up to bed about 10:30 and she was standing in her crib looking at me.  I went in to tell her to lay down and noticed that she had had a dirty diaper and it had leaked.  I got her cleaned up while Ned changed the sheet and mattress pad.  I was so afraid she had eaten something bad.  I got her more water and rocked her until she went to sleep.  Those eyes popped right open when I laid her down.  I finally told her I was going to bed and she needed to lay down.  I have no idea what time she fell asleep.  We didn't run the generator at night, so we opened what windows we could.  I slept in the bed, and Ned slept on the couch.  Avery did inform us Monday morning that the fan made her "Ky" (cry).

Avery was up at 6:30 a.m. Monday morning, and I was at a low point.  My day started off with 2 pink (un-iced) cupcakes and Pepsi.  Ned went to work and found the power on while Avery and I went to Lolli's.  She had no power either but we needed a change.  I blogged this post from my phone while there.  On the way to Applebee's, Carrie Underwood's So Small came on the radio and I was so upset because I was ashamed for complaining about no power.  Lunch was a welcomed change and involved all of Avery's favorites: lemonade, grilled cheese, and ice cream.  I even got a little broccoli in her.  I had to work hard to keep Avery awake on the way home.  I called Ned and he said crews were working in our neighborhood.  That was music to my ears.

It took me a minute when we walked into the house to realize the air was running and the lights were on!  I could have cried.  Forty-eight hours was tough but much better than the 4 or 5 days they estimated.  Avery and I took naps, then we all went to the Mexican restaurant for dinner since our fridge was bare.

Lolli came Tuesday morning to do some laundry, so we showed her our neighborhood.  It's a busy place these days.  This crane was getting the tree off of the house.  I mentioned a neighbor had a close call, and their house required a crane.


This is the car that was under the tree.


This was the close call.  The lady who lives here had just finished using the bathroom upstairs and left the room.  The tree hit soon after and sent the toilet into the kitchen downstairs.  They just finished a few addition a week or two ago.  That wasn't damaged, but the rest of their poor house is just a mess.


This is the tree that smashed the car.  It would have sliced a house in half.

Hurricane Irene plodded across North Carlonia and Virginia ALL day Saturday and into the night. We are all well and have much to be thankful for. We, along with our families, are fine and sustained no real damage. Ned returned from all of his fire calls safely during the storm and did not have to go out in the worst of it. While our neighborhood looks like a war zone and was probably the worst in town, our neighbors are safe. One had a very close call. It seems like all our friends made out fairly well too. Our new house had a near-miss, but we've seen only one small bit of damage.

With all that said, I shouldn't have posted to Facebook today that morale is low, but well, it is. We've been without power since 1:30 pm Saturday. It's hot and we're eating junk. We finally reclaimed our generator from my in-laws yesterday to run a window unit before bed, and somehow we managed to have a terrible night. Emporia lost it's main line, but the main part of town was finally back up this morning. Some neighborhoods have it as well, but we've heard it could be Thursday before we see power. Food trucks are rolling into restaurants. I'm paranoid we're going to eat something bad. Avery is doing pretty well but is usually covered in sweat. It was 84 degrees on her bedroom last night. She would also really like to see Barney.

Avery and I have escaped to Lolli's for a change of pace and lunch in Franklin. Last night I prayed for strength and patience, and I'm hoping that a good lunch and ice cream for Avery will go a long way.

Siding and trim were the story of the week.  We checked in periodically and each time would find more and more done.  These pictures were all taken on Thursday.  On the front, they have finished the majority of the first floor, stopping just below the porch roof.  Today (Friday) they started on the 2nd story, but I did not have my camera tonight.



I was so excited when Ned went to the porch and yelled, "Lights!"  I have been waiting patiently for the electrician to get busy.  I rushed inside and found...nothing.  Ned said he probably came to do the porch, because the ceiling will be the same material as they are trimming the eaves.  At least it's a start.


The back is completely finished.  I'm ready for those window stickers to be gone.

Today we started our pre-school workshops and all county teachers were in various sessions at our high school.  As I sat in my 4th session, I was convinced that the teacher behind my was shaking my chair.  As I turned around to see what could be the problem, a chorus of "What's that?" and other similar phrases rose up around the room.  We were all shaking!  It seemed to go on forever, but it was probably about 30 seconds.  Plenty long for me!  It was the oddest feeling ever, and even once it seemed to stop, I still felt like we were moving.  It even made me dizzy.

Since we were trapped in school, we weren't sure what in the world was going on.  I turned to my trusted news source...Facebook...where there were already several posts from friends in Virginia in North Carolina who had felt the same thing.  Then Ned chimed in with a text asking if I had felt it.  He, along with the Facebook community, informed me that there had been a earthquake near Richmond, VA measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale.  We don't have earthquakes in Virginia!  The craziest thing was that some people in the room didn't notice.  I was in the session with a co-worker who has a child at Jen-Jen's, and we both wanted to know everything was fine there but hated to call during nap time.  I'm glad we didn't, because everyone was having trouble getting a signal, and Jen-Jen was even having trouble responding to texts.

We were allowed to leave at 2:30 so I went right to get Avery, who slept through the whole thing.  We are so thankful that there was no damage here and does not appear to be serious damage or injuries anywhere.  Ned did think to call our contractor and check on everything, especially the workers who were probably high on ladders.  Felix and Sammy were not wearing crash helmets when Avery and I got home, so evidently they made out ok too.  It will be interesting to see if new safety precautions come out because of this, especially at school.  Earthquakes are rare here, but had it been serious, we all would have been squished because we sat there looking at each other.

We'll get past the earthquake today only to begin preparations for a hurricane this weekend.  I'm not a fan of hurricanes and was not excited to hear The Weather Channel discuss the possibility of it moving up the I95 corridor.  Ned will most likely be at the fire station during the storm, which means Avery and I will most likely be with Lolli and Poppa.  I don't want to be alone but would much rather be home.  Hopefully the storm will turn and spare us all.  I have a tendency to prepare for bad weather by buying candy corn and Pepsi, but I think I'll try to be a little more industrious this time.  With our weather lately you just never know.

(The picture used is meant to bring a chuckle and in no way disregards or disrespects those who did suffer damage.)

Our last week of summer vacation was pretty quiet.  Lolli was already back in school, so we stayed home each day.  We were also lazy and skipped out on church on Sunday.  Our class is doing the Alpha series starting in September, so I don't know that we'll get any breaks then.  The weather was nice so Avery and I enjoyed several mornings outside.  I also treated myself to a few Bojanges breakfasts, and one morning Avery and I shared it outside.  She now expects "ro rounds" (Bo Rounds) each time we go outside.

On Wednesday we went to school so that Ned could move some of my furniture and get my classroom set up.  The excitement of running around my room kept Avery away from a much-anticipated cookie.  We got lots done in 30 minutes, and I was glad I wouldn't have to do lots of lifting and moving.  Ned went to work on the path at the farm, and Avery and I hung out at Lolli and Poppa's.  We all ate dinner there and had a good visit.

We all went to Jay and Connie's Friday night for dinner.  Lucas and Kristin eat there frequently since they are neighbors, and we are all friends.  Avery did not appreciate her late dinner but perked up after that and was ready for some kisses from E.  I wasn't too excited about my 7:30 dinner, since that's way late and Avery's bedtime.  She was holding up well, so we stayed for dessert and got her to bed about 8:30.

I didn't hear Avery until after 8 Saturday morning, which was a lovely treat.  Staying up late rarely results in sleeping late for her.  Ned went back to work on the farm Saturday morning, and Avery and I enjoyed more time outside.  We walked to Mimi's and had a visit with everyone there.  Avery took awhile to fall asleep for her nap, and of course slept late since we were trying to get out of the house.  We went to Richmond to Short Pump in search of shoes for Avery.  Does shopping for children's shoes make anyone else sweat?  Avery did pretty well, but that place was crazy.  Their Stride Rite selection was poor, and Avery walked away with shoes for Jen-Jen's that are purple with sparkles.  It hurts my soul to pay $45 for purple and sparkles.  She needed new church shoes but we're going to make do with new Keds until it's time for black shoes.  It was definitely time for new shoes.  She measured a 6 and they recommended going up a full size.  That didn't work out, so her Stride Rites are 6.5 and her Keds are a 6. 

We had such a fun time together at the mall.  The nearest malls are at least an hour away, so we don't get there too often with Avery.  She was perfect and loved Short Pump just like her mama.  We browsed Pottery Barn Kids, finally found a Puddle Jumper for Avery, checked out the fun toy store with lots of Melissa and Doug, and ate at California Pizza Kitchen.  They must have known I was coming since they had fried mac and cheese as an appetizer....yum!  Mama even got a pretzel and we all enjoyed sitting outside watching the train.  I'm sure we'll be train riders the next time we go.  We left at bedtime, and I really thought Avery would settle down eventually and go to sleep.  She finally gave up around 9 p.m. and slept 10-20 minutes before waking up as we were coming through town.  She did at least go right to sleep after we got pajamas on.

Our last week of summer was calm but provided lots of time with my sweet girl.

We had a busy weekend, and I am behind on my blogging.  I only took pictures on Friday, and I haven't been in the house since mid-week.  I really thought I would get back over this weekend, preferably alone, but it never happened. 

On the inside this week, they put small pieces of wood in between each 2x4 framing piece.  Ned did the walk-through for security on Thursday morning.

On the outside, our front porch was poured.


Siding began to go on as well.  This started early to mid-week seemed to go slow in my opinion.  But, they are doing all the trim under the eaves, etc. which takes awhile and must be done before the siding can reach the roof.



By Friday, they had done the side and the back of the garage, the side and the back of our bedroom, and some on the back middle section.  It was raining when I took these and we were late for dinner with friends, so I didn't make it around to our bedroom.  Hopefully they will finish the back this week and move around to the front.

Where is my brain these days?  Long gone evidently, so when I realized I missed blogging about some important things last week, I thought I better throw them in with some things from this week before I forgot them all completely.

How I overlooked this I'll never know, but I was moved back to teaching 3rd grade last week.  I was 3rd last year but was supposed to go back to 2nd this year.  I feels so nice not to be stressing over it now as I was this time last year.  I dreaded it so much then, and getting through it showed me that I can do more than I think.  We'll have 3 sections this year, and right now it looks like I'll teach language arts to my homeroom and science to all three sections.  We (along with much of the state) have some work to do, especially in reading.  My science scores were good, so although I don't care for teaching science, I know what I can do to do better.  Plus, less prep for me!  Surprisingly I don't dread going back this year.  Yes, I'd prefer to be home, but I'm not moaning yet.  There's just too much good going on, and I'm too excited about all that the year has in store for us.  Check on me Tuesday and see if I'm feeling the same!

My Facebook friends may have seen where I missed my hair appointment Tuesday, because I thought it was scheduled Thursday.  In fairness to me, my last few appointments were on Thursdays, and I was just sure she put me down for the same thing.  I hate doing things like that because I try to be organized and ahead of the game.  Instead of waiting for my free planner from my principal, I ordered a Life Planner from Erin Condren.  I missed the deal on Plum District and had decided not to get it, but after my hair mishap I decided I'd treat myself.  With house things, Avery getting more involved in activities, and other events we have going on, we're going to need some organization.  I won't be getting new back-to-school clothes, so this is my treat.  I love a planner and can't wait for it to arrive.  I also plan on starting a home organization notebook using some of the printables featured on Blue-Eyed Bride a few weeks ago.  I'm especially excited to get more organized in my meal planning.  I do it each week before I shop, but I'd love to hang on to a bunch and just rotate them.  Sometimes I simply cannot think of a thing to cook.  We'll see how it all goes.

Finally, I popped into Hallmark last week while we were on our date to check out the ornaments.  I love Hallmark ornaments and have a ton, including several series.  My biggest and longest running series is the Nostalgic Houses and Shops.  Here is the house this year.


Look familiar?


I love when ornaments have significance, and I love that this ornament will always remind us of our time in this house.  Yes, we're ready for a bathroom on the first floor and a neighborhood that won't cause Sammy to need anxiety medicine (therefore causing me to need some as well), but we're steadily making memories that we'll always remember when we look at the tree.

I read two excellent posts today compliments of Blue-Eyed Bride.  Both concerned "mommy wars," but I prefer to call them women wars.  This post I wrote was the result of a conversation with someone who was not a mother.  After reading Blue-Eyed Bride, another blog, and witnessing a ridiculous debate on Facebook spurred by a post about Dr. Brown's bottles, I had to chime in.

Who decides what's best in terms of parenting?  It can't be a book, because there are no less than a million parenting books in print.  It shouldn't be a mom with a blog, a mom on TV, or a mom down the street, because surely those children are not like my children.  It should be the parents, or parent, who are raising that child, but sadly that doesn't seem to be the case.  I read books and blogs, watch TV, and talk to other moms because I love to hear how they do it, what works for them, etc.  I blog to remember how I've done it, what works, etc.  Here's how I stack up in the debates.   I share not to justify but for those interested or who face the same decisions.

In this house, breast was NOT best.  Avery stopped nursing well on day 2.  Her nurse was not the best,  I was not encouraged to wake her, and was not informed that she wasn't peeing enough.  I was kind of out of it, which I'll explain below.  Early day 3 we found out that she was jaundice, and I was also told she had been 12 hours without peeing.  This was also the day that they discovered her low resting heart rate, and she was placed on a monitor.  I was told to pump and supplement.  She was a lazy eater in the beginning, and the bottle kept her from working as hard.  I pumped in the hospital but could not continue at home.  I developed preeclampsia as I went into labor and was on magnesium sulfate for 2 days.  My blood pressure skyrocketed each time I sat up after delivery.  By day 3 I was having crazy heart palpitations that would make me feel like I was going to pass out.  Every 3 hours, I walked to the nursery, fed Avery her bottle, then pumped and returned the milk to the nursery.  I was getting no rest, and rest was needed to handle the stress of Avery's unknown heart condition in addition to the regular care of a newborn.  We went to only formula at home and never looked back.  Me not breastfeeding Avery did not put a scarlet letter on either or our chests, and I don't think you could look at her and tell she was fed that "terrible" formula.  Ned would prefer that I not breastfeed the next baby, and we will make that decision when the time comes as it may be easier then.  He recognized the stress it lifted when I finally gave up, the amount of rest I was able to get with him doing every other bottle, and the bonding it gave the two of them.  I think moms who breastfeed for however long are awesome, but please don't tell me it was best for us.

I do many other "wrong" things too.  I work outside the home, we cried it out at 4 months because I knew she could sleep through the night, and I said "Yes, please" for an epidural.  We did what was best for us.  When someone makes blanket statements that breast feeding is best, co-sleeping is best, whatever, it implies that I am choosing not to do what's best for my child.  I've wanted children for too long to purposefully make a decision that wouldn't be best for my child and family.  While I don't agree with these statements, I can and sometimes do get offended.  I'm not looking for a mother who breast feeds to tell me it's ok that I didn't.  I know it is.  A simple "good job" will do just fine.

I have never been openly judged for any of the above decisions, but who knows what has been said behind my back.  There are always people who bad mouth friends' decisions, from parenting to houses, and if they are your friend, you have to wonder if they do it to you too.  Ned and I do receive some jabs about Avery's schedule.  I've heard it referred to as being a slave to your child's sleep schedule, and I say yes I am, thanks.  Put your child to bed at 11 p.m. if it works for that child, but not because it works for you and your schedule.  We do what's best for us, and I can only assume that most parents do the same.  That is not to say that these decisions came easy.  Many were met with tears, worry, and stress.  I have come to learn that I was more worried about the opinions of others, and I am happy to see a better way now.

We all judge, and I'm not claiming not to.  I have a very critical eye for people who don't follow car seat rules and other safety things in general.  But, I hope that all that's been said in this blog has always been conveyed as a recording of what works and doesn't work for us.  Motherhood is not a competition to see who makes the best choices, who's child sleeps in a big bed or potty trains first, who's child is speaking in paragraphs, and proclaiming it's intelligence that makes these things happen.  Motherhood should be about molding little people to the best of our ability and supporting all the others who have taken on this tremendous job.

If you are a woman, visit Blue-Eyed Bride today and read both posts.  It will make you a better mother, friend, woman, or all three.  Motherhood has been my toughest times for friendships.  There are woman without children and woman with differing opinions, and though I try to keep up, it isn't reciprocated.  I can pick out competitive tendencies in friends and am learning to be confident of my choices, house, and all of life in their presence.  I am growing more secure and pray that they can feel the same.  I am so thankful for blogging and social media friends, both known and unknown.  I don't need a comment on every blog, status, or picture, but those that offer cheers for a milestone or encouragement for a bad day are appreciated greatly.  I am thankful for those that make an effort to stay connected in our lives, and would love to have lunch with all of you!  Take time today to support the women in your life.

We had a busy, busy week.  It was possibly one of the busiest of the summer.  We had something to do almost every day, which is very unlike us.  I guess we were just trying to pack in all we could for one of the last weeks of summer.

We got up Sunday morning and went to church.  We are always a little nervous when Miss Carolyn isn't already in the nursery, because we never know who will be in there.  We were starting to think we'd be staying, when Miss Emily and her grandmother came to do class.  Avery loves Miss Emily, but I was a little nervous, especially since Giraffi didn't make the trip.  Snacks came out and Avery was just fine, though.  Avery used the potty twice for Ned and we were all excited.  I made a trip to the grocery store, which is always a little easier without Avery.

We thought our house was being shown Monday, so we made plans to go have lunch with Ned.  Michelle knocked on the door while Avery and I were still in our pajamas and said that they needed to reschedule for Wednesday.  We decided to still have lunch together since we hadn't done it all summer.  I wanted mozzarella sticks from FoSho but had to settle for Pino's since it was closed.  Avery was happy to receive pizza regardless of where we were.  My car got serviced during this time, because for several months I've been getting a low pressure alert on one of my tires.  It had been checked several times, but every 2 weeks or so, it would happen again.  Finally this time they were able to find a place that needed patching.  We had dinner at Mimi's since Rob and Stephanie were back again getting ready for Rob's new job at the beach.

On Tuesday, Avery and I went to Franklin and had lunch with Lolli at her new favorite place, Simply Divine.  Lolli has been quite the social butterfly this summer and has become a regular there.  Mom and I both had pretzel sandwich rolls with bacon, tomato, and cheese.  I really think Avery's grilled cheese was my favorite, though.  Avery napped when we got home, and then we had to watch our customary Barney.  She is enamored by that purple dinosaur, and we are going to wear out our DVR playing the "cookies" episode over and over.  I love to watch her face while she's watching, and I love even more that it usually involves cuddling with Mama.

I took Avery to Lolli's Wednesday morning after a quick meeting at the house.  Ned and I had plans for the afternoon and evening, so it worked to show the house then.  I'm hoping this is not a regular occurrence, because I've already lived in one house for sale and didn't plan to do it again.  Ned and I went out for our movie date, but our first stop was a hunting store.  I met my Kelly's Kids rep there and picked up catalogs since I'm taking orders.  (Let me know if you need anything!)  We looked for a Puddle Jumper for Avery at Target, browsed in Best Buy, then had an early dinner at Olive Garden.  We got to the movies early and bought our tickets.  I wanted to be early to my seat too, so we walked to Hallmark and came right back.  We actually got to the theatre as the earlier movie was letting out.  I was determined to be the first in, and I was!  The movie was fantastic and I'm ready to see it again.  I was not expecting the crowd that was there, and it was a full house.  The young man next to me could not keep from saying "What?" for words he didn't know, making other random comments, playing air drums, etc.  I think it was all the Twizzlers, or either he was embarrassed to be at the movies with his mom and grandmother.  I miraculously tuned him out and kept my mouth closed.

Avery was busy at a dinner party in her honor.  My parents had my aunt and uncle, Jeannie (Neenee) and Hop, over for dinner.  She enjoyed a big meal and being the star of the show.

Ned and I had some things to take care of Thursday and were back home as Avery was getting home.  Lolli and Avery picked up lunch and the three of us ate together.  I was feeling pizza for dinner, so Avery and I picked one up for us.  We visited with Mimi, Grandaddy, Rob, and Stephanie after we ate.  We then headed to Newsoms and saw Lolli and Poppa while Ned checked his deer camera.

Avery and I stayed home all day on Friday.  Avery stayed in her pajamas until after nap time.  Maybe it was a coincidence, but she slept for three hours and then was happy to stay in her bed.  The week caught up with me, and I dozed for a good portion of that time too.  Ned requested barbecue chicken for dinner and Avery ate and ate.

We promised Avery pancakes for Saturday morning because she spotted the box on Friday.  I slept in and Ned decided we should go to Cracker Barrel.  Living in an interstate town means Cracker Barrel is always busy, but the wait wasn't too long.  We were a little concerned that Avery would have to eat in our laps, but a high chair finally opened up.  Avery and I shared pancakes, Ned had French toast, and we all left stuffed.  Avery took another good nap, and Ned went to shoot his bow with Lucas.  We were disappointed that the rain started early, because we had plans to go to my local county fair with Lolli and Poppa.  Avery wanted tractors and I wanted fried Oreos, and we were both bummed.  We still went and met Lolli and Poppa at Applebee's which Avery thought was just as fun.  I had a dessert, so Avery got her own scoop of ice cream.

We don't have any big plans this week except for enjoying our last week home together.  Summer has flown by so quickly and I'm not ready for my days with my sweet girl to end.

Not a big week this week, but a few new things were done.  The bullnose brick was laid around the porch.  The porch floor will be poured once this sets for a few days.


Steps were started on Wednesday.  We had to make a few decisions concerning them Thursday morning, then they were going to finish framing them in.


Steps provided a tour of the upstairs.  Below is bedroom 1.



Bedroom 2 is across the hall.



This bedroom has its own bath and will be our guest room for awhile.


This bedroom also leads to a storage area/attic.


We are very excited about all this storage space.


This is a hall bath.


Bedroom number 3 will be Avery's for the time being.  Ned thinks eventually she should have the bedroom with the bathroom.  Maybe she'll want to move there when she starts taking showers, but right now I'd like to have only one bathroom upstairs to keep clean.



The bonus room above the garage will hold all the toys.


Looking down at the family room from the top of the steps.


This was a close as I would get to the foyer opening until some railings go up.


Avery prefered to watch Clint's house from the window.  She got to see him Thursday morning and was just beside herself.  She blew him a kiss, but I really think she would have laid one on him had he picked her up.