how lovely....

I've had the best time watching this lovely couple today....

brighten up a little....

After all of this rain Nashville has had I could use a few bright flowers and a little sunshine....couldn't you?

taking the time....

Tonight I just finished my 37th hour of work in 72 hours and I am so tired I feel dazed!  It is amazing how little babies kick my butt sometimes at work!  I am thrilled to just sit and eat breakfast with Ethan in the morning and share yogurt.  David has been working...and working....and working on wrapping up the house he is building. Every night I get home from work at 8pm and he leaves to go work some more next door.  Tonight we have dinner date at 9pm.  We are determined to sit and have a meal together despite the clock reading 9pm. We are taking the time whenever we get the time....even if dinner is served with the 9 o'clock news:)

Earth Day....

In honor of Earth Day I thought I'd share little ways in which our family tries to be green.  After moving into our new house last year, our city started a blue-bag recycling program.  You simply seperate non-recycleables from those that can be recycled into one bag.  The city picks up your blue bags once a week right outside on the curb.  MUCH easier than what we've tried and failed before of seperating plastics, paper, glass and hauling them off to the local recycle center.  We have a blue bag can right beside our trash can in the kitchen to make it that much easier.  I love watching our recycling stack up in comparison to our trash. 

Just this week I discovered reusable swim diapers.  I know what you are thinking....ugh.  With Ethan's Infant Swim classes, I realized how much money I was spending on disposable swim diapers for him to wear them for literally ten minutes.  Not to mention they really don't work for pee!  I googled swim diapers and found this washable swim diaper.  I absolutely love it.  You just toss in your washing machine and air dry.  Ethan has never gone #2 in the pool so I'm keeping my fingers crossed it stays this way.  Gives me a little bit of a different opinion on cloth diapers....just a little bit!

One of my favorite stocking stuffers of all times from my SIL, Whitney, were these Envirosax.  I love toting my groceries, Target goodies, and many other items around in them.  They roll up into a small ball to fit inside your purse so you never forget to bring your own bag.  These sturdy little bags come in a ton of different colors and prints....adorable!

I love to organize so on-line bill pay through our bank is a must for me.  I love how everything is one place.  It saves a ton of money on stamps, time writing checks, and the hassle of checking to see if those checks where cashed, etc.  I sit down twice a month and pay everyone from the electric company to our dentist.  Once you set it up...it is so easy.

infant swim: week 2

Ethan is now finishing up week two of infant swim.  He seems to be proud of what he's accomplished over the last two weeks and so are we.  Here is a small clip of him in the water.

22 Months....

For Ethan's 22nd Month Chair Photo I decided to go old school and do a pajama photo.  Why???  Well, this is Ethan's first pair of "old man" pj's {good ole hand-me-down from bestie Zane} and we've been too busy during the day to slow down and pose in his chair.  So what have we been doing lately....

helping dad with yard work...

planting several trees in the yard

playing hard in the yard...

hanging bird feeders...

getting a hair cut (lost my sweet curls)....

playing with Papa...

hanging out with the best dog in the world Alex....

being a cutie...

flying a plane with Daddy and then watching Alex eat it (oops)...

having wild hair days...

eating fruit on a finger...

having a cat nap after swim class...

kissing lots of boo-boos....we now get one about every day:(

All I can say about being a mom to a 22 month old is how sweet it is and how I hate to miss one second of this sweet, fun, hilarious, and adorable toddler.  We are in love with spring!  Infant Swim classes are going great.  

I better go....David is outside on patio waiting for me with a class of wine and some good music!

here we go....week 1 of 6

Tomorrow starts day 1 of 6 weeks of Ethan's Infant Swim class (ISR).  I say "swim" but it is a class that is based on infant survival in water.  We first discovered ISR last summer at our neighborhood pool when our neighbor Hannah, who is one year older than Ethan, was swimming around like a fish.  I was a lifeguard for 3 years {back in the high school/college days} and never saw a child so efficient in the water than Hannah.  The pool I lifeguarded in was a 12 foot deep pool with a large water slide.  However, I rescued the 1.5 foot kiddie pool toddlers more than any other area.  Moms turn around to look for big brotherand under little Johnnie went because he lost his balance too stunned to move.

Anyhow, after weeks and weeks of talking, David and I decided to give ISR a shot.   The class is intense....Monday through Friday for 10 minutes every day.  I am very much nervous/excited about the class.  However, the thought of Ethan having the skill to float at such an early age brings a comfort to me.  I want him to be as safe as possible in and around the water  but also enjoy the water just as much as David and I do.

So Monday morning at 9am say a quick little prayer that I hold on to my cheerios as Ethan starts this journey....