The Mother of all Re-caps

So, it's definitely been a while since we've caught up. But hey, we've been busy uprooting our lives and resettling down and mashing our family back together.

(I'm also posting things a little differently to get you all caught up. We'll start with the older thing first. As you read through the following blog postings, you'll be working toward the more recent happenings.)

Here's what we did before we left:

February 23:
It snowed (about 5 flakes).

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February 27:
We went to some birthday parties with our best buddies.
Jack was there too.
March:
We sat in our favorite spot...
Continued potty training...Crashed out...Did some reading...
Learned a new trick...
Goofed around...
Went to see and hid from a really big dog...Read some more...
and perfected the new trick...
Then we went to see the dinosaurs!

They moved, they screeched, the terrified! Screaming children everywhere. The movement and screeching was intermittent, so you never knew when the terror would begin again. I assured Will "it will get better, let's just get past the scary ones. OH look, petrified poop!" No such luck. The fang toothed creatures lurked around every corner. Just as Ben thought he had found an area of refuge by a "rock wall", a T-Rex head loomed out just above Will's head. More children screaming, other parents looking giving pitiful/dirty looks. We don't like dinosaurs as much as we used to.

April:
We loved...We dyed Easter eggs...

The Easter bunny came...

We hunted eggs...

We had farewell fun with our friends...

We packed up the house...

We had a moving away party at daycare...

We said goodbye to our favorite Father Jimmy...

and took some unhappy pictures in the bluebonnets.

Then, we moved!

Toothless

No, the Tooth Fairy won't be needing to make any appearances yet. Will just loved the movie "How to Train a Dragon" and the night fury dragon named Toothless. I happened to find this hooded towel to give to Will as a housewarming gift. It quickly became a "costume" and has accompanied us on a few trips to the grocery store. Although I usually manage to talk him into leaving it in the car ;).

This is where we live

So, we've relocated to Presidio. It's in the high Chihuahuan desert of Texas. It's west, way west. And south, WAY south. And hot. We've already seen 106. One evening my car's temperature reading was 112, but luckily after a drive to the post office it cooled to 99. But it's really beautiful here. Well, not so much the town itself. It's dusty and run down and the community is very poor (median income is $19K). But the surrounding mountains are breathtaking. The pictures hardly capture what you see in person!

These photos were taken driving west of Presidio.

These photos were captured driving east of Presidio towards Lajitas and Terlingua.

Surprise! It's another boy!

Will and Jack would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family.

Charlie
a border collie mix puppy

A boy and his dog

Another boy and his dog

Calling all SAHMs

Calling all stay-at-home moms.

I'm beginning my career as a full time stay at home mommy next week. I can't tell you how excited I am! I've been working full time, 3 days at the office and 2 days from home, since Will was born. But now the time has (finally) come to relocate and reunite this family. So I will, with mixed emotions, embark on this new and exciting journey.

Now, here's where you ladies come in. I am by nature, to the very core of my cells, a planner. Even if I don't follow the plan, I need to know that I have one. I would so very much appreciate it if any of you would share your at-home expertise. The first month of my stay-at-home mommyness will be consumed with cleaning, packing, moving, and unpacking. But after that...then what? What are your daily routines, cleaning schedules, fun and educational activities? I could especially use "at home" activity ideas since we'll be living in an very remote area where we'll have to make our own fun. I have in my mind all of these things that I think will need to be done and things I'd like to do, but I don't know how practical any of it really is. We've been without a daddy in our house since June and aside from a set bedtime, for mother's sanity, anything resembling a routine has flown out the window. So, I'm looking for anything that can help bring structure back into our lives for fear I'll lose my head or turn into a slob that never gets anything done.

Entertaining any and all suggestions and thanks for your help!

Stick 'em up!

Zoo with Daddy

Ben was home for a few days after graduating from the academy. So, we took the opportunity to visit the zoo!

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