THANKSGIVING FUN!

Hope you all had a great holiday! We did & have much to be thankful for this year. Our good friends, the Scotts (from our college days in Abilene, TX) came to our house this year....a rare treat because of our schedules (he's a preacher too, in CA). It was awesome to catch up & Nate had a great time playing with their kids. We didn't do the Black Friday shopping, but instead, found a ton (way too many) groceries at a local asian market. Then it was off to Vietnamese food & a BRIEF stop at the mall. What a madhouse! 

Later that night we went to sushi, which was great until Nate catapulted off his chair, smashed his mouth & jammed his tooth up his gums. There was blood everywhere. We didn't know how serious it was so we took him to the ER. They got him in quickly & found that he didn't need stitches and his tooth would eventually work it's way back down & die. He's on antibiotics for a week & has a nice fat munched up lip. Poor kid! Don't worry...he's already bounced back & eating table food. Tough little guy. It's all fun & games until someone gets hurt! At any rate, we are thankful it wasn't more serious. Here's some photos of the weekend. 

Walking off the turkey to the park

Vietnamese noodles

Brave little boy!

14th ANNUAL DISNEYLAND GIRL TRIP

Last weekend I went on our annual girl trip to Disneyland. Fun as always & wore ourselves out as usual. We did everything we wanted to on Friday. It wasn't crowded at all & we walked right on many of the rides. So Sat we just took our time & did a lot of shopping. haha. Thanks to our men who were Mr. Moms while we were gone & gave us a chance to catch up. Good times!

Chugging a Starbucks double shot.....need the xtra momentum!

LIFE & STUFF

What to blog about? Mostly house stuff that is on the brain these days. That and our son being three. Not "turning" three but BEING three. Big difference. It was like one day he was a terrific two and the next day, he decided to be 18!@!x! Suddenly he had to challenge everything...really mostly me, I think. I'm a SAHWM (stay at home working mom) and one day, I told him (like I usually do) to do certain things and for every instruction, he had a response. My compliant little 2 yr old was now a trying 3 yr old:

Me: Nate, go use the bathroom before we go out

N: I already did go, mom! (even though that meant a few hours ago).

Me: Nate go get your crayons

N: I can't find them mom.

Me: Go look in your room

N: I ALREADY DID!

Argh! We are now having to remind him that when we tell him to do something, it means DO IT! Ultimately, he gives me a big frown & stands his ground. I know what that little mind is thinking ("I did it and I don't have to do it again until I want to!") When it comes to mom, he wants to control every aspect of everything. Every once in awhile he'll welcome my help but if it's something he's familiar with, he's started saying, "No! I want to do it!" 

So now we are REALLY having to re-think our parenting.....focusing on manners....asking nicely instead of demanding, obeying us when we give an instruction instead of refusing. Asking permission to do things (like opening the front door & going outside on his own *GASP*!) Throwing a tantrum means time on his bed with no comfort items until he's calm. We are having to redefine boundaries!

On the plus side, he really does love to help me (because he feels like a big kid & again...there's that level of control). So I get an extra hand with the dishes, laundry, cooking, etc. You can really hold a conversation with him now & he'll answer questions fairly well (although his fav phrase seems to be "I don't know", lately). He is craving learning & constantly wants to know "why" this & "why" that...trying to figure out every bit of his world. 

Socially, we're working on him sharing, taking turns, etc. Because he's an only child, he likes to be the boss. And at a solid 36lbs, he can throw his weight around.....literally. We just did his 3 yr check up & he was 37-1/2" tall, got 2 shots in each arm & didn't even flinch. 

He's really not that bad. We're just having to get used to his changing behavior. Usually the negative behavior rears it's head if it's way past bedtime or he's hungry. At age 2, he would be irritable at those times, but at age 3, he responds with screaming meltdowns. The other night, it was an hour past bedtime, after our small group study, & he was rapidly melting. Finally, we decided to skip the normal bedtime routine & just get him into bed. He was crying & tired so I took his clothes off & put him in bed. HOLY COW!! The boy freaked! He screamed & threw a major fit. I told him he could stay in his bed & when he was finished crying, I would come back in & say goodnight. Well, that didn't sit well with him at all. He screamed & cried for 30 minutes. Halfway through that, he screamed, "MOM! DON'T TAKE MY SHIRT AGAIN, MOM!!!"....over & over. Apparently HE wanted to take his shirt off & didn't like me doing it. Go figure. Finally after 30 minutes, he calmed down & just lay there sniffling. I came in & asked, "Are you finished?" He nodded "yes" & I explained that every time he threw a fit, he would have to stay in his bed until he was calm. When he was calm he would get hugs & kisses or (if not bedtime) he could get off the bed when calm. 

After that, he went right to sleep & woke up the next morning, happy. *sigh* Kids. Gotta love 'em.

MORE HOUSE PHOTOS

Here are more photos of the house...so far. Still trying to figure out where everything goes & how to decorate. But like I said in the previous post, it feels more like home. We made chocolate chip cookies after moving in....a Sullivan family tradition to make the transition easier.

View of Great Room from the front door.

Dining area

Living area.

Another view of living area from dining area

Entry way with the lion guarding the front door. haha

Hall bath

Master bath

Master tub

Cool niche next to master bedroom

Another cool display area near front door

SETTLING IN

I am wiped out. We have spent the entire week, day & night cleaning, unpacking & organizing and getting the house set up. I have had absolutely no time for anything else....but it's starting to look & feel more like home. The house is huge compared to our last..from 1300 to 1955 sq ft & high ceilings (not vaulted). Our stuff looks tiny in the great room & master bedroom. We are so excited & happy to be here. During all the trials with this house, I had pretty much decided we were better off without it & did not even like the idea of having it. However, since we've moved in, I feel like this is home...where we're supposed to be. Nate is doing pretty well too. Happier & excited to have his new room & new bed. We've tried to let him be a part of the unpacking, painting & decorating so the transition would be easier & more fun for him. The backyard is huge & Nate LOVES playing out on the patio and I love that I can do other things & know he's safe back there. Today he rode his bike to one of the nearby parks. At our old house, the dirt road was rutty, uneven & hilly. Perfect for an older child to ride, but not a 3 yr old learning to use training wheels! Soooooo nice to have a park in walking distance. I feel like I am spoiled, like a kid in a candy store.

We still have a lot to do....more painting, landscaping & decorating to come and I'm looking forward to it all. Thank you for all your prayers & encouragement. This was a tough wait but definitely worth it! We plan on having an Open House in the next month or so. Here's some more pics for you.

Painting his new room

Up high in his new loft bed

Big yard to play in

I have my own coffee bar! And not ashamed to say I use BOTH machines daily.

Taking flight on the nearby playground

YO HO A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME

YARRRR!!!!

What a fun night! We went trick-or-treating in our new neighborhood & had a blast! There were tons of kids and we met several neighbors. People were sooo friendly. For 4 years we have had 1 or no trick-or-treaters at our rental in the boonies so we were totally unprepared. Our 1 big bag of candy disappeared fast & I was handing out some of Nate's candy! Finally I turned off the light & shut the blinds...by that time, it was all the teens who were out & about. 

Nate was a pirate this year & couldn't wait to dress up. Instead of buying a costume, I put together an outfit from stuff he would be able to wear later. His sash made a nice scarf for me. haha. 

We finished moving all our stuff in yesterday & now get to unpack & put everything together. Our new place is so BIG! A lot of our stuff (including our refrigerator) was in the rental storage shed for 4 years so it's like Christmas early. Last night we slept in our new home for the first time & it was BLISS!! 

What kind of Halloween candy is THIS?! haha!