One Month Blogging Anniversary!

Today marks 1 month of Nesselrodes…365!  I have been wanting to do a blog for sometime now and decided I was just going to do it, instead of constantly talking Dave’s ear off about it.  I’m not a writer so I was worried about writing something everyday.  I realized that I don’t have to write a story each day – a picture and a few sentences is more my style.  I want something to document what my family does and what we’re about.  I think I’ve done a pretty good job so far.  I was worried that I wouldn’t have anything to write about, but my family is full of entertainment and stories, so that shouldn’t be a problem.  I hope they’re keeping you entertained, too!

Thanks for reading!  -Jenn

 

Weekend In Review

It was a gorgeous weekend here in NC!

We had a great Saturday! Kelsie and Dave had a Father/Daughter date and went to Pottery Camp (1.). Kelsie has Dave wrapped so she was able to get him to her favorite restaurant (Japanese food), Best Buy (for a DS game) and PetSmart for dog adoption day (no new dog – he’s not THAT wrapped!) Kyle and I spent the day together, too. We had lunch at McDonald’s and went to the book store. He also had his hair cut (2.) He’s been asking for a mohawk (no way!), so he got a “faux-hawk”. He spent the rest of the day playing outside with his friend Drew (3. & 4.). Later that night we went to dinner with The Kitner’s – Dawn, Glen and Drew (5., 6. & 7.). They live across the street from us and have become great friends!

All day Sunday was spent working on Kelsie’s biography project. She picked Justin Bieber (shocker!) and has to make a life size poster-person of him.

More pictures to come when Kelsie has completed her Bieber.

Hope y’all had a great weekend!

Community Helper Day

Today was Community Helper Day for the Kindergarten classes at Kelsie and Kyle’s school. Many great men and women took time out of their day to explain (or try to explain) what they do for a living. Each of them brought goodies to pass out to the kids. A Firefighter, Preacher, Geologist, Lt. Col. in the Army, a Musician… and Kyle’s favorite…

“Mom, look, the cafeteria lady gave this to me”

“No, Kyle, I’m pretty sure that was a Doctor”

Wordless Wednesday

No school on Tuesday = Bowling with the boys

(Ryan, Eddie and Kyle)

Heart Full of Love

Kyle’s Kindergarten teacher assigned the parent’s homework this week (thought my days of completing homework were done!). On a construction paper heart, I had to show what is special about my child. The obvious – he’s so handsome and has this little smile that will melt your heart (and get him out of a lot of trouble!). He’s smart, kind, affectionate, athletic, energetic and funny. I love when he tells me “I love you, Mama” out of the blue. He still likes to cuddle with me and I hope he always will. The heart isn’t big enough to show what is special about Kyle to me. I do know that my heart is full of love for him.

My EASY Valentine’s Day Wreath

I usually don’t decorate for Valentine’s Day, but this year I just couldn’t resist. After seeing all of the creative and beautiful Valentine’s decorations on Pinterest, I decided to try something of my own. All I did was spray paint a grapevine wreath red and add a few embellishments I found at Michaels. Doesn’t get any easier than that!

(Linking to Craft-O-Maniac, Reasons to Skip the Housework,

Rook No. 17, Sugar Bee Crafts, Inside BruCrew Life, Chef In Training, Michelle Paige,

Clean & Scentsible )

My dream

This is my attic.  900 square feet of prime real estate.

My husband and I would LOVE to get this finished one day.  We just can’t seem to agree on what we want/need in this space.  If the hubs had his way, this is what it would look like…

(picture source Google)

He wants a place for him and his friends to play pool, cards, watch the game and escape their wives and kids.

Me… I’d just like an organized place to craft and escape my husband and kids.  Is this too much to ask!?

_{(source Beach Brights)}

I’d never leave this space.  I might sleep here, too.  This mama can dream, right?

 

(Linking to Life with My 3 Boybarians)

Kyle vs. The Scissors

Kyle started Kindergarten in September. So far he’s doing great. He’s writing and already reading books. Just one thing he can’t seem to tackle… cutting PAPER.

This is a picture of Kyle’s shirt sleeves – a BRAND NEW shirt that I had just taken the tags off of that morning. Instead of cutting his paper, he decided to give his shirt a quick alteration. I guess I should be thankful that it wasn’t his hair.

Wordless Wednesday

_{Duke has found the best spot in the house on this cold day.}

How many journals does one 8 year old need?

Kelsie loves to write and doodle. Her teacher’s have told us that she is becoming a great writer (she must take after her Daddy and Grandmother, who is a published author). She has even written a play! While cleaning Kelsie’s room, I made another discovery…

18 JOURNALS AND NOTEBOOKS! Each one has something written in them… the thoughts and deep secrets of my 8-year old girl.

Cleaning Kelsie’s room doesn’t suck after all…

It's a constant battle with Kelsie to keep her room clean. I've put cute storage in her room, thinking she'll be more organized. No such luck. Maybe a new desk would help to clear the clutter? Nope. I was at my wits end and decided to clean it throw most of the junk out. The longer I was in there, the madder I became. She's 8 years old and should be doing this herself. That's when I came across this...

Makes being a maid, cook, driver, teacher MOM so much better.

Weekend in Review

1. Grandparents come to NC!

2. Silly faces with Bammie and PawPaw.

3. Dad made me his FAMOUS chocolate chip cookies. He's been making these since I was little. He uses the recipe on the back of the Nestle Toll House chocolate chips, but I think he does a little something different. They are DELISH and the BEST cookies I've ever had!

4. Lots of paper football making

5. Kyle “hiking” the football off of Bammie’s head (she’s a good sport!)

6. Yes, that is my son in a plastic bin.  Please don’t call Child Protective Services!

7. Organizing Legos... not sure why since I know my children won't keep them organized!

8. Building Legos - my children love the Lego people and I think they would be happy with just having Lego people.

9. A trip to the new dog park. Duke doesn't care for it, but the kids love it. They get more exercise than Duke.

10.  Dinner with great friends!

11. Sandra and I.

 

Happy Birthday to my BABY SISTER!

My sister, Katie, turned 29 on Saturday.  She lives in Nashville, TN, so she celebrated with her fiancé and friends.  We celebrated her birthday in NC by looking for dresses to wear for her upcoming wedding!

(ignore her taste in bowling balls)

Button Art

While Kelsie was away at Girl Scout Summer Camp last year, Dave and I decided to re-do her bedroom. She was almost 8 years old and had decided she didn't want a "girly girl" room anymore. We purchased her new bedding and painted the walls aqua blue (ever painted a room with your spouse?! Never again.). Scanning the pictures on Pinterest, I found lots button art pictures. When my Nana passed away a few years ago, my Mom had given me all of her crafting supplies, which included hundreds of unique buttons. I love monograms, so this is what I came up with for Kelsie...

I love seeing my Grandmother's collection of buttons displayed in something I "Made with Love". (Linking to Life with My 3 Boybarians)

Who's Your Stylist?

At the bus stop one morning, a neighbor asked Kelsie and Kyle "Who's your Stylist?!", as they were looking exceptionally hip that day. Kelsie immediately said "Not my Mom! She wears gym clothes everyday!". That's my girl. Man, the truth hurts.

Wordless Wednesday

Daddy's New Toy = Kyle's New Toy

Dave got a new iPod Touch for Christmas this year. Now we ALL have our own iPod's, but Daddy's has a camera! Ohhhh, a new toy! Unbeknown to Daddy, Kyle decided to break in the new iPod with lots of self-portraits. Dave's arm is in every picture, yet he was surprised to see the pictures. He was obviously there while Kyle was mucking up his iPod and obviously not paying attention to what his son was doing. I give it 2 months before Dave's iPod has a cracked screen, matching mine and Kelsie's... courtesy of Kyle.

Kelsie... Christmas is OVER!

On any given night, around 7:00 pm, you will hear this BLASTING from Kelsie's bathroom...

(Justin Bieber - Under the Mistletoe CD)

She only plays three songs, over and over and over again. One of the songs is JB (ugh) and Mariah Carey (double ugh) and just about drives me nuts every time I hear it. I'm off to hide this CD until December. Sorry Biebs... this mama can't take it anymore!!!

Our Weekend in Review...

What a busy, busy weekend we had.

1. Kelsie and Kyle swimming at a birthday party

2. Swimming

3. And more swimming!

4. Girl Scout Cookie time!!! Get your cookies here!

5. The ice cream man was out and about in the neighborhood. Why not?!

It was 70 degrees outside. (Kyle enjoying his SpongeBob ice cream with Alyssa and Janie)

6. Kelsie and I went shopping. Her new favorite store is Charming Charlies.

She was anxious to spend a gift card she got for Christmas.

7. Lots of playoff football. Not the result I was hoping for, but the Steelers played an awesome game. Had the urge to "Tebow", but just couldn't do it wearing my "Big Ben" jersey.

My Resolution

Today I am sharing one of my (many) 2012 resolutions and linking up with Life With My 3 Boybarians. I've been going to the gym pretty regularly for about 6 years. But I haven't been focused on losing weight. I love to eat... things that aren't good for me (who doesn't!?). This year I have vowed to watch what I eat (I'm a JUNK FOOD JUNKIE!) and what I drink (LOVE SODA AND NOT THE DIET KIND!) and lose the 10 extra pounds that I've been carrying around for years. I love weight training and spinning classes. My first day back to the gym in 2012 went like this: 1 hour of lower body weight training class and 1 hour of Spinning class. Here are my results...

Not too shabby, huh?

My Piano Girl

Kelsie started playing the piano when she was in the 1st grade. I think playing comes naturally to her (and it's in her genes - her Great-Grandmother, Grandmother, Mother and Aunt have played). Three years later, she doesn't enjoy playing, but she's so good at it and receives so many compliments. I think this is what keeps her going. A trophy or two doesn't hurt either. She just received her 3,000 point trophy on Tuesday. She gets points for practicing, earning an "excellent" rating in class and participating in recitals. Her teacher even gave her points for having a solo singing performance in her Christmas recital. She is currently practicing for a piano festival at the local college where she'll have to memorize two songs and play them by herself in front of a judge. This will be her third festival. She earned a 99 out of 100 her first year and a 98 out of 100 her second year. I have no doubt she'll succeed this year!

Wordless Wednesday

There are no words to describe what this child is thinking sometimes.

Legos

For the past two years, Kyle has asked Santa for Lego sets. This year was no different - he wanted a Ninjago (what is this???) Skull Truck. Each year he's excited to put the sets together. Each year he sits back and watches his Dad or myself put them together. Each year his Dad or myself watch him slowly destroy our creation. This year was no different.

Black-Eyed Peas and Our Resolutions

Eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day is thought to bring prosperity. Growing up, on New Year's Day, Nana would make us eat at least a few black-eyed peas. I remember dreading the spoonful she'd put on my plate. I've grown to LOVE eating them and have carried on her tradition of serving them to my family with our dinner on New Year's Day. The kids are grossed out by them. They were good sports and ate two each. Here is Kelsie's plate:






During dinner, Dave and I explained what making New Year's resolutions meant. We were surprised with what they decided their resolutions would be...

Kelsie - Get along with Kyle (we quickly explained to her that this must last throughout 2012... we'll see)

Kyle - Eat healthy (so I guess this means I have to start cooking healthy?), exercise for 100 minutes and don't talk to strangers (what? I had no idea this was an issue for Kyle)

Dave - Exercise 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes (I guess our lunch dates will be spent exercising) and to play with the kids more (not sure what this means... he's wonderful at giving the kids most of his free time)

Jenn - Being consistent in taking pictures and posting to this blog is my resolution for 2012.

GOOD LUCK KEEPING YOUR RESOLUTIONS IN 2012!

Happy New Year!

Last night we rang in the New Year with lots of friends. Dave and I feel very fortunate to have met such wonderful families through Kelsie and Kyle. The kids had so much fun playing with their friends and staying up well past midnight. We hope that all of y'all had a wonderful NYE and has an even better 2012!