Hit the deck!

Here are some pictures of our finished product!!! We are loving it--especially with all the nice weather we have been getting! A few nights ago we had a fire on the deck, we have spent a lot of time playing and "fixing" on the deck (Jude loves to pretend fix and build), and this morning we had breakfast on the deck. Way to go Gil! He has really been working on his building skills lately.

Next up, doggy kennel! Here are a few pics of the latest addition to the Ridenour Ranch as well...Baylor the beagle. We were supposed to get a female, but ended up with this rowdy guy. He barks all night or anytime he is in the kennel or tied up, and is always biting our heels. Jude has had to learn to defend himself! But isn't he just adorable?!? It's a good thing puppies and kids are so cute...



Jude and Baylor got into it over the kitchen rug!



Underside
The worker bees (thanks mom, dad, and Alissa!)
The supplies...
The corner
The man and his deck! We also got a new table since last summer we had two blow over and break. This one is made of metal and since we got a horrible storm the very night everything was finished it withstood the test and survived!
Last night we went fishing at my parent's dam. Jude (or rather Gil) caught a bass and a blue gill.

Ok: Here is a poll. I think Jude could use another haircut (I'm actually of the buzz cut school of thought), and Gil says it looks "sweet." What do you think (note: I do not actually put ponytails in his hair, this is just an illustration to prove my point. But he has still been mistaken for a girl on several occasions!). What do you think??? Oh, and he loved the ponytail by the way!
Here are also some videos for your viewing pleasure!

Survival Mode

Going from newly weds to new parents a little over nine months after we got married was pretty intense, I admit. But everything seemed to come in stride and it really wasn't as difficult as I thought it might be or as everyone warned it would be. I had heard horror stories of not having time to shower and giving up everything that was normal in life for poop and puke. But I didn't really feel that way at all. In fact it seemed I had more time than I had had in my life of teaching and coaching and sponsoring and my million other commitments. Plus there was always nap time!

Then one became two and all of that changed! Since Cora was born many people have asked how it is going with two kids. I haven't really known how to answer until a couple days ago when it finally hit me: I am on SURVIVAL MODE! I learned how to add in kindergarten. Two is more than one, but not much more. Two is still a small number....tell that to a mom of two kids...two is immensely more than one!!! Suddenly all of those warnings about kids have come true. I don't have time to take a shower and it seems that changings, dressings, feedings, bathings, and sleepings are WAY too much to accomplish in one day. I like to keep a list of To-Do's on the fridge. That has all but gone by the wayside as the daily essentials sometimes don't even get done! (ex. blogging has been on the list for about a week and even now I am completing this in shifts). Luckily I have Gil here most of the time to help out. I have also come to completely understand why one might send a toddler to daycare while on maternity leave!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining or even having a breakdown (as it may seem!). I'm just finally processing how my next year is going to be with a two-year-old (high maintenance and strong-willed two-year-old at that!) and a baby. It's going to be a long year...that will fly by I am sure! And someday I will look back and say, "Those were the days!" But today I just want a shower and a nap...

To keep things in perspective I have been making a mental list of what I love (and sometime what I hate) about two-year-olds and babies. These are some of my thoughts:

Two-Year-Olds:

*Give hugs and kisses

*Can talk and say adorable things

*Can entertain and somewhat help with the baby

*Can entertain parents when we need a laugh

*Take long naps in the afternoons!!!

*Can feed themselves to a certain degree

*Can play by themselves for longer periods of time

*Sleep through the night

Babies:

*Sleep much of the time

*Stay where you put them

*Don't talk back or deliberately disobey

*Diapers are significantly less disgusting than the two-year-olds

*Are tiny and much lighter to carry around

*Can also entertain siblings and parents

Ok, onto some pictures!

Here is one of the big storm that rolled in on Monday night. I didn't capture it, but there was some pretty amazing lighting out there too...which caused our electricity to be down from 8pm to 2am that night!

Our friends donated a deck they were tearing off their house to us, so now Gil's project is putting it on ours!!! Jude likes to help hammer. Fitting (his middle name, Maccabeus, means "The Hammer").

Here is our friend's baby boy and Cora. He is just two weeks older than she.

Our new bunnies we got at the Allen Swap Meet!
Jude's new sandbox around his swing set (another project of Gil and dad's)
Jude's sandy bottom! He loves scooping and building castles. I just wish it would dry up out there (and warm up too!).
Cora sucking her binky in the stroller and watching her big brother in the sandbox.

Home & Garden

Here are a few pics of what has been going on at the Ranch lately. Gil and I are enjoying both having time off of work again to enjoy our kids and work around the house (so maybe we are not off of work?!?). It has been interesting adjusting to life with two kids. Thank goodness there are two of us! Jude is on the brink of potty training, but we haven't really taken the plunge yet. The other morning we tried putting him in underwear to see what would happen. He had an accident on the kitchen floor by 9:30 am. Gil was outside and while I was cleaning up the baby started crying. That was the end of that for the day! Cora is really a pretty good baby. She likes to have a binky in (just like her brother) and has manageable nights usually. Jude absolutely adores her, but still gets a little cranky when others are around to see her.

We had the most gorgeous day here on Wednesday. We spent the entire morning outside and then had Sr. Janet over for supper in the evening. Here is Jude playing on the front porch.

Peek! His "peek" sounds a little more like "puke!"
Daddy and the kiddos
Jude taking a run for it.
This is how I roll with Cora outside! She gets a bumpy stroller ride so I can follow her brother around.

Gil is tilling the garden. This is tough manual labor since we do not own a working tiller. It was my job last summer, but Gil has graciously taken over (so far...).

Tomato plants.
The new batch of broilers we got a few days after Cora was born. We got 40 this time!!! Yikes!!! Anyone want to come help us butcher???
Jude likes to gather the eggs. See the hen? That is where they lay and there is always one of them sitting on it. So he gets a big stick and yells, "Go away chicken!" That usually does the trick!
Mitch and Minette came from San Antonio last Friday. They came up for a visit along with Gil's parents and grandpa Buhman. Jude didn't want to take a picture too bad at this moment...
...or this moment!
M&M with CC

The men playing cards and drinking tea.

Jude giving baby sis a big kiss.