{Week / Weekend Update}

So, last week was crazy busy!  Kevin was in town all week, so we tried to cram in a ton of stuff.  Here's a little bit of our chaos:

TUESDAY:  Hayden and Colton both had soccer practice.  Hayden's is the same deal as Fall soccer, except a new team.  Colton is participating in the Parents & Tots league at HCSA.  He has been so excited, but when he got to his first practice, he decided to throw one of his now infamous tantrums.  He flat out refused to take the field with the other kiddos and their parents.  I am so glad that Kevin was there for this one (his second of the day...I am so traumatized by the first that I can't really speak of it yet, except to say that I am sorry to all of the Hobby Lobby patrons who were subject to his meltdown).  Lucky for Colton, he has the best big brother a boy could ask for.  Hayden grabbed the soccer ball and asked Colton to go play with him on the field.  Wanting to be exactly like Hayden, Colton obliged...with a smile on his face.  Kevin said it was like a Jekyll & Hyde switch flip.  Needless to say, Hayden became the parent on the field for his brother, and taught him everything that the coach was showing them.  I am so very proud of my big boy!  Here's a shot Kevin took on his phone of the two of them on the field practicing...

WEDNESDAY: Wednesday, we found that a bird had made a nest in Kevin's tool box.  Think it was trying to tell us something???  Maybe, that we need to use it more often, so that it doesn't become a habitat???  Anyway, Kevin wanted to take it out immediately, but I had an issue with it.  I really wouldn't want someone destroying a home that I worked hard to build for my babies!  all I kept thinking was of this bible verse:

Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.   Matthew 10:29

So...the nest stayed put until we were sure that the birdies were no longer residing there.  In fact, we have seen baby sparrows fluttering around a different tree.  I think the garage was a little too crazy for them.

FRIDAY: Friday was a fun day!  Hayden got to celebrate St. Patrick's Day at ELCA.  He sported the double polo (navy and lime green, and took Mint Chocolate Chunk Cookies to share with his friends.  The original recipe can be found on Pinterest and HERE.  I had to modify the recipe a bit, since our local grocery store did not have a couple of the ingredients.  I used Andes Mints, and they turned out super yummy!!!  Kevin's mother, Brenda, flew into town for the Publix sponsored Georgia Half Marathon.  So, we picked her up at the airport and hit up Chick-Fil-A.  I am so very glad that they now have grilled chicken nuggets for the kids.  They are not friend in peanut oil, so now we don't have to stop at another restaurant to pick up peanut free food for Little C.  The boys loved the cow chair in the lobby and wanted to show off their goofy faces....Wow!

SATURDAY:  That was a busy day.  It started off with Hayden's soccer game.  HOT MESS!  We were running late.  Not to blame anyone, but a certain husband of mine drove past the exit on 75 and we had to take about a 10 mile detour to get to the field.  We got there and my poor little guy had no drink, we had no cash to buy a drink, and to top it all of, he was wearing the wrong uniform.  PARENTS OF THE YEAR!  Ugh...I felt horrible! Upside...Hayden's coach is a bona fide rock star...no seriously...he really is.  He's a part of THIS band.  That's kinda fun, right?!?!

We also headed downtown to pick up Kevin, Brenda and Ashley's race packets for Sunday.  We decided to stop off for some lunch in Little 5 Points.  I LOVE this area.  You just never know what you're gonna see.  We had lunch outside (hear the angel's singing) at The Brewhouse Cafe and it was yummy!  I think you can tell from the clean plates in the pictures that the boys enjoyed it too!

After lunch, we ran across the street to Clothing Warehouse for some new sunnies!  My old pair fell off my head while I was chasing Colton around an open field at soccer Saturday morning, in the midst of meltdown #3 for the week.  I really dislike not having sunglasses, so these super-fun pair for $14.99 were a perfect fit (thanks Brenda!).  I am dying to go back to this store - minus the kids - so that I can have time to browse.  I know there are lots of goodies here to be found!

Then, we headed off towards the World Congress Center, where packet pick up was for the race.  The boys got to see a little of the March Madness fun.  We ate ice cream, did a little shopping at the sports expo and got all ready for the race!  Miraculously, we had a blast and did not lose a child in all of the craziness...not even once!

SUNDAY: Kevin, Brenda and Ashley ran the half marathon and survived it...despite of all of the hills.  Sunday marked the 1 year anniversary of a huge life changing event for the Burtch family, that ultimately led us to where we are today.  But, that's really not my story to tell.  Maybe one day I will share that story.  I am so proud of my husband, and the fact that he chose to run the half marathon to celebrate. Way to go guys!!!

That's really it for last week.  Monday, we started The Daniel Fast.  I really want to keep record of it this year.  So much changed after our fast last year, so I am excited to see God work in me in 2012.  I also want to keep track of the recipes and food, so that I don't forget them for next time.  Happy Tuesday Everybody!

Much Love From The Burtch's!!!

***Disclaimer: Most of these photos were taken with, quite possibly, the worst phone camera on the planet.  I HAVE GOT TO REMEMBER to carry my camera!  Sorry!***

{Weekend Recap}

I have found that I am not great at keeping up with this blog.  That is sort of my theme for 2012...finish what you start!  And I am finding that I start A LOT of things, and pretty much make excuses for not finishing them.  So, on to a new year and with a new word in mind...COMPLETION!

With that being said, here is my weekend update for 1/13-1/15/2012:

FRIDAY:

We typically do not eat out...EVER!  And there is very good reason for that, which sadly doesn't include the fact that homemade meals are always better for you.  And that reason is....(wait for it)...my sweet, loving, well behaved little angel, Colton!  With this little guy, we are walking in foreign territory.  Hayden has always been a super laid back, along for the ride type of child.  At 3 weeks old, he tagged along with Kevin and I to the Highlands Festival and slept through an entire outdoor concert.  We basically did not change our lives, except for our sleeping patterns, which really wasn't that bad since he slept through the night at 6 weeks.  We had it pretty darn easy with that kid...and we had no clue!  As long as we had a container of cherry tomatoes ready to go, we could eat at any restaurant we wanted to without worry of a meltdown.  Colton...not so much!  Kevin's Mom dubbed Colt "Homeboy".  Within 15 minutes of leaving the house, you can almost guarantee that he will start asking to go home.  This is a little tricky and I am conflicted as to how I should feel about this.  On one side, it makes my heart happy that he loves being at home so much.  Selfishly, I think that we must be doing something right for the kid to prefer home to Disney World.  On the other hand, the love of all things home makes it incredibly difficult to take him anywhere.  You see, Colton is not the sit back and chill kinda kid.  He learned early on that if he wanted something, he was going to have to fight (primarily Hayden) for it.  And he does....oh boy, he does!  Because of all of this, we rarely venture out of the house for dinner.  Most of the time, we stay safely at home and cook, which is more economical...and let's face it...I could use all the practice I can get!  However, every now and then, Kevin and I get what we like to call "Restaurant Amnesia":

Restaurant Amnesia  (rɛstərənt/ or /ˈrɛstərɒnt/; French: [ʁɛs.tɔ.ʁɑ̃])(from Greek Ἀμνησία) is a condition in which one's memory of the previous nightmare (ish) dining experience is lost, including toddler meltdown which resulted in high pitched screaming, food throwing, and rolling on the floor of said restaurant.

So was the case on Friday.  We ventured out to Chilli's.  But, to our surprise, the boy was an ANGEL!!!!!! Hallelujah!!!!!!!  He was super happy, except when we ran out of chips and queso, which was promptly replaced by a corndog.  He scarfed down his food, smiled, and bounced to the music that was playing.  I know to most, this sounds like a small win.  But in the Burtch Household, this is a miracle...a true family milestone.  It was the most glorious dinner out on the town, even if it was just Chilli's and the service was horrible.  I can certainly look past those things, and will take away our very first stress free restaurant dinner with our Little C. Yay!!!

SATURDAY:

It's soccer time again...and I'm super excited!  We signed Hayden up again for the Under 6 Academy of Excellence at the Henry County Soccer Association.  If you live in Henry County and have a little one who wants to learn real soccer skills, not just chase after a ball, then this is the place to go.  The coaches and instructors are top notch, and they make it so much fun for the kids, that they don't even realize how much they are learning. 

We also got to sign Colton up for their Parents & Tot's program.  He was beyond excited!  He will be the youngest in the league, as his birthday was the cut-off date.  But that's okay...he's probably bigger than most of the kids, so maybe that will make up for the age difference.  This was my conversation with him trying to explain what he will be doing:

Me: "Are you excited about playing soccer?"
C: "Yep!" (this is his new favorite word and has virtually replaced "yes" all together)
Me: "Are you going to play on a team like Bubba?"
C: "Yep! And Gran-Gran come see ME!  And Jim-Jim come see ME!  And Gammaw come see ME!  And Pop-Pop come see ME!  And Ashwee come see ME!  And Pop-Pop and BeBe come see ME!"

He basically ran down a list of every family member, saying that they were all going to come see HIM play too!  Everyone came to watch Hayden play, so naturally they would make the trip to watch him in his big-boy soccer debut.  No more standing on the sidelines for this little guy!  (If you're interested, HCSA will be conducting walk-up registration for the next couple of weekends.  Check them out on their website HERE and their FB page HERE.)

Saturday, I also got to spend a little Mommy/Hayden time.  I love getting to spend time with the babies one-on-one.  That time is so rare and so much fun, and I think they appreciate it as much as Kevin and I do.  I had the privilege of taking Hayden to the first Birthday Party we have been able to attend since moving to Atlanta.  His buddy, Noah, invited him to a big time party at Monkey Joes.  Oh boy was that fun...for the kids!  That place was a MAD HOUSE!  There were 5 parties going on all at one time.  Hayden and all of his friends were running around like crazy people, while all of us parents searched in a frenzy for them.  I wish I had taken photos of the parents' faces.  Sheer Panic!  It's like losing your child in a Wal-Mart, only instead of racks of clothes, it's 150 little people, all the same size scurrying around at warp speed.  Nuts!  On a more serious note, I do love watching my biggest baby have so much fun with his friends.  His little smile was just absolute joy and I am so glad I went with him.  It made my heart happy!

SUNDAY:
This day was a BIG and EXCITING day for Kevin and I.  Totally unexpected too!  We attended a new church and loved it.  I'll share more on that in later post (kind of a long story).  I will say that we walked into the parking lot absolutely speechless and a bit overwhelmed at HOW GREAT OUR GOD REALLY IS!

Sunday evening, we spent with Mom, Jimmy Patrick and Daniel (and his girlfriend, Jamie).  She made a fabulous dinner of roast, green beans and homemade mac-n-cheese.  The boys just adore their grandparents.  I am so very grateful for all of them!  I am so glad they are getting to spend a little more time with my parents and their new little families.  We are so blessed to have such amazing new people in our lives.  Don't get me wrong, I miss Kevin's parents like crazy, and so do ALL of the boys.  Maybe, one day, we will all live in the same state.  Hey, a girl can dream...right?!?

This next week will be C-R-A-Z-Y!  Kevin has 3 interviews this week.  Yep...he's still pounding the pavement.  The new year has brought a ton of new opportunity in the job department.  He's still interviewing with some of the original companies, but there have been several others added to the mix that we're both very excited about!  I cannot wait to see what God has in store for him.  I know it's going to be big, and something that he is really going to love and enjoy.  Me...well, I (along with the family) am heading down to sunny and warm South Florida to shoot a maternity session and a wedding!   Eeeek!  Oh, and while we are down there, we will be signing the closing papers on our house!!!!!  God willing, we are supposed to close on January 27th.  Please join us in prayer that this closing goes smoother than our last attempt, and that we are able to hand over the keys next week without a hitch.

I hope you all have a VERY blessed week!!!!

{Weekend Update}

I really want this blog to document our time with the boys and how we do life as a family. If no one else reads it, I'm okay with it. This is more for us than anything else. I remember a lot from my young childhood, but Kevin doesn't and I really think that's unfortunate. I want to be able to hand this puppy over to the boys, so that they can see and read about all of the things we do together, as well as the thoughts and challenges we face as their parents. So, this is an effort for me to keep better track of our life!

This week has been a challenge for me personally. We are still waiting to hear back from the companies that Kevin has interviewed with. Thankfully, the company offering the job that he really wants, did call back and say that he is still in the running, but that it is taking them a bit longer than expected to get through the formalities of the interview process. We took that as a good sign. I mean, if they didn't love Kevin, I would have to image that they wouldn't bother making that call...right?

To get our mind off of all the waiting (job and house related), we decided to have a family fun day at the park. We picked Hayden up from school and headed to a park near our house. We intended to go to the playground but wound up having an impromptu kick ball game instead. The t-ball fields were open, so we headed out after our little picnic and attempted to explain the rules to our 2 and 4 year olds. Hayden caught on quick, but Colton not so much! He pretty much wanted to kick the ball and then dribble (soccer terms) it into the outfield, and kick it into the fence for a goal. He would have nothing to do with the bases...at all! So basically our organized kickball game became a free-for-all. I did kick a home run (?) for what it's worth.


Friday night we went to Gran-Gran and Jimmy's house for dinner. Spaghetti Bake and Ice Cream!


Saturday we woke up to frigid temps. It actually dropped below 50 degrees. Our boys have only felt weather that cool a handful of times. Colton stepped outside and looked at me like his world had turned upside down! "Hot, Mommy! It hot!" Cold is hot, and hot is hot...we're working on that one! We bundled up and headed to Hayden's soccer game. We were super excited when we got there and the momentous First Soccer Pictures had arrived. Seriously...how stinkin' cute is my kid??? He scored 3 goals, one for each of us, just like he said he would do before the game.

After the game, both boys were completely wiped out. When they get tired, they FIGHT. They fight over toys, what side of the car is theirs to sit on, if the sky is blue (or red as Colton would say). They will fight over anything! So, it was off to bed for a nap, for both of them. They tried to get up after about 30 minutes, but we sent them back to their room without any argument. When we went back to check on them a few minutes later, this is what we found...

It's amazing how these little ones can fight like crazy, but when it comes down to it, they are best buddies and rely on each other for so much already. Brotherly love is a beautifully complicated thing. I just adore how much Colton looks up to his big brother, and how much Hayden teaches him. I know there will always be challenges between these two brothers, but I will always have this photo to come back to, to remind them that THIS is what's really important!

Since Saturday was so chilly, we decided to light our first fire of the season. It's pretty pitiful looking in this photo, but it kept us nice and warm all night! You GA people take fireplaces for granted. They are hard to come by in Florida, and I really missed having one. There is something so cozy about a nice warm fire and a cup of hot chocolate. It made my heart happy!

Sunday, we got up and tried out a church that we had attended several times before we moved to Florida. It just didn't feel right. Not sure if it is the churches themselves, or if we are just unfairly comparing them to Christ Fellowship. Either way, we are still searching for a church home here in GA. This is so important to us. We're the jump-in-head-first type of people. We get involved quickly, when we are in the right place. So, this is a huge void that we are feeling in our lives right now. This week, I think we are heading into the big city to go to Buckhead Church. It's a long drive, but we love Andy Stanley and are really looking forward to a good sermon next weekend. If anyone has suggestions on churches to visit, please comment. We are not afraid to drive a bit, for a church home that's going to be a good fit for our family!

Sunday night, Aunt Ashee (Kevin's sister Ashley) and her boyfriend Noah came to visit for dinner. It is so nice having her close by. The boys absolutely adore her and have missed her since she moved to GA after college. We had stir fry and I made Whoopie Pies for the first time. Ummmm, if you haven't heard of them, you should do some research! Since becoming a stay-at-home Mom, I have been reading Better Homes & Gardens, Family Circle and Food Network Magazines like it's my job! I'm not very "domestic" but my husband is the male version of Betty Crocker. So, I haven't really needed to be a super cook or baker or cleaner. But now, I am hoping to take on that role all by myself...once he goes back to work and lets me! This was my first attempt at baking...granted it was out of the box...but I am proud of the results!

My Aunt Cissy, sternly recommended (or demanded) that I google the recipe for Red Velvet Cake Whoopie Pies. So I did, and cannot wait to give this a go! HERE is the recipe for your tasting pleasure!

Welp...I hope everyone had a lovely weekend and a fantastic Monday! What did you do this weekend???