Old Town Helena

We had a nice day yesterday. Travis was off so we decided to take the girls to Old Town Helena, now if I was technologically saavy then I would have a link in there but I'm not, sorry.

First we went to lunch at Zaxby's, which btw you should try if you get the chance. Then we headed to Old Town Helena. OTH is an area of Helena that they are working to revitalize and has some charm. It's on a lake with a few restaurants and quaint shops. You can tell that Helena's past is probably a poor one because the old buildings are quite small but it's a nice little place to visit nonetheless. We visited Daffodil's, which is a cute little boutique with not so little prices, featuring women's clothing, purses, shoes, etc. Then we went to Knit Nouveau. I was pretty sure that it was a knitting shop when we went in but thought that they might have other things as well. But it was just knitting stuff. I felt silly walking in. I made sure to tell the girl, a hippy looking chick that was probably the owner, that I don't knit. She looked at me like I was a little nutty, but I made sure to tell her that all my friends knit. It was a cute shop with couches and things in the back I'm assuming are for group knitting. Then Amanda told me that Miss Patty "yarned" her a scarf and I said it was time to go.

Then we headed across the street to the cute Bead place. If I was a good girl, I would have brought the business card in the house, but I'm not and I didn't. I think it was Bead Biz. They had lots of already made pieces for sale as well as the supplies to make your own and also a table to creat your pieces there. They also offer the supplies and things to make your own silver jewelry. It's kind of cool. They use this stuff that looks like chewed bubble gum and you shape it and then fire it in a kiln until it becomes green ware, like ceramics. Then you do something else to it and brush it up and you have your very own silver jewelry.

Next we headed to Big Mountain Coffee. Wow! I was in love as soon as we walked through the door. Picture Starbucks but with charm. Ther are about 7 sofas and several chairs and tables. Nothing matches and there is a stage set up at the front. They serve coffee, coffee drinks, tea, ice cream, sandwiches, etc. They have live music this weekend and have drama type things as well. I think it's my new favorite place to go.

There is an amphitheatre as well that shows movies outdoors on Fridays during the summer and has concerts during the week.

This town is very much like Mayberry and I think we've found where we want to live while we're here. The schools are some of the best in the area, the housing prices are moderate, and overall there is a great sense of community. I like the thought of raising the girls in a very "homey" feeling place and though there are drawbacks I still think it's where we want to be.

Tired

I'm tired. I'm not pregnant so I'm sure I'll get over it soon, but I'm tired nonetheless. Halle is apparently teething again and hasn't slept well in several days. Well, actually she slept better last night, but still 5 hours of interrupted sleep for the last 5 days is making Amy grouchy. I really shouldn't complain. If circumstances are perfect Halle sleeps just fine and for the most part during these last 6 months she's been just fine. It's just that by the time I finally get her to sleep and I actually fall asleep she wakes up again. It's usually in the morning hours by then, Travis is up by 3:30, and then Dad (who is absolutely the LOUDEST person on the planet) was up this morning by 5:30. I don't think I need to tell you that I didn't WANT to get up at 5:30 after being awakened at 1:30 and 3:30. Anyway, I'm grouchy. I don't want to take a nap because I have things to do, but I don't want to do anything because, again, I'm grouchy. So, I'll end this lovely post, try to sleep tonight, and maybe I'll post a happy, happy story tomorrow.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there.

In honor of this special day, I took the girls to Publix (yesterday) and let Chloe decorate a cookie cake for Trav. It was kind of neat. Publix had a table set up with decorator bags full of icing and kids could decorate a 10" cookie for their dad. I helped Chloe while Amanda walked around, she's 15, remember? Anyway, it entertained Chloe for about 2 and a half minutes. I really had a good time though.

Travis had to work today and after that we did some driving to get more familiar with the area. School districts and all. Anyway, then we had dinner with my parents, talked to Pop and Shane, and spent some time together. All in all it was a good day. I swear one of these years we'll get to Fl. to spend time with Trav's parents on their respective days.

More later, it's time for tucking children in to beds, but here's hoping Father's Day was a great one for all.

Randomness...

Wow, I've been slacking. Well, not in real life, but in blog life. So, for the updates...

Halle started eating cereal this week. I have not been as anxious to start Halle on cereal since she sleeps during the night and hasn't seemed to have any trouble just being on breast milk. But, lately she's been trying to get into our plates at dinner time and has been grabbing at our drinks, so cute! So, I thought I'd give it a try and see how she liked it. Man, did she like it. Travis was feeding her the other day and she kept grabbing the spoon and was trying to jam it in her mouth. Just like her big sis! She has two crooked little teeth in the bottom and when she's lying in the floor she'll arch her back and kick her feet to scoot herself across the floor. We have to watch out because she'll scoot her head into the fireplace hearth, which is brick, or into the legs on the sofa. She'll also do that if she wants you to pick her up. She will also hold her arms out (clumsily) to whomever she wants to hold her. She'll add a grunt or cry if you don't comply. She seems to be making quicker progress than Chloe, but my memory may be fuzzy since it's been so long.

I have been busy looking at schools. I've been comparing ACT scores and student to teacher ratios, etc., trying to figure out which area is the most desireable. I'm trying to avoid homeschool again next year, as is Amanda. So, hopefully we'll get all that worked out soon. I need to get maternity clothes sorted and back to their owner-Christina- since she's expecting again. I'm going to guess that she and Mary are due at the same time. I can honestly say I'm glad to be done with the whole maternity clothes thing.

Travis is doing better since he's only working one job. He still doesn't get enough sleep though. It's hard to get to bed at 7:30, heck, the Button's are just getting started by then (I'm trying to fix that). He is looking for something computer related. I really think you have to know somebody to get in somewhere.

Amanda is bored. That's pretty much it.

Chloe is cute. She goes to the Y with me on a regular basis. Halle usually stays with Grandma. She is much more skiddish and doesn't like new people. Chloe, the life of the party, wants to go make friends and have fun. She's watching Strawberry Shortcake for the millionth time.

More later...

Stuff

Hmmm, where to start?

Last week was kind of a bummer that put us in a funk for a while. Without going into it too much, Eric called and offered Travis his old job back at a humongous raise (it's nice to be loved). I think we knew immediately that it wasn't something we should pursue but that was the hardest decision we've ever made. Anyway, a week of the blues ensued.

We had Chloe's birthday party on Friday since Trav, Halle, and I had to go to Atlanta on Saturday for an Arbonne convention.

The convention was good. If it didn't do anything else it showed me that I have a personal journey to take, not just monetarily, but there are some kinks I need to work out. You know, comfort zone and all.

Anyway, Halle has two teeth now and Chloe is a beautiful 4 year old. Wow, time flies!

Amanda is grounded for two months. It's a long story, again, last week was rough.

More later...