Praise the Lord -- Ben got a job offer! He's been interviewing for the past several weeks and had follow-ups with 2 of the companies, both of which he was excited about. Last Thursday, he got an offer from O'Neal as an Engineering Project Manager. After some negotiating, Ben verbally accepted the offer on Friday and plans to officially sign on the dotted line on Monday. We think his start date will be November 7. We are both thrilled for this exciting new opportunity and the next step in Ben's career.
To celebrate, we are heading to Great Wolf Lodge in Concord on Thursday and then to Raleigh on Friday for a weekend with Mike & Jenn. And wish us luck -- we are taking BOTH boys to the State/Carolina game on Saturday.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Day at the farm
We ALL needed a break from job-hunting & kid juggling, so we headed to Nivens Apple Farm on Monday. It was a treat to have Ben with us on a weekday outing. Jackson was super excited to see the animals, go on a hayride & of course, pick out him pumpkin. Weston slept in the Moby the whole time so we didn't get the iconic "First Pumpkin" picture. I guess it'll have to wait until Monday!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Go figure
As I was unpacking our harvest & Halloween decor, I ran across the monkey costume that I made for Jackson last year. While he was 100% uninterested in the monkey ensemble last year, he was gung-ho this time around. As in won't-take-it-off.
Too bad he's gonna be a cowboy this year, like it or not.
2 Months Old
This week, Weston had his 2-month birthday. Along with that milestone came his doctor's appointment with 4 shots which he was not happy about. He did, however, continue to top the charts for weight & height at 14lb 8 oz & 24" respectively, both in the mid-90th percentile. And his fat roll count continues to increase; as of this week, he had no less than 7 rolls per arm.
We ran across this baby picture of me....other than me looking somewhat cross-eyed, we think he definitely looks like me. And he unfortunately inherited my nose, poor thing!
Recently, we've been getting tons of huge, toothless grins and lots of coos. Weston is happiest first thing in the mornings and will smile so big that I don't even mind that its still dark outside and my days of sleeping in until 9 are long gone. Could you not just eat him up?
We've had some rough patches here and there with constant, insatiable screaming, but nothing consistent thankfully. Once he gets going, its just really hard to calm him back down. And Jackson undoubtedly loudly talks (aka screams) or startles Weston the minute we finally get him settled. So its a process.
But all in all, Weston's a happy, healthy little bundle of joy and we are so thankful for him!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Bavarian Weekend
I'm still playing catch up on my blogging, but I guess its better late than never!
A couple weeks ago, Oma & Opa (Ben's parents) came to visit. Opa had not yet met Weston so we were so excited for him to meet his third grandbaby. They arrived on the same Friday that Ben got laid off but it was a good distraction. Always adventurous and way younger than their years, Oma & Opa arrived on their motorcycle aka the "mo-mo" as Jackson calls it. Jackson was in awe and thought it was the coolest thing ever. He loves his Opa & these two play together for hours!
And true to form, Oma never arrives empty handed (however, this time, the surprises were delivered via UPS since the mo-mo didn't exactly have extra cargo space). Jackson is my little clothes horse and LOVES new clothes & shoes. Yes, he's 2, but he gets it honestly...Opa has more shoes than the rest of us combined. So he was thrilled to get 2 pairs of "Oma Shoes" which he won't take off, a set of popsicle molds and a scarecrow for both him & Weston for the front porch. Oma & Jackson made apple juice popsicles.
Having lived in Germany for 5 years (Ben was born there!), the Talbert's appreciate authentic Bavarian fare. On Saturday evening, we ventured to downtown Greer for the annual Octoberfest. (Last year, we made the mistake of going after dark and it was more of a bar scene than a family enviroment -- duh! -- and I'm thankful that Jackson didn't get doused with a spilled beer.) We arrived around dinner time & enjoyed brat and pretzel bread and were pleased to see that our kids weren't the only ones at the beer festival. We shared 2 funnel cakes (delish!), perused the new General Store (awesome!) and tried to get Jackson to dance to the band (fail).
Oma & Opa left on Sunday morning and as always, our visit just wasn't long enough. We plan to go to Brunswick for Thanksgiving for a longer stay!
A couple weeks ago, Oma & Opa (Ben's parents) came to visit. Opa had not yet met Weston so we were so excited for him to meet his third grandbaby. They arrived on the same Friday that Ben got laid off but it was a good distraction. Always adventurous and way younger than their years, Oma & Opa arrived on their motorcycle aka the "mo-mo" as Jackson calls it. Jackson was in awe and thought it was the coolest thing ever. He loves his Opa & these two play together for hours!
And true to form, Oma never arrives empty handed (however, this time, the surprises were delivered via UPS since the mo-mo didn't exactly have extra cargo space). Jackson is my little clothes horse and LOVES new clothes & shoes. Yes, he's 2, but he gets it honestly...Opa has more shoes than the rest of us combined. So he was thrilled to get 2 pairs of "Oma Shoes" which he won't take off, a set of popsicle molds and a scarecrow for both him & Weston for the front porch. Oma & Jackson made apple juice popsicles.
Having lived in Germany for 5 years (Ben was born there!), the Talbert's appreciate authentic Bavarian fare. On Saturday evening, we ventured to downtown Greer for the annual Octoberfest. (Last year, we made the mistake of going after dark and it was more of a bar scene than a family enviroment -- duh! -- and I'm thankful that Jackson didn't get doused with a spilled beer.) We arrived around dinner time & enjoyed brat and pretzel bread and were pleased to see that our kids weren't the only ones at the beer festival. We shared 2 funnel cakes (delish!), perused the new General Store (awesome!) and tried to get Jackson to dance to the band (fail).
Oma & Opa left on Sunday morning and as always, our visit just wasn't long enough. We plan to go to Brunswick for Thanksgiving for a longer stay!
Monday, October 17, 2011
Say What?!?
So a few weeks ago (Friday, September 30, to be exact), I was upstairs vaccuming and looked out the window and saw Ben's truck in the driveway. It was 2:00 & his parents were coming in town that afternoon, so I was really excited that he was able to leave work early and spend the afternoon with us.
But the early arrival at home wasn't exactly his doing. As he put it, he was given 14 weeks paid vacation.
Yep, thats right, he was laid off.
Milliken & Company laid off their entire corporate engineering department. Ben had an inkling this was coming, but spared me the stress of the unknown until it was official. Thankfully, he got a pretty hefty severance along with a personal recommendation and referral from the Director of Corporate Engineering.
Initially, it seemed like horrible timing for such a devastating event to occur, with me recently quitting my job to stay home plus a new baby. However, that timing couldn't have been any better. A year ago, we did Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University (FPU) at church and prior to me quitting my job, we had stashed away 6-months emergency funds in savings. We had been reluctant to do FPU because we didn't have any debt issues or financial problems, but our small group encouraged us to take the course in order to be better managers of what God has given us. And now, 18 months later, we see how God had his hand in it all along. Crisis diverted.
Also, its so neat having time extra time as a family. For the past 6 months, Ben's been working 50+ hour weeks, leaving before we get up and sometimes not getting home until after Jackson's in bed. Don't get me wrong, Ben's been beating the bush applying for jobs (and he's already had 3 interviews), but we get some precious time to hang out & enjoy this special time with our little family. Not to mention we can tag team the parenting when we have the daily tantrums, crying fits and meltdowns -- which always seem to be a chain reaction.
So, hopefully, I'll have a praise report in the near future to pass along good news about Ben's employment status.
But the early arrival at home wasn't exactly his doing. As he put it, he was given 14 weeks paid vacation.
Yep, thats right, he was laid off.
Milliken & Company laid off their entire corporate engineering department. Ben had an inkling this was coming, but spared me the stress of the unknown until it was official. Thankfully, he got a pretty hefty severance along with a personal recommendation and referral from the Director of Corporate Engineering.
Initially, it seemed like horrible timing for such a devastating event to occur, with me recently quitting my job to stay home plus a new baby. However, that timing couldn't have been any better. A year ago, we did Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University (FPU) at church and prior to me quitting my job, we had stashed away 6-months emergency funds in savings. We had been reluctant to do FPU because we didn't have any debt issues or financial problems, but our small group encouraged us to take the course in order to be better managers of what God has given us. And now, 18 months later, we see how God had his hand in it all along. Crisis diverted.
Also, its so neat having time extra time as a family. For the past 6 months, Ben's been working 50+ hour weeks, leaving before we get up and sometimes not getting home until after Jackson's in bed. Don't get me wrong, Ben's been beating the bush applying for jobs (and he's already had 3 interviews), but we get some precious time to hang out & enjoy this special time with our little family. Not to mention we can tag team the parenting when we have the daily tantrums, crying fits and meltdowns -- which always seem to be a chain reaction.
So, hopefully, I'll have a praise report in the near future to pass along good news about Ben's employment status.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Next time, no kids!
Last week, my high school BFF Sally & her two kids came to visit & meet Weston.
We try to get together at least once (if not twice) a year just us. And typically, our girls weekends include lots of uninterrupted conversations, shopping, eating badly & drinking wine. This time, however, with four kids 5 & under, our activities & conversations revolved around where the closest bathroom was, whose turn it was to ride the 4-wheeler and repeatedly telling them to leave the sleeping baby alone or else! All in all, the kids got along great and were really good. And Jackson thinks Jay hung the moon.
On Friday, we picnicked in Cleveland Park then took the Swamp Rabbit from the park to downtown to get some ice cream. I wish we had a picture of our little clan, Sally pushing the fully loaded double stroller (which isn't exactly made for such treks) & me with Weston in the Moby wrap and Betsy in the single stroller. Huffing & puffing along. We stopped about halfway & let the kids wade in the stream and throw rocks. Fourteen pee breaks later, we finally made it to the Riverwalk and got our much deserved treat.
Saturday, the Village People kept us entertained while we made breakfast :). We had intentions of yardsale-ing and/or hitting up a local pumpkin patch, but we ended up just letting the kids play outside.
After Sal & the kids left, I think Jackson asked me "Where'd Jay & Betsy go?" no less than 25 times. I loved watching our kids play together...but next time, Mommies only!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
We try to get together at least once (if not twice) a year just us. And typically, our girls weekends include lots of uninterrupted conversations, shopping, eating badly & drinking wine. This time, however, with four kids 5 & under, our activities & conversations revolved around where the closest bathroom was, whose turn it was to ride the 4-wheeler and repeatedly telling them to leave the sleeping baby alone or else! All in all, the kids got along great and were really good. And Jackson thinks Jay hung the moon.
On Friday, we picnicked in Cleveland Park then took the Swamp Rabbit from the park to downtown to get some ice cream. I wish we had a picture of our little clan, Sally pushing the fully loaded double stroller (which isn't exactly made for such treks) & me with Weston in the Moby wrap and Betsy in the single stroller. Huffing & puffing along. We stopped about halfway & let the kids wade in the stream and throw rocks. Fourteen pee breaks later, we finally made it to the Riverwalk and got our much deserved treat.
Saturday, the Village People kept us entertained while we made breakfast :). We had intentions of yardsale-ing and/or hitting up a local pumpkin patch, but we ended up just letting the kids play outside.
After Sal & the kids left, I think Jackson asked me "Where'd Jay & Betsy go?" no less than 25 times. I loved watching our kids play together...but next time, Mommies only!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Friday, October 14, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
One of my favorites
As the first granddaughter born into a family with lots of grandsons, I've always had a special relationship with my Mawmaw (Dad's mom). We've made so many memories over the past 30 years and she still makes me giggle with her wit. Even throughout my college years, whenever I spent the night at her house, I insisted on sleeping in her bed since her house is haunted and I'm a scary cat. (As if an 84 year old woman could ward off the ghosts any better than I could)
Sadly, the inevitable aging process is taking place. Mawmaw has had dementia for several years now, and recently had a fall, followed by surgery, and is currently at the Lutheran Home undergoing rehab to regain mobility. While she has made remarkable progress and will likely return home in the next week, she is becoming less independent rapidly.
Anyways...while in Hickory last week, I took the boys to see their great grandmother. Mawmaw had not yet met her 8th great grand baby so I was eager for her to love on him! When she first saw us, she was very emotional. But by the end of the morning, she was letting us push her around the place in her wheelchair, with Jackson in her lap, "racing" Weston in his stroller. It was awesome to see her interact with Jackson & Weston and it seemed to lift her spirits. (though it's doubtful she'll even remember us being there by tomorrow...). I love this woman so much and have such admiration for her.
This is funny because Mawmaw asked if i thought they'd notice if I put Weston in her bed and took her home with me instead....
Sadly, the inevitable aging process is taking place. Mawmaw has had dementia for several years now, and recently had a fall, followed by surgery, and is currently at the Lutheran Home undergoing rehab to regain mobility. While she has made remarkable progress and will likely return home in the next week, she is becoming less independent rapidly.
Anyways...while in Hickory last week, I took the boys to see their great grandmother. Mawmaw had not yet met her 8th great grand baby so I was eager for her to love on him! When she first saw us, she was very emotional. But by the end of the morning, she was letting us push her around the place in her wheelchair, with Jackson in her lap, "racing" Weston in his stroller. It was awesome to see her interact with Jackson & Weston and it seemed to lift her spirits. (though it's doubtful she'll even remember us being there by tomorrow...). I love this woman so much and have such admiration for her.
This is funny because Mawmaw asked if i thought they'd notice if I put Weston in her bed and took her home with me instead....
Monday, October 10, 2011
Road Trip!
Last week, I took the boys to Conover (not exactly a "roadtrip" per se) for a few days to spend some time with Bebe & PopPaw. Ben was finishing up a Property Management class he's taking, so with him being tied up from 6-10pm every Monday & Wednesday for a month, I was eager to jet somewhere I could get some backup!
Monday we just relaxed around the house, took the golf cart for a spin, played at the park and just hung out, and snuck in an afternoon nap which was nice!
Tuesday morning, we met Dad up at the Lutheran Home and spent some time with MawMaw. That afternoon, PopPaw took Jackson fishing for the first time, and he CAUGHT as fish! What are the chances? Mom has it on video but I'll try to get a snapshot to show...After about 10 minutes of fishing, Jackson discovered that he could climb on the golf card, which ended up entertaining him for at least 45 minutes.
Wednesday morning, we headed over to Bob & Martin's farm to check out their horses & farm life. Jackson LOVES going out there and I was excited to see it too. In the past, Jackson has been too intimidated of the horses to sit on one, but today he wanted to show off for Mommy and hopped right up. However, the highlight of the trip for him was getting to climb up the horse ring fence. About 12' tall -- give me a heart attack!
Mom & I hit up several consignment shops in Hickory on our way home and I was able to get the boys some cute fall/winter items.
Jackson's heading back to Conover at the end of this week, but he's going solo this time...and he is so excited!
Monday we just relaxed around the house, took the golf cart for a spin, played at the park and just hung out, and snuck in an afternoon nap which was nice!
Tuesday morning, we met Dad up at the Lutheran Home and spent some time with MawMaw. That afternoon, PopPaw took Jackson fishing for the first time, and he CAUGHT as fish! What are the chances? Mom has it on video but I'll try to get a snapshot to show...After about 10 minutes of fishing, Jackson discovered that he could climb on the golf card, which ended up entertaining him for at least 45 minutes.
Wednesday morning, we headed over to Bob & Martin's farm to check out their horses & farm life. Jackson LOVES going out there and I was excited to see it too. In the past, Jackson has been too intimidated of the horses to sit on one, but today he wanted to show off for Mommy and hopped right up. However, the highlight of the trip for him was getting to climb up the horse ring fence. About 12' tall -- give me a heart attack!
Mom & I hit up several consignment shops in Hickory on our way home and I was able to get the boys some cute fall/winter items.
Jackson's heading back to Conover at the end of this week, but he's going solo this time...and he is so excited!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Hakuna Matata / Happy Birthday Ben!
Ben's 32nd birthday was yesterday. Rather than have a romantic bday date night, Ben chose to take Jackson to see his first movie - Lion King in 3D. Lovee watched Weston & the three of us went to a fancy lunch at Chick-fil-a then hit the movies. It was special to have the afternoon with just Jackson, though it was super sweet when he cried because we were leaving "baby boy" behind. He got over that pretty quickly!
Jackson did awesome the first 70% of them movie. However, the last 20 minutes were spent chasing a wired two-year-old up & down the theatre halls and once had to even retrieve him from another movie. The motorcycle arcade game did distract him for a few. He did, however, LOVE the 3D glasses and was a total rockstar in them.
Monday night, J and I baked Ben red velvet cupcakes. They turned out delish but the baking process was disastrous. It went from bad...to worse...But fun!
This morning, we had Ben a "birthday party", with all 4 of us in attendance. Nothing like cupcakes for breakfast!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Jackson did awesome the first 70% of them movie. However, the last 20 minutes were spent chasing a wired two-year-old up & down the theatre halls and once had to even retrieve him from another movie. The motorcycle arcade game did distract him for a few. He did, however, LOVE the 3D glasses and was a total rockstar in them.
Monday night, J and I baked Ben red velvet cupcakes. They turned out delish but the baking process was disastrous. It went from bad...to worse...But fun!
This morning, we had Ben a "birthday party", with all 4 of us in attendance. Nothing like cupcakes for breakfast!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Saturday, October 1, 2011
What did I do to deserve this?
This sweet little message was waiting on me last Friday morning when I checked my email...
WOW! Talk about making me feel appreciated and loved! After some thought, I decided on 1) Ben to come home from work on time that day and make sure to hug & kiss me FIRST, 2) have a technology-free weekend (i.e. No computer, iPad, iPod, etc), and 3) Have help cooking & cleaning up after meals all weekend.
Well #1 was checked off the list as soon as Ben walked in the door around 6pm that evening. That was an easy one :).
As for the tech-free weekend, that was the hardest but absolutely the best! You don't realize how much you depend on the Internet - not just for email & FB but for weather forecasts, tv guides, banking, DVD rental, everything! And I been the iPad genie during nursing sessions so it felt so strange not to be surfing the web 8 times a day. But we talked more, played more, laughed more, read more and got a whole lot more done. It was so refreshing to be unplugged!
As for the help in the kitchen, this kinda got pushed to the side because with a newborn & a crazy toddler, sometimes it's easier to send Daddy outside with Jackson to play while I cooked & cleaned up in peace!
All in all, we had a fabulous weekend just having fun as a family! Friday night we went on a Flashlight Adventure after supper.
Saturday morning, we got up and went to yard sales. By 8:30 am. Yes, all 4 of us. And yes, Ben went willingly and was even excited about it! (I know what your thinking - we can hit up yard sales by 8:30am but are ALWAYS late for church at 9:15!)
That afternoon we played outside and I perfected the art of swinging with two babies in my arms.
Saturday night was movie night with lots of popcorn.
And Sunday was full of church, naps and sweet brother lovin'.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
WOW! Talk about making me feel appreciated and loved! After some thought, I decided on 1) Ben to come home from work on time that day and make sure to hug & kiss me FIRST, 2) have a technology-free weekend (i.e. No computer, iPad, iPod, etc), and 3) Have help cooking & cleaning up after meals all weekend.
Well #1 was checked off the list as soon as Ben walked in the door around 6pm that evening. That was an easy one :).
As for the tech-free weekend, that was the hardest but absolutely the best! You don't realize how much you depend on the Internet - not just for email & FB but for weather forecasts, tv guides, banking, DVD rental, everything! And I been the iPad genie during nursing sessions so it felt so strange not to be surfing the web 8 times a day. But we talked more, played more, laughed more, read more and got a whole lot more done. It was so refreshing to be unplugged!
As for the help in the kitchen, this kinda got pushed to the side because with a newborn & a crazy toddler, sometimes it's easier to send Daddy outside with Jackson to play while I cooked & cleaned up in peace!
All in all, we had a fabulous weekend just having fun as a family! Friday night we went on a Flashlight Adventure after supper.
Saturday morning, we got up and went to yard sales. By 8:30 am. Yes, all 4 of us. And yes, Ben went willingly and was even excited about it! (I know what your thinking - we can hit up yard sales by 8:30am but are ALWAYS late for church at 9:15!)
That afternoon we played outside and I perfected the art of swinging with two babies in my arms.
Saturday night was movie night with lots of popcorn.
And Sunday was full of church, naps and sweet brother lovin'.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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