July 16th Update

Wow, how things have changed in six weeks’ time!!  The big news is that we have relocated to 1550 E French Line Rd, Carsonville.  We purchased our home 7/1/13 and are now south of Sandusky, only about 6 miles from town – ALL PAVED ROADS!!!  We had been keeping our eye out for houses, but not looking too serious.  Basically if the right house came along, we would act on it but otherwise we were content where we were.  It was a very stressful month of packing, moving, getting a mortgage and dealing with appraisals and unpacking, but I’m happy to say we are all settled in and almost every box is unpacked.  The kids really like the new house and had no problems with the transition.  We now have the old house up for sale.  It is bittersweet, but mostly sweet.  Our new house is 3 bedrooms, 2 bath with a full finished basement complete with my own scrapbooking room/office and exercise room!  We also have a garage with a garage door opener as well as a detached garage a.k.a man cave.  We are on 5 beautiful wooded acres with a pond.  We are very happy with our decision and pray that it was the right one for our family.  It was a risky move, considering we still own the other house and the housing market is not that great right now.  However, we feel that this was the direction that God wanted us to take.  Here are a few pictures of the house.

 view from the front

 playset for the kiddos

 A garage for me and one for Tom too!

 The backyard is very picturesque

 more of the back yard

 nature trail leading to our own little getaway

 path to the back of the property

 Here it is...our little slice of heaven!

 complete with a firepit!

 are you noticing all the PHOTO OPS back here?!?!?  I sure did!

  Main floor

 living room

We were very fortunate to purchase a house that was partially furnished that needed absolutely nothing - not even paint!!!

Blake finished his T-ball season in June and he really enjoyed it this year.  I must say it was more enjoyable for Tom and I as well.  Last year seemed like such a long season and Blake seemed to have a harder time focusing.  This year, he was much more attentive and did a really good job.  Cora finished her swim lessons and can’t wait to start again.  She did a really good job and loves the water.  They will both start lessons again in October.  We’ve gone on only one camping trip so far this summer.  We went to Caseville with Dad & Lyn and Jody & Brian and the girls the last weekend in June.  The kids had such a great time playing together.  We also had a couple of graduation parties in June for Tom’s cousins – Mike Wracan and Ben Edwards.  We also got to meet up with Chuck and Jennell when they were in Michigan on July 3^rd. 

So, what is new with Blake and Cora?  Again, I’m kicking myself for not writing this stuff down.  These kids crack me up on a daily basis and still continue to amaze me with their smarts and wit.  The one that comes to mind is Cora and eggs.  She wanted me to make her eggs, “the way you eat them mom…when you dip your toast in the oil.”  “Oil?” I asked.  “Yeah, that yellow stuff in the eggs – oil.” J  I’m not sure where she comes up with this stuff!

Blake continues to ask questions that I wouldn’t expect him to ask for a couple years now!  He always wants to know the details and “why”.  Of course, this certainly isn’t a bad thing.  He told me the other night that he wants to be a scientist when he grows up, and maybe a cop too – in his free time.

Other news is that I am an aunt again!  Jeff and Tricia welcomed Sophia Grace Regentin to the world on Sunday, July 14^th.  She was 5lb, 15oz and 19” long.  Tiny!!  The kids are very excited and can’t wait to meet her.  When I told the kids, Blake’s questions went something like this –

Blake -  “What’s her first name?”

Me – “Sophia”

Blake – “What’s her middle name?”

Me – “Grace”

Blake – “What’s her last name?”

Me – “Regentin”

Blake – “What’s her nickname?”

Me – “She doesn’t have one yet!”

Like I said, he always wants to know the details!  He is such a thinker too.  For father’s day this year, I helped the kids make a book for their dad “All About My Dad.”  They had to answer several questions about their dad’s demographics as well as his likes/dislikes, etc.  I did a book from each of them, so I questioned each of them on their own.  When I questioned Cora, she would shoot the answer out instantly.  Then there was Blake…he had to mull over every question and think it out, and then rethink it again. He just had to make sure he had the right answer and make sure he thought each question through and through.  It was cute.  Just a way to see the uniqueness in their personalities.

The kids have been playing really well together.  I don’t know if it’s their ages or because its summer vacation and they are spending more time together.  The only boxes not unpacked are a few boxes of toys and they haven’t even noticed that all their toys aren’t unpacked yet.

Blake will be turning six at the end of the month.  August will be kind of quiet for us, I think.  We will be having a garage sale to get rid of lots of stuff and maybe we will squeeze in a camping trip.

Before we know it, it will be “back to school time.”  Yikes.  How does this happen so quickly?  Blake will be going into first grade and my baby girl will be starting pre-school.  It really is hard to believe -  especially after holding a newborn baby the other day.  Time really does fly and it is so precious. 

Update from the boring family!

I'm really kicking myself for not keeping this blog updated!!  I know I have missed several Blake-ism's and Cora-ism's over the last couple of months that I have not properly recorded!  Gosh, darn it!

What's going on with us lately?  Let's see, Blake started T-ball and already has one game in.  Cora is taking swim lessons on Saturdays and has 2 weeks left.  She absolutely loves it! 

Blake is doing very well in school.  His teacher is recommending that he be placed in the 1st/2nd grade split class for next year (if they have one).  According to his teacher, Mr. Williams, only the well behaved, independent kids who are doing "above average" are recommended for placement in this class.  So....needless to say, we are very proud! :-)

Cora is still cracking us up daily.  She has such a "matter of fact" attitude and doesn't hesitate to put you in your place (I have no idea where she gets that from! ;-))  She is a very good kid though, rarely ever gives us much trouble.  She is excited to start pre-school in the fall.  She will be going to Peace Lutheran Pre-School and will be in the morning class for three year olds.  Lately she really enjoys music and dancing, which she has for a while now.  She also likes to paint and draw and "scrapbook and make projects" with me in my scrapbooking area.

Blake also likes to make projects with us.  He has also been playing a lot of computer games lately.  It amazes me how he can navigate the computer all ready.  He does have a computers class at school once a week, so he has learned quite a bit already.  He is doing an EXCELLENT job reading.  His reading ability truly amazes me.  He can read very well and he can sound out almost any word he doesn't know.  I sure hope he keeps up with this level and love of reading!

Tom and I are both working and just keeping the household going.  I started a golf league with a girl from work, so we golf every Monday night after work.  We do it just for fun - we definitely don't have a chance of winning anything!

I'm going to try to do better with posting stuff the kids say and do.  They are so funny, entertaining and a true joy.  I'm watching them grow so fast and it scares me.  I don't want to ever forget these times of fun and innocence!!

My butterfly

The other night, I asked Cora what she wanted to be when she grew up. She responded with, "a butterfly!" I asked her "are you sure about that, because butterflies can't talk and you really like to talk." Her response was, "if I want to talk, I will just take my helmet off and talk!" Apparently in her eyes, butterflies don't have black heads, they wear helmets! And they can talk!

Blake wants to be a police officer, "so I can shoot the bad guys!"

Our first ER visit

I knew it was a inevitable....after all. We have a boy...an Arbaugh boy....accidents are going to happen. We've managed to avoid any major accidents for the first 5.5 years of his life, I think we did pretty darned good!!

Yesterday, February 3, 2013, Blake and Cora were outside playing in the snow. Blake came in about 15 minutes later crying. They had been playing on the swing set and he "decided to try the monkey bars because I just want to be a big boy". He fell from the monkey bars on his hand/thumb, and he said his head came came down and hit is thumb. He had a mark on his forehead, but he said his thumb hurt real bad. We settled him down, he watched cartoons with me for about twenty minutes, then he went down for a 2.5 hour nap! When he got up, he asked if he could play my Nook, and I told him Sure. He came back a bit later and asked me to help him unplug the Nook. He said he couldn't get it because it hurt his thumb. So, I took a look at his thumb and it was very swollen!



I sent him to the other room to show his dad. His dad took a look and decided that he needed to go to the emergency room. So, with it being just two hours from kickoff for the Superbowl, I told Tom I would take him up to the ER. Blake was pretty nervous at first, but once we got there, he relaxed quite a bit.


Just chillin'...waiting for the doctor and nurse.


"What's this thing mom?"


Checking to see how big his muscles are ;-)


Still cheery!  Waiting for the doc again.



X-Ray time!



He did so good...sat still and listened to all the instructions.

They did an x-ray and the ER doctor confirmed that it was broken. They decided to put a splint on it to keep him from moving it and that he would need to follow up with a bone doctor ASAP. Again, Blake did great...until he saw the splint.




His first comment was "all my friends are going to laugh at me!" He was very upset. As a mom, it broke my heart. It saddens me that at only a few months into kindergarten, he worries about things like that. (But I still managed to snap a picture - I know, bad mom!). It was worth it, the picture is absolutely priceless. I was trying to convince him that his friends would think its cool. He says to me, "it looks like aliens did this to me!" I have no idea where he got that from? I said to him, "well you could tell your friends you fought off an alien, then they would think you are REALLY cool!" He looks at me straight in the eyes and says, "That would be lying, Mom. I don't lie to you, why would I lie to my friends?" He was dead serious. So, even though I thought I had failed the mom test by just being there in the first place, then taking a picture of his devastation....I knew at that point, as parents we are doing SOMETHING right!

The nurse gave him a sucker, and we were on our way home. We were home just a few minutes before kickoff!






He went to Dr. Domingo for a follow up appointment today, February 4th. The doctor confirmed that his thumb was broken and decided that it needed to be casted. Blake had never seen a cast before, so he didn't know WHAT to think! He was very nervous, but very brave. He did a great job and we were out of there shortly after. He is to come back in 3 weeks and they will likely be able to remove the cast at that time.  In the meantime, no sports or gym class for him.  This is unfortunate since he just joined the wrestling team at school and was only 3 practices into the season (ok...mom's not overly heartbroken that he can't wrestle...that sport is just too rough!!).







He still was not sure what to think, but he was pretty sure he did not like this thing....

On the way back to school, he talked to his dad on the phone and he cried and cried. He did not want to go to school and have his friends see this hideous cast! Nothing I could say would make it better. When I finally had him almost settled down, he started crying even harder, saying "but how am I going to pray? I can't even fold my hands?" This boy melts my heart! I got him off to school, and he came home with lots of autographs on his cast and a smile on his face! Needless to say, he was back to his old self tonight!

 

 

A follow up from "My Reading"

See my post titled "My Reading" from a couple weeks ago....

Very interesting to think and look back at my reading from earlier this month. I now know what the message from Addie meant about us "being safe" in our home. Last Thursday we were home making dinner and we saw several cop cars heading north towards the Boy Scout camp. We didn't think much if it because often times people will get lost in the swamp. About 30 minutes later, my aunt Gail called to see if we were home. She proceeded to tell us that she heard on the scanner that there was a convict on the loose in the swamp. This guy had apparently stolen a car and tried to flee the police, ended up in the swamp and fled on foot. We later found out that he had several warrants out for his arrest, had a long list of things he was wanted for, was not going to give in to the cops, and could be dangerous. Needless to say the more we heard, the more nervous we got. We later talked to Shelly (my cop friend who was working on the case), and after talking to her sergeant, it was decided that we should probably leave the house for the night, since our house is usually the first one to be found when people come out of the swamp. We ended up staying at my moms that night. We came home the next morning to a safe, untouched home. Fortunately we were "safe" just as Addie said we would be. It wasn't until the next day that I remembered this message from a couple weeks ago. Until this event, that comment really didn't make a lot of sense to me. If I wasn't a believer before, I think I am now!!

One proud momma

I'm so proud of Cora, she dressed herself today with no help from anyone!! I can't believe how fast she us growing up.

We are also very proud of Blake who brought home an exceptional report card yesterday!!! He is doing very well in kindergarten! He was bummed that today was Saturday and he couldn't go to school "to learn more!" That makes me one proud momma!

Blake joined the wrestling team and had two practices this week. He has three meets starting in February and actually plays against other schools. I'm amazed that these opportunities are available for kindergarteners! This is not the first sport I would pick for him, but we thought we would let him give it a try.

My "Reading"

So I went for a massage today that I had won from a facebook contest.  I have know the girl that does them for about 6-7 years now and have been to her before, but it's probably been about 5 years since I have been there.

Well, as she is giving me a massage, she was telling me how she does "readings" and that she can "see people" that others can't...dead people, angels, etc.  She speaks very matter of fact, almost like it's common knowledge that she can do this.  I was not aware, but intrigued.  She told me she would let me know if there was "someone" in the room with us when the time came.  After a little while, she told me that there was someone there.  She is not a deceased family member or friend though.  She is one my angels.  She told Melissa (the massage therapist) that she wanted me to know that she is always with me and has been since I was about 2 months old.  Melissa guessed that she might have been a teacher in her past life, because she introduced herself by writing her name on a chalkboard.  Her name is Addie.  She also indicated that I have 4 other angels but none of them were presenting themselves.  She also wanted me to know that where we live...we are safe.  We are safe from burglaries, fire, anything bad, because "she has made it that way."  Other things that Melissa told me....that Cora also has this "gift" of seeing people (she assured me that this is not a bad thing and that many kids have this gift including both of her girls).  She also said that she feels that Cora has a green thumb and to keep up with gardening because she feels that Cora's career will somehow revolve around the gardening/flowering/horticulture business someday.  She also indicated that something Tom is drinking is poisoning his body.  That was an easy one - his pop addiction!  She also indicated that Blake is extremely gifted with intelligence and that he will easily get bored with school because it is too easy for him. 

That's all that I can remember for now.  Some people think all of this is just BS and crazy.  I think it's really interesting and I've heard enough stories from a couple of very good friends in the last couple months who have had readings and they have been dead on (not with Melissa but with other "mediums")   I just wanted to jot it all down while it was fresh in my mind.  I do plan on going back.  Partially for the massage and partially for the "readings"!  I think it would be very interesting to get a "message" from a loved one that has passed.