moving soon

my mom came up today and helped me pack up the kitchen. i also had a babysitter help me but kate is really attached to me so it was rough. my mom did a lot of packing and sorting so that was good. i had some frustrating times with andy-we weren't communicating well, we had differing opinions, etc. i will be glad when we can all be together again! moving is so hard! especially when i only know a handfull of people down there-but the handful that i know are awesome.
packing up is hard work. i work like 8 hours per day and i'm exhausted, as well as playing with kate. she's so sweet.
my favorite new show is called "surviving motherhood" on TLC at 2 pm. i tivo it. it is very helpful to moms-i recommend it highly! goes through all sorts of scenarios. much needed.
i am heating up a potato casserole tonight-very tasty. i bet you want some. this is a cheesy picture i found on google. laugh at it.
there are new pics of kate on her blog! they are really cute.
i guess my next post will be from the bay! see you then! please pray for a smooth transition for kate. and mom.

garage view

this is our new home in waveland. we will probably be moving next weekend, the beginning of june. we will close on our house in louisville next thursday. i am sad to be leaving but glad that God will guide us. this house looks cute, i've never seen any more than the pictures you are seeing here. the builder said we could move in anytime even though it is not finished. what a blessing-we can be a family again! 

not sure which bedroom this is, i've never been to the house

 

new master bathroom

 

new guest bedroom

 

new kitchen

 

new home

 

my new living room

 

Go Taylor

Well I was surprised that Taylor Hicks won american idol but i'm glad. i think he's fun. but not really american idol-ly.
we are about to close on a second house since the first one didn't work out. this one is larger and prettier than the first one, so that's good. it looks like we will be moving next weekend. that is overwhelming and sad as well as happy and exciting. i hate moving....
i think there are good possibilities to meet new people down there, fun people. all the people from church that i've met so far are so fun and alot like me. they are adventurous or they wouldn't be moving there! the church has 11 college aged interns that are spending the summer on the coast helping out. let's just hope one of them wants to babysit!
one exciting thing about the move-i get to get new living room furniture. i picked out some beachy denim couches, one of which will be a sleeper so that anyone can come spend the night.
i have been so blessed while andy has been gone to have help with kate. several babysitters come over to take her for a walk so i can take a break. i have a pedicure appointment scheduled tomorrow and that will be WONDERFUL!
i have some new pics of kate from the photographer that i will post on her blog soon. she is so cute. she is having major separation anxiety, where she won't let anyone hold her but me or her daddy. it's a phase, a common one, but she's got it. we'll get through it. she's getting a little tan from going on her walks each day. she's way darker than me!

not surprised

not surprised with the american idol outcome. thank you, elliot, for going home.
i am busy packing up the house....don't know when we are moving....but i am trusting.
kate is teething, which is not fun for anyone around. but thankfully jordan sullivan comes over each afternoon to take her for a walk so that i can have a break. i am just praying that she doesn't cry all night.
andy is down in bay st louis working hard. we miss him. we need him.
goodnight.

What?

I am in shock. I wasn't exactly rooting FOR chris but i wasn't against him on american idol. i can't believe he went home! maybe there is hope for taylor yet. my jaw dropped when i watched the results.

kate had a very busy day. we spent the morning at the doctor because she had a "rash" which actually turned out to be bug bites. i felt terrible for letting her get bitten. they gave me some cream to rub on her and an antihistamine. she isn't in any pain but it looks so bad. she played so hard today that she didn't want to take an afternoon nap. she loves to climb on my legs and she doesn't really want too many cuddles. she wants to go, boy! she hates when i change her diaper because i am keeping her from playing. she is so sweet. she finally fell asleep tonight after i rocked her a little.

andy is still busy at the coast. it's hard communicating with him sometimes because either the cell phones are static-ey or we are both busy with something. him with work, me with kate. after she goes to sleep i usually eat supper and clean up because i can't really do those things while she is awake. she ate her first cracker today, quite messy but entertaining for her.

we had a terrible storm last night-i woke up at 2 and at 5 to the sound of thunder, lighning, hail, and strong winds. i had no husband to run to and say, uh oh storm! i usually do that when there is a storm. i can't wait for him to be at home. i've been watching some reruns of designing women, i don't know if any of you remember that show. also some home decorating shows. i'm trying to figure out paint colors for the new house at the coast.

the shock collars are successful at keeping the dogs in the yard. that is good news.

Walk around town

Yesterday we went at a 5 pm walk to keep kate from being too fussy. we actually walked to our old neighborhood on metts street and visited our friends, laura and taylor and baby haley. kate had fun. i fed her some of haley's babyfood and laura and i visited. it was so nice to just be able to walk over there and have an instant person to hang out with. andy was still out of town so i was on my own with kate. she started getting fussy so i felt like i should stroll her back home. it was several blocks. on our way home, we passed the laundromat. i saw a man inside, doing laundry, with a young 3 year old sitting nearby, as well as an infant in a car seat on the table. the infant was screaming. the man stopped, looked at his laundry, looked at the infant, and proceeded to walk outside. i knew what he was feeling. i knew he wanted to finish his chore, yet take care of the baby. as i looked on i said, "i know how you feel!" he laughed and said, "i got 3 of em!" i said, "oh my goodness!" and he went back inside. kate just looked. we strolled home and on the way, andy drove up and honked. he got to hug her for a few seconds and i said, " i gotta keep moving." so i took her home and she went straight to bed.
i saw that same man today, walking with his wife (?) and strolling the baby. i do know how he feels!

Fantabulous Saturday Night of Mommy

Today we had a work day around the house. Andy left at 6 am to pick up our car from Grenada, where he left it previously. I was up with Kate at 730. Playing and fussing all morning. Kate is getting her 6th tooth so she isn't happy. I understand. Andy went to Lowe's bright and early to pick up new shutters for the house as well as a underground dog shock kit so that the dogs won't escape anymore. Yet again today they were on the lam. And they came back. But I don't think they will be going anymore thank to the shock kit. It was a wise investment.
Andy spent most of the afternoon hanging the shutters with his new electric drill. Also a wise investment. We have a contract on the house still and hope the shutters are to their liking. We have until May 31 to close, I think.
Same for the house in the Bay. May 31. Looks like we are moving beginning of June. I want to get the walls painted first so we may wait a few days.
Good friend Theresa came to visit us today and help us with some grocery shopping. I actually cooked supper tonight, and it was tasty. Had another friend stop over after supper and then Andy crashed at 845. Kate crashed at 645 because she played so hard this afternoon while I had company. She only had short naps all day and was cranky.
So the Chapmans had a long day. Got the laundry done, supper cooked, dishes put away, laundry put away, house vacuumed, cars cleaned out and to the car wash, and so much more.
Andy fielded lots of phone calls from the Bay today. Looks like they really need him down there. He's leaving tomorrow night and will be back later in the week. We'll miss him!
Kate is babbling a lot. "babababababababa" is her phrase. she always steals lots of attention when we take her in public.
i guess i'll go watch a lifetime movie now. andy's snoring in the other room, no peeps from kate, so it's time to relax.

Busy

This is an action shot of Kate. I love her profile of her cheeks when she is intent on playing. She is holding a travel size bottle of shampoo, her favorite toy. She has baskets of toys in each room that i let her get into. she feels like she is being bad by getting into stuff when really it's her job.
andy ended up going to the coast after all, having to deliver a truck. we were left without a car, as we had one with him and one in the shop. they delivered the car today from the shop, noting that nothing was wrong, they thought. well the air conditioner is broken, and kate and i had to get out of the house so we went for a drive, and she was sweating! i felt bad. she finally fell asleep.
we did some play time in the yard on a blanket. crawling from one end to the other, she keeps busy.
we have a contract on our house in louisville, as a couple are very eager to move in. we also have a contract on the house in bsl, and we are hopeful to move in.
i have to admit i am feeling much sadness about leaving louisville, more than excitement at this point. as i walked across the street today after my walk with kate around the block to the little lunch restaurant where i order a sandwich, i was thinking, hmmm i'm going to miss this. also, everyone around town tells us all the time how sad they are. i can't go anywhere without someone telling me how "i wish you wouldn't move."
but it's clearly God's will because all the doors are open. it's so bittersweet.
thanks for all your prayers. currently, rosie and sophie are missing again. they are hard to contain. i hope they come home. 

Highlights

A nice week thus far. Andy is home, helping so much with Kate. Also loving me. That is perfect. The dogs are home. I rescued Rosie from the pound. Some nice Louisville citizen called me and told me there was a chocolate lab there and that i might want to check it out. And it was her! She has been reunited with Sophie and both are happy. Kate is home. She is doing so well, doing better with her crawling and using all fours. She now is working on her 5th tooth. It only took 39 minutes to get her to sleep tonight, a break from the 2 hours it took last night and the night before. Miraculous. I called the doctor today to ask for her advice on the situation, as well as to step up my antidepressant. I just need a little more help getting through the day.
Kate and i rotate from room to room, to the back porch, to the front yard on a blanket. We take her electric bubble blower and she crawls to it, and then i move it to another corner of the blanket, and she crawls to it. it's cute. she plays very hard. we take our naps together, per doctor's orders for me to rest.
i've been calling banks to get good rates for the home purchase. that was my task to complete today. and i think i did a good job. i found a pretty good rate.
i also, of course, watched american idol-what happened to katharine????? taylor, as usual, did great, and i hope he wins.
with PPD, everything seems like an upcoming disaster. my next disaster-leaving kate with someone so andy and i can go to a wedding in july. yes, it is WEEKS away, but i'm already praying about it. the last one went okay. but this will the the first time i'll be away from kate for more than 5 hours-and i will be away from her for 3 days. i know i can get through this. she will be in good hands.
i'm trying to get out of the house at least once per day. today kate and i went to lunch together, and she was great. she always attracts smiles from people sitting near us or the waiters. she ate some black eyed peas, too.
currently reading Inconsolable: How I threw Out my Mental Health with the Diapers. it really speaks about what i feel . it's another mother dealing with ppd. she has it much worse than I but i can relate a little to her.
supper tonight? lean cuisine, chicken with penne.