"I'm a big boy!"

Hey all! I hope your week has been great so far! We have had a pretty good week. It's been kinda warm here. Most days it's in the 90's with 100% humidity. So with the heat index it's been over 100. I know it's been even hotter for the folks in Alabama! But we are surviving. I bet you Michigan folks are melting just thinking about it!!! ;-)

I took the boys swimming at the athletic club on Tuesday evening. That was quite an event. I thought since Gabe was starting swimming lessons next week it would be a good idea to have him in the pool at least once before lessons start. Especially since he usually won't leave the steps. The lessons will take place in the kids pool which is about 2 1/2 feet deep. It took almost an hour of coaxing but, Gabe finally left the edge to discover he could stand up and keep his head above the water. "I'm a big boy, I'm a big boy!!!" He yelled as he began to jump around. Only to jump so much that he lost his footing and slipped under the water. So, a half hour later, after sitting on the edge wimpering, he finally ventured out again. "I'm a big boy again Mom," he whispered as he stood totally still, lest he slip under again. Though it was slow going, the event was really a milestone for Gabe. He is very excited about his "swimming school" (as he calls it) starting. Hopefully he'll still feel that way next week.

Several of you commented on our white furniture via blog posts and e-mail. For some reason, we were able to pick all of the furniture for the apartment except that so, white is what they gave us. By that first night, it had a chocolate pudding stain the size of a cantelope, some cheese ground in, and a smear of strawberry jelly on it. And it's not like I was letting the boys use the furniture as plates or anything. It just got there somehow. Needless to say, I knew white wasn't going to work. Our Ayi (pronounced I-E) Chen, had one of her friends, a seamstress, come over and measure the furniture. I ordered the fabric online with the help of my friend Wei, and before I knew it....slipcovers! Would you believe the labor cost to make one large sofa slipcover and two oversized chair slipcovers was only $30!?! It may not be a big deal to those of you that don't know much about that kind of thing but, let me just say that I was in disbelief when they told me it was only $30 for three custom made slipcovers. Here are a few pictures of the new look.






They have allready proved to be a great purchase. Maddox threw-up yougrt all over a chair this morning. All I had to do was pull it off and throw it in the wash. It was AWESOME! Not the throw-up, just how easy it was to clean up. :-)