Spreading the Wealth

Halloween is fun!

Where has August gone?

Holy Moly!!!! Where has the month of August gone? The Greenes have really been on the move these last few weeks. We have the pictures to prove it! I just haven't had the time to sit and unload my camera and make commentary. Honestly, the Olympics took over our lives. We lived in front of the TV every night. Wyley is now on a first name basis with Michael Phelps. We thought it was awesome and really brought the pro-USA spirit to our home.....until track events started. YIKES! The boys moved downstairs.....scaredy cats only covers 1/3 of their issues. Each night gets easier for them! We then went to the beach with Nana and Granddaddy and family. Our boys are now bronze Gods around the house, but coppertone babies in the bath tub-if ya know what I mean. Renovations are now coming to a close, we hope. Painting is finished, but we are needing some flooring. The end is in site!!! And last, but certainly not least, Miss Sophia is cruising!!! She is pulling herself up like its old hat and is now making efforts to move herself along anything that will hold her upright. Our favorite Sophia moment is her yelling down the stairs to the boys. We have situated 5 gallon buckets at the top of the stairs, blocking her from falling down the steps. (I know, not the best, but until we have it all finished up so we can have a gate there the full buckets keep her from plumeting to her demise.) Anyhow, she crawls over, pulls up on the buckets (full so they don't tip) she stands there and yells down for the boys. "hhhheeeeeeyyyyy" "aaaaahhhhhhhhh" "uuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh". She gets all serious, stands up real tall, and pounds on the buckets. When the boys appear, she cracks up. She is so stinkin cute! She is our toy! Well, there are pictures to come, so visit again soon!

Pop Pop is Donald Duck?

As long as I can remember my dad has entertained many children, including myself, with his Donald Duck voice. Now my children get to enjoy this talent of Pops. No one is ever really sure what dad says, we only know that it enthrals the kids and fills them with delight!

It was a great visit with Mom and Dad....aka Grandma and Pop Pop. The kids love their grandparents!

Rachel is In!!!!

Rachel the happy homeowner! It is official she is in her house! Congrats Rachel!

The Kitchen


The laundry room off of the kitchen.


The front room.


The den


The hallway from bedrooms to front room.


bathroom....dad thinks its comfy. Spent lots of time in there....looking at the tile, right?


Master Bed....furniture arrives Friday! (Doug, are ya busy?)


Master Bath




Zane and Rachel's shed. Coolest feature of house. Its as big as my living room!

Wyley at CHAMPS!

Throughtout the swim season the kids are trying to meet benchmark times that would qualify them in various brackets for the end of the season meet, CHAMPS. As you might recall, Wyley first swam a 1:59 in freestyle. Well, he worked his little tooties off and met the time qualification for CHAMPS, in the Bronze bracket. Here is his race from June 26, 2008. You'll notice we need to work on the start!

Wyley did well in this race. He swam his best time of 30.18 seconds. Not bad, huh?! He also qualified himself next year for the Silver Bracket. His final comment on the swim season, "Next year, GOLD!!"

(anyone who knows how to rotate video, let me know!)

Matese.....

Well, after spending the week in the vets office, our kitty is now home! We still haven't narrowed down the issue, but the vet is leaning toward something toxic that she ingested. Well, we are still giving her meds to finish up the antibiotics and are also giving out liver meds. Her blood tests showed that her levels fell either within normal or almost normal. BUT she is not eating like she should. Either the cat is picky....how could this be from animal that cleans itself i ask!....or really hasn't gotten her appetite back. she ate while at the vets and didn't need the tube afterall! Like I have said before, Matese isn't the most social of cats. She usually runs away and hides or swats at you. But she has been quite mushy lately. So much so that when we brought her home from the vet and I was able to cuddle her, Wyley said, "They fixed her! She's being nice!" I have more pics and updates to come so be ready!

Crazy Busy...feel better Matese

Well, it has been crazy around the Greene house lately. We have been trying to hustle through the last few items on our renovations list, move Rachel to her new house, finish up the swim season, do the family thing, and take care of our sick cat. So, to stay true to the title of our blog..."the easy and not so easy moments of the Greene Family"...I must offer up some of the not so easy moments at some point, huh? Well, while in the midst of moving Rachel to her new house we are also sitting vigil for our cat, Matese. We are unsure of the her status, only that something is off with her liver. Very off. She hasn't been eating, caring for herself, or using the litter box. As it stands currently, the liver issue could be anything from an infection to cancer. To truly diagnose we would need very costly tests and procedures done. So, as of this afternoon she is getting iv fluids, iv antibotics, and a feeding tube. We're giving the idea that she has an infection a try. The fluids and food should revive her a bit and the meds will treat the illness. We should know how she is doing within the next couple of days. And I am sad. Matese and I have history. I got Matese from a friend shortly after the break up of a serious relationship. This cute cat gave me something to care for, something to distract myself with, and ultimately she took my focus off of the relationship so that I could move on. She hasn't been the most social cat, she can barely stand my kids. But I love her. And I am scared for her. Late at night when I am writing this blog, she is usually running around or rubbing up against me....and I am waiting for that and it is not happening. We will all pray for her, right? That she is comfy, not feeling lonely, and that she has had or will have the opportunity to fulfill the full measure of her creation. Thanks for listening, I needed to talk.

Sophia update!!

Sophia loves her excersaucer. She loves to play with the toys and to bounce around. She especially loves it when I put her too close to my plants and she gets to play with them. Look closely at the photos and see what is all over her tray.....pieces of plant and dirt! I caught her playing in the plant, scooping out dirt. When I found her she was waving a branch of the plant around. She will either be in demolition or in landscaping, it hard to say at this point. She's still developing her skills!





The plant thing was last week. This picture is from Saturday afternoon. I had just gotten home from Youth Conference and was unpacking and getting some things done in the kitchen. Sophia was lying on the living room floor playing with toys and just enjoying being out of her carseat. I came in to check on her and I found her sitting there staring at me! So I took a picture! What an awesome surprise. She has been sitting up when I put her in a sitting position for a few days, but we didn't know she could get herself to a sitting position from a lying position! She's a genius! Crawling is just around the corner!!!

(Hi Grandma! Hi Nana! Look at me!)

Wyley Did It!!!

He Did It! Wyley swam across without stopping! His first even last Tuesday was the mixed freestyle relay. He struggled with getting in, but once he did-woooo boy! This was also his qualifying race for the bronze division in the Chesterfield Aquatic League.

This is Wyley's go at his 2nd event: 25yd freestyle. Once again, he crossed the pool. This time he did it without stopping, AND in his personal best: 33.7 seconds! Now he qualifies for CHAMPS in the bronze division. WOW! Way to go Wyley....we are so proud of you!

Wy's relay team won their heat. Here's Wy with his heat winner ribbon.

Our trip to Toys 'R Us was quick. Wyley knew exactly what he wanted- a Pokemon something or other. He doesn't watch it, or play it but he had to have it. Whatever makes the work worthwhile, right?

Go Wyley, Go!!!

This is Sophia at one of Wyley's meets.

"You can do it Wyley! Don't stop!"

Summer is here!

You know summer is here when the watermelon arrives!

I Love My Feet

We took this video shortly after Sophia found her feet.

She is so stinkin' cute!

Let's Go Wyley, Let's Go(to Toy 'R Us)!!!

Wyley is showing off his event numbers (25 yds Freestyle and 25 yds Backstroke).

This post is dedicated to the motivation of Wyley.

Wyley is getting set up in his lane. He is worried. Very. And Veronica Harper is trying to focus him on getting to the other side....without stopping.

Wyley's first start-ever! That blue blur grabbing on to the lane line is my boy!

This would be break 1, i think. There were so many, that I didn't take a picture of each one.

The swimming resumes.

And another break.....and so it goes.

He has been working his tail end off in the pool since school let out. He is trying so hard to improve his skill level, his time, and overcome his nervousness. So, we want to hear from his friends and family. He has dropped his freestyle time from 1minute 58 seconds to 59 seconds! That is huge. His stroke looks so good, when he isn't hanging on the lane lines, and his attitude couldn't be better. (Ok, there was the day he begged me not to go.....he still goes.)

His back says it all, huh?

His future goals include:

• swim 25 yards freestyle and stop only 3 times=2 push pops from Mrs. Flanagan*



• swim 25 yards freestyle and stop only at the end=1 trip to Toys 'R Us with Mom



• dive in from side (not off of starting block) and keep going!!!!*



• dive in from starting block....i add this one, but he says this isn't his goal until he's 8.

*indicates the goals he is working on currently

Wyley getting a last minute pep talk from Coach Meagan. He tried his hardest at the Backstroke, but fear overwhelmed him and we let him stop half way. Wyley will swim it! Maybe when he's 8, he said.

Soooooo, lets hear from ya people! Motivate my little one! Help him feel the joy of a job well done and recognition of hard work. Reply to this post and I will have Wyley check it each day to see if folks have responded! Feel free to respond more than once by coming back and visiting our blog often! The pictures spread throughout this post are from Wyley's first meet. He's so cute!

Love to all, and we hope to report soon of any of Wyley's progress!

Photos of Wyley with his team. They are getting a pep talk and giving a cheer!

None of That Sissy Stuff

Are you tired of those sissy 'friendship' poems that always sound good, but never actually come close to reality? Well, here is a series of promises that actually speak of true friendship. You will see no cutesy little smiley faces on this...Just the stone cold truth of our great friendship.
1. When you are sad --I will jump on the person who made you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew!!!!!!!!!!!
2. When you are blue -- I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.
3. When you smile -- I will know you are plotting something that I must be involved in.
4. When you're scared -- we will high tail it out of here.
5. When you are worried -- I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining, ya big baby!!!!
6. When you are confused -- I will use little words.
7. When you are sick --Stay away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever you have.
8. When you fall -- I'll pick you up and dust you off.
9. This is my oath...I pledge it to the end. 'Why?' you may ask -- because you are my FRIEND!

Friendship is like peeing your pants, everyone can see it, but only you can feel the true warmth.

Rachel Loves Being An Aunt

She doesn't want anyone to know this, but Rachel loves being an aunt. She really loves little girls, and how cute they are. Pink might not be her favorite color, but she sure is buddies with one chica who makes pink exceptional!

Check out that grin!

And Rachie is also really good at changing nasty diapers, putting fussy babies to sleep, warming breastmilk or mixing formula, as well as throwing in movies for older siblings. (She has vacation days available if you should need her in the fall, Will and Brandy!) So, don't let her fool you. She too owns a pink shirt!

Who Knew Fun Would Be A Swim Cap?

Wyley is on a swim team. And so far the coolest part is the swim cap!

Even Zane thinks so.

He looks so cute! You should see him with the goggles on. Its the cutest thing in the world.

Okay, well his tiny tush in the swim jammers are the cutest!

Zane loves to dress up.

And this is his "Goonies" get-up. (Come on...One-Eyed Willie! You've got to remember that!)

Even best friend Nathan got in the swim cap for some fun!

Renovations UPDATE

So, the counters are in!! And I am one happy mama! As you can see, there are still things to be done, but we are one step closer to completion! I think that we did a good job on the color of the counters. And Doug did a fantastic job working with all the punches our kitchen threw back at him! LOVE IT!!! Oh...did you see that! See if you can find our BRAND NEW STOVE!

Its right over there!

Its that beautiful piece of appliancery that I am kissing....

and hugging.

Who would have known that a stove would make me this happy? Maybe it will make me cook better too! Hmmm? We shall see.

Thank you! You know who you are!!!

House Renovations

Some of you are aware that we are knee deep and then some into house renovations and upgrades. These are the images of our house in the throws of battle! We forgot to take some "before" pictures, but are really looking forward to showing off some "after" photos! Tim and especially his dad, have been working their tails off to get this project completed. We sure do love Doug's talents, but truly admire how much of his time and energy he sacrifices for the betterment of our home! We love you!

This is the living room. To the left are the stairs to the basement. And what you see on the right is the remainders of our hallway. The big square in the middle is our new closet. We are still spacling (spelling?) and sanding and looking for our flooring.

This is the view of looking down the hallway. Its not there! Yippie!

This is our kitchen. The decision was made to put in new countertops. And we went for broke, making changes and improvements to help with the functionality of the house. So we painted and changed the hardware and added a section to our cabinets. The countertops are coming soon! (Okay, they came this weekend, but I do not have my pictures yet. The counters also came with a new stove...that I LOVE....the pictures of me hugging and kissing it are coming soon!)

Another view of the kitchen. My house is torn apart...my homemaking skills aren't THAT bad. Check out that yucky stove!

I even painted the doors on the pantry! (Not much fun to do, but don't they look so much better?) Stay tuned for postings on the new countertops!