Alex and momma

Alex has been home with me full time for a few weeks now. He was attending preschool everyday from 8-12, but I began to realize how unnecessary it was and decided to pull him out. On more than one occassion I was told that Alex was very advanced and was getting bored quickly. His teacher told me he should be in Kindergarten. I agreed. Sooo, I decided that I could give him much more than the school could. We can learn at his pace, and I can be here to stimulate his learning desires much more than a preschool teacher can. So far that has been the best choice I could have made. We do learning time everyday for short periods of time, and spend most days learning through play. My friend Mollie started a playgroup where we get together with other kids and have planned playdates where the kids can play and learn together. We do themes and try to come up with ideas for crafts and learning opportunities pertaining to the theme of the week. Last week we went to the Austin Science and Nature Center, the week before that it was the Austin Childrens Museum and each week, we have new places to go. Lots of home playdates with planned craft activities too. Today we're going to my friend Jen's house and we'll learn about bats and do bat crafts together. Alex and I are getting so much out of our time together. This is such a wonderful opportunity and I am so thankful that Mark works so hard for us.

Improvements

The house is coming together more and more all the time, some days not as fast as we'd like, but it's a work in progress and we're learning to accept that. Mark made a lot of headway on powerwashing the deck, it's looking so nice. I hope to finish the deck today and then begin working on the outside. It looks awful. I have GOT to remember to take before and after pictures!!! Yesterday mark leveled the floor in the kids bathroom in preparation for laying the flooring and then we can finally have a -*GASP*- toilet in the BATHROOM! Haha! I'm so anxious to check that bathroom off of our list.
I started working on the trim, baseboards and window sills yesterday. I scrubbed em down and started staining. This is my first time to stain wood and I have to say, it's my new favorite home improvement project yet. It's so rewarding! I'm all about the instant gratification, and with this house we don't get too much of that.
I found a nasty water ring on the window sill in the kitchen and found a very easy way to get rid of it. I took a thick rag, layed it over the ring and held the hot iron on it for at least a minute and VOILA! I really didn't think this would work, but I read it on the internet and figured it couldn't hurt to try. I'm just so wowed that it's actually gone. Once again, a perfect opportunity for before and after photos, but I can't ever seem to remember!
Other house stuff....we finally got the driveway cleared out, and cleaned off, it's beautiful underneath the brush and leaves. lol The grass is finally starting to fill in and perk up. It's looking so nice! I sure missed St. Augustine, that Bermuda grass is such a pain and never looked as good as good ol St. Augustine.
I finished pulling up the bushes in front of the house. I still don't know if they were just at the end of their lifetime, or if they were diseased, but they're gone! Now we need to dig up the roots and pick out some new bushes. It's almost time to start planting. The weather is cooling off little by little as fall creeps in.
I still haven't figured out how to get rid of the mothball smell in the theater, but from what I've read I might have to repaint and pull up the carpet. I also read that if the smell is still present then the air is still toxic. Joy. We'll get it figured out in due time.