School, A Party, and More Fixer-Uppin'

Maddox's first week at school was much better than I expected. He did cry, but it wasn't hysterical. And when I picked him up every afternoon, he was smiley and had fun stories about his friends, Harris and Jonah. Of course, there's also stories about kids like, "This boy reached into my lunchbox and bit my ice pack!" or... "This boy was so bad in class Mrs. Richbourg called his Dad!" But I told him that's just life...you have the good ones and the bad ones ;)

This weekend, we celebrated his 6th birthday! On Friday, we celebrated at school, on Saturday we had a little family party at Nana and Papa's, and then on Sunday we celebrated one last time at Trues' Sunday dinner.

 He wanted to design his own birthday cake so he told Mrs. Jenny Sharpe exactly how to make it: Chocolate icing, vanilla cake, chocolate sprinkles on top, a dirtbike on top surrounded by six candles, and with the words, "Happy Birthday Maddox! Love you." He was happy with the outcome!

He talked Jude into giving him his present early. So on Friday night, he opened the first gift - a little stuffed dog he had been wanting. 

 Maddox's favorite part, other than getting presents and a $100 bill (I wish I had a video of him realizing it was 100 and not a 20), was hitting the football pinata. Over and over. And over. Even Mr. Kevin took a turn. Finally, Papa had to "help" it pop open.

Week 2 at school started hard for Maddox because instead of walking him in, I had to drop him off at the car drop off. This change made him cry, and as I pulled off, I cried too! Guilty mama complex. Thankfully, today, there were no tears!!

He comes home every afternoon and likes to "work." This means cutting grapes with his arrowhead, riding Jude on the fourwheeler, and finishing off the day with a swim. 

Jude misses Maddox when he's gone. I'm his new best friend. This morning, we fixed up Clifford with a shot and medicine, and before that, Jude planted a jellybean garden. Haha, apparently candy is his kind of produce ;)

In other news, I passed my Civil Litigation exam with an A, which surprised me! That has been the hardest class for me so far. Now I feel relieved, and can focus on my fixer upper more. It's never-ending! From painting, to new floors, to cleaning out cabinets, to lights, a toilet....I could go on. And then there's all the unpacking on top of that. It IS never-ending, and often frustrating, but seeing the progress is fun.

Here's a glimpse at the nursery.

BEFORE: This room was painted a dirty off white, with mismatched molding, and peeling linoleum floors. It even had a funky smell. 

AFTER: I had carpet put in. Goodbye peeling, filthy linoleum! We painted the walls a clean white. My dad's friend, Kevin, took out the old molding and put in new molding, that I painted white. (I am sick of painting at this point!)

I hung some wall art, added a fluffy rug, and still need to get the crib put together. 

 Dad hung white shades, too, since the windows had no coverings. One of my favorite things about the room is the view. Hopefully, by the time Ollie comes, the room will be all done, clothes all washed, and 100% ready! The rest of the house is still a work in progress, but I'm learning that when it comes to a house...that's just the way it is. I'll post more before/afters later this week.