Theo and Jaime

Snowed in

2012-02-14T20:10:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was dreadful! It was 11 degrees outside and snowing like crazy. And anyone knows me, knows I do not drive in the snow, or take my kids out in it, unless I have to. We were getting a little cabin fever Sunday. So I broke out two of my favorite books and got to work. And so did my little helper, Carter.

We picked out a few activites to do. For the craft, we made a clown (he wasn't finished in this picture. He ended up having a hat, ribbon hair, and a balloon nose)

But the hit for the day was dying ice cubes with food color (add one drop of food color to the water in each cube and freeze for a few hours). Then at bath time, I let them dump the ice cubes in the tub. When they melted, they turned the water all kinds of cool colors.

On a different note, this little princess has been sick for a long time. I don't have the emotional energy to go into it right now but she has pneumonia that has so far not gotten any better and may end up having to have a procedure done at Children's Hospital in Denver. I'm waiting on an appointment with a pulmonologist hopefully this week while mom's in town to help me. Her doctor is hoping the antibiotics and steroids will help her but if she doesn't get better, than we have to have a new plan of care. Please just pray for her healing.

Isaiah's first birthday party

2012-02-11T13:16:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Isaiah's first birthday over a month ago. We had to have his little party early since Theo was going to be gone on his actual birthday. Since we had the party two weeks after Christmas, we asked our friends not to bring presents but instead bring any books from home that their kids wouldn't mind parting with. As always, our friends were more than generous.

We really wanted to keep the party low key. I had decided on an airplane theme several months ago and found some good ideas on pinterest of course! I liked the idea of having airplane type food so we had sandwiches. Well, at least they used to serve sandwiches on the plane. Now you're lucky to get a soda but I digress :)

We, as usual, also had a veggie tray with spinach dip and a cheese and cracker tray. I made strawberry, blueberry and marshmallow fruit skewers to go with the color theme of the party. I also made the little tags and cupcake toppers from my scrapbooking program.

And the cupcakes (my first time making homemade frosting!)

The good thing about having an airplane party was since the boys room is decorated in airplanes, I already had the party decor :) I just brought their vintage airplanes down, used the airplane fabric I already had and put it over the cheap tablecloth.

One of my favorite things was the photo board I did. It had his official onsie picture for each month and then I put them on his memory board and made an "Isaiah" banner using my cricut. I loved being able to see how our little guy grew and changed each month.

Isaiah and his first cupcake

I love this picture and how excited he looks about his new books!

For party favors, I got ready to paint wooden airplanes and had the kids draw on them with markers (instead of paint!) and then I got some little inexpensive planes to assemble from Michaels. The cheapest party favors evah!!!

Still can't believe our baby boy is 1!! Now if he would only sleep through the night :)

Our baby Isaiah is one year old!!!

2012-02-02T18:39:00.000-08:00

Birthday's seem so much more special now that I'm a mom.....especially the birth of my children. They seem like such accomplishments. Together, we made it to a year! I am so proud to have Isaiah as my baby son. I cherish him tremendously and have a special place in my heart for him because he is the baby.

I wrote him a letter for his birthday, just like I have been doing with Carter and Olivia. It's such a pleasure to do that and reflect over the past year. I hope when my kids are 18 that I will share the letters with them. I hope they find as much joy in the letters as I have while I'm writing them.

This past year has been incredible, challenging, love-filled, fast and slow at the same time. It's overall been an amazing year and I'm honored to be this little man's mom. He is such a joy and makes me whole heart melt when he looks at me with those big brown eyes and his full face smile. I could eat him up!

Isaiah, little one, you have grown and changed to much this past year. We are so incredibly grateful for your health, your happiness, your easy going spirit. You light up our lives. We look forward to celebrating many many more birthdays with you. We know God has amazing things planned for your life and we are blessed he entrusted us to be your parents. We love you to the moon and back!!! Happy first birthday baby boy!

These are a few of my favorite things

2012-01-29T07:51:00.000-08:00

I love finding new things that I just adore. One trip to Target last week to pick up Olivia's eye drops turned into an hour of perusing leisurely and spending way too much money! And as always, I found a few things to add to my favorite list.

1. My newest addiction: Dunkin Donuts Pumpkin Spice Coffee. Target had it all marked on clearance after Christmas and I bought a few bags. Okay, nine bags over the course of three trips. I ended up getting half of the bags for $4 and it was originally $8 so score for me!

2. I also racked up on the best smelling soap I have ever come across. Unfortunately, it's dish soap and not body soap...although I've been tempted to lather myself up with it :) By looking at the scent of it, I thought it would smell funny because it's olive oil and corriander but it's the most clean scent every. I got 3 bottles for 44 cents.

3. My fleur de lis candleholder mom got me for Christmas. You put it in the top of an empty wine bottle and it's instantly a candleabra. How clever is this!!

4. Last weekend I made my grandmother's infamous banana bread. It is the best banana bread you will ever put in your mouth and I'm so thankful that after many years, she finally shared her recipe with me :)

Eleven month olds!

2012-01-21T06:34:00.000-08:00

Isaiah turned eleven months old yesterday! One more month until his first birthday. I truly can't believe it. We're having him a little birthday party this weekend because Theo is going out of town for a while and we want daddy here for Isaiah's first birthday.

Isaiah, at eleven months old, you:

-are at such a fun age. You are almost ALWAYS happy! People often comment on how content and laid back you are. You are the light of my life.

-weigh between 19 and 20 pounds and are growing every single day it seems!

-are mostly sleeping through the night. You still wake up some nights but don't usually have to be fed.

-are getting about 28-32 ounces of formula and about two to three jars of baby food. You are now eating quite a bit of table food (rice, bread, you LOVE bread, turkey meatballs, pasta, fruit, some veggies. You've had a couple of desserts but don't tell anyone!)

-will hopefully switch to regular milk soon but we'll see. You're still on soy formula and that seems to make you much happier.

-are still into everything. You are now opening the cabinets and pull out drawers. You like to get stuck under the kitchen chairs. But then you get frustrated and I have to pull you out :)

-are pulling up but not quite standing up yet but it won't be long.

-are moving so fast. The pictures I usually take of you look like this:

-have four teeth with two more front side teeth breaking through.

-love all of the toys you got for Christmas. You love any thing that rolls and that you can chase. As long as Olivia and Carter don't steal your toys first!

-have almost outgrown your 9-12 month clothes and are in a size 4 diaper. I still put you in cloth diapers half the time but you leak through almost every single one of them.

-are THE sweetest baby. I can't believe you are almost a year old. You never cease to amaze you. We love you more than the world!!!

Park Pictures: Isaiah

2012-01-16T09:44:00.000-08:00

First of all, thank you so much for reading my last post. I really feel a lot better after getting all of that out :) So, now back to my regularly scheduled, and happy, posts!

These are more park pictures from last week....featuring none other than an almost one year old Isaiah!

Parenthood

2012-01-14T07:02:00.000-08:00

I just need to pour my heart out right now. You're in for a long read. It's okay if you want to just stop right here and wait for my next cheery post :) It's Saturday morning, Theo is about to embark on a 10 week journey in Virginia and I am feeling overwhelmed. At this exact moment, things are peaceful. But it's the calm after the storm. It has been an awful week. I mean, truly awful. In the grand scheme of things, of course it could always be MUCH worse. But in our little world, it's been pretty bad around here.

It all started Sunday when the stomach virus of 2012 kicked off. We all passed it around and fortunately, our kids are much more resillient than us adults are. When I'm sick, I mostly just want my momma. Then, when the fact that she's 1000 miles away hit me, I became so overwhelmingly lonely.

I love Colorado. I love the opportunity we've had here. But I am lonely. I am isolated. I am the lead actress in the movie, Groundhog Day, where my life is a series of the same repeated events every Monday through Friday. I know it can't be helped right now. Between Carter only going to school half of a day and Isaiah and Olivia very much needing their afternoon naps, I'm bound by a pretty rigid schedule. Which is mostly good, but it leaves little room for spontaneous fun or flexibility. I can't join a MOPS group because I'd have to leave early every time to get Carter. I can't go to my Bible study any more because then the kids would miss lunch. I can't even hardly have playdates because Carter is either at school or the littlest ones are napping. All of this to say, it's basically me and my kids every minute of every day with very little adult company other than my husband. And try as he might, my sweet husband can't meet all of my needs.

I long for the support system I once had in Louisiana. My parents, my aunts, grandmother, brother, sister-in-law, neices and nephew, and all of the friends I had made over the course of a decade. I hate feeling like I am doing all of this all on my own. I know all of the wives in the same boat as me are doing it on their own too....far from home, with little support. I know I CAN do it, I just don't like doing it. I have one friend in the same city as me. Sure, we have lots of acquaintences, people who we invite to our parties, but only one person I talk to and see a few times a month. Fortunately, my couple of other closest friends and I have maintained our relationships by talking on the phone and keeping up with each other. It feels as if they are close by which helps but it's not the same as having them in my living room while I vent about motherhood :)

Which I have needed to do a lot this week. Our firstborn has been out of control. I don't feel like going into all the details but I haven't even recognized him this week. I have yelled at him and spanked him more the past week than I have in the past six months probably. When did I become a yeller? I don't ever remember yelling at him when he was younger and when it was just him and Livie, but now I raise my voice without thinking twice about it. I used to (and still often) cringe when I hear other mothers yelling at their kids. But now I am that mother. And I hate it.

I have been praying for God to give me a quiet and gentle spirit. But my kids don't seem to respond well to a meek momma. Or maybe they would respond better if I didn't interject my meekness with yelling all the time. I just don't know what to do. This is so hard. Rewarding but hard. There is no one size fits all parent manual. Believe me, I've perused the library shelves enough to know this. But then a small voice fills my spirit, telling me "Let me shine through you. The only way you will ever be the kind of mother I've created you to be is to let go of yourself and let me shine through you." And maybe this is the end of my search for answers. How do I become a better mom? How do I become more patient? How do I love the unlovable? How do I make it through this challenging time? Painfully simple, yet seemingly impossible at the same time: Jesus. I can only do this with Him. I can do this for Him. I can do this because of Him. That is the only way I can survive this journey of parenthood.

Park Pictures: Olivia

2012-01-10T15:01:00.000-08:00

I must say, this daugther of ours is the most gorgeous thing I have ever laid my eyes on. But, I might be a tad bit biased! :)

Park Pictures: Carter

2012-01-09T14:36:00.000-08:00

Last week, the temperature was so mild. And then Saturday, it started snowing. Hard to believe the weather can go from 60 degrees one day to 30 degrees the next. Ahhh, this was something I had never had to worry about in Louisiana!

Theo was off last week and we so enjoyed having him home. We went to the park a few times and one day I was able to get some great shots of the kids. . So today it's Carter's turn :) Carter was so busy so it was hard to capture him. But I did manage to get him swinging around and playing ball.

Next up: Olivia at the park!

Cave of the Winds

2012-01-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve Day, we got up early (or early for us) and had planned on going hiking at Garden of the gods. It was supposed to be warm and a nice day. Uh, not! When we walked outside, it was freezing and the wind was literally blowing 50-60 miles an hour. So what did we do instead? We went to cave of the winds.

I had been there before when I was a kid and it's been on my Colorado Springs "bucket list" for quite some time. However, I almost botched the whole thing. Olivia had been screaming in the car for probably 15 minutes because the wind was so ferocious, it was loud and shaking the car and she was terrifed. The cave of the winds parking lot was gravel and dirt and when we stepped out into the lot, the dirt and tiny rocks were hitting us all in the face. I was screaming, the kids were screaming and my always cool, calm and collected husband was just trying to get us all to calm down! I was so furious with the situation that I screamed that we should all just go home. But then Carter said "But mom, you said we were going to do something fun" and that was all it took for me to get a grip, literally so as to not get blown over and then it was all good.

Once we were inside, all was well. Olivia finally calmed down. I calmed down and Carter was so thrilled to be going to a real cave.

The picture really don't do it justice. But what can I say...do you know how hard it is to get a good photograph in a cave? :)

The kids did great. The only thing was I didn't have my baby Bjorn. You couldn't bring a baby backpack or a stroller so we literally carried Isaiah through a cave for almost an hour. He was pretty happy but we could tell all he wanted to do was get down and crawl around.

There were some pretty narrow passages as you can see by this picture of Carter.

Lots of other really neat things to see

The rest of the day was great despite the winds. I'm thankful we got to scratch one more thing off our list before we most likely move away next summer. Only one more thing on the list remains.....the Royal Gorge!

Focus on the family

2012-01-02T07:34:00.000-08:00

Thursday, the kids and I made a spontaneous trip up to Focus on the Family. I had been promising Carter I would take him somewhere fun while he was on break from school and he chose Focus. We hadn't been since our trip back in April. I was also reminiscing about this visit when Olivia was just a wee baby.I knew it was going to be crazy with all the kids being out of school, but I must say, my kids were great and could not have behaved more perfectly! Thank you Jesus for days like that!!!

The first thing Carter wanted to do was to go to the bookstore (*aka* VeggieTales capital of America). He did very good only looking at things and didn't pitch a fit at all when we left without buying a single thing. So proud of Carter for that :)

My little technologicaly savvy child went straight for the computers after that

Olivia crawled through the tunnels

They put on a play and puppet show

But their favorite part, as always, is the toddler room. Isaiah is finally old enough to crawl around and enjoy it. He had so much fun, as did Carter and Livie. Initially, Isaiah only wanted to play with the wheels on someone else's stroller :)

But then he discovered it was more fun to play

And so did Olivia and Carter

Christmas: Part Two

2011-12-28T12:26:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning started around 6:30 in our house due to a very hardly-can-contain-myself Carter!

Olivia and Isaiah weren't so eager to wake up but fortunately, Santa left Carter a McDonald's drive-thru and that kept him occupied for a while. Okay, more like ten minutes and then he was asking (about 2,534 times) to wake up Olivia and open the presents :)

Santa brough Isaiah a wooden toy train.

And when Princess Olivia finally woke up, she got a Melissa and Doug pizza set (and of course, half of the ownership rights of the McDonalds!)

We let the kids open one present and then we sat down to have breakfast. I made a coffee cake (which I cooked way to long and was rather crunchy!)

and a hasbrown casserole. The casserole was great.....coffee cake, not so much but it was edible at least :)

Then the present opening commenced. It was nothing but pure chaos afterwards.

Isaiah was happy to just chew on the wrapping paper.

The funniest thing...Theo's parents got the kids some things but also sent them a card with some money in it. When Olivia opened it, she was so excited. She said "Oooooo, MONEY!" And what better to go with a McDonald's drive-thru then real money!

The aftermath:

And I used the cloth bags mom and Aunt Laney made a couple of years ago to wrap several presents! We probably would have had 2 big bags of trash if I hadn't. Those bags were a life saver with several funny shaped things I had to wrap!

Our families were so generous as always. Grandmother made us all crocheted blankets that I cherish so much. Omaw and Papaw sent the kids all of their favorite things and Isaiah got a really cute airplane rocker toy (haven't gotten a picture of it yet though). Grandpa sent us all money which will be added to the kids savings account. Grandma and Pop pops sent the kids some clothes and toys and of course, the money :) Nana got the kids a few things off of their walmart wish list. Our other family members sent wonderful things as well. Thank you all so much for your kindness!

And just so I can remember this in a few years....while we did have a great Christmas, the spirit of ungratefulness and whininess appeared in our oldest child. I spent much of the day feeling quite disappointed that although he got almost everything he asked for, he still had an ungrateful attitude. Is it ever enough? So since then, I've begun taking his favorite presents away if he is disobedient or disrespectul. That seems to be working and I think it's making him appreciate all of the things he got more. Hopefully....

Overall, we did have a wonderful Christmas. We loved having Isaiah with us this year and Olivia was such a delight too!

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Christmas: Part One

2011-12-26T20:11:00.000-08:00

I am so glad Theo has been off the past few days. I really miss him when he's not here. Christmas Eve was spent shopping (if you know my husband, you are not at all surprised by this!) and then we went to mass. The kids did pretty well during mass. It's been forever since we've all been together. But at one point towards the end, Carter said rather loudly, "Is Santa coming yet?" :) See where his priorities were! Olivia wore her made-by-mommy Christmas dress and wore the reversible side for the first time. I thought it was too cute!

After mass, we drove around our neighborhood and looked at Christmas lights. Isaiah was passed out in the carseat but Olivia and Carter enjoyed it. Isaiah woke up when we got home, which was almost 9:00 by that point. I put them in their new Christmas pajamas and tried to get a good photo...when really everyone was thinking how Carter looks here:

We read the Christmas story from Luke (okay, more like I read while Olivia and Isaiah did their own thing. At least Carter was semi-listening). We always did this when I was a kid and I want to carry on that tradition. How could we celebrate Christmas without actually talking about Jesus' birthday?

Then off to bed the kids went. They were so sleepy by that point that no one really put up a fight! We were so excited that it was going to be little man's first Christmas too!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T13:25:00.000-08:00

From our family to yours!

"When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. "

Meet Frosty's little brother

2011-12-24T07:05:00.000-08:00

With all the snow this week, I couldn't help but take Carter out to the park to play in it. The idea was first sparked when Theo, after having been in and out of the cold all day, came home from work early and immediately took Carter sledding. In the dark. He gets daddy of the year award as far as I'm concerned. There is a huge hill behind our neighbor's across the street house.

Carter had a blast with his daddy while I stayed inside and played with Baby I and Livie. I wish I had taken pictures of him sledding.

So Friday, after we went out, he wanted to go back and play. I figured it was my turn so I put on my snow boots and we headed to the park. I had the best time! Carter of course did too.

And because I love showing off my mad camera skills....isn't this a cool picture?

I was informed this is called a "front" snow angel! I think it looks like an almost face plant if you ask me :)

Carter heading off to work in the snow

He's been asking me for weeks to help him build a snowman. Can you believe I don't think I've ever made one before? I helped some neighbors of mine while I was in college make one on one New Year's Eve but other than that, I have never done one solo. I felt a lot of pressure from my five year old onlooker!

Carter wanted to make one "as big as Frosty" but since this was my first attempt, I said we could make frosty's little brother. He was cool with that.

So without further adieu....meet Frosty's little brother, *aka* Snow Saiah (Isaiah without the I prononced!)

From all of us in Frosty Land, we wish you the merriest of Christmases!

Ready. Set. SNOW!

2011-12-23T12:34:00.000-08:00

We've gotten a LOT of snow this week! I'm pretty sure we've already gotten more this year in the past 2.5 months than we did all of last winter. What is this warm-blooded girl to do? Make the best of it I suppose! Carter absolutely loves the snow. He would stay out in it all day if I let him.

He informed me that these were not footprints, these were "snow paths". I love footprints (or snow paths!) in the snow. I think it's a beautiful sight.

My little snow angels.

It was almost knee deep on Olivia. She surprisingly liked the snow too. She kept trying to eat it and it made her little face all red!

We didn't leave this house this week until today. We basically stayed in our PJs (I finally got dressed on Thursday!) and played all day. Isaiah was just hanging out with us.

All the while, Olivia and Carter had a jingle bell contest. They were trying to see who could ring the bells the loudest.

Carter got really into it!!

Then they went for a "boat" ride. The things these kids can do with cardboard boxes are amazing! Olivia was "riding" in a wooden crate I painted for Carter for Christmas. There was no good place to hide it, so I didn't. I'm going to fill it up with new craft supplies and give it to him.

I love these two pictures because in the first one, I told Carter to stop picking his nose and smile. Olivia looked over at him cheesing it up and decided she'd cheese it up too!

I just thought this picture was funny. I think if she had known she was riding in something that had Carter's name on it, she probably would have wanted to sit in the cardboard box instead!

Hope you all are having a great week!

Ten months old!

2011-12-22T07:37:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of the month, Isaiah turned ten months old! He is growing and changing so much. He is the best and most easy baby in the whole world, you know, mostly!

Isaiah, at ten months old you:

-weigh about 18 or 19 pounds and are so long!

-just got over your first little stomach virus and since then, you've had a ravenous appetite. It was struggle to get you to take more than 5 ounces at a time, but now you can easily drink 6-8 ounces at a time. This past weekend, daddy kept you and fed you. A. LOT! You got 4-5 jars of baby food and about 32 ounces of formula. And guess what! You started sleeping through the night!!! Tuesday night I was worried it might be a fluke. I followed daddy's "advice" and fed you as much as you wanted and you slept over ten hours straight! (Cue the "Hallelujiah" chorus!) So proud of you little man.

-still take two naps a day but I bet by your first birthday, you'll be down to one. You usually have to take a catnap in the car after we get Carter from school and then you take a long afternoon nap. It actually works out pretty well. I have to wake you up at 7:15 almost every morning to take Carter to school. If I didn't have to do that, I know you'd sleep all morning.

-finally have two front teeth. They are about halfway down and I think two more top side teeth will be popping through any day now.

-have hair that is finally long enough to get curly when it's wet. Daddy loves seeing your "black side" as he calls it :) I'm so glad you'll have curls like Carter and Olivia. I don't know what I'd do with a straight haired kid!

-are starting to get some table food but you really prefer baby food. Your big brother was the same way and would have taken baby food forever if we'd have let him. You love the little "baby" snacks they make, i'e. yogurt metls, puffs and your favorite, these sweet potato rice cakes. But as far as chunky fruits and veggies, you'd prefer liquid bananas :) You do like bread though and pasta.

-are also trying to get used to a cup but all you really do is bite on the top instead of actually drinking from it. You get an ounce of apple juice a day to help with your little tummy but you still would rather drink it out of a bottle.

-are moving around everywhere! You are so fast in just a few short weeks that if I turn my back for too long, I have to go search the house for you. You've been trying to pull yourself up for as long as you've been crawling but so far, you can only get onto your knees. Won't be long though. You are an active little guy. You won't hardly let me hold you anymore because you push off of me trying to get down. It makes me a little sad not to able to hold and cuddle you but I know it's because you're a growing boy and want to explore the world around you.

-are in a size 12 month clothes and a size 4 diaper. It's really funny that you and Olivia wear the same size diaper now but you're only about 6 pounds different in weight! I don't know what size shoe you wear because I haven't put any on you in months.

-are a magnet for any small particle on the floor. The things I dig out of your mouth never cease to amaze me. And the stuff that gets stuck on your clothes from crawling around is horrible! I sweep daily (and sometimes several times in a day) but it's not enough. Daddy and I decided we're just going to attach a swiffer pad to your pants and let you clean the floor for us! Ha!!!

-are fascinated with the Christmas tree. Fortuanately, it's in the front living room where we spend very little time or you'd constantly chew on all the light bulbs. You are especially fond of the red glittery ball ornaments. I can't wait for you first Christmas!

-are talking all the time. You always say dadda and sometimes say momma and I promise it sounds like you've been saying "yeah" when I ask you questions :)

-love just about all of your toys. You love things that spin, light up, or make noise. You love chewing on Carter's blocks. You love books too but mostly just pick them up and chew on them. You are quickly outgrowing the exersaucer because you'd rather be crawling around. But you still love the jumper and bounce like crazy when your brother isn't making you swing around in it like George of the Jungle!

-are the most laid back (I know, I say this every single time) baby ever. And now that you are finally sleeping through the night, I love you that much more! :) You have brought us so much life, happiness, joy. We would be incomplete without you. I can't believe in less than two months, you'll be a year old! We are so thankful God brought you to us, healthy and perfect. We love you so much Baby I!!!

My fabulous weekend!

2011-12-21T06:37:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful time I had this weekend with mom and Aunt Laney. I must first say what an amazing husband I have to allow me to escape from the insanity known as motherhood to have a ladies weekend. Theo did an excellent job holding down the fort while I was away and the kids seemed thrilled to have the time to spend with him.

I wasn't supposed to arrive into Dallas until almost 11 p.m. But as luck would have it, our plane was going to be delayed two hours from Colorado Springs to Denver. The airline was going to bus everyone up to Denver but since I was heading to Dallas, I was able to switch airlines and get a nonstop flight from the Springs to Dallas. I ended up getting to Dallas as the exact time as mom and Aunt Laney.....except for a little detour around the airport...:) Shut the front door!!!

Friday night we stayed in and had dinner at Copelands at the hotel. Yummmy! We don't have any good restaurants here where I can get good Cajun food so it was great to have crawfish etoufee :)

We stayed at the Hilton in the Southlake town center (thanks to Aunt Laney's great friends and family discount!). This was the view from our room:

So Saturday we headed out the town center and hit all the little shops. It was great. I scored a pair of Loft pants for $2! Can you believe that? Everyone was having great sales being the weekend before Christmas but I managed to reign myself in and not spend too much on clothes :)

We had lunch at this Tuscan Grill and the food was really good. I can't remember the name of the place but I'd definitely eat there again.

Aren't these ladies just beautiful? And they are, inside and out. So glad I got to spend some time with them.

Sunday was our big day out. We were on several missions to purchase things and I think I got everything accomplished. We ate breakfast at LaMadeline's. Fab.U.Lous. I had never eaten there before and it was delicious! We headed to Ikea and it was a whole experience. I only spent a few dollars but man, if I didn't have to worry about packing everything in my suitcase, I probably would have gone Cah-razy! Good thing we also have an Ikea up in Denver because I will probably be going there very soon. We ran a lot of other errands and did a LOT of shopping. I forgot how easy shopping was without three kids in tow :)

Sunday night I went to see Breaking Dawn by myself. I think this may have been the first time I had ever seen a movie by myself but it was really fun. Theo was thankful it was one less Twilight movie he'd be forced to see!

Monday it was time to leave and honestly by that point, I was ready to see my sweet little family. I got home a little later due to the terrible weather and ice on the runway in Denver. It was snowing and 20 degrees when I arrived and I had instantly wished I was back in the South!

The kids were so happy to see me. They made me a welcome home sign that Carter colored and Theo had dinner ready and a cup of hot chocolate for me. He definitely gets the best husband of the year award from me! Now it's back to life. When I'm dealing with temper tantrums and whining, I am going to reflect on my happy times this past weekend and remember as my mom was saying "There is a "me" in mommy" Ahhhh, true words of wisdom.

Thanks mom and Aunt Laney for the best time I have had in a long time! Can't wait to do it again next year!!!

Tis the Season

2011-12-11T20:14:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, we went to three different Christmas parties! Friday night we went to Theo's co-workers house for a party. They have a four year old son and and seven month old son so I was glad their house was kid friendly :) Our kids did really well and had a lot of fun. I brought my camera but didn't manage to take a single picture.

Saturday, we had a family party for Theo's old office. It's nice they still include him in these things. The party was at the Youth Center which was great because the kids ran themselves out! Isaiah got his first experience with Santa. He loved it! I was so shocked.

Carter, on the other hand, not so much, even despite him insisting on wearing his Santa hat to the party.

Olivia sat in Santa's lap but only because I was sitting right by her. Theo's former co-worker was there as the photographer. He is a great photographer and has several thousands of dollars worth of camera equipment. So Theo switched out my very inexpensive lens with one of his and was trying it out. This was one picture of me. In case you can't read my mind, I'm thinking "Seriously, if you drop this sucker, it's going to cost us almost 2 grand!!!"

The kids had fun doing their own thing.

Isaiah had fun playing with Max.

Carter had fun on the rock wall.

And Olivia ran around the gym and got "touched by an angel"

And me and the handsome hubs:

Sunday afternoon, we got a babysitter and went to Theo's big bosses house. It was nice seeing how the other side live :) We had a great time. They had the party catered and so there was food galore. Afterwards we ran a couple of errands and then finally headed home. It was so nice to get out without the kiddos.

Tomorrow, it's back to normal. We have one more office party on Friday. I finally get to see where Theo works. Then I'm on a plane to Dallas for a ladies weekend with mom and Aunt Laney!!! I am soooooo excited!

Pearl Harbor

2011-12-07T20:27:00.000-08:00

Since today is the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, I thought I'd share some pictures of our Hawaii trip (2008) and our visit to the Pearl Harbor Memorial. It was definitely a high light of our trip. We had to wait a while to see it but it was so worth the wait.

Trimming the tree

2011-12-01T12:59:00.000-08:00

Saturday, we put our tree up! It was fun to see how interested Carter and Olivia were in it and wanting to "help" put the ornaments on the tree :)

Isaiah hung out in the high chair

until we let him loose....this is going to be an interesting Christmas season....

And just for fun....

One with daddy (minus the funny hats!)

Love making these precious memories with my even more precious little family!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-25T08:31:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you all had a wonderful one. This was the first year that we spent Thanksgiving just the five of us. It was a really good day. Of course it helps that we have an overwhelming large amount of things to be thankful for. God has richly blessed us. Especially this past year with the addition of Isaiah to our family. Can you guess what he's thankful for? I'll give you a clue...he's very attached to them (his two fingers!) :)

We are also incredibly blessed to be the parents of these two, who I might add were so well behaved yesterday while their daddy and I spent most of the day preparing our feast. With the exception of one ten minute meltdown at the end of the meal, they played so sweetly together and were very happy yesterday.

Even though it was just the five of us, we made a ton of food. Thanksgiving is Theo's favorite holiday and one of this top five most favorite meals so we had to do it up right! He prepared and carved the turkey.

Our other turkey, Mr. Gobble Gobble, also made his debut!

We also made several sides: mashed potatoes and gravy, corn casserole, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, rice and peas, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. We ate good yesterday!!

This guy waited patiently all day for the dessert.....apple pie!

My favorite part besides the food was decorating our table. We used our china and I used what I had to make a beautiful tablescape (if I do say so myself!)

We went on a "nature" walk this week (really I just needed to go to the post office but we turned it into a spontaneous nature walk!) and Carter had fun collecting pinecones. They are pretty hard to come by around these parts. I realized I miss the abundance of pine trees that you see in the south.

This year we did a thankful jar and Theo, Carter and I would write on pieces of paper what we were thankful for. We read them out loud at dinner. Some of the things in our jar were: friends at school, Mrs. L (Carter's former teacher), candy, toys, healthy children, a loyal husband who works hard to provide for us, family, spectacular views, completing my first 5K, health insurance and a wonderful pediatrician, just to name a few. I think this will be a tradition of ours from now on. I hope to leave the jar out all year round so we can practice gratitude on a daily basis and not just one month a year.

We hope your lives are blessed and that you have much to be grateful for. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Nine months

2011-11-23T20:17:00.000-08:00

Isaiah technically turned nine months old about three weeks ago but I just took him for his nine month check-up yesterday. Here are his vital statistics:

Weight: 17 pounds 14 ounces

Length: 29 inches

He is right on target for his growth. He's still hovering around the 10 percentile for weight but he looks healthy and is gaining good weight. I stopped nursing him at eight months and haven't regreted that for a second! On his actual nine month birthday, he was not crawling. That all changed this past weekend and now he is ALL over the place.

Precious little man, at nine months old you:

-are growing so big and strong! I can't believe in just a couple of more months, you'll be turning a year old!

-are such a happy, laid back baby. You are incredibly easy to take ANY place and I'm so thankful for that. You are so calm compared to your older siblings.

-are on soy formula and seem to be tolerating that a little better than cow's milk formula. I know you don't have a milk allergy but your little tummy likes the soy better.

-are finally getting some table foods (eggs, banana, puffs, cereal bars) and you love everything you tried except mommy's squash soup!

-mostly eat baby food but are not liking your veggies as much as you used to.

-still only have two teeth which I am so shocked about. I can't believe no more teeth have come in but I keep expecting more any day now.

-wear a size 3 diaper, size 2 shoe (but hardly ever wear shoes), 9-12 month clothes.

-love bath time. You splash yourself all the time and look a little shocked, and then you just laugh!

-are putting everything in your mouth. I have to sweep 27 times a day to keep all the little food and dirt particles out of your mouth.

-still love your exersaucer and jumper. You are going to have strong leg muscles.

-are attempting to pull yourself up onto things but only get to your knees and then aren't sure what to do after that.

-are still not really sleeping through the night. You did last night but you also got your flu shot yesterday so I'm certain it was just a fluke. Tonight will tell! You wake up about once around 2:00-3:00, take a bottle, and then fall right back asleep.

-take two naps during the day, one little catnap in the morning on the way home from the gym and then a good long afternoon nap. You still love your Aunt Vickie knitted blanket and never sleep without it.

-keep your big brother "up all night" :) Oh, the joys of sharing a room.....

-are the joy of our lives. We are smitten with you and have such a special place in our hearts for you because you will always be our baby. We love you more and more each day Isaiah! Thank you for blessing us with your sweet little self! It's hard to believe nine months ago, we were bringing you home from the hospital! My, how you've changed :)

What's goin' on

2011-11-21T21:04:00.000-08:00

And the answer to that would be a whole lot of nothing! But it's been a few days so I thought I'd at least post a few pictures. I'm sure everyone who reads this is also on facebook and has already heard this story. But for my dad, these pictures are for you (Olivia got into my makeup and decided to redo the master bedroom and bathroom in the shade "warmth")

Praise the Lord, all of that make-up came out of everything....except the rocking chair that she was sitting in when she decided to play dress up. Fortunately, it was NOT the rocking chair from my last post!!!

This little pirate started crawling over the weekend!

My life just became drastically different. It's all eyes on him. No more leaving him sitting in the middle of the floor playing unsupervised. Nope, he's into EVERYTHING. He loves plugs, lights, anything he can get his little hooks in. But it is SO much fun to watch him crawl around :)

I found him all hung up in the blanket a couple of days ago.

It was a little alarming when I first saw him but he was fine and seemed all too snuggly.

I'm so glad Carter has the week off of school. But let's face it- not like I'm going to get to sleep in. It seems like the kids wake up even earlier on the days there is no school. *sigh*

I am hoping to get the kids out from in front of the t.v. (I've been really lax about that lately) and get crafty. I'm finding all kinds of great ideas on pinterest.com and my creative process is in overdrive. I did buy some fabric to make Olivia a reversible Christmas dress. It's the same pattern as this dress:

In other news, I ran my first 5K this past Friday! I did it in about 32 minutes which is way faster than I've been running on the treadmill. So today, when I went to the gym, I really pushed myself and found that if I do that, I can run a lot faster (at least fast for me). I am really hoping to lose these last 5 pounds but it has been extremely challenging. I guess having 3 babies in 4 years will do that to a girl :) So I'm trying to get back on the healthy eating bandwagon and hopefully by the end of the year, I'll be back to the same weight I was when Theo and I got married. But as Theo said "It's the wrong time of year for that, huh?" :) I guess he's right. Thursday will be tough! Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!!

Nostalgia

2011-11-16T17:15:00.000-08:00

I realized this past week that I never posted pictures of Olivia's rocking chair. This chair is so special. It was my mom's when she was little. Mom made new cushions for it to match Olivia's room. Olivia and Carter were fighting over who gets to sit in it while we were in Louisiana. In fact, they still fight over it occasionally. It was imperative that we were able to fit it in our truck while we were down south. Even if it meant leaving one of our kids behind so we could have room for it. Okay, not really!

But now everytime I look at it, I think of my mom as a little girl. I wonder if she wreaked as much havoc as my precious girl does. I imagine my grandma looking at mom sitting in her little chair. I imagine their eyes locking in on each other as my grandma smiles watching her baby girl. I can almost feel how proud my grandma was of my mom. I know this because I'm so proud of my baby girl too. We are leaving a legacy of mom's raising daughters....one pink rocking chair at a time.

Our weekend

2011-11-15T07:14:00.000-08:00

We had a four day weekend and it was great to have Theo home with us for four whole days! Friday night, we went out to eat at TGI Friday's. Considering we had to wait for over an hour, the kids to great! My meal was one of the best meals I've had since moving here which is sad it came from a national chain :) I love Colorado but the food here leaves a lot to be desired!

So, to help avoid disaster of an hour wait in the restaraunt, we spent half that time in the car. And in an attempt for me to get more pictures with my sexy husband, this is a self-portrait. I love how you can see Carter in the background :)

Isaiah got his first driving lesson

I promise the kids were more happy than how they look here!

Saturday night we were supposed to double date with our friends Amy and Jeff. We'd been planning this for a couple of weeks and realized neither of us had double dated with any other couples (without our kids in tow) since we moved to Colorado! But unfortunately, their youngest son was sick so we had to cancel. Theo and I had already arranged for our neighbor to babysit so we went out anyway.

What did we do, you ask? Well, we had the most exciting night evah! We went to Dick's Sporting Goods, Whole Foods, and Best Buy. Theo really wanted to someone more adventurous but as we perusing the washer and dryer aisle of Best Buy, I told him it was so nice to be able to just do everyday things without chasing our kids through Best Buy and having to spend ten minutes in the kid movie aisle repeating "No, we're not buying that today" :)

Sunday, we went to our churches. It was Sunday to volunteer. I have to say I tear up every single time I watch a room full of six and seven year olds worshipping God. I hope we are raising our kids to be worshippers and to follow after God whole-heartedly!

That afternoon, I got some cuddle time with this little fella

I rocked him and sang to him until the desired effect was achieved

I was reminiscing of this day....

Where have the past nine months gone? Hope you all had a great weekend!

Happy Veteran's Day!

2011-11-11T12:59:00.000-08:00

I am so thankful for the freedom that has been afforded to me and my family because of the sacrifices of our veterans, both now and in the past. I am so proud of my veteran and am honored to be a military wife. I hope this little guy will follow in his daddy's footsteps!

Trick-or-treating

2011-11-06T12:27:00.000-08:00

Halloween was a lot of fun this year! The two oldest really loved getting all dressed up. Carter has worn his Super Why costume so much that he's getting holes in it! Olivia was the perfect "Princess Presto". She got really into collecting candy this year.

My two favorite little fellas:

Carter with his other BFF: Tristan (our neighbor)

Before we went out trick-or-treating, we had dinner at our neighbor's house. This is a group photo of all the kids, both young and old:

Princess Presto with her #1 Prince Charming

First house of the night:

Post trick-or-treating...Theo finallyd decided to put his costume on. It had the "scream" movie mask but he took it off in this picture.

We had a great time and hope you all did too! So glad I haven't consumed all of the leftover candy this year. Gotta get these last five pounds of baby weight off :)

Beat 'Bama!!!!

2011-11-05T12:24:00.000-07:00

What's that? Did someone say there's a big football game on today?

Whodat? Oh LSU!

Who's ready for some football?!!!!!!

WE ARE!!

Our second annual Halloween Party

2011-11-02T08:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday night, we hosted our second annual Halloween party. It was a lot of fun. We had a great turn out and had a blast. There are a lot of pictures in this post so be prepared :)

This was the appetizer table. We had a veggie tray, cracker and cheese tray, crab dip, candy corn, candy pumpkins. I loved making the peep tabletop decoration. It was an idea I got from pinterest. Love that site!!

This was the dessert...pumpkin turtle cheesecake. I made the cheesecake, mom made it look pretty!

This was the kids' drink...orange kool-aid in my pitcher with a vinly jack-o-lantern face. How cute and simple is this?

The adults' drink.....sangria. My first time making it. I don't really like red wine so I doubt I'll make this again. It sure was pretty though.

The main food...we made two kinds of chili: Theo's spicy chili and a kid friendly chili. Jeff brought a gorgeous chicken salad. We had rice, corn casserole, chicken wings, and Kevin and Mary brought a seven layer dip that was delicious!

One of the party hostesses with my little tiger :)

The party attenders (Jeff, Mike, Adam, Kevin, Shane, and my honey)

The ladies: me, Amanda, Kelly, Sascha, Mary, and my mom

Carter with his BFF Caden (who left before the group kids photo)

A couple of late comers...Ben and Tim *aka* The Swamp People!

Some of the other ladies: Ashely, Kelly, and Lauren

The kids: Olivia, Carter, Guy, Aspen, Maddy, and Kylie

Host and Hostess: Happy Halloween!!!

Carter's class Halloween party

2011-10-31T20:06:00.000-07:00

This morning, Carter has his school party. He even got to wear his costume so he was really excited! All the boys and girls looked so cute.

Isaiah was pretty happy because his Omaw was there holding him the whole time :)

Olivia was hillarious during the party. She followed one of the dad's around who was passing out marshmallows and she was conning him into giving her some....which he did.....twice! The class played games with candy as prizes and she was pretty whiny until she got her own pack of skittles. Sounds like she's a junk food junky....like someone else I know (ME!)

Carter was working hard on his marshmallow ghost craft.

After his party, mom, Isaiah, Olivia and I went to Panera Bread for breakfast. I had never had their breakfast before and it was delicious! Maybe it'll be my new vice.

More Halloween pictures to come later this week. Hope you all had a great Halloween!

Simply gorgeous

2011-10-30T14:06:00.000-07:00

Is this not the most gorgeous set of curly blonde hair you've ever seen? Again, I know I'm a bit (okay, a LOT) biased! I love our daugther's hair. It's a mess to comb through but it is absolutely beautiful and gets her a lot of attention. I hope when she's older, she'll love her unique hair!

The.Cutest.Face.Ever

2011-10-28T16:10:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm a little biased!

Fall decorations and snow!

2011-10-27T13:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we got several inches of snow! The first official snow was October 8th but it was really more of a dusting. Yesterday, the snow came and only this afternoon has it started to melt.

I am starting to love the fall more and more now that I actually get to experience all four seasons.

The cold snowy weather makes me want to light the fireplace, curl under the blanket and drink a glass of hot chocolate while reading my current library book :)

I also love decorating our house for fall. There aren't really any "summer" decorations I like. I'm not into the whole beach/nautical/tropical theme. And I can't think of any other summer decor themes. So when fall rolls around, I like to spruce up our home with little touches here and there.

I love my Hobby Lobby apothecary jars! I wish I could find cuter ways to fill them up. The one in the kitchen is so large that to fill it up with any kind of candy would require I'm sure no less than 15 bags!

This year, the garland that I normally hang outside had to be relocated inside. It's just way too windy and no amount of thumb tacks, duct tape, you name it would hold those suckers up outside! So this is where I put it instead:

And look who's all bundled up and ready for the snow?

Geaux Tigers!

2011-10-22T10:12:00.000-07:00

Beat Auburn!!!!!

Spotlight on Olivia

2011-10-19T14:54:00.000-07:00

This blue-eyed blonde-haired daughter of ours is growing and changing everyday. Her vocabulary has just exploded and now like her older brother, she talks NONSTOP!! She is saying all kinds of sentences and definitely speaks her mind. If she wants me to do something and I'm feeding Isaiah, she'll say "Baby, all gone, no more, move!" It cracks me up how assertive she is.

With all of this assertiveness comes many battles of the will. Honestly, I'm not sure who's winning at this point. She is a handful most of the time and when she's uhappy, she's REALLY unhappy, yelling, all snot-faced, throwing things, you name it. She is Miss Independent.

When I tell her she can't have something, she'll say in her sweetest little souther belle voice "Uh huh, momma, mine" and then give me a smile that almost makes me want to cave into her. When she's happy, she's soooo happy. She loves to listen to music, dance around the house, play with her brothers.

She's starting to recognize some letters (O, I, B, E) and can say the alphabet repeating after me. She knows some colors (blue "boo", yellow "hello", red "wed", green "deem") She does the cutest things sometimes. If a toy isn't working she'll say "daddy batees" (aka daddy batteries) because she knows daddy is the replaces of all batteries :) She loves going around saying my momma, my daddy, my bubba, and is now finally saying Isaiah, which sounds like I-day-ya. She LOVES the veggietales and often asks for more bob, larry and junior.

Our favorite thing to do these days, is crank up the music and dance to the song "Hold Me" by Jamie Grace. She is happiest when I'm swinging her around the living room. She loves to praise Jesus! So glad for that :) We love this precious girl of ours, tantrums and all. I know she'll be a strong-willed woman and I hope she'll use it for the glory of God....someday!

Third Annual Trip to the Happy Apple Farm

2011-10-15T16:23:00.000-07:00

This morning, we drove South to Penrose and had our annual family pumpkin picking day. I wasn't sure it was actually going to happen because as we were stopped to get gas, a man came up to Theo and told him there was something leaking out of the bottom of the car and we're pretty sure it was gas. So we had to change our plans up but we made it out there.

This place is one of my favorite things about fall. It's so much fun and the kids (and the adults too!) love it. I'm glad we've gotten to make this an annual tradition.

Once again, Omaw provided the youngest two with adorable fall outfits! Thanks mom, everyone at the pumpkin patch was commenting on how cute Olivia's dress was :)

We didn't do any berry picking this year but we did find a lot of good pumpkins.

Including these three adorable little pumpkins

Annual tractor ride

Isaiah was happy with his debut trip to the pumpkin patch

Do you notice a pattern here? We can't get those fingers out of his mouth :)

One of my favorite pictures from the day

Family photos

(2010)

Happy Fall Y'all!

Field Day 2011

2011-10-10T14:37:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Carter's school had Field Day. I was so excited because Theo was off from work that week and he was able to go with me. And our sweet friend Amy watched Olivia for us so we could focus on Carter.

In Louisiana, Field Day is always at the end of the school year. But here in Colorado, it usually is still snowing in May so it's probably wisest to hold Field Day in September :)

Carter did okay at Field Day. The first event was the "fund run" where they had to literally run for 20 minutes. It's kind of like a walk-a-thon to raise money for the school.

But he fell and skinned his knees pretty bad so he was really whiny after that and didn't want to participate too much. We were finally able to watch him have a little fun...

His classmates and teacher, Mrs. Logar

And some of his little friends, boys being boys!

Eight months old!

2011-10-03T18:43:00.000-07:00

Isaiah turned eight months old yesterday! And he is officially weaned from breastfeeding as of Sunday night! It's bittersweet......I was ready after waking up multiple times a night for the past eight months but it's sad to think I'll never nurse another baby again (unless God decides otherwise. But if it's up to me, then definitely NOT!) I cried a little Sunday night but then Monday morning, I felt such relief. I really wanted to make it until he was nine months old but I just couldn't keep up the pace of multiple nighttime feedings anymore. We're both happier for it I think :)

Isaiah, at eight months old, little man you:

-weigh about 17 pounds as best as we can tell but we're not for sure

-are getting so long. I think you'll be tall like your daddy!

-are taking about 20-24 ounces of soy formula a day. I'm trying to bump that up so you'll sleep actually all the way through the night but you like to nibble on small amounts. I switched you to soy because you were just too unhappy and seemed too uncomfortable at night. Now you only wake up about once a night instead of 5-6 times a night.

-eat about 2-3 meals of baby food a day. I'm still making some baby food but with using "nap time" to help Carter with his homework, I am finding I have a lot less time to make baby food. You don't seem to mind :)

-love, love, LOVE the jumper! You could spend all day in there if we let you. You look like a little frog so much of the time because your little chubby legs bounce, then dangle, then bounce again. It's so much fun to watch you!

-are also so content to just sit on the floor and play. You love just about every toy and you love when I sing to you. You love peek-a-boo and love being read to but you try to chew up the books.

-are such an easy, laid back baby. You are almost always happy and only get upset when you are tired, hungry, or need to fill your diaper :)

-still take two naps a day....usually one catnap in the morning and then a long nap at home in the afternoon. You go to sleep so easily as long as you have your "magic" blanket.

-wear a size 3 diaper and 6-9 months clothes although those clothes are rapidly getting too little!

-made your debut in the park swing a couple of weeks ago. It's so nice to actually be able to play with you at the park instead of just leaving you in the stroller. And you love it! I love this picture of you once you realized I was behind you. It melts my heart.

You are such a blessing and a joy to have around. We love you more and more with each passing day. You light up our world and are very thankful for the healthy, happy, wonderful little guy that you are. Happy eight month birthday Isaiah!

World Day of Play

2011-09-30T02:08:00.000-07:00

I've been having some major insomnia lately...I guess I'm so used to waking up multiple times at night that when I do go in to give Isaiah his one nightly bottle, I can't fall back asleep. So what's a mom to do but catch up on some blogging!

Last weekend, our "neighborhood" hosted a World Day of Play. We took the kids and they had a blast. The events were mostly for older kids but Olivia took part in a little fun too :)

Theo and Carter were under the parachute and I think Livie was looking for them!

Carter got to do some "real" rock climbing

And a little surfing

Olivia LOVED her some bouncy houses

Isaiah just hung out and took a nap mostly. I didn't get any pictures of him but it won't be too long until he's running around and playing like his big brother and sister :)

How my kids have been entertaining themselves...

2011-09-29T14:27:00.000-07:00

Putting on plays complete with a cardboard box stage and construction paper curtains

The stage also works as a human ~~Jack~~-Olivia-in the box

Busted out the jumper for little man...check out his drool action he's got going on. This thing has provided hours of entertainment for him and lots of spit up to clean up for me!

Our first USAFA football game!

2011-09-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

I'm still running behind with blogging but I did want to tell y'all about our first Air Force Academy football game. It was the weekend of 9/11 and I'm so glad we went that weekend. They did a lot to honor the troops and some of the fallen from that day. This picture was my favorite...it was part of the half time show:

I will admit, I wasn't sure about going. Theo really wanted to go and it's on my "40 before 40 list" but it was right during naptime and I was all stressed about how the kids would do. Let me tell you, they were PERFECT....almost.

Carter is terrifed of fighter planes ever since we took him to an air show....two and half years ago! So as we were going through the ticket area, they had a flyby with some fighter planes and both he and Olivia were freaking out. I was thinking "Great...what a way to start out this adventure and we haven't even made it to our seats yet." But once everyone calmed down, the game was great. The football playin' not so much :) It's no SEC football for sure! But we had a blast. We left after the third quarter because Carter was tired. Olivia did great and she was the one I was most worried about. Isaiah did great until the crowd started cheering. And since TCU creamed the Air Force, there wasn't too much of that! Ha!

Hope there are many more college football games in our future!

Dairy Queen Celebration

2011-09-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

Even though we had already had Olivia's birthday celebration at her party, we wanted to do something special for her on her actual birthday. So that night, we loaded everyone up (which is a major accomplishment most days) and headed to DQ. The kids were in heaven. I only had a bite of ice cream and used nothing but sheer willpower since I'm trying to ~~lose this stubborn baby weight~~ get healthy. I look forward to many many years of birthday celebrations with our precious kids!

The rest of the party pictures

2011-09-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

I am so far behind with blogging these days but I did want to post the rest of the pictures from the party. They are mostly of our guests (most of our guests), who were so generous towards our kids, and of course, the birthday boy and girl! There will be a few collages because there are just too many photos to post all by themselves! Enjoy :)

Isaiah photo shoot

2011-09-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

Last week, I dressed Isaiah in THE cutest little outfit (courtesy of big bubba's hand-me-downs) so I had to snag some photos! Theo said Isaiah looked "country" and I took that as a compliment :) What do you think?

Celebrating two years!

2011-09-12T20:40:00.000-07:00

Olivia is two years old today! I still remember bringing her home from the hospital and how ecstatic I was to have the daughter I always knew I would.

I never dreamed I'd have as beautiful of a daughter as Olivia has turned out to be. Her smile truly lights up the room.

I wrote Olivia's birthday letter tonight but wanted to share what she's been up to this past year. Olivia, my precious girl, at two years old you:

-are such a joy to have around....at least most of the time!

The past six months have been up and down but the more you learn to talk and communicate, the happier you are. You are talking in two to three word sentences and are so proud when you learn new words. You have such dramatic facial expressions which I imagine you mimic from me.

-are such a little caregiver. You love on Isaiah and when he fusses, you try and "shhhh" him and calm him down. Just today, momma wasn't feeling too great this afternoon, and when I said that out loud, you immediately came over and put your hand on my forehead to see if I had a fever!

-are still a pretty adventurous eater but your appetite has slowed down lately. Last week, you ate homemade baked kale chips, which I couldn't believe! You aren't usually afraid to try new things.

-are into EVERYTHING these days! You are such a little daredevil and somehow are a magnet for off-limit things (like coloring all over the walls, dining room table, you name it). The other day, I caught you in the bathroom and you looked like a smurf! At first I thought you had covered yourself with your toothpaste but when I smelled what it was, I immediately knew it was Isaiah's selsun blue shampoo!!! You climbing all over the tables, both coffee and dining room. I blame it on your big brother!

-weigh about 24 pounds we think. You are wearing 2T clothes and still some 18-24 month clothes. You were a size 6 shoe and wear a size 4 diaper when you do wear disposable.

-are finally sleeping through the night most nights. Occasionally you get a little help (aka Benadryl) but it's okay with Dr. Lisa, so it's okay with me! If only I could give your baby brother some *sigh*..... You take a 2-3 hour nap on the days we're home but if we're out, you're usually good to go with a little catnap in the car.

-are quite the aggressive little girl! At the gym, you are often taking toys from other kids. When you see someone with something you want, you have no problems chasing that person around in order to try and get it. You don't take no for an answer most times!

-are so strong-willed and independent which often causes you much frustration!

-when you are happy, you are THE sweetest thing. I can't get enough of you. You love giving and receiving affection and are such a daddy's girl! He's wrapped so tight around your finger but shhhh, we won't tell him that!

Olivia, we love you more than we could ever tell you! Our lives would be incomplete without you. You bring such liveliness to our house and such a prissy priss. We pray you will do great things with your life. We trust God has a great plan for you and we want to help you reach your full potential in the Lord. I hope I raise you to be a woman, wife, and mother after God's own heart. You are so precious to us and we love you more than the whole world!

A Very Veggie Party {Part two}

2011-09-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

What food is more appropriate for a Veggie Tales party than....you guessed it: veggies! :) Fortunately for our guests, we opted for real burgers instead of veggie burgers. Theo was kind enough to man the grill and grilled burgers and hot dogs. We had a veggie tray with ranch dip (in an orange bell pepper)

spinach appetizers (not homemade!)

I made crockpot beans and we had veggie chips! But the show stoppers, if I do say so myself, were the cupcakes:

I got the idea from a book I have called, "Hello Cupcake". They are just chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting, crushed up oreos for the "dirt", and chewy jolly ranchers and starbursts for the "veggies". How cute are these?!!!!

A Veggie Tales Party

2011-09-08T13:55:00.000-07:00

{Part one}

This past weekend, we celebrated Carter's 5th and Olivia's 2nd birthday party! Since ~~Carter decided last year to have a Veggie Tales party last year~~ they both love Veggie Tales, we thought this would be the perfect theme for a boy and girl party.

I started perusing blogs over the summer while I was in Louisiana looking for party ideas. I found this one and this one and ran from there. The jumping off point though was probably these vegetable baskets my mom found on one of our trips to Hobby Lobby in Louisiana:

Did I mention they were on clearance? You can't see them in this picture, but I also got yellow shovels at HL on clearance too. My mom saved the day by bringing packets of vegetable seeds (carrots and cucumbers). I tried 4 stores here last week and they had all sent their seeds back. I was so worried. What good would a shovel do if there were no seeds to plant! But it was all okay. I'm thankful it doesn't get cold down south until January :) I made the tags for the baskets on my scrapbook computer program.

And in addition to the shovels, and seed packets, Theo found some Veggie Tales fruit snacks at the grocery store! Score!!! I also had a large apoethcary jar filled with "veggie mix" (aka skittles with the purples ones picked out) and had each family fill up some bags to take home.

Ok, so next were the party decorations. I kept them really simple and used fresh produce as the cast of characters.

My mom had the idea of dipping pretzel rods into green candy melts and that's how Junior Asparagus came to be:

I also wrapped the forks and spoons in green and red napkins, tied them with twine, and put them in a flower pot.

I bought a set of 12 mason jars for the adults to use and cut out rectangular chalkboard labels and stuck them on the jars. The kids all had plastic cups from Micheals with chalkboard labels too. The only thing about the labels is that they were hard to write on once the jars got wet and our guests kept wiping off their names when they picked up the jars. Will have to find another solution for the next party but I LOVED using mason jars.

Stay tuned for the food and the rest of the party details later this week!

Carter is FIVE!!

2011-09-07T06:38:00.000-07:00

This is always an extra special day for me. It's the day I became a mom. Theo became a dad. We welcomed our firstborn into the world with widely opened arms. What an exciting day it was. I will never regret not finding out the gender of our baby. It was THE greatest surprise to find out we were having a son....someone to pass down the family name. We never knew how much a heart could love until we saw our little Carter man for the first time.

The past five years have flown by! I can't believe the baby I brought home from the hospital almost five years ago is the same one who just started kindergarten. It makes me want to hold him close and not let go.

Each year, in lieu of a birthday card, I've written Carter (and Olivia and will do for Isaiah too) a letter. I hand write them out but wanted to share for posterity's sake what Carter is doing these days.

At five years old, Carter, you are THE smartest boy I know. You have such a love of learning and have enjoyed school already immensely. You are reading independently and daddy and I are amazed the words you know. Once you see a word, you don't usually forget it. You are writing and drawing all the time but sometimes need help writing your letters the correct way.

You spend hours during the week drawing and coloring. You create things all the time. Just yesterday, you built a cardboard house with a roof, chimney, people inside of it and even drew windows, doors and a doorbell on it! You love playdoh and moon doh and love the cut and glue anything you can get your hands on.

You are now starting to get away from your usual shows on t.v. and have discovered PBS. You love the show Super Why. We got you a super why kit for your birthday that included a mask, cape, and why writer and you've hardly taken that thing off since your party!

Lately, you are really into quantifying things. You are always asking me "How many is sixty?" Will Omaw stay for one hundred seven thirty two years?" You love coming up with the biggest number possible and want me to measure everything!

You love playing outside and are really into having playdates. You ask me every week to have a playdate with at least one or two of your friends. We love that you are so social!

You are such a good big brother (most of the time!) You love on Isaiah every day and tell him as much. You usually are pretty sweet to your sister but when she's acting like a diva, you're not such a huge fan of her :) You are generally a really good kid and are such a huge helper to us.

We love you so much Carter and are so blessed to be your parents! Happy birthday sweet man!!!

Are you ready for some football?

2011-09-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday we had Carter and Olivia's birthday party! I'll post pictures as soon as I can go through and edit them all (100 plus of them!)

Saturday night was the first LSU football game of the season! In the spirit of a true Southerner that I am, I decked Carter and Olivia out in their LSU gear from grandpa. Olivia loved wearing her little cheerleading outfit and didn't want to take it off when bath time rolled around (despite how uncooperative both of them were for picture time!)

(Oh, and in case you are wondering...a week ago, Olivia was following me outside, tripped over the threshhold of the door, and skidded her face across the concrete. This picture looks MUCH better than it did that day. Poor thing had blood all over her face but I think it made me more upset than it did her!)

Theo and I were able to have a date night (thanks to Omaw being in town and staying home with all three) so we headed downtown to watch the rest of the LSU game and see them kick Oregon's tail!!!! Geaux Tigers!!! Thanks dad so much for making us die hard LSU fans (well, except for Theo of course) and thanks to Omaw for letting Theo and me have a great date night! Can't wait for the rest of the football season. I love the SEC!!!

7 months old!

2011-09-05T14:58:00.000-07:00

Friday, Isaiah turned seven months old! He's changed so much in the past month, growing and sitting, and moving! We'll blink and we'll be celebrating his first birthday. Hard to believe.

At seven months old, Isaiah, you:

-weigh about 16 pounds I think

-not sure how long you are as you won't go for another check-up until 9 months

-LOVE to eat! You are nursing on a really good schedule now for the most part and at least Monday through Friday. Carter being in school has really forced us all to be on a routine. You nurse around 7-10:30-1:30-4:00-7:30 (give or take a half hour)

-get baby food two to three times a day. So far, you've had banana, avocado, peaches, pears, apples, squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, mixed veggies of corn, green beans, and carrots (once), brown rice, oatmeal. You LOVE the baby food and so far, you've only had two non homemade jars (except the cereal which I am not making at home!)

-still wake up a few times a night but at least once or twice a week, you have a seven hour stretch of sleep and it makes mommy feel like a new person

-are sitting up by yourself but I'm always close by in case you topple over!

-are spinning around all over the floor on your tummy but not crawling just yet

-wear a size 3 diaper when you're in disposables which is about half of the time these days

-wear six to nine months clothes but are almost too long for those already

-wear a size two shoe but haven't worn shoes all summer!

-are still THE most laid back and generally happiest baby I've ever had (shhhhh! Don't tell your older brother and sister I said that!) You really only fus when you're hungry and tired. I'd say you were the perfect baby except for the whole night time waking up a gazillion times thing :)

-we love you more and more with each passing month. We can't wait to see what a big boy you become in the next few years. We pray God blesses you with health and brains and daddy's good looks :) We love you baby boy!!

Just a post about nothing

2011-08-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

I have been in a blogging rut lately. It's mainly because I haven't been taking my camera anywhere so it's not much fun to read blog posts without pictures :)

Carter had another good week at school. They were off yesterday and (sort of) today for district testing. So I took Carter in this morning for a while for his test. Yeah, good luck getting any info out of him about what the test was like or how he did on it. He mainly told me he played in the sandbox. Not sure how that's related to his test but oh well!

Since he was out of school yesterday, I took him and Olivia swimming with Amy and her two boys. They, as always, had a blast but it was a little chilly so after about 45 minutes, a blue-lipped Carter said he was ready to go!

Wednesday night we ventured to our old neighborhood to the weekly concert they usually host if the weather cooperates. We had a good time but Olivia was quite nervous with all of the dogs wondering around.

Today, Theo came home for a little while at lunch so we sat outside and watched the airplanes fly by! Isaiah was just chillin'. He's such a good baby...if only he would sleep. I think I'm pretty set on nursing him for a couple of more months and that's it. I'm so exhausted all day long that I don't think I can keep up that pace for much longer. But who knows, I'm nothing if not prone to change my mind :)

No big plans for the weekend. Just haning out and hopefully sleeping in. Hope you all have a great one!

The elusive tooth

2011-08-22T13:44:00.000-07:00

Man, just since I've snapped this picture a few days ago, Isaiah already has another bottom tooth coming in. And let me tell you, it is not pleasant to be bit while nursing! Carter and Olivia didn't really do that but Isaiah just likes to gnaw on everything....including me!

But he's so stinkin' cute with his little toothy grin! It just melts my heart. He is such a precious baby. He is so chilled out and laid back. I hope he'll always be that way...so he can balance the other two high-strung children we have! Ha!

Not much going on this week. Back to school for Carter and he is still lovin it. We had a really busy weekend. I tried to do much so that we could be out of the house for Theo to write a 12 page paper this weekend. But now life is back to normal. School is forcing us to get into a routine and I have to admit, I love it! The day flows so much smoother when we do the same thing Monday through Friday. Carter doesn't have a lot of homework per se. It's mostly us reading to him for 20 minutes a day, which we have been doing for years and probably more than 20 minutes.

We don't have any big plans for this week or weekend. I can't believe their birthday party is in less than two weeks so I'll be spending much of my "free time" working on all of that. My mom is coming up labor day weekend and the kids and I are so thrilled about that!

And just a side note, Carter just came up and saw the picture of Isaiah's tooth and he said "Poor Isaiah, he has an arrow in his mouth!" That boy is something else :)

He We survived!

2011-08-19T13:21:00.000-07:00

Carter (and Olivia and I) survived his first week of big boy school! Can't believe it's already over. The time just flew by! Olivia didn't know what to make about all of it. She cried every single time Carter got out of the car. She's not used to not having her big brother around.

I, on the other hand, hit the gym Tuesday through today. Once I stop nursing and can really cut my calories back and rev up my exercise, I tell you what, I'm going to be in tip top shape at the end of the school year :) Well, here's to wishful thinking at least! The gym is such a godsend. I get 2.5 hours of childcare everyday. It's just enough time for me to drop Carter off, work out, shower, nurse Isaiah, and then go back and get Carter. I love having that time to myself as it's a MUCH needed break these days!

We had back to school night last night. Honestly, Olivia was so out of control, I couldn't tell you much about it other than to say his teacher is very sweet, highly qualified and is going to make a phenonmenal teacher for Carter. He loves school which I couldn't be happier about!

I'll blink and this little one will be starting kindergarten!

I hope all of my teacher friends and family members have a great first (or second, dad!) week back. I must say though, having to get up early every day this week sure will make me appreciate my weekends a lot more!

First day of school

2011-08-16T09:50:00.000-07:00

I truly can't believe it! But I guess I gushed all about it yesterday......

Carter's first day went exceptionally well. I was a little anxious about it after the whole preschool orientation nightmare :) His teacher is really sweet. I think he'll have a great school year.

Sunday, we went to the library and checked out a couple of books about kindergarten and the first day of school. I think this helped and he enjoyed reading about school.

He was a little unsure of everything Monday morning. But by the time we picked up Theo and headed to school, he was so excited! He chatted the whole drive there and literally ran into the school.

But not before I could have one of the teacher's snag this photo of us:

We met in the common area with all of the other kindergarteners and then proceeded to his classroom.

These are some of his classmates. They're waiting so eagerly to go inside their room.

The teacher read a special story about the first day of school and then told the kids to kiss their parents and tell them goodbye.

I was so proud I didn't cry. I did all of my crying on Sunday!

While Carter was at school, I baked these special pillsbury "back to school" cookies with little school buses on them!

I brought some to him when I picked him up. I think baking cookies on the first day of school might have to be a tradition :)

Also while Carter was gone, Olivia no kidding asked every minute "Bubba, bubba!?" I kept telling her he was at school and she'd say "Oh!". And then when Carter got in the car, he said "Momma, did Olivia ask about me?" I smiled and said "Yes, about every 5 seconds!" I thought it was so sweet that he wanted Olivia to miss him :)

And because I'm feeling sentimental, these are a couple of pictures from Carter's first day of preschool last year. My, how things have changed!

(Oh, and FYI, I got the kindergarten sign from here. The password is welcome and you may have to sign up to receive their e-mails.)

The end of an old era, the beginning of a new one

2011-08-15T12:49:00.000-07:00

Dear Carter,

Today is your first day of kindergarten! If I close my eyes for a minute, I can still remember the day you were born and seeing you for the very first time. I never will forget the joy of finding out we had a son. You made me a mom. Little did I know then in that delivery room how fast the time would fly. Those first few newborn days seemed to last an eternity but now it seems like an eternity ago that I placed our bare skin together for the first time.

I could not be more proud of the young boy you have become. You are so incredibly smart and already told everyone you saw at school today what a genius you are. Yes, Carter, you most certainly are.

You love to learn and never grow tired of seeking answers. You love to create things. You are constantly making something or building something. I have yet to ever hear you say that you don't have anything to do. I don't think boredom will ever be a problem for you.

These days you are reading almost entirely by yourself. Daddy and I are always amazed by the things you can read. You love to write and draw too. You love going to the library and the bookstore. It thrills me to no end that you share the same love of reading and books that I do! I pray God blesses you with academic success now and in the years ahead of you. I pray that you will always love learning.

I have no doubt that you will love kindergarten and that your teacher will love you. You have such a good and sweet heart. You will no doubt have many friends throughout your school years.

Mommy and daddy are so very blessed that you are our first born son. We are more proud of you than we could ever tell you. We love you Carter man. Congratulations on having a great first day of kindergarten!

Love, Mommy

Farmer's Market Finds

2011-08-14T07:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we all went back to the farmer's market. And when I say farmer's market, it really only has one "farm" company from here locally and the rest of the vendors are small business type owners. Anyway, it's such a deal for produce. We got all of this: (plus several potatoes that I forgot to include)

for seven dollars! It's not certified organic but they don't use pesticides and the farm is here in Colorado. So I feel good about buying it.

After the farmer's market, we headed to the flea market for the first time. It was okay. Mostly, it was a lot of junk. And I mean, A LOT! :) We got a couple of board games and another good find. But mostly I brought home a severe sunburn. Drat!

We just hung out and relaxed the rest of the day. Olivia enjoyed playing with bubbles, which is an everyday occurence this summer.

Baby I (as his daddy calls him) spent a good amount of time rolling around all over the floor!

Carter enjoyed his new I Spy bingo game.

He's been sick this weekend and I am sooo praying he's better before his first day of school Monday. Not a good way to start off the school year by being sick.

I hope all of my family and friends in the education system enjoy their last week of summer break. I pray that all of you have a wonderful school year and impact the lives of kids in a wonderful and memorable way. I know you already do!

Catching up

2011-08-13T12:37:00.000-07:00

I have been really neglecting my blog lately. I haven't taken a single picture in over a week. I've just been busy doing other things besides being on the computer. And I tell you what, boy have I been productive this week! I love to blog and I LOVE reading other people's blogs but it is such a time consumer. So, I thought I'd post some of the most recent pictures I do have (totally unrelated to this post) and tell you what we've been up to here.

Last Thursday Theo found out he had been selected for a new job right here in our "neighborhood". It was quite unexpected and he's working for someone very important so it's such a blessing. A LOT more work with way longer hours but the opporunity couldn't be passed up. We are certain this will help his career down the road so it's worth it. God is so faithful and I will write an entire post on that when I have more energy!

Saturday morning, Amy let Theo use her guest pass so we went to the gym and took the kids swimming. They have such an awesome pool there and it was great to have Theo there for a change. Olivia was not very happy with all of it but she was so out of sorts last week that I should have known to expect that. I can't remember what we did Saturday night but I'm pretty sure we just hung out since Olivia wasn't being herself.

Sunday was Theo's birthday. We all went to mass together which was quite an experience! That night we got a babysitter. Theo, Isaiah, and I went to see Planet of the Apes. This was Isaiah's first movie theater experience and he ROCKED it! I was nervous about taking him to such a loud movie but he did perfectly and I was so thankful to have a date with Theo and my little man. We needed a break from the older two for sure :)

Unfortunately, when we got home late that night, Theo went outside and saw that Roxy was not moving or breathing. He came upstairs to tell me and I just lost it. Don't get me wrong, I loved our litle rabbit but wasn't particularly attached to her the way Theo and the kids were. But when I found out she died, I was so unbelievably sad. I couldn't bear the thought of having to tell Carter. But that's also something I will have to post about another time. Let's just say, he handled it waaaay better than I did.

Monday, Theo started his new job and I took the opportunity to go visit my bestest friend Meredith in Denver. We had a good day together even with Olivia's crankiness. I am going to make a better effort to get up there and spend as much time as I can with one of my most favorite people in the world.

Tuesday it was back to the gym and I so enjoyed a break from all the kids. Tuesday night we watched Theo play his last softball game of the season. It's always fun to watch Theo as an athlete. Olivia loves cheering for her daddy. It sounds like she says "Chew dadda, chew dadda!" which is really "Go daddy!"

Wednesday night we headed to a concert in our old neighborhood. I was supposed to go to meet the teacher night at Carter's school but got a message on Monday saying his original teacher accepted another job. Really, a week before school starts?!!? So in an effort to not panic, I called my school teaching momma and she convinced me not to worry, that Carter would have a teacher :)

Thursday Carter's friend from next door came over. It was so nice for someone else to occupy Carter for a couple of hours! :) Thursday night we went to the gym. They have "music by the pool" every week and Amy and I have been going to that and just having some uninterrupted girl time.

As for this weekend, we are just going to relax. We may go down to Fountain so Theo can use his Father's day present (a groupon for going to race cars. Really fast, fancy cars!) I have to volunteer at church but other than that, no big plans. Hope you all have a great weekend. I'll be crying as this is my last chance to sleep in for a while since Carter starts kindergarten Monday!!!

Splash

2011-08-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

This is the video of our time at the splash pad right outside the movie theater from almost two weeks ago. Hope it makes you laugh just as much as we did watching our kids! Sorry about the really bad quality, it's from my phone.

Southern Hospitality

2011-08-05T08:34:00.000-07:00

Around these parts, there are a lot of new families moving in and out of the neighborhood. It's exciting for us because it's an opportunity to make some new friends. We're not really good friends with any of our neighbors right now so it's not so sad about the leaving part :) (Although we have been socializing with one set of neighbors more).

Anyway, so last week, Carter and I made cookies from scratch. Later when we were walking to the mailbox, we ran into some of our new neighbors from two doors down. They had literally just taken possession of the house and hadn't even had their stuff delivered yet. So I went home, plated up some cookies, stuck on a tag I had made from the day before and delivered them cookies. They were so happy when I showed up with still warm from the oven cookies!

I was just smiling all the way home (you know, my whole ten feet of walking) and was thinking that everything I learned about hospitality, I've learned from my mom. She is one of THE most thoughtful people I know. She always opens her home for people and doesn't stress about making sure everything is perfect (althoug it usually is). Anytime I have people over, I am always stressed about every little detail. I mean, really, are people going to look under my couch to check for dust (or food crumbs, legos, cranberries, random parts of toys which all happen to be under my couch right this minute!)

I recently read a really good book about entertaining. It's called The Reluctant Entertainer and I checked it out from our library. The basic take home point is that entertaining people in your home is NOT about YOU, it's about them. I'm trying to live out my life this way now. My friend Amy came over last week for dinner. She has a spectacular house, and I do mean spectacular with a capital S. It's always spotless and she has two boys ages 4 and 2! I can't do what she does and I'm learning to be okay with that. So anyway, when she came over last week (and again this week) I promised myself that I would NOT spend valuable children's nap time obsessively cleaning. And I didn't. I always tell her that I'll try and clean the bathroom and sweep the filthy floor, but other than that, what you see is what you get. And you know what, instead of spending an hour obsessively cleaning up everything, I spent it watching t.v. and ironing clothes that have been in the laundry room for literally two months! And the best part is, my friends don't care how clean (or dirty) my house is. It's so freeing to get to that point.

That night she came over, we had pizza for dinner on paper plates and it was glorious. I hadn't been grocery shopping in a week. I had almost no food in the house. But I didn't let that stop me from having a dear friend over. And we had a perfectly good time even with my bare pantry!

Life is too short to spend it trying to achieve perfection. My new mantra is "Let it go". I don't want to waste my precious ones childhood running around all the time making sure everything is spotless. I do tidy up. I do sweep the floor. I do clean the toilets and try to stay caught up on laundry. But do I really need to clean the baseboards? Do I really need to scrub the cabinet doors? Do I really have to vacuum every week? Do the kids toys have to picked up every single minute? No. What I do have to do is cherish my kids even when they're making a mess! I'm trying not to yell about messes. They ARE kids. I'm going to let go of the fact that I don't always have it together. I won't cringe everytime my doorbell rings because I'm worried about the state of my house. I will have people over without obsessing about everything. Messes are okay.

We live in this house and I really want us to LIVE in it. I don't mind when Carter asks for paints or playdoh. I don't mind when Olivia wants to get every pair of shoes out the closet. Those things are part of having small kids. I refuse to spend the rest of my life stressing about the mess! Who's with me?

My Experiment

2011-08-04T13:47:00.000-07:00

Lately, I've been feeling the Holy Spirit convicting me of my sharp words. Mostly toward my husband and my children. So a couple of nights ago, I made a decision to go 5 days with only speaking positive, affirming words. Easy peasy, right? WRONG! It's times like these when I feel under attack spiritually. I make a decision to do better about something and man I am tested. This time was no different unfortunately. I didn't make it one day before I was raising my voice at the kids and being a smart alec to my husband.

This week has been very challenging. My kids have worn me down. Carter had his kindergarten orientation Wednesday and it was a disaster. He was screaming, refusing to go in the library while the parents were supposed to go to the classroom. Mind you, this is the same school he spent nine months at attending pre-school so he had no real reason to be afraid. But I will admit, I was very embarrassed by his behavior. Poor Isaiah, it was his naptime so he spent a while screaming before I finally gave up and left. I was so angry at the time. My words were so sharp and I know they pierced my sweet firstborn son's heart. And the guilt followed quickly behind.

And I am way to snippy with Theo. Anyone who knows us, knows we have a lot of verbal sparring in our marriage. We always have, and I'm pretty sure we always will. Most of it is done in fun and we are very playful with each other. But things can quickly get out of hand when my seemingly joking comments turn harsh. I am so short with him sometimes and I can't believe I talk to the man I love and respect that way. I feel so ashamed sometimes.

What would happen if I really could go 5 days, 10 days, 30 days, 365 days only speaking life-giving words to not only my family, but anyone I come into contact with? I think a drastic change would happen in my life. But it's so hard. When I'm exhausted (which is about 99% of the time), my patience is worn so thin that my words are the first thing to turn ugly.

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Proverbs 18:21) So for today at least, I'm choosing to speak life. And that's a start!

Six months old!

2011-08-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Isaiah turned six months old. Half of a year already gone by. Half way until his very first birthday. Half of a year that I've been even more complete since he came into my life. Half of a year where my heart has trippled with love. Half of a year that I have spent in love with the new man in my life. What an amazing baby he is.

At six months old, Isaiah, you:

-weigh 15 pounds and 1 ounce (which is only in the tenth percentile but you have more than doubled your birth weight so all is well)

-are 27.5 inches in height (which is the 85 percentile if she measured you correctly!)

-still nurse about every three hours around the clock and are basically off of formula supplementation as of now. I will bring a bottle for you at church sometimes but have done away with the bottle at the gym and you seem perfectly fine. I'm taking a massive amount of fenugreek and not running at all so I think the combination of those two things has really helped boost my milk supply.

-are loving your baby food. To date, you have had rice cereal, banana one time, sweet potatoes, avocado about three times, plums, and peaches. Your favorite so far is the peaches. Rice cereal and sweet potatoes are a close second. You LOVE to eat! You do so well with the baby food and hardly spit any of it out.

-take two naps still.....about two hours in the morning and about two hours in the afternoon

-still wake up frequently throughout the night and I've resigned myself that this is just how it's going to be. You love snuggling right up next to me during the wee hours of night. If I move, you almost always wake up so I basically sleep in the exact same position all night.

-you spend the first three hours at night in your crib (and your naps as well) but once you're up about 10:30 at night, I let you just stay in the bed with me. We all get more sleep that way.

-when you do cry, you are making sounds that sound like "mamamama" but I don't think you're really saying it yet!

-coo and smile and make sounds all the time

-are starting to have a little stranger anxiety and sometimes cry if other people are holding you

-have one bottom tooth that has finally broken through on the left side. Dr. Lisa thinks the white bumps on your upper gums are indeed your teeth coming in just waaaay early!

-are gnawing on EVERYthing but prefer fingers or hard plastic toys. You are a major finger sucker and still don't care too much about a pacifier (except the human pacifier named mommy!!)

-are rolling over from tummy to back all the time but still haven't mastered from back to tummy. You're not too crazy about tummy time but we're working on it.

-still have a crazy hairdo. What didn't fall out last month is barely hanging on but you have some new hair (same color) growing in on the sides now

-are the apple of not only your mommy and daddy's eye, but Carter's and Olivia's too!

We love you more with each passing day. Thank you for being such an amazing baby and we are so blessed you are our son!

Pillowcase Dresses

2011-08-01T20:29:00.000-07:00

I have fallen in love with pillowcase dresses this summer! They are THE simplest dress to make and they look really cute on little Miss Priss too. So I thought I would share a picture of the ladybug dress I made one morning.

I have another one in a bright pink damask fabric that is even cuter but I don't think I have a picture of that one yet.

This is definitely going to be one of my go to patterns to make for Olivia. I bought another pattern this week of an A-line dress (the same one my mom made Olivia's Christmas reversible dress out of). I can't wait to make something out of that one and when I do, I'll be sure to share :)

Our weekend

2011-07-31T20:29:00.000-07:00

We had a fun weekend around our house. Saturday morning while Isaiah was taking his morning nap, I took Carter to go school supply shopping! I still can not wrap my brain around the fact that our firstborn is going to be a big kindergartener. I don't know about you, but I used to LOVE school supply shopping. Yeah, I'm a dork like that. I hope Carter will love school as much as I did (and still do!).
Once little man woke up, we headed downtown. There is so much to do here and we haven't even covered half of it. We ate at a greek place. The food was alright but overpriced. Then we went to the Pioneer museum. I regret not bringing my camera but as I have mentioned before, we travel with so much. If I can lighten the load at all, I do. Ha! The only couple of pictures I do have are from Theo's camera. This is the three of us playing dress up.

We left the museum kind of late. Olivia didn't even have a nap on Saturday and she did suprisingly well. That evening, Theo and I sat outside on porch in our new rocking chairs. It was so nice. The weather here in the summer is just gorgeous. I won't be saying that four or five months from now but at this moment, I love the weather here!

Sunday was my day to volunteer at church so I took Isaiah and Olivia with me. Theo stayed home to work on his mid-term and Carter wanted to stay too for a change. So it was nice having the two youngest with me. After dinner, we took the kids on a spontaneous trip to Cold Stone Creamery and then to splash around in the water fountains right outside the movie theater. It was so much fun watching them run and squeal. I have a video of it that I'll try and put on here soon. It's on my phone so it's not great quality but they were having so much fun.

Back to reality tomorrow. We have a fairly busy week ahead so I'm thankful for all of the fun we had this weekend!

A fun comparison

2011-07-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

I've spent quite a bit of time the past few days perusing through old photos online and thought it would be fun to share pictures of Carter getting his first meal of baby cereal, and also Olivia. Do Carter and Isaiah look just alike or what? Can't believe this little guy is about to start kindergarten!

and Miss Priss (who happened to be the worst baby food eater but best toddler eater, so far at least)

and Isaiah who is a pretty good eater thankfully and a lot less messy than his older sister!

Symbols of the South

2011-07-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

Rice Rice Baby

2011-07-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

We started Isaiah on some rice cereal right after we got back from Louisiana. He wasn't sure what to make of it. But he did a lot better than Olivia did at this age. I think the first batch was mostly breastmilk so I think he liked it!

But in this picture, I'm not so sure!

And this one, I'm pretty sure he's thinking he's had enough of this mess :)

To date, he's had some avocado, mashed banana, and a little bit of plum. His little system didn't digest the banana too much and he was quite cranky the night after he had it so I'm going to slow down a bit and stick to cereal for a while longer. I did go to Whole Foods this week and bought organic plums, peaches, bananas, and sweet potatoes. I made a big batch of the plums and sweet potatoes and froze them in cubes. I'm really excited about making baby food this time. I was too ~~lazy~~ tired to do it with Olivia and the thought never even crossed my mind with Carter so I'm excited about doing it now. Now that I've finally figured out how to do it, it's really easy to do. It's time consuming but I think it's worth it.

New Orleans Aquarium

2011-07-21T13:51:00.000-07:00

I know I'm all over the place with my blogging lately. I am not doing our Louisiana trip in any kind of chronological order so please just hang with me! :)

While visiting my dad, we headed over the New Orleans to visit the aquarium. It was so nice but very crowded for a Sunday afternoon. The kids did great! Olivia toddled all over the place and was fascinated by not only the aquatic life, but the emergency exit doors too!

Amazed at the creatures

Looks like the shark is about to bite Carter's head!

Carter's favorite things of all.....the scuba guy cleaning the inside of the tank :)

The array of underwater life

Definitely a must do if you are in New Orleans. It's pricey but my dad treated us so it was great for us :)

Pool time

2011-07-20T20:24:00.000-07:00

This was Isaiah's first time in the pool (okay, technically I think this was his second time but I didn't have my camera the first time!) I think he like it. He looked like a big stud muffin floating around in the pool.

Carter became quite the brave little swimmer this trip. He put his face in the water and was swimming all around thanks to his built in life vest. What would we have done without that thing?

And my all time favorite pool related photo......"Does this bathing suit make my bum look big?"

Love it!

Cafe Du Monde

2011-07-17T20:25:00.000-07:00

On our day trip to New Orleans, our first stop was at the river walk. I needed a crawfish fix so I had a delicious poboy. This is only half of it. What can I say...I was starvin' and pictures were an after thought :) It was so good. Too bad I can't find any crawfish up here. Apparently, "there's not a regional taste for it here". That story is for another time. Anyway.....

Dad and Isaiah hangin out

The other daddy with his favorite girl (besides me!)

I've been dying to go here:

to finally have some of these beignets. They did not disappoint. I was trying to describe them beforehand to Theo. They are most like a funnel cake in a bisquit shape. They were so good. When I looked up a recipe for how to make them, I saw they were over 500 calories a piece! Yikes! But totally worth it. I can scratch one more thing off my ~~bucket list~~ 40 before 40 list.

To Grandpa's house we go

2011-07-16T05:50:00.000-07:00

The last few days of our trip we spent at my dad's house in Baton Rouge. It was so good to be in south Louisiana. I've always loved it down there....it has it's own culture and I love hearing the Cajun accent :)

The kids loved swimming in grandpa's pool. I loved my dad cooking for us :). He grilled the best steaks one night and the best corn I think I've ever had. Olivia ate almost two cobs!

We spent Sunday in New Orleans at the aquarium. Monday Nana came to see us. She had never met Olivia or Isaiah so I'm glad she finally got the see both of them.

Then we went to the LSU campus. We would have stayed longer but Isaiah was being a wee bit cranky (okay, more like having a total meltdown) so we just went back home. I will post our pictures from that another day.

We had a great time and enjoyed spending time with granpa. I hope we can come back next summer!

We are family

2011-07-09T14:36:00.000-07:00

So glad these guys are my family!

Today we are heading even further south to visit my dad! I'm so excited. It's been two years since I went to south Louisiana and I'm really looking forward to it. Thankfully, my dad came up here last year when we visited so it's only been a year since I've seen him. We're planning on visiting the aquarium in New Orleans and I might have to make a stop at Cafe Du Monde for some beignets :) Yummy!

Flasback Friday

2011-07-08T05:57:00.000-07:00

The other day, I was looking back at the pictures from our last visit to Louisiana last summer. Isaiah was just a wee little tadpole in the womb. It was our trip last summer that we announced we were expecting baby #3. Thankfully, we don't have any more announcements like that this visit!! :) And just for fun, I thought it would be neat to see what the kids looked like a year ago.

2010

2011 with our new addition!

Fourth of July

2011-07-07T14:12:00.000-07:00

This year, we spent Fourth of July at my Aunt Vickie and Uncle John's house. I was wishing Theo were here instead of at work but we had a good time nonetheless. We had quite a spread of food and everything was so delicious. My mom held Isaiah while I ate one entire meal without having to get up for something/someone! It was fantastic and my Aunt Vickie helped with Carter and Olivia. I've forgotten what it's like to eat a meal while sitting the entire time :)

My cousin and his wife Sally came in from Texas. I hadn't met Sally before since they just got married in December (and are such cute newlyweds!). Some of their friends came with them also. I wish I had gotten a picture of everyone.

The original plan was to play games outside but it was just too hot. There were burn bans here because of the drought so fireworks were out. That probably worked out best for my kids because I think all of the noise would have frightened them. Our hometown usually puts on this huge fireworks show at the riverfront but just before the show was scheduled to start, it started storming like a son of a gun so we couldn't even watch it on tv! But I'm sure we needed the rain much more than the fireworks.

And here are some family photos:

It's so hard to say goodbye

2011-07-06T14:07:00.000-07:00

Do y'all remember that Boyz 2 Men song? That's what's been playing in my head all day today. Omaw and Papaw left for their trip today. We're hanging out at their house without them until it's time for us to go to south Louisiana and see grandpa. Even though I've lived away from "home" for two years now, leaving is always sooooo hard! Not just for me, but for Carter especially. He loves his grandparents and always hates to see any of them go.

We already miss Omaw and Papaw but hope they have fun on their trip. I attempted to get group pictures this morning but Carter was in mid meltdown so this is what I got:

One without Carter:

And several with a very sad Carter: (I like this first one b/c it looks like Isaiah is trying to pat Carter on the back to console him!)

And famous last words "This is as good as it's going to get"....

Good news though is that Theo will be here tonight so it's something for us to look forward to. I can't wait to see my husband and I know he can't wait to see me and the kids also. We also met Aunt Kayla and kids at their church playplace. We had been there before but it's been forever ago and Carter had a great time. It was fun right up until it was time to go and Isaiah had a blowout diaper and pooped all over both of us! Then he was screaming, I was ready to pull my hair out and then we were home. Whew! It was a good distraction from the fact that Omaw and Papaw aren't here. But when daddy gets here tonight, the world will be alright again!

Five months old!

2011-07-03T07:41:00.000-07:00

Our ~~not so~~ little man turned five months old yesterday! It feels just like yesterday I was giving birth to a baby Theo and I thought for sure would be a daughter and then feeling such pure joy that we had another son to pass on the family name! We were more thankful that he was healthy after such an emotional roller coaster of a ride. I'm feeling so sentimental these days. I don't know if it's being back in Louisiana or realizing that Isaiah will most likely be the last member of our family, but I am finding myself just staring into his big eyes, relishing every huge grin, snuggling in the crook of his chubby little neck.

At five months old, Isaiah, you:

-weigh about 14.5 pounds according to Omaw's home scale (we're not sure though because he was such a wiggle worm on the scale!

-still eat all of the time. I started supplementing some formula around 3.5 months and he takes about 2-4 ounces most days. Sometimes, it's more, depending on his needs. He hasn't had any formula in the past few days and I attribute it to all of the dense caloric foods I've eaten and my breastmilk must be really rich right now!!! :)

-will start some baby food when we get back to Colorado. Can't believe you're old enough for that already!

-are still quite a spitter and I'm contemplating putting you back on your reflux medicine again

-still wake up mulitple times at night and although I'm so sleep deprived, I'm loving snuggling with you close to me in the wee hours of the night. You had a rough several nights since we've been here but the past four nights have been much better. You are still waking up every two to three hours but it's been then every 45 minutes to an hour!

-nap really well most days. Depending on what time you wake up, you usually take one decent nap in the morning and then a long nap after lunch. You love sleeping with your white blanket Aunt Vickie knitted for you and I'm convinced it's got some kind of magical power because if you are fussy at all when I lay you down, you instantly calm down when I lay the blanket over you!

-have two teeth coming in already! I can't believe it. They look like they are the canine teeth which normally don't come in until after a year old so I'm not really sure about that. My friend Brandi said they could be the lateral incisors and maybe his front teeth might just be really spaced apart. But they are already poking through on both sides. Who knows?

-are losing your hair! Daddy won't even recognize you when he gets here because most of the top of your hair has fallen out. You have pretty bad cradle cap (just like your brother did, Olivia's wasn't quite so bad) and I'm trying to get it under control. But you are still so stinkin' cute :)

-can roll over from tummy to back and almost have back to tummy down but get stuck on your arm!

-sit up well in the Bumbo chair Aunt Kayla gave us

-are putting everything in your mouth. I really have to watch your big sister because she tried to give you a piece of food the other day. I'm pretty sure you ate it and loved it!

-are such a happy baby except when you're hungry or tired. You love just rolling around on the floor and love Carter talking to you and making you laugh like no one else can

-did AMAZING on your two day car trip to Louisiana! I couldn't have asked for a more perfect traveling baby. You even went right to sleep in the hotel with no trouble.

-light up the room and your smile can melt anyone's heart

-have been swimming for the first time already and seem to enjoy floating around in the water

-are heading to South Louisiana to visit grandpa later this week!

Isaiah, you are such a wonderful baby. I know you are not sleeping at night because if you were, you would truly be perfect!! You bring such joy to our lives and we absolutely love having you around.
Daddy and I can not wait to see the boy you will grow to be and I know daddy will teach you everything you need to know! We are so blessed to be your parents. God is so good and you are evidence of that. We love you little man!

As seen at Omaw and Papaw's

2011-06-20T12:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T06:24:00.000-07:00

I am so thankful to have two dads in my life. I love both of them and am grateful for their presence in my life.

I am also so blessed to have Theo as the father of my children. He is an amazing dad and loves his kids with his whole heart. I am wishing I was celebrating father's day with him today. I know Carter, Olivia, and Isaiah miss him.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

Sweet home Alabama Louisiana

2011-06-17T07:41:00.000-07:00

We made it to Louisiana! I must say, my kids did exceptionally well! Olivia literally did not so much as grunt or whine or whimper the first day (which was 10 hours in the car). Yesterday she was a tad whiny but only for a minute or two here and there. Isaiah only fussed for a few minutes when he got hungry and was so happy the rest of the time. Thank the Lord he's taking a bottle now which made our stops much less frequent :). Carter did well too but was constantly asking the famous question: "Are we there yet?" I am so thankful for God's provision and "travel grace" he bestowed upon us for our long drive down. Let's hope and pray our even longer trip back to Colorado from South Louisiana will be just as great!

I'm so excited to be back in my home state and am adjusting back to the humidity and heat! We've already been swimming in Omaw and Papaw's pool and even little man dipped his chunky little legs in the water.

My parent's kitchen flooded the day Isaiah was born due to a burst pipe and I'm LOVING the new kitchen! Can't wait to share pictures of it :) I'll try and blog as much as I can the month we are down in Louisiana but I can't make any promises! I'm enjoying having some time with part of my family and having some help with my three youngins!

Watering Cans

2011-06-10T12:52:00.000-07:00

So you might have thought yesterday was a joke? I could have easily taken 50 pictures of the kids playing with their cans but I'll only post a three :) It makes such a cool picture!

Two more sleeps until Omaw gets here. We are all so excited!!!! Can't wait to be back to my mother-land but I'll admit, I'm not looking forward to the 100 plus temps! Good thing both of my parents have swimming pools :)

Improvise

2011-06-09T13:48:00.000-07:00

Who knew my kids could spend hours playing in a water-filled one of these:

I'm not sure what the duct tape is about. I know the bin is cracked and Theo's tried to tape it up but these are random pieces stuck on there....who knows?

Anyway, my kids LOVE the water. Poor Livie, by the time I brought her back in, her feet and lips were blue. We have bought two inflatable pools in the past. The first one literally blew away the first storm we had shortly after we moved to Colorado. The second one has a hole in it because I told Theo to put in on the rocks. One series of jumps and the rocks poked a hole in it! So, we were left with a tupperware tub and water hose!

Livie had fun playing with her little watering cans.

Carter likes the water hose the most.

And enjoyed making it into a "rainbow"

Isaiah hung out with me in the sling and it was hard to get a good picture :) I'm trying to hold him more and put him in the swing less. He's such a happy baby that he really would just hang out in the swing all day if I let him. But he's growing so fast and I want to hold and cuddle him as much as I can!

I finally had to put Olivia in a disposable diaper because she always pulls her cloth ones off. I was afraid she might "fertilize" the yard if you know what I mean. And if this isn't THE cutest little backside I ever did see!

And stay tuned for tomorrow....how I can take 20 pictures of a toy watering can!

Summer Lovin'

2011-06-07T05:55:00.000-07:00

I LOVE summer! I always have. Now that I actually live somewhere that's cool enough to enjoy sitting outside, it's even better. We've been outside a lot lately. This may be our last full summer here before we have to move and I really want to take advantage of it. Theo's been firing up the grill.

We've been eating a lot of these:

(Turkey burgers: a lot less flavorful than the real deal and much drier! We piled on some avocado, turkey bacon, pepper and onions and it was much better. But from now on, we're sticking with beef, unless I make the turkey patties myself.)

And of course, we've been spending a lot of time outside with these guys:

Four months old!

2011-06-02T12:57:00.000-07:00

(And blog post #500!!!)

I can't believe my baby man is a third of the way through his first year of life! He's changing so much all the time and is THE most laid back baby (most of the time!). I think God gave Theo and I a special grace with Isaiah knowing how much Carter and Olivia demand our attention. Isaiah wants to eat and sleep and he's happy otherwise.

At four months old Isaiah you:

-are rolling over from your tummy to back but daddy has yet to see you do this

-still nurse pretty frequently and still all night long. Sigh.

-now make sucking noises during your sleep when you are about to wake up and want to eat.

-even made sucking noises at church this past Sunday while we were in the nursing mom's room and a woman sat down right beside us and started nursing her baby. You were salivating! I couldn't stop laughing!!! You know what that nursing cover meant and you thought you should have some of that too :)

-have your four month check up on Monday so we'll see what a BIG boy you are then

-are such a happy baby and laugh and smile all the time. You love when Carter gets in your face and squeals "Only on DVD!". You crack up so much when he does this and I'm not sure why :)

-have such strong legs and stand up all the time, with us holding you of course.

-have recently discovered your feet and play with them all the time, often trying to suck on your toes which is not so easy in your cloth diapers since they're a little bulky!

-love being sung to

-so far have no stranger anxiety but do prefer when mommy or daddy are close by

-are so good anytime we go out anywhere

-are really laid back considering some of the abuse you take from your sister

-are the love and light of our lives. Your brother and sister adore you still and you make such a wonderful addition to our family! We love you little man more than you know!

Birthday weekend

2011-06-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

I turned the big 3-1 on Monday! Where did the past year go? I felt like I just celebrated my 30th birthday but alas, that was last year :)

Having almost the entire day to myself on Friday was a birthday present to myself! I had a great time seeing a movie with a couple of friends. Saturday and Sunday Theo spent trying to finish up his finals so the kids and I just tried to stay out of his way! The kids and I went to a new park and had a picnic which was a lot of fun. It was super windy all weekend but the kids didn't seem to mind too much being out in it. Sunday, the kids and I all went to church and I got some one on one time with little man in the nursing mom's room. It was delightful!

Monday, Theo made me breakfast.

He tried to make it look like a face! I thought it was really cute :)

I opened this gawgeous bracelet from my dad! It goes perfect with the fleur di lis necklace he got me last year for my birthday. Thanks dad!

We spent the rest of the day hanging out with these three:

running errands, grabbed some ice cream and then just hung out. Theo and I watched the movie Due Date that night (funny, but not as funny as I was hoping it would be)

Tuesday was back to life, back to reality! We finally made it back to the gym and it was fabulous. We had a playdate at Amy's house yesterday afternoon and as always, it was good to have some adult conversation :)

Hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend!

I.Love.This.Man!

2011-05-29T06:28:00.000-07:00

I know some of you read my last FB post, but I just really have to give it up to my sweet husband. Friday was basically my day (for almost the ENTIRE day) and I got to spend it doing whatever I wanted. Theo was off from work and even though he has a final essay exam this weekend, he let me go do my thing while he stayed home with all three kids. I know this may not seem like a big deal, but for this tired, worn out momma who rarely gets a break from her kids, this was HUGE for me. I'm so grateful for an amazing husband who recognizes my need for a little time alone. And yes, he gets his fair share of alone time too. Not so much recently as he's trying to finish up grad school but whenever he needs some time away, I almost always oblige. We have a good system going on and now that Isaiah is regularly taking a bottle, you can bet I'll have a little more time to myself!

I hope all of you young mommas out there have a break every now and then. I didn't realize how much I needed some alone time until I had several hours of it. It made me feel refreshed and eager to want to spend time with the little ones again. If I don't take care of myself every now and then, then it's much harder for me to care for everyone else. Olivia's awake...motherhood calls!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-25T06:53:00.000-07:00

Goodwill to Men Me

2011-05-22T12:04:00.000-07:00

I recently stumbled across this blog and I have been hooked! She has given me inspiration to make the most of what I have, not covet what other's have, spend less and save more. With that said, I made my first trip to our local Goodwill store on Friday. I will admit, I had never shopped there before mainly because I didn't want to be perceived as someone who couldn't afford to shop elsewhere. Shallow of me, I know. But I am trying to change for the better but that's a whole different post! :)

And while there was a lot of pure junk there, I did score me some new shirts for my boys. The girls selection yielded nothing for Olivia but I got some Tommy Hilfiger shirts for Isaiah (when he's older) and a Ralph Lauren shirt for him also and get this, they were each 99 cents! Can I get a heck yeah?!!

The shirt on the bottom right is a brand new Gap shirt with tags still on for $1.99 for Carter!

I also found a big wicker type basket to put all of Carter's moon dough/crayons, etc on top of the fridge. It was $5. I'm pretty sure something like that at Michaels would be close to $50 so another score for me!

Saturday morning, our neighborhood had a community garage sale. It's been a long time since I've been garage saling (can I make that a verb?) but it was GREAT! I went looking for a couple of specific things which I didn't find. But I did end up with the one thing I most certainly did NOT need.....a bag full of toys! I couldn't help it. I got a tickle me Elmo for Olivia for 50 cents that I know go for quite a bit of money at sores, some other miscellaneous toys, a Dora DVD and an Elmo DVD all for a total of $5!

This might become a problem for me. I love, love, LOVE getting good deals and am to the point in my life finally where I don't care if they are used things are not. When I go back to work eventually, I will feel less guilty about spending full price for things and will probably shop at Pottery Barn a lot more :) but for now, I am scaling back!

Roly Poly

2011-05-19T11:59:00.000-07:00

Isaiah is officially rolling over (front to back)! Much more quickly than his older siblings...he's advanced like that! Ha! We've been trying to do some tummy time and so today, he got propped up on his forearms and then flip, he was on his back.

Here....

I......

Go!

And my attempt to take a group photo:

In other news, pink eye is running it's course through our house. I'm pretty sure I will get it at some point. Olivia's isn't as bad as Carter's was but she is coughing so much at night that none of us are sleeping. I finally came downstairs with her last night and propped her up on the couch and slept next to her. I'm surprisingly in a fairly good mood today considering I got maybe two hours of sleep last night.

I am ready for the weather to get nice and stay nice. I've been turning on the fireplace and the heat in my car and it's almost Memorial Day for crying out loud! We've been really cooped up for the past week almost. Fortunately Carter made it to his last day of school so that put him in better spirits. But the little ones and I have been holed up like bears hibernating. I haven't been to the gym in a week so my daily dose of alone time has been missing! I really, REALLY need that time. Maybe tomorrow if Olivia is doing better.

Not much on the agenda for the rest of the week with one sick kiddo to take care of. It's supposed to be nice Sunday so hopefully we can get out and do something fun then. Hope you all have a good rest of the week!

Kindergarten Bound!!

2011-05-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

Carter's last day of preschool was today! I can't believe my firstborn is going to be a kindergartener in three short months. The moms and I were laughing today because we all said we were going to cry but not for sentimental reasons :)

I've been really struggling with my role as a mother lately. I am so exhausted that all I want to do is let my kids watch t.v. all day just so I can get a little bit of a break. I've gotten lazy in my parenting because I am just that tired. I feel like I used to teach Carter things all the time but since Isaiah has come along, and since Olivia has demanded much of my attention the past couple of months, that I've really let myself get into a rut of not teaching him anymore. So I am so thankful for the wonderful teacher (and helpers) Carter had this past year. He has made so much progress in such a short amount of time. I will be eternally grateful to his teacher for all that she taught him. His desire to learn has skyrocketed since starting preschool and I have absolutely no doubt that he is ready for kindergarten.

His class made "All about me" books and I laughed and cried as I read it. The book basically showed the progress they made over the school year. The pages that I thought were the best were these:

In case you can't see it: The first one is a self-portrait. He's definitely come a long way!

This one is what he wants to be when he grows up. In October, he wanted to be Diego. Six months later, he wants to be a doctor and a teacher. Thank the Lord for that! I don't know how I would explain to him when he went off to college that he couldn't major in cartoons!! :)

I wish every class would do this. It brought so much joy to my heart seeing how far my big guy has come.

On a different and sad note....I found out today that the mom of one of Carter's classmates passed away this past Friday. She had cancer but I could tell she was fighting it until the end. My heart so grieves for this family. They had two very young daughters and to think they will grow up without their mother is more than my heart can take. It made me hug my kids tighter today, use a kinder voice with them, and let them have an indoor picnic and not worry about the ketchup stains on our picnic blanket. I really feel God speaking to me to cherish this time I have with my kids. Even though the days are often exhausting, often hillarious, these are the only days I have with them. What will they remember about me when I'm gone? Please pray for this family. I can not even fathom the loss they feel. I'm praying God wraps His mighty arms around them.