20 Things You May (or may not) Want to Know About Me

Well, it’s official.  I have zero motivation at work.  I’m glad I gave three weeks’ notice because my department is so busy right now and hopefully that will allow them to find someone before I leave.  On the other hand, three weeks is a long time when you know you’re done.  So, in order to keep myself busy and try to make the hours pass quickly I’m jumping on the “things you don’t know about me” blog post bandwagon.  I thought it would be fun to come up with some silly (and some strange) things most people don’t know about me.  

1. I like to eat marshmallows straight out of the bag.  Many, many marshmallows.  I have a problem. 
2. Samoa’s are my favorite Girl Scout cookie.  Every year I think about buying a case (12 boxes) to last the whole year but I’m afraid I would eat them all in a month.
3. I hate folding and putting away laundry.  I often have an equal number of clean and dirty piles of laundry. 
4. I don’t usually like to cuddle.  Lucky hubby gets his side of the bed all to himself 95% of the time
5. I love wine.  Probably a little too much.  But if you know me at all, you already know this J
6. I lived in Europe for two years – one in Luxembourg and one in France – while my hubby played basketball.
7. I have teeny tiny fingernails that look like they should belong to a 10-year-old, not a grown woman. On a related note, I absolutely hate nail files and will not use them.  Ever.
8. I don’t really like the water and I’m a terrible swimmer. I’d much rather be lying next to the pool than splashing around in it.
9. I’m fashion challenged. I’m not very good at pulling off the latest trend so I usually stick to the basics.
10. If I run more than a mile my face turns so red you’d think I was about to die. Matt says it’s my South Dakota heritage… whatever that means.
11. I love black jellybeans but hate black licorice.
12. Being from Boulder, my inner hippie loves all things cloth diaper, compost pile, organic, etc.
13. I’ve never been very good about making really close girlfriends.  I’m not good at opening up and letting people in.  I have many sweet friends but very few who really know me well.  I wish I wasn’t like this.
14. I would love to have a foodie blog. 
15. I have pasty white legs that never get tan no matter how hard I try
16. I can’t dance.  At all.  Getting out on a dance for in front of a big crowd is pretty much my worst nightmare
17. I love country music. The radio in my car is set to country 9 times out of 10.  I can’t get enough!
18. I hate scary movies. I don’t get the appeal.  Taking me to see a scary movie would be a complete waste of money because I will close my eyes if the music even hints of something bad.
19. I find vacuuming therapeutic. It’s probably my favorite household chore
20. I’m a salsa / salad dressing snob.  Unless they are homemade, I don’t eat them. 

So, there you have it.  I'm a little strange and quirky but really, who isn't?

I stole this idea from Lyndsey and Little Miss Momma... they are much funnier than I am, if you are a blog stalker like me, you might want to read their lists!! :)

TGIF!!! (one more week!)

Better Late than Never

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day this year!! I'm so thankful for my three sweet valentines.

Avery and I made sugar cookies for daddy and to bring to our neighbors

Yummy frosting!

Frosting her first cookies

I think she had as much fun cleaning up as she did decorating! This girl loves to clean!!

I'm so thankful for this man.  He still makes my heart beat fast and I'd rather spend my days living this crazy life with him than any other way.  I wouldn't trade what we have for the world!

Have I mentioned she holds a special place in my heart?

The weather was nice so we played outside for a while...

I'm not sure who loves this game more!

She was being so sweet to her brother!

Fishy Fishy

Bath time is our favorite time of day...

Avery is such a good big sister... always trying to help hold Asher and keep him from falling

This pretty much sums him up.  Crazy little guy with tons of enthusiasm and a big personality :)

Oh, hey mom!!

She's officially unimpressed with Asher's antics ;)

Biggest Blessing

I've sat down to write this post a few times now but each time I do, my hands start shaking, my heart rate rises, and my mind starts to wander.  It still doesn't feel real.  I keep thinking that maybe if I write it down it will sink in.

Since the day Avery was born I knew I wanted to stay home with her.  The thought of leaving her with someone else, and a stranger no less, was heartbreaking.  My maternity leave passed quickly and I was headed back to work before she had even started sleeping through the night.  Those first few months were some of the toughest I’ve ever experienced.  I would sit in the bathroom crying, praying, and hoping that somehow, someday I could stay home. 

Fast forward two years to when Asher was born and it was even harder the second time around.  

This was not where I was supposed to be.  Every hour-long commute that I spent sitting in my car, wishing I was cuddling my baby or reading to Avery, broke my heart.  Matt even asked me to see a psychologist because he was scared I was depressed.  He was right. I wasn't myself.   Thankfully the doctor didn't feel that I was clinically depressed, but that it was a situational issue.  We started talking about how we could make it work on one income.  We knew it wouldn't be easy but we decided I should keep working until the beginning of 2013 and we would reevaluate our finances and see if we could make it work. 

Two weeks ago we received one of the biggest blessings ever and yesterday I walked into my boss’s office, closed the door, sat down and told her I was giving my notice. 

I am officially leaving my corporate job for the most fulfilling, difficult, exhausting, wonderful job I could ever ask for.  And I have never been more overwhelmed with joy and gratitude. 

Of course I’m under no illusion that it will be all fun and games. I know being a stay at home mom is a hard job.  But they are only little once.  These precious years, they go by so fast and I've been missing them.  I've been missing morning snuggles, trips to the park and the library, the dirty diapers, the snotty noses.  I've been missing all of it. 

Three weeks left.  13 days.  I still can’t believe it.  God is good. Always.  This plan he has for us.  It is perfect.  It certainly wasn't the plan I had but His was better. 

I've had this little note hanging from my monitor since I came back from maternity leave.  It has served as such a great reminder to be thankful in all situations.  To not worry about things we can’t change.  To trust in Him and His perfect plan. 

“He has made everything beautiful in its time” Ecclesiastes 3:11

Busy, Busy, Busy

Is it really the middle of February already?  I don’t want to believe it because that means my babies will be turning 1 and 3 in a few short months.  Sigh.  They really are growing up so fast.  Avery is tall and skinny now, looking more like she should be in pre-k.  Asher is so close to standing independently.  I know he has the balance to do it but he gets scared and grabs on.  I’m sure the confidence will come soon and after that he’ll be running around the house in a blink of the eye. 

We’ve been really busy the past few weekends which makes the time go by even faster.  I always complain about the weather in Texas but I have to admit it’s been nice to sit outside on the weekends and not bundle the kids up in 10 layers every time we go out. 

A few weekends back we went to Kennedy’s 3^rd birthday party.  This is the first time Asher’s really gotten to play at a birthday party and he had a blast.  

They both did :)

Yes, that is my husband crawling up the jungle gym to make sure two curious 10-month-olds didn't get trampled by their siblings :)

Avery got to drive the truck down the street (to the cul-d-sac and back).  She loves driving!

One morning she told me her babies were crying and needed to go to sleep.  Obviously the closet is the perfect place for them to slumber ;)  (ignore the trash bags, I'm trying organize her old clothes and donate/sell a bunch of stuff)

She brought everyone in, grabbed her books, sat down, and started going through our whole bedtime routine.  Asher had to check in and see what she was up to. 

After he face-planted into the baby bed he was kicked out and I was told to close the door, babies are tired. 

So, she sat in there and read while Asher and I played.

This little stinker has figured out how to crawl into her bed.  He.loves.it.  He body slammes himself into the pillows and dolls and then looks at me like "what, this is awesome!"

I really didn’t care about the superbowl this year… I’m still sad that my Broncos didn’t make it.  Matt and I both wore Broncos shirts to the superbowl party to show our support J

I probably saw about 10 minutes of the game because I was busy talking, feeding my face, and watching two busy little people.  It was fun to see some friends and catch up with a few people we hadn’t seen in awhile!

Avery and Harper might have consumed a whole watermelon and I think Avery drank 3 CapriSuns.  Which resulted in Avery having two accidents so she’s not allowed to have juicy stuff at parties anymore! :(

Emily’s 10^th birthday was last weekend so we met all of Matt’s family at the Waco Zoo to celebrate!  We had so much fun! Avery was so excited to see the animals.  She specifically wanted to see lions, zebras and giraffes (I think she’s watched Madagascar one too many times!).  

One last picture of this little heart breaker .. Matt sent me a text with this picture a few days ago.

"What... we weren't doing anything... I promise!"

10 Months {Asher James}

AJ –

You are 10 months old!  Even as I type this, I can’t believe it’s true.  You are so much more like a wild, energetic toddler than the sleepy baby we brought home from the hospital last spring.  You are into everything – crawling into your sister’s bed, exploring the backyard, trying to eat Cash’s dog food.  Yes, little man, I have to keep a constant eye on you because you are full of curiosity and determination.   You have a big personality and love to “talk”.  Your facial expressions are hilarious and you still love to eat my nose.  You love to clap your hands and are so close to standing independently.   You wrap your little arms around my neck so tight and try to bring my face closer to yours (usually so you can give me slobbery kisses and try to bite my nose or cheek).  You are becoming more independent and have started crawling off to other rooms – I usually find you in Avery’s room.  I think you end up there after checking to see if you can get in the bathroom.  We always keep the bathroom door closed because you are very interested in the toilet and we learned during bath time last week that you can fling your body into the tub all on your own.  Yes, you are a wild one. 

At ten months you:

Still a great sleeper.  You normally fall asleep between 7-7:30 and sleep for 12 hours. 

Naptime has gotten a little better.  You almost always take a one-hour nap at day care and will usually take two one-hour naps on the weekends (10 &2)

Eating is still a struggle.  You are still drinking 5-6 6 oz. bottles.  You also eat three jars of baby food.  I’m trying so hard to get you to eat table food but you still spit everything out.  You will suck on it for a few seconds but then it comes right back out. We’ve tried bananas, avocados, strawberries, cheese, turkey, pasta, bread.  If it isn’t pureed, you won’t eat it.

You are still constipated (I know you’ll love me for sharing this one day) and have a bottle of apple juice or prunes every day.  It usually helps but you were very uncomfortable last weekend. 

You weigh around 20 pounds and I’m not sure how tall you are but everyone says you are so long!

You wear 12-18 or 18 month clothing and size 3 diapers

Getting a good picture was a real challenge this month.  You outgrew your 12 month white onesies so I guess we're done with that look.  Oh and you wouldn't sit still for anything.  Luckily for me you love to smile so I was able to get one quick shot (with daddy's help of course).

Love you so much little man!

Living for the Weekends

Weekends are so incredibly precious to me.  Monday-Friday are just days I get through in order to have quality weekend time with my fam.  I know that sounds harsh but during the week I leave for work before the kids are up and by the time I get home it’s make dinner, clean up dinner, take baths, get the kids ready for bed, collapse on the couch. There just isn’t much time left for playing. 

January has been a “no spend” month for us, meaning unless its food, gas, bills, or essentials, it isn’t happening this month.  No eating out, no buying new clothes, no spending money on frivolous things. When January started I was kind of bummed but really, it has been great for us.  I’ve spent the past two weekends at home.  No shopping, no going out to dinner, and I feel like we’ve had so much quality time together.  Time to play babies on the floor and snuggle in mommy and daddy’s bed, time to play outside.  It has been wonderful.

Matt went to Arkansas a couple weekends ago with some of his buddies and besides a quick trip to Target for food, we didn’t leave the house once.  And it was great. 

These two provided plenty of entertainment and I finally got my sewing machine out and started working on projects I’ve had planned for months.

Avery loves to paint and color... she usually just makes a huge mess but she loves every minute of it!

 This table toy has been such a big hit with both of them! Asher bangs on it until it plays a song and then Avery dances 

I was trying to clean up in our room so I stuck Asher in the clothes basket, thinking he'd be entertained for a few minutes. 

 I had barely turned around and he was already out... He wasn't impressed with my attempt to contain his curiosity.

 Meet Dr. Avery! She has been practicing giving all her babies medicine

 Of course she couldn't leave Asher out.  Cash looks very concerned.

Such a fun weekend! 

Last weekend the weather was beautiful and Matt decided it was perfect fence reconstruction weather. Our fence blew down the weekend before Christmas and since we love our neighbors so much we haven’t really worried about fixing it. Cash has loved having two families but we decided we better put it back up.  So Matt and Jason got to work and all the girls insisted on “helping”.

Asher crawled around outside for the first time and wasn't so sure about the grass.  He likes to bear crawl, cracks me up! 

Avery loves her “sisters” so much.  She tells me Harper is her best friend and I know she loves following the big girls around.  It makes my heart so happy that she has four “sisters”.  And of course they all love spoiling Asher and he loves the attention. 

Of course Matt had to use his truck during the fence project... such a boy! 

 

 We all grilled together Sunday evening and had a mini bonfire with the old fence posts

And just a random note I want to remember… my main goal for 2013 is to be more organized.  My first attempt at this is menu planning.  I usually plan a weekly menu when I’m writing down my grocery list but we still end up with nights where I forgot to set out the chicken to thaw or I was just lacking inspiration.  SO, I decided to write out a monthly menu. 

I created a menu template and went through my cookbooks, pinterest, etc. and came up with 30 meals.  (okay, we did eat out once this month).  It’s the 23rd and I’m happy to say we’ve stuck to it and it has been so incredibly helpful.  I have it displayed on the refrigerator which helps me remember to pull meat out of the freezer and makes my weekly grocery shopping list a breeze.  It also helps me to plan in advance and buy food when it’s on sale instead of just buying what I need for the week. 

I’m loving this and will definitely keep it up in the coming months!