Miles from nowhere

Laundry room update

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

The laundry room is coming along. Dave has been spending all his free time trying to get it finished. We have lights, outlets, sheet rock and the sub floor. Installing the window, texture and painting, and installing the new flooring come next. I know that sounds like a lot, but it shouldn't be too bad. I haven't decided on a color yet, but we may just end up going with white because I think we have a gallon in the garage. Hooray for supplies we already have!

This is what it looked like last week. Framing and plumbing- they are exciting!

Where we are today. That is where the window will be. The window we ordered a month ago that still hasn't come in. I guess we wouldn't have been able to put it in last week or this week because of all the rain, but since it is paid for we would really like it in our possession!

We ended up having to get a new back door during the process.

Home improvement stuff is great- sarcastically speaking. Haha- it always costs more than you anticipate,but I am thankful for a husband that knows how to do all of this stuff.

Building permit. That's right. We're legit.

What's in the box you ask? That my friends is the new light for the kitchen. I am very excited for it to get installed.......once the laundry room is finished.

Little Sister

2012-01-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

Allie has a love for the wooden spoon. If she happens upon it she will usually chase you around or just say over and over again "I pank you butt". I try not to laugh because she is not supposed to say "butt" so I correct her and say "bottom". But seriously- it's hard when the kids are being naughty and it just makes you want to laugh.

This one almost looks like she is taking aim at me.

"I get you Mom!"

She thought it was a riot.

Finally she just decided she could spank her own bottom and leave me to finish cooking dinner.

Haircuts and Dentist visits

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

Jack's hair was getting crazy long- well crazy long for Jack. He has the complete opposite type of hair than Max. It is just stick straight. Instead of just shaving his head we opted for a Mohawk. He looks pretty awesome.

Afterwards he immediately began doing the robot. That boy is nuts.

Ready for preschool the next day.

"Let's ride"

Max being brave at our first visit with the new dentist. He did great and I was so relieved that he doesn't have any cavities.

Getting an x-ray so we can see how his top teeth are coming in. Crazy boy has already lost 8 teeth, but only 6 of them have come back in. He is still missing 2 on the top, but it appears that he has inherited his mother's large teeth and there isn't room for the new ones to come in. The 4 permanent teeth on the bottom also came in super crowded so they want to: EXTRACT 4 teeth (2 on top, 2 on bottom) to make more room. We haven't told Max that this is happening yet- he has about 2.5 weeks until the appointment. I will not be going to that one with him- it's all daddy. I'm just really hoping and praying that it will go smoothly and it won't make him afraid to go to the dentist because right now he does a really great job.

Birthday games

2012-01-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

Another weekend, several more birthdays. I think there are more birthdays in the month of January than there are in the rest of the year. Too many people celebrating tax season being over. Hahaha.

The party was cowboy themed and one of the games they played involved mustaches- my favorite!

You know I can't resist a mustache. I don't think black is my color though.

After we got home Max wanted to try out one of his birthday presents. He got the Cat in the Hat game. It was pretty fun, funny to watch and easy to play. Both boys really enjoyed it. It involved a handful of props and then 3 sets instruction cars.

Jack taking 4 huge steps with the birthday cake under his shirt.

He thought it was great.

This weekend............

2012-01-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

Jack fell in love with a blow up seal,

Allie was a style icon,

I still can't take pictures of myself with my huge camera,

Max and I had a car lunch date,

And Allie had awesome bed head,

Both days.

Cinnamon rolls and babies

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

Delicious. I made these last night and they were sooooooo yummy. Yeah, so I had one. And then maybe I "twisted" Dave's arm to half another one with me. They were that good. I'll have another one this morning with my coffee. Don't be jealous.

These are Allie's babies. She sleeps with all of them every night. The one on the left was the her first baby. She calls it "Baby" and then the rest are called "Other one babies".

Tangles

2012-01-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

Hi Allie! My your hair looks.................tangled.

Side swept look

A little extra bounce to the side for good measure.

Faces of Jack

2012-01-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

While we were at the park the other day Jack was having a rough time. I lost track of how many little fits he threw, including throwing himself on the ground several times. It just wasn't his day. What kind of mother would I be if I wasn't documenting it?

This was the first one. He was just getting going.

On the ground.

And a roll over for good measure.

On the ground again- different location.

New slide. New meltdown.

20 Questions + Birthday Activities

2012-01-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

I did the birthday door again. He got up before I was ready so I had to grab my camera and missed him coming out.

Dave did his yearly measure on the door post. He has grown a lot since last year! And yes, he was wearing his bat shirt from Halloween.

I made pancakes for breakfast per his request and put some candles in it since we weren't doing another cake. (We did cupcakes at school on Friday.)

After a slightly chaotic morning we finally made it out for his birthday coffee.

And a special Starbucks chocolate donut.

Afterwards we met up with some friends at the park. The 42 degree weather didn't seem to stop them from having fun.

And then he blessed me by actually taking a nap and falling asleep. See that huge sweat/drool mark? Yes, that's my pillow. Lucky me.

I think he had a great day. He got to go to gymnastics and then he chose pizza and bread sticks for dinner. I also got a chance to ask him the same 20 questions I asked Jack a week earlier.

What is your favorite color? Pink and purple
What is your favorite toy? His stuffed Minnie Mouse
What is your favorite fruit? Apples
What is your favorite tv show? Tom and Jerry
What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Salami, cheese and crackers.
What is your favorite thing to wear? Tom and Jerry shirt
What is your favorite game? Don't break the ice
What is your favorite snack? Popcorn
What is your favorite animal? Horse and cheetah
What is your favorite song? Love you like a love song by Selena Gomez
What is your favorite book? The Little Critter books
Who is your best friend? Tyler, Elle and Natalie
What is your favorite cereal? Cheerios
What is your favorite thing to do outside? Doing the monkey bars
What is your favorite drink? Apple juice
What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Minnie mouse
What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pancakes
What do you want to eat for dinner on your birthday? Chicken
What do you want to be when you grow up? A vet

Happy Birthday Max

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

We kept it simple for Max's birthday this year. I told him he could take a couple friends to see the 3rd installment of the Chipmunks and then we could go to frozen yogurt afterwards. I know, you are probably thinking the frozen yogurt is for me and you are kind of right. I figured if I had to sit through the 3rd Chipmunk movie I should get some frozen yogurt afterwards. But, Max actually really likes going there too so win/win.

They all loved it.

I wasn't able to catch them all before they started loading up their toppings. Lets just say some had more toppings that frozen yogurt in their bowls.

Happy Birthday Max! I can't believe my little Peanut is already 7!

This and that

2012-01-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

For whatever reason Allie has been fighting bedtime at night. She usually will go right down without a fight, but the last couple of weeks she has been screaming,etc. So, she gets to stay up a little later than her brothers, read an extra book, lay on mom or dad and then hopefully lay down(with all 4 of her babies) and go to sleep.

Jack had a little party at school on Monday. After opening gifts he put the bags on his head. Then the rest of the class grabbed bags and put them on their heads. A born leader.

Max has such a small head it cracks me up. Every time he rides Fisher's little motorcycle and has to wear the helmet, this is what he looks like doing it. Hilarious.

Mustache

2012-01-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

This was one of my favorite pictures from our photo shoot we did last month. There's just something about mustaches that just make everything more enjoyable. Unless you are Jack or Allie.

20 Birthday Questions

2012-01-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

I saw a really neat idea on pinterest here. Every year the mom asks/will ask the same 20 questions on her child's birthday and then compare them. I decided to try it with Jack and I will do it with Max next week on his birthday.

What is your favorite color? Orange, green, blue
What is your favorite toy? Motorcycles
What is your favorite fruit? Oranges
What is your favorite TV show? Shawn the Sheep
What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? A Sandwich
What is your favorite outfit? His motorcycle shirt and jacket
What is your favorite game? He didn't really answer this one.
What is your favorite snack? Fruit snacks
What is your favorite animal? A Horse
What is your favorite song? The whistle song
What is your favorite book? The Toy Story Book
Who is your best friend? Dylan
What is your favorite cereal? Cheerios
What is your favorite thing to do outside? Drive motorcycles
What is your favorite drink? Milk
What is your favorite holiday? Easter
What do you like to take to bed with you at night? lion and puppy
What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Frog's toes (french toast)
What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Macaroni & Cheese
What do you want to be when you grow up? A motorcycle guy

As you can see there was a bit of a theme here.

Spinny park fun

2012-01-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

We tried out the Spinny Park this weekend. It's always nice to discover new parks to go to- especially since we have been having such sunny days. The kids were so excited when we turned the corner and we saw it.

This totally reminds me of Dr. Seuss

The only thing I could find "wrong" with it was that some of the things were REALLY high and not for little kids. That didn't seem to stop little Miss Climber though. She loved the tall slide.

Max thought this rope web was pretty neat too.

Leigh-Ann was kind enough to spin them all. She got a great workout in.

This is Jack after spinning. This cracks me up. I love it when they are so dizzy they just fall over.

Jack took a little too much pleasure in spinning his sister around.

Max and Fisher were so funny on this. They wanted me to keep spinning them. They were laughing so hard.

Good times.

Jack's motorcycle birthday

2012-01-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

Jack's 4th birthday was yesterday. I decorated his door, stole the idea from Kori. I should say that Jack is not a morning person AT ALL. Homeboy needs a good 1/2 hour to an hour to snap out of it. I didn't get quite the reaction that I had hoped for.

"Why did you do that Mom? Why did you do that? The door is booby trapped". And he did not want to walk through.

I made his cake in the motorcycle pan that I ordered from Amazon. It was pretty easy to bake, but it was pretty difficult to frost. I wanted to make black frosting, but no matter how much color I added it came out gray. I just had to leave it. It ended up looking alright.

The birthday banner I worked so hard on as well as the little gift bags I made. I was quite proud of them.


I found a really cute website: here where I found these cute little buttons that you could have personalized. It is also where I got the motorcycle printout that I used for my invitations and on the goodie bags.

Adam & Leigh-Ann brought the motorcycle for the kids to ride as part of Jack's present. Just look at his face.

They also gave him new riding gloves. That boy loves gloves. He was beyond excited.

I wish I had a video of him opening this present. It was the motorcycle jacket that I won on ebay for him. He loves it!

Happy Birthday Jatchy!!

The party was pretty much over and we remembered we hadn't done the pinata. Jack has been insisting for months on a motorcycle pinata so we had to do it. We almost did it in the dark, but the kids didn't seem to mind it one bit.

Flame Birthday Banner

2012-01-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

Jack's birthday is on Sunday and since he has never really had a party I thought this year we would try to make it a big deal for him. Since he LOVES motorcycles I knew that would be my theme. I ordered the motorcycle shaped cake pan a month ago, got his motorcycle shaped pinata last weekend, and then began the search online for motorcycle themed parties. I made his invitations, ordered some fun tattoos and buttons and I also wanted to get a flame birthday banner. I didn't want to spend any more money and so I thought I could probably make one. Sometimes I think it would be easier to just buy it, but I had run out of time. I bought paint, cardstock and was going to try and find some sort of flame template to copy. Kate had a great idea of just buying some flame scrapbook paper, but unfortunately ever scrap store around was out of flame paper. Back to painting. I free-styled my lovely little flame seen above and then I just went over it with red and filled the rest in with black.

One down, many to go!

I think it will all come together great. It is just a matter of finding extra time to get it done. I still have to figure out how I am going to decorate the cake. Luckily I've got 2 more days!

Cookie Jar War

2012-01-05T06:00:00.000-08:00


See this cookie jar right here? It has become the key player in a little cookie jar war with my friend Lisa. It all started back at the cookie swap we were at in December. She won this little item and said she was going to give it to me for my birthday. I insisted she not, but what did I find on the gift table? This little beauty. I told her it would find its way back to her, it was just a matter of time. So I waited awhile and plotted and schemed about how I would sneak it back into her possession. Well, on New Years Eve we were going to be at the same place. We pulled up and her car was already there. I thought wouldn't it be great if her car was unlocked, but no one leaves their car unlocked so it probably won't work. I walked up to her car, tried the handle and it OPENED! I was so excited that I giggled all the way back to my car, grabbed the cookie jar and placed it in her car. I only wish I could have seen her face when she found it.

Well, look what found its way back to me? Little stinker! She snuck it onto our front porch on Tuesday night and since we don't use the front door I never saw it. Dave has been working on the house all week so he spotted it yesterday morning and told me about it.

The lovely note inside. Well, now it is a full on war and so I am planning on having Dave drop it off at the office where she works. I might be nice and put a little something inside for her. Game on!

Around the house......

2012-01-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

Dave has this week off from work to remodel the laundry room. Saturday he completely ripped this wall out- it was totally rotten. It is still a little shocking to pull into your driveway and this is what you see. Fortunately he did have it all put back together by the end of the day.

While he was crawling under the house working on the laundry room he noticed that the floor was leaking under the toilet. Oh joy of all joys. So he had to move the toilet and replace a few parts, which by the way refused to move. Imagine 7 o'clock at night cutting holes ever so carefully as to not nick a water pipe and the kids have to go pee outside in the dark. That part I think the boys kind of liked. He was finally able to get the stubborn part out and replaced and the toilet was returned to its rightful position.

I've also been working on Jack's motorcycle themed birthday party. I plan a party no problem, but use a paper trimmer? Get out of here. My worst enemy to date.

Party it up

2012-01-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve we partied it up with some friends. We played this game called Hedbanz where you have to wear a headband with a card stuck to it and they feed you clues and yo have to guess. It was pretty fun and the kids liked it.

I think Jack looked at his card because right at the beginning he screamed out "I'm a LIGHT BULB!!"

Uhhh, yeah. I had to be given 9 million clues for me to guess that I was a toaster.

We had a Just Dance dance off . The kids were hilarious to watch- especially Jack. He really got into it. Max is just naturally talented. I, on the other hand, am absolutely horrible at it. I can not watch the screen and make my body do the same moves. I like it anyway.

He was hilarious. He did some break dancing for us and then just kept doing this pose over and over again.

After losing my dance off.

Dave and Allie just had a roll off.

Allie won.

We also had a bubble gum blowing contest. I'm pretty sure I won.

Happy New Year

2012-01-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

A year in review: Family style

Dave: 2011 may have started out quiet for Dave at work it ended up being another crazy year. While at times it is exhausting we are ever so thankful that God continues to provide work for him and the rest of his lab crew year after year. The work on the house continued with closets being remodeled in all 3 bedrooms, and of course I wouldn't have been able to get the kids bedrooms remodeled without his help. The work on the laundry room has begun as well which is proving to be a bigger project than originally thought, but I know he can do it! He continues to lead worship at our church and his team has really become stronger and closer this year. We are thankful for all of their hard work and dedication. He also got a bike and has begun training for the 50 mile Tour of the Unknown Coast in a few months.

Rachel: I can honestly say 2011 was one of the hardest years I've ever had. I started the year with the worst case of poison oak I have had in my life, followed by a few other minor health issues. Most of all I think I struggled with my heart attitude this year and just dealing with some marriage things and trying to not over commit myself and family. I am thankful for grace from my husband, kids and friends and that they still love me even though my attitude, speech and actions can be hard to take. I have a great job and a wonderful boss and I am ever so thankful that I LIKE going to work. We did accomplish a lot this year around the house. I refinished a lot of furniture, redid both kids bedrooms, a bathroom remodel and I even found my crafty side. My love for wreaths will never be the same. One goal for last year was to go to more concerts and I believe it was accomplished on both the local and professional sides. I just can't imagine a world without music. Oh how I wish I was musical! I also ran quite a few little local races and I was the most proud of my 10k run I did with Kim. I still can't believe I was able to do it. I continue to hit the gym/go for runs about 4 times a week even though it is quite possibly one of my least favorite things to do. I just can't live with the guilt I feel for not doing it. I am thankful for a new year and fresh starts.

Max: Well Max has had quite the busy year. He graduated from kindergarten in June and has been doing great in first grade. He really loves his teacher and so do we. It has been a great fit for us this year. I guess my one major prayer for him is that he can find just one really good, solid friend at school. He has continued gymnastics and is in his 3rd year. He actually got bumped up into the next class and really seems to be enjoying it. Swim lessons also began this year and he has been doing great. Level 3 begins in February. We made it through another soccer season and he started to understand the actual game by the end of the season. I'm sure he will want to play again next year. He still loves to draw and most of all dance and sing. We just signed him up for a hip hop class that beings next week and he is really looking forward to it. Now if only Daddy would let him sing on the worship team. :)

Jack: Oh where does one even begin with Jack? Well, he became potty trained earlier on in the year and also began his first year at preschool, which he is loving. His love for motorcycles and construction has grown even stronger. His 4th birthday is just a week away and of course the theme is motorcycles. He loves to help Dave around the house with any type of handy work that may be needed. He continues to make us laugh/want to pull our hair out with his crazy little personality. He is definitely one of a kind. He began gymnastics earlier this year and has also been loving it. He had a bit of a rough start in the shape of not listening to the teachers, etc but he has become much better about following the rules while he is there. I've really seen his imagination grow this year- especially in the way he plays pretend either by himself or with his brother.

Allie: Oh the BeSis. She has really come into her own this year and her little personality has really begun to shine. She remains and forever shall be a Daddy's Girl. She turned 2 in October and her vocabulary has really taken off and she is talking up a storm. Some things we wish she WASN'T saying, but she has big brothers and they like to talk potty talk. She has begun to fight back when her brothers are provoking her and also when they are doing absolutely nothing to her at all. We definitely have to keep a close watch on her because it turns out she is the climber of the family and will climb up on anything and everything and it doesn't matter what the height is. One of her all time favorite things to do is play with her dear friend Grace. She loves to spend time with her. Her love for baby dolls has grown and she sleeps with several every night and will pack them all over the house. Also, her hair has really taken on a life of its own this year.

They are random

2011-12-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

Jack pulled this move out the other day- made me laugh so hard. He bowed right before he attacked.

Is he a swan? No, he is about to get body slammed.

Jack thinks he is a cat.


Completely infatuated.

Allie had to get in on the construction outfit.

She has also figured out how to climb up to the tv- unassisted. She does it every chance she gets.

Jack's "Struction Guy"

2011-12-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

There was one present I was really excited for Jack to open. For Halloween I had wanted him to dress up as a construction worker since he loves them so much, but I just couldn't stomach paying the ridiculous price for the costume. So my mom got it for him for Christmas and he has been wearing it ever since. He is so obsessed with construction and tools, etc that he jumps at the chance to wear his stuff. If Dave even mentions anything along those lines Jack is first in line to "help".

So excited.

My favorite part is that it really is reflective.

He is a pretty happy fella.

He loves it!

The laundry room

2011-12-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

The last room in the house that we have needed to pay a little attention has been the laundry room. We were just going to finish up a few needed fixes underneath the room and then paint and it would be good to go. That was until Dave pulled some of the sheet rock off and found that ALL of the studs were rotten. Literally, ALL of them. So, Dave spent Christmas Eve ripping everything down to the studs. I know, what more could go wrong with this house right? Well, now we have to completely redo the whole room including windows, etc. Ah, home ownership.

Sooooooo, what does this mean? It means that Dave is taking the first week in January off and working on the laundry room and we are praying he can finish it and it doesn't cost us a fortune.

Christmas Morn.

2011-12-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

First to rise. See that look on his face? That is about what he looks like every morning. I want to say "Hey, no one told you to get up yet Mr. Angry pants" but I can't because he isn't wearing pants.

Stumbling out of bed shortly after is a bleary eyed Max.

Can you see her through the hair? We had to wake her up because the boys couldn't stand it.

We had to have them cover their eyes when we brought a couple of big presents in. As you can see Allie cheated a little.

Max is excited for his new bike. Now we just need to teach him to ride without his training wheels.

They were all 3 pretty excited about the little kitchen Allie got. I know they will have a lot of fun playing with it. I will not however be super excited about finding the food/utensil pieces strewn all over the house. I may have to lock them up.

They did calm down at one point just long enough to sit together and listen to Max read a book. I tried really hard this year to get them things they would really like and also to not go overboard. I was thinking how difficult it is to instill in our kids a heart of gratitude for the things we already have and the gifts we were given. I did get a little frustrated when all I heard was "I want more" etc. I realize they are fairly young, but next year I hope to get a little more involved with some of the community events where they give to families who don't have alot. I did some this year, but I didn't have the kids help me that much. I hope to change that for next year.

Oh, and one more thing: Happy Birthday Kori!!

She wears many hats.

2011-12-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

Or maybe just one many different ways.

Sup

Her guest wished to remain anonymous.

Family night out

2011-12-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

We took the kids to Applebees last night. It was the first time our family has ever been there together. Max thought we were at a "fancy" restaurant and when we walked in he was all "oohhhhh". I guess Applebees is fancy if all you do is drive thrus and pizza places.

Max got ahold of my camera when I went to use the bathroom.

After dinner we headed over to see the live nativity scene. They were, as my boss would say, dialed in. You lined up in your cars, they give you a cd to listen to and you move from scene to scene. It was really neat and the kids liked it too.

Afterwards we headed out to get some frozen yogurt.

Allie- where is your frozen yogurt?

Max didn't get the memo on not making ridiculous faces for pictures.

Unusual December Weather

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

The weather has been really sunny around here lately- and I'm not complaining. Usually November, December, January, February, March, etc are super rainy so this sunny, but cold weather is an unexpected change. I've been bundling up the kids and taking them to the park as much as possible to keep them (and myself) sane.

Monday we got to meet up with up with some friends that we haven't seen in quite a while. I held off telling Max until the last minute because I knew he would flip out when I told him. He has been begging to see his friend Tyler for months. They had a great time together.

Event-tacular

2011-12-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

Max had his school Christmas program on Thursday night. He had been practicing his songs everyday and was beyond excited to sing them.

His captive audience.

Sunday night we went to the tractor parade in Ferndale. The kids were super excited, even Allie got in on the excitement. She was waving to everyone passing by.

We watched from in front of Sweetness & Light so Ava came out to watch with the boys.

Tractors on parade.

Jack threw quite the fit when we were trying to leave. He didn't believe me that it was over. It makes me laugh because my collection of "Jack crying when leaving" is getting bigger. Oh Jatchy.

A life of its own

2011-12-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

Well, Good Morning.

Teacher presents

2011-12-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year where you start racking your brain as to what to get your child's teacher as a gift. Gift cards are the way to go, but it is always nice if you know where the teacher actually LIKES to shop. When we were at our parent/teacher conference a few weeks ago I noticed she had a Jitterbean coffee cup and then I saw some really cute ideas over here. I didn't have very much time to get it done, but I made a valiant effort. I also almost didn't convince the coffee girls to give me an empty cup to the put the gift card in. I guess maybe they aren't supposed to let you have an empty cup? I'm not sure.

Hopefully I was right and she doesn't like Starbucks instead!

Preschool Christmas

2011-12-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

Jack had his preschool Christmas program on Monday night. He was very excited and had been enthusiastically practicing his songs around the house.

Jack and Miss Kim

Jack got a little "handsy" with Emma. It was pretty hilarious. Right before this he was scooting back and forth on this chair like his bottom had a really bad itch and then he just planted his hand on Emma's leg and sang his little heart out.

"Now give me that candy cane"

"Uhhhhhh, they didn't say I had to talk to you"

Family photo shoot

2011-12-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

We did a family photo shoot on Saturday and as you can imagine the morning was absolute chaos leading up to it. Funny how right before you are supposed to be acting all lovey towards each other you are usually ready to snap. We made it to the location on time and the kids were pretty cooperative. Allie would only let Dave hold her so that was a little frustrating, but we worked through it. I am really looking forward to getting them back, but until then I will just show you a few that I took while we were getting ours taken. I know- I can never just leave the camera behind.

Allie woke up with super awesome picture hair.

Jack found himself a super awesome stick he brought around for the rest of the shoot.

Jack attacking our photographer.

Glittery Ball Wreath

2011-12-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

What you need: Glue gun, wreath and glittery balls.

I thought this would be a piece of cake, but gluing balls on a styrofoam wreath is a little more difficult that it looks. I might suggest using a flat wreath if you can find one. I started off putting glue on the balls, but it seemed to work better to put the glue in the wreath and then hold down the ball for a few seconds.

After working on it for 2 nights I ran out of balls and glue. 2 very key players in my wreath. When I finally made it back to Michaels I found that they were out of the colors I had been using (red, green, silver), but they had red, silver and white. So I had to be strategic with some placements and add a little white here and there so it didn't look ridiculous.

You might get so tired of gluing that you try to glue yourself in the head.

In all its glittery goodness.

30th Bash

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

Yesterday was my 30th birthday and we had a party on Saturday night.

Dave worked really hard putting the party together. He did a great job- it looked amazing.

I'm very blessed to have these 2 ladies as friends. They helped pull off an awesome party. Thanks to Kate for getting the little photo wall/props ready. They were a hit. I honestly spent a lot of my evening getting everyone to come over and use the props and get their picture taken. It was a lot of fun. I have soooooo many pictures, but I'll just share a few.

Some of my favorite ladies: my fellow bookclubbers!

These two were hilarious and adorable.

Yes, I turned 30 and I'm still alive!

Ch-Ch-Changes

2011-12-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

The bathroom is finished! Well, mostly. Can I get a hallelujah?!

This is the shower curtain I bought about a year ago that was my inspiration for the wall color in the bathroom. I really like how it turned out.

I saw a coat hanger used as a towel rack over on pinterest and said "Oh yes I will!"

This is one of the walls in the living room where I had a little photo collage going on. I've been working on a Christmas wreath and wanted to hang it up somewhere. I had Dave bring in an old window frame from the garage and I attempted to use the current nails that were on the wall.

I had a lovely little helper.

Here is what it looks like now, although I did straighten the frame. Like I said, I had a helper who was making it a little difficult and I have the patience of a gnat when it comes to hanging things. I really like how my wreath turned out. I'll show you how I made that bad boy soon. I'm on a wreath roll.

Date night

2011-12-08T07:08:00.001-08:00

Huckleberry Flint was AWESOME as usual. The place was packed out and they played for 2 hours. Well worth it, even though I am feeling very sleep deprived this morning.

Cookie Swap

2011-12-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

I went to the annual Stonecroft Vital Network cookie swap last night. It is one of my favorite events each year that they put on. You might think that I would make a recipe that I really know and love, but each year so far I have found a new recipe in a magazine or blog and decide to try it out. The cookie may be different each year, but there is always one consistent ingredient: Mint. I LOVE mint. So this year I decided to make a "chocolate thin mint" cookie that I found on pinterest. It really was pretty easy to make except for when I went to pour 1/2 tsp of the mint extract out and it came pouring out like a fountain. I was not happy, but the good news is my countertops smell minty fresh. And the recipe called for one bag of chocolate chips, but I ended up needing about 2 1/2 bags. You can find the recipe here.

Secret ingredient: Ritz Crackers. Who would have guess or even thought to put Ritz in a cookie?!

Now that my friends, is a whole lot of cookies. And if I were to be completely honest with you- all I really wanted was the rice krispy treats. They are my absolute favorite!

Hats and parties

2011-12-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

What NOT to do with a birthday party hat...........


A little help please?

Happy 1st Birthday sweet baby boy.


While Allie was trying to strangle herself with the party hat the big boys were gathering their bodies around a table.

Me and my twin.

Yes?

No.

Friday

2011-12-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

Another month, another lunch on the lawn at Max's school. We got there a little early so the kids played on the playground for a bit.

Lunch on the lawn. This time Max did not sit with his back to us. Success.

Getting ready to rock the Hospitality Night festivities. Friday night was the official kick off to my favorite season. In my opinion anyway!

Dave was a good sport and pushed the fussy kids in the stroller so I could look around a little bit. We did have one incident where I had to carry a screaming Jack out of a store,but other than they it wasn't too bad.

The kids were really excited because we got to go on a pony ride through town. Mom and Dad were excited because it was FREE. It was nice because we got in line before it got crazy and Jack let out a Pee Wee Herman-ish laugh when we got on the carriage. Hilarious.

My little artist

2011-12-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

Max has a few hobbies. Two of them happen to be hair and drawing. Well, he actually also really loves to draw hair as well. I can't quite pinpoint where his obsession with hair began, but I think it was somewhere around 2-3 years old. He has always noticed it on people and he has always loved LONG hair. He just loved how it flows with the wind, etc. What can I say- he is one of a kind. Last night he drew a picture and I just had to share it because it is hilarious.

He walked up to me with this and I asked him what all these ladies were doing because I noticed all their hair was standing on end. So I had him explain it to me. Apparently they are falling out of an airplane ("Just like in the Incredibles" which by the way happens to be his favorite scene). Anyway, they are falling out of the airplane into the water below.

I just wanted to give you a closer look.
Love it!

Bathroom continued

2011-12-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

The bathroom saga continues. I decided to go with my original plan which was to paint the bathroom a tan color. So after work I headed over to Ace with the new shower curtain I've had sitting in the closet for over a year. I bought it because I loved it, but it didn't go with the color at all. I knew someday down the road I would be repainting so I saved it. I did a little color matching and ended up with "Nevada Tan". I really like how it turned out and if I hadn't just deleted all the pictures off my camera I could show you. Tomorrow perhaps, because after the 3rd night in a row painting I am exhausted and I don't want to spend anymore time in the bathroom. Except to shower and use the toilet. Which I have to use a lot because I have the world's smallest bladder. I bet you wanted to know that.

Bathroom painting

2011-11-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

This is what my bathroom looked like at 8:30 last night. Why? Because I thought it would be a great idea to start re-painting the bathroom Monday during nap time and wasn't able to finish. So I had an even greater idea: finish it last night when the kids went to bed. Yes, I am crazy.

Oh, did you want to brush your teeth? Not going to happen.

Take a shower? I don't think so.

The last of the green. I was just going to paint it white, but I realized after I put the first coat on how un-white my "white" tub, mirror, cabinet were. I guess that is what happens when you are using Ultra White. So, back to my original idea which will be some sort of tan. Back to Ace to pick paint samples.

While I was running.........

2011-11-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

While I was off running (and wishing I WASN'T running 3 miles).................................

Allie was looking like a little Mexican Eskimo..........

And my boys were torturing pigeons. Max probably had a couple good runs through the birds, but Jack...........

Well, Jack is crazy. I can tell just by looking at his stance in this picture that he is getting to attack. Probably yelling "WHAT?! WHAT?!"

And he is off.

Look at the joy on his face. Some people would be terrified.

Birds! And this is probably why we found bird poop on his pants after we walked away.

Thanksgiving Events

2011-11-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

How was your Thanksgiving holiday? Ours was quiet and a little bit crazy at the same time.

We started off our morning bright and early and headed out for the annual Turkey Trot. I didn't really know what to expect- I had heard it was a lot of fun, but didn't expect to see quite as many people out as there were. I guess everyone was excited to burn some calories before stuffing their faces.

It was extra special because my dear friend Kristin was in town and said she would run it with me. She was a trooper and even kept at my super slow speed with me.

After the race we headed back home so I could get started on our dinner. I don't really like cranberry sauce, but Dave does so I thought I would give it a try. Who knew it was so easy to make? All it literally is is water, sugar and cranberry. Piece of cake and he really liked it too.

After

The final product.

We had/have so MANY leftovers- especially since our guests ended up getting the flu and had to stay home. The kids didn't really eat much of it either. I think next year or sometime in the near future I would like volunteer around the holidays- it would be good for the kids too.

Here I am looking slightly deranged probably because I was getting ready to head out for some ridiculous black Friday shopping. A friend was going to go alone and so I said I would go along with her.

Here's Lisa all ready to catch some deals. First we hit up Michaels and got some lovely Christmas decorations and I bought some things to make yet another wreath.

Because we had 2.5 hours until Target opened we decided to hit up a movie. We watched "Tower Heist". Not the greatest movie, but it also wasn't horrible.

We arrived at Target around 11:15 to find the entire parking COMPLETELY full. I couldn't believe it. We found one of the few remaining spots on the backside of the building. By this time the line had completely wrapped around the majority of the building. We stood outside for about an hour and then we made it inside to the real mayhem. People are just absolutely nuts. I guess if you are shopping for electronics then Black Friday might be beneficial to you, but otherwise I didn't really see any amazing deals. The line inside the store also wrapped in and out of aisles. We decided that really it wasn't worth all the hype. We made it to the front, paid for our items, grabbed some Starbucks and headed out to Kohls. Kohls looked much calmer on the outside, but once we go in we realized that there was also a line that went throughout the majority of the store. We looked at a couple of things, decided we didn't want to wait in line for an hour for something we could just buy the next day and called it a night. I can honestly say that I will not be going at midnight or anything crazy like that again.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! This is where we were at with the turkey when we went to bed. Still defrosting in the sink-- I don't know why I didn't take it out sooner. Our Thanksgiving plans had to be tweaked a little. Unfortunately our guests came down with the flu and will not be joining us. We are praying they get over it soon. It will just be us at our house- and the kids probably won't eat any of the food, but that's ok.

We decided to have a living room picnic last night since Dave was at music practice. It's getting a little more difficult to get a good picture of the 3 of them together. I said "Smile" and this is what they had to offer.

They thought it was fun. They got to watch a movie and the boys did a pretty good job on eating and staying on task.

Don't let this picture fool you. Afterwards she shredded it into tiny pieces and dumped it all over. Living room picnic: Fun for the kids, but messy for Mommy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Siblings

2011-11-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

I was sitting here thinking about how DIFFERENT each one of my kids are from the other. It's crazy that these 3 people can come from the same place and be so very different and unique in their own way. As a baby Max was so easy and he would stay out of whatever you told him to, etc. Then came Jack who got into EVERYTHING and seemed to have an even stronger stubborn streak than his brother. And now Allie daily lets us know how she feels about things. I think she may be the most stubborn of them all. I hope that their strong personalities shine through when they are older and they stand strong in the things we have taught them. All that said, Jack and Allie actually played pretty well together the other day when Max was in school. They rounded up as many random things they could find around the house and stacked them in the corner by the front door. Jack told me he had started a "Collection Area". After about the 10th ziploc bag I had to stop them. They had socks, toys, books, pillows, blankets, tupperware, ziplocs, etc.

Jack was so proud of himself.

It's so much fun to make piles of things!