A mommy's moment!

Gender Reveal Party

2012-02-15T09:43:00.000-06:00

Disclaimer: I know Amber hasn't posted the gender yet on her blog but ... she has already put it on Facebook and I took most of the pictures... so I am going ahead and posting them from last night instead of politely waiting for her to post first. I am the Aunt... I can do that. ;)

So Amber and Caleb planned a Gender Reveal Party on Valentine's Day for our family to all find out baby's gender together. Amber and Caleb went to the ultrasound earlier that day but they did not find out the gender there. They had the tech write it on a card and Caleb took it to the Kroger bakery. They decorated the cake gender appropriate. The family showed up to eat dinner at 6 and Caleb brought the cake when he got off work at 7.

We were all excited!

Everyone took thier guess and it was split right down the middle. I stayed true to ALWAYS being wrong when guessing baby's genders and guessed wrong once again!

The boys Skyped my brother and sister-in-law so they could be there for the reveal.

Caleb finally arrived!

And the cake was PINK! I am going to have a niece!

Everyone was so happy!

Including little mama!

It was a great way to spend Valentine's Day. I am still kind of in shock... Some people may not realize but Bryan has a half-sister who lives in Texas and she has 3 boys. His brother has one boy. My sister had one boy.. and then we had Noah. So that makes me the aunt of 5 boys and mother of 1 boy... but the aunt of 0 nieces! SO this is kind of a big deal for me!

Noah was so wired after the party that he jumped up and down in his bed until 9:30. I went to bed at 11 and heard him chatting away in his bed. Then throughout the night I heard him talking(hopefully in his sleep) then this morning he was up early at 7!

WHEW... I should have left him with Amber last night since she was probably also to wired to sleep.

Recap

2012-02-14T14:41:00.002-06:00

: Oston came over for a little while... Noah followed him around like a little puppy.

: We went to visit my Grandma and then came home and after telling Noah 4 times that he was too big to fit inside his little grill... he proved me wrong.

: we made Valentine sugar cookies. Noah was in charge of the sprinkles. He didn't get very far though because he would stop after every cookie and take a bite. Another lovely trait he got from me..:)

Tonight we find out if my sister's baby is a girl or boy. She has already been to the doctor and the baby is HEALTHY!! They were able to tell the gender but the technician made Caleb and Amber close their eyes during that part because they aren't finding out until tonight with the rest of the family at the GENDER REVEAL PARTY!

Can't wait! I will post all about it tomorrow!

Happy Valentine's Day!

-Oh and check out last year's Valentine's post just for fun!

My oh my ... how he has grown!

Motherhood.

2012-02-10T09:29:00.001-06:00

Motherhood is funny because you have days when you laugh all day.. because kids are just so darn funny. You have days when you want to pull your hair out. You have days when you do nothing but lie on the couch and watch movies with your little one because they are so sick and just 'need to be held'. Sometimes you smile because you have the most adorable kid and sometimes you cry because you feel like you are raising a hellion. Sometimes you have all these things in the same day.
Yesterday... I laughed all day. Then when Bryan got home and I showed him the pictures/videos on my phone of the fun times we had... he laughed. Then we both just talked about how adorable he is and how lucky we are. No matter what kind of day we have... it is filled with the deepest kind of love I know.

We started off the morning kind of sleepy. Which is typical after Wednesday night church service.

Noah literally laid in the floor while I got myself ready for Story-time.

We headed to the Library and Noah had a blast. I guess he likes Story-time again! :)

They had a Valentine's Day Party so they got to eat together and play.

He got his first Valentines ever.. and boy was he proud.

Later that day... Noah got to do his new favorite thing. When I am doing laundry Noah LOVES to climb in the dryer. He climbed in yesterday with his snack. We have the sweetest little conversations when he is the dryer.

Making sure the dryer is closed has been added to my mental list of things I do before I get in the shower... you know like...

are the outside doors locked? is the computer room door shut?

is there any food sitting around that he could choke on? are the toilet seats down?

is he unbuckled from his seat so if there is a fire he can come get me? is the bathroom door open so he can get in ... in case there is a fire?

Yes I go throw these things before I wash my hair... maybe I am crazy.

Bryan had to work late so Noah and I were alone most of the night and the hilarity continued.

We were watching Ellen and these little girls were doing 'the running man' dance and Noah was doing it with them....

That is all.

Birthday Planning!

2012-02-08T11:18:00.000-06:00

Noah will be 2 in March.

Due to two main reasons we decided the 2nd Birthday would be a small 'family' only affair.

1) Bryan and I are taking Noah to Disney World in April. The trip is a celebration of Bryan's 30th birthday and we will be in Disney on his actual birthday! We are staying 3 nights in Orlando and then 3 nights with my cousin who lives an hour away from Disney and 5 minutes from the beach. We could not be more excited and even though it is technically Bryan's birthday trip.... it is only a month after Noah's birthday so ..... a small party plus trip to Disney seemed like a fair trade to having a gigantic birthday bash.

2) I am booked! I am planning, helping plan, attending... so many events right now that I just don't have it in me to do another 60 person birthday party at my house. PERIOD.

Last month... we woke up to 75 degree weather one morning so I took advantage of the warm weather that day and took his picture for his birthday invites.

Vista Print was having a 10 invites for free sale and 25 magnets for free. So I ordered them there and only paid for shipping! My family got cute invites and magnets for their fridge with Noah's face on them! Could not resist.

We are doing a Mickey Mouse party this year. I have had this theme chosen since last years party when one of my friends got him this hat!

This one is my favorite. I think it looks like he is about to sail away on his birthday bag down the river.

Bryan likes this one below. He says it looks like he is about to enter some kind of magical garden or something.... but really its just our back yard. :)

I wanted to blow this last picture up and use it as a back drop for the food table but Bryan vetoed that idea. I thought it would be perfect since we are entering the terrible twos!

-5 O'clock-

2012-02-07T18:39:00.000-06:00

When I was a working Mom.. 4:30 was the time in the day I lived for. I could not wait to get off at 4:30!

Now... I love... 5 O'Clock!

Bryan gets home at 5!

Last night he had to work late... which he does from time to time. ... and we were all alone till 8:30.

That makes for a LONG DAY for Mommy.

I have been trying to do better in visiting my grandparents lately. I have TWO sets of living grandparents... now both living in the same town as me.

Bryan has one set living but they live in Arkansas... a very long and hard drive that we have only made once and never made with Noah.

I want to do better. Visiting or trying to visit my in-town grandparents once a week is my goal.

An Arkansas trip is harder than a 5 minute drive down the road. So I send them lots of pictures and I have even sent videos of Noah in the past. It's the best I can do right now.

Today we saw Mimi and Clark. They were ready for our visit! They had gotten Valentine's cookies, a Little People construction set, and blocks for him to play with while we were there. Noah pointed out their bananas too and so Clark fed him that as well.

We got a package in the mail today!

New shoes!

They are Croc Tennis Shoes and I LOVE THEM!

Best part they were on sale for 14.99!!!!

I bought them for a very special trip we are taking in April. More to come on that!

The Best Days!

2012-02-03T15:55:00.001-06:00

We had beautiful weather yesterday and today.

My boy is getting so so big.

He is a nature lover all the way. I think he could sit by a creek, ocean, pond, pool, river all day.

-and throw rocks of course.

Say hello to Briley. I use to work with her mommy and got to hold her a little bit this morning.

Noah got to feed the ducks again today.

-and throw rocks in the pond.

We did a little shopping after meeting Briley and feeding the ducks. While we were checking out of Babies R Us- Noah told the cashier, "Thank You. Bye-Bye!" The cashier went on and on about how smart he is for how small he is and how she wasn't expecting him to talk like that. Made me proud.

Then at Kroger after every intercom announcement- Noah was yell, "Thank you!"

He is really a blast to hang out with lately. We have the best days.

Mid-week!

2012-02-02T09:30:00.000-06:00

Yesterday recap with phone pics-

Noah and I started our morning by checking in on my grandma who recently fell- we have been helping her out a little this week.

Then I met my friends Jessica and Tim at my parents house. They are building a house and I volunteered myself to keep the babies upstairs while they met with Gary about house plans!

Perfect excuse to get some time with this precious little girl!

She loves her Aunt Amy!

Tim and Jessica always refer to me as Aunt Amy to Clay and Anagail. Apparently until yesterday Clay really thought Jessica and I were sisters! Jessica told him they were going to Amy's dad's house, Mr. Gary and he said... "Who is Uncle Alan's dad?" Jessica said, "Poppy." "Who is Aunt Laurie's dad?" "Poppy." Then he said, "But Aunt Amy's dad Mr. Gary?"

haha Jessica then had to explain that I wasn't really her sister or Clay's aunt but he can still call me that.

Sweet boy...

We had fun. Noah did too...even though this picture doesn't look like he did...

We went back to Grandma's for lunch then headed home for naps.

Noah had a hard night. From the time Bryan got home until after church he was constantly getting in trouble for something. Not eating his supper, kicking, talking during church, crying over everything....

then when we got home from church--- he has a moment of sweetness playing doctor with Mommy and Daddy.

He would take my temperature then say, "You okay!"

Best Friend Love

2012-01-31T16:38:00.000-06:00

I finished the book Kisses from Katie. I highly recommend it. The stories in it are life changing and it really makes you realize how little 'service' we do as Christians here in America. About halfway through the book I got this idea that I needed to buy my best friend Ana an Ugandan made necklace for her upcoming birthday in March. A few days later- I got a text from her that she was selected Teacher of the Year from her school. So I ordered the necklace then and thought I would give it to her a bit early as a double present for her accomplishment at her job and 26th birthday. This weekend Ana told me my present finally came in the mail and guess what it was.....

Ana's came in the mail today.

I think this is hilarious that we got each other the same thing for our birthday's without knowing it! You know you are really good friends when that happens. (yes we were both reading the book at the time!)

We did get different colors. She got me the red and I got her the multi-colored.

Noah wanted to model them..

Just because I think it is such a great idea... I will go ahead and tell you about the necklaces. They are made by women in Uganda and by purchasing one necklace- we are feeding them and their entire family for a week.

It is a really good way to use your money!

And they are really fun to wear!

Life in the fast lane...

2012-01-30T15:06:00.001-06:00

Woah... we were busy this weekend.

Saturday morning after making breakfast for my boys- I hopped in the shower and started the process of all 3 of us getting ready and out the door to be at Brady and his friend Grady's birthday party at 11. With my ever-growing long and THICK hair to wash-dry- and style- getting myself ready plus Noah can be a challenge these days. (Even when I have Bryan here to help.)

We made it and my boy had a blast.

(pictures taken by me but stolen from my sister's camera)

If there is anything I have learned from having a child and attending birthday party's- is that the mother of the birthday child who wants pictures of the day the most ...never has any because she is too busy with other things to snap pics. So lately I have been assigning myself as the picture taker at the parties I attend- normally with my camera and I send them a CD but we forgot our camera so I used Amber's.

Brady could not contain his excitement.

He randomly just started clapping because he was just so happy!

BFF's Grady and Brady celebrated their belated birthday's together...

Grady below.

After helping clean up for as long as Noah could stand it... I took him home for a nap. (Bryan had left the party early with my parents to go on a hike.)

Noah finally woke up about an hour before we needed to be at our next get-together for the day.

Our group at church met at my friend Ana's house and I got to spend a little quality time with two very sweet baby girls while their mommies finished eating their dinner!

Anagail and Makenzie are about 4 weeks apart- both small for their age but you can tell Anagail is a little older- more alert.

Playing with those two little girls and seeing them smile- reminds me how much I LOVE MY LIFE.

Noah and Clay enjoyed watching the Lion King.

Noah also found a new friend. He is normally all about some Carly( curly hair on the left) but he just totally dismissed her and wanted to sit with Christopher not one but two or three times. HILARIOUS- because those young college boys don't know what to do with my little rambunctious-almost-2 year old.

Sunday after church we headed to Bryan's parents house for the TASTIEST FRIED CHICKEN AND GRAVY EVER for my Birthday celebration with the Lawrence's.

Bryan's mom is a vegetarian but somehow she can make Fried Chicken and gravy like no other. She doesn't even eat it ... how is that possible?

As my birthday gift- she taught me how to make the gravy. An art that I have been trying to master since the first time that gravy touched my tongue. I learned a lot so maybe I can reproduce it... maybe.

She also gave me a photo album made up of Bryan's childhood (Old report cards, pictures, awards, basketball stats, basketball programs, the whole shi-bang!) I love it- right up my alley! He was one tall-nerdy-lanky-looking kid and I can't wait to have a tall-nerdy-lanky-looking Noah one day!

Noah was ALL ABOUT SOME OSTON Sunday. He was attached to his hip and wanted to eat what he ate and drink what he drank. Oh my.

Went home for a family nap and Noah was still sleeping when night church service came around so I went alone and Bryan stayed home with Noah.

Noah has been off all day and kind of crabby.. but I know he is worn out from the chaos that is our weekends.

Using our words!

2012-01-27T14:03:00.000-06:00

Noah has a hard time using his words but sometimes I think I forget how much he actually can say.

I saw this on someone else's blog and thought I would do it- not only so I remember but so I can see what all Noah is saying.

Noah has some words he uses regularly. Regularly meaning everyday or every other day:

Mama, Dada, Cheese, Hi or Hey, Ball, 'That one', Nonnie or Paci, Mon (Come on), Yes, No, Brady, Hop-hop, Pop, Bye, Blankie, Yea!, Apple, Elmo(which is actually what he calls Nemo).

He can count using this system: One, Two, Three, Four, Six, Eight, Nine, Ten

Other frequently used words: Thank you, Amer(Amber), Sue Sue, Nana, Addie, Gavin, wa-wa (water), bubble, Jump, Wall-E, Eva, Book, Bible

He will SOMETIMES repeat these words and some others when he feels like it: Baby, Banana, Mimi, Poppy, Pap-poo (Pappy), Oston, "God did", Cat, Dog, Fish, Zelda.

Every once and a while he surprises us by saying a sentence like I love you. I want it. I drivin'. Or my personal favorite- Get away! (Yes he says this to me... he hears Bryan and I say it to the neighbors cat!)

Or actually uses his words to tell me what he wants like Cereal, Ice Cream, or Cake.

Speaking of ice cream... we tried out the new ice cream making attachment:

French Vanilla.... very yummy!

Tomorrow we have two get-togethers to attend- so this morning I wanted to go ahead and prepare the food I was taking to each one. I decided to try the 'Rice in a Bowl' activity I had pinned a while back on Pinterest.

I hadn't tried it before because A.) I thought he would eat the uncooked rice. B.) I didn't want the mess.

He tried eating it first thing but once I showed him that what he was supposed to do was move the rice in one bowl to the other using his measuring spoon... he was hooked. Seriously... I think he did this close to an hour. I cooked everything I needed, cleaned it all up, put away a load of laundry, and still had time to sit and play with him before he was tired of it! WHO KNEW>??!

Oh and yes he also made a mess... but it was easy to clean!

Tuesday and Wednesday!

2012-01-25T15:58:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was my 25th birthday!

Noah and I went to lunch with my mom-Came home and played basketball and 'race'- then Noah napped- I started a new book: Kisses from Katie. The link is to her blog but she has a book too. I have not read her blog because I wanted to read the book first. It is really good so far! When Noah woke up- I found him like this...

Two paci's for Tuesday= TOO cute!

I gave him a bath and we headed to pick up Daddy from work. Then we had my birthday dinner at Bonefish Grill!

It was yummy. Noah was okay. He didn't really want to sit down and all he ate was ketchup and brownie! -But we had a good time.

This morning it was about 60 degrees and beautiful so I took Noah to the park. I haven't been very good at taking Noah to the park. We have so many friends in our subdivision and a really good front/back yard to play in we normally just play outside at home. The last few times I took Noah to the park he was still really too small to enjoy it. Today HE LOVED IT! There was only one other little boy there so that helped too. He is really cautious though. He wanted me to hold his hand the whole time and if something looked scary to him he would just stand in front of it and wait on me to come and hold his hand.

He loved the 'safe' baby swings that he can't fall out of!

and of course he found a stick to play 'swords' with!

I think he is channelling his enter Mario here and hitting the 'mushrooms' to get a gold star. :)

*** Completely random but.....Kroger had these Lunchables for a dollar the other day and they are awesome. Have yall seen these?

They are nacho Lunchables and PERFECT for a snack for little Noah. The chips are tiny so he can't choke on them and it comes with cheese and salsa to dip them in! Noah loved them. (He loves salsa though!) It was a good quick, non-messy snack! Probably not that healthy though. :(

-I also tried a new recipe off Pinterest today and it was a FAIL. Crock-pot Sesame Chicken- the sauce got way to hot only about 4 hours in cooking on LOW and became this crusty-burnt-smelly topping. Some of the pieces were not effected by the burnt sauce but when I tried them I was not impressed. I had to throw the whole thing out and now I will be back to the kitchen to make something else. :( Not a happy cooking day.

Oh and here is Noah swinging! Happy boy!

Birthday Weekend!

2012-01-23T09:28:00.001-06:00

My birthday is not until Tuesday but Bryan wanted to celebrate on Saturday night!

I mentioned before I got a Kitchen-aid stand mixer for Christmas. Bryan got me the 'Ice Cream Maker' attachment and Ben and Jerry's cookbook for my birthday!

My mom has been making Homemade Ice Cream with the salt base since I was a kid.

Southern and Old Fashioned goodness.

This thing doesn't make that kind of Ice Cream- it makes soft serve or the store-bought kind depending on the consistency you make it.

Should be fun experimenting!

And my FAVORITE... DAIRY QUEEN ICE CREAM CAKE! Sounds like a good breakfast for me this morning!

We are celebrating at a friends house tonight! Woo-Hoo I don't have to cook!

And then Bryan is taking me and Noah to dinner Tuesday night!

Another friend of mine bought me dinner a few weeks ago for my 'early birthday' gift.

My mom is taking me shopping in a couple weeks ... so my birthday celebrating just goes on and on!

On another note. I tried two new recipes this weekend!

7-UP biscuits

I was dying to make these biscuits because they reminded me of Loveless Cafe biscuits. I made them for breakfast but they would be good as a side for dinner.

Noah licked his fingers. I will be making the again!

Saturday for dinner I tried these Salad wraps.

They were good. Mine were very messy. So I think I may have put too much Ranch... but they were surprisingly filling. Bryan and I each just had one and were stuffed. Plus they were pretty healthy.

- And anything drenched in ranch- Noah will eat.. So that was a plus too!

daddy's boy

2012-01-20T19:11:00.000-06:00

Today we met Bryan for lunch. Tried out the new SMASH BURGER.

When we dropped Bryan back off at work- Noah lost it! He cried and cried. His lower lip puckered out and he pointed at his daddy walking away from the car. It was heartbreaking. Bryan couldn't hardly look at him. HE LOVES LOVES LOVES his Daddy. I didn't know what to do to cheer him up so I asked him if he wanted to go get Ice-Cream with Mommy. He gave me a half-smile and said "Uh-huh!"

When I showed him my printed e-mail coupon for 5 dollars of FREE ice-cream that Sweet Ce-Ce's sent me for my upcoming birthday he smiled the rest of the way there!

It was good.

So good you need TWO spoons!

Boys eat... and eat and eat and eat.

After eating some of my chicken sandwich, fries, fried pickles, and avocado for lunch. Then half of my ice cream. Noah had a whole Nutrigrain bar and an Oreo in Kroger. On the way home he asked me for some goldfish. Once we got home... he wanted a cup of milk. Then he ate pizza and grapes for supper!

We saw a little girl at Kroger who was bigger than Noah but I figured she was around his age. I asked her mom how old she was and she said- "18 months". Then her mom told her little girl, do you see the baby? And asked me how old Noah was. I told her 21 months- he will be 2 in March. She was so surprised and was like... well I guess he isn't a baby- he is older then you(to her daughter).

This week his 'smallness' has become more evident to me. I saw another little girl who was 10 months and weighed 23 pounds. Two months shy of being two.. Noah weighs 24 pounds according to our scale at home.

So yeah- Noah is a little small for his age- but not do to the lack of food he ingest.

And today we....

2012-01-19T18:59:00.000-06:00

Noah and I haven't done much this week. We went to Story-time today. I have missed the last couple of weeks because lately Noah has been not wanting to go and when we get there he cries and ask to leave the whole time. Today since we haven't been very busy this week I decided to try again. Noah wanted to sit in Ms. Patty's lap while she read the story.

Noah's in the middle covered up by the book!

I don't know the little girls very well and don't have permission to put their faces on the internet so I did some editing and now they have books covering their identifiable parts!

Notice the chewing on the fingers... I am SLOWLY trying to give him his passy (or Nonnie- which is what Noah has been calling it) less and less..

He got through half of the story then grabbed my hand and pointed to door. I told him we were staying until after the craft. As soon as we finished the craft, he grabbed my hand again and walked me to the door. Story-time is at his lunchtime... so I am not sure if that is why he always wants to leave. We don't know any of the families that go... so maybe he doesn't feel comfortable around the kids??? I have no idea. But I am not sure Story-time is for Noah.

He made a dog puppet. Here he is shaking his head and saying "No" he doesn't want to take a picture with his craft.

He only slept for an hour today... which is another 'mystery' to me? Every-time we go to Story-time he takes a terrible nap!?!

Not fun for mommy. I need nap-time. He needs nap-time.

Here's to an early bedtime!

FAMILY TIME!

2012-01-17T11:16:00.000-06:00

This weekend- my brother and sister-in-law came into town. Saturday morning we had breakfast at the Readyville Mill for Lauren's birthday celebration. It was a lot of fun.

Pictures courtesy from my brother's Facebook page. I stole them for my blog.

Noah was a Daddy's boy this weekend.

He LOVES his Aunt "Amer". I can't explain how excited he gets when he sees her! Hopefully he will still love her after she brings a new "youngest" grandchild into the mix!

And he is a big fan of Uncle Cameron too!

Brady is all about some Banana Pancakes and he talked about them all morning. This is his face when he saw them bringing his banana panacakes to Sue Sue!

Our family minus Bryan. (And Drew of course is in California working.)

Next couple are my phone pictures.

We spent the rest of the day at my moms playing games and visiting. The boys were SOOO excited to take a bath in the big tub!

Sunday we went to church and then spent the afternoon at my moms again. Noah fell asleep on the 5 minute drive from their house to ours.

Then we headed back to church that night.

Bryan was off Monday. We just hung out at home and I cooked a big supper that night.

I tried a new recipe for 'Ranch Chicken Strips'.

Bryan loved them!

Funny story... If you know us... you know that Noah is a pretty good eater. There is not many things he will not try or eat. But from the time we could feed him ... he would NOT eat mashed potatoes. I have tried so many times but he NEVER wants a second bite. Last night I used my Kitchen-aid to make some for the first time. I put a scoop on Noah's plate just because I am 'that mom'. I just keep trying and trying even though he may not eat them. Well... not only did he eat them... he asked for more! Bryan and I couldn't believe it! I guess all I needed was a Kitchen-aid to make them up to his standards!

Sharing.

2012-01-13T17:57:00.000-06:00

To Noah:
If God gives you a home, open it.
If he gives you food, feed someone.
If he gives you knowledge, share it.
Love, MOM

Today we hosted a play-date that was apparently long overdue. Last year, a group of us moms at church swapped up hosting play-date every week but this year... due to new babies, kids starting school or mother's day out and then just business in general... play-dates have been few and far between. A friend of mine with a new baby mentioned to me she was ready for them to start back again- so I volunteered our house and we sent the word out. MY OH MY ... how our group has grown. 9 mommies and 16 .... yes 16 children showed up to play for 3 hours in my 1400 (tiny) square foot home. It was fabulous.
As the mommies huddled around my tiny kitchen trying to make our starving children lunch... I commented on how these moments make me see my kitchen for how small it really is. To which my friend replied, "I was given the advice that if you can't serve hot dogs in your tiny first home, then you don't deserve to serve a fancy feast in a large mansion." Fitting- considering we were having hot dogs and chili.

My tiny kitchen with the spread I made for the group.

Noah was so excited to see his friends pulling into the driveway!

School was out so the big boys came and brought a movie. Noah preferred to watch the movie with them instead of playing with all his friends. My little loner.

But this was pretty much the sweetest sight ... Andrew sharing his seat with Noah.

Anagail was wide awake. I hope I always remember this baby's porcelain skin and bright blue eyes.

For lunch I laid a big quilt next to the dining table and the kids had an indoor picnic. It really is funny to see how many little ones can fit comfortably in your tiny home or quilt.

I thoroughly enjoyed play-date but Noah may have been a little overwhelmed. He watched a movie with the big boys for the first 30 minutes then seemed to stay in whichever room the less amount of kids were in. He cried a lot and seemed to really have a hard time sharing all his toys. I hope I can teach him to enjoy the company of others and be joyful that we have friends who come over and spend cold snowy days with us.

Oh and shoes with your pajamas in the house are the latest fashion craze in the Lawrence home.

Play in the Rain.

2012-01-11T13:43:00.000-06:00

Today Noah learned an important life lesson:

Play in the rain.

Last night, we had a big rain and it left our subdivision with lots of puddles! This morning the sun came out, so I took Noah out to play. He quickly realized something.... PUDDLES are fun to splash in!

He splashed and ran.... and fell into the puddles.

In no time, he was soaked.

I guess we were being rowdy and our neighbors heard us and came and joined in the fun. Then ~~the boys~~ Gavin got tired of the wet clothes and so we changed them into dry clothes and played some more. (Noah's wet clothes didn't seem to bother him- he threw a fit bc he didn't want to stop playing to put dry clothes on!)

You can also drive around in the puddles.

I lost it when I turned around and saw Jenny in the police car because Gavin refused to drive it back to his house. FUNNY....

FUNNY....

FUNNY STUFF!

And you must throw rocks in the puddles.

Also- I try and cook one new recipe a week to keep 'cooking' EVERYDAY entertaining.

I tried two new Pinterest recipes last night.

1. Cookie Dough Bites

I did not have 'salted' butter so I just added a dash of salt. These are really tasty and make PLENTY!

http://family.go.com/food/recipe-639377-cookie-dough-bites-t/#memberViews

Her picture is much more elegant but here are mine!

2. Crock-pot Mexican Lasagna Stack-Up.

Very good! Made TONS! EASY EASY EASY! I bought the pre-cooked Tyson chicken in a bag just because I was being lazy and it worked great!

Recipe below:

http://familyfreshmeals.blogspot.com/2011/10/crockpot-mexican-lasagna-stack-up.html

Sweetness.

2012-01-09T13:17:00.000-06:00

I know blue eyed babies get a lot of praise but .... come on... look at those
BIG BROWN EYES.

Baby-blue-striped pajamas. Need I say more?

Happy Monday!

Tour of Homes....

2012-01-06T13:47:00.002-06:00

Noah wanted to show you his new favorite play-place. Our back porch turned into his own little man cave- complete with his little getaway cottage and grill!

My mom and Gary got him the little house for Christmas.

Our neighbor brought him this grill Christmas night... he really likes it too!

Noah says, "'mon". Translated "come on" or "come in".

The inside.

I tried to fit my bottom on those little tiny seats and one 'cheek' fit -so to speak but now that Noah has seen that I fit he insist that I sit there with him every-time we play in the house now.

Oh-de-lally

(Too much Robin Hood... Bryan may be the only one who gets that.)

another view.

On a windy day last week... we added curtains to block the wind and add a little 'homey' touch.

Noah was not amused. The curtains lasted about 10 seconds and he pulled them down.

No girly curtains in the man cave.

Point taken.

P.S. I am feeling better. Can you tell!?

Tuesday at home- Daddy Style.

2012-01-04T11:09:00.000-06:00

Bryan was already off Friday of last week and Monday of this week because of the New Year holiday. He took off yesterday to help me out with Noah while I am recovering from Strep throat. They were both getting cabin fever so Bryan and Noah bundled up and had a little adventure outside.

All bundled up.

It's hard to keep your balance when wearing all these clothes!

Notice the mud on the shoes.

They came in from outside covered in mud and rosy cheeked.

Bryan went and got us lunch and Noah feel asleep in his highchair drinking his juice. He kept dropping his cup- then picking it back up (eyes still closed)- then dropping it again. It was hilarious. Poor guy was WORN OUT!

I know it looks like he is just closing his eyes... but he was actually asleep but still trying to drink his juice. He stayed asleep about 3 hours after this.... we moved him to his crib though! ;)

So happy we got a few extra days with Daddy this week. Hoping I will be 100 percent better by the weekend!

What's going on?

2012-01-02T16:12:00.000-06:00

Well New Year's has come and gone. Bryan and I did not stay up till mid-night. We went to sleep at 10 p.m.. I had a very bad sore throat which kept me up most of the night. Sunday morning... sore throat still looming then nauseousness, 101 fever, and headache arrived shortly after I woke up. My parents( who I couldn't function without ) graciously came and got Noah and took him to church while Bryan stayed home and took care of me. I was freezing and he kept having to bring me more blankets until finally he just resulted in laying on top of my body until my body temperature rose. I WAS SICK.He made me a grilled cheese to help with the nausea- then came up with a plan that we will go to my moms for lunch and take Noah a change of clothes so he can stay with them the rest of the day. Then we would go to the ONLY open Walk-in Clinic around on New Year's day and get me checked out. I slept the whole way to the doctor, and closed my eyes for the hour that I had to wait to be seen. STREP test came back positive immediately and she said I have a really bad case. Which is why I have been in constant pain for 2 WHOLE days. So far... no one else is showing any signs of having it. Bryan was off today so he watched Noah while I tried to keep my mind of the pain and disinfected every inch of the house.

Praying Strep Throat stops with me in our family.

These two have had lots of bonding time since we have tried to keep Noah away from me until I am 'not contagious' anymore.

Last week, Noah got to open one more Christmas present from my Grandma Nana.

We have all really enjoyed Mommy's Christmas present from my parents.....

First thing I tried was a new "Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe".

They were fabulous. The Kitchen-aid is A-mazing.

Noah also enjoyed Gavin's gift from Santa. Gavin and Noah have played together so much this weekend.

Bryan put up a 9 1/2 foot basketball goal Friday that someone he works with gave to us. It is Bryan and Gavin's daddy, Josh new favorite way to exercise and Noah and Gavin like it too.

Second time using my kitchen-aid I made homemade whipped cream for strawberry kiwi crepes.

Last time, I attempted homemade whipped cream (without a kitchen-aid stand mixer) I mixed it forever and it was still runny-tried chilling it for a little while... still soupy.... but this time... it worked like a charm.

and everyone loved the crepes. The recipe is on the back of the store bought crepe wrappers at Publix.

SEMI-HOMEMADE IS THE BEST WAY TO GO. Right, Sandra Lee?

We also tried out Noah's new shaving kit. I decided I would let him shave my face before I put it on his face.

(pictures didn't turn out very good. Camera was on a setting I don't know how to use and I didn't realize it until the moment had passed.)

Then I shaved Noah's face.

Then Noah shaved Daddy's face.

FYI:The razor is fake...

Christmas Traditions

2011-12-29T08:25:00.000-06:00

Are you tired of Christmas post yet? One more... just one more... I promise!

A few Christmas traditions.....

Every year I make sugar cookies for my family that loves them.

My brother-in-law always gets his own tin full of cookies just for him.

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls every Christmas morning with Orange Juice.

Christmas Pajamas.

This year Noah had several choices.

(My grandma works at Wal-mart so she always stocks up on their pj's when they are super cheap.)

Mickey Mouse, 'Toy to the World', and Reindeer collared PJ's from Wal-mart.

Last year's Christmas PJ's were Brady's hand-me-downs!

Christmas outfits are also a MUST! 2010

2011

Homemade

2011-12-28T08:01:00.000-06:00

It is no secret that Bryan and I live on a small income in able for me to stay home. I am a strict budgeter and pretty good at saving money so we do well with what we have. Though sometimes our plans and desires call for a bigger bank account. I have so many people in my life that I love and am so thankful for. If I could have- I would have gone out and bought them all new I-phones for Christmas(because right now that is 'my favorite thing' and I feel like the whole world should switch to i-phones!) I can't do that though... so I did the next best thing: homemade gifts. ha-ha Probably not the next best thing- although a few of the receivers of these gifts were pretty ecstatic about their 'hand-drawn' personalized ornament.

For my friend with a new baby girl, my pregnant friend, and my sister who is "Expecting again"(she is not that pregnant though)!

For my older brother and sister-in-law(They bought a New Home this year),

A Christmas tree for Norma and Alex,

and for my engaged friends- Rebecca and Matt!

I love this saying because it is so true for both sets of Noah's grandparents. He and Oston play so well together and have already made so many memories at Mimi and Pappy's house. Everyone always says Brady and Noah are more like brothers than cousins and that is because of all the fun memories they made at Sue Sue and Poppy's house!

After I gave my mom, sister, and older brother their ornament I had this feeling that my younger brother wanted one. ( I hadn't made him one because I didn't know if he even had a tree.) He does have a tree so.. I came home and made him one too ...last minute.

He just moved from Kentucky to California so I did his college UK sign 'to' Palm trees....???

We weren't exchanging gifts between siblings this year...but since my brothers and sister were getting Noah a gift. I thought I would do something small for them and say it was from Noah.

And now I will give away my secret...

Total cost of each ornament: $3.16.

If all 20 ornaments would have turned out- it would have made the total cost per ornament $1.90.

Supplies I had to buy: ribbon, ornaments, & paint pens.

I bought the ornaments and ribbon half-price at Hobby Lobby.

I bought two packs of paint pens from Wal-mart. (for a whooping 10 dollars cheaper a pack than what the craft stores were selling them for.)

Overall I gave out 12 different ornaments. Started with 20 and had to throw 8 out because of mistakes.

(Don't judge me- I am not crafty- I know 8 ruined ornaments is a lot but I am also extremely picky.)

I enjoyed making them and it helped with the stress of wanting to get so many people a gift but not wanting to blow the budget!

(Two ornaments not pictured. 1. Cassandra. 2. Brady's. I had already given them away before I took the pictures.)

Christmas afternoon and the day after...

2011-12-27T13:26:00.000-06:00

After presents from Santa, then church, I made us some Potato Soup- another recipe from Pinterest...and later Oston, Bryan's mom, and sister came over to exchange gifts.

Soup recipe is here.

I liked it but I actually thought it tasted better the next couple days warmed up.

We got Oston a light saber that actually lit up!

After they left.. Noah took a nap. He still wasn't feeling 100% so he and Bryan stayed home and I went to church that night by myself.

The next day Bryan's old roommate, Jason was in Nashville with his new baby and we went up there to meet little Charlie and spend some time with his family.

I got some snapshots with my phone.

Noah and Evey (Jason's older daughter)

He loved the tiara. I guess he has never really seen a toy one! haha

Charlie slept the whole time we were there so I don't have any pictures of him.

Bryan is back to work today(Dec 27th-Tuesday) and I have taken down all the Christmas decor.

Noah's rash is almost completely clear...but he is having some tummy issues today.

Considering not leaving the house again until this virus is completely out of sight.

More Christmas day!

2011-12-26T10:20:00.000-06:00

After we played with what Santa brought- we all had to get ready for church. My mom got Bryan a new lens for our camera and so we used it outside after church and got some really great pictures if I do say so myself!!!!

Our Family- Christmas 2011

and just because....

Our family- Christmas 2010!

Noah loves baseball or any kind of ball.

Ready to catch!

Good catch!

Isn't he handsome? I just can't get over it.

Christmas Morning

2011-12-26T08:43:00.001-06:00

Santa came to our house.

First thing... Noah ran to his new train and said, "Choo! Choo!"

But he gives equal amounts of love to every toy!

Santa filled his stocking with a movie, slinky, and BIG BOY UNDERWEAR. Uh oh.... I guess Santa thinks potty training is coming soon.

Noah picked out Daddy a gift and he was so excited to give it to him and help him open it!

Star Wars Yoda figure! haha

Daddy opened his stocking and Noah helped him read his new book!

He wanted to help me open my stocking too of course!

Then one more present from Mommy and Daddy!

The much anticipated fishing game he has wanted so so bad!

Noah made Mr. Bear breakfast and he fed him himself.

But Noah snuck in a few bits too ... he is a good cook!

Round Two Christmas Eve...

2011-12-25T17:47:00.003-06:00

went better than round one.

Noah was still sick sick....but he had some good moments. I had gotten a little relaxation during Noah's nap and it made all the difference.

Brady got a weed-eater from Uncle Bryan, Aunt Amy, and Noah.

Poppy loved his smoker from Cameron.

Cameron and Lauren got a new camera!

Noah had a real big surprise! Brady did the reveal and moved the tablecloth!

Happy moment!

He loved his house. The doorbell actually rings and Noah would say, "Ding-ding!"

Brady wouldn't go in the house at first. We finally convinced him to and he said, "Hey! This is a cool house!"

I wanted a Christmas PJ picture under my mom's tree but the only way to get them there was to occupy them with Apple's finest.

when one would look at me....

the other would look down.

Noah's loot from Sue Sue and Poppy's house. (Minus his house ... it was delivered today because we could not fit it last night!)

I think our family does a decent job not giving TOO many gifts... broken down ...

these are gifts from 10-ish family members:

Baseball tee from Uncle Cam and Aunt Lauren

Cars from Uncle Drew

Keyboard from Great Uncle Mike

Outfit and tricycle(in last post) from Great Mimi and Clark

Shoes, puzzle, ornament, shaving kit, and house from My mom and Poppy

Basketball goal, Elmo slippers and sketch pad from Uncle Caleb and Aunt Amber/Brady.

Crazy-town

2011-12-24T17:13:00.003-06:00

I should have probably walked into our family's Christmas brunch today with a sign on my chest reading, "Warning: Be Nice to me today or I will probably cry." And one on the back saying, "Even if you are nice to me .... I will probably cry."

After experiencing yesterday's doctor trip and fever spike that caused us to have one lethargic little boy. Thursday's major meltdown that I kid you not.... resulted in 4 of my friends calling or texting me to check on us the next day because Noah was so upset.(Love my friends- they really are always there with encouraging words.)

Then this morning, changing Noah's diaper and finding that he has a rash on his legs. Then a few hours later his left knee is swelling up like something a UFC fighter would have.

( I debated putting these pictures on here but I feel like they are necessary to show the full effect of my meltdown today ...read on.)

when he woke up....

about an hour later.

I was at my breaking point.

We called our doctor whom had a nurse call us back and she wasn't happy to be talking to me on Christmas Eve- so I pretty much ignored everything she said. Also I sent pictures to my mom and my nurse practitioner friend whose husband is a doctor. She wanted us to watch it and offered to come by and see him. We had to be at my moms at noon ... so we watched it a while and since it didn't get worse we went on to my moms. After a few hours there it started to get more red and swollen and few more spots popped up. I started to panic and asked if I could bring Noah to my doctor friend's house. She said she would send her husband and not to worry he was on his way. He examined Noah. Noah did so good because he loves Dr. Jeff. (They recently bonded while Dr. Jeff had to teach Noah in Bible Class one night.) I was a mess and cried the whole time Jeff was there. This is when the story enters crazy-town.

WELCOME TO CRAZY-TOWN.

I sometimes do this... get so overwhelmed that I start to cry and once I start... I.can.not.stop.

To make matters worse my two brothers were there and I know they think Amber and I are some kinda messed up because I swear to you every time they are in town one of us is crying like a baby. We did this growing up too but you know most people grow out of it. They prescribed Noah an antibiotic and said no more Ibuprofen because yesterday was Noah's first time having it... today a rash. You never know. Good news was his joints aren't sore and its not staff. No one really knows what is causing it but hopefully it will go away soon.

BREATHE.

That is the first half of our Christmas Eve.

We had to come home instead of sticking to our original plans of staying at my moms with all my brothers and sisters all day because Noah MUST have a nap today. We are supposed to go back and open gifts from my parents tonight. Noah has some really big surprises from Poppy and Sue Sue so I really hope when he wakes up we get a happier- little bit healthier baby boy.

Some pictures from earlier today.

I love my life. I really do. I try to live it accepting everything about it... the good,

the bad,

and the ugly.

Bless his little sick Christmas baby heart.

My grandma... the boy's great-grandma got them bikes this year. She likes to get them things they can grow into...

Above: The closest thing to a smile I could get today.

Baseball bats and ball was not a new gift. They are old and from the Dollar Store but still remain their favorite.

Yes - this young looking beauty above is my mother. She is graceful and poised and not an anxious hot mess like myself.

Wonder why our boys are so spoiled... they get this kind of attention by big crowds all the time. They don't know any different. Every-time they have a good hit with a baseball at least 10 people are clapping and cheering them on- that is their normal.

I had a hard time picking out my outfit today as well. I know this is totally shallow compared to having a sick Noah for Christmas but sometimes don't you just want to look cute or hip? I never shop anymore and the days of a getting "Lucky" or "Vogue" magazine in the mail each month are long gone. So I want to try new styles but don't really ever know if I am getting them right. I text me friend.. you know Cassandra and asked her, "Is this hip or 'someone trying to be hip'?

I got her approval and wore it. It was really more comfortable than a tight sweater and jeans(my other option) and that was what I was hoping for.

I also made my almost favorite snack ever that a friend from my old job made when I was pregnant.

Sausage Wontons

The first batch of 12 were eaten by Bryan and I alone for breakfast. They are seriously good.

Well at least I think so. My grandma not-so-much. She didn't realize that I had made them and she made a not so nice comment to me about them. Once I told her I made them- she loved them...(but couldn't eat it all because she was so full...???!!! )

Wrong day for my sensitive-self to get a bad critic on my cooking.

My grandpa ate 11 or something so it made up for it!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Sausage Wonton's

1 lb sausage - cooked & drained

2.2 oz jar drained/finely chopped olives

1/2 cup red bell pepper

1 cup Ranch dressing

1 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cup monterey jack cheese

1 package of Wonton wrappers - usually found in the fresh food section of Kroger/Wal-Mart. But you can make yours from scratch if you prefer:)

Mix all ingredients together. Heat the wontons up in muffin pan on 350 degrees for 5 minutes, then stuff them with mixture & cook for another 5 minutes.

Oh no!

2011-12-23T19:52:00.000-06:00

Okay so I lied.... there may not be as many Christmas festivity post as I thought. Being busy= forgetting your camera and not having time/energy to post a blog. Not to mention we found out today that Noah has a cold/virus and will most likely run a fever until Christmas.

Here is what we have been up too.

Tuesday night was our church Christmas party for the little kids and gift exchange. (Didn't take my camera- so I am stealing this from my sister. You can see me attempting to get Noah to stand there and sing with the other children.

Noah got some sort of Transformer army tank that Daddy said we had to put away until he got bigger because there are too many small parts... but he was very satisfied with it when he opened it!

Wednesday afternoon is when I am assuming his sickness started. He was very upset for most of the day and it was rough! That night was church night.

Thursday was our friend Jessica's annual Christmas party. Noah cried almost the entire time we were there. I thought it was his teeth because he was drooling and chewing on his fingers.

Today I went to put some clothes away in Noah's room while he was napping and I noticed he was just lying in his bed with his eyes open. I quietly left the room and waited a little bit before I went back to check on him. When I checked on him about 10 minutes later-he was still just lying there with his eyes open. He wouldn't get up and reach for me or anything. NOT NORMAL. So I picked him up and immediately realized he was burning up. Took his temperature and it read 102.7. Highest temperature he has ever had. I called the doctor and with Christmas two days away and their office closing early tomorrow they wanted me to bring him in immediately. They gave me an appointment 45 minutes from when I called. We live 30 minutes from our doctor's office so off we went with my wet hair and our sweats.

Thankfully they think it is just a cold virus in which he will probably run a fever until Christmas day. He is contagious- so I am about 99% sure I will have this same virus in a couple days.

Today is Brady's birthday and we had plans with our family for a big birthday dinner. We couldn't go. Tomorrow my brother comes in to town for less than 24 hours and so that is our only chance to celebrate Christmas with our entire family- I really hope Noah feels good enough to go.

In some ways I am relieved that he is sick and not just entering a new stage. Last night was by far the worst he has ever acted and it shook Bryan and I too our core. We just couldn't believe our eyes that this was our baby. He hit another baby in the back with a hammer. He cried if someone shut a door or walked in front of him. Tears and screaming and screaming and tears.

The words "Well this is going to be a fun Christmas" came out of my mouth in a very sarcastic resentful tone.

I think/pray/hope that if we can keep his temperature down then he will still be able to enjoy Christmas.

We are excited to spoil our sweet boy to pieces!

Merry Christmas Y'all!

Oh Santa, you shouldn't have?!

2011-12-20T08:51:00.002-06:00

You see Santa sent Noah's workbench in a box with a note that his elves were behind asking if Bryan and I could do his dirty work and put it together. We must be on some list at the North Pole of "Parents who won't say No" because last year Santa sent us the same note.... but who can say 'No' to Santa... so last night, Norma and Alex came and picked Noah up and watched him for a couple of hours while Bryan and I tackled the daunting project.

I laid out all the pieces before Bryan got home. My first thought was, "How is that going to become that cute little workbench we saw at the store?"

In no time...Bryan had it standing on four legs.

We read some reviews saying to allow 4 hours to put this thing together.....

ONE hour after we started.... Ta-Da!

I learned my lesson last year on what my role is when we put together toys for Noah. Be quiet, be available if I need to hold something in its place, and be quiet.

I struggle with rule number 1 and 3.... so I put together the helicopter to keep my mind busy.

No bad... aye?

Noah had fun with Norma and Alex... he found their snow globes first thing apparently! Have I mentioned that he is OBSESSED with snow globes!

They gave him a bath and he apparently laughed and made them laugh the whole time.

I was a little worried he would cry and not want to go with them because he hasn't really ever gone with anyone besides grandparents and my sister without me. (Except when he was a tiny baby.) But he went smiling ear to ear! Why I worry? I have no clue...

They brought him back to us around 7:30 or 8 and because they are the sweetest... they even made him a plate for Santa's cookies. I love it. The best part is they gave me a blank one just in case I wanted to make one too.... I think I will... but who should I make it for????

Onto other news, Ponyo has taken a back seat to Noah's new favorite movie. Every morning he brings me Robin Hood now .... I sure hope Santa can fit a couple more movies in his stocking because I can now recite both of these movies in my sleep.

(Disclaimer: morning we watch TV while mommy wakes up, manages the bank account, cleans house, gets laundry started, and/or sometime gets in a shower. Then we have school or play outside. Lunchtime follows, then naps, then snack and maybe a 30 minute show, followed by Mommy and Noah playtime, then cook supper for Daddy when he comes home.- felt like I needed to clarify that we don't watch TV all day)

I thought I would post our outside Christmas lights.... but that is harder to get a picture of than you would think! Snowman on porch and wrapped garland around the post.

Red lights wrapped around back porch and you can see our Christmas tree though the back windows... picture didn't turn out... best I could do.

FAMILY NEWS:

My cousin Pepper graduated this weekend from MTSU's nursing program. We went to her 'pinning' Friday night. Very proud of her and her accomplishments!

Saturday afternoon, we spent at church for our annual Christmas for the Kids lunch. This year it was focused just on families who have had to leave the home because of an abusive spouse. That made it extra special because we all knew these families could really use some extra love during the holiday season.

All the presents.

Noah stealing again....

After we left church, we went to help my Grandma set up her TV's and satellite in her new house. Bryan set up the TV's while Noah and I visited. My Grandma on my mom's side just moved to our town. They used to live about an hour away. We are very happy to have them closer and a bigger part of the little one's lives.

Also,

My sister has officially announced to everyone that she is having another baby. She heard the heartbeat yesterday and everything is looking great! I CAN'T wait to meet Spider. Brady has named him/her Spider and so that is what everyone in our family is already calling baby Barrett # 2. This kid doesn't have a chance.

Last night, was our only night free until after Christmas(hence why we had to put Noah's present together so early) ... so lots and lots of Christmas festivity post to come!

More Bounce and More Santa....

2011-12-16T13:52:00.001-06:00

I know what your are thinking..... okay Amy... hasn't Noah seen Santa 3 times and won't this be the third post about a 'bounce place' in just a couple weeks. Yes and yes.... but today I couldn't help myself.

The bouncy place was having a Cookies with Santa open bounce day for preschool age children and under. So I invited some of the girls with kids from church- my sister and friend Stephanie & their kiddos said they could make it....

Noah and I went early and had a breakfast date at Chick-fil-a. He talked my head off and thought he was big stuff getting to sit on the booth all by himself. I remember taking my nephew Oston to a restaurant when he was little, just me and him... and he did the same thing. It's good to have our one on one outings sometimes!

Noah and I got there early which gave him time to play in the little arcade.

Noah's favorite spot... clinging to my legs!

I have to admit I might have just as much fun bouncing and sliding down the slides as the kids. That is one of the great things about parenthood. You get to experience your childhood all over again but this time they have way cooler things for you to do than when you were a kid!

Brady and his best friend Grady! They had so much fun...getting to bounce for two hours with your best friend is pretty much a 3 year old's dream come true.

Santa and snack time followed.

Addie stood next to him long enough to get a picture of her- arms length away from him.

Grady and Brady not so much.

Please take notice of Santa's hairy legs showing under his pants and above his boots.....

Noah pushed through all the kids and ran straight up to Santa. Like a pro, he sat right in his lap.. reached immediately for his candy bag... then was on his way.

Below... Noah waving bye bye to Santa.

We were laughing because Addie was looking rough and the boys just looked exactly the same.... poor girls just can't pull off the sweating and messed up hair as well as boys can.

Everyone wore their Christmas shirts..... so adorable!

Noah started to have a melt down as we were eating our snacks... so I decided we better head home. Addie turned to me as I was leaving and said, "This was so fun. I really hope we get to come back here sometime!" That is what I like to hear!

Also.... they had a Hurricane wind simulator and I thought it would be fun for the kids so I wanted them to all get in and try it... It started off exciting then they all became terrified and left my sister to experience the hurricane alone... here's a quick video of the experience.

With Christmas comes...

2011-12-15T13:29:00.001-06:00

Even though Santa is really busy this time of the year... he still found time to visit our small town's Story-time. Noah heard the jingle bells and "Ho! Ho! Ho!" coming down the stairs. In his small baby boy voice he repeated, "Ho! Ho! Ho!" and flashed everyone with that did-you-hear-what-I-just-said smile. I love that smile.

Hesitant at first but as soon as he saw the jolly ol' fat man was giving away candy-it was a no-brainer and he was in his lap faster than you can say, "Rudolph".

We ate reindeer donuts and reindeer cupcakes and cinnamon rolls and peanut butter balls and popcorn and ham rolls and all the yummy treats that kid's Christmas party's bring.

Reindeer donuts courtesy of yours truly.

This week also brought a new habit of Noah crying when Daddy leaves for work. Bryan has been working a lot this month and Noah has taken notice. He whines and chases him to the door calling, "Dada, Dada". He climbs over the couch saying, "I go." It breaks Bryan's heart.... but with Christmas brings extra time with daddy and no late meetings!

This week's gift we let him open.... magnet letters for the fridge.(AKA- Mommy's attempt to occupy him while I cook).....It failed. He likes them but helping mommy cook he likes more.

December Bounce Party # 2!

2011-12-12T16:06:00.000-06:00

Our neighbor Gavin turns 3 the same day as my nephew Brady.. Dec.23rd.

Jenny had Gavin's party this Saturday and Noah attended his 2nd ever Bounce Party!

They are really fun!

All the boys below listening to the rules. Brady came with us because his mommy and daddy had a work party to attend.

Noah and I jumping. Noah's new favorite word...."JUMP, JUMP!, JUMP!"

Brady lovin' it!

Me watching from the outside...look at Brady's hair!?!

Bryan taking Noah down the big slide!

And birthday boy!

"The Sweetest Thing"

2011-12-10T11:12:00.002-06:00

Wednesday night we decided to let Noah open another present.

It was a 'learn your numbers dvd'. He has "The Letter Factory" from the same company and has learned all his letter sounds from it, so we thought the number one would be good to have.....

Noah liked it a little but it really isn't as educational as the previous one. So we were a little disappointed.

Thursday we made it back to Story-time...after missing it for about 4 weeks in a row!

Noah made these mittens!

I love this time of the year, opening the mailbox and everyday getting a new Christmas card to display!

I found a little elf hiding behind our stockings.

Do you see him?

Friday night, our good friends Cassandra and Ethan came over.

I made Christmas dinner: Ham, Broccoli Casserole, fresh corn, mashed potatoes, and chocolate chip pie!

Who knew you could cook a ham in the crock-pot!?

Before our friends arrived, he got a new toy. A lady from Bryan's work gave him this 'old school' toy that she had when she was little. Noah loved it!

Cassandra and Ethan also brought him some Christmas presents!

He got a drum and a pillow pet! LOVES them both.

(Stealing these pictures from Cassandra)

CeCe used to be Noah's favorite but he has a new love for Ethan.

He feel asleep finally around 10:45- head on CeCe's leg and feet on Ethan's lap.

Probably the sweetest thing ever.

Around here...

2011-12-07T13:51:00.001-06:00

This week...

Noah's new favorite ... eating Daddy's cereal for breakfast!

Such a big boy!

Want some?

And he has wanted hot dogs everyday for lunch this week. He loves ketchup..can you tell?

Tuesday night I went to a cookie swap and Pampered Chef party with my mom and sister.

These are the cookies I made to 'swap'!

I came back with a plate full of all kinds of Christmas cookies!

I have to say it was nice to have a girl's night.

We are two peas in a pod though. Anything I do ...he must do.

Today we enjoyed our snowy day!

This gives you an idea of the accumulation we got.... it is kind of pitiful actually.

But around here we do pitiful. We treat it like its 6 inches or 3 feet or the best snow we have ever seen.

Insanity

2011-12-06T14:13:00.000-06:00

I briefly mentioned the other day about the chaos that was Christmas pictures of Brady and Noah.

As soon as Brady realized we wanted to take his picture he burst into tears and cries of

"I DON'T WANT TO TAKE MY PICTURE!"

He had to be taken away for a bit and we decided to try and get Noah's picture by himself first.

But naturally because Brady was crying... Noah's lips started quivering and he started to cry as well.

Our first picture taken.....

Bless it!

Then came an array of unusable pictures.

We got a couple cute ones where Grandma Sue Sue played Santa.

Trying to get a picture of the boys together, looking at camera.... and smiling was almost too much to ask.

We got one -kind of.

We tried everything- flying chocolate chips, peak-a-boo with a pink boa, giant rubby ducky......

all we got was some classic "deer in the headlight" looks in our direction.

A change of the outfit was sure to do the trick!

Brady finally displayed his true cuteness!

Noah was ready to run around.

If this picture below could talk it would be saying, "I don't want to hug Noah."

But it can't talk so it says, "Aww, aren't they sweet?"

Anyways..... Merry Christmas?

oh so funny.....

2011-12-04T16:16:00.000-06:00

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday

2011-12-04T15:18:00.003-06:00

Noah attended his first bounce-house birthday party!

After he woke up a little and Mommy and Daddy showed him how to jump and go down the slides... he loved it.

They had some strange German (read the package) prizes in the arcade game?????

Elastische Handschellen

HI HA HA HI

Bryan had to get a pic!

Birthday girl Sophie turned 3. I used to work with her mommy and this is the first time she and Noah have ever met.

She is super sweet!

We really had a lot of fun and I got to see a few of my long lost work friends and their babies!

Quick Post about our Friday

2011-12-03T19:09:00.000-06:00

Friday morning we painted a picture and a foot.

Nice weather called for dirt in the fingernails.

After naps- I met my sister at the library where her and Brady attend Story-time and the Sugar Plum Fairy read us a story.

Danced

and danced some more.

Brady loved it. This precious face of amazement came with "OOH and AHHH's".

Noah was committed to maintaining his man-hood and kept a straight, "WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?" face for the entire performance. (Though he watched intently-never cracked a smile.)

Christmas storefronts are the best.

Alien Frosty was fun from afar.

Scary close up....

By nightfall, when no one was looking...Noah showed his feminine side and put make-up on Mommy.

and loved it!

Happy day!

recently....

2011-12-01T19:55:00.003-06:00

When I was little I was constantly hanging on my mom, hiding behind her skirt, pulling on her.

Well.....

you know what they say about payback.... ;) haha

Noah is a cling-on, a leech, a suction cup attached only to me.

Yesterday- we made Bryan's favorite meal: stir-fry.

But all this chopping could not have happened without our good old friend....

REMEMBER? or you know that one-time...

Good thing Noah is so small for his age. This has saved me so many times.

Thursday morning(this morning), we got ready early and headed to get Noah and Brady some Christmas pictures made.

My mom had this great idea that they needed Christmas pictures together.

It was absolute chaos.

Moving on....

after pictures, lunch... we went to feed the ducks.

Noah and my mom waving bye bye to the duckies.

Blowing the duckies kisses...

I needed to stop at Target before heading home but I REALLY wanted to keep Noah awake until after I had finished shopping. I gave him my I-phone to keep him awake for the carride from the duck park to Target. That worked. He played with that a while and let me shop peacefully. Then handed me the phone, looked down at the floor, closed his eyes, and the rest is history.

I carried him through the checkout, to the car, into his carseat..without him waking up. THAT IS ALMOST UNREAL FOR MY LITTLE LIGHT SLEEPER! He normally wakes up at the littlest sound and won't fall asleep unless he has zero distractions.

He woke up as we were pulling into the garage.

I started supper right away. I saw this recipe on Pinterest and was excited to try it!

Here is her picture...

Here is mine...

Okay so obviously I am not an professional food photographer.....

It was really yummy but it made way too much!

So I called one of my nauseated-all-the-time pregnant friends whose husband has been doing most of their cooking lately and asked if they had eaten yet. They hadn't and her husband just so happened to be close to our house at the time- so I sent the rest home with them. I really didn't want to have to waste all that food!

Bryan had to leave after dinner to teach guitar lessons. While I was in the bathroom- I noticed Noah was really quiet which normally means he is up to no good.

This is what I found.

He is obsessed with all things technology!

(Ignore our messy desk-this is the 'man room' in our house and I gave up on trying to keep it organized a long time ago.)

Today also happens to be December 1st. December is CRAZY busy for us so that means lots and lots of Christmas post to come!

A year!

2011-11-30T14:03:00.001-06:00

Today- one year ago- I finished my last day as a working mom. For one WHOLE year I have been a stay at home mom!

One year ago.

This past year- I cried less, wasn't as stressed, had a cleaner house, read 18 books, cooked a lot, got a lot more sleep, ate healthier, got sick less, spent more time doing church related things, I made a total of 50.00 dollars salary all year(for putting up my Grandma's Christmas tree), missed my SF friends, got a little lonely at times, I went to sleep happy, woke up happy(even on Mondays), and gave lots and lots of kisses at all times of the day to a really sweet strawberry blonde little boy who calls me Mommy!

18 books:
1,2 and 3 The Twilight Saga: Twilight, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn {I thought these books were entertaining but not my favorite.}
4(Seeking Spiritual Beauty by Sheila Butt) {This one has some really good take-a-ways.}
5,6,7,8,9,10,11 Harry Potter: (The Sorcerer's Stone)(The Chamber of Secrets)(Prisoner of Azkaban)(Goblet of Fire)(The Order of Phoenix)(The Half-Blood Prince)(The Deathly Hallows){MY FAVORITE>>> I LOVED THESE BOOKS!} So glad Bryan bought me the first one for Christmas last year and encouraged me to try them out.
12,13,14 The Hunger Games Trilogy: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay){These are really entertaining. I like them better than Twilight. I am excited about the movies too because they look like they stayed true to the book. We shall see.}
15- Gone with the Wind {Starts off SLOW, but then it gets really good! Nothing better than a classic!}
16- The Help {I liked this book. I just thought it could have ended better. I wanted some loose ends tied up concerning some of the characters. But beggars can't be chooses right?}
17- Time Traveler's Wife {Raunchy- too much so for me}
18- Water for Elephants { sweet book- better than I expected}
Two books of the Bible: Genesis and Revelation. I didn't do the first and last on purpose. Just kind of how it worked out.
I also started to read The Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I couldn't get into it so I decided to return it before I finished it. It is a series- I may try it again someday.
And Ellen's book... Seriously I'm Kidding. I never finished. It was funny at first then it just got repetitive from the jokes and things she talks about on her show...
Books on my list for year 2 of being at SAHM: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series and the Narnia series. Any other suggestions?

*Some of my Favorite meals:
Chicken Enchilada Casserole
1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup
1 small sour cream
1 can of green chilis
1 small onion(chopped)
1 pound of shredded cooked chicken
Tortilla chips
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Mix first 5 ingredients. Layer crushed chips(cover bottom of pan),chicken mixture, cheese, repeat.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
YUM- I take this a lot to the new mommy's at church. It is always a big hit.

I am adding this recipe because I posted a picture here and several people have asked me for the recipe since. Sorry it took so long... I really hate typing out recipes- but this is a special post so here ya are!
Chicken 'n' Spinach Pasta Bake
8 oz uncooked rigatoni
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 bag of fresh spinach
3 cups of cubed chicken cooked
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 container of chive and onion cream cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
Prepare Rigatoni according to package. spread oil on bottom of pan and onion. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Transfer onion to large bowl. Set aside.
Drain and chop spinach. Stir rigatoni,chicken and next 4 ingredients into onion bowl. spoon mixture into baking dish and sprinkle evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake, covered, at 375 for 30 minutes. uncover and bake for 15 more minutes or until bubbly.

Salary: 50.00 for the year.

Last weekend, my grandma had given me 50 dollars for putting up her tree and she specifically said, "Take Noah out to eat and buy him a steak!" haha We took him to Samurai. I have been craving Hibachi for months but my appetite was nothing compared to little Noah's. He ate more than I did. I got one bite of my soup! He had three helpings of fried rice from my bowl and noodles from daddy. He had 6 pieces of steak. That's a lot for my little 22 pound-er! I warmed the leftovers up for Noah and I to share for lunch but I quickly realized he wasn't going to share. I think that is his new favorite restaurant. He was terrified of the fire... he didn't cry- he just wanted to sit in Mommy's lap until it was over! A couple we were eating with was so surprised when they asked us if he was afraid of the fire and we said, "We don't know. He has only been here once when we was a little baby." I guess they eat out a lot. It made me realize how much more I appreciate those little nights out!

Well raise your ~~glass~~ mouse with me, "CHEERS to what the next year may bring!"

Overachievers

2011-11-28T18:31:00.002-06:00

This weekend Bryan and I were overachievers and actually finished our Christmas shopping. We did NOT do the black Friday thing. We went on Saturday and Sunday and realized you can find some really good deals then too without the lines. Noah got a lot more for Christmas than we were planning because we found so many things so CHEAP!

We let him open one gift when we got home! haha

Bryan and I kept finding little things we wanted to get him... Example- (Me: learning your numbers DVD) (Bryan...light saber) Yes- he is too young for this. Yes- he hits us with it. But he loves it and that is what matters.

We decided he might be overwhelmed if we save everything we got for Christmas so he will get to open little things from now until Dec. 25th!

We went ahead and got our big gifts to each other as well. I really wanted some brownish/tan boots and Bryan really wanted some TOMS. But we both wanted to try them on and pick them out ourselves. So Sunday we did just that!

Shoes for Christmas!

Today I was making a meal for a friend from church who just had a little girl. I ended up cooking all day and going to the grocery store three times because I can't seem to remember anything and Noah didn't get a nap... but it was worth it. She is precious.

She really was beautiful and her mommy was doing so well! I had a great time visiting with them!

A little bit of our Thanksgiving...

2011-11-25T18:04:00.003-06:00

Earlier this week-Noah and I went to help my grandmother, Noah's great grandmother put up her Christmas tree and she has the best toy.

A walker. Noah loved it!

They walked around with it for an hour.

I was left in the living room to put up the tree alone with my grandma's husband-my step-grandpa.

I was in one of the awkward situations where I didn't know what to talk to him about so I decided to talk to him about his cattle.

Here is the best question I came up with.....

"So Clark...do you milk your cows?"

I found out he doesn't. My next question, "Do you get out there with them in the snow?"

Seriously AMY- I really think staying at home is messing with my social skills!

Thanksgiving morning- I made blueberry pancakes for Noah, myself, and Bryan.

Then we got ready and headed to my mom's house for lunch.

My mom has a huge family so there is always 25-30 people there and there are 7 kiddos now!

I didn't take my camera but my mom did so I may steal some of her pictures later.

That night we stayed home and watched "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving!"

Brady was coming to spend the night too so his mommy and daddy could do their midnight Black Friday shopping.

He arrived around 9 or 9:30 and we all stayed up a little longer and watched Noah's favorite movie, "Ponyo."

Friday morning, I made chocolate chip pancakes and the boys played until it was time to go to Bryan's parents house for their Thanksgiving.

Brady and Oston played restaurant.

Then they went out to feed the chickens, goat, and horses and then raked hay. They loved raking the hay and did not want to stop to go home!

Brady passed out on the car-ride home with a sucker in his mouth.

It's been a good Thanksgiving.

Mystery meat!

2011-11-23T14:54:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving....

I made these turkey cookies for tomorrow to take to my mom's house.

They took forever..... I had to let Noah watch a Curious George marathon all morning just to get them done. It totally went against my motherly instinct but once I had started them I had no choice but to finish and the only way to finish was to preoccupy him with television.

I don't know about you but this is a constant struggle at my house.

How much TV is too much?

Anyways, I cook a lot. I cook supper pretty much every night. We rarely go out to eat but sometimes we do have frozen pizza(last night) or sometimes its Hamburger Helper or a frozen Viola meal.

We have a few supper staples that we have at least once a month.

Spaghetti is one of them.

Noah LOVES spaghetti night!

I consider myself a good cook. I like cooking. I think I am a creative cook and it comes natural to me.

(Not many things come natural to me- In other words I am not good at much else.)

But sometimes I mess up and we end up eating cereal, ordering in, or just eating dessert for dinner.

For instance:

-I might have grabbed the extra super spicy Buffalo BBQ Chicken Pizza when I think I am buying the normal BBQ Chicken Pizza. It might have been so spicy our lips stung for an hour after one bite.

-I might have picked out this new inventive recipe called Jeweled Quinoa that may have been good for you but wasn't so good to taste.

-I might have made one too many double layer cakes that cracked down the middle and slipped right off the cake stand.

- I may have made homemade yeast rolls that took me 7 hours to make ...looked beautiful but tasked like baking soda and salt. Maybe one of my friends ate 5 to be nice....Noah might have spit them onto his plate.

-Once I cooked a casserole with a plastic lid in the oven. My house smelled like burnt plastic for hours and my husband and 3 month old baby had to sit outside in the cold while it aired out. I mean I might have done that. Of course...this is all hypothetically speaking.

-Maybe I bought, cooked, and served a mysterious meat that cooked up white instead of brown for my spaghetti. Maybe Noah was the only one who ate it.... of course I didn't really do that. (???yes I did)

Sometimes I have kitchen disasters. I hate kitchen disasters but at the same time I love them.

It's embarrassing and disappointing but so FUNNY at the same time.

My mom was an excellent cook and in the 20 years I lived with her I remember one really bad meal.

Sloppy Joe Bake.

My Gary ate one bite then put his fork down and just walked silently to the living room, turned on the TV and never said a word.

Amber and I have never let it go.

Now Bryan does the same thing to me. The other night after the mystery meat fiasco he suggested I write about it on my blog. So here it is.... my story of a few unappetizing dinners and kitchen bloopers.

I am giving you permission to laugh at me.

Home for the Holidays.

2011-11-21T15:17:00.000-06:00

Took some pictures after church of Noah.

Sweet boy wouldn't part with passy.

Today we decorated the rest of the house for Christmas.

Hung the stockings.

Set the table.

I bought these dishes 3 or 4 years ago. I had never noticed before that they are a family of three reindeer.

Daddy, Mama with her scarf, and baby boy reindeer! Kind of like our little family. :)

It's the little things that get me.....

Noah is totally amazed now with the decorations. He loved helping me put them up.

Santa came to town!

2011-11-19T11:07:00.002-06:00

Last night, our town had the annual Merchant's Christmas. All the businesses on the square stay open till 8 and have drawings,food, and decorations. Santa comes on a horse and carriage and takes pictures with the little ones. I have looked forward to this since last year. It just gets me in the holiday spirit!

Noah wore his new Christmas shirt! He got lots of sweets before he saw Santa!

When it came time to see Santa, he got really serious. He wasn't scared and he didn't cry. He just would not smile! Then when we left he started blowing him kisses.

2011 2010

Last year, he was a little more mesmerized by him.

My baby is growing fast!

After santa pictures and little window shopping, my friend Ana picked me up and we headed to see Breaking Dawn...from the Twilight Saga.

I know these are horrible pictures but this one took accidently and it cracks me up....

Ana and I talked constantly because we are always so behind in each other's life that we can't shut up when we get together! My phone caught us chatting it up during the previews.

We met our friend Jessica there and her cousin Olivia.

I thought the movie was a little corny. (Don't hate me!)

I am not a huge Twilight fan but I read all the books and they were an interesting read. And R.P. is definatly a heartthrob!

It was a really fun girls night-but-

Truthfully... I think Stephen King( or whoever said this) said it best.

“Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend.”

HARRY POTTER FOR LIFE!!! I just love HP...what can I say? :)

Yesterday, afternoon while Noah napped... I got a little excited and put up my Christmas tree!

I was so excited for him to wake up and see it...then he woke up .... saw it and burst into tears.

He kicked the couch.

We think he is opposed to change and we had rearrange the furniture and put some of his toys away to fit the tree.

Thankfully this morning... he sang a different tune.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year"

It's a beautiful life.

Best Buds.

2011-11-18T09:32:00.000-06:00

As I have gotten older, I have realized how important friends are. One really good friend can make you feel like you have millions of friends.

I don't know if Noah has a Best Friend...but I think Gavin would be pretty close if he did.

Gavin is our neighbor and when we come home... the first thing Noah does is look over to see if their garage door is open.... if it is ...he makes a run for it. If Gavin is outside and we pull into the driveway...before I can even get out of the car...Gavin is by Noah's window peaking in yelling, "Noah come play. Noah come play!"

This week as Jenny and I were talking....Gavin and Noah grab each other's hand and just start walking down our street.

Then they made "dirt angels" in the wet sand.

Which meant next would be bath-time. Gavin washed Noah and everything. He lifted up his arm and washed under his arm, under his neck, it was sweet and hilarious.

I grew up really close to my neighbors and I love that Noah gets to experience that too.

Just the 3 of us.

2011-11-17T11:04:00.000-06:00

Next week is Thanksgiving and we have plans that fill up two days worth of family gatherings and good food. But last night ....a tradition was born and we had our own Thanksgiving dinner.

In true southern girl style, I put on my pearls (with my sweat pants) and cooked all day for my boys.

Turkey, dressing, peas, gravy, and a big chocolate cake with homemade whipped cream in the middle.

This was only my second turkey ever! It was yummy.... but I still have a whole lot of practice ahead of me to make gravy like his mama makes it! I loved cooking, setting the table, and dining with my two boys. Christmas music was playing, Mele Kalikimaka played as I served dessert and we were taken back to our Hawaiian honeymoon 4 years ago.

Next week will be fun, the gravy will be tastier, but nothing beats a quiet Thanksgiving at home just the 3 of us.

My heart is full.... they are more than I deserve. So thankful.

LONG weekend!

2011-11-14T09:18:00.000-06:00

Friday night, a bunch from Bryan's work wanted to go see Paranormal Activity 3.... so against my better judgment I agreed to go. We saw an early movie- so my sister kept Noah for a couple of hours while we watched- while I closed my eyes for two hours. I was terrified, Bryan and his friends were disappointed.

Bryan was off all day Friday- so before we took Noah to my sister's house- we did a little window shopping and took Noah to feed the ducks!

Some of the ducks got a little too close to Noah! But he didn't mind!

I have countless videos on my phone of him laughing and running with the ducks!

Sunday after church- we took advantage of the 70 degree weather and headed to the zoo one last time before it gets too cold!

Big boy with his map!

We went later in the day and because it wasn't hot ... the animals were a lot closer and more active! It was great!

Noah still loves the fish. Can't wait to take him back to the aquarium.

Anteater.

It was a really fun day!

Also, for those who were wondering.... Saturday- Oston and Bryan's mom came over and we were telling her our "Santa" problem and she said, "Well, I will buy him the kitchen." So I looked it up to show her and it was on sale.... 22 dollars off! So she handed me her credit card and told me to order it. So Noah is getting both the workbench and kitchen after-all. We may have to put away a few toys to fit all his new stuff but I think he is going to have a fun-filled Christmas!

Santa needs a little help....

2011-11-11T13:12:00.004-06:00

Happy Veteran's Day!

This is our Veteran friend Steven (holding Noah)! March 2010

Thankful for him, his time spent serving our country, and the fact that he is still with us today!

And the fact that Bryan is off today! YEAH!!!

Yesterday, Noah and I went to pick Daddy up from work and then went out to eat.

Noah always has fun visiting Daddy's work! So many places to run!

We are trying to do all our Christmas shopping early this year.... but we are kind of stuck on what Santa should bring Noah.

Last year , Santa got Noah one big gift(The Cozy Coupe- which he has loved! Great buy!), his foam letter mat for the floor, and then filled his stocking.

Noah also got a small wrapped present from Mommy and Daddy.

This year- our plan is to have one big gift from Santa again... and fill his stocking.

And hopefully a train to go around the Christmas tree from Mommy and Daddy.

Originally, we Santa had planned on getting him a kitchen. I picked this one out.

He loves to cook and he always plays with our friend's kid's kitchens! I know he would love it....

But last night, as we were out- we stepped inside this toy store and Noah found this workbench and loved it. He played and played with it until we had to leave.

(It's Melissa and Doug, ... so I know the quality vote goes to the workbench)

It will definatly grow with him but I do wonder if he is too young for it right now?

We just can't make up our mind. We really shouldn't get both because of space in our house and budget.

We know he would love either one... but we are just back and forth about it!

SO MOTHER'S, AUNTS, BABYSITTERS, GRANDMOTHERS out there..... what do you think? Which one should we ask 'Santa' for????

A Little Bit of Our Week

2011-11-10T11:59:00.001-06:00

Phone pics from our week... .

Sunday night- ~~Bryan and the nerds of the century-~~, Bryan and his friends finished their D&D game.

Noah is also a nerd so he had to be all up in the action.

One day..... I don't remember when....

We made brownies from scratch! Noah LOVES to help cook.

Like he LOVES it, literally runs as fast as he can to the kitchen when I say, do you want to come help mommy cook?

Yesterday we had haircuts.

Today was our BIG monthly/bi-weekly grocery trip to Kroger.

Sometimes I think I loose my mind in the grocery store.- trying to stick to my list/count items so I can get the buy 10 save 5 deal/stick to my budget/push a 100 pound cart/and keep my 19 month old happy(because every 19 month old is happy while trapped in a wire cart forced to sit and preferably be quiet for an ~~hour~~, hour and a half)..... sometimes I get a little stressed and make really ~~dumb,stupid,~~ rash decisions.

Today while picking up a package of mini chocolate chips- Noah caught a glimpse of them and would not stop reaching/whining/screaming for them. I let him hold them... but he wanted

(as I am typing this..Noah just walked behind me with a pen and drew on my white shirt that I am wearing...seriously...)

Anyways... he wanted the chocolate chips opened. Every part of me said, that will make a big mess...and those are MINI chips... so that is even harder to pick up and easier to spill.

I opened them. I know, STUPID.

We spilled them 3 times.

Kroger employees hate us.

We are the example of a terrible customer:

Screaming baby/we leave a trail of mini chocolate chips behind us/I don't pay attention to where I am pushing my cart-so we hog the aisle/and I am a total pain at the register/price checking/handing coupons one by one/running back to the aisle while in line to grab more items.

I am sorry Kroger... I don't know how this happened. I haven't always been this way. I used to be the easy breezy gal who didn't even use coupons.

I should add.... yes this is our life.... but I do love it. I do.

Haircuts!

2011-11-09T13:29:00.000-06:00

A year ago, I was finishing up my last few weeks as a working mom. I had my hairstylist die my hair dark....close to my roots color to try and get all the blonde out. Trying to maintain blonde hair can get expensive. I decided while I am young enough that I don't have to color my hair to cover the grey.. I should enjoy it. So we colored it a few shades darker than my roots.

My co-workers got me a gift certificate to have my hair done again as my going away present.

And..... well..... a year kinda went by.... I had not colored/or cut my hair.

TODAY I CUT MY HAIR FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A YEAR.

(I used the gift card. Thanks guys!)

I know that is hard to believe by the pictures that I had not done anything to the color in a year.

The summer sun and just a year of hair washing faded my hair drastically. I now have a mixture of blonde/natural color. But I think we are closer to my natural hair color than I have been in a LONG time.

I think I have consistently colored/cut my hair every 3-6 months since I was in 8th grade-so going a year is a big deal for me!

I hope to donate my hair after I let it grow maybe another year!

I have always wanted to donate my hair.... but I have never had the guts to cut 10 inches at once!

Noah also had his first PROFESSIONAL haircut today. I trimmed the back once.... (Remember)

I think we cut and inch off my hair..so you may not even be able to tell. I also got a feather put in!

Noah is getting to be more and more of a handful as we approach the ~~terrible~~ twos. So I was kind of nervous about how he would do today.

I was soooooo proud of him! He did so much better than expected.

Bridget got down on the ground and let him play while she cut.

He would not wear the cape-so his hair was all over him.

(I still had my cape on from my haircut)

He got a little tired of it once and turned around and said, "Don't do that!"

I gave him the i-phone then and he never looked up. He loves the i-phone! It's kinda of obsession.

At first it worried Bryan and I how much he loves tech stuff.... computers/i-phone/i-pad/blackberrys/dvd players/amps/video games....

But Bryan said the other day...I guess we should just go with it and encourage him ...if that is what he likes. So that is what we are trying to do right now.

(Above: better view of the cut)

(The back- bye bye curls ;()

I thought I was okay with him the cut...then my Gary asked me if his curls were gone... and I said, "yes"

Gary said, "Completely?"

Then it hit me...yes they are completely gone.

That makes me kinda sad.

But I think his cut is adorable!

(Sidenote....My Gary= my step-dad Gary. But I don't like calling him STEP. My two brothers are actually step as well but we had a rule at our house growing up that we didn't say, "Step". So it just doesn't feel right now saying, "Step-dad or Step-brothers". But its hard for me to call him "dad" too... I just never have and though my dad died when I was 3... I still refer to him as "My dad". Anyways- Step sounds odd.... dad doesn't flow right ....so I start to type, my... and I always end up with MY GARY. If you were wondering?!)

Weekend Recap!

2011-11-06T14:51:00.000-06:00

Friday night, Bryan and I decided to have some friends over and Noah went to stay at my parent's house.

We rarely leave him but we decided that because us girls wanted to watch a movie ... it just wouldn't be possible with Noah around.

Right before I loaded him up to take him to my moms he found some halloween lipstick and drew all over his face. He is really into everything right now!!!!!

Us girls watched a girl movie in bed. My friend Ana is pregnant and is sick all the time so we tried to make her as comfy as possible! She still got sick and had to leave early! AH, the joys of pregnancy!

Saturday night, my family went out to eat at the Bell Buckle Cafe for Gary's birthday. We don't go out to eat much anymore...due to budget/busy life/and the fact that a lot of times it is just easier with Noah to eat at home. But mostly due to budget! ;)

Because we don't go out much- I really wanted to dress up and wear something trendy but since I haven't been shopping since May for myself... that can get kind of hard.

My newest solution is to search Pinterest.com for cute outfits and try and recreate them with what I already have.

I took one of my summer dresses, winter cardigans, and black fall boots and made myself a somewhat trendy outfit for our little night out!

(Don't you hate it when people take pictures of themselves and don't even make the bed or clean the room behind them? I am SOOO guilty of that! .... well this is real life... 4 o'clock on a Saturday afternoon and our bed probably isn't made. I kinda give up on cleaning on the weekend. I have all week for that when Bryan's working.)

My mom, sister, Brady, and Noah in front of our favorite little place to eat!

Afterwards, we walked around at the shops at Bell Buckle and found some really good deals. My mom got me a pair of leggings, dress, headband, my sister some leggings...and only spent 30 dollars!

I told my Gary that I really like celebrating his birthday... he takes me to dinner and gets me new clothes!

Be creative....

2011-11-03T18:44:00.001-05:00

*Warning: my baby looks like a little boy in these pictures. You may not be ready for this.*

Today at Story-time Noah made a polar bear out of circles.

Be creative... If you really try you can see it...

I just got done reading "Water for Elephants". Noah has been sitting in my lap wanting to look at the pictures of the elephants in the book. Then today he went over to the kids section and picked out this book.

I know he is too small to say so... but I know he was trying to check out a book about elephants just like mommy did!;)

I read a lot now that I am home.. I have lost count but since last December when I quit.... I have read something like 18 books. Considering before that... I think I had a read one book from front to back in my whole life.

So now I am a reader. ... I will talk about that more one day...

Today I checked out Ellen's new book... Seriously, I'm kidding.

I'll leave you with an excerpt...

Talking about the magnification mirrors you get at Bed,Bath, and Beyond...

"I don't know why we ever need to look at those. They are not accurate. They point out every single one of our flaws. We don't need that. That is why we have mothers."

I think Ellen is hilarious.