Make-up lesson

Sunday morning, the kids woke by their usual 7:30 time and I was not ready to get out of bed yet. Adam was already in the garage working on some project, so I had to deal with the kids. By dealing, I mean turn the tv on for fletcher to watch cartoons and listen for brynlee as she 'plays' between rooms. B was back and forth a few times and then she disappeared. I thought she was reading books in her room, since it was quiet, and this is a regular occurrence for her. Then I remembered that fletcher went to the bathroom before coming in my room and I didn't remember hearing the door shut when we was done. I quietly got out of bed. Tiptoed to the bathroom and saw baby girl playing with my make-up. She was trying a new look with mascara, that I think she still needs to master. Needless to say, she was stripped and put in the tub...after I took pictures of course.

momma got an upgrade

we traded my equinox in for this beast.



i've always wanted a truck. and the husband has missed having a truck.
he just went to the dealership to look last wednesday. he came home and told me that we needed to go test drive one truck in particular. we came home with that 'one truck' on thursday night.
i pretty much love it. there are tons of bells and whistles that came with it that i'm still trying to figure out, but give me time.
today, while the kids napped, i practiced pulling in and out of the garage. i thought it was going to be more difficult than it was. now i just need to get comfortable in parking lots. i feel like the bed hangs out way far.

wordless wednesday-mommy photographer

missing something

i've been a horrible blogger this summer.

i think about doing it, and then something happens and i forget to come back to it.

over the last few weeks, i've been missing something, and it's blogger. it actually makes me feel better and completes my day when i read the things going on in the lives of others. i also like to have the things in our life documented so i can have it to reference in the future.

give me two weeks and i'll be back with a summer to catch up on and other fun things happening in the lives of 4 micks.

join me, it'll be fun!

May catch-up

Finally getting around to posting about things that happened two whole months ago. I really need to get back into this blogging thing. It seems to be my outlet for things, and I'm finding myself needing that outlet from the things that are going on in my life right now. Anyway, here's what happened in May:
My sister and I took five kids, five and under, on an eight hour weekend trip to northern Minnesota. It was crazy, but fun. We handled it like champs and we celebrated with a few drinks. We even went to Pizza Ranch with them all during dinner rush. That was probably the stupidest thing we could have done.
We said good-bye to daycare boy. He's going to go to a new sitter next school year, as I decided to get out of doing daycare. I'll be honest, I don't miss him one bit.
Fletcher had his last speech session for the 2011-2012 school year. At the end of our session, Ms. Diane told us that she had a new territory so we would be getting a new speech teacher in the fall. I'll be honest again, I cried. I liked Ms. Diane and will miss her. She did great things for my boy.
We celebrated Chase and Codi's second birthday with them at the zoo.
It was a fun day full of cousins bonding.
I signed up to be an independent sales consultant with Thirty-One. I'm enjoying it so far. It's nice to get out of the house without the kids and hang out with the ladies.
We got two big ash trees cut down in our front yard. This may not seem exciting, but the mess those trees made was awful. I've never been so happy to see a tree cut down.
Adam made me a garden box for mother's day. It's awesome. He did a great job building it and doing all the work to prepare me to plant in it. I will say that my veggies are growing nicely, just waiting for everything to get bigger so we can pick it.
Pictures may not be in order of what I wrote about, due to the blogger app on iphone, but you're all smart and I'm
sure you can figure out which picture goes with what. The end.

wordless wednesday-practicing

wordless wednesday-reading

meal planning monday-vol.2, wk.13

Monday-chicken quesadillas, chips and salsa, strawberries
Tuesday-meatloaf, cottage cheese, cantaloupe
Wednesday-3 cheese chicken grillers, spinach salad
Thursday-Pulled pork sandwiches, salad, pudding
Friday-lemon pepper marinated fish, fruit salad, asparagus

pinterest dids-vol. 3

so, pinterest is still one of my favorite time wasters. i don't even want to admit how long often i was 'pinning' today. there are so many good ideas, recipes and diy projects that i want to do. if only i actually accomplished 1/8th of what i pin, i would be happy. anyway, here are some of the latest things i've done/attempted/made/etc. 

*i have been on a smoothie kick lately. i made this and even made a few of these to put in the freezer for quick smoothie making. 

*one of the hubs new favorites. here are a few other recipes that have made a regular showing in the kitchen.

*going to make these for baby girl's birthday party, only with cupcake picks instead of the hearts.
*the theme for baby girl's party. brother's was the same, but blue and green. 

*saw this and am so going to make it for little boy. i think he may have to wear it on the first day of preschool. 

*been doing this a few times a day, along with my kettle ball/bell workouts. ugh!

*in december i made these advent calendars with the boys. we also made these, these and these. 

*these are little 'tips' i've found. they work. spoon  berries  makeup  hair

*i made two of these that will hang above the tv once the rest of the walls are painted. 

happy pinning!

one more month

my baby is going to be one! this makes me sad, but, i'm having fun trying to plan her birthday party.
here's the monthly update on my 11 month old...and a few weeks at the time of posting.

~personality~
brynlee is still a pretty happy baby. she likes to be in the action of things. lately, she loves to be held and does NOT like to be put down unless she has something fun to play with in her hands. she recently became a fussy pants if i am out of sight. she's full of smiles if she knows she's not suppose to have something or is doing something naughty. she just looks at you and grins. she's been talking for a while now. mostly with the da-da, but has stretched to the ga-ga, some M and H sounds and she growls-super funny.

~sleep~
sleep has never been a strong point for the girl. she had been sleeping through the night, but the last three weeks, she has been waking in the night at different times...thank you teething and ear infection. she usually goes down for bed around 8pm and would when she wakes, i go get her and put her in bed with us. its easier that way, however, adam and i don't get much sleep when she's in bed with us. she likes to take a morning snooze around 10am that only lasts about 30-45 minutes and then won't take a longer nap until 3pm. i am currently trying to get rid of the morning snooze so she will nap the same time the boys do, and sleep for a longer period of time.

~eating~
she loves food. baby girl has been off of baby food for about 2-3 months. she pretty much eats what the other three of us eat. she loves bread and cheese. not a huge fan of meats or veggies but will eat them and usually eats most fruit placed in front of her. she has a 5oz. bottle in the morning and afternoon and at bedtime she gets an 8oz bottle. she has been getting a multivitamin with iron supplement in her morning bottle because she doesn't get as much formula as she's suppose to be getting-she'll continue getting it once she switches to milk. she gets a sippy cup of water or way diluted juice and snacks a few times a day. she's good enough drinking out of her sippy that when the current can of formula is gone, so are the bottles.

~play~
playtime is all the time around here. she loves anything that isn't a toy or isn't hers. magazines and empty water bottles are favorites. she loves her brother's fisher-price farm and his trio blocks. when i make supper in the evenings, she gets put in the jumperoo and seems to enjoy it again. if i need to get things done around the house and she's not content 'playing' she gets put in the walker and she roams around the house. when we go outside, she also goes in the walker and i can contain her that way without having to hold her or by putting her in the stroller. she likes the freedom to roam on her own.

~random~
she now has 4 teeth.
her hair is coming in pretty thick, like mine and adam's.
she has mastered going up stairs.
she wants to play with my phone, the computer and the remote all.the.time.
she can climb onto the ottoman and couch if she has a 'step' to get a little higher.
she hates headbands. and will let me put a barrette in her hair for a few minutes before she pulls it out.
wearing mostly 12 month clothes, but some pants are too small because the girl's got a butt.
preparing to be one-trying hard to walk by her first birthday. she's oh so close.
loves her brother. wrestling with him, climbing on him, making him mad, stealing his toys. being a baby sister.

~stats~
and because we had to make a trip to the doctor last week, i have accurate weight.
height- 28in.
weight- 20lbs 12 oz.
head- 46cm.

a week late

so here is the quick list of resolutions i have for 2012. i would like to stay with them all year, but really, most of us quite at some point. if i make it through the year, following through with one of these, i'll call it a successful year.

*exercise more-this won't be hard since there was pretty much NO exercise in 2011. the only thing is sticking to it.

*make wise(r) choices-mostly regarding food/drink. little-no pop. smaller portions. healthier snacks.

*get organized and stay organized-i can already tell this is going to be a hard one. trying to get organized causes a mess with everything that needs to be organized. i hope i can tackle this organized things my mid-march and stay there. 

*learn to drink wine and like it-i'm a beer girl at heart. i'm loyal, but i'm not against stepping away from my go-to alcoholic drink.

*go on more dates with my husband, kid free-i just need to find a sitter that lives close and that i trust. 

*spend less, donate more-i'm thinking about making all of those homemade cleaners that are floating around pinterest to save money. i want to plant a garden and grow my own produce. spending less time at target would help too, i'm sure.  i have tons of totes in the basement full of clothes that are begging to be donated. i just need to load 'em and get 'em out of here. 

*pray more-i know this is doable, but i also know that there were a lot of prayers said last year for one particular little girl, close to my hear, to be healthy again. my prayers were answered. i have no reason to stop now. i know God follows through!

*be patient and breathe-the kids really get me with this one. i've gone so far as to have it permanently placed on my wrist. since having it (late september) it has done its job.

the bug is in the house

we have been invaded by the flu bug. fletcher had a nice bout with it starting monday afternoon. i tried to catch it, then realizing it wasn't going all in my hands, i let it cover the entire top section of our area rug. i got it cleaned up about the time the second round was happening. at  least i could just wipe it from the hard wood, which was much easier than i'm sure carpet would be. he was icky through wednesday evening. pretty lethargic, no appetite and very tired. i thought everything was going to be fine when i woke up thursday morning. turns out, B had her first touch of that darn bug. she had her morning bottle, which she wasn't overly excited about, but drank anyway. i picked her up when she was done and with turn of the head and a baby burp, i was wearing what she just drank. i was so not thrilled. hers only lasted about 8 hours which i was very thankful for. she still doesn't have a huge appetite and is a bit more whiny than usual, but there's no vomit. guess who has it now? not this lady! the hubby wanted to take a turn this morning. he's been running back and forth to the bathroom all day. at least i don't have to clean up after him. at this point, i'm ready for my house to be bug free so i can get on with the holiday. i'm really going to be mad if my christmas is messed up because my family is sick. the end.
hoping the bug doesn't invade your house. merry christmas all, stay healthy.

wordless wednesday

10 months, baby!

nine months sure seems forever when you're pregnant, but once that baby is out, time sure flies. baby girl was officially ten months on sunday.

she is starting to talk way more than she has been. she just babbles all the time when someone is paying attention to her. she loves to flash her smile whenever she catches your eye. she has a mean pout on her. if things don't go her way, the lip is out instantly. adam says she gets that from me...i'm not denying it. 

sleeping has never been a topic brynlee likes. she finally started sleeping through the night a little more than a month ago and i cherished every minute of uninterrupted sleep. lately, she has been getting up between 430 and 530 and thinking she needs to stay up...i DO.NOT.like it. some days she decides to skip her morning catnap and by noon, she is a bear. however, on those days, she does take a good three hour nap. if she does decide to snooze a bit in the morning, she usually goes down around 1p and sleeps for a couple hours. i have started putting her in her crib, regardless if fletcher is in the room or not. i NEED my peace and quiet.

she is a piglet. if she sees food, she thinks she needs it. she usually eats whatever i make, unless it's spicy or something i know she shouldn't have. there isn't really anything she doesn't like, which is okay with me, now if her brother would be the same way about food. she loves her some graham crackers and surprisingly is very clean with them. she has been spitting a lot lately, so she only gets 4 or 5 ounce bottles, four times a day. it's under the amount babies her age are suppose to get, but it works for us.

baby girl has been very mobile the last three months or so and is still moving every chance she gets. she loves to stand and if there is something in reach that she can pull up on, she will. she has mastered the slide steps and just recently figured out how to go down the slide on her belly, feet first. she's already a daredevil. it doesn't help that her brother is teaching her these things. with christmas a week and a half away, my bet of her walking by then is probably not going to be reached. she is standing alone, for a few seconds, but then falls to the floor when she realizes she's not holding on to anything.

random:
*she has two teeth on the bottom and the top left has finally broke through...after an agonizing three weeks. her right tooth is there now, but not giving her any pain.
*still wearing size 4 diapers at night and size 3 during the day.
*she loves her brother to pieces. he doesn't always feel the same.
*she got her first pair of sneakers. size 2. white and pink. oh, so little!
*still a happy baby, most of the time.
*stranger anxiety is at a high. if she doesn't see me (or daddy) she usually freaks.
*working on a sippy. she just doesn't get that she needs to tip her head back and lift the cup.
*weight 21ish pounds, height 27 and 3/4 inches

meal planning monday-wk 35 and soa

monday-chicken fried rice and egg rolls
tuesday-bean and rice burritos, chips and salsa
wednesday-pork chops and acorn squash
thursday-cheesy hamburger pasta (i'm using less tomatoes)
friday-chicken and spinach alfredo pizza

**********************************************************************************
adam has been traveling at least one day out of the week again, mostly being gone on tuesdays. because of that, our sons of anarchy watching has been a bit delayed. i'm so glad that we now have the option to dvr things again, because it has allowed us to continue our tuesday night tradition. we finally watched two of the episodes last night. we have the season finale to watch tonight after the kids go to bed, and i can. not. wait. i'm surprised that i hadn't read any comments on fb about what happened, as many of my friends are soa watchers. i so can't wait for 9 o'clock to get here, just so i can see if jax kills clay. aw, the suspense!

slacking

i've been slacking on the o'blog a lot lately. truth is, i don't feel like i have a lot to share. actual truth, i have a lot to share, i just can't find the time to sit down and finish a post. i do have three or four in the works. maybe that 'quiet time' in the evenings that i enjoy so much, can be used to finish a few entries. we'll see. anyway, a few randoms since i'm on here ignoring the whiny voice of caillou in the background:

*adam's work party is on friday. i'm seriously considering sweats. there's this thing called leftover baby weight that i have around my mid section that isn't allowing me to feel comfortable in my clothes. elastic seems like the solution. i may even rock a side pony and bring back the 80's while i'm at it. 

*the boy has become a repeat machine. i still can't understand everything he says, but he loves to attempt what i say. it's not all appropriate for a 2.5 y/o, so i'll start watching what i say...in a few months. 

*i put up two trees this year. my pretty one (which i'll share a picture of next week) and a crap one. one that all those handmade, keepsake kiddie ornaments goes on. i like it that way. 

*it's cold outside. i don't like it. i want to go to the grocery store, but i don't want to bundle my kids and load them in the car. i guess we'll starve.

bling!

two weeks ago, we got brynlee's ears pierced. i had been wanting to do it for a few months now, but we just now had the time to actually get it done. i knew what to expect, but i'm not sure adam did. anyway, we got there, told the girl we wanted to get her ears pierced, and we were sitting in the chair within a few minutes. 

i had to fill out  paperwork and get the 'care' instructions, but other than that, i was ready for my girl to get her ears pierced. first, worker girl had to mark the spot where she would shoot the earrings through. this was probably the part B hated most. she just wanted the marker that worker girl had in her hand, so i had to hold her head and arms down so worker girl could mark the dots. 

the first one was done. the cry was delayed, but when it came, it was in full force. we gave her a minute to collect herself. i shoved a few puffs in her mouth  and then we did the other ear. the crying was loud, but it only lasted a couple minutes with each side. when it was done, i dealt with baby girl and her tears while adam paid. when he was done, she had stopped and we left. the whole adventure took about twenty minutes and $40. now we just need to get the real BLING that will go in her ears. i think the man in the red suit will be bringing them...fingers crossed. 

when we got home, she requested a pickle. after all, she had been through a lot. 

*if you look close, you can see the stud in her ear.*

wordless wednesday-monkey joe's