UPdated Blog Layout

I updated my blog sidebar. Yay! New pics of the boys, a cloud of list topics, updated list of blogs I read (plus I fixed the links of a couple that changed). I added two of my new favorite blogs I found recently. The first one I found via Pinterest because of some really cool hair pics. That blog is The Small Things Blog. The other blog is called I Heart Organizing. Hoping to get some good ideas from that one. Check them out!  Yesterday Andy got about 2 years of pics off his fancy camera and put the on the computer so I'll have lots of pictures to post in the near future. Don't worry. I won't post 2 years worth ;) .

Marine Corp Silent Drill Team

We had a fantastic opportunity Saturday night - we were able to see the Silent Drill Team! I have seen them once before in Washington, D.C. It is so cool. Amazing- I was so happy to get to see them again and so close to home! The boys were enthralled. Andy's uncle used to be on the Silent Drill Team. So we met him there and enjoyed some great music and the drill team.

This was so cool to see them in 1 long straight row.

FYI: I'm getting old because when they walked by us I thought - they are SO young. Plus I found a few gray hairs the other day...

So, back to blogging.

ONE post in MAY?! Wow. That is an all time low! Gosh, how have all of you faithful readers survived without my enthralling posts?! Ha ha. Here are some general updates:
- Andy's sister Katie gets married this weekend!
- I'm working on Couch to 10K. I'm in week 3. It's been slow going with the end of the school year. Now I have no excuse. Hoping to run the 10K on the 4th of July.
- Tried a few new recipes lately. Carrot cake as a thank you to Andy for helping me with my classroom. Everybody that ate it said it was delicious! I agree!  I substituted 1/2 cup of oil with 1/2 a cup of applesauce. It was still yummy. Thankfully we had some family over last night to help us eat it!
- Last night we made grilled fish tacos. They were ok. The fish just didn't have enough of a flavor. It was kind of  bland. The corn/tomato/cilantro/lime juice relish was delicious though. This recipe came from my Everyday Food Magazine. It was our first time to try fish tacos. I'm not smitten. But might try them again...
- Summer is now officially here! I finished up on Thursday of this past week. I've been exhausted this weekend. Hopefully now I'll get myself and the boys into a routine of some kind. We've enjoyed a couple days at the pool this past week. Looking forward to many more!
- I have a confession to make. I bought some beautiful vegetable plants in the beginning of May. I never planted them. They are dead. Oh well. I've felt bad about it for a few weeks but thankfully It was less than $7 worth. I did plant the shade plants I bought. I don't have a garden spot. Maybe Drew will build me a raised bed for a garden next year... :) Now I can go throw them away and stop feeling bad!
- Last Sunday we hosted the Youth at a nearby park for their first on location summer sunday night thing. It was so much fun! We played Ultimate Frisbee (which is like football minus the tackling & football plus a frisbee). The boys were playing with us too. We grilled out hot dogs and had a picnic. It was a great time. Looking forward to more family picnics there this summer.
- The boys are all doing well! They are thrilled to have mommy home and I am trying to adjust to the stay at home mom thing for summer. Tyler is so busy and has NO fear. That is a VERY BAD thing! Luke and Wilson are like little fish when I take them swimming. They love the water and swim all over!

Wow. What a week!

Life has been way too busy lately. I don't even know where to begin! The whirlwind of working full time, having 3 children, and trying to get our house ready to list is pushing me over the edge. Andy and I are both exhausted (me from the list above and still nursing in the night and Andy from staying up too late working on the house). I feel like I'm never going to be well rested EVER again. I know it will pass but when you're going on 6months+ it sure feels that way! This week I had meetings after school, the boys went to the dentist, and we worked on the house. Today I had my haircut, gave free makeovers at church for the mom's retreat, and then went to a fun baby shower for Kylie! It was so good to see her and Joe!

The boys are doing well. Last night we were getting out of the van. Wilson saw an older couple walk up next to us to get into their car. The man dropped a key. Wilson said "Sir, you dropped something." He made me SO proud! He was so polite! As we walked away I told him how proud that made me that he was so polite and had such nice manners! Good to know it's in him! :) Lately when I come home from work Luke sees me and tell me he is ready for his "nack" (snack). He says "Hey mom, I want my nack." It is so cute. After talking to my teacher friends about this I realize he only doesn't say s's when it is sn...! Tyler is doing well. He is 6 months old now! Hard to believe. So it is time to do the rice cereal for real now. Twice a day will be our goal. He is precious. I had a rough night on Tuesday in regards to his PWS. It just got to me. The longevity of dealing with it and always checking for complications caused by the PWS. I love him just the way he is but after talking to my mom, I know that I will have hard days as I learn to process what all of the doctor visits are telling us.

So, in a nutshell: School is fine. I am sleep deprived. We're putting our house on the market. Wilson, Luke, and Ty are the best little boys a mama could ever wish for! Tyler is happy and healthy. I love my husband! I've not gotten to watch tv in so long I don't even remember which episode of my two shows (DH, GA) I've missed. I need to clean my house. I need to tag all of the clothes for the consignment sale. I need sleep.

Few things:

• I feel like bullets today and I'm totally ok with that!
• Luke went to bed at 5 pm tonight. He fell asleep sitting with me and we couldn't get him to wake up for dinner. Poor baby.
• I registered Wilson for Kindergarten today!
• Lottie is limping so bad. Her knee is still really bothering her. She held that leg up while she stood to eat. I don't know what to do for her. It's obviously not healing...
• Ty is getting baptized on Sunday and I am really excited!
• I'm holding a sleeping Ty right now while I'm updating on the laptop.
• I'm exhausted.
• I need to get a lot done this weekend. Order subs for Sunday, make cookies, buy fruit, drinks and chips, make picture appointment, paint touch ups, paint garage door (final coat), spend time with my boys, the list goes on and on.
• I'm dissapointed with who the bachelor sent home this week. I liked her!
• I'm thankful that Andy has patched the walls in our house.
• I'm hoping I can get paint tomorrow for all the touchups.
• I'm also thankful that Andy put meatloaf in the crockpot today.

Before I was a Mom

My maw-maw forwarded me this in an email. I've read it before but it's so true! I thought I'd post it here for others to read and enjoy!

Before I was a Mom,

I never tripped over toys

or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind

and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held down a screaming child

so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held a sleeping baby just because

I didn't want to put him down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces

when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so small

could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew how much I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,

I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small

could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night

Every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth, the joy,

the love, the heartache, the wonderment or

the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,

before I was a Mom.

A productive day off!

After breakfast we got ready and took the Jeep in for some preventive maintenance. On the way home we stopped at Lowe's to pick up a few things. When we got home I washed the garage door. Then took a shower and got ready. We went to McD's to meet all the cousins for lunch and playtime since Erin, Rori and the boys were in town. We took up a rather large section with 9 kiddos! It was fun. When we came back home I primed the garage door while Andy worked on the window of the garage. The windows on our house are all the newer, nice, vinyl windows but the two windows on the garage that face the front yard are wood. The paint was all cracked and some of the wood was rotting. So Andy is redoing the woodwork around the window. He found some really cool window sills at Lowe's that are made of PVC. So instead of getting wood and priming and painting it, it's already vinyl and white! Wahoo! After the garage door dried I painted the first coat on that matches our siding. It looks great! Just need to do 1 more coat. We're going to be working on our house inside and out because we're planning to put it on the market this spring. We have several projects we need to do to put it up for sale. I'll be in charge of paint touch ups and repainting some of the trim that has really taken a beating. Andy's got a lot of projects he plans to do. Then there will need to be thorough cleanings...So! Lots to do!

We went to pick up the Jeep then came home and had leftover mexican lasagna with some roasted veggies. Tonight I need to make the grocery list and get ready for work tomorrow.

My Favorite Things

Some new favorite things of mine:
1. my new favorite jeans
2. best lotion - my skin stays moisturized until my next shower - no more itchy dry skin!
3. I gave up on expensive shower gel from the mall. Now I just use Suave Exhale body wash! I think it's less than 3bucks!

My old faves include MK make-up, MK hand lotion, diet dr pepper, twix, caramel lattes from Panera (skim milk + no whipped cream), massages from Andy, bubble baths, cozy pants and fuzzy socks, cooking, blogging, reading, shopping, songs on my ipod, sleeping in, hanging out at home with the family, trying new recipes, frozen mango margaritas + chips and salsa from Chili's, I could keep going but I don't want to bore you too much longer!

Andy knows how far I've come to have a list of favorites- I haven't always! It used to be too hard for me to choose 1 favorite thing. Not anymore. I'm 30 ya know.

Numbers

1- yellow lab who is my only female companion at home!
3- usually the number of times I wake up in the night with Ty
4- number of males I live with
5- Season of Friends I'm currently watching
6- the number of Christmas gifts I have ordered online (woo-hoo!)
7- # of times I get on the computer a day (just guessing, it's a lot!) to check FB, google reader, school email, or personal email
8- the number of times a day I feed little Ty
10- approximate number of diapers I change a day
12- # of loads of laundry I've done in the last 2 weeks
16- how many meals have been provided over the last 4 weeks!! (Wow, feelin' the love, thanks!)
25- the number of parent conferences I need to have next week
40- the number of fingers and toes I trimmed the other day
700+ - # of pages in the book I'm currently reading - Breaking Dawn

What Year Do YOU Belong in?

You Belong in 1995

With you anything goes! You're grunge one day, ghetto fabulous the next. It's all good!

What Year Do You Belong In?

*Take the quiz and post your year in the comments!

Two posts in 1 day means school is out!

It also means I am stuck at home due to a sick Lukie (virus), Wilson (bronchitis) and Andy (sinus infection). Andy and Wilson are on antibiotics so Wilson is on the mend. Andy just started his today. Luke hasn't thrown up since 11:30 last night so he is on the mend too.

**I've updated my list from what I did today!! Yay me!!
School is Out Checklist
_X _ Finish Christmas shopping ( I haven't even started for Andy yet. Other than his stocking.)
_X _ Wrap gifts
___ Clean ENTIRE house
_X_ Mail Christmas cards (did today!)
_X _ Catch up on laundry
___ Weekend Getaway with Andy
___ Get a massage!
_X _ Get LOTS of sleep
_X_ Watch movies (Watched one last night! More needed though!)
___Celebrate 7 year anniversary!
___Plan Wilson and Luke's birthday party
___Work on National Board stuff
_X _ Get a book to read for fun over break Something Borrowed
___Get all 3 boys feeling better (Almost there)
___ DO NOT GET SICK! (fighting off what Andy and Wilson have)
_X_ Start Exercising...Again (Went on a 2 mile walk with Wilson today!)
_X_ Update Blog (Check. Check.)
_X_ Find long lost friends on facebook! (Are you starting to see why the other things towards the top of the list aren't checked off yet?!)

Hopefully I'll get a lot done in the next few days before Christmas!

What Holiday are you??

You Are Thanksgiving

You are a bit of a homebody who enjoys being in the company of people you love. It doesn't take a lot to make you happy. You're enjoying life as it is. You have many blessings in your life, and you are grateful for each one. You believe that life is about what you *do* have. You feel like you have enough of the good stuff. What makes you celebrate: Family, friends, and the changing of the seasons. At holiday get togethers, you do best as: The host of the party On a holiday, you're the one most likely to: Spend so much energy preparing that it's a full time job

What Holiday Are You?

Let me know in the comments!

Yeah Baby!!

I have to say, I was expecting Elementary Level! Yea me!!

Cash Advance Loans

Look at this hilarious video!

I saw part of this on TV today and thought it was so funny! Andy doesn't see it as funny as I do. Maybe you'll appreciate it!