2014

This new years eve, we stayed home and decided to let the kids try to stay up. Around 10pm, I pulled that plug! They willingly went to bed and shortly after, so did Jim! I woke him up before the ball dropped. Hello 2014!
Resolutions:
*further my photography & business
*fix up the house some more!
*learn to knit!
*post more on here even if no one cares! It is fun to look back

4 Years Ago Today...

 ... born April 24th, 2009 at 10:22am, weighing in at 8lbs 9oz and measuring 21.5" long, a special little guy: our little Goober, Jackson, came into our lives and completed our family. 

 Now our little guy is a rambunctious, sensitive, sweet, crazy, loveable little dude... growing more and more every day. He makes our lives more interesting with his antics :)

 I think my favorite thing about him is his sweet smile and endless affection. He has a heart of gold and a sensitive soul. Still too young to really know what to do with how much he feels sometimes, he gets frustrated... but his heart usually is in the right place. He is hysterical and has great faces and comic timing.

He will be a heartbreaker. Girls love someone who can make them laugh! and who doesn't love those giant baby blues??  (and he gives THE BEST hugs!)

While he can get overwhelmed in "crowded" situations (like his Momma on that one...), it often doesn't take long for him to warm up to whoever he is with. I admire his gusto and reckless abandon with which he tackles things in life.

Well, I could go on and on about this guy but I have to get to bed! Happy Fourth Birthday to my little Bubba Jackson. I love you to the moon and back and look forward to our little birthday adventure I have planned for us!
PLUS! A Superhero party and other fun to come!

A Peek Inside!

 It has been a while since my last post, but it is because we have been insanely busy with the new place and the kids' schedules and LIFE in general. I am finally sitting down and enjoying some coffee this morning and planning my day and I figured I'd pop over here to give an inside look at what has been consuming our time lately.

the ceiling was a disaster - the guys ripped it out and put in a new. It is looking great now

the bathroom wasn't even functional

Maris' Room

the stairway ceiling was coming down

the yard is a mess... come pring, I will have a lot of work to do out there. Potential for gardens though!

playing in the sheetrock dust... I can't even tell you,,,, It took a BILLION times of sweeping, shopvac-ing then mopping and repeat... in the 20's... no lie. Drop cloths are a MUST next time

J man's room

 Those were some of the BEFORE photos... the place was a bit scary... haha I have a few after photos but we still aren't finished. We haven't fully unpacked or set up yet so excuse the mess in the pics!

work in progress - kitchen! Always wanted a yellow kitchen... :)

the new playroom ceiling - we will paint the walls in the spring once we are settled in

functioning bathroom!

excuse the lack of molding - that is this weekend's project

replaced hallway ceiling

disaster area we call home - but we are getting there! Gotta love my wall units - they were my Grandparents. She gave them to me years ago and now I FINALLY have room to use them!

Goober's Headquarters

Sweets' messy room (they were tearing it up this morning)

the catch-all room... things seem to keep piling up in the living room area... here's a peek!

 so as things progress, I will give updates. I'm LOVING it here :) We just want everything set up so we can kick back and ENJOY! Also, we need to have it done to have J's birthday party... already started planning... Superhero FUN!

Take THAT Resolutions!

Still at the beginning of month one of the year and we have crossed one goal off the list already. We are moving into a house! The previous tenants left it a mess... there's crap everywhere on the ground, in the house... the owner has taken 3 dumpsters of crap out and its basically good now, but wow, once that snow clears, I will have some stuff to clean up. The details are a bit confusing as to whether we are renting or owning... We have a deal with the guy that we are renting to own basically. Jim will fix up the house for the guy and eventually we will have the option to buy it. He is footing the renovations bills and paying Jim an hourly rate and subtracting it from our rent. So basically, while he fixes the place, it is costing us $20 more to live here than our tiny apartment. We are discussing the options and figuring out whether we will stay in this house permanently or if we will use it as a stepping stone for another place of our own. Either way, I am super excited to have a place of our own with no farm trucks constantly by our windows/yard/.driveway... they will still pass by on the road, but not like it is where we are now! I can have parties! MNI s! (the bedrooms are upstairs!) game nights... so happy. The kids have their own rooms. We have a tough year ahead of us fixing the place up, but I have a good feeling about it all. Our "lovely dump" as Jim called it lol but it has potential and SPACE :)

Fabulous Friday

Fabulous Friday! Appointment to check out a potential new home for us tomorrow, the kitty is safe and warm and back with us, completely gutted and cleaned/organized the kiddies' room, I applied for a new job finally, Maris has a dance "field trip" of sorts after school with the Girl Scouts... Jackson is cracking me up with the wii :) The only downside is work tonight. I WANT to work, we can use the cash... but as I have made evident, I dislike my job.... at least some aspects of my job as of late.

That boy is so darn cute :) Well, off to watch my little Daisy scout dance around with her BFFS. HOPEFULLY I will have news tomorrow. Fingers crossed/pray/whatever helps!

Happy New Year. Hello 2013!

After a long hiatus, I am back! The holiday season has been a very busy one and there's no way I am going to be able to recap it all. We had a very full calendar and the kids are back in school today! The family is doing fantastically, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years were a success - we even hosted Christmas Day brunch and dinner here in our home for the first time. Aside from the small space issue, it went swimmingly. We have a decent cover if icy snow on the ground and it is bitter cold. One of our indoor kitties got outside in between both storms we got and still is out there... we are a little worried, but the food we leave out there is getting eaten and there are kitty paw prints all over in the snow. I am convinced he is under the deck of the upstairs neighbors since lots of kitty track lead there. I just keep thinking the worst and I hope he is ok. There are lots of barn cats running around but never that close to our house so we are pretty sure the prints are of our cat. The other kitty got out last year and was missing for 15 terrible days. We got to the point of accepting he was gone and he popped up and sat on the stoop one day. We remain hopeful our Tobey will come home.
Other than the missing kitty, life is fantastic. Our house is over run with new gifts from everyone this holiday season and we are trying to make room for everything. We are searching for a new and bigger place in the area so HOPEFULLY that will be soon. If only my job was steady, we could look into an actual house. My hours are so erratic and only when they need me, so it isnt a steady paycheck lately. I know this will change in the upcoming months, but it is still hard on us since the miniscule checks aren't going into our house fund and Jimmy works at least 6 days a week to get us out of here.
I guess that is all the catch-up in a summary...

2012 was a good and a bad year for us... my Maris started Kindergarten and Jackson started preschool, we lost my Aunt Sherry... so many to list. but I've said goodbye to 2012 and I'm ready to take on 2013.
and here are my resolutions!

1. Get into shape! (isn't it on just about everyone's list?) I have really been doing the wii fit and exercising but I keep plateauing and getting frustrated. Not really gaining, but I am done making babies so I can strive to get the body back! Plus Miranda is getting married and I don't want to look fat in her wedding photos! haha

2. Save Extra Money. Just keep thinking HOUSE HOUSE HOUSE... I have a habit of splurging on the kiddos by taking them out to Chuck E Cheese or lunch or something when I have some spare cash. Although this is nice every once in a while, being in a house would feel soooo much better! Cut out my McDonald's sweet tea addiction. Granted its only a buck each time, but those dollars add up! I got an awesome travel cup for Christmas so I will make a habit of brewing my own and taking it with me. and with my constant supply of chewy ice in the freezer, it can even be icy tea! We had a family meeting of sorts and discussed the plan to get out of here within the year. Time to bust some ass.

3. Make an Etsy Shop many people keep telling me to do this. I love to create things and I do it bc it makes me happy. To be paid for these things would be just fantastic. I am thinking of trying out selling in the craft fair this next Christmas season.. making some ornaments and sewing some stuff... maybe the barrette holders I made for the girlies for Christmas...  squirreling the pennies!

4. Learn to Knit/Crochet not that I need more projects to take on (I have been known to take on too much) but I really want to learn. Plus if I get good at it, it might make me some extra cash as well. another plus... I can make cute stuff for my kiddos (and myself!)

5. Get Organized! if you've been to my house, you know that we are collectors of things. borderline hoarders so I've been told. In this small space, I have been forcing myself to go through my things and make the tough decisions of what I REALLY need. I have to get rid of a lot of my old clothes. I held onto lots of my pre-kid stuff and bank teller clothes for when I get those parts of my life back but as Jim says, they will be outdated and it takes up space. We'll get me some new clothes when that time comes. New clothes out of the deal? Sounds good to me.

6. Finish Projects I just did a quick count of the started projects I have stashed away and are just waiting to be done. 12. and that's off the top of my head. I bet there are more hiding away. I have to learn to finish something before starting something else. I get excited to do something new and ditch the old projects... I have decreased my fabric scrap pile by making all the kids aprons at the gingerbread house party. I plan on using a bunch of the old teeshirts I dig out by making capes for Jackson's upcoming super hero party this spring. Reduce reuse recycle? upcycle?

Self improvement. Family improvement. Life improvement. Staying positive and moving upward! Happy New Year Everyone. Let's hope 2013 is a good year.

Watching The Wheels

 "I've been baking bread and looking after the baby...Everyone else who has asked me that question over the last few years says. 'But what else have you been doing?' To which I say, 'Are you kidding?' Because bread and babies, as every housewife knows, is a full-time job. After I made the loaves [of bread,] I felt like I had conquered something. But as I watched the bread being eaten, I thought, Well, Jesus, don't I get a gold record or knighted or nothing?" - John Lennon




Even John Lennon appreciated the work of an at-home parent... bc he WAS one :) The video is of a song he wrote about his choice to stay home instead of being on the road all the time







"The joy is still there when I see Sean. He didn't come out of my belly, but my God, I've made his bones, because I've attended to every meal, and how he sleeps, and the fact that he swims like a fish because I took him to the ocean. I'm so proud of all his things. But he is my biggest pride." - John Lennon