White Christmas

So this picture was actually taken a few months ago but I forgot to post it .. It's funny because his poppy sits EXACTLY like this when he is watching tv .. haha .. now onto Christmas ... It was such a busy morning besides video this was the only picture I got ... Mac got a new red and blue spiderman outfit(he had been rockin the black venom outfit since september .. and when I saw rockin I mean he was wearing it as his regular clothing in public at least 4 days a week .. the people at mellow mushroom asked me last time we went to lunch there if he wears it everyday because that was the only outfit they have ever seen him in .. ), a buss lightyear tent, football, spiderman blanket and a few other odds and ends ... Annie(though she too really wanted everything Buss Lightyear I opted to steer her more in the girly direction) got a princess costume, tree tent, elmo slippers and a purse ... They were thrilled .... Thankfully nothing had batteries except for Rexy's toy .. his one and only toy that I dont even have a pic of him with .. :(

Snow fell on Christmas day for the first time since 1947 in Gainesville ... nifty .. and the kids enjoyed it too :)

Celebrating ..

So its been a busy couple months ... It all started out early November celebrating Mac's 3rd birthday ... My sweet first born is 3(feels like he should be 20 just sayin .. ) I love him to pieces he is extremely obsessed with everything Spiderman and Buzz Lightyear ... loves legos, anything chocolate, playing in the garage with his daddy and sneaking into our bed almost every morning around 6:00 ....
Then we celebrated Thanksgiving(sorry for the lack of pictures .. you should be used to my poor documentation skills by now) .. followed by Rexy's first trip to see Santa ... after this "standing in line pic was taken no others pics went quite as smoothly so we will leave it at this ...

Then we celebrated Annie's potty training .. hey its a big step!! Here she is taking a break from changing her own babies diaper ....

Then the celebration of Rexy graduating to big boy food!!

And drumroll ... Our Christmas celebration .... Here is our 2nd annual Happy Birthday Jesus Cake !! I will post more Christmas/ snow pics but this is all the pics this post could handle ...

Cute cousins ...

We had a mini photo shoot this afternoon in our yard .... These cousins are cuuuttteee ...

Watch the blog for birthday pics to come later this week ... I will have a 3 year old!!

A love-hate relationship ...

I have a serious love-hate relationship with photos .... LOVE when friends take good ones like this while we are out playing with kiddos picking out pumpkins and going on hayrides .... LOVE when I actually remember my camera on an outing at the mall for moments like this ...

LOVE pics of a boy so very happy to be eating some ice cream ...

HATE that these are the only 3 pictures I have to show for the last two months ... literally the only 3 ... wow

These kids crack me up ...

Rexy likes to wake up a bit earlier from his afternoon nap then the other two(I think it's because I kinda force him to nap when the others do and he might not be quite ready to go down but he has to for the sake of my sanity) so after waking this week he got his first ride in the swing .. And then there's this one ... he wanted his Gigi to paint him green like the hulk ... and she did ...

And Annie girl had her first lunch out with the girls this week ... all prim and proper ...

then there was dinner later ... not so prim and proper ...

a taste of what we do all day ...

Eat snacks in our tunnels ... Entertain our lil brother ...

Get stuck in the stroller ...

Get pushed in the stroller .. (a lil backwards ..)

A photo update

Some fun in the backyard ...

My latest "crafty" attempt .. I took all the ugly vases you kinda collect from the florist and some more from thrift stores and spray painted the inside white so they would all match for a couples shower I hosted a few weeks ago ... worked out pretty well ...

Z spending some man time with Rexy ....

Annie always into something ...

Top 2 reasons we love our friends ..

#1 ... They make life MUCH more fun and add so much life and laughter to our days .. I love watching my lil's play with their friends ..

#2 .. Our friends have good mommies that actually take pictures(good ones Linds) that document life and dont lose their cameras for months on end ...

We took another trip to the lake and took some friends a few weeks ago .. This is Riott and Mac playing some hardcore Toy Story .. the latest obsession at this house ...

We are thankful for friends ... and now that I have found my camera ... can I get a Hallelujah .. I will post more pics ...

Little man's 1st movie!!

Yup, movie complete with 3D glasses!! He had a ball watching Buzz and Woody and eating his M&M's a dream afternoon in 2 year old land ...

Another ramblings post ...

So my weeks activities are random at this point in life mix some pool time with kids, dinner with college roommates, invitation addressing for an engaged friend, book reading to my book obsessed 1 year old, couponing with my sister, movie watching with my currently buzz and woody obsessed 2 year old, goofing off with the hubs and round it out with some power hour step with friends. Makes for a fun week right? I think so:) However, I admit lost in the mix sometimes is my quiet time with the Lord(although I throw up completely desperate prayers during the day for example when my child has an accident in chic fil a and I am stuck without a diaper or change of clothes and yes he even listens to those prayers and sends diaper angels like linds mig to save me) so I wanted to share some words to an old hymn that I have always held dear. This hymn and I crossed pathes in college and I have a forever love for this verse ..

I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses,
And the voice I hear,
Falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.
And He walks with me,
And He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own.
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None has ever known.

This is how I am feelings these days no matter what random things I am walking through in a week whether good or bad the Lord is walking with me and I feel it ... really I do. And what I really love about this hymn is the part about no one knowing the joy we are sharing and it's true Jesus and I have a relationship thats unique .. our walk is our very own and has a cool gait to it .... :)

We had to get out ...

There comes a time when I cannot stroll around our block, pack up for the gym, play in our yard, play in our cousins yard, go to city park, visit my mom, and visit my mother-in-law ANYMORE! Those are our most common activities and after doing those for O say ... forever ... ya gotta switch it up a bit for sanity!! Hence our trip to the lakehouse ...

I can say I had such a great time that the pic of Mac is the only one I have:) My sister, her lil boy David, myself, Mac, Annie and Rex and a friend of mine and her two boys headed to the lake last Thursday and the daddies joined us after work Friday. We laughed, played, fished, ping ponged, cooked, slept, swam and hung around. A MUCH NEEDED change of pace. Needless to say I will be visiting the lake more this summer. The kids LOVED the pool there with the water slide(of course I went down in with them in my lap), the beach entry and the spray area topped to favorites list:)

Bring on the summer fun ... I kinda feel like a kid getting a "re-do" at childhood:)

Ramblings #2 ....

"How many are your works, O Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creations." Psalm 102:24

As evidenced by my backyard around 3 each day, I like to be around people. The is hardly an afternoon when it is only me and my kids because as much as they love lil friends to play with their mommy loves an adult to talk with. My friends breathe fun into my life but it's more than that. God made them all so very unique and I am a lucky girl because each one brings out a different side in me and in the mudane of mommyhood I couldn't appreciate it more ... I have friends that challenge my creative side, that inspire my fashionable(or not so fashionable) side, encourage my domestic side(or put it to shame), educate my mommy side, share my love for real estate side, let my spontaneous side out for brief spans of time, reminsce on the past for my nostalgic side, accompany me to the gym for my physical fitness side and I even have ones that indulge my trash tv side! They are all so unique and it's because God made them that way and I see the creativness of Him in them each day. I cannot imagine living life not surrounded by people to share with, push kids in strollers with, eat with, run with, worship with, pray with, travel with, do ministry with and cry I'm laughing so hard with. I am a blessed blessed girl.

And give it up for me for the 3 days in a row string of posts!!!!

Update ...

Time has flown since I had Rex. I really can't believe he is already 2.5 months old, I really feel like I had him yesterday. He is such a great lil guy and loves his sleep! He naps without a fuss and sleeps pretty long stretches at night(watch just because I posted this tonight will be terrible). Annie and Mac are always trying to "play" with their lil bro .. this includes piling toys on top of him, hugging/strangling him, and giving him lots of kisses. Rex is a great addition to the madness around here:)

I am getting better at this ...

A token picture of Rex during a visit from our friends new pup ... and onto the couponing .... these were the products I forgot in the original picture ..

All the goods ...

So couponing attempt #2 ... I promise I will quit posting all pics and a list of goods after this week ... maybe just total versus what I saved:)

I bought:

-2 bags Rold Gold pretzels

-1 Sister Shubert rolls

-1 big All Oxi active laundry detergent

-2.25lbs grapes

-4 apples

-2lbs sweet potatoes

-2 Stouffers skillet dinners

-1 64oz Welches grape juice

-2 Ken's salad dressings

-2 Zone Perfect bars

-8 Yoplait fiber one yogurts

-3 large bags M&M's (don't usually buy this type of thing but with all the coupons/deal each bag was like .30 so I couldn't pass it up!)

-1 Off Smoothe and Dry Mosquito repellent

-2 boxes Ritz crackers

-2 Airwick Aqua mist sprays

-2 Keebler cookie

-2 Hunts ketchup(corn syrup free! ... not that none of my other purchases don't contain it:))

-1 can black beans

-2 cans diced tomatoes

-1 can niblet corn

-1 box Suddenly Salad mix

-1 box Quaker breakfast cookie

-1 package blueberry bagels

-1 Glass plus spray

-1 Motts Applesauce

-1 Sauve shampoo

-1 Ghiradeli brownie mix

-1 gallon sweet tea

-4 chicken breasts

-2 dozen eggs

-8 pack sparkle paper towels

-2 gallons of milk

Total: $102.73

SAVED: $65.21

Ok ... I am getting better at this ... and you may think wow she didn't buy much meat but I have some in the freezer and bread frozen from last weeks shopping ... and about a bzillion strawberries my sister picked .... anyway I think I did pretty good:)

This couponing thing is FOR REAL!!!

Ok this was my first attempt at this coupon thing and here's how it went ... I got ...

-$50 BP gas card

-1 box fruit snacks

-1 box english muffins

-1.62 lbs sweet potatoes
-2.2 lbs broccoli

-2.69 lbs bananas

-2 boxes strawberries

-2 Birdseye Voila frozen meals

-1 box ice cream sandwiches

-whipping cream

-1 bag frozen biscuits

-4 apples

-2 gallons milk

-Keebler Rainbow cookies

-Soy Baby Formula

-Resolve Spray 'n Wash

-5lb sugar

-1 Hellmans Mayo

-4 loaves wheat bread

-dark chocolate chips

-Shick hydro razor

-2 boxes thin spaghetti

-activia yogurt

-2 Ken's marinades

-4 Peter Pan Peanut butter

-2 pouches tuna

-1 gallon apple juice

-2 Ragu spaghetti sauces

-baking soda

-olive oil

-cubed steak

-4 pork chops

-V8 splash juice

-1 box Capri sun

-1 bag shredded cheese

Total -- $140.72 (keep in mind it included a $50 gas card so all the groceries for $90)

SAVED -- $60.74

AMAZING!!! I am HOOKED

Crafty Crafty ...

So I have made these earring holders for years. Many I have given as gifts and I finally made one for myself. They are super easy to make ..
Step 1 - Find an old frame at an antique store or goodwill
Step 2 - Buy screen material at a home improvement store
Step 3 - Staple gun the screen in place and voila!!

Give it a try .. makes great wall art and keeps the earrings nice and tidy ...




And just because she is so cute ...

Let's face it ...

I am not good at remembering to take pictures ... ever .. at all. Once I pack a bag full of the things that you need to get 3 kids out the door - diapers, extra clothes for the potty training one and the cronic puker, sippy cups, bottles, burp cloths, wipes, my brain, snacks, my sanity, etc ... the last thing I think of is a camera. So you will just have to trust me when I say we have been enjoying the great outdoors, going on lots of walks, trips to the gym, friends birthdays, boat rides and so much more. One day I will remember to take a picture of our fun but for now you will have to enjoy the staged pictures.

Will you play with me?

After many cold and wet winter months spring is here and we can play outside ... We have spent every waking minute soaking up the sun ... Annie is thrilled:)

Springtime ...

Our church had its 4th annual Easter Egg Hunt this past weekend and my kids of course got in on the action (mom and dad need their candy stash) ... Mac had already filled his tool box on the first hunting round so when the adult hunt came up he grabbed a larger bag to fill:) Annie picked up all of one egg ...

Inspired by a friend ..

So, needless to say down time for a mom is hard to find and usually the last thing I want to do when I find it is anything actually! Most of the time during naps I vegitate and read blogs online, read, bake, straighten up ya know that kinda thing but starting next week .. drum roll ... I am gonna PAINT:) I really like to paint. It's kinda like therapy and I never do it until a get the itch like every few .. years .. ha. However, my friend Lindsey (a serious crafter/sewer/painter .. she puts most moms to shame) posted on her blog elephantinmypocket.blogspot.com a painting she recently did of her family tree .. and she researched ancestry for it -- um yea she is one of those super motivated mommies:) So, I am posting this to keep myself accountable because I am going to paint our family tree .. stay tuned for pictures ... Here are a few pics of the last painting I did ... I am no pro but I do like to do it ...