blessed chaos

spring has sprung

2012-03-12T10:29:00.001-05:00

It looks like spring has finally arrived!

Which means there are going to be lots of afternoons at the park.

Here are a few pics of my handsome boys enjoying the sunshine.

I love this pic of the boys. Especially Jacob’s face in the background :)

(And the focus is horrible! My camera bag fell and my sweet hubby didn’t want to upset me so he just moved it. Come to find out it jammed my lens.)

Tyler’s favorite thing is to throw rocks on the playground!

Hope you all had a blessed weekend!

spring break is here!

2012-03-10T10:11:00.000-06:00

Spring break has officially started!

Hello cRaZy Texas spring weather!

{this morning}

{the next couple of days}

seeing purple

2012-03-07T07:45:00.000-06:00

Saturday I got a WiLd hAir {as I usually do with this sort of stuff} to buy “big girl” {and boy} bedding. I had ok bedding before, but I have to say it was kind of sad. It was a huge hodge podge of blankets, quilts and a Lightning McQueen comforter. I knew that it was time. Time for grown up stuff, I mean I am almost 30 for crying out loud! Before I would have picked out some basic, boring comforter set and some camo sheets or something. So that being said I have no idea what possessed me to buy the bedding set that I bought. For me, it is really feminine. Not something that I would normally purchase, at least without someone pushing me along. But for some reason there was this little voice in my head that was saying “Buy it. It’s the one.” So I caved. I brought home this very purple bedding set from Target...

Now that I have some pretty purple bedding, I have to find some pretty pillows to go with it. I want a mix of colors and sparkle. {I’m sure Mike is going to be thrilled about that}. I am even digging those flower pics on the wall.

What I really need is a store full of pillows! Cute ones, fun ones, sparkly ones, ruffle-y ones, long ones, big ones, ones with flowers, ones with stripes... I think you get the picture :)

spring/summer wish list

2012-03-06T14:15:00.000-06:00

I don’t usually post about fashion or clothes. Not because I don’t want to, I just think that my fashion sense, to be honest, kinda sucks! But today it is a breezy 71* and it got me thinking about a new spring/summer wardrobe. Can we say hello summer dresses and flip flops!

I have always been a tomboy type person. I could not live without my comfy jeans, t-shirts & cheap flip flops. But lately, I have been wanting to upgrade my wardrobe. I was looking through my closet the other day and I still have pieces that I wore in high school, which is incredibly sad because I graduated 10 years ago! I want to have some fun pieces that I can wear to church or dinner or running errands.

My favorite place to get fashion inspiration is Victoria’s Secret. I ‘m not exactly sure why, but I think it has to do with my mom shopping there for years. And I just love their clothes!

Another great place that I find fashion inspiration is Pinterest! I can always find whole outfits put together that are a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e. And with them already pieced together for me, all I have to do is try and find the pieces :)

an extra day

2012-02-29T10:51:00.000-06:00

Happy Leap Day everyone!

This year we all get an extra day to do what we need to do or maybe what we have been putting off doing.

Luckily, for me, my extra day is filled with sunshine and spring-like temps so I am going to take full advantage of it and fill the holes my precious dog has dug in my backyard and plant some grass seed. I am hoping for a green yard this year despite the lack of rain and water restrictions.

I dream of having a yard that looks like this again. I just doubt it is going to happen with a dog and two kids that dig holes bigger than they are. *sigh*

And to top off my beautiful day I am going to get caught up on laundry!

Hope everyone has a blessed Leap Day!

so many ideas...

2012-02-20T08:00:00.000-06:00

Howdy Y’all!

I hope you are all having a wonderful start to the week!

Since I was sick this last week and did not felt like going anywhere, I laid around looking at the rooms in my house thinking about what I wanted to do with them. I had all these jumbled, crazy ideas running around in my head like ants on a lollipop. So, I put my drawing abilities to the test and started putting down what I was seeing in my head. And I have to say… they didn’t turn out too shabby!

Bathrooms

The top picture is what I want the guest bathroom to look like. I love the idea of removing the doors and shelves on both sides and using wicker baskets for towel storage. Then the bottom left picture is of my teeny tiny bathroom. I think that the curtains and shelves for towels would make a huge impact on the way the bathroom looks. Right now the picture looks way better than the actual bathroom :)

This picture is where I got my inspiration for the baskets under the sink. Mine will just be a little bit bigger.

{Source}

Entryway

For the longest time I had nothing hanging on the walls or laying around to spruce the place up. Over the past year of so I have discovered that I love hanging things on the wall and love buying little things to give my house my own little touch. I really want a sign like the one below to hang in my entryway above my door. I just love the idea of your last name and the year you were married.

{Source}

Can’t you just picture the sign above the door? I know I can! And I can picture that U-G-L-Y tile being gone! I can’t wait for the day we get hardwood floors :) Also in the entryway we will be replacing the closet door, moving the sofa table from the living room into the entry, hanging more picture frames and starting a cross collection on the wall on the right and painting it the same color as the kitchen.

Note: the walls only look that color because of the flash. It’s a bad pic and makes them look kinda purple. The color looks way better than that in natural light.

Living Room

This living room looks nothing like mine does. Not even if you were to close your eyes and wish for it. What I love about this living room is…1) the subtle but colorful accents. I have a brown similar to that on most of my walls {except my living room because it makes it way to dark due to lack of windows} and have a lot of white and black frames. I think little pops of color would make my house jump for joy. And 2) it just looks fun :o)

{Source}

This is my special project. This dresser has been in my kitchen and in my bedroom and soon to be in my living room! We are going to take out all the drawers and all drawer stuff, remove the center beam and add a shelf in the middle that goes all the way across. Then we will move it into my living room and use it as a TV stand :) The shelf will be perfect for our cable box and Wii and the bottom shelf will have baskets for Wii games/controllers, TV accessories, etc…

I can’t wait to get this project done!!

My husband thought I was crazy, but I told him everyone's doing it!

{Source}

Kitchen

Here is what my kitchen looked like back in 2009…
{Now that I am looking at the pics, I am really tired of the red walls!}

… and here it is now.
I can’t believe how different it looks just by changing the table.

My inspiration…

I really like the black accents and fun drapes. I know that you can’t see it, but I have a ceiling fan above the table that HAS TO GO! I can even picture my chairs painted black.

{Source}

Master Bedroom

My bedroom is my biggest challenge. I spent a lot of time sponge painting the walls, and now I am not sure how to decorate it! And one of the reasons I don’t know how to decorate it is because of the bedding. I want a cute bedding that is not too dark, but something that will not get all grungy really easy. Michael is a mechanic, and well… they never some clean no matter how much they scrub. It’s sad really :o(

My inspiration…

I love the whole girly look in the master bedroom. Maybe it is because I live in a house of boys where there are Legos and hot wheels everywhere, I’m just sayin. A think a little pink does a girl good :) I am not sure how I would incorporate pink into my room yet, I just don’t want it to be too girly. I don’t think Michael would take to kindly to our room being invaded by the pink fairy.

our weekend

2012-02-19T08:35:00.000-06:00

Saturday

Last night we spent our family night at the monster truck rally! It might seem a little redneck to some, but well… we work with what we got :) The boys had fun for the most part. Tyler was terrified at first, but soon came around and Jacob has to be the only kid in history to cry the last 20 minutes because he wants to go home so he can sleep. Although it was fun, family movie night is way cheaper!

Sunday

Sunday had a little bit of a chaotic start. We didn’t get to bed until after eleven on Saturday, so the boys were not really wanting to get up and get ready for church. After a few fights, lots of talking and a BIG cup of coffee we were off to church.

After church decided to go by the hardware store to look at things to fix up the house. I took pictures of everything we picked out so when we went back I knew exactly what we wanted. After we came home we sat down and made a master list of everything we wanted to do to the house, so now we can start marking it off one by one :)

New lights for the bathroom

Lights above the kitchen sink

New chandelier for above the kitchen table
(I’m still undecided on which one I want)

Hardwood floors for the house :)

Tile for the bathrooms and kitchen

Backsplash for the kitchen

New faucets for both bathrooms

Finally some storage in the bathrooms!

Pretty new bathroom countertops

What Mike wants to do with our bathroom.
Instead of having two sinks he wants to do something like this with shelves on either side.

New front door hardware

New doors for the entire house

a happy hallway

2012-02-18T08:00:00.001-06:00

Yesterday while browsing around one of my fave home stores I came across this cute sign that says ‘and the lived happily ever after’ and thought that it would go perfect in my hallway with some family photos. But, I already have a sign in there that says ‘all because two people fell in love’. So I thought that I would take pictures of them both so I could pick which one looks best. The other will go in my entryway amongst all my pictures in there.

Which do you think looks better?

And the winner is...

I think I am going to leave the teal one up. Just because I like the pop of color you see when you walk into the hallway. It’s nice and refreshing :) And I have already figured out where the red one is going to go in the entryway!

a new furry friend

2012-02-17T19:40:00.000-06:00

This morning while I was folding laundry I heard something outside my bedroom window. I peeked through the blinds and saw the sweetest looking kitty cat.

Never being around a cat before, Tyler was a little stand off-ish at first.

He quickly warmed up to the kitty and they were inseparable until he had to go to school!

Now we will wait and see if he comes back to visit again tomorrow.

my valentine

2012-02-14T10:02:00.000-06:00

I want to start by saying that this is not one of the holidays I favor.

I am a firm believer you should show your special someone you love them everyday!

But if I had to choose a person I wanted to spend today with, then it would be…

… this little guy! I mean who could resist that sweet little face?!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

when life gives you lemons, lighten your hair!

2012-02-03T16:57:00.000-06:00

Usually about this time of year I go to the salon and get my hair all pretty and highlighted. But to be honest with you, I’m really not wanting to spend $115 on my hair right now, but I still want it lightened. Yes, I want my cake and to be able to eat it too. Who am I kidding… I want to devour it!

I remembered as a kid, before I was allowed to get my hair chemically highlighted, I did it the old school way. Okay, maybe not old school, but ‘natural’ way. And it always worked! So while the rest of my family had brunette hair, I had lovely golden locks. I guess it helped that my hair was lighter than everyone else's hair to begin with. But they were still lovely and golden :)

All you need is your hair, some fresh squeezed lemon juice and plenty of sunshine!

You squeeze as much juice as you can out of a few lemons and apply the juice all over dry hair. Then you let it go to work. It will still work even if you don’t go out in the sun, it just speeds up the process a little. I like to add it to my hair when I know I am going to be outside for an extended period of time.

So there you have it. The all natural way to get your very own lovely golden locks.

Happy Highlighting Y’all!

oh happy day!

2012-01-27T16:50:00.000-06:00

SQUEEEEEEEEEEL!

For the last 6 months every time I have gone into the kitchen do wash dishes I have had to look at my broken, won’t work if my life depended on it dishwasher. Hand washing it was. And I have to say it was getting pretty old. It had gone beyond just wanting a new dishwasher, I needed a new dishwasher!

After countless hours searching, I finally found the perfect one. And the best part… she was was on sale! After patiently waiting for was seemed like forever {okay it was only four days}, she was delivered and my sweet hubby installed her last night for me. So far I have nothing but good things to say. She is a dream!

{Insert happy dance here}

{This is the Whirlpool Gold Energy Star Dishwasher! It was beautiful and on sale!!! Normally $749.99 this beauty was on sale for $466.68 plus a 10% off online coupon from retailmenot.com. For a total sale price of $420! Now I am doing my happy dance :)}

The boys on the other hand were more excited about the box she came in. I don’t blame them. I don’t think I have ever met a kid excited about doing the dishes.

Baylee was ready for her close up!

She was also ready for her nightly game of fetch.
Ain’t she adorable?

Now I am off to do some dishes :)

mini bagel pizzas

2012-01-26T08:44:00.001-06:00

The other day I was brain storming trying to think of fun ideas for lunch. My boys definitely get tired of sandwiches. There is only so many ways you can make a sandwich exciting! I know that they love those little frozen mini bagel bites, but to be honest with you, I think they suck! If you eat them right after you bake them they are great, but if you let them sit at all they get all hard and chewy. Not good at all! So I thought ‘why can’t I make my own’?

So… I bought little mini bagels {and I had English muffins laying around the house}, made a quick and easy pizza sauce, got little mini pepperonis, some pizza blend cheese and I personally like to add some sliced jalapeno for a little kick and extra flavor. Bake at 375* until cheese is bubbly {about 5-8 min}.
Voila! Kids and hubby loved them!

Mini Bagel Pizza Bites

mini bagels or english muffins
pizza sauce {store bought or make your own}
mini pepperonis
mozzarella or pizza blend cheese
any other toppings that you may like

preheat oven to 375*

1. half the bagels/English muffins

2. spread on the pizza sauce.
you may have to use a little more because the bread soaks it up

3. sprinkle on a layer of cheese

4. add pepperonis and any other toppings if you choose

5. place directly on rack and bake for 5 min.
if cheese has not melted all the way bake for 2 more min. and check again.

inspired: project “purge”

2012-01-23T07:45:00.000-06:00

I was reading one of my favorite organizing websites is iheartorganizing.com and came across her post ‘Project Purge’ and it inspired me to do my very own ‘project purge’. BTW, Jen is a flipping genius! There are so many awesome ideas and so much inspiration in her posts. She really makes me want to organize!

Looking around my house you would think that my family needs to be featured on an episode of hoarders. Okay, it’s not really that bad, but you get the idea.

Over the next 4 weeks I am going to go through each room in the house and decide what needs to be thrown away, what can be sold, and what we should keep. Right now I am in the whole “less is more” frame of mind. There is definitely a lot of the ‘more’ around my house and I need a whole lot ‘less’.

Here is my plan:

week 1 {jan.23rd-28th}: bedrooms

week 2 {jan.30-feb.4rd}: office

week 3 {feb.6th-12th}: living room/entry/kitchen/laundry room

week 4 {feb.13th-18th}: garage

Maybe I will inspire someone else to ‘purge’ around there house just as Jen has inspired me. I would love to hear from you!

a week with sick babies

2012-01-22T14:39:00.001-06:00

This last week was definitely chaotic.

We started off the week with an extra two days off from school. We got haircuts and I got to work on making my cash envelopes (more on that in another post :)) We had lot’s of fun together!

Then came Wednesday.

I woke Jake up to get ready for school and he was crying because his head hurt. Now, I know he can be dramatic so at first I was skeptical. But he was running a 101* fever so it was off to the doctor instead of school. Come to find out my poor guy had strep! Then came the fun part. As we were walking out they reminded me that it was time for Tyler’s 4 year checkup. As I was looking at a calendar to schedule they suggested that they just get me right back in and get it over with. No biggie right? WRONG! He needed not one, not two, but 3 SHOTS! So here I was with kiddo with strep and one that just got his arms and legs poked.

Thankfully everyone (including mommy) was much better when we were able to lay down and watch TV. So far it looks like mommy and daddy have dodged the bullet and did not catch what Jacob had. Sadly, I have to take Tyler back to the doctor tomorrow. He has been running a low grade fever and coughing non stop for 3 days :(

xx Praying for a mostly sick free week xx

Here is a look at my week through instagram eyes…

{Tyler getting ready to get his hair buzzed off}

{Jacob hooked on his Lego Wii game}

{Cash envelope trial run}

{Iced vanilla soy latte. Yum!}

{My baby boy}

{A very sick Jacob}

{This stays attached to my bank card at all times}

Awesomeness!

2012-01-20T23:24:00.001-06:00

I am extremely excited that I can now post from my iPad.

It's the little things in life that make me happy :)

I will be back tomorrow to post and get caught back up. It has been a long week of kids with strep.

Goodnite!

Pizza on a Stick

2012-01-13T08:00:00.000-06:00

My boys new favorite meal is Pizza on a Stick. I first got the idea from Bread in Five, but I tweaked it and tonja-ised it so it was easier to make. And Instead of making my own bread, I have found that it is much easier using Pillsbury’s Rustic French Bread :)

The first step is to roll the dough out on a clean counter and spread and a thin layer of pizza sauce about a half inch from the edges.

Next sprinkle a layer of cheese and make three lines of pepperonis. It will look similar to below.

The rolling part I think is the hardest part. You have to be careful not to tear the dough.

After it is all rolled up and purdy, slice like you would when making cinnamon rolls. *Make sure you are using a sharp knife* My knife was not near sharp enough, so it was a little tricky.

Lay out on a baking sheet and bake for 20 min at 350*

Do de do de do de do….. (think Jeopardy them song)

BAM! Pizza rolls!

Then you place the pizza rolls on a wooden skewer and you get….

Pizza on a Stick!

(That is pizza sauce for dipping)

The BIG 4

2012-01-12T08:35:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we celebrated Tyler’s 4th birthday with a quite get together at home. I have been bad these last couple of months. I didn’t throw a party for Jacob, so I decided to not have a party for Tyler either. I know some people may think that is bad, but I have not been home on a weekend in over 2 months!
Lyryn, I needed you here to make a super awesome cake and plan a rockin’ party :)

Here is Tyler holding a pic of him when he was just 1 day old. Doesn’t he look so big?!

They so misspelled Tyler’s name on his cake. They spelled it T-y-l-O-r instead of with an E. So I had to do a quick fix.

The birthday boy just woke up from his afternoon nap.

The birthday table that I set up.
(Funny story about the Christmas tree birdhouse next to the cake and pizza on a stick.)

When I asked Tyler what he wanted for his birthday dinner he told me ‘pizza with the stick in it’.
I had made pizza on a stick for Jacob’s birthday and now my boys can’t seem to get enough of it.
(Recipe will be up tomorrow)

Michael told me if I made pizza on a stick that I had to make Mexican Sushi as well.
I know it may sound strange, but they really are oh so yummy!

Tyler eating his pizza…

Time to blow out the candle!!! Make a Wish!

For a week when I asked Tyler what he wanted for his birthday he would tell me ‘a Christmas tree birdhouse’. I had no clue what he meant or why he wanted one. But I didn’t ask questions. If that is what my sweet boy wanted that is what I was going to get. And lo and behold, I went to Penney’s and they had their Christmas ornaments 75% off. I swear my odds were better at cash 5 then finding what he wanted. But I did! And there it is. The story of the Christmas tree birdhouse :)

More hot wheels!!!

Tyler looking over his Legos.

CHEESE!

He is rockin’ the messy hair do while he tears into his new toys.

And there you have a simple, yet lovely 4th birthday party for a very special boy!

My Baby is 4

2012-01-11T15:39:00.000-06:00

Today has been a whirlwind of emotions and denial. Four years ago today my doctor sent me to the hospital to be induced. At 9:36pm I gave birth to a healthy 6 pound 6 ounce baby boy. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I would be a mother to not one, but two boys.

I want to start by saying that I NEVER wanted kids. I was way to selfish to want to consider sharing my time with a baby. I was in no way ready for a what lied ahead. Then one day in April God surprised me with a baby. A baby that I never knew I wanted. A baby I loved more than life itself. Then that sweet baby started getting bigger and I started to get ‘baby fever’. Something that my dear sweet hubby tried to cure. But it didn’t work. I prayed. I cried. I even think there was one point where I begged. I had never wanted anything more than I wanted another baby. And in God’s right timing I was pregnant again. (I think it was like a month or something like that, too long for me lol) And I won’t lie, when that sonogram tech told me at 12 weeks that I was having another boy I was devastated. I cried for a week. Then one day I woke up and saw how awesome my sweet Jacob was and couldn’t wait to have another boy. God knew exactly what I needed :) I won’t tell you the last four years have been easy breezy, but they have been the best four years of my life! Never in a million years would I have thought that my life would have turned out this incredibly blessed.

I hope that my baby know that his mommy loves him more than words can say and that I could not have asked for a better boy. He will forever be my baby. I love you oh so much Hoss!

Happy Birthday Tyler!

10.5

2012-01-10T10:11:00.000-06:00

It has been a super crazy winter here in the desert!

Saturday they said that we were going to get hit with a record breaking snowstorm.

And sure enough that is what we got! Throughout the day on Monday we got a whopping 10.5” of snow!!!

Here are a few pics what it looked like yesterday.
(The snow had already started melting by the time I got my camera out)

Bloggy Makeover

2012-01-04T10:34:00.003-06:00

In my New Year’s day post I said that there were going to be some changes. The only change I have done right now is my blog header and name. I have really thought long and hard about this. I was afraid to change it because I didn’t want to lose readers. But in the end I decided it needed to be changed.

Drum roll please……………….

So I have have decided to call it Blessed Chaos.
My life is incredibly blessed, but filled with chaos!

I love coming here and posting, sharing pictures and just having a place that is mine. In a house full of boys sometimes it is hard to find a place that is not overrun with hot wheels, Legos and dirty boots. So this is it! A place where I can post about clothes or hair, maybe some pink things here and there. Just a place to be me. Hopefully you will stick around to hear me ramble :)

And here is a pic of my sweet boys….
Tyler decided he didn’t want to make funny faces :)

And yes you may have seen me say the blog was going to be another name, but I woke up the next morning with a very strong feeling that it needed to be Blessed Chaos :)

New Year, New Set of Goals

2012-01-02T09:42:00.000-06:00

I am horrible about making New Year’s resolutions and never sticking to them. I always make this huge list of things that I want to do, but never end up doing.

So I have decided not to call them resolutions, instead I call them goals. For some reason it is easier for me to get done when I think of them like that. Nutty, I know!

Here are my major goals for the new year…

1. Read my bible more. Read the kids their bible more. Convince Michael to read his bible more.

2. To actually get out that get er’ done list and fix up our house!

3. Lose 20 lbs. (I gained that much when I quite smoking)

4. Eat better. Make healthier meals. Have healthier snacks for the kids.

5. Workout at least 5 days a week!

6. Be better with money and work on paying off my urban burban.

I have already started on 99% of everything on that list. And if you know me at all that is a HUGE!

Have you set any goals for the new year?

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T09:00:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year Everyone!

Hope that you are all having a blessed beginning to 2012.

Can’t wait to post back later with some new year’s changes :)

Bye Bye Blondie

2011-12-14T15:24:00.001-06:00

I don’t get to treat myself often, so I was excited last week when I was able to make it to the salon for a little much needed ME time. And I enjoyed every minute of it.

Instead of the usual highlights and lowlights I decided to change the color :)

Here I was as a blonde…

Now I’m a BRUNETTE!

What do you think?

I wasn’t to sure about it at first, but now I absolutly LOVE IT!!!

Photo Friday Week 49: Smiles

2011-12-09T15:53:00.001-06:00

This week for Photo Friday I am doing something I have never done before…

… post a photo without makeup!!! {screaming}

Not only is this a picture of Tyler and I smiling, but it also makes me smile.

Spending the weekends with my boys at the deer lease has been the highlight of my year!

I will cherish these moments forever.

Hope you all stop by Trina’s blog and check out the other photos!

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

2011-12-08T15:23:00.001-06:00

This is my simply decorated Christmas Tree from last year.

I went with turquoise, leopard and camo ornaments. I loved it!

This year I decided to go a bit different.

I wanted my tree to be fun and kid friendly. So the boys and I got together and painted ceramic ornaments.

They had a blast. I had a blast.

And now my tree is a one of a kind original!

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

2011-12-06T16:34:00.000-06:00

Today is a SNOW DAY!!

Last night at my house we got at least 6” of snow!
Thank you, Jesus!

Snow is actually very rare for this part of Texas.

And I have to say that I am quite excited :)

We tried to build a snowman, but my boys got cold seeing how we do not have the proper winter gear for things like this.

So I thought I would share a few shots that I took while I was out!

Looking out of my garage…

This is one of the cows down the street from my house.

Everything is oh so pretty covered in white fluffy stuff!

Lookin’ down the road…

My boys hanging window decals on the front door.

Hope you all have a blessed Monday!

Family Photos

2011-12-05T16:06:00.000-06:00

I have been trying to get family pictures done for the past month, but it always seemed like something was working against me.
But this last week I finally got them taken.

Not let me start by saying that I am by no means a professional photographer, but I think they came out pretty darn good considering.

Not only was I in front of the camera being photographed, but I was also the one photographing us!!

They aren’t much and they aren’t fancy… but they are us :)

Stoppin’ by…

2011-12-05T07:28:00.001-06:00

… for a quick update right now.

I still have not heard back from the pediatrician about Jacob’s MRI. I am going to take that as a good sign :)

We got 6” of snow last night! Insane!!

I will be posting a bunch of pics later to get everyone caught up on my life the past couple of weeks.

And I took pictures for family Christmas cards and I can’t wait to show you.

It was very interesting being the photographer and the photographed.

Prayers Needed

2011-11-30T08:18:00.001-06:00

Hello ladies!

Sorry I have been MIA lately.

I am trying to get everything caught up from Thanksgiving and post some pics.

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful!

Michael ended up with the stomach bug, but recovered quickly.

And this week has been super hectic.

Jacob went to the doc yesterday for severe headaches and they scheduled an MRI for tomorrow morning.

As a mom, naturally I worry, but trust God that everything is okay.

And today he is home sick.

It is never fun to have a sickly one at home :(

Will update you as soon as I can get back on here.

Hope you are all having a blessed Wednesday!

P.S. It is supposed to snow Friday!!!
Hello Winter :)

It’s Tur… I mean Duck Day!

2011-11-24T09:00:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day of giving thanks!

Right now I am cooking a duck, yes I said DUCK! for Thanksgiving dinner.

Hope you all have a blessed day!

Bobcats and Deer Oh My!

2011-11-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

I finally got around to editing the photos that I took last weekend while we were at the deer lease.

One of the most awesome shots that I got was this bobcat. I have never seen one in real like so I was in awe about it. I have to say that it was one of the most beautiful creatures that I have ever seen. They move so delicately and stealth like that we almost missed him. And it’s not very often you just see one on the side of the road like this.

Michael says he prefers the SOOC shots, but I have to disagree! Even though I am still learning and am by no means an expert, I think that my edited one looks waay better.

Here is another shot that I love. This friendly doe got within 10-15 yards of my deer blind. She knew I was there, but she posed for a few pictures anyway. And I’ll be honest with ya, I enjoy ‘hunting’ them with my camera better than I do my gun. Shhhh! don’t tell my hubby, he may disown me :)
Isn’t she pretty though?

And here are a few pictures of my FAVORITE boys…

The Candy Covered Turkey

2011-11-18T21:59:00.001-06:00

Jacob had his very 1st project doe today. He is growing up way to fast!

He had to disguise a turkey.

When he brought it home earlier this week he told me he wanted to disguise his turkey with M & M’s. It was a perfect idea! But let me tell you, it is hard to get the those yummy chocolate treats to stay stuck to the paper.

Quick dry tacky glue worked like a charm.

We had a great time together working on his project, even if he ate more M & M’s than he glued :)

Here is my little man posing for the camera…

Our green eyed turkey…

A rainbow of yummy colors….

It turned out amazingly wonderful!
We only had to re-glue a couple of M & M’s before he headed off to school.

Happy Friday!

No More Boring Shower Curtain

2011-11-16T16:23:00.001-06:00

Today while walking around Hobby Lobby I decided that my shower curtain in the guest bathroom was boring and needed to be jazzed up a little. I thought about getting a new one all together, but decided against it when I got to thinking about all the wonderful things I could do to make mine better.

The first thing I did was look for a fabric that I could sew onto the bottom to make it longer. I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for, but I did find this awesome leopard fabric that is even better! Then I found some cute white and green ribbon that is going to add some polka dot goodness to it. And lastly, I wanted to add a little dazzle and found some lime green beads to bling it up.

I can’t wait to show you the finished product next week!

Since I was going to add the leopard fabric I wanted to incorporate some more leopard in into the mix, but I didn’t want to do the black. As I was browsing Etsy I came across these absolutly adorable knobs. I think that they are going to be the perfect addition to my new bathroom décor.

Tuesday Ramblings

2011-11-15T16:01:00.001-06:00

This morning I got out of bed with my mind on a mission. I had to make it to the mall to pick two names off of our Angel tree, which is a tree with children’s names on it that come from underprivileged families. I saw a little boy yesterday that reminded of my sweet Tyler. And even though I have never met this little boy, I knew that I wanted to buy him Christmas. And this morning he was still there and I snatched his name right up. I also picked a little boy who is the same age as Jacob. His name is Kevin. I feel incredibly blessed that we are able to buy gifts for these boys who may have not had a Christmas. God has blessed us more than we could imagine and we are super excited that we are able to give to others.

Next on my agenda was to find an outfit for a wedding I have to attend on Saturday. It is a wedding in the country so I chose to go with dressy casual. Normally I would not buy such an outfit just for a wedding, but I have decided that I am also going to wear it for family pictures the next day :) I never thought I would see myself in skinny jeans, but they are so cute with these boots. Now I just need to find some cute turquoise jewelry to tie everything in together.

Hope everyone is having a very blessed Tuesday!

Photo Friday Week 45: Wind

2011-11-11T13:31:00.001-06:00

Hello lovelies!

I can’t believe that it is Friday already! I had plans to upload and post pictures all week, but something always seemed to come up. Sigh. Jacob started Tae Kwon Do this week which takes up two evenings and I started a new bible study this Wednesday…. Life has just been cuh-razy!

I am excited super about this weeks theme.

See… living in West Texas wind is one thing we are never short of round here. If it’s not blowing at this very second, give it 5 minutes and it will be howling.

Last week we had a cold front move through and it brought some pretty strong winds and limited visibility along with it.

Just as the storm was starting to arrive…

…the dust storm in full force.

Check out all the other photos over at Trina’s blog :)

Next Week: Music

Herman the Turkey

2011-11-02T08:58:00.001-05:00

This year Halloween was uneventful at my house. The boys had just got back in town from a weekend at the deer lease and they raked in enough candy from school that we opted out of trick er treating this year. I know, I don’t have any cute pictures of them in costumes to share, but I have to say that I really enjoyed spending the evening at home with my boys.

The crafting bug must be bitin’ me lately because I have had all these crazy ideas for decorating my house. I could not find anything in the fall décor section at Hobby Lobby that just screamed take me home, so I took matters into my own hands. It made it even better that everything was 50% off!

So last night I made this cute little guy. His name is Herman. And Herman started out a plain white boring turkey, now he is full of life in leopard print and glitter. Isn’t he cute?

I plan on doing similar things for Christmas décor. It is so much more fun to make my own decorations!

Ghosts of Living Room Pasts

2011-10-27T07:52:00.000-05:00

If you read yesterdays post you know that my living room is my major project this weekend. I found some pictures to show you how it looked before I talked my hubby into letting me paint the walls.

Here is the living room in early 2009. We bought the house in 05’ so I went four years with these brown walls. Now I know that they are not that bad, but to me they just screamed 1980’s! Michael loved them, but I was home all day and the brown walls on top of the brown carpet was just way too much.

I just had to throw this in the mix. This is the tile that I am pulling up this weekend as well.
Is this stuff not awful?!? I can’t believe that I have not got rid of it sooner!

Note: Please excuse the crazy mess that is going on in this pic.
This is the living room after we painted it. It was a pain to paint because of the paneling on the walls, but in all I am happy that we ended up painting it. I think it brightened up the place. You can also tell that all of the furniture we had was just a hodge podge of stuff that we had collected over the course of our marriage. That couch, when it was new, was the most comfortable couch on earth! I literally slept on it the last 3 months of my pregnancy with Jacob. It was soooo comfortable! Unfortunately, the coffee table was not really kid friendly. Those sharp corners and wobbly babies did not get along. And the carpet you see a little bit of there was the oldest carpet I had ever seen. It was the original carpet from 1982!

And here is my living room these days with a few adjustments here and there. The carpet was the first thing to go. One day after I tripped over the carpet that was bunching in the hall I decided enough was enough! I went and bought a heavy duty box cutter and started tearing it out. The funny thing is when Michael left for work that morning we had carpet, when he came home it was all in the dumpster :) It was so old that the padding underneath had deteriorated. Yuck! The best transformation though was Michael getting me new furniture for Christmas last year. I know it wasn’t brand new, but it was new to me :)

You have now seen the changes I have made to my living room over the last couple of years.
I will post pics next week of the new wall color and soon I will be able to show you all the new floors!

I Have Been Inspired

2011-10-26T07:52:00.000-05:00

I have posted about re-doing my house for a while now, but have not really accomplished anything. I am the worst procrastinator in the world! But the main reason is because I have not been able to decide to what I really wanted to do with my house. I have kept in mind to keep it simple and put what I like in the house, but to also keep in mind that I need to keep it somewhat neutral so I won’t have to repaint everything when we sell the house.

My living room has been my biggest project. As you can see from the picture below it is still a work in progress.

I painted my walls a while back. The color is called brandied pears and it’s great, but it is too white for me. I am now painting them a color called natural wicker and I just love the color! The entryway looks completely different than it does in this pic. The walls need another coat of paint and I am pulling up the tile this weekend. I could go on and on about all the things I want to change in this picture alone. Here are just a few: move T.V to opposite wall {you can’t see in picture}, hang new window treatments, install hardwood floors, replace fireplace doors {I HATE THE GOLD!}, repaint walls, hang a cute chandelier type light in the entryway, get new light switch plates, paint table in entryway… and there is so much more!

This living room immediately caught my eye because of the color of the curtains.
I love the green!
I think it would be a great pop of color in my living room.

Moving on to my other big project in the house… the kitchen!

{I don’t really have any good pictures of my kitchen that would make for good viewing so we will just do without them for now.}

I love the kitchen below. I wish that my kitchen was this big. It would be nice for sure. I always thought that I was a fan of black kitchen cabinets, but lately I have been liking the idea of white cabinets and a black island. I think it looks way better than all black cabinets, and wouldn’t make my small kitchen look any smaller.

And don’t you just love the tall green bar chairs!

This is the dining room.

I like how they red pulls everything together and makes it feel like home. Plus, it’s hard for me to resist red kitchen walls!

Photos via Google

This is another kitchen that I found on Pinterest today.

The layout is almost exactly like my kitchen :)

I love everything about this kitchen! I really like that they painted the walls green and the table red. I think that this color would livin’ up my kitchen and lighter cabinets would compliment my white appliances.
I think I may have a kitchen to copy :)

Photo via Timmon’s Family Lemonade

Clean House = Happy House

2011-10-25T13:12:00.002-05:00

This week I want to accomplish so much! I have been putting a lot of it off for a long time and now that birthday and holidays are right around the corner I need to kick it in high gear. Plus, it’s out of character for me to actually do things before they need to be done :)

Stay caught up on laundry {I only have like 3 more loads to do}
Mop all the floors in the house
Clean off cowhide rug and put in kitchen
Pull baseboards from entryway, hallway and bathroom
Wash walls to prepare for painting
Put last coat of paint on entryway and hallway walls
Paint living room walls
Detail both bathrooms {clean really really good}
Vacuum out the urban burban
Clean pedestal table in garage and move to kitchen
Move current table to office and set up as {really BIG} desk
Finish painting cupboards in laundry room
Remove tile from entryway {this one is going to be fun :)}
Make all the beds
Vacuum bedrooms
Clean boys bedroom
Be on the lookout for the perfect window treatments for the living room!

See! I told you it was a crazy list of things to do! But I am confident that I will be able to complete everything that I need to in the time I have given myself. And as soon as I get these items checked off my list… I get new hardwood floors!!!

Happy Monday Y’all!

Thankful

2011-10-24T21:31:00.000-05:00

I got to thinkin and I don’t mention enough how thankful I am for my favorite people{s}.

So I just wanted to take a moment to do just that…

I am very thankful for my husband!

God could not have given me a better person to spend my life with. We may have had our ups and downs, but no matter what we always come through it loving each other more that before.

My boys!

God blessed me greatly when he chose me to be the mother of these two very special and handsome boys. My life would not be complete without them. I love them oh so very much!

What or who are you thankful for?

Four Hundred

2011-10-23T13:59:00.001-05:00

That is how many posts I have posted so far! Well, four hundred and one of you count this one.

I love blogging!

Thank you to all of you who read my blog :)

Lately, I have been working on some blog changes and hope to have them completed in the next week or so.

Hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday afternoon!

Xoxo

Photo Friday Week 42: On the Shelf

2011-10-21T18:14:00.001-05:00

Welcome to another Photo Friday!

This here is one of my most prized possessions.

These paper flowers are what Jacob made in pre-k and gave me for Mother’s Day this last year.

Are they not the most beautiful flowers you have ever seen?

And the best part is they will never wilt and die.

I love you, Jacob!

Now head on over and check out all the other wonderful photos on Trina’s blog.

Next Week: Memories

A Little Obsessed

2011-10-18T10:12:00.001-05:00

Lately I have been obsessed with the color turquoise.

Here are a few photos that I am loving right now.

Have a turquo-riffic Tuesday!

{All Images via Google or Pinterest}

Randomness

2011-10-12T17:56:00.001-05:00

It’s been a crazy busy week so I wanted to take a minute to post a bunch of random pictures taken with my rusty iPhone over the past week or so…

Temporary wreath on my nifty turquoise front door.
{My super purdy one is almost done.}

Uber excited that the Cabela’s Christmas catalog arrived!

It rained the whole weekend we were at the deer lease. Thank you Jesus!

Are these not the teeniest tiniest bananas that you ever did see?
I mean it’s not even a bite! What would you use these for?

My sweet boys!
{Do you see Tyler wearing his huntin’ boots with shorts? Love em!}

My homemade ranch dressing.
{Recipe coming soon!}

Homemade fried okra.

Chicken fried DEER steak.
{I even tenderize it myself!}

I tried that sock bun thingamajig. I have to say it is pretty cool.
Check out the video here.

Another view of my sock bun.
Michael thought that I bought something expensive to make my hair look like this, little did he know it was just one of his socks :)

I {heart} decorating with shed horns!!

Photo Friday Week 40: Colors

2011-10-07T13:30:00.001-05:00

I can’t believe that it is Friday again! Where did this week go?

This week for Photo Friday I took a pic of this cute Amazing Grace sign I got today. I was looking for bedding but came across this instead.

I have decided to use it as the color inspiration for my bedroom!

What ya think?

You can check out all the other photos over at Trina’s Blog :)

Next Week: My Neighbors

That Time of Year

2011-10-04T10:01:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things about Fall is that it means HUNTING SEASON!

It is the one thing that we all get together and love doing as a family. I don’t know what it is about sleeping outside or having no running water that brings a family closer together.

This last weekend we made a day trip to the lease to check feeders and just hang out.

Here are a few {lots} of pics from our little trip…

Never to young to learn :)

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge: Best of Summer 2011

2011-09-26T08:17:00.001-05:00

This week I am entering this photo of Tyler into the I Heart Faces Best of Summer 2011 contest.

This was him playing in the Sesame Street Water Park at Sea World this last July.

Best family vacation ever!

Check out all the other wonderful photos from this summer by clicking the link below.

My Epiphanie

2011-09-22T16:27:00.000-05:00

I have been searching for the perfect camera bag FOR-EV-ER. I wanted something super functional that would allow me to carry all my gear {trust me it’s not a lot} or to take with me on day trips with the kids. I also wanted it to be stylish and not scream camera bag. I had googled {I use it for everything} ‘cute women’s camera bags’ and came across Epiphanie. I instantly fell in love with Lola. She was everything I ever wanted to in a camera bag. And she was red. She was also cute, stylish and functional. But boy was she a hot item! I waited for as long as I could and decided to go ahead and get Rose from Jo Totes. She has been a wonderful camera bag, but I still really wanted Lola… and she was in stock!!

I did have a problem today. I had been tracking my UPS shipment and when I got home from lunch it said that my package had been delivered. Problem was, it was nowhere in sight! Panicked I started walking down my block and found both of my packages on the doorstep of a house 3 doors down. They had mistakenly dropped off the packages at the wrong house! So I swooped them up and went home hoping that no one was going to call the cops on me. I am so glad that I went looking because…

I ABSOLUTLY LOVE THIS BAG! She really is just as beautiful in person. First thing you see when you open the box is the brightly colored dust bag. All you have to do is unzip that dust bag and there she it! There she is in all her red glory with a camera charm hanging down. The material on the inside soft and the dividers can be taken out and customized any way you want them. I have actually been setting it up and taking it out trying to find the perfect fit. And the best part is I can throw in my wallet and use it as a handbag as well :)

I can’t believe how padded the shoulder strap is either! Almost all of the camera bags I have had became uncomfortable at one point or another due to the fact that the shoulder straps were so thin and dug into my shoulder. Definitely not a problem with this bag.

Overall… this is the perfect bag. I love everything about it. The look, the color, the style, the comfort, the size, how it protects all my gear and how it can double as a handbag. Definitely a WIN in my opinion. I know I am not a big time photographer or anything, but I can say that if I was… this bag would be my IT bag!

My First Ever… What I Ate Wednesday {WIAW}

2011-09-21T12:22:00.000-05:00

I love reading Peas and Crayons!

Every week she does this thing called What I Ate Wednesday.
And I thought it would be fun to give it a try.

My life is not that exciting, so I try to make my food somewhat exciting.
Maybe someone will find what I ate this week interesting :)

Michelada and Chili Rubbed Fajitas {recipe coming soon}

Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato & Basil Sauce and Salad with Homemade Vinaigrette.

No I did not make this sushi but it was still yummy!
Philadelphia Rolls with Smoked Salmon and Spring Rolls.

If you would like to see what other people ate this week head over to Peas and Crayons!

Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato & Basil Sauce

2011-09-20T20:11:00.000-05:00

I always make spaghetti the way the boys like it. You know the kind. Either I crack open a jar and add a little zing to it or I make a really thick sauce with lots of meat.
Tonight was going to be different.
I bought some fresh noodles at the grocery store, so I wanted something light to compliment the delicate noodles.

I decided to make a fresh tomato sauce with garlic and basil. I had never made a fresh sauce so it was either going to be a huge success of a huge disaster.

I think it was a success. All three of my boys scarfed it down and wanted more :)

I started out with my main ingredients: organic grape tomatoes, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil and garlic.
I also used salt, freshly ground black pepper and crushed red pepper.

I started by cutting the tomatoes in half.
I think the knife I used was a little big for the tiny tomatoes.

I then squeezed all the seeds out the the tomatoes so that they are now hollow, empty shells.

This was the fun part! I just went to town choppin’ away.

Once the tomatoes were chopped, I minced up a couple of cloves of garlic and added everything to my pan that had 2 tbs. EVOO drizzled into it.
Can you smell it yet?
You can at this point add the salt, pepper and red pepper if you like.

Chop up your basil and set aside.

There are several pictures missing here. I got caught up with my cookin’ and forgot to snap the photos. So let me fill you in:

Boil your water and add a splash of olive oil to prevent sticking. You only boil for about 45 seconds or so since they are fresh noodles.

Immediately drain your noodles and add to tomato sauce. Mix noodles with sauce until well coated.

Add about half of your basil and some freshly grated parmesan if you like. Stir.

Once plated sprinkle some fresh basil on top for garnish.

Doesn’t it look yummy?!

For the garlic bread:

In a bowl mix half a stick of real butter with about two teaspoons of minced garlic.
Spread over bread and broil on LO in the oven until toasted.

The salad was my favorite part! I was not too sure how Michael was going to like it, but he loved it!

In a small bowl add 3 tbs. of red wine vinegar, 1 tbs. freshly minced shallot and 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard.

Whisk together with 3 tbs. EVOO until everything is well incorporated.

Put your salad into a bowl and drizzle the dressing over the leaves.
Mix gently to coat the leaves.
Add some freshly shaved parmesan and serve.

I will ever use bottled salad dressing again!

Happy Eating!

Everyone Needs A Few

2011-09-20T10:30:00.000-05:00

Super cute camera bags that is!

I am not a big time photographer or anything… I just happen to be a wannabe with a fancy camera who loves a cute bag.
I do have hopes that someday, maybe, I will be good enough that people want to pay me to take a few pics here and there. I just have a looong way to go before I get there.

I currently have the Jo Totes Rose Tote in Teal. She has been a really good bag. All the other bags in my closet are jealous because of all the fun places she gets to go. Rose has plenty of room for all of my camera accessories plus more. Right now in my bag is: my Canon T2i with 18-55mm lens, 55-250mm lens, polarized filter, cleaning kit, lens cleaning cloth, USB cables and remote. I know I don’t have as much as some, but I can fit so much more in with no problems. The only downside to this bag is that she is waay to big to carry as a camera bag/handbag for my liking.

I would love to have this beautiful Mimi bag from Kelly Moore. I am not a big fan of purple… sorry… lavender, but I love it on this bag. She is a bit pricier than the Jo Tote at $199. I have never seen one in person, but from the looks of things she seems to be quit roomy and seems to hold a lot. The best part is that it could also double as a handbag!

Then there is Lola from Epiphanie. Lola is stylish, functional and she is the beauty that I just ordered today. Yippie!
Ever since I laid eyes on her a year ago, I knew that I needed one. I tried everything. I entered my name in every giveaway possible with no luck. So finally, after a year of waiting {and them being in stock}, I broke down and ordered her! She should be here in a couple of days {I paid for rushed shipping} and I couldn’t be more excited.
And even though I have never seen one in person, but I have seen many pictures and know that I will just love her…
my camera will too!

Toddler Tattoo’s

2011-09-17T10:42:00.000-05:00

Lately Tyler has been obsessed with ‘tattooing’ himself. I really dislike the fact that he is drawing on himself everyday, but I admit that the little tattoo people he draws are absolutly adorable.
He draws these little circles with a face and legs. For 3 y/o I think that his pictures are a work of art.
Now I just have to convince him that we don’t need to ‘tattoo’ our clothes.

Anointed Transformed Redeemed

2011-09-15T21:05:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was the beginning of 10 weeks of Kids Small Groups {or KSG} for Jacob and a Beth Moore study for me.

I am extremly excited to be doing another bible study and even more excited that Jacob gets to participate in his very own bible study this year!

It is called Anointed Transformed Redeemed: A Study of David.
Here is what the Lifeway website says about the study: contains the audio and video portions of the Deeper Still conference featuring Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, and Kay Arthur. You’ll laugh with them, cry with them, and learn to love God with them. These authors' messages are divided into three segments, two lessons each. Each segment focuses on the life of David at a different stage of his life: as a young man (by Priscilla Shirer), as a middle-aged man (by Beth Moore), and as a man facing the final third of his life (by Kay Arthur). You'll laugh with them, cry with them, and learn to love God with them.

And Even though he has only been once, Jacob is really enjoying his class and talks about wanting Jesus in his heart.
Makes me teary eyed thinking about it.

I am also loving my bible study!

Our first lesson was done by Priscilla Shirer.
She is such an amazingly gifted woman who has a wonderful way of teaching and making you crave more.

She talked about how David knew for certain that the Lord had established him as king. And that no one can take away what the Lord has established or ordained. That God has to be the center of what we are doing. She talked about ‘God Consciousness’ which is setting up the presence of God into everything we do on a daily basis, inviting Him into every corner of who we are.

I can’t wait until next week!

P.S. I even enjoy the homework :)

Beth Moore’s Living Proof Live

2011-09-14T15:57:00.000-05:00

This last Saturday I attended Beth Moore’s Living Proof Live simulcast. And I wanted to show you parts of my day through the lens of my iPhone.

Have I told you how much I love Beth Moore? Well I do!

My BFF and I attended the simulcast at a small church in a neighboring town. I was shocked that more churches in our area were not having one, but that may have been due to the fact that she was only like 2 hours from here!

The day was wonderful! They had breakfast, lunch and snacks for you to munch on throughout the day and childcare. Michael took the day off to watch the boys for me so I could enjoy myself, and while I was gone he cleaned the house! I’m talking scrubbed baseboards and washed windows cleaned too. Have I told y’all how much I love him? Well I do! A lot!

The simulcast was amazing, just as I expected it to be. The message came out of Luke 1:1-4 and Acts 1:1-5. The seven points of the day were:
1. We were created for good company.
2. An individual calling can only be fulfilled in a ‘we’ context.
3. God never overlooks a single ‘me’ in the bigger ‘we’.
4. Jesus became a friend of sinners so we could become a friend of God.
5. We can revel in the certainty of the things that we’ve been taught.
6. Jesus has passes us the salt also.
7. We can ALSO be many convincing proofs that Jesus is alive.

This woman here is one of the best friends I have ever had. She is truly an amazing woman. She is wonderful at all she does. She makes me want to be not only a better wife and mother, but a better person. She is like the big sister that I never had.

I met a lot of wonderful ladies. They were all so sweet and welcomed everyone with open arms. If I lived there, I would definitely attend church there.

On My Reading List…

2011-09-13T17:25:00.002-05:00

I am so glad to have 5 minutes to post. I have been home with two sick little boys today and life has just been chaotic! Cartoons are on and it’s eerily quiet around here right now. See… cartoons do cure everything :)

My good friend recommended the book The Power of the Praying Wife, so the other day when Family Christian was having a sale and I got to use a coupon. I absolutly love the book! I find myself reading it pretty much everyday. It has taught me how to pray for Michael in a completely different way and to pray for things I didn’t really think about.

She loaned me a book that I am reading through called She’s Gonna Blow! I find it comforting that I am not the only mommy that has mommy meltdowns. Apparently it happens quite often with people. Who knew right?

The two others that she loaned me I have not even had the chance to crack open are Bringing Up Boys and The Mom I Want to Be. They both look like really good books and I can’t wait to read them!

The last one that I got was Becoming the Woman God Wants Me to Be and I exchanged it yesterday to get Michael the Power of the Praying Husband. I flipped through it and decided that it was not for me. The first couple of chapters were really good, but then it got into things like don’t budget because it’s obsessive on your part and don’t worry about how much money is in your account just make more of it. I just did not find it helpful, well, at least the parts I read. I’m sure there are people out there that would really like to read it though.

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Lord Show Me the Way

2011-09-07T10:25:00.001-05:00

Can you remember being a kid and wondering what you were going to do when you were ‘all grown up’?

I know that I did, and I knew that I wanted to do something that I loved more than anything in the world.

And that is what I am doing! Being a stay at home mom to my boys and a wife to my husband is what I love. More than anything in the world. Sometimes it’s not the most glamorous job or the most desirable, but it’s the most rewarding job in the entire world. And I won’t lie… there are days where I want to quit! There are days where I have had enough of everyone's whining and crying. But what mother doesn’t get sick of hearing it at one point or another?

Every once in a while I feel like my boys are growing up so fast that they are needing me less and less. Deep down I know that it isn’t true, but still it’s there.

I have considered going back to school and actually planned on seeing a counselor, but in the end after lots of prayer and talks with the hubby, decided that this time with the boys is too precious to waste in a classroom if I don’t have to. Michael told me that I can always go back to school, I can’t go back and be a mom to my boys when they are small. Isn’t he wise?

I know God has more in store for me, and even though I don’t know what it is yet… I know it is going to be something that will glorify Him.

Kitchen Counter Decor

2011-09-06T10:22:00.001-05:00

Lately I have been trying to beautify my house.

When you live with three guys sometimes it’s not always the easiest to have pretty things everywhere.

And it doesn’t help that I am kind of a tomboy myself. But I try.

So, I thought that since I am in my kitchen quite a bit, that it needed some sprucing up.

I need new frames, or just to paint the old ones.
But a must is having a picture of my boys close by!

The 8x10 frame is perfect to display special artwork and can be changed out as often as needed.

Note: The walls right now are painted ‘Fabulous Red’, but will soon be painted more of a toned down, deeper color like a barn red or something. And hopefully I will get around to sanding down and re-staining the cabinets sometime in the near future.

Makeshift Mudroom

2011-09-05T08:33:00.000-05:00

After school started I had a problem. Not a huge one, but one that needing a solution.

That problem was my kids walking in the door after school and throwing their backpacks and lunch boxes on the floor. Not only did they get dog hair all over them, they were kinda in the way.

I needed a place to hang backpacks or lunchboxes, then it hit me! A mudroom would be perfect! Only problem was I do not have a mudroom and the lack of space for one creates and even bigger problem.

Hobby Lobby to the rescue!

And this was what I came up with…

I want to make cute little tags for these baskets, I just have not figured out what to put in them yet…

I have to say that I absolutly love it!

I did move it to another wall {which I wish I would have taken a before and after of because it is a HUGE difference}. And I changed purses… again.

Mama Needs… Wants a New Truck

2011-09-04T23:07:00.000-05:00

After church today we decided it was the perfect time to go truck shopping!

The weather was awesome! We had a cold front move through and check out the temp!

Then came the fun part…

I think the boys are more excited than we are.

And then it started to rain… drizzle… sprinkle…

Water fell out of the sky and got things wet!

So many to choose from…

Update: We still have not bought a truck. We have found one that we want, and the price is right.
Right now we are praying that this is the truck for us.

Hopefully, if it’s meant to be, we will have a new one soon!

My Little Boy is Growing Up

2011-08-30T07:45:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Tyler’s first day of Mother’s Day Out.

And boy oh boy was he excited! We were up early,had clothes on and he was about to drag me out of the house. He really thought we were going to be late for his 1st day. I am so happy that my little man is going to ‘school’ two days a week and gets to learn about Jesus.

Here are a few pictures from our morning…

{Tyler talking to his Daddy on his way to school}

{Tyler ready for class}

When I picked Tyler up from school they told me that he was a perfect angle. Tyler was polite, well behaved, picked up messes, ate all of his lunch and took his nap like he was supposed to. It’s like he was a different child! And he is so excited to go back on Friday.

I want that sweet, well behaved boy at home too!

Photo Friday Week 34: Defeat

2011-08-26T10:22:00.000-05:00

Howdy peeps!

It has been for. ev. er since I have done a Photo Friday with Trina!

After I saw here cute photo of the dead plant, I knew that I had to… borrow her idea. With this heat I have plenty of dead plants, but what is really defeating me right now is the never ending loads of laundry!

Really! It NEVER ends!

I hope you check out all the other great photos over at Trina’s :)

Next Week: Sunset

Organized Life: Refrigerator and Freezer

2011-08-25T12:47:00.000-05:00

I have been reading I Heart Organizing for a while now and I have to tell you, I have kinda fallen in love with organizing a little myself. It is so awesome to know that everything is all clean and organized, but what’s even better is that I can find it!

The first thing I decided to work on was our fridge{s} and freezer. Partly because it was the easiest, but mainly because I knew that I could get them done in one day. They was a horrible cluttered mess and I was lucky if I knew what we had half the time.

I can’t believe how much better it looks now! I can find things, and it isn’t so crammed that things go to waste because I can’t find them to use them. I am still working on some storage ideas, but it is coming along nicely.

I love storing certain foods in bins. They are easy to access and don’t get tossed around all over the fridge. Another new love is glass juice containers. I can’t wait to get some for my milk!

Next on the list was to clean my freezer. Here is a before and after. I’m not sure if it will stay exactly like this, but it is already a million times better!

I am lucky enough to still have our very first fridge that we got as a wedding present. When we bought our new one we moved the old one out into the garage for extra storage if needed. Let me tell you, it comes in handy! I keep all the beer, wine and extra juices on the bottom shelf where they stay cold. In the door is where I keep all the condiments that I use, but not on a daily basis. This way I still have them, but they are not taking up space in the fridge inside.

I hope you enjoyed the little tour of fridge{s} and freezer.

Next on my agenda is my kitchen cupboards!

Steak Taco Yummy-ness

2011-08-24T21:39:00.000-05:00

Steak Tacos

2 to 3 lbs. Sirloin Steak
1/2 bottle of beer
10 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves of garlic smashed
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
Juice of half an orange
Optional: 2 green onion stalks

Mix your beer, Worcestershire, garlic, salt, pepper and orange together in a dish big enough for your meat.

Add the steak and let marinate for about an hour, turning once halfway through.

Grill your steak on outdoor grill or in a grill pan until done to your liking. I prefer mine pink in the middle, but there are some people who choose to cook there’s until it no longer moo’s. I had to use my grill pan because my outdoor grill is broken, but it worked perfectly!

And if you like, grill your green onions until browned, cut in half and serve on your tacos! They are delish!

One of my favorite things to add to my tacos is pico de gallo. It adds color, heat and wonderful flavor.

You can see my detailed recipe for my Pico de Gallo here.

First Day of Kindergarten

2011-08-22T21:09:00.001-05:00

Today was the first day of school! Amazingly the morning went off without any meltdowns or tantrums. We were up at 6:30am as planned and out the door like we were supposed to be. I will say it is rough getting two boys up at 6:30 in the am, but they sure do sleep better at night. But let me tell you… it is a mad house dropping him off for school. Those people are crazy!

{I spent most of Sunday evening getting things ready and making sure that everything was in order for a smooth morning. I laid out clothes so we would not spend the time searching for everything. I have to say that clothes will be laid out from now on, it makes like so much easier}

I thought I was going to be one of those mom’s that cried when she dropped her little boy off for his first day of ‘big boy’ school, but there were none. Not from me or Jake. I think he was too excited about meeting new friends to cry, and was excited that I could get my errands done and house clean. Does that make me a bad mom?

Sorry for picture overload. I was snap happy today :)
Hope you enjoy!

Breakfast of champions… Okay, maybe not… but it was easy and they like em’.

I love this photo of us!

Tyler had to have his pic taken too! He was upset bub got to go to school and he didn’t.

Waiting in the looooong line to get into the building.

Picking Jake up was so much easier than taking him. He was so excited to tell me about his first day.
Wanna know what his favorite part was??

Recess and Lunch!
{Go figure :)}

Gearin’ Up for School

2011-08-21T22:18:00.000-05:00

School officially starts tomorrow!

I can’t believe that summer is almost over. Where on earth did it go?

Jacob is all set to start school first thing Monday morning and Tyler starts Mother’s Day Out the following week. It’s find it crazy that I have so many mixed emotions about the start of school. It it going to be different not having two kids constantly under foot all day every day. But on the other hand, I am excited that I have at least 2 days a week to grocery shop and run errands without any kids. I don’t know if I am going to know how to do that?!

I am lucky to have known Jacob’s teacher for the past 10 years, and I know that she is going to be great with him. He is going to love her!

I think the boys were most excited about picking out all the awesome school supplies that we got to buy.

Life is going to change drastically starting Monday. We have been so accustomed to getting up when we want and having leisurely mornings. But not anymore! School starts at 7:45am this year. Lucky for me school is only a mile away so I don’t have to drive for 20 minutes to get there. I am going to have to re-work my days so that I get the majority of my stuff done between the hours of 8am and 3pm.

Here is a sample of what my day is going to look like:

School lunches are my roadblock right now. I am sending Jacob with his lunch, but can’t decide if I want him to eat at school every so often. He is so picky that I am afraid he won’t eat what they have. I bought a bunch of stuff for sandwiches this week, but I am brainstorming different ideas to give him a better variety.

Any lunch ideas for me?

Well, now it’s off to bed so we can be up early!

I hope everyone had a blessed Sunday.

The Road of Faith

2011-08-19T10:14:00.001-05:00

Have you ever driven down a small country road?

There is just something about them. Something that is beautiful and peaceful.

Country roads are usually less traveled than the main roads. They are usually not the quickest route to your destination, but they are the prettiest and most rewarding. There may even be times when you come to a fork in the road or a road block. {I know this from experience}

This is how I feel about the faith walk that I am on right now. Following God’s plan is not always the quickest route and He may not answer your prayers when you think He should, but God’s route is the prettiest and most rewarding route.

When I think about all the times that I have decided to do things my way instead of following God, I may have arrived at the destination I thought I was supposed to, but it was not at all what God had planned for me. I think it is crazy that so many time I think that my way is so much better than God’s. I must be crazy!

But then there are times when I do make pretty bad decisions, and God uses them to draw me closer to Him and glorify His name. I never thought that something so wonderful could come from something that was at one time so bad.

There are a few things that I have been struggling with lately, and it would be so easy to take matters into my own hands and try to fix them on my own, but why? Why would I take the easy way when I could trust in God’s plan and glorify Him.

I want to live my life for Him!

More importantly I want my children to see me glorifying God!
I want my children to see that if they trust in the Lord, He will bless them.

I now know more than ever that my place in life is on the small, quiet country road.

And so far it is a beautiful and blessed journey!

My Perfect Planner

2011-08-16T09:51:00.001-05:00

I spent weeks searching high and low for a ‘mommy planner’ that fit all my needs. But all I found were planners filled with useless things or pages with grocery lists that were just too small for a family of 4.

Being extremely frustrated and needing something to help me map out my days, I sat down with my laptop and created a bunch of spreadsheets in excel. I spent a week tweaking them and making them exactly what I needed. Then decided that I needed a super cute cover for my personalized planner. I chose turquoise and animal prints, just because they are my favorite. I even added my name so I knew it was mine at all times :)

I contemplated just punching holes in the pages and putting them in a 3-ring binder, but I am so glad that I decided against it. Having it spiral bound makes it perfect! I can flip through the pages easily and I take it everywhere. You never know when you are going to need to pencil somethin’ in.

I am so glad that I decided to make my own planner instead of settling for something that I could only use half of. It may have been {a lot} more work, but in the end it was cheaper than any of the others I found and it is exactly what I need.

In addition to being spiral bound my planner has a clear front cover and hard black back. Makes it extra sturdy.

I added a .74 cent pencil pouch to hold things like stamps, coupons, receipts, mailbox keys, a picture of me and my love and things I need to be reminded about.

My monthly layout is of the 2 page kind. I added birthdays and places for notes at either the top or bottom on the pages.

My daily layout is wonderful! I have spots at the top for my to do’s {laundry, etc…}, dinner plans and misc. things. My day goes from 6:30am to 8:30pm so that I can jot down the things that keep my busy during the day.

I have a page for the boys school information that way I always have it on hand when I need it.

I also have a page for important medical information. This just makes it a little easier when needing insurance or doctor info in a hurry. Because I can tell you it takes me forever to find that stuff in my purse.

And lastly in the very back of my planner I have pages for notes, blog ideas and a place to jot down prayer requests as well as several pages for phone numbers.

I am linking up to Wow Us Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style

Just Around the Corner

2011-08-15T07:42:00.000-05:00

With summer winding down and school starting in 6 days, it can only mean one thing…

FALL is on it’s way!

I absolutly love fall, for all the obvious reasons of course. I love the way it looks and the way it smells. Oh how I love all the smells of fall. From hot cider to pumpkin spice, they are all so wonderful.

And you can’t forget about the cozy sweaters, furry boots and smell of a roaring fire!
Oh so heavenly.

Here are some beautiful fall colors for you to enjoy:

As I surfed browsed the internet today looking at inspiration I stumbled upon some pictures of amazing ranches for sale in Wyoming. I would love to live in a place that was as breathtaking as this.

My living room furniture would look fabulous here!

Who would not want to wake up to this beautiful panoramic view?!

Or see these grazing in your backyard…

{all pictures courtesy of Google}

Bicycles x 2 = Double the Fun!

2011-08-12T17:08:00.001-05:00

We have been talking about getting the boys bikes for a while now. So last night after Michael got off work we went out to eat and then went to Academy to pick the boys up their 1st bikes.

We were planning on getting Tyler a smaller one, but he rode the bigger on better in the store. Now the boys have matching bikes that need to be customized so we can tell them apart.

It was too late {and wet} to ride when we got home last night, so first thing this morning the boys were asking when we were going to get to ride. I thought that it would be a good idea to let them ride to the mailbox and then we would walk around the block and then back home.

They did great on their bikes. Tyler only hit the curb and fell off once. And let me tell you… it was a long walk! I forgot how big my block actually was.

But it was all worth it! The boys had a blast and I got to take pictures of my handsome boys! :)

Bring the Rain

2011-08-11T23:02:00.000-05:00

As some of you know here in Texas we are currently experiencing a severe drought. And that is kinda an understatement. Here where I live we are under stage 3 water restrictions it is so bad, which means we can only water 8 hours a week or so.

Well… last night God decided to bless us with some rain!!!

And it was GLORIOUS!

Oh how I love the way rain smells… and feels… and sounds… I love everything about rain.

It rained at my house for over an hour and sprinkled on and off all night. At one point the thunder was so loud it set off a car alarm and the lightning spawned a few small power outages. But who cares!

WE GOT RAIN!

Tyler slept through the whole thing.

While Jacob and Baylee played on the floor and every time they would hear thunder would run over to the window to look outside. It was too cute!
{Goofy me forgot to take pictures of it. Sigh.}

Mama’s Got a Brand New Do

2011-08-10T13:45:00.001-05:00

I am officially another year older and my awesome gift from my awesomely sweet hubby was a trip to a salon I have always wanted to go to and he took off work to watch the boys. Perfect gift!

Then my amazing friend took me to lunch where we ate some yummy Italian food and let me hang out with her and her 6 month old daughter for the afternoon.

And for dinner, instead of eating out, Michael and I grilled and had an evening at home with the boys.

My birthday was perfect!

I was not sure when I got to the salon what I was going to do with my hair. But here is where we started… {notice my roots have grown out and my hair had not been washed in 3 days lol}.

And here is what we got in the end…

I got highlights and lowlights to darken up the blonde some.
And… I am not sure how I like it yet, but everyone else seems to like it.
Oh ya, and I got it trimmed and my side sweep bang back :)

It’s My Birthday!

2011-08-09T10:10:00.003-05:00

Today I am the big…

27 I can’t believe that I am only three years away from 30. I can remember being 17 thinking that 27 was so far away. Where does the time go?

In the past 10 years I have found my soul mate, bought a house, got married, had two handsome little boys, been able to be a stay at home mom, traveled to the Caribbean {which I will do again… soon!}, started a business with my husband, made wonderful life long friends, discovered that I love taking pictures and so so so much more!

I am incredibly blessed to have everything that I have. God has given me more than I could ever imagine!

Today I will be getting my hair done {pics tomorrow} and hanging out with friends and family.

I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!

P.S. I am a horrible blogger lately! But all that is changing soon. I have so much to blog about :)

Moms of Boys

2011-08-02T11:45:00.001-05:00

While visiting my friend, Lyryn’s blog yesterday morning I noticed that she had joined a Moms of Boys BlogHop. How cool is that! There is a place for mom’s of boy’s to go and meet other mom’s of boy’s. It’s great to know that I am not alone in this world. So I am joining the first ever M.O.B BlogHop! Yay! I am so excited :)

A Little About Mwah: My name is Tonja {that’s a ya, not a ja}. I have been happily married to Michael for the past 6 years. I am very blessed to have found a wonderful guy that loves me like he does. We live in Texas where we own a small oilfield business. I am a stay at home mom to my two boys and spend my days cooking, cleaning, decorating… you name it, I do it! I love to take photos. Mainly of the boys, but I also like to take pictures of the rugged beauty here in Texas.

My blog is about all kinds of stuff. I like to post about everything. It is my little escape and place to write about life and everything in it.

My Monsters: My boys are my life. They both came at the right times in my life and I feel incredibly blessed that God chose me to be there mommy.

Jacob is my oldest. He will be 6 in December. Jacob is my street wise child. It is so funny the things that come out of his mouth. He never picks sides and tries to make everyone happy. Jacob will also be starting kindergarten this year. I think I am more nervous than he is. I am so used to him being around all day every day that I am going to be lost without him.

Tyler will be 4 in January and he is my little tough guy. Underneath that tough guy exterior is the snuggle bug in him. He loves to curl up in the recliner with his daddy and nap. And boy is he sneaky! If you can hide it, the boy can find it. I think Tyler is going to be just as sad as me when bubba goes to school this year, so to soften the blow I enrolled him in his own ‘school’ {Mother’s Day Out’} so he can have a little break from his mama and make some friends of his own.

Favorite Book: Right now my boys favorite books are pretty diverse. The ones that they run to the most are the Golden Children’s Bible and Thump Whack Moo.

The Golden Children’s Bible is great. I love it that the boys want to read about God and learn more about Him. Tyler likes to flip through the pages and look at the pictures. It’s a great bedtime bible story book. Thump Whack Moo is about a farmer who is building a corn maze on his farm and enlists the help of all the farm animals. But Mr. Duck wants nothing to do with it. It is cute, funny and easy to read. Tyler goes back and makes up his own story and Jacob laughs and likes to make the sounds.

Now that I think I have covered everything. I have to say again how SUPER excited I am to be a part of the M.O.B BlogHop and can’t wait to meet other mommy’s.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

PandaMania

2011-08-01T22:34:00.002-05:00

Last week Jacob attended vacation bible school. This was our first year to go, and I was worried that we had missed out because it was so late in the summer. I was lucky enough to run into a friend one morning and she told me her church was hosting a VBS and there was still time to sign up. Yay! I love how God works like that. And Jacob loved it! He was so excited to go and learn about Jesus.

Only downer was Tyler was just a little shy of 4 so he was not able to go :(
But next year for sure!

So, on Thursday night they had a program for all the parents to attend. Here were some of the highlights from that night…

Look at my little man praising God!

I’m so proud!

I love you, Jacob!

You Can Never Have Too Many

2011-07-29T16:10:00.003-05:00

Hi! My name is Tonja and I have a bathing suit addiction. I’m not talking about a little addiction either. It is a full blown, I need a support group addiction! I have a tub full of bathing suits that I never wear. And the worst part… some of them still even have the tags on them! So it’s not like I am in dire need of a new one or anything. But it’s kinda like Pringles… you can’t have just one!

This spunky little number is my ‘mommy suit’. It’s the one I wear the most. When I take the boys to the pool, this is the one I wear. I actually got it for a smokin’ deal at TJ Maxx last year {I think it was last year…}. I think each piece was only $8.99 or something like that, and that’s not too shabby for a Jantzen swimsuit!

Update:

After lots of careful thought and consideration I have decided to return the really cute swimsuit that I bought the other day. Even though it was really cheap, I have no place for it… or anyplace to wear it. So I returned it in hopes that it would find a good home with someone who will take her out every now and then.

It looks like this mama is going to be wearing the ‘mommy suit’ for now. And when I shed some of those unwanted pounds, then I can think about pulling out one of the cute numbers that are tucked away in the bucket at the back of the closet.

I’m Not In Control

2011-07-28T13:57:00.001-05:00

The past few weeks I have been struggling. A lot! It may sound crazy to some so let me give you a little backstory.

The cliffs notes version…

Boy meets girl. Boy and girl get married and have baby. Baby starts to grow up into a toddler. Boy and girl decide to have another baby. Toddler hits terrible two’s. Baby is born. Boy and girl decide that two is enough. Girl gets her tubes tied.

So here I am, almost 4 years later, and as my kids get older I have found myself envious and jealous of all the people in my life that are having babies. I know that it is wrong to be envious and want what someone else has. I was so envious that I kinda fell into this funk and have been there for about a month.

But today {well yesterday now} I woke up with a new attitude!

With the help of the pep talk from my SIL of course. Thanks Becca!!!

I realized that God has chosen this path for me for a reason. And unlike me, He knows what He is doing! I have to trust in Him and be obedient. And if someday He wants me to have another baby, tubes tied or not, I will have one.

I think the biggest problem is I am a control freak and sometimes it is hard for me to let go and let God have it. That is one of the things I have learned about myself while doing my bible study these past few weeks. In order to move ahead with God’s plan for me I have to let go of some of my past behaviors and bad habits!

So starting today I have chosen to quit obsessing over and trying to control the things in my life that I have no control over. And really embrace the things that God allows me to have some control of. Like losing the 10 lbs. I have gained over the last few months.

And as much as I would love to have a cute, cuddly baby to love for the rest of my life, I am uber with the two that I have and I know I am incredibly blessed to have them call me mama!

That Can’t Be My Garage! Can It?

2011-07-27T09:18:00.000-05:00

As I have mentioned earlier this week I have been crazy busy cleaning and painting. You know one of these days I will actually do my ‘spring cleaning’ in the spring. Nah! Who am I kidding… no I won’t!

**********

One of the tasks I wanted to tackle was the garage. Oh how it was a horrible, crazy, looked like a bomb went off in my garage mess! It was so bad even the mice couldn’t survive! So after a short trip to Home Depot for a large push broom and 65 gallon trash can to make the job bit easier I got started.

Unfortunately I I forgot to take a before. And I was a little ashamed and embarrassed of how it looked. Plus, the after pictures are better then the before. It was so bad you could barely walk to the door without tripping over something. Not anymore!

I couldn’t believe how much junk was in there! I kinda felt like one of those people you see on the TV show Hoarders. There for a minute I thought I had a serious problem. Luckily it cleared up as soon as I found out how much fun throwing away trash was.

And the best news, I now have enough room to work on my little projects, make a few bucks selling old baby stuff AND you can walk from the car to the door without tripping over everything in sight.

**********

My dear, sweet husband oh how I love him, but I think he really does have a problem.

Take a look at all the stuff he hoards in his corner of the garage…

Is that normal? Or healthy? It can’t be… can it?

I am hoping that sometime here in the {very} near future most of this stuff will be in a shop that he is working out of or somewhere other than here.

But until then maybe I will send in the pic to TLC ;)

Front Door Makeover

2011-07-26T09:33:00.002-05:00

It has definitely been a crazy week and a half. And because of all the craziness I have completely totally neglected my poor blog. Hopefully things will start slowing down as the new school year gets closer and I will have some more downtime.

This past week with kids playing outside and going to VBS I have been working my fingers to the bone trying to get my house clean and paint the walls that need to be painted.

So, while I was working on my entry way I decided to go ahead and paint the front door like I have been wanting to for the past several months.

Here is what my boring ol’ door looked like before I cracked out the paintbrush.

It is coming along wonderfully.
This was after the first coat of paint. I LOVE the color!!!

Here is the door after both coats of paint were on.
Ain’t she a beauty?

Here is a close up of my fabulously rustic chic door came out.

And it was super easy! What I did was mix RustOleum metallic paint in Oil Rubbed Bronze {1/2 part} with a faux finishing glaze {4 parts} and brushed it on with a paint brush then wiped it off with a rag. Now I am sure there are better ways to do this, but seeing how it was my first time trying something like this I am super happy with the results.

Drumroll please….

Ta Da! Here is the final product…

Now my door is a one of a kind original! :)

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge: Water

2011-07-25T09:56:00.001-05:00

I absolutly LOVE this photo!

I am entering this photo of Jacob into the iheartfaces photo challenge this week this week.

Photo Friday Week 28: Family

2011-07-15T10:58:00.001-05:00

I can’t believe it is Photo Friday again with Trina!

Here is a picture of my family on our vacation to Sea World.

I love this photo because of Tyler’s smile :) He is such a ham!

I can’t wait to see all the wonderful family photos that are going to be posted this week!!

Lazy Pool Days

2011-07-12T20:47:00.000-05:00

The last couple of days we have been hanging out at the pool with various people. It has been sooo nice to get out of the house and have adult conversation. And we even got some storms!!!

Here are a few pictures from our day at the pool today…

Finger Painting Fun

2011-07-11T17:07:00.001-05:00

Boy, I feel like it has taken me forever to get this post up! I just can’t believe how crazy the last week has been. I am so not prepared for school to start yet.

I have been wanting to have more for the boys to do while at home this summer. With it being so hot and not having any kids their age in the neighborhood it can get quite boring here at home with ol’ mom. So last week I was reading around the world wide web and came across a few recipes for homemade finger paints. It was awesome because I had everything needed to make them and I was letting my creative side through {which I don’t do a lot}.

They came out pretty good for a first timer. I just know that next to tweak a few things so they set up a lot smoother than they did. I guess the only one that it bothers is me because the kids haven’t complained once about them.

Homemade Finger Paint Recipe

1/2 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups cold water
food coloring

In a medium saucepan mix together all the ingredients except the food coloring. Cook over low heat for about 10-15 minutes, or until the mixture starts to thicken. Keep stirring until the mixture has a smooth, thick consistency. After it has thickened remove saucepan from the stove and let cool. Once the mixture is cool, spoon into containers and add food coloring to get your desired color. Store is with lid tightly on.

Next time I make the finger paints I will defiantly add a tad bit more water so they will have a smoother consistency when set and also pull it off the burner a little earlier so it does not cook too much.

Happy Painting!

A Very Blessed Thursday

2011-07-07T21:05:00.001-05:00

Look at those faces!!
God has blessed me above and beyond with these two boys!

Today I started this wonderful bible study at a local church!
It’s crazy. The past couple of weeks I have had this deep desire to learn more and dig deeper into God’s word. I just haven’t felt like my spiritual needs are being met. I have never had a burning desire like this before and was not sure what to do, so I started searching local churches for woman’s bible studies. Then I came across this one. It meets on Thursday mornings and they have childcare! Yay! I am two weeks behind though so I have some catching up to do, but I am so glad that I decided to jump in instead of not doing it just because I am behind. So far I absolutly love this study. I will keep you updated as the study progresses.

Also, today I signed up to join MOPS!
These last couple of weeks as I have been digging deeper in my spiritual journey I got to thinking about how wonderful it would be to have some ‘mommy friends’ that I share things in common with. And I remembered a conversation I had with a friend of mine about how she was a part MOPS. She told me that I needed to sign Tyler up now so I would have a slot for him come September. So, I immediately called her and asked a million questions. Then I called the church to track down the lady in charge and guess what?? They had an open slot! Yay! I can’t wait to start this new ‘mommy adventure’!

Our 4th of July Fun

2011-07-05T10:15:00.002-05:00

This 4th everyone we knew was out of town, so we got to spend some good, quality family time together. I have to admit that it has been nice spending so much time with Michael. I don’t think we have spent this much time together our entire marriage! And I know the boys are enjoying it too!

We started our fun with a water balloon fight! The boys had never even thrown a water balloon so we were all excited about it. {I would have taken pics during, but my camera was getting nowhere near the water} Then we cooked hamburgers on the grill. Michael even taught the boys how to spit watermelon seeds into a bucket. It was so cute watching them. All in all we had a wonderful day together as a family.

Here is a little collage of our day together…

Hope everyone had a wonderful and happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th Y’all

2011-07-04T09:38:00.001-05:00

Hope you all have a wonderful and safe 4th of July!

Rain!!!!

2011-07-03T23:24:00.000-05:00

Oh! My! Goshies!

IT RAINED YESTERDAY!

Okay, it was not a lot of rain and lasted less than 15 minutes, but it was rain none the less.

As soon as these wonderful clouds started rolling in we started praying!

I had forgotten how good the smell of rain was. We sat outside the entire time that it rained just to take it all in.

We set up little ‘rain catchers’ all over to catch the runoff from the roof.

Can you see how brown it is?

That is from the dirt on the roof!

My garden soaked it all in. They desperately needed it.

Here is a random pic of the water droplets on the garden fence.

A pic of my beautiful {but struggling} garden!

Has it been 6 years already?

2011-07-02T09:37:00.000-05:00

Today my wonderful husband, Michael and I have been married for 6 years!

I can’t believe it has been 6 years! {We have been together 9 years all together}

I am extremely blessed to have him in my life. I know that we have had our ups and downs the past year and a half, but we have pulled through better than anyone could have imagined. God has blessed us in so many ways.

He is my rock. The one who is always there for me no matter what. The one that is my soul mate. The one that still puts that fuzzy feeling in my tummy when I see him. The one that can make me mad and sad and feel loved all at the same time.

And to top off all his greatness… He is an amazing father to our two handsome boys!

Here are a few pics of us through the years…
{I wish I had some from before we got married on my computer}

Baby, I just want you to know that I love you with all my heart and I can not picture my life without you in it!

Love you, xoxo

Fresh Fruit Pops

2011-07-01T22:31:00.001-05:00

With the afternoons reaching well above 100* around here, I thought it would be nice to search for a healthy, refreshing snack for the boys.

So… while I was searching the world wide web, I came upon this recipe from skinnytaste.com. It looked absolutely yummy! Once I showed the boys, they couldn’t wait to pick out the fruits they wanted to use.

These are a wonderful, healthy alternative to store bought popsicles. Yes,they may take longer to make… but we had fun and they really are delicious!

What we rounded up: strawberries, kiwi, orange juice, small {cute} plastic cups and popsicle sticks.

I cut up the kiwi and removed the stems from the strawberries. I cut them into little pieces as well.

I layered the fruit in the cups and stuck the popsicle stick right in the middle. It stays perfectly in the center with all the fruit holding it in place.

I then poured some orange juice over all the fruit. Then it dawned on me… I had bought some hiccup berries {blueberries}, so I added some for color. Plus, the boys love to eat them.

Then you just pop them into the freezer until frozen.

Here is our finished product…

They were a hit! The boys absolutely loved them. Now we have a healthy treat for those hot summer days.

Our Amazing Family Vacation: Part 3

2011-06-28T12:58:00.001-05:00

Day 4: Heading Home

Monday was our last day in San Antonio. Sniffle Sniffle.

We got up early enough to enjoy breakfast then started packing up to head home. I am not going to lie, I did not want to go home. I was having an amazing time with my boys.

The best part was Michael and I reconnected. It was like old times. Talking and laughing. I fell in love with him all over again. It was great!

I am already planning our next family vacation =)

There is still water in Texas!

You know your home when the mesquites are bare, the ground is black and there is still the smell of smoke in the air.

Mother Nature is toying with us… we got NO RAIN out of these clouds!

Our Amazing Family Vacation: Part 2

2011-06-28T12:49:00.001-05:00

Day 3- Sea World

We got up super early Sunday morning to give Michael his father’s day cards and to get ready for our day at playing at Sea World. I am so glad we arrived early and paid for the Shamu preferred parking. It was so worth it!

And the temperature only reached 104*!

These next two pics are my absolute favorite!

Brand new baby sea lion born 15 minutes before this picture was taken.

Our Amazing Family Vacation: Part 1

2011-06-28T12:24:00.001-05:00

Day 1- Friday

We decided to leave early enough Friday to give us a chance to not be in such a hurry and just enjoy the first leg of our vacation. We took our time and enjoyed everything from the small town Mexican food to the boys whining to the people we met along the way!

We arrived in San Antonio around 4pm, which still gave us enough time to head to the Riverwalk for dinner. We ate at the Saltgrass Steakhouse and I have to say I was kinda disappointed with the food, especially for how much it cost.

Tyler was terrified of the big bear!

Day 2- Saturday

We woke up Saturday morning and headed down to the farmer’s market. I was so excited! I absolutely love farmer’s markets!

Then After all was said and done Saturday we were pretty exhausted to we got a pizza and hug out in the hotel room all night watching Extreme Couponing. It was great!

These heirloom tomatoes were divine!

And these were the BIGGEST zucchinis that I had ever seen.

I am in love with this hot pink dishwasher! They had the fridge too!!

The bus was the boys fave part of our day =)

I though this was a pretty cool pic…
{taken at the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum}

This Weeks Menu

2011-06-27T16:48:00.001-05:00

I am excited to say that this is my first week planning out a menu for all meals and snacks. We have been staying home to prevent us from eating out so much. Back in May we spent over $500 on eating out alone! It was starting to kill our budget, so I decided to start clipping coupons and planning everything out so everyone knows what will be cooked ahead of time. The meals are not going to be super extravagant, but I am going to try to make sure that they are healthy. My boys need their fruits and veggies!

Do you plan out a menu for your family?

Breakfast:
Cereal (x2)
Egg in a Hole (x2)
Waffles (x2)
Pick Me Up Smoothie

Lunch:
Hot Dogs and Apple Slices
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sushi, Carrot Sticks and Fruit
Spaghetti O’s and Orange Slices
Ramen Noodles, Orange Slices and Celery Sticks
Grilled Cheese and Fruit
Sandwiches, Carrot Sticks and Apple Slices
Lunchables

Snacks:
Jell-O/Pudding Cup
Watermelon Frosties
Popcorn
Mixed Fruit
Frozen Fruit Pops

Dinner:
Quick Tacos with Tomatoes,Cheese and Hot Sauce
Breakfast for Dinner
Quesadillas with Chicken, Meat, Guacamole and Sour Cream
Spaghetti with Garlic Bread
Homemade Pizza
Steak and Lobster Tail with Shrimp Cocktail, Asparagus and Baked Potato {Anniversary Dinner}
Bacon Wrapped Back Strap, Roasted Squash and Baked Potatoes

Refreshed!

2011-06-27T13:02:00.001-05:00

I know I have been pretty sparse with the posting and it is because it has been super ca-razy around here! Other than the vacation I am still recovering from, I have been going through the house and cleaning out closets and dressers as well as finding a happy budget to live by. And everyone one thinks I sit at home and watch TV all day. I wish it were that easy!

I have some wonderful things that I am going to be posting about this week. I am going to get my Sea World pics up, I am going to share with you all about my couponing and meal planning, I am working on a household binder that is awesome and can’t wait to share with you, and how I am making my days and weeks flow better. And I can’t forget the desk/office makeover I am working on!

There is so much that I want to tell y’all that I am afraid to overwhelm you. So, I am just going to pace myself and get it all out there! Can you tell I am excited?

I am goin’ to go for now and will be back later after everything is calmed down.

Hope you all have a wonderful afternoon!