Who would've thought?

Who would've thought that this little troublemaker...

...would someday turn into this?

Dillon has only been in school here for a month, and he was already chosen for a "Super Citizen" award.  When his teacher called to invite me to the assembly, she mentioned that he is always holding doors open for people and showing respect.  Way to go Dillon!

Maybe there's some hope for this one...

"One little hot dog frying in a pan..."

Dirty feet

Justin likes to sneak outside any time someone opens the door.
Most days, by dinnertime, his feet look like this:

Eww.  Too bad he won't leave his shoes on.  Actually, he will leave his left shoe on...just not the right.  Any time he's in his car seat, or a grocery cart, or just running around the house after going "out" he promptly removes his right shoe and sock.

He has his own way of doing things, our Justin.  He has a deep love for appliances, and can often be found toting around my salad shooter.  Or my hand mixer.  Or my blender.  Or my cell phone. Or pushing the buttons on my alarm clock.  Right now, he is pushing two frying pans around the kitchen floor.

He giggled last week when this hot air balloon flew by our house:

This is how he sits in his high chair lately.  We should all be so comfortable.

We sure love our little monkey!

Snack of the day

I had less than 1/4 cup of leftover cream cheese frosting, and 15 minutes until the kids 

would be home when I remembered this "snack" I had seen on pinterest.  

I love when I have the supplies on hand for a last-minute idea.

And since we're on the topic, can I take a minute to give a shout-out for Band-aid brand?

I cut myself shaving a couple weeks ago and it would not stop bleeding. I went through three no-name "adhesive bandages" (within minutes) before I pulled out a true Band-aid. The difference was amazing.  

Forever more I'll be "stuck on Band-aid brand 'cause Band-aid's stuck on me..."

And just in case you care, there are a few other brand names that I'm willing to pay extra for 

because I especially love them:

Heinz ketchup

Dawn dish soap

Tide with Bleach (for whites)

Q-tips

Carter's sleeper pajamas

Ordinary life

After spending the last year searching for jobs, houses, and traveling back and forth...a lot, I am LOVING our plain ol' ordinary days. I even took a two week break from unpacking just to soak up some "normalcy".  Our days are spent with school, work, coupon clipping, grocery shopping, laundry folding, and even an occasional nap.  

I am loving the nice weather and our new backyard. There's so much room for energetic boys to skip, run, hop, and ride scooters/skateboards/bikes!  I need to start doing research and figure out what I'm going to plant in our garden.  I'm told I can plant peas in February!

Several neighbor kids have been coming over to play Nerf dart tag after school. 

 Todd is extremely busy with work.  He currently has 16 kids on his caseload, in addition to being the equine therapist and doing all the horse sessions on the ranch.  He is working to build a private practice in the evenings, and has a few clients then as well.  I am so grateful for his education, and all the work he does to provide for our family.   Oh, how I love living under one roof again!

As soon as we knock out a wall and extend my quilting studio, I will start quilting.  It's so different to have just one kid at home all day.  When Brayden was six weeks old I started doing daycare at home, so I've never really been in this position before.  Justin and I are having fun grocery shopping (so many choices here!), taking walks, and figuring out our new "groove".  We were at DI when it opened the other day.  I can now cross that off my bucket list.  If you've never done it, you should.  It's not as bad as Black Friday, but still good for some laughs.

Todd and Justin hard at work on their laptops.  Like father, like son.

This is a video that I caught when the kids weren't looking.  They're singing our new favorite song.  It was even requested for Family Home Evening this past Monday.  You may recognize it from my previous post.

Looks Like Santa's Been Here Again

This means more to me than it will to most of you, but I didn't want to lose the link, and putting it on my blog means I'll be able to find it again whenever I want.

My brother and his wife wrote a family Christmas song for their gift to us this year.  He took our old home movies and included clips throughout the music.  I get choked up every time I watch it.

For those who don't already know, I was raised on a dairy farm.  Every year on Christmas, we had to wait for my Dad to finish milking the cows before we could open presents.  We waited by the kitchen window and watched for the lights of his truck to come down the road.  When he got home, Dad would go downstairs and light a fire, take pictures of the "spread", and then finally we were allowed to run down the stairs.

It's funny, but after all these years, my favorite memories are not of the gifts I received, but of that time in the kitchen window while we waited for dad...the anticipation.  Thanks, Ben and Carrie, for portraying the magic of our Christmases in such a beautiful way so that I can share it with my own kids.  You have inspired me to be better about taking pictures and video of my own family.

And thanks, Mom and Dad, for "the magic".

bathroom pics

Well, I'm not finished decorating, and it's a good thing you can't see the pee on the toilet seat, but here are the pictures to prove that I did more than eat ice cream today.

10 points to anyone who can guess the "theme" of this bathroom before I finish the decorating.  I've been planning it for a few months and was bummed to realize that these "neutral" walls are ever-so-slightly lavender, so I will be painting this room (I don't "do" purple).

Here are a few hints:

1- It's not sock monkeys (although that would be fun).  Justin's monkey just happened to match so I sat him there.
2- The colors (brown, tan, cream, and bits of yellow) and the red/white polka dots are "key".
3- I was inspired by a children's book.

Brayden is sitting next to me and he guessed that the theme is "Not lavender".

Just so you know, that's not it.

motivation wanted

My brother and his family stayed with us last night on their way back home.  I love that we live exactly half way between them and my parents so we'll get to see them more.  Since they left this morning I've struggled to find motivation.  The holidays are officially over and it's back to "real life".  

Only I haven't figured out "real life" in this house yet.

I've managed to keep up on the kitchen, living room, and laundry (a miracle in itself), but our bathroom(s) still look like this:

So, here's my plan.
My blog is my deadline.

If I haven't posted pictures of a clean/organized bathroom by tonight at 9:00, will y'all please start nagging me?
Apparently my kids have me "trained" and I only respond to whining now.

I'll go start now...

right after I check facebook.

and eat some ice cream.

and check out the 90% off clearance section at Target.

just kidding.