UP

Well it's safe to say that today was NOT my day. My alarm is set for 3:55 AM (GROSS, I know). Ryan woke up at 3am and I hardly fell back asleep when the alarm went off. Before I could feel too bad for myself, I realized that Eric still wasn't home from work. Oy. 

Needless to say, Daddy was tired and so was I. 

The rest of the morning didn't pan out well either. 

Sometimes the only cure to a stressful day is to cave and watch "Up" with your boys ;)

From there, we gained perspective and things started looking up for us. (pun intended) 

Somebody made a friend in the mirror....

and that same somebody learned a few things this week. Among those things is his new favorite thing: JUMPING. He looks soooo funny doing it but it is great and he loves it...so yes, we jumped a lot today.

And how could I forget our HUGE milestone that my baby boy reached this week.

This little crowd pleaser is now crawling...EVERYWHERE.

So proud of my boys!

Bloggy blog. mushy stuff.

Oh blog,

I miss you.

I miss spending my mornings with you, sipping my coffee over the course of several hours while I blogstalk every morning. I miss sleep too, but I miss you more.

We're going to have to figure out a new meeting time. Maybe naptime? Does that work for you, dear little blog? I hope so, because I have a strict 10pm bed time now and I also have to spend some time with Hulu, and Facebook. I am sure we can make something work, it will just take a lot of dedication and no naps, but we can do it.

I hope you miss me too.


Love, Ashley

BBQ after BBQ after BBQ!

An ENTIRE weekend full of BBQ's, family, friends... minus having to work, I'd say we had a pretty darn good Memorial Day weekend! Saturday we spent the day out in Tacoma with Eric's family to celebrate the long weekend and Aunt Jendy's 40th.

Sunday, we were invited to a neighborhood BBQ in our new friends from the ward's neighborhood. They have the cutest little neighborhood and everyone is so friendly, we had such a good time. I'm pretty sure our kids did too. There was every type of toy that Tristan loves there... lots of power wheels, a swing, a slide, BUBBLES, and lots of new little friends.

This is the epic fit he threw when it was time to leave.

And of course, my camera was dead by the time we reached BBQ #3 at my Dad's with my sister and her family so I didn't get any pics but hopefully someone will send me some ;)

Mother's Day BBQ

Didn't get a chance to really post pictures from our joint Mother's Day/Bday BBQ Bash.

I thought this one was a gem. Ryan is such a mini Eric. It's adorable! 

Life lately...

Sorry I've been slacking this week. It's been a lot to take on new parenting endeavours and work and try to spend time with my family.

We try this every now and then, and then we fall back into the guilt-ridden routine of TV watching...but for now we're limiting TV/Movies again. We try to limit it to one video per day, whether that's a Movie or a Mickey Mouse DVD or whatever...

It sounds easy, but it's quite a challenge when you have any type of household chore or want to blog or whatever. Plus, I've cut back on "My" time because I'm trying to get more sleep. I start working at the front desk next week, and my shift is...... 5 am. Yes, 5 am. My kids don't even wake up at 5am! But oh well. It means more family time, so I'm gonna give it a try. This means I have to be in bed by 10pm though, and this is no easy feat. I typically crawl into bed at 1230am..ish.

Anyway, here's some photo's to make up for my lack of blogging!

Best Friends :)

Ryan's 1st Mohawk!

Tristan watching Motocross videos on YouTube-- he loves them!
He goes "rrrrr...rrrrr" while he watches (as in Vroom Vroom-- he does this when he plays with this vehicles,lol)

Had a fabulous date with my friend Laura- U-Top It and the Vow. Perfect girls night!

Fresh outta the bath. 

Just eatin' Cheerio's with my boy :)

Passed out. Rough life.

15 minutes

Haven't read this yet but I've read a lot about it and I've finally decided that I need to know what's inside this book. Has anyone already read it? It's about a woman who lives in VA and has two boys and a corporate career and still takes her kids out every day, despite the weather. 

You can order your own copy here.

I don't think I really need to explain why I want to read this...but just in case...

We are stuck at home all afternoon and I have noticed a huge difference in both of my children's behaviors when we do nothing but lay around all day. They get bored of their toys easily, Ryan rolls around aimlessly half-whining/half-pteradactyl screeching and Tristan eats half a box of crackers probably out of pure boredom and anything and everything can set of a string of tantrums. The thought of having two toddlers stuck inside the house terrifies me. I can only imagine when they start talking. So we're going to instill imaginations and adventure at a young age in hopes that we can minimize the foreseen tantrums. 

So here's to hoping these ideas will spark some change for the future :)

Wish me luck!

A little friendly competition

You ever feel like someone is trying to steal your job? They take over your daily duties, kiss up to the boss, initiate new ideas, etc etc...

I think that's what's going on here. So, in typical Ashley-Eric fashion, we're going to have a little friendly competition.

We're going to call it 'Who's the best stay-at-home-parent.' The winner gets to quit their job. haha...just kidding. The winner is going to get nothing, because that's how this gig works.

So far, I have more experience...so let's give me like 5 points for the past 2 years and the fact that I created these creatures with my body. Although, I'm going to be honest... I think the Hubs is beating me by like... a mile, so let's say 10 points.

Ashley-5
Eric-10

I came home to the boys all playing outside in the front yard. While their outfits were a little questionable today, at least they were clothed, fed, and happy. Eric had thought to bring a blanket out for Ryan so Tristan could ride his little quad. I don't know why I never thought of this. I've been trying to tame my wiggly baby for days now so that Tristan can play with his toys on the deck. Even with the swing that the Hubs finally installed, I've still been struggling.

So in honor of our new competition, I kicked my shift with the boys off with a nice long nap. Thanks to my children for playing quietly in their rooms for 30 minutes while I struggled to find it in me to get out of bed.

Surprise Picnic

I don't know what happened to my husband this morning but whatever it was, can it happen everyday? I came home from work to a happy, cheerful husband who had planned a picnic for all of us. It was too cute.

Is it okay if I just pretend that Mother's Day was today? Because it sure felt like it.

This is not to say that the Hubs has not worked his butt off since I started working, because he definitely has. I am domesticating this man and it is just fabulous. The trick to a successful marriage is to marry them young. I got Eric straight from his Dad's house. He never even stood a chance, poor guy. I tend to get a 'my way or the highway' attitude, (although I really try very hard to compromise) and the Hubs is a very good sport about it. He didn't even complain when I typed out a schedule/chore list for him to follow while I'm at work. Most days, I've come home to a clean house, kids napping and the Hubs folding laundry.

Anyway, if you know me it's not surprising to find that I'm kind of a brat about certain things. I'm working on it!! I'm very particular (not picky- particular...there IS a difference, I promise) about things and I get slightly aggitated when things don't go the way I planned. So I was a tad worried when I found out that he had already packed all the food. I've been doing really good on my diet and I really didn't want to spoil it or Eric's thoughtful efforts... but alas, the Hubs is my husband for a reason. He knows me too well. He packed me a salad exactly the way I like it. And all was perfect.

It's days like today that I really just want to squeeze my family. In a suffocating love kind of way. I try to refrain but it never works. My kids are going to hate me. Oh well.  I just can't stand how much I love them all. Who would have thought that living with 3 boys could be this wonderful?