Our way

Some days we cuddle. Sometimes we bathe. Sometimes we put our boots on and brave the rain. Sometimes we don't. Sometimes we shop till we drop because there ain't nothin else to do. Some days we dance. Some days we hide out in our pjs. Sometimes we drive around singin at the top of our lungs. Sometimes we play peek-a-boo. Sometimes we are organized and smart. Sometimes we are sloppy and dumb. 

Some days we build muscles. Some days we are lazy. 

Sometimes we blog. Sometimes we are too busy. 

We always laugh. We always love each other. We always say "nigh-night" & we always give kisses. We always check Instagram. We always text Daddy. We always drink our milk & read our stories. We are always silly. We always take pictures. 

We always enoy life.

-Me & my boys :)

Soo... this happened yesterday.

Ok, it looks way worse than it was. It didn't really hurt when it happened. I thought I had jammed my finger trying to grab a hold of Chloe, and it wasnt until I looked down at my finger that the panic alarms went off. I immediately freaked out and Eric threw (and i mean, literally threw) the kids in the car while I sat there sobbing in realization that I didn't even have a bra on, and Ryan was still in his pj's. (HAHA, these are the things I think of when my pinky is on backwards) 

I think EVERYONE was freaked out by my finger. The people in the waiting room were staring, the front desk people were freaking out, but hey-- I got a room right away! har har. If you don't want to wait at the ER, just have a really freaky looking injury and they'll get you in a room right away just so you don't freak other people out. 

The swelling was simply from the numbing meds, but that was the worst part.  They stuck a needle in 4 times and numbed the whole area with a LOT of fluid. My finger swelled so much I thought it would pop back into place on its own. Then the doctor came in and I explained to him that since the moment I saw my finger like this, I had been dreading the part where they pop it back into place and did he really have to? Couldn't I just leave it like this and just keep coming back for numbing meds. He laughed at me, and said, "Oh I already did it" and that was that. Seriously. I didn't even notice.

The splint is the worst part, and trying to avoid my children is the hardest. I keep telling them, "AHH DONT TOUCH!" and they just don't seem to understand...

The splint is very interesting to them... 

Tristan keeps pointing at it saying, "It's hurting". 

All in all, it's no biggie. A little pain for an interesting experience? :)

Sealing the Deal

Eric's big sister, Bernadette got this year rolling and sealed the deal to her man!

& we came along to celebrate :)

Bad Case of the Gimme's

Ok, awhile back I decided to start a secret stash of cash for my oh-so-desired double stroller... the BOB. I REALLY REALLY want it, and Eric just doesn't seem to understand so I thought I'd save by myself and BAM! He'd be so proud of me, I thought. I wanted him to be proud of my secret money saving skills.


THE BOB, in all it's glory:

Of course, because I am practical and also, poor and cheap I was planning to buy it off Craigslist. The stroller retails for over $600.00 and despite how much I love it, I can't bring myself to spend that much on a stroller when I don't use strollers on a daily basis. You can score a very clean/nice/just as awesome one off CL for an average of $350.

Tonight, I realized that I had $1.00 in my wallet. ONE.

What better way to spend $1 than to save it?

It all felt so deviously responsible sliding that dollar in until I remembered exactly how much was in my oh so special savings jar.

First, there was $1.

Now, there are $2.

I guess this is the part where we admit defeat and announce that I am not a very good saver. You win some, you lose some. At least I can only get better... right?!

Only $348ish left to go! Wish me luck ;)

What was that? We are human?

You know what, I'm gonna say it... my husband makes me mad.

He is the only person in the world that can spark that teenage angsty flame I try so hard to suffocate. (I've been known to be a bit of a hot head. I'm working on it.)

But thankfully, he is the only person that I love so much that I would count to 10, take a walk, scream into a pillow, etc etc... try all the old tricks in the book to calm down so I don't use him as a mental (or physical) punching bag. Because I love him and I don't want to hurt him. I want him to be the best version of himself that he can be, and it makes me happy when I get to be the pesron that helps him do that.

We all have our issues, and I'm not saying that I always count to 10, because only God (and Eric) know that I should do it 10x more than I actually do.

Sometimes we hurt the people we love, and it's really hard to make it up to them. We say and do things out of anger or hurt, or jealousy or whatever, that we don't mean and then we regret it and we apologize. We hopefully learn from these things and move on and try not to do them again. But sometimes it takes awhile for the other person to forgive and forget, and that's okay too. As long as you're moving in the right direction.

I know, I know... slap a tv audience in front of me, and call me Dr. Phil.

But seriously, one of my resolutions for the new year/my life was to focus on my marriage and make positive changes.

I vowed that whenever I felt like punching Eric [or worse ;)] that I would instead, Google or search Pinterest for "Marriage Advice". It is surprisingly calming to read that you're not the only couple that argues or has issues. A lot of people out there have a lot of the same advice, and sometimes it's comforting to just be reminded to do things we already know we should be doing, and sometimes its comforting to know that everybody struggles.

Today, this is the one that I found and LOVED. So I thought I'd share it because I truly LOVE LOVED it... enjoy :)


15 ways to stay married for 15 years

No husbands were harmed in the making of this blog entry. 

Losing the baby weight

Okay, so I feel really weird writing this post, but I've been asked about 100 times to do this...soooooo here you go; my simple tips to losing weight.

Last year, after the IUD fiasco I was SUPER unhappy with the way I looked. I had just had 2 babies in the course of 2 years and my body had gone from big to small to big to bigger to... you get the point. I had a newborn and a new toddler, which mind you- neither one could do a single thing for themselves- and I was exhausted. I wanted to do something for myself and also for my kids. Every mom knows that the secret to being a good mom is being the best version of yourself that you can be. For me, I needed a self esteem boost and some energy.

I joined the gym last March-ish weighing 178lbs (give or take a few lbs to the exact start date). My highest non-pregnancy weight ever. Today, I'm at 145lbs and counting. While I do have a personal goal weight, it's not really about the number anymore.

First of all, I am NOT an expert in any of this, this is simply what has worked for me. There are NO secrets, just hard work and a little bit of advice. A little bit of knowledge I've learned over the years that I can share.:

1. First and foremost, it truly is all about how badly you want it. Wishing and hoping will get you nowhere. If you put in work, you will see results.

2. Change the way you grocery shop. If you're someone like me that struggles with self control, then you need to make sure you only have healthy foods at home. Granted, those of us with kids (or husbands like mine) can't always make sure that all the delicious treats are out of the house... so instead, I buy specific treats for myself and says "Hands off!" to Eric. Buying things that are specifically for me makes it so I don't feel like I'm missing out at all, and I actually look forward to being able to eat it.

3. Everybody has different weaknesses. Some people can't say no to sweets, some people struggle with portion control, ETC. Identify your weakness and conquer it. For me, I could go the rest of my life without having a candy bar or ice cream. i LOVE vegetables and salads, etc. My vice is salt, butter,etc... and portion control. So if I feel like I'm getting off track, I substitute with a meal replacement every now and then.

4. Ok, this is an area that I don't know MUCH about, but I just do what I can and learn along the way. Supplements & vitamins. Personally, I have tried a couple different protein powders and don't really notice that much of a difference so I go off popularity and price. 

5. Exercise. Just Do It ;)

Ok but seriously, you have to. You will be much happier about the way you look and feel if you do. Weights + Cardio is key. You will lose faster and look better if you do. The thing with exercise is that you have to stop making excuses. Ok, so maybe you really couldn't make it into the gym or you can't afford a gym membership or whatever. Find the time to workout at home. Buy some hand weights, a Jillian Michaels DVD, search Craigslist for old treadmills, buy a jogging stroller, ETC. Do whatever you need to do to make it possible for yourself. Personally, I LOVE going to the gym. It's a win-win for both me and the kids. They go play for an hour or so, and I get "ME" time AND I get to blast my music. When I can't make it into the gym, due to sick kids or lack of planning, etc I pop in Jillian Michaels and get to it right there in the living room after the kids are asleep or during nap time. 

Another thing I struggled with was not knowing what to do. I had never done any type of exercise on my own, outside of sports. I had never lifted weights. Personal training was really good for me, but I understand that it's not for everyone. So, get a Pinterest account and get to it :)

So, no excuses. 

6. Keep it fun. Track your progress, get a workout buddy, buy cute workout clothes...wtvr it is that will keep you going. 

There you have it. 

That's all I got.

Adulthood 101

I think that in high school they should offer a class called Adulthood 101 and you should be required to pass it in order to graduate. In this class, they would teach basic life skills such as:

1. How to tie a tie.

Believe it or not, both genders need to know this. Just when you think it's not important to know because you're a woman and you don't wear ties... you're 24 with 2 kids and you've married a man who doesn't know how to tie a tie. Suddenly you're scrambling around on YouTube because you've bought your husband a tie for an event in which he must wear a tie and neither of you know how.

2. How to cook the following items:

Rice
Mac N Cheese
Pancakes

3 essentials. You think you're poor in high school because you make minimum wage and you want to buy a pair of jeans that cost your entire paycheck? Wait till you're in your 20's, making minimum wage, trying to pay rent and bills with that same paycheck. You will need to know how to make pancakes.

3. With that being said, you will also need to be able to run a mile. Although not necessarily essential based on how much you care about your health...but if you're going to live off pancakes, ramen and the like... You're going to want to embrace exercise.

4. How to stock your closet to look like you are a functioning adult. The key here is that you don't have to actually be a functioning adult, but you do need to look like one. They should provide you with a list of the basics; staples in both black and white, jeans, a black dress, etc. But most importantly: Jackets. So important. You can't wear a ski jacket to a wedding and you can't wear a peacoat to the gym,etc. I mean... you CAN...but you shouldn't.

5. Ringing out the sponge when you're done is lifesaving.

6. Laundry. I feel like an entire semester could and should be dedicated to the secrets of laundry. Many marriages could be saved, if we all just knew how to do laundry. You're going to spend the rest of your life doing it, might as well figure out now that there's a reason you wash towels separately, and theres also a reason you don't throw a brand new red towel in with your whites. I entered college not even knowing which machine was which. It was tragic. You live, you learn... but your clothes, they don't always survive.

7. Never burn bridges with people who drive trucks. And always maintain friendships with lots of strong guys. There will inevitably come a time when you need to move. Or be a mormon, because they're awesome in that department as well.

8. Bills, bank accounts, credit cards, ETC. I truly have never understood why they don't teach you about this in high school. Or maybe they did and I wasn't listening? It's possible. BUT still, they should have had a flashing sign or something that told me that this was IMPORTANT.

Budgets: lifechanging. Treat it like a Nike slogan. Just Do It.

Credit Cards: love/hate relationship. Treat your bank account like you treat your best frienemy. Because that's exactly what it will always be to you. Keep it in perspective.

Bank Accounts: You know that one friend, your BFF when it comes to texting? That's your bank account. Talk to it and talk to it frequently. Always check up on him and see how he's feeling. If you haven't texted in awhile, replenish the well and send him a hello text.

9. Call your mom.

Until you start your own family, she's the only one who really cares. You'll find that out when you're barfing green turf on the morning of New Year's Eve.

10. Most importantly: treat people the way you want to be treated. Don't be a judgemental prick, and always take the high road. 

Holidaze 2012

Just some fun pics from the Holiday Season :)