Moments Caught

I love those little moments you catch on film. The ones you were not looking to get, but did... The other day I was taking pictures of the kiddo.. I love this one I got of the boys. My heart screams with happiness as I can see a future were these two are beyond the best friends. Im talking closer than you can imagine. They have that special brother bond, yet they have something more I see. They protect each other, comfort each other, and sometimes act like they want to kill each other.. But they are best friends....

And then when Justin ask me "can I take some pictures" and I hand him my camera.. Emily and I pose for some not so awesome cheesy pics, some even of our feet..lol But then he caught this.. A moment I had missed, but he caught, and I LOVE!!!

Things around these parts have been mellow here lately.. No sports at the moments mean extra time at home.. Joes been going through a company change over the past month. After a big auction and see ya of StoneWorks, they re-opened a new company (Phoenix Granite & Marble).. Things have gone smoothly, but work is busting at the seams.. So hes been busy..

We got our first snowfall of the season. A light dusting, but it was enough to cancel schools and excite the kiddos AND chickens..lol

Little Things in the Night

The other morning I was laying in bed after hitting the alarm clock for the 15th time and I started hearing this clinking/taping sound in the living room. I got up walked in and looked around but didn't see anything. I stood there with every light turned on when all the sudden one of Justins crayfish came crawling out from under the couch. The little booger had escaped. I swear I don't care to wake up to this guy ever again...

Master Bath MakeOver

I have been wanting to redo our Master Bathroom for awhile now.. Actually ever since we moved in almost 5 years ago. Finally I decided I wanted to go bright, fun, and somthing that was on the realxing side.. Since we just got over the holidays I aimed to do the makeover all for $50.. So here it is...

The $50 Master Bath MakeOver

And this lovely artwork was done by a local girl... ME :)

Also I had to re-organize the Master Bath closet!!!

I was always told....

That little girls are sooo much easier to potty train than little boys.. Well apparently the people who uttered those words had never worked with this girl....

Today we started our potty training adventure, and like with the boys I took the no holds bar and just go straight to the undies, no pull-ups, no guards approach.. With the boys this was a great success. Both were FULLY trained, and yes night trained too, within 72 hours!!!

With Emily this is the enemy... (don't even DARE to ask her to sit on the other potty)

And this is my sidekick for today....

She has yet to "go" on the potty, yet has drenched her fair share of her special Dora big girl undies... The boys I would ask every 10-15 minutes "hey do you need to go potty", but I have found if I ask Emily more than 2 or 3 times in an hour period she gets frustrated and the tears flow...drama!

So we will see how this goes and if it doesn't improve we might just pull the plug on the potty training train and try again at a later date.. UGH stay tuned!! :)

1/18/2012 UPDATE...

Little Miss is doing great and completely out of daytime diapers. We do still wear pull-ups to bed, but 2 out of 3 nights she wakes up dry.. She was stubborn at first, but took off.. YAY

A Year Start to Finish

A friend of mine shared this idea with me and I loved it.. You take a picture the first day of the year and one on the last day and you have a year comparison shot!! Love it.. So lets see how much the kiddos grow in a year...

Justin

Nick

Emily

Movie Nights

I must say we love netflix around here. We have been getting movies for over 2 years now!!! We do the 2 out a one time plan, and I try to set it up so we get one "mommy/daddy" movie and one "kid/family" movie in at the same time!! Then its on for Movie Night!!!

We gather up our popcorn and candies and all pile up, usually in my bed, sometimes we get every blanket in the house a pile on the couch and floor, but my beds seems so comfy.. Thing is I need a bigger bed, I mean with Joe and the 3 kiddos I have to squeeze in on the side.. But hey its worth it..

Here we are watching the Smurf movie the other night!! Love movie nights!!!

A New Year

Happy New Year...

Welcome 2012, I am so glad you have arrived. I am not shy to say I am a little (lot) happy to see 2011 fade off into the sunset. Yes we had great moments in 2011, but it was also one stressful, trying, hard year. In this past year I have faced some of my hardest times, but I have not been alone. I have seen family members also face some of theirs. I don't want to forget the past year, but I am so excited to look to the future...

2012 is going to be a good ride, I can feel it. I mean already it has some great things in store for us! This year I will leave my 20's behind, we will watch our little 36 week preemie boy become a double digit midget! Joe and I are set to celebrate a great event in July, and in the fall one sassy little girl will adventure into preschool! We also have big dreams, hopes, and goals we just know we will reach in 2012!!

In the past I have never been big on New Years Resolutions, but this year I feel a change. This year I'm setting goals for myself and they will be met!!! So what you may ask is (are) my new years resolution(s)...

This year I will....
 - Be more confident in myself as a wife and mother!
 - Do more for myself & take time for myself
 - Don't stress so much over the little things
 - Open my eyes more to the world & people around me
 - PAY IT FORWARD
 - Work hard for my family
 - Work hard for myself
 - Have FUN!!!!

I'm telling you 2012 is going to be awesome! Just sit back and watch, or even better join us in this ride!!

Happy New Year!