Hello weekend, we love you :)

What an awesome weekend we had! Mostly because Auntie Meagan was here which means sushi and lots of girl time for mom. I'm not ashamed to admit that life is great as a mom but I still enjoy some shopping without little hands and little mouths around to beg for my attention. Instead sweaters and jeans were calling my name. Having Auntie around also means lots of fun playing with the kids. Case in point:

Love fixing dinner while this is going on in the other room. So much LESS stressful than the norm.




Love those piggies

It also means that the hubs and I can go on a date. Oh how I do love to spend time with my husband but I love getting ready for the date with my sister here. She is the girlie girl that I didn't have growing up when I was getting ready for dates. She helps me shop for new shirts and jeans. She does my makeup and ....

she does my nails. YIPPEEEE!


See, wouldn't look so good without the help of my sister.

We enjoyed having her here. Chase got to spend some quality lunch time with just us girls and got to eat some super yummy sushi. I think I am creating a monster when it comes to fun foods with him. But that is ok. We had a great time with you Auntie Meagan!!

Here are some other photos from this weekend:



Gorgeous sunrise


Chase helping me make pretzel bites.


Hello Mr. Sundae Cupcake. You were so delish!!

Naptime photo shoot: I just adore Kyndall when she is sleeping and when she is just starting to wake up. She is still so baby-looking. I know this is quickly passing so I thought I would torment document this.


Still sleeping


Love that sweaty baby fine crazy naptime hair




Mom leave me alone!!




She doesn't stay mad for too long.


For the last part of this weekend and today, the girls in our house are nursing some sort of sickness. This includes mommy. I am not good when I have headaches and today was no different. I am really hoping the girls start to get better and my headache was just a Monday kind of thing. Here's to hoping that everyone in your homes are feeling well!!

Would someone please stop this crazy train!!

I swear that I just posted a couple days ago. What's that you say, it has been over a week? Argh!! This crazy train of playdates, gymnastics, and sports team drama has kept me running around like a chicken with my head cut off. But that is ok. Rather have it that way than bored to death with nothing to do. Let's see if I can catch up with pics :

This handsome young man had a birthday a while back. We filled his room with blue balloons while he was sleeping. It was a fun surprise for him to wake up to and they have provided plenty of entertainment for the kids. I just can't believe that is he is already 11. He is still the most amazing and complex human being I know. And although he can make my blood boil and his backtalking is like nails on a chalkboard, I just can't imagine what life would be like without him in it. He is my baby and he always will :).


The girls covering him up.


I spy a tiny little girl in those balloons!!


Chase's angry bird cupcakes!! They turned out pretty cute.


The girls started a little gymnastics activity class. This isn't a real gymnastics class but they get to have fun for an hour on all the equipment. It has been a perfect way to see if they are both ready for a real class. The verdict so far: E - just wants to play and really isn't interested in learning to do all the cool stuff. K - had super fun the first day and cried the entire time the next class. She is stubborn like her mother and doesn't like to do what the teacher tells her to. It is quite comical.


We decided to go visit our grandparents on Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday to remind us that life is all about our family and those wonderful connections that can only be made by grandparents :). I love seeing my girls with my grandma and grandpa.


E filling in grandpa on why he shouldn't be sleeping after lunch.


Kudos to C for taking great initiative to get the table ready for a yummy lunch!!


This is what K does at night when she should be sleeping. I believe she told me it was a "neckace".


I wanted to put K in some pigtails for our trip to the movies. She looked so stinkin' adorable but she was having NO PART OF IT. See stubborn as her mother.


The girls got to go to see Beauty and the Beast in 3D with me and Nanie. They had a grand time!! It was so cute to see E watch the movie through her precious 4 year old eyes.




Here's to hoping that this weekend slows down just a little bit! Prayers are much appreciated as we are now looking for a new baseball team for Mr. C. We are praying for a good team that will be together for a while. Happy Friday!!

Lovin' my job

Being a stay at home mommy to three kiddos, two of which are under the age of 5, is hard work. Throw in my other job of maintaining a clean house and feeding all of my family, life can get a little stressful. I noticed that last year I really let this all bother me and it really brought me down. After many thoughtful conversations with Jesus, it became blatenly obvious that I was behind this depression. I have to change my attitude. This has been so much easier said than done. But so far it has been so worth it. I am using my camera to really help with this change. I am really focusing on what is on the other side of that camera.







Look at her face ;)




These two get along better and better with every passing day.

I am also using that long lost teacher inside me to help as well. Focusing on teaching my girls and using my lesson planning skills has kept me busy which allows no space for overwhelming thoughts.






Playmobile equals FANTASTICNESS in our house

I am very proud of myself and I know that I can keep going with this change. My kids teach me more and more everyday of what it means to be a loving person and what it means to have a happy attitude.

Tomorrow is my baby's birthday. He is 11. I can not believe it has been 11 years since his beautiful soul entered my life. Happy Birthday my sweet son. More pics to come of his birthday celebration with us and some of his friends :)

Going home

We had a great time last weekend traveling back home to visit all of our families. It is so fun to watch the kids with their grandparents and great grandparents. They are so at home in every house and have so much fun. They find all the toys that they only see every once in a while and play with those more than the toys they just ripped out of packages. We all received lots of great gifts and had tons of delicious food. We couldn't help but have happy hearts as we drove home Monday. Warning: there are a ton of pictures so please be aware it might take some time.

Kyndall having some fun with daddy and Grandpa


Grandpa opening his popcorn :)


Kyndall adores her bunny cages and was found several times loving on her little ones


Ella lovin' on Santa


Grandma Sue got the girls some fantastic Winnie the Pooh books that she is reading (it is recorded). The girls just love this present and Kyndall can still be found listening to it. It is really a precious gift that they will have forever.


Daddy helping us with some gifts.


Grandma Sue opening her purse


Paging Dr. Kyndall


Ella practicing her T-ball. Since this time we have seen a little star emerge. Little did we know she could hit the pitched ball without the tee.


Kyndall running for her turn at the tee


It was a Playmobile kind of Christmas and man I have to say that these are the best toys for kiddos. There are tons of little pieces BUT that allows them to be so creative. The girls play with each set daily and I just love joining in.


See these little guys...they are Kyndall's favorite


She pushed the button and watched them clog over and over. It was rather cute.


My mom's amazing amerylis.


The girls both got some dolls that they can dress and comb their hair. They are super excited and the dolls have been with us every step of our days since. I love how Chase makes presents even more exciting, even if it is a doll.


Ohhhh new smoking robe....ok maybe not smoking robe but a nice bath robe ;)


It was a very homemade Christmas from us. Meagan loved her magnet board!!


I loved my adorable new cloche with this precious babe on the top. I <3 my sister!!

Speaking of sister. God gives us sisters so that we will never be alone in this world, I truely believe this. My sister and I always have so much fun and many times I need that. Here is what I have to deal with

Yeah, like wet willies haven't always been around in our house!!


After looking at how stupid we looked laying on the floor, we couldn't stop laughing


See I consider myself very lucky to have a sister that makes me smile. Ok back to family


Enjoying some floor time with my girls in the sun


Kyndall getting her play on


Enjoying some tea with Great Grandma. My girls are very blessed to have her in their lives.


Kyndall getting some love from her other Great Grandma. Again, my girls are so blessed to know these women.

As mom of a son, anytime you see this face.....

you know there is trouble.

This is what was in that box. As if my son doesn't already have an arsenol of nerf guns, now we have added a machine gun complete with a automatic stand. Happy happy joy joy....ok so maybe I have fired it once while the girls were napping yesterday or maybe twice...


We had a lot of fun with the nerf oozey. I am not so sure that Kyndall likes it.

She unfortunately was the target at first and then was begging for it. It was good times all around.

With a new year comes lots of resolutions. And with all the traditional, lose weight and eat healthier, I have a new one. I want to take this last half of Ella's home to really soak her in. I want to spoil her rotten with crafts and games and fun moments with mom that she will live on for the rest of her life. And not just for her but for all the kids. I want to focus more on them and less on my businesses or my house. Those can wait. I mean look at them:


Love this little girl.





They are so precious and I know that my time is very limited with them. I am really looking forward to this new us. Happy New Year to all of you that made it through this blog!! Love you all!!