My little man looks like a little man now :D

J got his first haircut by Nana.  He was suprisingly good.  Not still but good.  He looks so handsome!

of course this is the best shot I could get after :D.  ADORABLE!!! If I do say so myself.

Wordless wednesday

They enjoy the simplest things don't they?  Think they'd want to play IN the sand? Nope, lets splash water on top after Mommy rinsed it.  Gotta love em!

Looks like we skipped Spring!

So the past week has been 30+ degrees!  Scorching!  Poor kids and my poor Mom trying to keep them entertained.  So I bought a blow up pool and a new climb structure to add to the play house and smaller slide we have.  It's  great.  So much to do and the kids love it.  I had no idea they could play so much and so long with one slide!  You've got to love kids for that.  It's like they don't even notice the heat. 

Playing in the yard...

Giveaways:

* Before I got pregnant I always used to wear my baby G watch.  With all the swelling I stopped.  BUT I came across the newest version.  The Mini G shock watch.  I am in LOVE with the white with pink face.  I came across it on the blog Guessing all the way  and she's giving one away!  Head over and enter, ends May 30th.

*Exhale* :D

Awesome, awesome, awesome weekend!  Man it's been a long time.  Got all the things done I needed to, spent time with family and old friends, the kids let me sleep in!!!  Does it get better? 

For the holiday Monday we went to a local park and E played and played on the huge playground and we waded in the stream.  It was the closest thing to perfect.

My friend is doing better.  It's amazing how friends and family come together in times of trouble.  Makes me realize how lucky I am.  I feel like I've never been happier and it's only going to get better : D   Sending out the positive vibes.....I feel like just thinking positive has made such a huge difference for me, I challenge you to try it!

Some photos from our long weekend...

I love my life!

My kids are awesome! I'm finally getting settled in with work after my mat leave.  And I've been able to spend some time with my sick friend.  Although it's rocky I don't take any time for granted.  Got to hang out with the kiddos on Mother's day and realized what a lucky lady I am :D. 

I won't be able to post much for a bit. With work and kids and hospital visits I'm pretty busy but I'll try to post photos if I can. 

Anything can happen

A more serious post today.  I found out one of my highschool girl friends who is also my aunt (after highschool and a long story lol but not as gross as it sounds)  is very sick.  She had a stroke at 33 years.  She's in the hospital and waiting on an MRI and it only reminds me how quickly things can change and how precious life is.  Hug your families tight and say a prayer for my friend if you have a moment.

Backyard fun...

My kiddos love to play in the backyard.  We have a tiny slide/climb tower that E goes up and down...no joke...at least 100 times a day.  She loves to stand by the compost (like in the pic) and wait for you to say 1-2-3 GO! and run down the mini hill.  Such a small yard yet kids find a way to make the most of it.  J is just happy to crawl around and rip grass out of the ground :D 

I'd love to win the Hearthsong Giant Outdoor Ball from Lollidots.  We'd have to take it to Nana and Grandads or a park but wow would they ever have a blast! Giveaway ends May 10

 

It's coming, it's really coming....

Summer!!!  The air was so humid today it was a sneak peak of summer! All we need is a good thunderstorm to start it off.  We went for a long walk this weekend and spent some quality time with the fam.  I've been trying to be more positive and I feel like it's really making a difference. The positive feelings last instead of being short lived.  I no longer feel overwhelmed by chores or life in general.  The walk didn't feel like an obligation or scheduled it was just as much time as we wanted to take doing what we wanted to do...which for some time was searching for ants and naming them :D  It's the little things....

 

Giveaways:

* Northern Mama is giving one Canadian reader a YEARS SUPPLY of Sunlight Green Cleaner.  An environmentally friendly laundry detergent.  I'll tell ya with a one year old and a two year old playing in the grass all day this would be a lifesaver!  Head over and enter. Ends May 6th.

A real hero...

I came across this story on facebook.  I verified it's true.  Thank God for people like this man.  It makes me so happy there are people like him fighting for the right....  Here is the story.

BELOW IS THE REAL WINNER OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE!
John Gebhardt's wife, Mindy, said that this little girl's entire family was executed. The insurgents intended to execute the little girl also, and shot her in the head...but they failed to kill her. She was cared for in John's hospital and is healing up, but continues to cry and moan. The nurses said John is the only one who seems to calm her down, so John has spent the last four nights holding her while they both slept in that chair. The girl is coming along with her healing. He is a real Star of the war, and represents what America is trying to do.This, my friends, is worth sharing. Go for it!! You'll never see things like this in the news. Please keep this going. Nothing will happen if you don't, but the Canadian and American public needs to see pictures like this and needs to realize that what we're doing over there is making a difference.. Even if it is just one little girl at a time. James Gates U. S. Navy


Giveaways:

So I'd LOVE to win Jake a pair of Eleven shoes. He's just starting to get close to walking and I think it's SO important to have good shoes.  Eleven shoes are stylish and adorable! Seeryus Mama is having a giveaway. Check it out.

The law of positivity?

I've had a rough past few months.  My best friend has been going through an incredibly rough time and it finally seeped into my life.  You can't save someone that doesn't want to save themselves no matter how much you try.  Long story short,  I decided to part ways with her this weekend :(  It was one of the hardest things I've had to do in a long time but, I felt I had no choice.  She's in a bad place and she doesn't see the destruction she carries with her.

Ive been so down lately.  Going back to work has been hard, I'm not doing my job I was doing before I got pregnant (not by choice). I've been assigned somewhere else and it's SO not fufilling. I worked hard to get my career.  Hopefully once the summer is over I'll be able to get back to it but the uncertainty is stressing me out.  I let that bleed into my home life too much.  I come home miserable and stressed out and my poor Hubs has taken the brunt of it.  Anyone who is married knows it's not all sunshine and rainbows.  Add two kids 2 and 1 years and it's just work after work after work.  It's easy to get overwhelmed.

I had a visit from an old high school friend last night to cheer me up and it made all my stress just go away for a night. Trust me, with the funk I've been in that's no small feat.  It made me realize that you have to surround yourself with the right people.   As much as it breaks my heart to say good bye to my friend I can only hope one day she is able to find what she needs to get back on track and maybe one day we will talk, but until then I have to remove myself.

I know I'm being general here and partly because I don't want it to be about her but more about positivity and moving forward.  It's so easy to slip into darkness and sometimes you dont even realize you're there til someone turns on the light.   I'm going to try to pay it forward and hopefully I can help someone else see there is positive things and help them look forward too.

J's 1st Birthday!!!

Well as promised I have lots of photos to share.  Poor J was so sick, both kids have a nasty cold that is just hanging on forever.  He slept through some of his party and was miserable for parts of the rest.  Got some good photos though...I really need to fix the ISO on my camera grrrr....

E helping to make the cupcakes the night before the party....

The leaf thing didn't work like I had pictured. The icing was WAY too soft. I made butter cream from scratch :D  They look pretty good though, kind of like grass or a bush. 

The finished product with my toppers from Kanga Crafts on Etsy  love how it looks!

Goodie bags for the kids.  I may have gotten carried away with the candy. I've been known to have a sweet tooth :D.  Tags from Kanga Crafts for that fantastic personal touch!

The birthday boys chair.  With his highchair photo banner.  Photos from the first year. I'm going to keep this as a keepsake.  double duty!  I may even use it again next year with a new one and keep adding to it.  Also from Kanga Crafts

A

.A closer pic.

The customized photo banner. It says Jake is one, there is a letter on each photo.  Also from Kanga Crafts .

Poor guy was so sick.  He wasn't even interested in the cupcake.  He's taking forever to get accustomed to solids anyhow.  You can tell how miserable he was....a big difference from his sister on her first...

Thanks for looking :D

Working Girl... Not that kind but you know

Work work work!  This is my second week back and boy is it tiring!  That sounds like a bad stand up joke :D  My Mom is watching the kids. Thank goodness for her.  They get to stay home and she comes here.  We are SO blessed.  She's a real trooper watching my 2yr old and 1yr old and my niece who's 18 months.  Id rather work!  Not much else going on.  I'm throwing a birthday party for J on Sunday. I have so many great ideas.  Here is the cupcakes Im going to make...minus the animals.

I have toppers from Kanga Crafts on Etsy that I'm so excited to use.  I also ordered a photo banner and highchair banner.  I'm excited!

I'll definitely post pictures next week.  I think I'm down to one post per week.  but I'll make sure there are lots of pics :D

Giveaways:

*So many great giveaways.  Piece of Me blog is giving away a pair of See Kai Run shoes for kids.  They are such well made shoes and that is so SUPER important.  I bought cheap shoes for E last summer and the poor kid had blisters so bad. I learned how important good shoes are for that and for their growing/developing feet. 

* Mom's best bets blog is giving away a jar of Perricone MD's cold plasma cream.  I would LOVE to get my hands on this stuff. I have recently become obsessed with my pores and now I've come to notice all my wrinkles.  I feel so old lol.  That and the bags under my eyes all the time.  This stuff looks like it would really help.

*  Moms best bets is also giving away a Fisher price kids digital camera!  Finally E could have her own and leave mine alone.  The fingerprints are driving me nuts lol.  This blog has tons of great giveaways and is quickly becoming a fave.

Happy Easter...

Happy belated Easter.  We had a packed weekend.  Visited the Hubbs family on Friday, a local Easter party at a 'museum-ish place' on Saturday then my parents on Sunday.  It was great.  I love that E is getting into it now. She was \SO excited, hunting for eggs at the ILs.  Also my BFF took a bunch of pictures and they're beautiful!  Here are some...

 SCARY Bunny!  But she was ok and actually wanted to go back a second time just to see the bunny.  It was pretty adorable.


So I'm back to work tomorrow...I'm not nervous but I feel like I'm headed to prison.  Extreme I know but, it was easier last time because I was pregnant and my days were numbered. Now it's going to be for 30+ years!  Life as I know it is going to change forever. Send me good vibes. I'm going to miss my babies.

No wonder they call it a JOB

So I head back to work on April 6th. I'm happy to go because heck this motherhood thing is HARD but I'm also sad that this is the last time I'll be able to spend this much time with my babies.  Heck when they'll even BE babies.  We're not having anymore so I guess it's kind of like the END of a time in our lives.  Sad :( 

Speaking of Babies J went from crawl position to sit for the first time! I was so proud. I can't wait til he's moving around and then walking. 

I did a fun little exercise with E on my Mommies board. I asked her a bunch of questions and typed exactly what she answered. It's cute and gives a real insight into her personality.  I should mention that each question I asked was repeated back by her. She is BIG on repeating and it was challenging to get an answer. 

1. What's your name? "A baby!" She's pushing her baby stroller and looking at me like I should know the answer to that question.
2. What's your favorite color? First attempt-"No." She just repeats the question back. Yep this is my kid
3. How old are you? "Blue" stuck on the last question.
4. What color is your hand? Hand? Not answering that one either
5. What's your favorite toy? "Hand!" Apparently she's still on the last question lol
6. What does a monkey say? Ooooo oooo ahhh ahhh ahhh, she does an impressive monkey, my typing doesn't do it justice.
7. What color is Elmo? Blue (by the way everything is blue or yellow)
8. What do you like to eat for dinner? "Cooookie?" Can't blame her for trying.

I love this part of having kids.  They are such a joy and a challenge all at once. But we'll never do this again and the moments where she calls me Mommy or runs to meet me at the door make EVERYTHING and more worth while!

Oh I didn't see you there...

It's been a while. I've been super un motivated.  And really TIRED....and no I'm not pregnant :D   I'm back to struggling to get myself up and do much more than get dressed (which normally happens around 4pm).  Thank God the Hubbs is home from work.  I swear this place would be a fricken mess.  Anyhow,  Just thought I'd check in.

Things are good with the kids. I can't believe what a little sponge Emma is.  She says the funniest things, she'll repeat anything which can be good or bad.  Jake is dancing to songs now and starting to make sounds that sound like he may be saying Mama or Dada.  Boys and girls are so different.

The In laws came back from Florida last week so we had them over on Saturday.  We put together E's bike she got from them for Christmas and headed out to give it a go.  It was WAAAAY too cold and we ended up just heading back.  Of course they'll never do what you want them to because you want them to. She wouldn't even sit on the seat. But at home she gave it a go.  It's an adorable barbie bike. I LOVED my bike when I was a kid I hope she will too.

Giveaways:

*  J. Leigh Designz is having a See Kai Run Giveaway.  I LOVE the See Kair Run shoes!  Shoes are SOOO important and it breaks my heart seeing blisters or painful feet on a toddler. None of that with SKR.  These are the ones I'd love to win for Jake above.  Perfect for the summer.

Yo Gabba Gabba iiiiiis aawwwesome!

So E and I met up with some friends we haven't seen in FOREVER (since they moved 5hrs north) to go to the Yo Gabba Gabba Live concert.  SOOOO much fun.  I think at the start I was more excited that she was but as soon as she figured out what was going on she got right into it dancing and singing.  Poor thing hadn't been feeling well earlier but seemed fine after and we had a great time.  The girls had a blast.  My friend said it was the best day of her daughters life so far lol. That's pretty good!

 Thanks so much to TS Giveaways for the giveaway!  We had a blast and some great memories just E and I I'll always have.  Here's a few photos.

I've been pretty busy with the concert and stuff  so I haven't entered anything new but you'll be the first to know about. 

Have you seen my workout mojo?

So for the past 7-9 weeks I've been working out 5 days a week no exception.  This past week I worked out three days :(  I do have a bit of an excuse.  On Wednesday I dropped a stroller on my pinky toe.  I'm pretty sure I broke it.  Just laying in bed hurt.  Not exactly great for being physical.  Then on Friday the Hubbs got snipped.  So I have been running pretty ragged doing everything for the house and with both kids since then and trying to keep up with my Etsy shop.

So here I sit on Monday, the day I said I would for sure get back to it, trying work up to it.  It doesn't help when in the last two days I've lost two lbs. Water, maybe. But who cares??

I need some motivation!  What gets you up and going? 

Giveaways:

* A latte in the morning is giving away the ever elusive Flirty Apron.  So cute!  Sexy and feminine, sounds like a win win to me!  Ends on Wednesday March 17th worldwide.

The age old struggle to get kids to eat vegetables.

One of the things I don't do so well with my daughter (my son eats babyfood he's easy) is getting her to eat her veggies.  Fruit she'll eat NO problem.  She will eat an entire pint of blue berries or strawberries AFTER dinner.

So online I read a neat tip to put out veggies as dinner is being made.  So I bought some broccoli and tzatziki and it was a hit!  We shared/ mostly she ate half a head (is that what it's called?) of broccoli.  But do you think she'd touch her pita pizza? nope.  How did that manage to back fire?  She ate some breadsticks and cheese and strawberries so not bad in the end.  Tomorrow we try carrots.

I'm determined to serve more veggies even if I have to hide them.  Even better if I don't!  Any tips?  I'm open to suggestions. I put lots of chunky veggies in chili and she'll eat it. I'm going to try meatloaf...

Heck I even got some mmmm yummy! out of her!

Also I wanted to give a super big thank you to TS Giveaways!  Thanks so much for commenting on my post and letting me know that you were having  a Yo Gabba Gabba giveaway. I won! And now I get to take my daughter and her friend to the show....we're very excited and super grateful for the opportunity to win.  Visit her blog for lots of great giveaways and blogging.    

Wordless wednesday

So lately what's been keeping me busy is Etsy so I figured a photo of one of my new bows might be appropriate.
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Mixed emotions

I only learned of Layla a short time ago.  She was one of the strongest two year olds I think this world has ever known.  I was touched by her and her families strength and she taught me to enjoy the little things and hug my babies tighter.  I look at every smile on my daughters face differently and every hug, kiss, cuddle is a treasure, Layla gave me this gift and for her and her family for sharing her story I am grateful.

I know that she is a beautiful angel in heaven now.  So much for a little one to suffer and so tragic a life cut short.  I am so glad that she isn't suffering anymore and I send my thoughts, prayers and love to her family, friends and the hundreds of thousands of us who came to love her.  Rest in peace sweet girl.