This Week

So much has gone on this week and even though many probably don't care to know I like to reflect on what has gone on. Malaya had a great music concert Tuesday night, TJ left again on Thursday, only for 2 weeks. He is coming home for Easter. When he goes back on the 23rd of April......yep, I am going with! YAY! Mainly to scout homes because the girls and I are 99% sure we are going to be spending the summer in Arizona with him. His boss has offered to rent us a house for the summer so why not right? We are contemplating moving there as a family and weighing the pros and cons right now. He loves his job and the people and it's a wonderful place to be, but how do we leave everything we have here? This is weighing heavily on my heart this week.

Tonite my 2 oldest nephews (14 and 12) are coming to stay the weekend with me. Oh boy. How can I entertain 2 teenage boys? Yardwork, video games???? HELP! They should be a big help around here though and i am happy to have them. Sunday night I am hosting 11 extra people to sleep wherever they can find a place to lay their heads down. I like to open my home to friends and family though and they are all welcome with open arms. Even if that means that the lineup for the bathroom in the morning is going to be 5 people long at each door!

And today I bought the person's coffee who was behind me in line at Starbucks. I have cut down to only hitting the coffee shop once a week due to budget cuts.....I usually save it for Friday mornings on my way into Bellingham to do my errands. I didn't really have the extra $ but I know I made somebody's day and it makes me feel so good to know that I did. At least I hope so!

Blogging

I really am no good at this blogging thing. I have friends who's blogs are so stinking interesting to read. mine, BlaH!!!!!

Here are just a few updates on the kids.

Malaya is back playing spring soccer. She loves soccer and would play year round if she could. She is on a 4th grade team and is one of the best players. It's challenging for her and we hope she learns new skills and stuff for next season. Her 2nd trimester report card came in and she is doing exceptional in school. We couldn't be more proud. She is coming up on her 9th birthday in 2 weeks.....gotta find something fun to do. she is very sweet and we love her... However, where did this new "I am in 3rd grade and so much smarter than anyone else" attitude come from? Nobody told me this would happen. LOL!]

Natalya, well not really into sports yet but the other day she gave us a list of the "lessons" she plans to take next fall......gymnastics, tap, jazz, piano lessons and guitar lessons...ya ok and I am 6500 people all at once..hmmmm. She just celebrated her 7th birthday with a big party and is also doing amazing in school. She is at and above grade level in EVERY subject!!!!!!! Following right in her sister's footsteps.

Little Carter....not so little anymore. He is a monster. A good monster. He sleeps like an angel which I am soooooooo thankful for. But when he is awake it's like a circus at my house! i seriously need one of those child leashes they make. If you are outside or in public and put him down he takes off and he is FAST!!!!! For reals! His vocab is expanding daily...he pretends to be a dog alot and crawls on the floor saying arf arf arf......everything is mine mine mine....everyone is MOOOOOOMMMMMMYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If the girls leave without him he stands at the door yelling GUYS GUYS.....if we are getting ready to go he gets his shoes on and waits at the door for us. He is totally becoming a little person. And boy can he dance. the boy has got moves!!!!! ha ha...we love him. I cannot imagine our family without him.

So many things

I find myself lately finding so many things I wish I could do. Money is tight right now, I am not working much, TJ is travelling far to work and yet here I am wanting to try a million things. I know I have a calling out there I just don't quite know what it is. I watch Food Network all the time in hopes of finding new recipes to try so that we don't eat out as much and that has worked, however, now I want to be a professional cake decorator. Actually, I just want to make those super awesome cupcakes that those 2 Smart Cookies ladies do, they are sooooooo cute. Simple, you think and then you buy all the stuff to try it but they turn out nothing like that.

I have started a new business selling Sensaria, natural body products and that has been doing well. I can supplement some of our income in just a couple hours a few nights a month and I have fun doing it. Right now, for some reason I am having a hard time finding people who will host a party and people who said they would to actually follow through. It's frustrating but I do what I can.

I really have been feeling the urge to go back to school. My dream since before having kids was to work in the Labor and Delivery part of the hospital but having kids put that on hold. I really want to get started on this soon, but time and money are not at my dispense currently. I'd love to take photos more often........again working and being alone most the time with the kids makes that difficult as well.

I want to do so much, but how can I be 50 people at once? I can't. So for now, I be super mom and do what I know best. When the time is right I will pursue these dreams.....

Addictions

Guitar Hero.......Seriously..........WHO invented this game? We got it as an early gift for Malaya's birthday and our entire family has been glued to the Wii playing the guitar for a week. Malaya is really good and TJ, well you all can probably vision this in your head.......my hot husband with the guitar wiggling around playing "La Noche" with the volume turned up to 58! Holy headache. I tell ya, I think he just likes the name of the song, the beat is catchy though, I found myself bopping to the beat at 12am while trying to sleep...damn guitar hero.

Then there is Bejeweled Blitz, a Facebook game that sucks you in like the plague. I swear all I think about these days is beating my friends' scores and lining up as many shiny jewels as I can. I want to know where Jenn gets her super speedy mouse in order to get 181,000 points.......HOW is that humanly possible???

Guitar Hero....oh wait I already went there......ha ha, yes it IS that bad!!!!!

Spring Photos

Nice title huh? That's called "wishful thinking".......um spring??? Where are you????

I am soooooooooo tired of this cold and snow. It's so cold, I am chilled to the bone. My poor little feet haven't thawed out in weeks! I had to actually put the heating pad on them tonight to warm them up. Anywho, the point of this post is to share photos of my friend Tammy's little girl, Ella Jo. I have had the pleasure of taking her 3 month and now her 6 month photos. Luckily for us her photos can be done indoors.

I have been itching to take the kids somewhere cool and get some great photos with my new lens I got in January but have hardly been able to use due to the wonderful NW weather we have been having. Please, please, please old man winter...go away and bring me warm sun!

Here are some of the photos of Ella. She is so beautiful and happy. It was truely a fun time taking her pictures.

A newfound obsession

Carter has discovered a newly found obession for climbing things. Anythings. Chairs, stools, furniture, toys, people........you name it and the kid will climb it. A couple of nights ago he decided to climb a barstool, which is not a good idea since they are kinda tippy to begin with, add the weight and stature of an uneasy 24 lb toddler!


I wasn't watching as this was happening, I was in the other room. I hear the chair hit the floor and the sudden screaming sounds of a hurt little boy. Normally, Carter cries a minute then wriggles his way back to the ground to go get into something else. But he cried this time for a good 15 minutes. We headed up to bathtime and that is when I noticed that he hit the chair back right square between the eyes on the bridge of his nose. At this point his nose was as wide as it was long and turning more purple by the minute. I called the Dr afraid that it might be broken, but luckily he is still growing bones in his nose so she said there was a very minute chance it were broken. We iced, gave Motrin and headed off to bed. Expecting to see black and blue the next morning, I was very happy to be awaken by a baby with a tiny red dot on his nose. And one of the first things he did when he got up that morning was try to climb that same stinkin chair!! Boy, he keeps me on my toes!


On a good note, Carter turned 17 months last week and I promised to update his photos monthly for family who doesn't get to see him on a regular basis. Most of my photos of him are in the bathtub because that is when he is the happiest!!!! He is also one of my favorite creatures to photograph because he just loves it! Enjoy