Tattles and Tells

To Soon To Tell..

2012-01-23T10:55:00.001-06:00

But I think we're on the mend! These past two months have been full of sickness. One after the next, passing things around. And this morning, both kiddos finally seemed to wake up in a good mood!

Mila eating a bagel for breakfast, Ian in Cars 'jamas'

Besides Mila's crying all the time now (she's kind of turning into a drama queen, I have no idea where she gets that from) we've been good so far today. I'm catching up on laundry and cleaning, pretty much everything household-y since it all fell to the way side during 2 months of sickness. But, Daddy Bendig has been pretty busy around here too.

Our new blue door!

Our door was unfinished since we moved in and the peep hole was so high that only a giant could see through it. Stephen was kind enough to lower it (I can see through it now!) and paint it blue! Next, we need to paint the inside of the door and either take off the storm door or fix it. It was an extremely lazy install job. And, this past weekend, Stephen made some headway on the front yard.

The process of the front garden/future patio.

We're still in the drawing plans here. But Stephen has killed everything here. We're going to had a little patio of sorts right next to the house and we're going to add some drought-resistant plants. We are going to choose our materials sometime over the next two weeks and start digging and leveling this week. Stephen has been such a good sport about it too!

So, yes, we've been a little busy. I even got to have a girl's night! Franny came in from out of town and we all went out. First to a karaoke bar, then to a bar where this hilarious band was playing. Amy was there too, but she took the picture...

Jackie, me, and Franny... slightly incriminating.

We had a really good time. Stephen got a guys night out the following night. It was a really good break that I really needed. Staying inside with sick and cranky kids has had me on edge lately.

And I don't think I ever shared, but here's the birthday outfit that I made for Mila.

Not too bad for my first sewing project of the clothes variety. And lastly, but not least, one of the adorable dresses that my grandma made for Mila.

I promise I love Ian too, but he never lets me take any pictures of him! I'm trying my best! Maybe since he's done being sick *hopefully* he'll let me snap some shots.

Oh, I'm researching sleep machines for Miss Mila. Does anyone know of any that are loud? And I just want white noise, she seems to do best with that. She has a little travel one that is sketchy at best and turns off before she falls asleep, if it even wants to turn on, and my kindle isn't loud enough for me to just download a sound.

Mila is 1

2012-01-16T07:35:00.003-06:00

Mila's party was so much fun! I had a lot of help too though.

More to come.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-27T05:28:00.002-06:00

We had a really fun Christmas. After Santa came, we had a lot of my mom's family over and my inlaws. I think it was a success! I didn't take many pictures at all (hosting and having kids). But I got a few the next day. And this picture just may be my favorite. Ian playing with his gift from Namaw and Papaw...

I remember Christmas, it was so awesome when I was younger. And, I still enjoyed it this year. It was nice to stay up late with Stephen, watch a Christmas movie, wrap, wait in anticipation of our kids the next morning. I must say, Stephen and I were up before the kids, they kind of slept in. My parent's watched them until pretty late, so it doesn't surprise me.

P.S. Mila likes the train table too...

Where are the kids at?

2011-12-23T08:10:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I wrote out this huge, long post on my phone and I didn't save it. And when I hit publish, it didn't work. Sigh, let's see if I can remember everything.

There we are at the doctor's office. Ian is wearing his hand-me-up doctor's shirt for the occasion, he has a really big personality and opinion lately. Not pictured are his house shoes, both Thomas and Cars, that he just had to wear to the doctor. And yup, ear infection. He's on antibiotics until the day after Christmas. And, I should probably mention, boy has gained 3 pounds since last month. That, and he keeps complaining about the bones hurting in his legs. I'm thinking we may see a growth spurt soon, that would be exciting, because I don't think he's really had one!

Mila is pretty mobile now and loves playing with Ian. She tries to do everything that he does. That's them at a local bounce house. They have different sections for those who are really young, so I like it a lot. But, Ian won't stay over there. He is all over the place, it gives me a few minor heart attacks, but seems to run him ragged. Fair exchange? Probably not, but beggars can't be choosers.

Mila is sitting in this picture, but I swear that she is a full time walker now. She'll crawl if she has to get somewhere really quick, but that's about it. She's also picked up a few adorable things. She's still waving "hi" and "bye" but I love hearing her say it too. It's hilarious! Recently, she started picking up any object that could possibly be a phone and holding it up to her ear and saying "hello." Does that mean that I'm on the phone a lot? She's just picking things up left and right and I'm a little more sad about it this time around. I feel like she's no longer a baby anymore. And all she wants to do is play with her big brother, or just his toys. If he is playing with his trains and leaves the room, she hightails it over there and plays as hard as she can until he gets back. It's really entertaining to watch. I've noticed that if he shoves her, she goes in for a bite.... at least she can hold her own.

A while ago, Ian had 2 bruises on his ear and we couldn't figure it out for the life of us. We asked him what it was from and he said "Mila!" Which, made since, because that was the same distance as her vampire teeth. Ian needs to be nice to his little sister, she is one tough cookie.

There's Ian, the heart melter. Lately, he asks me things like "do you want my heart mom?" And then he'll proceed to pretend to take his heart out of his chest and give it to me. Then, he'll ask for mine. It's the cutest thing in the world. He does it if I step on a toy and hurt myself too. And if he gets hurt, he asks me for his heart back and for my heart too. Lol. I don't know where he comes up with this stuff, but it is so stinking cute!

He is really coming into his own as a big brother too. More times than not, he knows that he has to trade a toy for his toy back and that she longer wants the dumb toys. He'll play chase with there where they crawl around the house and they both belly laugh. He even wakes up in the morning and immediately asks for Mila now too.

These two can be pretty stressful, but they always do something that makes up for it... like being crazy amounts of cute!

Dear Blog

2011-12-15T16:43:00.001-06:00

I have been crazy busy, or so I thought.
Here is my happy girl walking. Today, I had to double take as she was walking right by me down the hallway with no destination in sight.

Ian is 3!

2011-11-07T15:06:00.000-06:00

The kids are sleeping so I thought I'd take a quick second to update. I like to write blogs on subjects that I want to remember, like Ian's 3rd birthday!

Please note that I started this post on Ian's birthday and am just now getting back to it at the end of the month. And now it's much more than just a birthday party to talk about.

Ian's party was Thomas-themed and he had such a good time! We even had a pinata, that Ian wouldn't hit, until the very end when Uncle Aaron somehow bribed him to come outside and hit it.

Mila enjoyed the cupcakes, can you tell?

Aunt Jackie made Ian's DELICIOUS cupcakes, they even had a chocolate filling! So delicious and so fun. The party was really a good time.

Above are random pictures. One of Mila sleeping with Curious George. The other is Ian and Mila playing on the porch, waiting for Daddy to get home. Ian insisted on wearing his underwear on the outsides of his pants.

Now, here are some things the kiddos are currently doing so I don't forget!

Miss Mila. She's growing in leaps and bounds and it's really making me sad! She's supposed to be my little baby.
She's walking from coffee table to furniture. Can stand up unassisted. Saying 'hi' and 'bye' and waving. She says "YAY!" and either throws her arms up in the air or claps. And she is totally a grandpa's girl and willing goes to him instead of me now. Let's see, she's refusing to eat baby food, only table food. Which is good and bad I think. She's still sleeping like a pro, I really like that! She wants to follow her brother around, and if Julian is around, she follows both of them.

Ian. Oh my goodness, Ian. I cannot believe he's 3 years old. He has his first musical at school coming up and I'm really excited about it! I know that he loves to sing. At school, they bless their food with a song before they eat, and he was singing it really loud in the middle of the meal too, adorable. He gets along with his sister for the most part, which is nice, but always wants the toy she is playing with, and viseversa. If I let him, he'd live outside in his sandbox. Notice, that's where this picture was taken. I love that we can talk and have real conversations now too, it's so surreal. He was just a baby yesterday! This 2-3 year was really crazy with the mental development.

It makes me so incredibly thankful that I'm able to stay home with the babies.

That's all for now. As usual, I'll try my hardest to update more!!!

Utopia Fest

2011-10-17T16:14:00.000-05:00

I haven't written a blog in a really long time. So, I thought that I'd update everyone because we just got back from Utopia Fest. We camped out with the kiddos. It was a blast!

The pictures are kind of big, but I only chose 10 to show on here. And we're off!!

This was the Utopia Fest symbol. Ian had to touch it.

The views around the entire festival were beautiful! I wasn't able to capture a good enough picture to describe it, but this was as close as I got.

Mila and I hanging out.

My new vibrams. On the stage behind them is Kyle Offidani. He was pretty good.

Michael and Ian playing cars in the dirt.

Black and White Years... remember when I embarrassed myself?

Ian hiding.

Danny Malone

The festival was fun! And today is my mom's birthday. So, we got to go now. :) I'll try and update more, always do!

ACL - Blogged

2011-09-26T07:56:00.002-05:00

Finally! We've been so busy! We had a full weekend, Day out with Thomas, surprise visit from Franny, and more! Woo! Now, I have a few minutes while my coffee brews, the kids are talking (Mila says "bubba" now!), and I've already put together stuff for our playgroup today. Yikes! Anyways, here are some adorable pictures from the weekend before last.

**VERY PICTURE HEAVY!**

Mila pants actually sleeping! It wasn't a very common sight.

Ian took his drums and ran to the little stage. ha!

Ian drumming on the other dudes' drums. He LOVED drumming, we spent a lot of time here at kiddie limits.

Ian doing some arts and crafts. He got to dip a car in paint and roll it around. He thought it was awesome!

Day 2 of 3 days of colored mohawks. His head is still red!

Julian reaching to me for help... Mwhaha!

The boys are very focused while painting... they are so cute!

Mila with her earmuffs on. A stranger stopped and asked to take a picture of her. Lol.

This is always how Julian eats his yogurt, in style.

Ian has yogurt on his face... oh that boy!

Here are the boys being very style-ish.

Mila and Papaw watching a band.

I like to call this one, Fight to the Death.

Namaw and Mila.

Fun Fact: Julian slept more than both of my kids combined.

We played in the sand a lot to escape the rain. Yes, rain...

Uncle Aaron visiting us in our hideout.

Jackie and Julian. :)

That's it people! I took a bagillion more pictures, but I don't want to bore you with them. Maybe I'll post some from our weekend a little sooner. Peace!

More acl

2011-09-20T16:36:00.001-05:00

The last night, finally got a picture of us... Only after a stranger took a picture because we have dedication... Lol

posted from Bloggeroid

More ACL

2011-09-19T08:32:00.001-05:00

I'm on the couch watching Cars with the kids. I'm sore, hoarse and tired.

But it was so much fun! Now, we are going to enjoy a day of rest. Maybe I'll be able to post more pictures tonight.

My dreams of Ian and naps are demolished. Not one nap at ACL, and Mila barely slept. But now, mom is tired.

P.S. Wish Franny a good 1st day of work at her new job!

posted from Bloggeroid

ACL

2011-09-17T08:35:00.001-05:00

Quick update! It is rockin our socks. I'm going to remember to bring my camera today.

That is all. :)

posted from Bloggeroid

Dear Blogies

2011-09-01T07:41:00.001-05:00

Dear Blogies,

Sorry I have been absent. To sum up the prior two days, poopoo what I found in the fridge.

Floor cleaner. That is all.

Regards,
The Blog

posted from Bloggeroid

Ten on Tuesday

2011-08-30T04:00:00.000-05:00

Hello! Here is another rendition of Ten on Tuesday.

1. What is your favorite brand of shoes?
Hmm... My Vibrams, my Clarks, and of course, Steve Madden.

2. How old were you when you learned to tie your shoes?
I haven't the slightest clue. Perhaps one of my parental figures knows the answer to this.

3. How do you feel about freckles?
I lurve them.

4. I can count to ten in ___ languages.
2

5. What is your favorite store-bought ice cream flavor?
Homemade Vanilla? Ha! Rocky Road Ice Cream... but recently, I think it's only because my grandpa would feed it to me all the time because it was his favorite ice cream. :)

6. Were you in ballet or gymnastics as a little girl?
Both.

7. Who is your favorite Sesame Street character?
None. But if I had to choose, Big Bird.

8. What’s your bedtime?
When the kids go to bed. And maybe a little after if I have something to do...er... this blog.

9. Do you have any jewelry that you wear every single day?
My wedding rings. Sometimes either Stephen's necklace or one that my Grandma B gave me. And sometimes some earrings from the mommers.

10. Who is the bug killer in your household?

Stephen, hands down. He may, or may not you be the judge, have come home from work on occasion to kill some bugs.

I hope that everyone has a fabulous day!

Mommy Goggles

2011-08-29T06:34:00.000-05:00

Good morning! If you are reading this, Amy is probably at the dentist getting a wisdom tooth pulled from her head. We may (or may not) be helping her with the whole driving situation. We are on-call,a-nice. Poor Amy. And the crazy-ass is still going to work on Tuesday. But, Amy isn't my child, so onward.

My current state? Mila is crying in her crib not wanting to go night night. She stands up and cries, and only know how to plop back down, if she wanted. So I keep going in there and putting her back down. She then pretends to be sleeping and then wakes up and starts screaming again... standing in her crib. Come on Mila, it isn't that bad! Or is it? I don't know, I would like more sleep, she should too.

I couldn't take it. I went and got her and put her to sleep that way. Then, Amy came over and Mila woke up... so she stayed up late with the girls. This little one is becoming really active like her bubba.

This last week was pretty fun. We got to go to the park and take pictures with my parents. A grandparent/grandchildren photo-session if you will. It was pretty fun, the kids got to splash around like the bonkers children that they are afterwards.

You can check out my favorites here.

Long side note: That's where I stopped last night because Amy came over and we watched an episode of Heavy. Her old roommate was on it and I hadn't seen it. It was pretty good. Lost a ton of weight. Now, this morning, we are going to take her to the dentist, it was decided last night. Yikes for Amy!

I am out of coffee, I really need to go to the store. Thank goodness I went and signed up for some instant coffee samples though, because I found them in desperation this morning. Though, their cup of coffee is tiny, I'd have to have like 6 instants a day.

Alright, so back to the kids. They really enjoyed playing with grandma and grandpa at the playground and they even got to play in the water afterwards. It was a lot of fun. We should make it a weekly thing.

Let's see here, Ian got a hair cut last week, super cute! I'll post pictures that later on... my camera isn't in here!

Peace out people! I'll update more later in the week, I'm tired... :)

Some Random Thoughts

2011-08-26T04:00:00.000-05:00

Hello Blog World. Welcome to Friday. I'm going to leave you with a few bullets. I'll number them.

1. I had a steroid shot in my foot on Wednesday morning. It didn't really hurt. But, fast-forward to Thursday and I can barely walk. I sure hope it gets better soon. I need to get back to Zumba.

2. Ian loves trains. Ian loves to turn the trains on and let them continuously run.

Do you happen to notice that in the top picture, Ian actually rigged the green one so that the back wheels don't move, thus, it doesn't go anywhere. I kid you not people, a lot of my life it spent listening to their sound, following it, and shutting it off. Thanks mom, for buying more of these.

3. For a couple of weeks now, I've been chopping up our fruit and veggies (the ones that would be good this way) and putting them in jars.

Exhibit A

This has been amazing! When I cook, I just walk in there and throw the veggies on it, no cutting (minus when we buy them and I go on a massive cutting spree). It makes it way easier having two little mobile ones. Way easier.

4. My living room wall has two spots of green paint on them because I still can't decide on a paint color. Does anyone want to help?

5. Mila follows Ian around and does literally everything that he does.

I'm sure it drives him crazy, but he deals with it. what a trooper. They are reading Ian's Cars 2 book here... sort of. He's trying to read it to her, but she keeps getting in his way.

6. I really hope that my foot feels better tomorrow, there is so much more that I need to get done. It's ridiculous.

7. We need new windows for our house. One friend recommended Pella, does anyone else have any suggestions? We need new windows so bad! The seals are broken in them. It's time for an upgrade.

Ian School

2011-08-25T04:00:00.000-05:00

Ian is loving his new school. I'm so glad, I was a bit worried. It's actually not a new school, it's the same one as last year, but he calls it New School, I'm guessing because he has different teachers, whom we love. Here is the little booger on his first day:

Patiently waiting for the doors to open.

I know he doesn't look that excited, but he's VERY excited! Even on the way home, sans nap...

His after school snack.

We actually stopped and got him ice cream too. He requested to go to Grandma and Grandpa's and have Grandma come with me to pick him up too. She happily obliged to the boss's orders.

This last weeks, things did not go so smoothly. Well, they did for drop off, but he may, or may not, have had a breakdown when I picked him up because one of the little boys brought a train for naptime and Ian did not.

I was actually able to get him in his car seat. He was smooshing himself between the door and the seat.

He sat on the floor, refused to walk, screaming, screaming, people, at the top of his lungs. I laughed... I'm only human, and just kept walking. As he would stop, throw himself to the ground with his backpack, then continue to walk... all. the. way. to. the. car. Parents would stop and watch, some would make comments. I thought it hilarious that many parents thought he was screaming because he wanted to stay at school, they were so wrong, he wanted a train.

Please note, he did not nap.

I finally was able to reason with him. We went to the store and bought a snack and a train, I know, I know. But he was sobbing people... do you not see that face? And then, we went to visit grandpa at work to cheer him up.

I moved my phone, so it's really blurry.

Ian hugged him for about 2 minutes, then proceeded to eat 2 popsicles (Mila had her first too). That made him happy, we then stopped by grandma's where he gave her a hug to feel better, she had a headache. And he then conned them into watching him by himself for a while. He's really good at getting what he wants out of them. It's pretty brilliant to watch.

Anyways, we're excited about school this semester. It's a lot of fun! Oh, and he goes in the potty at school. I think we are going to do underwear next week. I was a bit nervous on sending him in underwear, so he's been wearing pull-ups. But, I think that we may be ready.

Have a fabulous day!

Franny + 50th Wedding Anniversary

2011-08-24T21:31:00.000-05:00

Last week, we had a couple of parties. Franny got a job in another city, so we threw a little surprise going away party for her. **Picture Heavy post, I was too lazy to make lots of storyboards, sorry!**

On the left is Jackie's amazing Pineapple Upside Down Cake. OMG! Amazing. She really needs her own bakery. I'm sure it would be world famous. I'll even take food pictures for her walls.

Onto the 50th Anniversary.

Mila and her Uncle Michael. So cute! I love this picture.

The cake. My mom and cousin, Sydney, made it. It tasted as good as it looked.

Sydney also make some pineapple cupcakes, they were good too.

My new favorite picture of my grandparents. We made them blow out the candles. 50 years!

Ian ran around like a crazy. The. Whole. Time.

Aaron... GQ chatting. You can see Lisa and my mom working hard in the background.

Jackie and Mila. I think Mila looks really long here! It's amazing how she's grown.

Michael and his gf. <3

Sydney and her cupcake. :)

That is all. Goodnight!

Ten on Tuesday

2011-08-23T06:10:00.005-05:00

Head on over to Chelsea's blog and link it up! I'll try and remember to do that this time. Wait... I need to start brewing the coffee... Ok. Let the good times roll.

1. Do you listen to the radio in your car? If so, what type of station do you like?Yes, I listen to several different ones. In the morning, I listen to the Bobby Bones Show on 96.7. I loves it, Stephen does not, he likes that 101.5 show. I'll listen to them during the day. Also 94.5? I think that's it... 100.7 and some other station I can't remember, they're all programmed. Then, I also have a classical station programmed in, you know, for when I'm trying to be sneaky and trick the babies into sleeping. It only works if I'm not tired too.

2. What is the best concert you have ever attended?
Oh geez, I have no idea! I really like ACL because there are 5 trillion shows. Though, the Blink 182 show, that was my very first show ever, was pretty f-amazing. So, I'd go with Blink.

3. What is the most embarrassing concert you have ever attended?
Oh God. This one stands out. The Black and White Years. I went with my family. We had an extra ticket. My dad and Stephen told me to just give it to somebody, so I tried to give it to the person behind me... who was the band. The assholes didn't tell me! (Excuse my french). It was so embarrassing. I tried to give the band tickets to their own show. I'm such an idiot.

4. If you could have the singing voice of anyone in the world, who would it be?
Jackie Jormp-Jomp. Do you watch 30 Rock? No?

5. You’re auditioning for American Idol. What song do you sing?
Baby Bleu by Danny Malone because it's Ian's favorite song.

6. If your previous weekend had its own soundtrack, what would be a few of the songs?
Really? I have no clue! Lots of party songs?

7. Most annoying television show theme song ever:
Any of the theme songs to the animes that Stephen watches.

8. Are you and your significant other music-compatible?
For the most part. We like lots of same music, but then like lots of things that the other does not like.

9. A song that brings me back to middle school:
Baby got Back

10. A song that brings me back to high school:
For some reason, I'm drawing a blank. What's wrong with me? Insert Bowling for Soup song here.

11. A guilty pleasure song (or three):

Insert a Justin Bieber song... Ha! I love songs that make me want to dance too, so any of those, I don't discriminate.

Ian's First Sleepover!

2011-08-22T08:24:00.000-05:00

I am painting, so I'm letting one coat dry, then I'm going to get back out there and finish.... hopefully. I'm already pretty tired. But, I'm tired of not having a bookshelf and I've put it off long enough!

Anyways, onto Ian's first sleepover. My friend Jackie and I have been wanting to have a Weeds-athon lately, where we stay up late (for mom's) and drink and watch/catch up on Weeds. So, we did just that. And, it worked out quite perfectly, if I must say so myself. Around 8, I put on Word World for them to watch. I conveniently put on the "Duck's First Sleepover" episode. Note: They jump on their beds in this show! But, the boys did not! :)

Aren't they so stinking cute?! Ian went to bed really quick for the first time in his life. But, it was hilarious. Ian started fake snoring and then Julian joined in. I swear, it was taking everything in me (and I'm sure Jackie too) not to burst out into laughter. They were so funny! Then, I guess Ian got pretty tired because she actually told Julian to shhh and then was asleep quickly thereafter.

Julian had a case of the giggles, I'm sure from excitement, come on people, first sleepover! But, Jackie was a superwoman, er... mom, and got him down.

They changed positions a lot, but Julian slept in pretty late (730) and Ian only woke up once at night where he tried to crawl onto the couch with Jackie, then play with some toys, but she put him back to bed... haha!

Sleepover = success. Next time, I think I'll make some waffles with fruit or something. Or maybe pancakes that spell things, or make fruit faces on them. I don't know, but we have got to do it more often! It was a blast.

We also noticed that their play is getting to be really sweet, as in totally awesome. They actually solve some of their problems on their own now!!

Julian has a car Ian wants.
Ian - "Have it, car! Have it!"
Julian hands Ian the car.
Ian - "Thank you Julian" and he hands Julian another car.
**Long Pause**
Ian - "Julian, say 'you're welcome'"

Hahah! They're so funny!

Until next time... paint awaits me.

Memoirs of a Mom

2011-08-19T04:30:00.000-05:00

Dear Ian,

You are not getting enough sleep when you try and come into mommy and daddy's bedroom, but cannot quite make it.

I'm aware that you love your cars. I love them too. Especially when they do awesome things like watch you eat or play on the playground.

And it's good to know that you take care of them, you know, by driving them up to, then into the water because they are thirsty. It is good to lookout for others.

You are hilarious and exhausting. So, I'm going to bed now. See you in the morning.

I love you.

Love,

Mom

Changes

2011-08-18T06:45:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, I was a dumb ass. I was cleaning the entertainment center and put a glass bowl on the coffee table. Ian kept pushing it, I sternly told him to cut it out, so, he looks at me and proceeds to push it off the table, shattering it everywhere, awesome.

There were some war wounds... But I'm ok... Ha! The kids are too.

Mommy made some drastic changes...

The rug is up because I wasn't satisfied with the glass being picked up, and after my battle wounds, I didn't want the babies to get hurt. I made the living room tiny and I removed the coffee table. Which is a Mila-related story, she was trying to go to the hospital I think. She wouldn't stop climbing it and falling and it is metal, so it is happily in its new home, the garage, until further notice.

Now, new day....

posted from Bloggeroid

Oops

2011-08-17T07:42:00.001-05:00

I forgot to blog last night. But you can go read about this new "over booked children" idea over at pioneer woman.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pioneerwoman-full-rss-feed/~3/8yNRBToq9Pg/

I'll write a real blog today, I think. And hopefully do the dishes... And clean the living room.

posted from Bloggeroid

2011-08-16T06:21:00.000-05:00

Link it up over at Roots and Rings.

Provided by Rachel at Rachel Heather.

1. What do you do for a living?
I am a photographer slash stay at home mom. And I love it! I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm loving spending so much time with the babies and getting to devote time to a beloved hobby.

2. What’s your favorite thing about your job?
Getting to spend time with my kids when they actually want to spend time with me. I am hoping that they always want to, but I don't know. So, I am getting as much time with them as possible until then. And with the other job? As a photographer? I love capturing special moments for other families. I love lifestyle photography, to capture families' personalities during that time frame. So awesome! I'm actually pretty lucky. :) So is Deana!

3. What’s your least favorite thing about your job?

Sometimes it can be overwhelming, like if I need to get something done. For example, today I was only able to accomplish getting the dishes done. Two mobile kiddos is a huge adjustment for me... I'm hoping to fully adjust soon.

4. If you weren’t a ____________, what would you be?
A mommy? I don't know! I love being a mommy. I love being around kids. I love doing "business" type things... I think I have the best of both worlds. I think in the future I may go back to school (when the kiddos go to school) and get my certification to teach. Though, I can't really decide what I want to teach! I guess I have a few years to decide on that.

5. What is something that you would love to get paid for that you think no one would every pay you for?
Um... staying at home with the babies and photography! I love both so much. Though, I don't know why they call it "stay at home" mom, because we don't really stay here too much, unless I'm having a lazy day. Someone should pay me to Zumba... it's my newest addiction. Oh, nobody would ever pay me to cook, but I'm really loving it lately. My sweet husband pretends to like everything too... it's wonderful.

6. If you could have any job for exactly one day, what would it be?
Hmmm... I'm assuming it means other than mine... there are so many jobs! I'm currently watching 30 Rock, so I'd want to do 2 things, 1. See what it's like on the 30 Rock set and 2. See how similar it is to an actual writing job. :) How fun would that job be?! Amazing!

7. If you had to do manual labor, what would you do?
What?! You want me to do manual labor? I would say that my previous job in child care was manual labor... and I loved it! So, I'd do that again. Does baking count? Jackie bakes and loves it, so if that's manual labor, I also want to do that.

8. What is something you were forced to learn in high school that was supposed to be super important, but you never actually use?
Hmm... calculus? I don't currently use that, though I'm sure if I had a math-type job, I would.

9. Who was your favorite boss? Why?
Well, I loved, loved,loved, Rhonda Hauser. Best boss ever, but that was for an internship. She thought everything I did was awesome. That was very cool and made me pretty confident and wanting to do more. I haven't really had any 'bad' bosses, I think I've liked almost all of them. Minus the other job I had at UT. But, I've been extremely lucky here, Laura Colangelo was super awesome too. And now, I'm my own boss, and I too, rock.

10. Where would you rather work: Dunder Mifflin Paper Company (The Office), Wernham Hogg Paper Company (The Office, UK), or Initech (Office Space)?

Dunder Mifflin. I have a horrid confession to make, I haven't seen the Office, UK because I can't understand what they're saying and I have to focus too much. Initech, really??! Dunder Mifflin is the bomb.

Mommy Goggles

2011-08-15T06:10:00.000-05:00

I'm back! Here's a new edition of Mommy Goggles! I'm thinking I'm going to stick with it this time because it helps me fall asleep (what?! Yes, I usually post these the night before). And well, I've had some trouble sleeping lately.

The kiddos have been incredible lately. I have the normal amount of sibling rivalry, sort of. Mila loves Ian. Anytime he comes around, she lights up and starts giggling and getting super excited. She loves to play with her big brother. She loves to play with his toys. Ian isn't always in the sharing mood though, so he'll snatch it from her and get her a really lame toy to play with. It's almost comical, but I don't (intentionally) encourage it.

They love to play in the pool in the backyard. Mila just sits in her float and will play with a duckie (or whatever toy Ian allows her to have). I wish we had a nice real pool, that would be uber. Do you see how dead our grass is? This dryness is so lame.We are watering the foundation at 9 o'clock-ish at night. I hope it's helping. We need to redo our yard, dessert style.

Anyways, do you see how happy Mila is that Ian is pushing her on the swing? That's like my favorite picture, Stephen took it, you can sort of see Amy's foot in the background. Whom, Ian calls "Aunt Amy." :) He was also letting the swing hit him, then dramatically throwing himself to the ground. It was hilarious. Ian is really, really funny. He has a great, sophisticated sense of humor... kind of like our cousin Dylan. I love it!

We got to go to the pool with Franny and Mila tried out her new bathing suit (via namaw) and hat (via Franny). Um, I'm in love. Doesn't she look absolutely adorable? I almost can't handle it, but I am. And the girl was so worn out that she fell asleep poolside.

I mean, we've been spending, a lot of time at the pool. Even Aunt Amy's... where Mila is so excited, she puts her float on her head.

BTW, can you get over Ian on the slide? How ridiculous is that? And that picture of Mila in her skirt and flower? My dad's favorite! And that Daddy and Ian playing at Chuck-e Cheeses. So much fun! (I know, it's been a while since I've updated).

And completely un-child related, Franny and Feng came over and made us some (super spicy) kung po chicken.

It was really tasty though. :) Do you see the chair behind Feng? He tried to build a blockade to keep Ian out... nothing keeps Ian out from anywhere... lesson learned.

Hopefully you'll be seeing a lot more updates from now on. Have a great week everyone!

7 months!

2011-08-12T08:31:00.001-05:00

Happy 7 month birthday to the baby girl!

She is crawling, standing, sleeping through the night (until 7 am this morning), playing with her brother's cars as soon as he falls asleep, and laughing. Ian cracks her up more than anyone else. She smiles a lot, down to 1 reflux medicine, and loves her brother.

She still has no teeth or hair, but loves to wear her bows. She has already learned to make a sad face and/or cry when leaving papaw and namaw's.

7 whole months.... Wow! I can't believe we got here so quick!

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