Moments in Time

Back to reality....

2012-02-01T05:48:00.000-06:00

Neal is back to work today :( and none of us were ready for our little sleeping vacation to be over. I think we both were able to catch up on some sleep and it was fabulous but I have to say that getting out of bed this morning was really hard. We got NOTHING productive done like we had planed of course his vacation went from 10 days to 7 then down to 5 :( it was nice tho.

It was a really really sad week for me tho I went through all 3 boys clothes.....sigh. Conner has completely grown out of 4T and Ethan out of 2T and baby is fitting into 12/12-18 clothes. That alone made me want to cry. I'm really having a hard time keeping track of them outside because I'm not used to the new clothes and trust me when I say when all the kids are out it's a CROWD around here.

The other sad part of this week was that we weened the baby......sad......sad......sad. He actually did really well it's me that is a mess. I was not ready at all not even a little bit.

One of our neighbors has a new baby a sweet 1 month old little girl. I got to chat with her a little bit yesterday and see the baby and that made me even more sad. I REALLY need to get rid of those maternity clothes and baby clothes because now that things with Christopher are getting easier I'm starting to want another one :)

Ok now I need to get to work and clean up this mess of a house....I was on vacation too all week and let me tell ya it's a MESS!

2012-01-27T19:12:00.001-06:00

I made my last two V-day crafts.....a little wreath for the front door. Nothing fancy just some cardboard that I wrapped with leftover burlap and then some more rosets to dress it up a bit using up some more of those Christmas bows.

Did you know that light bulb boxes could be this cute :)here is what I used.....

Light bulb boxes that I painted red then I used white paint to write out the letters and the heart and using more of the tissue paper made little tiny rosets for the heart and O's. then I just sealed it all in with the mod podge.

Sweet little guy helping mom organize clothes :) I've been working on the boys closets.....they have too many clothes it's really a pretty big job! Still have to do Christophers.We have had a really warm stretch I mean almost HOT Christopher LOVES being in his diaper :)

Cutie.....still no toothers on top but those gums look terrible. Poor little guy.

Ohhhh how I wish he would take one but he is not interested at all. I've been trying to nurse only at nap times and bed time but he is not doing so well with that arrangement. Weening him is going to be really really hard. Not interested in the cup either.....sigh.

Making a mess of my magazine stack looking out the bedroom window and talking to the back neighbor. It was so funny Ethan and the little boy behind us were talking to each other but they were having completely different conversations.

Made themselves a little bed tonight and watching Ratatouille.

Neal is on vacation this week.....no special plans just relaxing at home. We took turns sleeping today and it was PERFECT :)

2012-01-25T10:14:00.000-06:00

Nothing like sweet hugs and kisses from your babies to make you feel better and if that does not work then just have some blueberry scones and coffee....it worked for me. Having a really really really bad day :( morning!!!

I'm gonna shake it off stand up tall and not let things get to me after all I deserve at least that much.

Anywho

Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy. Busy few days so camera has been on vacation :)

These scones are AMAZING........mmmm mmmm good!!! Check the food blog a little later for recipe!

Ethan rocking his baby to sleep :)

Wow Conner looks big in this picture. He is rocking his baby bear to sleep.

Neal was off yesterday and after lunch we headed for the beach....Neal stayed with the kids and I went for a LONG walk searching for treasures...I enjoyed my walk and quiet time very much.

Little man.....his hair really looks red/orange in this picture it's not but he would be cute as a red head :)

They love to play in the sand.

Loving this January weather.

well now they match.....new dryer arrived this morning but they did not hook it up for me so I need to get it hooked up so I can start on the huge pile of laundry...ONE FULL week without doing laundry and company for a full weekend :)

that is one huge pile of stuff to wash....haha any helpers.

lets hope that I can actually take my own advice and shake it off stand up tall and have a good afternoon :)

oooofta....

2012-01-23T15:09:00.000-06:00

2 more days without laundry......it's one massive pile already it will be interesting to see how many more things we can dirty up in 2 days! So before Christmas our washing machine broke and we had to buy a new one, jokingly I said that it would be nice to have a matching one. I really did not want to spend money on a dryer but I got my wish the dryer broke Thursday....sigh. So I have not done laundry since then and after a weekend with company and Ethan wetting his bed and me being clumsy and spilling things and boys digging in the dirt and needing to be changed 3 times a day and a little boy who almost always pees all over himself when going pee pee I am litterally buerried in laundry. The dryer should be here Wed so we need to make it just a couple more days.

We are on the countdown now. Neal is off tomorrow then works Wednesday and then he is off for over a week. REALLY looking forward to having him home. We have no plans as of right now we were going to buy the paint for the kitchen and get that done but now with the extra expense of buying a dryer I'm sure Neal will not want to spend money on paint and this will take A LOT OF paint. We were going to buy one of those HUGE buckets. It might be nice to just relax too.

I cleaned our flower beds over the weekend and I'm so excited to see buds on many of the bushes that I moved in the fall I was worried non of them were going to make it but looks like I was wrong. Looking forward to those turning green and looking better. With this weather and the rain that is coming I think spring may be here sooner than I ever imagined :))))))

yum yum....

2012-01-19T18:12:00.000-06:00

My little helpers....they make such a mess :) Some days I wish I could have just a little time to myself but then I think about Conner starting school this year and I get sad. I'm not ready. I'm not ready at all and I'm just having a really hard time with it. I want him to stay home with me is that terrible???

This is what they were helping me make check out my FOOD BLOG for the recipe.

I had a date today a very special date indeed. Ethan and I got to go out alone for a couple hours. His quiet mellow nature gets a little lost in the madness of this household and it was SO SO nice to get to spend a little one on one time with him. It was fun listening to all that he had to say and listen to his stories....he is such a little goofball. He had fun too I guess when Conner starts school he will have much more of my attention so that will be one nice thing.

another thing to check off....

2012-01-18T14:15:00.000-06:00

Getting closer and closer to being able to paint the kitchen walls :) I did the kitchen pantry today!!

before....eeeewwww.....messy! Unloaded took out the shelves painted cleaned reloaded and somehow during all this my children destroyed the rest of the house.

But at least now the pantry is all done and clean. really all I have left in the kitchen before it can get painted is one more coat of paint on the ceiling then patching some holes on the walls sanding and then the taping can begin....that's all :) Now I need to get back to putting the house back together....sigh it never ends does it!

Little trip.....

2012-01-17T19:43:00.000-06:00

I found this website with tons of tutorials on how to draw different things....cartoons, animals, people....it has step by step instructions. It keeps Conner busy for hours....he LOVES it!!!

Big stuff....loves to play in the bathroom.

Neal had to go to Georgia for a night and the kids and I went along. I love having a routine my kids do really well with a routine. It's nice when we are home because I can easily work around nap times, eating times and so on but as soon as anything takes them out of their routine they turn into MONSTERS. Needless to say we are glad to be home. We did have some fun though even with things not really going according to plan with Neal's work. We stayed really close to the beach in Georgia but things did not go according to plan and we did not make it to those beaches but made it to the ones right on the border of South Carolina and Georgia....WOW WHAT A beautiful area and the beaches were fantastic.

white sandy beaches

I attempted once again a picture of all 3 of them together....it's impossible!

We found a very cool tree to climb on.

Looking for crocodiles

So pretty

testing the water....brrr....it's cold now

sand angeles

They did not want to leave......can't till it's warm enough for us to actually put suits on and play in the water

Playing in the tree again.

I am EXHAUSTED....Chris did not sleep last night at the hotel and I was up with him most the night. He was SO glad to be in his bed tonight it was sweet. I nursed him then put him in his crib he looked up at me gave me a huge grin then turned on his tummy tucked his knees under his belly and went to sleep.....it was adorable....he loves his bed :)

2012-01-15T17:11:00.001-06:00

Many of you probably have seen this trick on pintrest. You basically water down Elmers glue and dip yarn/string in it then wrap it around a balloon. Let it dry overnight then pop the balloon and the string stays stiff. It's pretty neat actually!

I made lots of little balls then used a string of lights I bunched a bunch 4 or 5 then tied them up and placed them inside each ball forming a light up garland. So this really did not work like I saw it in my head and really not worth all the time effort and mess that went into this project. It is cute though and I would DEFINITELY do this on a larger scale for a party decoration but not on a small scale like I did this time.

cute

I was REALLY craving something sweet today....well I crave something sweet every couple hours but today I really wanted something yummy. After searching through some recipes we decided on a pumpkin pie and I could not even wait for it to cool down.....so yummy. Might have to have another piece later :)

We had a very productive Saturday....Neal and I painted the kitchen ceiling. It needs one more coat though....bummer it will have to wait till he has 2 days in a row off tho.

OOOPPPPS

2012-01-14T20:06:00.000-06:00

In my efforts to make my blog a little nicer I lost all the links to your blogs could all of you with a blog please leave me the address in the comments section....please and thank you :)

2012-01-13T15:13:00.003-06:00

Yeah I pretty much love my new candle sticks. I did brake one of them but I still plan on fixing it just need a new round for the bottom part. Hopefully I can find something at Home Depot or Lowes.

This is the candle that Conner made :)

Play Dough keeps my kids busy for HOURS :) from breakfast till lunch so while they played I did this.....

I'm not sure if this mess was worth it....I'll let ya know tomorrow :)

Drying!!!

This is a little out of place but I got this sandwich pop tart maker thing that we are really loving. This one is peanut butter banana but we have made them with whipped cream cheese and ham and cheese I've even chopped up broccoli and put it in there.....my kids love them. Fun for school lunch boxes. You just use regular bread.

2012-01-13T08:34:00.003-06:00

Yeah we kind of love it here. In January sitting outside getting a tan :) well Neal can get a tan for my skin to tan we need temperatures above 100....no joke I just don't tan easily.

Almost done....

2012-01-12T15:38:00.002-06:00

I have way WAY too many projects started right now! This one I can finish up tomorrow though and it should not take me too long just some finishing touches......

SO here is the story on these.....we were at the beach earlier this week and decided to eat there but had to park the car a ways because it was really busy. While we were walking to the restaurant I literally gasped and freaked Neal out. I was so excited to see these in someones garbage...hehe. One persons garbage is anothers treasure. Well you can just about emagine Neals reaction...haha...he was not too happy but helped me carry them to the car. I think that they are table legs. This morning I went to the Project for Humanity place and when I saw the rounds once again did the gasp thing then a little happy dance....50 cents each...SCORE.

Neal helped me cut them down and drill some holes. I even had leftover paint from THIS project so a total cost of $3.....can't beat that.

I'm almost done just have to wait for them to COMPLETELY dry and then sand them just a little do another coat of paint then distress the edges. Seriously $3!!! They would for sure cost more than that in a store!

2012-01-12T10:20:00.001-06:00

DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE

I'm so excited can't wait to show you the finished product!

2012-01-11T18:50:00.001-06:00

Ethan taking a nap on the hammock IN JANUARY :)

We have had 70s weather for a week now and it's been fabulous :) so nice to be outside without shoes and in t-shirts in January :) today was rainy and it's a good thing because I really needed to catch up on some chores.

Rub-a-dub-dub 3 boys in a tub!!!

Our driveway did not have any more room for chalk drawing so it's a good thing it rained today :)

I think this is the messiest I have EVER seen Conner...this kid hates to get dirty so it was nice to see him get this messy!

I gave the boys a hair cut today. I started with Conner and usually I do 3 on the bottom and 7 or 8 on top well I accidentally did the 3 on top on Conner's head....ooppps......it's a little short :( it will grow back fast though and at least it was not Ethan's hair his is really fine and thin so if I went that short it would look really weird.

2012-01-10T07:43:00.002-06:00

I bought these bows 75% off on clearance after Christmas

and made my first V-day decoration :) so cute and only cost me $4 for all of it :) Buckets are from Targets dollar spot the red flowers are the Christmas bows and pink ones are tissue paper. I used just a branch for the stem and the moss stuff is actually from the trees here in this area. Not sure what kind of a tree it is. Pretty cute if you ask me :)

Ethan

2012-01-07T06:41:00.004-06:00

Sweet little Ethan....still as sweet as he was when he was a baby!

hehe...silly boy!This picture really shows his two tone eyes a bit of mama and daddy in one. He has the blue ring and then brown greenish in the center. Really cool I hope he can keep his unique eyes.

Is this not the CUTEST fake smile ever :)

Handsome

9 month pictures....

2012-01-04T11:04:00.003-06:00

Short but sweet post.....I took a few pictures but I love the first one so I will stick with it :)

the little man is he cute or what....love him so much

ok mom tone it down a bit.....your voice is WAY too high trying to make me giggle.

ohh ok I'll give you a little grin just to chill ya out :)

Ok guys am I paranoid or is his eye turning in. I had the dr. look at it but she said that it looked ok but they don;t always catch it. I know that I worry because of Conner but to me it looks like HIS LEFT eye is a little turned in.

Pretty excited....

2012-01-03T09:05:00.003-06:00

I absolutely love these.......http://www.quakeroats.com/products/other-products/granola-bites/chocolate.aspx..........I finally found a recipe that is similar in taste not so much in texture but they are delicious :) and believe me when I tell ya I have tried quite a few recipes now!!!

2011-12-31T18:41:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

9 Months already....

2011-12-30T13:00:00.001-06:00

Christopher had his 9 month appointment this morning. Only 2 shots today and a finger poke so not too bad. He as always was a little ham getting everyone's attention. Growing a thriving right on track though like his brothers his weight to length is off. At 9 months he is 18.1 lb and he was 2' 4.7.....long baby. I'm hoping to get some pictures taken tomorrow morning so came back again to check those out. Neal is home though so I may not get them posted this weekend.

Here and Gone....

2011-12-29T21:28:00.003-06:00

Holidays here and gone. We had some very special visitors this week. Neal's parents came out for a few days and were here over Christmas. SO glad that they could be here with us over the holidays. We had a couple nice days but I did miss the 70's weather that we had the days before they arrived.

In anticipation for the arrival of G'ma and Papa kids and I did some crafts. Once again Ethan was distracted with something else about 2 minutes into the project...sigh. Conner and I did manage to convince him to come back and play with us a little more tho.

No snow here so we made some snow flakes for our patio door.

Cuties

We opened presents Christmas Eve.....we got some great stuff :)

These awesome shirts that all 3 boys wore every day since they got them :)

Ethan has been wanting a super fast bike like his brother :) he was one happy camper. He has also gotten very good at riding it.

All decked out in his Lightning McQueen gear

G'ma and Papa took the kids for a walk one night and looked at all the lights in our neighborhood.

All I can say is SERIOUSLY.....cars that drive on walls and ceilings.

We were trying to catch a carriage ride downtown but missed it by just a little bit so instead we headed down to the beach for a bit.....windy and bright but I still love it.

G'ma Papa and kidos....

Have I ever mentioned that I love the beach

Then we headed to James Island for the light show......love that place.

We ate a WHOLE bag of marshmallows and then we went out for ice cream :))))))))

Alll 3 in their matching shirts....love them.

Papa and baby Chris

We also did a boat tour of the Charleston Harbor.....it was so neat. So much History there and it was so great to get a little tour and learn a little about Charleston and the Harbor. Conner for some reason thought that we were going to go over a waterfall the ENTIRE time so he was holding on to G'ma for dear life the entire tour. Not sure what his problem was probably something he saw in a show or something. Crazy kid!

Our boat

leaving the dock

My dream house and of course it has to be located in the top 10 most expensive places to live

Yes I was there too

We also had tickets to go for a carriage ride but we did not know that we had to book it. By the time we got there all the spots were taken so we were not able to go :( but our tickets do not expire so we will have to go the next time G'ma and Papa come to visit.

We had so so much fun. Thanks for EVERYTHING G'ma and Papa come again soon.

We have been having some fun with sparklers :)

Just had to sneak this in here :)

Another busy day tomorrow! Neal starts a more NORMAL schedule on Monday.....FINALLY. So glad that the holidays are over and things can return to normal.

Cookie date.....

2011-12-23T19:07:00.001-06:00

Every year my sis and I and the kidos get together to bake Christmas cookies. This year since we moved so far we were obviously not going to be able to make that date. The girls had an idea to skype and bake SO for over 3 hours we chatted on skype and baked cookies though I think they had me beat by a long ways I think they made like 3 different cookies and I baked and decorated one batch :) at the end of the night most the cookies were gone and I was still cleaning up the mess.

Boys thought that it was pretty neat to be able to talk to their cousins....they miss them a whole lot :(

hahahha....there they are in the computer screen. Ethan kept on saying I wanna go IN there....hahah.

Sugar cookies all baked and ready to decorate.....had to improvise I did not have enough butter to make them so I had to substitute half with shortening still good tho!!!

Conner flooding the snowman....we decorated with royal icing once again I did not have enough powdered sugar only about half of what I needed but they turned out ok.

Conner flooding a gingerbread man.....Ethan lost interest by this time. Ohhh and yes Conner was wearing his Spiderman costume the entire time :)

All done!!!

Behind the scenes.....no one ever believes me when I tell them that our house gets messy! Well here is proof. I think we all have a tendency to post the pretty and beautiful and I know I do but here it is......looks much better than it was too. I'm not ashamed or embarrassed of the mess or sticky messy floors. I have kids and we have fun and we make messes.

hahah....this was just one corner......there were puffs and cheerios ALLL over the kitchen and I wish I had gotten a picture of Ethans royal icing footprints on the floor. YES ROYAL ICING FOOTPRINTS:) SO there you have it non believers....the proof!

Grandma and Papa will be here some time tomorrow and we are ohhh so excited. We missed them a whole ton. Looks like we should have nice weather too in the high to mid 60's so that is exciting. We were a little worried because all this week it showed rain and 50's.

Just some pictures....

2011-12-21T14:24:00.002-06:00

Ethan has been dressing himself lately like his big brother so we have had some interesting outfit choices here lately. Boys helping me clean up the floor....boy do I wish they would just let me do it myself sometimes.

My chicken enchilada JUNK soup....SO SO yummy.....I cleaned out my fridge of leftovers. I love making soup to clean out the fridge :) especially veggies.

Conner just loves to ride his bike now that he has no training wheels...he feels pretty big. We just love this neighborhood we were outside just about all afternoon yesterday and all the kids are out and all of them watch out for each other and so do the parents it's just a really family friendly place....LOVE it.

Our flowers are still blooming but......

as you can see in this picture the grass is dead....hmmm....it's rather interesting.

While we were playing outside yesterday Santa drove through our neighborhood in a fire truck and handed out candy.....kids were pretty excited.

Just playing....

enjoying the 70's weather....today is actually pretty rainy and gloomy but still warm enough to have our windows open :)

MOMMYYYYYY......Close your eyes and come see our room. This is what it looked like when I walked in the boys cleaned it ALLL up everything back to it's spot. I did not lift a finger nor did I even ask them to clean up their room.

They even made their beds....well most likely Conner made the beds....I think that's pretty amazing.

Conner's bear family.....I asked him last night where his pillow was and he tells me "my bears need it and I can just use a ball"

Hehehe....just chillin....

All three kids napped at the same time today though Chris only slept for 45 min or so but it gave me just enough time to finish the trees. Now on to another project :)

It is our 10 year anniversary today....wow.....a whole decade has already passed us by. We are very lucky to have found each other.

My Mis post of the month....

2011-12-19T17:23:00.001-06:00

Conner's favorite color is green....can you tell :) it's an obsession and this mama is ready for this phase to be over.

Our Subdivision had a holiday party which was kinda fun. They had food blow up jumpie the fire engine was there and they had prizes they gave away and the favorite with both young and old cotton candy!! It was a great way for everyone in the subdivision to get to know each other.

Christhopher loves the sling

Waiting in line for the cotton candy

mmmmmmm.....

Still their most favorite thing....books :) Conner reading stories to Ethan

Big stuff in his crib

Not a very good picture but he still sleeps with his butt in the air like a baby does :) my sweet sweet sweet big boy he is just really growing up.

We have been baking a lot as usual....I really need to start controlling myself with the sweets I have been so terrible I just can;t keep eating like this it's not healthy.

My little helpers they love to help me cook.

I finished some more spice jars....LOVE EM.....I ended up making little labels for the top I was not liking the chalk but wanted to see what was in the jar from the top.

In his crib again....

Trouble makers.....making a home in the toy chest. Today I overheard Conner telling Ethan to do something naughty and then telling him that mom would not mind. Little stinker.

Waiting for bath time and watching the tub fill with water.

Happy little boy in the bath but mama almost always has to change after....I get soaked by the splashes.

LOVES bath....

Last night I finally tried the sock bun heat free curls....you can google a tutorial. I LOVE this idea and it works so well. This is what my hair looked like after I unrolled my hair.....SO easy and perfect for long hair.

2011-12-17T08:10:00.000-06:00

Here are some videos of our trip to the beach yesterday.....I did not take my big camera so no pictures. We had so much fun it was just the perfect day for a stroll again. Not much wind at all and that's when it's really perfect! Hoping to enjoy a few more trips before it starts to get cold.

Hmmm not sure why there is no sound....the whole appeal about the video was the sound of the waves no time to mess with it tho sorry :(