A walk down memory lane

I can't believe my baby is going to be 2 next month! Time sure flies! It almost makes me a little sad that he is growing up so fast! Here are a few pictures of him from the first 8 months of his life. What a sweetie!

Lucky Parents

I could use the title of this post to talk about how lucky my parents are to have a kid like me (haha) but that is not what this is about.

I feel so lucky to have my son. Not only just to have him (since I know there are many people out there who can't have kids or who have lost kids) but also just how he is personality-wise. He is so sweet and we love him so much.

I know most parents love their kids and think their own kids are the cutest, and of course I think my kid is awesome (most of the time) and cute too. Please don't get me wrong - I realize my kid has flaws - many of them. He is bratty at times and has meltdowns like other kids. But overall, we feel really lucky with him.

He is and has been (at least up to this point) an 'easy' kid. He has one of those more easy going personalities and has never given us constant difficulty. He has his moments, but tends towards either a laid back or a happy disposition most of the time. He wakes up in the morning happy and goes down for naps and bedtime with no struggle (yes, literally no struggle).

Part of the reason he has been so good is because we worked really hard when he was born to get him into a routine. For that reason, he has slept through the night since about 8 weeks. He has had times where he has been up at night (when he was sick or teething) but other than that, he sleeps great. We love it and it gets us really good sleep also. I think that makes a huge difference for parents. I can't imagine having a kid who still is up at night even some of the time.

He has been getting closer to the 'terrible twos' as he is 22 months. He defies us a fair amount now but we have been working on it and trying to discipline him so he knows that when we say no we mean no. We are working on consistency and trying to have him understand why he can't do certain things. He is not too bad right now and hopefully he won't get too much worse but we will see.

For now I just consider us lucky. They always say God doesn't give you more than you handle and I think He knew just what He was doing when He gave us Xander!

Sunday Afternoon Randoms

I can't get any motivation to start cleaning our house. It is one big mess but it is at the point that it is almost overwhelming which makes it hard to pick a spot to start with. Hopefully by the end of the day it will be a lot cleaner.

My boss's wife was due to have her baby yesterday. I hope for her sake she had it this weekend or that will still have it today. I don't want to see my boss at work tomorrow, but not because I don't like him, only because I feel her pain and don't want her to have to go over her due date!

My workouts have been going pretty well but I missed working out yesterday because I was in Lincoln almost the whole day. I hate missing workouts but still have been fitting in 5-6 a week so that is good. Any time I am around other people who are skinny, it makes me want to be a lot skinnier. I am sick of feeling fat and am going to work even harder at losing weight.

I finally painted my toenails for the second time this summer. It is amazing how girly it makes me feel!

I need to order pictures of Xander big time. I literally have not ordered any pictures of him since Christmas I don't think. I know the main reason I don't is laziness, but I get so sick of how long it takes to upload pics, sort through them and then decide what to order. Plus I hate paying for it. I know that is dumb but it is true. I have a few scrapbooks that have been waiting around for pictures so I am going to order some pics today if it kills me!

I found a dress for my brothers wedding and I hadn't even planned on looking until later this month. I love the style and and am just debating about whether to keep the pink color I got or go with black. I just think I would feel skinnier in the black, even though the pink is adorable. I guess if I lose enough more weight before the wedding then it won't matter what color I choose because I will be skinnier. We will wait and see on that one.

I can't wait to go on a vacation this fall! We are probably going to Vegas but haven't booked the trip yet. We probably will in the next month or so. I think we are planning on going sometime in October. I need to go back and do the research again about the cost and figure out the best time to go for the best price and then we both need to ask for the vacation time before I book it. That is coming fast so I better get on it!

Xander continues to grow and change daily it seems! I love this stage of his life but I swear I will love it a little more when he can really talk. I hate not knowing what he wants sometimes but it is cute to hear him babble. He does say plenty of words though. It is cute because he can't say most of them well but I know what he is saying when he attempts certain words. He most recently has been saying 'shoes' and 'uh-oh' a lot. He loves saying 'shoes' and says it all the time. I can't believe he will be two in just over three months! That is crazy. I thought that life went fast up until his first birthday but between then and now has gone even faster!

I think I need a nap but not sure if I will get one today. Maybe I will just try to get to bed early tonight for once! Happy Sunday!

Sweet little boy

Here are some pics of my sweet little man. He is the second love of my life (the first being my hubs - without him we wouldn't have X)!


He has changed a lot in the last 6 months I've noticed (as he should have). He has gone from that chunky round little boy who could barely do anything on his own to a slightly less chubby, taller, little walker who wants to play and do everything himself! He is a little daredevil and likes about anything that is risky like climbing on unsteady surfaces, trying to go down the stairs by himself (even though he doesn't know how yet) and hanging upside down (with the help of mom or dad).


I think these pictures are over the last 4 or 5 months so I think I can see a little difference even in these pictures.


I'm pretty biased (as I always admit) but I think he is just too stinkin cute!

Recently...

Gosh, more time has gone by and I haven't been posting anything. I guess I just feel like nothing is really new or interesting in our life.

Here is what we have been up to the last few weeks.

Two weekends ago was the 4th of July and we went to Lincoln for that. Pictures are at the end of the post.

Last weekend we decided to go down to the Farmer's Market and we got some awesome produce while there (which is all gone now). Todd took me to La Mesa - a Mexican restaurant. I had been craving Mexican for a while so it hit the spot.

This weekend I haven't done much. Just cleaning and hanging out with my two boys.

Xander is so much fun right now. He is babbling all of the time and saying more words. In addition to the normal few words he is saying, he can now say shoes, dog and juice. Ok, I know that is not that exciting but for us it is. He has also learned where his nose, eyes, mouth and ears are. That is fun too.

Work has been pretty busy so that is good. I have recently been debating about applying for another job within the company. The pay would be better but it would require some travel. More on that later.

I suppose that is about it. Here are pics from the 4th!




My brother Ryan playing with a few firecrackers.

Xander holding one of the helicopters


Can I light it mom?








Uncle Aaron showing Xander and cousin Sam how to play with snap pops.


My dad playing with Sam.


Daddy showing Xander a few firecrackers.


More daddy time.


Glow bracelets Aunt Jen got him! He loved them!


Watching fireworks as it got darker.


My twin brothers shooting off roman candles.


A few fountains - sorry for the bad picture quality!


Some more fountains. Looks hazy!

Anything and Everything!

My life has felt a little nuts lately! I am so busy, I haven't been getting enough sleep, I have been working out a lot, I was studying a lot for tests for work, my husband and kiddo were both sick and I got a little bit sick also and our house is a perpetual mess. Ahhhh! I just feel stressed out and not sure what to do or where to start. While I ponder what to start with, here is the latest in my life.

We are a little relieved because our next door neighbors have moved out. It was a lot of drama all of the time. There were two ambulances there within the last few months and a cop car there once a month for the last several months. The guy was an alcoholic, in and out of rehab, fired from his job and his wife was lazy, refused to get a job, is on welfare, they didn't pay their rent, they aired their drama out on facebook all of the time like 16 years old and they were 40. They finally got kicked out of the house (with police involvement - what fun) and now they are gone. We are pretty happy with that as we just want to live in a normal neighborhood with normal people.

As I mentioned in my last post, I took my series 66 test on Monday and passed. I was sure I was going to fail because I put off studying until the last week and I didn't even get all of the way through the practice tests. I can't believe I passed! This test was actually easier than the last one I took and there was a lot less material to cover but I was a lot less prepared also which is why I feel lucky I passed. Anyway, I took two tests in a row and have been studying one thing or another for the last three months so I am taking a break now. I don't think I will take a test again for at least a few months or most of the summer.

I got to see my sister yesterday who lives in Arkansas. She was in Lincoln with her two kids and her mother in law. It was awesome to see them and we get to see them again in less than three months at my brothers wedding! I love family!

We cancelled our cable last summer to save money and since then we got Netflix so we could still some movies and tv on dvd. Todd just figured out how to stream Netflix through our Wii and now we have been watching a ton of different things through the Wii. We have gotten into the series Weeds and we really like it. I have been being dumb and watching the Hills. We have actually been watching too much tv if you ask me but we are slowly watching less and getting back to a normal amount.

I'm actually more excited to pick out an outfit for Xander than for me for my brothers wedding. I think it will be fun to get him a little suit or a little shirt and tie. I think I am going to try to get outfits for me, Todd and Xander that are all somewhat matching. It will be fun to be a little coordinated family! I'm not going to pick out a dress for me until probably 2-3 weeks before the wedding since hopefully I will be losing weight up until the wedding. I hope that won't be waiting too long and I hope I'm not unable to find something if I wait that long. We shall see.

I just saw the lowest number on the scale a few days ago since before I was pregnant! That is the best feeling and makes me want to keep going and working hard at losing weight. I know I can do it! I just have to keep trying. I have about two and a half months until my brothers wedding and I am hoping to lose about 20 more pounds. If I do that, I will be feeling awesome I know (but I still want to lose about a total of 35-40 more pounds).

Those are a few things on my brain right now. I am sure I will be back to share some more soon!

Just a quick one

A few quick updates to my life.

I am studying for my 66 exam which I have to take next Monday and I am not even all the way through the book! I better cram the rest of this week and this weekend!

Which brings me to another point. Father's day is this weekend so if we do something, hopefully it won't be all day so I can study at some point.

Xander has pink eye so he stayed home from daycare today and Todd and I each worked a half day. He has a cough too. Poor little guy.

I didn't work out tonight since it technically was my day off. I just stretched a bit since my whole lower body is so sore that I am walking funny! It hurts! Back to it tomorrow!

I did a terrible thing - I went and bought a tanning package. I know it is so so so bad for you but I hate being so pale all summer since I have to work indoors and just want to feel a little good about myself. Shame, shame I know.

I am very seriously considering getting Invisalign for my teeth since I have wanted to have them fixed for years. I don't mind my smile but my teeth aren't great. They aren't awful either but not great. I am working up ways in my head to be able to afford it since it is not cheap. I would love to get it because it is basically clear on your teeth and my teeth aren't so messed up that I will need full braces I don't think. I bet I would have it for about a year and my teeth would be quite a bit better. I have always disliked my teeth so I am going to go for it for sure at some point....just a matter of when (and figuring out the money like I said).

Off to dreamland....it seems like I am getting less and less sleep these days and I am not sure if that will change anytime soon!

A little sad

I guess this is a little bit related to my last post. For some reason I have been a little sad lately, going along with the stress (or maybe it came after). I don't know why - things are going pretty darn well - I am down about 15 pounds in the last 2 months, we switched daycare and Xander seems to be doing well, my job is going really well and my workouts are going pretty well also. I am not sure what my deal is but I am just kinda feeling blue recently. It could be a mood swing in my cycle and that would make sense. It just seems worse than usual. Anyway, enough about my mood, here is what is going on with us right now.

Xander got his second haircut today! Maybe I am a bad mom but I didn't take any pictures this time. The whole thing wasn't great for many reasons - I didn't think he really needed a haircut yet anyway because I like his hair a little longer(but the salon auto rebooks you each time and you have to remember to cancel if you don't want the appointment), the time of the cut was stupid (why the heck did I book it right when he is normally taking a nap?), he cried almost the whole time and it was so hot and nasty in the salon. I think X cried because I had to wake him up from his nap to get to the salon on time and he was still tired. It's not like his nap was cut way short but a little short, especially because it seems like he might be sick. Oh yes, lucky us. It appears he might have pink eye! Super!! You take the kid to daycare for four days and he gets pink eye! Oh, and don't get me started on how I was giving him a bath today and noticed a pretty bad mark on his arm and I looked closer and it was a BITE MARK!!!! Oh, I was livid!!! From daycare. Gosh that makes me mad. He didn't seem to notice it or mind and I even lightly touched it. The skin is even scraped away on it. GRRRRRRRRR. Sorry, as a mommy, that just makes me want to slap the kid who did it. Anyway, also occurring with Xander, we had to have him start sleeping in his pack and play a little over a week ago because his crib was recalled (boo, especially because we had to take it apart and take it back to the store). I ordered a new one with the credit right away and we just got it this week and Todd put it together for him tonight so he switched back to a crib. Hopefully the switching won't throw him off too much, especially since he seems sick.

On a more fun note with Xander, he seems to be so talkative lately and we love it! He is starting to say more words more often now and he just loves to chat! It is so funny since pretty much everything he says is gibberish - but we still love it! He is also climbing on everything he can and he's starting to get better at walking down stairs when we hold his hand. He is just so much fun and still changing all of the time!

I have a timeline for myself to lose some weight and the goal is September 18th - my brother's wedding! I still have three months and that is a good thing because I am nowhere near where I want to be weight wise even though I have lost some. I started doing P90X and it's not going perfect, but pretty well. I started the workouts last Monday and did the first three in a row and did pretty good - I finished all of them even though I had to either reduce my reps a little or modify some of the moves. But I still worked out as hard as I could and did as much as I could and I finished. Come Thursday night, I couldn't get the freaking computer to turn on to play the dvd to work out. I tried calling Todd at work several times over the span of an hour but couldn't get ahold of him to have him help me figure it out. I guess the fuse blew and the trip switch is out in the garage (even though the rest of them are in the basement - and of course, I was looking for one in the basement). Needless to say it kept getting later and later and it was past 11 and I had to work the next day, so I skipped my workout. I was bummed but thought I would just miss one day and get right back to it. Come Friday night when I first thought I was going to work out, I was so tired from going to bed so late the night before that I knew my body just wouldn't do what I wanted it to do for a workout. So I skipped another day. Boo for me. Anyway, tonight I got back to it and I plan on continuing and not giving up. For a minute there, I thought I was already done but Todd encouraged me to keep going and I'm glad I did! I just got done with a workout and it was SO hard, but I feel great! I am going to try to keep it up!

As I also mentioned in my previous post, I have a test to take for work and it is a week from Monday and I am not ready at all! Guess I will have to cram tomorrow and all of next week and next weekend to pass. I really don't want to fail, especially since this test should be quite a bit easier than that last one I took and I passed that one on the first try! It's going to be hard working out and trying to study too. I have a bad feeling next week might not be so good with the workouts, but I am going to try to fit it all in! Once I am done with that test, I might take a break from the tests for a while (the next ones are my choice to take them now or not) and focus on my health and time with my family. I still have other tests I have to take at work also, but not like these major tests I have been taking.

We need a serious overhaul of our house. I mostly just mean the clutter. Everywhere. I need to just organize once and for all but I never seem to get around to it, or when I start, I don't keep at it long enough or a new huge pile of stuff appears a week after I got rid of another one. Does anyone else have this issue? Sometimes I feel like I am the only one who has such a messy house, but I know that isn't true.

Looking forward to a week from Monday when hopefully that test is done and I have a little less stress for a while. It will not be fun if I don't pass and have to take it again, so I am going to make sure that doesn't happen! :)

New stuff!

We have just been on a shopping spree recently! Well, kinda. Most of it was stuff we needed and only a few things we didn't.

Here are some of our new purchases!

Coffee table - we sold ours on the garage sale because it was glass and our little man was always getting it dirty. We sold the end tables too but we haven't bought those yet.



(We thought the coffee table was black and most of it looks black in the picture, however, the drawer on the side that comes out kinda weird makes it look like it is much lighter wood but it is just the inside)



Kitchen table and chairs. It is a high top table which was not my first choice but Todd really wanted it. Also, we had a glass kitchen table like the coffee table and were tired of the fingerprints.





Lens and flash for our camera. We already had a decent camera (Nikon D40) but we wanted to upgrade our lens and flash to be able to take great pictures. We have already tried them out and love them so far - I think this will help with my wanna be photographer hobby. I like to take pics but they only turned out ok before.



(Just the lens, the flash is kinda boring)


Basketball hoop for X. Ok, this one is silly but I thought I would throw it in there cause it is cute! Daddy got it for him. Still a little small for it but he will grow into it I think!







Crib for Xander. This was not by choice - the one we had was recalled. Though we don't have it at home yet, we ordered this one online and it should be here in a week or so. Putting it together will not be fun but you do what you gotta do! I think it is nice looking though and we actually saved some money over the original one we got him!

(This is just the stock photo from the website.)

I suppose that is about all! We got a new car a month and a half ago but that is kinda old news now! Although it does still maintain that 'new car smell' which I adore and I hope it does for a while!

The long weekend

So glad to have a long weekend - haven't had one in a while and haven't had an extra day off in almost four months! Trying to enjoy this day as much as possible!

This is what I (we) have done so far this weekend.

Had a garage sale Friday and Saturday - went well! Sold some big items so that brought our sales total up quite a bit.

After the garage sale, got showered and ready and went to dinner with the hubs and kiddo then went to NFM to look at a new kitchen table and coffee table and end tables since we sold all of that on the garage sale (wanted to get rid of as it was all glass and that doesn't work so well with a toddler who gets his grubby little hands on everything and makes a huge mess!) I think we found our kitchen table for sure and are pretty sure of the coffee table. The end tables are another story. We like this one coffee table but the end tables that match are so expensive! We were thinking of getting the coffee table (black wood) and finding some cheaper end tables somewhere else that are cheaper but match good enough (heck, they aren't right next to each other so as long as they are close).

Was lazy most of yesterday. Didn't do hardly a thing - didn't shower til 9 pm - haha!

Today so far I have gotten just a few things done but have a long list in my head that I am going to start working on soon. I got the dishwasher emptied (still need to reload) and got the kiddos bedding changed since he decided to pee through his diaper and onto his clothes overnight. Changed the changing pad cover as that was dirty too. Otherwise, not much done so far but here is the list for the rest of the day.

Reload dishwasher
Clean up toys in living room (the never ending job :)
Wash X's laundry
3 loads of our laundry
Start working on leftover piles of stuff from garage sale - sort it all
Clean up our bedroom - piles of clothes everywhere
Make a Target and Walmart run for a few things
Repaint my toenails (I have been lazy on this one and it is summer - need to keep up)
Give the X-man a bath (has become a chore as of late - he is suddenly scared of the tub even though nothing really happened to him)
Do some work from home - probably will only take a half hour
Wash George for Xander (if you don't know the story - Curious George is Xander's lovey and best friend - goes everywhere with him and he uses him as a pillow at night - therefore snot/slobber/drool/food gets all over him and he is gross! need to hand wash him which will take a while)
Vacuum
Clip the dogs nails
Etc, etc, etc


The list is never ending really, especially with a kid and a dog


Hope everyone else is having a fun weekend!

Bike ride

We went on our first bike ride of the season last night. It wasn't great though because the bike I was using had a leak in the tire so it was mostly flat after not too long. Also, I am so out of shape that the bike ride was super hard but good since I need to work out more. Xander rode behind in the new (used) bike trailer we got for him. He seemed to enjoy it! Here are a few pics -


Ok, so this one is not from the bike ride but right after, playing in the garage.

Sorry, you don't see his face much with this one.

After the bike ride, he climbed back in the trailer.

Daddy was pulling him around.

More juice with George in the trailer.

Lots of randoms

Gosh I have been a bad blogger lately - not that very many people read it anyway and are holding their breath! :)

This last week has flown by and it's crazy to me that it is Saturday night. I have a million things to write about floating around in my head and I am hoping to get them all out and get a good night sleep tonight.

Xander had his first hair cut today! I can't believe it took 16 1/2 months, but we finally did it. I was a little nervous but it turned out great and out little guy looks handsome! I thought he might lose some of his curls when we cut it but he didn't. I think the top will actually curl up a little more because it is shorter now.



Getting his hair wet to cut.

He doesn't look too happy here.

All done! He looks like such a big boy!

He didn't squirm or fuss pretty much the whole time!

Got a chance to play with the sprayer bottle.

I also had a bad mom moment today - when I took Xander to get his hair cut today, we were walking back to daddy's office (I took him to Penney's salon and we saw daddy while we were there) and there was a door I had to hold open for him and I let it go a little too soon - WHACK! Right on his forehead the door hit him. He just made a little grunt and kept walking! I can't believe he didn't scream or even cry a little! It had to hurt because it left a decent sized red mark! Sorry baby!

Xander is a teething machine as I have previously stated. He has 12 teeth all the way in, the 13th is pretty much all the way through and I see the 14th! Overall he hasn't been too crabby but he has his moments.

I learned a lesson today regarding my frugal ways. I am pretty much a bargain shopper almost all of the time. I never buy anything full price and refuse to buy most things on a 'normal sale'. I pretty much have to have mega clearance or the lowest sale price to buy something when it comes to groceries and clothes and household items. So I was shopping at Sam's club (warehouse where you purchase items in bulk) and I got quite a few things to stock up. I was walking down one of the aisles and noticed the bulk shredded cheese. I looked at the price and at first glance though, 'I can get it cheaper at regular stores with a sale and/or coupons'. Uh, after re-calculating, I realized I was WRONG! What? I have learned a lot about couponing and bargain shopping in the last year and a half and realized that for about 95% of the things I buy, I can get it as cheap of cheaper at the regular stores with coupons and sales. Anyway, the 5 pound bag of cheddar cheese was $8.50 or somewhere right around there. I started thinking that was a terrible price until I realized the VERY cheapest I can get shredded cheese is $2/pound. Most normal bags of cheese are 8 ounces and the bottom dollar price you can get them is usually $1. So in order to get a pound of cheese, you have to get 2 bags. That is $2 then and for 5 pounds that would be $10! And that is pretty much the best price I have gotten cheese ever! I guess maybe once or twice I got 8 ounces for $0.50 but that is very rare and the coupons rarely line up with those mega sales so again, that is rare! Either way, I learned a lesson to double check some of the things that I thought were cheaper at the regular store. I did find out too that at least right now there milk is the cheapest in town if you don't mind buying generic.

And on yet another random note, I took a picture of the bush that is in our front yard. I like it but I hate it. It blooms once and the flowers literally last a week, fall off and don't return for a whole year. Ugh. I get to enjoy it for about 2 days and then not again for a year. Boooo. Who's idea was it to put that bush in our front yard? Not ours!

I am doing pretty good at growing my hair out for now. I have a hair appointment next week and am going to get some fresh color and just a tiny trim to keep my hair looking good but I don't want to lose any length. I am curious to see how long I can let it get.

No progress on the diet/exercise/lifestyle change yet. This week is the week though. I have already prepared myself mentally and now I bought a bunch of healthy food to eat this week so I will hopefully have a good start.

We are looking at getting a new car to replace the Jeep. The Jeep gets terrible gas mileage and the payment is more than the few cars we are looking at. Even if the insurance went up a little bit, we would still be saving a lot of money each month so this is looking like a win-win!

I am ready to have a garage sale! We have so much junk around the house that we could stand to get rid of.

Lastly, I will have to also post some pics from Easter last weekend. Maybe sometime this week!