A Little Elbow Grease

The boys are all about helping... Usually it's helping themselves to making a bigger mess, but every once in a while, they pitch in and get things done.  It's so refreshing when they tackle a little project; they're proud of themselves and I'm happy just that things are gettin' done up in here!  This weekend, we tackled their bedroom.  It needed a good vacuuming and the cups of milk that accompany them to bed were piling up.  I think some sort of a happy little circumstance happened where they had the attention and desire to be helpful and I had the patience to let them.

These pictures crack me up, they really did do a good job and now that I know that they can do a good job when they want to, it's surely something that I will be having them do more often.

And I couldn't resist reminding everyone of another time when the boys were showing off their vacuuming skills, albeit when they were much younger and not as skilled with the vacuum and it was really more work for me... But at any rate, they were cute and working together and it was freakin' cute, so eat it up. 

It's All About The Milestones, Baby!

We're hitting those milestones, left and right.  In a few weeks, Cullen turns five.  F-I-V-E.  I cannot believe it.  Cullen is wonderful for so many reasons, he's happy-go-lucky, he's hilarious, he has the best laugh, but he lacks a little bit of discipline and focus.  So, we signed him up for karate.  The first class was rough, he spent the majority of the time falling on the floor; apparently, he already knows what karate is all about- hitting, he's seen it on Power Rangers.  But the instructor had patience and made sure that he was focusing on the actual sport of karate and not just the action-shot highlights. He did a lot better during his second class, his focus and participation was much more refined.

Arden got signed up too.  He's a natural athlete and needs to harness some of his athletic skills for screaming, "watch 'dis!" as he jumps off of any spot that he can find. Arden has taken on the role of the younger brother: you fall, I fall; you laugh, I laugh; you make fart noises, I make fart noises.  Karate helps Arden harness some of his energy and also find constructive ways to show his talent, rather than just jumping from surface to surface.

And finally, the baby.  She's getting teeth.  Not going to lie, I thought for some reason that maybe she wasn't going to get any teeth, like they hadn't formed or something, so I was real happy when she started cutting the bottom two.  And as luck would have it, girl likes to eat.  She gets that from her Mama.  We started off small, baby food and what not and we've now moved up to anything Gerber that doesn't require teeth or small pieces of anything that's soft; bread, cake, pie, you name, she's tryin' it.

It's a very exciting time for our family, we're all learning and growing together.  The boys are becoming more athletically inclined old boys (Cullen yells at me when I say that he's a young man) and Jameslyn is chewing and once there's chewing there's talking and then there's everything else...  And that's what I'm looking most forward too: the everything else.

If I Could

Cullen asks me at least once a week, "what are you going to be when you grow up?"  Besides being so flattered... when I grow up (?!) how cute is that? I also wonder if I had to make a career change now, what would I do.  I've narrowed it down to two things: party planner or photographer, or a party planner who sets up and then photographs your party; kind of a two-for-one-deal.

Honestly, a career change would be thrilling; owning my own business would be good for me.  Ain't nobody that can boss people around like me, and ain't nobody that can be my boss.  I would love to be able to work from home, create my own schedule, do what I interests me, because that type of work would be good for my soul.

When I ask Cullen what he wants to be, he says a police officer.  He is a kind-hearted young man who will go far in life because of his nature and so I encourage him every chance I get; he deserves to live out his dream, it will be good for him.

Cheers To My Daughter

Girls; they are terrific.  Don't get me wrong, boys aren't so bad either, but my little girl is just fantastic.  Here's all of the things that she's good at: eating, sleeping, cooing, grabbing at things, rolling over, smiling, smiling, smiling... did I say smiling?  If this girl's job was smiling, she'd be the best worker ever.  If there was a competition for who could coo the cutest, she'd be the world champion.

When I was pregnant, someone asked me if I was scared to have a girl.  Without hesitation, I was like, "Nope.  I'm a girl, so I think I got this!" but of course, she meant something other than the literal having of a girl, she meant all the other ish that comes with having a girl.  The years of parenting that will shape her into the woman that she will become.  So, I ask myself, am I afraid of the years of parenting that will shape her into the woman that she will become?  And the answer is still, "Nope!"

Here's the thing, I'm not afraid of raising my daughter and teaching her to value her self-worth and know who she is and what she stands for, I'm afraid of everyone else who thinks that they know her self-worth, what she is and what she stands for.  Girls these days are under pressure to be something like Instagram-famous,-Youtube-viral,-Facebook-million-friend-having young ladies and that's not realistic or fair.

What I want for my daughter is pretty simple: to have a happy, healthy, well-balanced, meaningful life and so far, she's got the the happy and healthy covered.  Honestly, she shines in a way that I've never seen; I damn near need sunglasses.  Her smile is breathtaking and it gets me every time.  She is the brightest spot in my days and I'm the luckiest to have her.

So, when people ask if I'm afraid to raise a girl, the answer will always be a variation of no, because that's not what this world needs.  What the world needs is for mothers who celebrate their daughters and vice-versa, together, we are going to make a happier, healthier, well-balanced, meaningful world.  Cheers to us!

Wanted: A Baby Sister

Not too long after we told the boys that they were going to have a sibling, the gender talk started.  My husband was firmly in the boy camp- thought it was a boy and wanted a boy.  I, on the other hand, thought that it was a girl and said I wanted either a boy or a girl... but I won't lie now, I really wanted a girl.  As most things went in our household at the time, I figured I would be outnumbered in the wish-upon-a-baby-boy-star, but surprisingly that wasn't the case; the boys really wanted a baby sister.  Obviously, there's nothing that we could have done at that point to grant their wish, but they were the first two people I thought of when we learned it was a girl; her big brothers were going to be happy.

So far, they love having a sister and it probably has a lot to do with the fact that she's great.  On the rare occasion that she cries for longer than 30 seconds, one of them comforts her by saying, "I'm here Sissy, don't cry."  I realize that this kindness and concern may only last for another few years, and eventually they may become the cause of her tears, but for now I'm sincerely in love with their love for her.  They are much more gentle with her than with anything else in the whole world.  When they talk to her, they both use a soothing, higher pitched voice.  They, above all else, show me that they love her and that's all that I've ever really wanted, love for my children.

This week, I've been nearly ready to put her in her crib.  (I know, I know; that beautiful nursery that I'm so proud of hasn't gotten any real use...) We've been hanging out more in her room and she's spending little periods of time in her crib to grow accustomed to it, but when all is not well and Sissy is done with the crib, her brothers come rushing in and soothe her and tell her not to cry.  And she stops and watches them and then everything is right in the world again.

J is for Jameslyn

For those of you who have noticed that I've been gone for a few weeks now, I am happy to announce that it was for a very, very good reason; I had a baby.  A baby girl to be exact.  Jameslyn (more on the name to come) joined us about a week ago and has been such a wonderful addition to our family.  I can't wait to share more details of the last nine months and her first days.

Until then, here's our baby girl.

We Totally Made This Christmas Garland

It's not everyday that I can think of a pretty inexpensive craft that my kids can help with; usually inexpensive stuff equals not toddler friendly.  But this, this is different.  As I was flipping through the latest issue of Better Homes and Gardens (don't knock it, that magazine is cheap and has some good ideas in it), I spotted this garland; it may not be the prettiest, but it sure looked easy.  I tried to find a link to the actual garland that was pictured, but gave up after searching various things, so if you click on the link, it's just gonna take to the plain old main page, feel free to 'search it up'!

Here's all that you will need to make a pretty spectacular, easy, keepsake Christmas garland.

Paper Straws (I got mine in the dollar bin at Target a while ago)
String of any kind
Scissors
Wooden beads

Approximate cost (if everything is bought new)- $10.
Difficulty Level- Easy

Start by laying everything out and then telling your kids not to touch anything so that you can snap a picture for your blog, that will go over well:

Next cut each straw into small pieces, I cut each of my straws into thirds.

Then I approximated how much string I would need to fill, knotted one end and let the kids go to town; alternating between a bead and a green and red straw. Of course, I had to assist to the point that they could actually help, which really means pulling the string though the bead or straw.  That lasted for a few minutes, evenutally they both decided that they'd had enough and quit half way through, but it was fun while it lasted.

Once you reach the end of the string, and may or may not still have kids helping, tie off the other end and snap another picture, 'cause look at y'all, you just made something pretty awesome.

Hang it up.

Friday Short

Here's a look at my little Bubbles on all four of his birthdays.  How cute is he?

I Totally Made This Thing

ATTENTION EVERYONE, I TOTALLY MADE THIS CAKE!

(Can you tell that in my mind, I'm kind of a big deal right now?)

When Cullen told me that he wanted a Ninja Turtle cake, I did what any parent would: google image searched Ninja Turtle cakes until I found one that I thought I could replicate.  With zero knowledge of cake decorating, unless you include countless hours spent watching Ace of Cakes and the cake testing for my wedding, I embarked on what I thought was sure to be a simple little cake.  

Yo, I was wrong.

This thing was hard.  It was heavy and time consuming, but totally worth it when Cullen exclaimed, "Mom, I love it!"  (I swear, I didn't even make him say it.)  It brings back fond memories of the time my Grandmother made me a Barbie cake for my birthday and it was awesome; the skirt was made of cake! Who wouldn't want a cake skirt?!

As I warned all of my family members, if you don't like it, lie to me.  So on that sentiment, I will leave you with the cake from start to finish and the response I got from my sister after I emailed her pictures:

Megan- It looks really good
Me- Really or are you just saying that??  Because it took a lot of work!
Megan- Well you told me to lie; Just kidding, I think it looks good.  I bet for the party it will look even better
Me- Uhm, let's not go making assumptions... I literally gave it all I got this time!
Megan- Well you'll need to give it 110% next time

Four Questions For A Four Year Old

Today is Cullen's birthday.  I love and adore him more than he will ever know and I am happy to share some moments with everyone that we've shared as a family over the past 24 hours.  On his fourth birthday, I decided to ask him four questions, mostly because that is about how long his attention span is, but also because I think I saw this on Pinterest like two years ago and thought it would be a nice idea.

So, here are the four questions I asked and Cullen's answers:

What is your favorite color?  (It's his birthday, so I let him have two favorites!)

What are you most looking forward to this year?

What is your favorite thing to do?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Fall Photo Shoot 2013

For several years, we've taken the time to document our children outdoors during a beautiful time of year.  This year, we headed out to a chic landscaping store, because we had a gift card, and I happened to grab our nice camera; while it certainly didn't start off being our Fall Photo Shoot 2013 that's totally where it ended... and I'm thrilled.

And keep an eye out for Arden's blue car, which managed to sneak into quite a few pictures.