Hello 2011-New Years Resolutions

With another New Year upon us I have been thinking about my New Years resolutions for 2011. I am hoping to wake up in the morning and start fresh in many aspects of my life. I am hoping to learn and grow from life's experiences from 2010 and strive to be a better woman, mother and wife this year. Of course many of my resolutions are the same as everyone else.... I am hoping that by putting them on here I will be able to hold my self accountable throughout the year and check on my progress.

Myself
-lose weight and start working out again: I hope to start a workout routine that I can stick with and see results with. I plan on starting back on my weight watchers which has really worked for me in the past. Hopefully, between the diet and exercise I will not only look better but also feel better about myself.

-take time for myself-to workout, read a book, blog, catch up with friends or take a bubble bath.I know this will not only make me feel better mentally but will also make me a better mom and wife

-Blog-I hope to try and post at least once a week in the new year. Since I am not scrap booking any more I am hoping to have my blog printed once a year to document our happenings as a family. I hope to keep up to date as much as possible with the blog and not let it get so far behind like it is now.

Mommy
-try not to sweat the little things and remember that my boys will not be little forever and try to embrace the time they are little rather than waste it worrying about things that in the end don't really matter.

-take time each day with each of the boys for some one on one time with just mommy or just daddy.

-be involved more in our moms groups to encourage the boys to make new friends and have social interaction with other kids

-work more on teaching Austin and mini-homeschooling him. He is so interested in learning right now, I need to take advantage of it while he wants to learn

-try to set a date once a month for Brad and I to have a one on one date with each of the boys. I think they both would benefit so much from having time alone with mommy and daddy

-try to keep up with the boys baby books or go back and add stuff to them

Wife
-enforce date night with my hubby. At least once a month go out as a couple rather than a mommy and daddy. Try when possible to have a date night each week even if it is just watching a movie together at home after the boys go to bed

-work to make our relationship even stronger than it already is. Take time to talk to each other daily and know/ try to understand what is going on with each other

-try not to get so caught up in life as a mommy and daddy and forget that we are also a couple and need to take time for us

Home Life
-try to really get organized this year and keep our home and life that way. Make our home run as efficient as possible so that our lives can run smoother.

-meal plan-try to set up a weekly meal plan so that we eat healthier and as a family and don't eat out so much

-budget-look for ways to save money, coupon more, not eat out as much.

-try to get our family involved in church and actually look forward to going

-love our dogs more. I want us as a family to really take time with our dogs and show them the love and attention they deserve rather than just letting them lay on the sofa all day with little interaction other than when we are letting them in or outside

OK that's all I have for now. I know that's all right. Lol. I know that all of these things will not happen over night but I hope to set goals a little at a time and really make an effort to achieve all of these things over the next year. Stay tuned for updates on my progress.

Recap of 2010

2010 has been a good year for our family..... We started the year as a family of 3 with two fur babies and ended it as a family of 4 with two fur babies. We welcomed our 2nd son Hudson in February which totally changed our little family for the better of course! Austin has grown and changed so much in the last year. He started the year talking but no where near as well as he does now. He is our little ham and always keeps us smiling. He is so smart and loves learning! Hudson has also changed sooooo much in the last year. He went from a newborn little guy to an almost one year old toddler. He is still the same happy boy though with a smile that is amazing. He went from not being mobile at all to rolling, doing the army crawl, to crawling up on all fours and over the last week he has started cruising and pushing walking toys around while walking. Brad and I have also changed a lot in the last year. I started the year pregnant, had Hudson lost all my baby weight and then some and have since gained some of it back (see my resolutions for follow up on that one). I also started the year as a mother of one who thought I some what had it together-then was thrown for a loop when Hudson arrived and could have never imagined how much my daily life would change. Now as the year is coming to an end I feel like I am some what getting life back under control. Brad is still an amazing hubby and father. He has tried to really step up to the plate and be a hands on dad with our boys and help out as much as he can. He too has lost some wight this year-but he has done a better job at keeping it off. Bernie and Chloe are still our fur babies although I threaten all the time that I am going to give them away. They have really taken the backseat around our house since Hudson's arrival-but that is something we are going to work on.

Say what.......? Austin

As we all know there is no telling what may come out of a child's mouth when they open it and speak. Well needless to say Austin is no different, he is full of all kinds of funny sayings or statements. In an effort to try and remember them forever I am going to post them for the world to see (while also documenting them for myself).

Recently at an over night stay with his Grandma & Grandpa he discovered a new gift they had got for him. It was a cardboard box store. He loved it and wanted to play in it lots-he was happy to serve his shoppers, eat in there, watch TV from it, etc. Well grandpa playing around asked "Austin is Jose in your store?"Austin replied "no", grandpa then asked what about Philippe?" Austin responds "NO! A woman". Where did he get that from? Too cute. When Grandma called to tell me about this I literally spit my coffee out and onto the wall- I thought it was so funny.

Below is a photo of Austin and his new beloved "trash truck" that Grandma-ma & Papa got him on there last visit.
Well, Austin has been having some issues with sharing his toys with Hudson (his Bo-Bo). Until recently we were able to tell Austin to just put the toys that he did not want BoBo to get up on the sofa or on the table. Now its a whole new ballgame since BoBo has started pulling up. Pretty much everything is fair game now. Austin gets very upset by this. Hudson does not even have to be touching his toy, or coming towards the toy, but only looking some what in the direction of Austin or one of his toys and you will hear Austin start yelling "BoBo coming, BoBo coming, Mommy help me!"

Below is a photo of a situation where Austin was yelling this.
We are in the process of potty training with Austin right now, and as most of you who have done potty training know how hard it can be to get your little one to poop in the potty. The other day in an effort to let Austin know it was OK to poop in the potty I told him that all big boys and big girls poop in the potty. Austin responds with "Mommy poops in the potty? I respond yes honey, Mommy poops in the potty. Austin then says "Daddy poops in the potty? Again I reply " Yes, honey, even Daddy poops in the potty". Then Austin says "Mommy and Daddy poop big?". I stopped for a second and responded "sure, Mommy and Daddy poop big in the potty". Austin stands there for a min. thinking and then says "I poop HUGE Mommy".

Winter Wonderland

We actually got a little snow yesterday here in TN. Austin was so excited and was very quick to tell us what it was doing outside "it snowing outside". Of course that meant that he wanted to go outside and play in the 'SNOW". So thanks to Grandma & Grandpa he had actual snow gear this year-I am talking snow boots, snow gloves and a full on snow suit. It took us about mins. to get Austin all suited up and ready to go outside and he loved it. He wanted to play outside and check out the snow in his house (his playhouse-swing set).

Here he is trying to catch some snow in his mouth.
All suited up and waiting on Daddy to take him outside to play

Hudson decided to sit this one out and just watch his big brother play from the window

Of course our fur babies had to play some too. Chloe loved chasing the snow

Bernie loved chasing Chloe

I think Austin had fun in the snow and would have stayed outside in it all day if we would have let him.

First Date

We had a playdate this week with Christina and her girls Jeryn and Mara. They came over to our house and we worked on a super cute craft and the kids had fun playing. Afterwards we went to lunch together and the kids were too cute. Austin was putting his arm around Jeryn and trying to hold her hand.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Austin spent the day and is spending the night with his Grandparents today/night. He always has so much fun with them. Grandpa said that Austin had lots to do while they were together but would not tell us what. So far he has had fun playing with the remote and train that goes around there Christmas tree, went shopping a little and went to look at Christmas lights. They also had a new little surprise at there house for him-a little store. Of course he Loves it.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

On two feet

I knew this day was coming soon, Hudson has been pulling up onto his little knees for a little while. As you might remember last week I went to get him out of bed and found him sitting up (which he did by himself). Well this morning I went into his room and this is what I found:

He had pulled up onto his feet the night before for the first time and in the bath tub of all places. I really thought it was a one time thing. But I guess not, after finding him standing in his bed this morning-he continued to pull up onto any and everything.

It looks like nothing is safe anymore-we cant tell Austin just to put the toys he doesn't want Bo-Bo to play with on the sofa or table in the playroom anymore.

Sitting tall and other happenings with my Huddy-hoo

When I went into Hudson's room this morning to get him up he was sitting up in his bed. He has been sitting up off and on for a few weeks by himself. Since this weekend he has really been sitting up from a crawling position a lot on his own. This morning was the first time that I have found him in bed sitting up.

Hudson has also been getting very good at climbing up the stair in the bonus room-we have started having to shut the door just to keep him in the room. He has also started trying to perfect his skill of coming back down the stairs,he is more graceful sometimes more than others.

He has also really been working on his standing skills. He has started pulling up a lot more. He is only making it up on his knees at this point but I don't think it will be too long until he is pulling up onto his little feet.

PJ Party With Santa

Last night Belk hosted a PJ party with Santa for the kids to kick start the Christmas season. I was under the impression that Santa would be there for the whole party but that was not the case. For the first hour or so they had a dj and dance party which ended up being really cute. We ran into Aunt Robbin's sister and her daughter Riley, which Austin had a blast with. Austin and Riley had quite the time dancing together. There was no one woman that could hang with Hudson so Mommy and MaMa-Ma had to take turns just to keep up with him.
Austin had his first kiss tonight (along with his 2nd, 3rd, 4th and so on) which we caught on camera both with photos and video. Riley was laying them Austin. At first he wasn't real sure about this girl being so forward and aggressive with him-but needless to say he ended up loving it.

By the time the dancing was done and it was time for Santa to arrive the boys were over it and tired (like I said we did not know that Santa would not be there the first hour). They had not had dinner before we left so we decided to leave before Santa read a book to the kids.

A Mommy Post

OK, so this posting is not all about my children..... Its about me The Mommy! I am having a hard time lately and realize that I am putting too much pressure on myself to do and be everything. It seems like at any given moment I have a million things running through my head these days. I will admit that I am a little bit OCD about a LOT of things. Below are just some of the crazy demands I have been trying to put on myself:

*clean the entire house-I am not talking about just dusting and mopping and doing a little organizing here and there.~I am saying move everything clean around and under it, organize EVERYTHING, clean the baseboards, the walls, the cabinets, the drawers, the closets.
I have to remember that I have two small children and two crazy dogs and that making everything perfect at one time is really close to impossible these days. I would love to just have a weekend to myself to tear into this house and really get some stuff done. But I doubt that will be happening anytime soon since as a mommy you do not get vacation days.

*do every cute creative craft I can find that my kids could do. I am not talking a cute little hand print wreath and a turkey for Thanksgiving. I want to make 15 different kinds of hand print activities and at least that many turkey crafts too. I have to remember that my kids do not care if we do all of these activities or crafts-they just want to spend time with me.

*I want to be the most amazing Mommy and do everything for my kids. I want to give them everything they could ever want and then more. Once again I have to remember that I can only do so much and that I have to let them have there wants every now and then.

*I want to be a perfect woman: I want to have the cute clothes, shoes and bags. I want my make up and hair to look perfect all the time. I want to have my pre-baby body back. I need to give myself credit for the weight that I have lots since having my boys and make realistic goals for myself about future progress. I have to try not to compair myself to other women or other moms (but that's easier said than done).

*create the perfect budget for our family that allows us to have everything we want but not break the bank and actually make it work. I have put a budget down on paper this week so we will see how that goes. I tried not to make it too unrealistic for us. But it definitely doesn't allow for us to have or do everything we want to.

I guess basically what I am saying it I need to find a way to chill out and relax and just enjoy life. But it seems like every time I try that things get all crazy around me. So we will see what happens, I just needed to get this out and on paper.

Another new trick-my baby can climb

Hudson discovered another hidden talent he had this afternoon. He learned that he can climb stairs. Thankfully we were in the playroom so there are only 2 little stairs in there. I actually was able to video him doing it thanks to always having my cell phone by my side. I also took a few pictures.

He learned the first thing he needed to do was make sure someone was watching him before he went through all the hard work of climbing the stairs.
Next he used his arms to pull himself onto his knees then his feet and went onto the first step then the second.

Then he was so proud of himself and the fact that now he can get into his or Austin's room anytime he wants.

Yes my baby is still in his pj's at 4:54pm that he slept in last night. Not only is Hudson in them but so are Austin and I too. Mommy is not feeling to good today and since I don't have any sick days to call in I decided we would just be bums all day and stay in our jammies.

Silly Boy

I guess you could say we took our eyes off of Austin for a min. or two tonight after Hudson went to bed. Brad was on the phone and I was on the computer and this is what we look over to see.
Austin had got a hold of the Aquaphor bottle and decided to apply some generously to his face. By the looks of his face I would say we will probably be needing a new bottle soon.

Thanksgiving Crafts

Austin and I had some fun creating some more Thanksgiving crafts this week. This time we made a "Thanksgiving Tree" which we will write on leafs what we are thankful for and hang them on the tree.

Austin seems to really like his tree and wants to move it all around the playroom. He has put two leaves on there so far with the following items that he is thankful for "fun and mommy".

We also made a turkey puppet which feathers were made from Austin's hand prints. He really loves tracing his hand for some reason. He loved getting to glue the different pieces of the turkey together.

When I showed him that the turkey was also a puppet he thought that was the coolest thing ever. He walked around making his turkey "gobble, gobble, gobble"

Austin is really getting to a fun age and enjoys doing more activities and crafts and loves learning so much right now.

School artwork

artwork from 11/11/10
artwork from 11/2/10

sorry there is nothing fancy here on this post. Austin's teacher had been out so we have not been getting our normal daily progress reports telling what he has been doing each day at school. There is also more artwork that I still have to take photos of and post.

Hudson update

It seems that Hudson is really trying to just blow through all of the major milestones!

Brad has been working with Hudson on his standing and he has been getting really good at standing with very little support. After seeing how proud of himself that Hudson was when working with Daddy I knew it was only a matter of time before he tried out his new skills when he thought no one was looking.

This morning while the boys were playing in Austin's room I decided to dust in there and after a few mins. Austin was tired of playing Choo-Choo and took off back to the playroom. Well, I guess Hudson thought no one was looking...... I hear all kinds of grunting and hard breathing and look over to see Hudson on pulled up on his knees to Austin's train table. Not only did he pull up to his knees alone, but he also swiped two trains off the table and took off back down the hall with them.

Hudson is also working on cutting his second tooth (the other bottom middle tooth). He has been handling teething pretty good for the most part. The last day or so he has been a little more needy than normal and a little whiny (this child is always so happy usually). He is wanting to be held and loved on more than normal and has been getting upset if this does not happen the way he wants. Well today I set him down on the floor for a min. and he got so mad and upset. In the midst of his little fit he crawled half way across the room on all fours. He has been doing more of the army crawl and just rocking on all fours. But today he actually took off on them. He did it off an on a few times today.

Thanksgiving Craft Play Date

We had a play date with Jenn and her kids Zoey and Gavin on Wen. Since Thanksgiving is quickly approaching I thought it would be fun to have a little turkey craft to help set the mood for the kids. The boys seemed to enjoy painting there turkeys-although there enjoyment seemed to come and go and was interrupted by playing on the swing set. Since it is unusually warm in the upper 70's this week we were able to take our craft outside which made it more fun.
Below is the finished product, I think they turned out pretty cute!

We tried to get the boys to stand beside each other and show off there turkeys they had made but you know how that can be with two three year olds that seem to have minds of there own.

Pampered Chef Babies

A good friend of mine recently started selling Pamper Chef products and we got together for a little photo shoot for her new business cards. She had a vision of her cards which included a photo of her cutie daughter in a big pan with a chefs hat and a Pampered Chef whisk. We got a few cute photos for her to choose from. Below are her favorite ones.


The photo above ended up being the winner! How cute is she?

Of course I had to snap a few of my sweet boy testing out the Pampered Chef gear.

First Big Boy Bath

Tonight both the boys needed a bath so we decided it was a good time to try both boys out in the bath together. Well not only was this the boys 1st bath together but it was also Hudson's first big boy bath out of the baby bath tub. He LOVED it. He grabbed the little toys and was exploring all the fun the tub had to offer. Austin was of course the little helper. He was very eager to help pour the cup of water on to his "Bo-Bo" and eventually was having fun pouring the water on his own head. Hudson just loves to watch Austin no matter what hes doing and Austin is always happy to put on a show for him (or anyone else that will watch).

My boys are getting so big!

Home Depot Kids Workshop with Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa watched the boys for Brad and I yesterday while we went to do a little Christmas shopping. It seems like Grandpa finds the funnest activities to do with Austin when they are together. Well, yesterday was no different-they made a quick stop by home depot to pick something up only to discover that they were having a kids workshop at that time.
Of course Grandpa had to let his little buddy participate in the workshop. They were making spice racks-so Austin decided to make one for Mommy. How sweet is he....

Grandpa said the workshop was really cool and that Austin seemed to enjoy it so it looks like we might be attending them more often. When they were done with there building Austin got to bring his orange apron home and the spice rack along with a certificate (which I seem to have forgot to take a photo of-I will have to take one and update later). Tonight we let Austin paint the spice rack and boy did he make sure to get it perfect. I cant wait to find the perfect spot for Daddy to hang it for me.

Side note: Austin is at such a fun age now, there are so many more activities that he can participate in now.

Some of Austin's sayings...

Austin has really started saying all kinds of things recently below are just a few of them:

*we have been talking about the moon comes out at night and the sun comes up during the day so he will look outside and depending on if it is day or night he will say "sun is up, moon is down"

*"I not" when he doesn't want to do something

*when you ask him how old he is he will stop and think about it and hold up both hands and say "I ten" and crack up. Before his birthday we were trying to teach him that he would be three years old-which he understood but then he went from being 3 to 5 then to 10 (if you ask him)

*he "loves" so many things- "I love to Play Mommy", "I love cars Mommy", "I love outside"

*"I got you"

Happy Halloween

After two weeks of celebrating Halloween finally arrived! Austin was Woody from Toy Story and Hudson was a spider. Both boys looked so cute in there little costumes. We started our festivities that day with carving a pumpkin with the boys, which they enjoyed. Then they both took good naps to get ready for our big night.
Of course I had to be "that Mommy" and take a ton of pictures. Grandma and Grandpa came over and we all had some yummy pizza before we went out for desert! As you can see below in the photos Grandma got a little "crazy" and put on Hudson's spider hat.

We piled the boys into Austin's wagon and off we went. It was Hudson's first time to ride in the wagon and he was not too sure about it at first. He held on for dear life!

We only went down one street in our neighborhood trick or treating because Austin was not happy with the situation. So, we decided to just go back to our house and hand out candy while hanging out in the driveway. Both the boys seemed to really enjoy that. There were lots of kids out. We live in a large neighborhood and I am pretty sure people "bus" there kids over here for the candy. Austin had to take a long look at another little boy dressed as Woody also. Austin was really trying to figure out why there were two of them. He liked checking out all of the costumes until a boy in a scream mask stoped by and he basically threw the candy at him and jumped back.

Over all it was a great Halloween and the boys seemed to have fun and we even got some candy!

Pumpkin Carving WIth The Boys

We were going to carve our pumpkin earlier in the week but since it gets dark so early now we decided to wait until the weekend so we could carve it outside. So Sunday afternoon after nap time we took the boys outside and got to carving. It was the first time Austin had carved a pumpkin or seen one carved, he was not too sure what to think about it. He is very funny about getting his hands dirty so he really was not too interested in helping "gut" the pumpkin. Both boys seemed to enjoy watching Daddy carve!

Austin ended up getting getting a hold of the sharpie and making a face on the pumpkin. At first I started to freak out about it-but I stopped and realized that it was after all the boys pumpkin so he could draw all over it if he wanted to~and that's just what he did.

Once all the carving was done Austin decided the pumpkin needed some hair so he grabbed the sharpie again and got right to work. Hudson was very egar to hold the pumpkin for Austin and help in any way he could.

Austin has become very possessive of his toys and stuff, as you can see of the photo of him with "his pumpkin" he is holding on for dear life.

Trinity Trunk or Treat 10/30/10

We really decided to celebrate Halloween and the Fall this year. I think we hit up every festival in town, just so the boys could wear there super cute costumes. Today we attended Grandma and Grandpa's churches Trunk or Treat and the boys had a blast. They had all kinds of activities for the kids to participate in.
Woody had to take a much needed snack break and enjoy some nice orange Cheetos's (he must get his love for those from his Great Grandma Betty)

Grandma drove Huddy around the festival

while sporting her super cute spider head band.
Grandpa, Daddy and Austin gathered around the camp fire to roast some hot dogs on the open fire. Notice Austin made sure they were doing it just right.

Hudson was giving Mommy some lovin!

Our attempt at a family photo-notice we are missing Austin. We never seem to be able to get all four of us in the same picture.

I helped Austin up the big inflatable slide only for him to leave me behind at the top-so I had to go down alone and I am sure other people who had not seen me go up with a child thought I was the crazy lady on the kids slide.

Here is Austin saying "Trunk or Treat" and getting more much needed candy

The first stop here today on our trunk or treating adventure Austin was introduced to a wonderful new candy. You have to understand that besides M&M's my child does not really eat candy not even suckers. But here he was being introduced to pixie sticks-basically sugar in a straw and he "LOVED IT". He could not get it out of the straw fast enough.

They had a cute little craft station set up and Austin and I made this cute little gourd man

Austin did not like to keep his hat on too much but I was able to actually snap a picture of him looking all "Woody-fied"

Here is my sweet Hudson dressed in his super cute spider costume-look at those eyes. This is with no editing done on the photo on his eyes. I think they might get him in trouble in a few years...

Grandpa and Woody eating Austin's cupcake creation. These two really have a special bond-I am so thankful that they have so much fun together,

Austin is making his yummy cupcake. Notice there is not too much icing on there-he must not be making it for Mommy or Aunt Pam. lol.

Hudson showing of his cuteness

Woody as we arrived at the festival. Yes I know the photos are out of order-thanks blogger.

Over all I think we all had fun and the boys got to show the world how cute they are in there costumes again!