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.