Wednesday, November 4, 2015

November is Here


November is here and with it a truckload of things to get ready for. My family is going to Ireland, Connor is turning one, Thanksgiving and National Write a Novel in a Month are just a few out of the ordinary things added to my plate this month. It is going to be a crazy month, but I have made it a point to not get overwhelmed and take time each to day to appreciate this life that I have. Everyday I am posting something that I am thankful for, a reminder to myself that there really is so much in this world and in my life in particular that I should give thanks for.  I already posted my thing for the day but I wanted to add that I am thankful for this blog, for this little photo diary of my children's lives that I have created. I am grateful that I will get to look back and know when events occurred and see the progression of my beautiful little boys as they learn and grow.
Our Halloween turned out really great this year. My mom came out to visit and accompanied the kids and myself on our trick-or-treating expedition. Aiden was the cutest and most polite kid ever. He would say "Trick or treat," "Thank-you, Happy Halloween!" to every house/person we visited. On Friday night we went to Dave's school for their trick-or-treating, then on Saturday we took the boys out around our neighborhood. The church behind our house was hosting a trunk or treat, so we swung by to end our trick-or-treating. It was so great because they were giving away hot dogs and Aiden was so excited to eat one. We co-hosted a Halloween party this past weekend, and it was a huge success. It was really exciting because it was Harry Potter themed which inspired our costumes(except for Aiden, who really wanted to be Spiderman); Professor McGonagall(Mom), Hagrid(Dave), Luna(me) and a mandrake(Connor).
Enjoy our most recent pictures and videos from the past week!










My Little Super Hero

Matching Brothers!

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Homemade Cheez-its

I made homemade cheez-its a couple days ago and have had several requests on how I made them. The boys wanted something to snack on and we did not want to go to the store, so I glanced in the fridge and realized that I had the 5 simple ingredients to make cheez-its!
-
Ingredients:
8 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 to 3 tablespoons ice water



1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the cheese, butter, and salt on low speed until combined. Add the flour and mix on low until pebbly. Slowly add 2 tablespoons of the water and mix as the dough forms a ball. If needed, add the additional tablespoon of water a little at a time until the dough forms. Pat the dough into a disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the dough into two pieces and roll each into a very thin 10x12-inch rectangle . Using a pizza cutter, cut the rectangles into 1-inch squares, then transfer them to the baking sheets.
3. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until puffed and browning at the edges. Immediately move the crackers to wire racks to cool completely, then store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
I got this recipe from Brown Eyed Baker, one of my favorite food blogs! http://www.browneyedbaker.com/homemade-cheez-its/


Look at my PRO walker!!!!

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Banner Week

It has been a banner week. 
Aiden got 100% dressed all by himself. 
Connor has begun walking A LOT.  
My team and I were involved in a bus accident that ended in a fatality.

I am not allowed to go into further detail about the accident, but rest assured that we are all fine. Our thoughts and prayers are with the driver's family.  Thankfully volleyball season is coming to an end this week, it has been a long, painful and overall miserable season. I have had multiple run-ins with horrid parents, and girls who do not care about the sport at all. I have never met a groups of girls with less passion, desire, or motivation in my life. Last year I had an assistant coach, this year I was not allowed to have one and my stipend was cut. I have decided that this is my last year coaching, at least at that school. I would like to do it again in the future, I just cannot bring myself to do it again at that school. 

Aiden is very excited for Halloween. He got his costume in the mail yesterday and could not wait to try it on. He was so excited that he ended up falling asleep in it. :) Originally, he wanted to be a ghost but then he had his heart set on Spiderman, I figured that it is okay that he won't fit the theme of the Halloween party we are throwing, since he is a little kid. :) We are having a Hogwarts Halloween Party, how cool is that? I am so stoked! We are co-hosting with our friends, the Rotters. Well, that is our update for this week. I will try to check in again soon!




My boys playing together. :) Love these cute boys.



Connor being his cute, adorable self!

Thursday, September 24, 2015

My Sweet Boy

Isn't is crazy how much energy children have?  I have had more than one person talk to me about wishing they could bottle it up and use it for themselves. Aiden always seems to have an incredible amount of energy, he is constantly running. jumping and rolling around the house. He has recently learned to somersault, and he is very proud of himself. We did a little interview, but he could barely keep still :) I think that his enthusiasm and energy just adds to the fun of it. Hope this makes you smile and brightens your week!



Aiden is the best big brother that I have ever seen. I am so thankful that he continues to be a loving, empathetic, caring human being. So often I see people tainted and hardened by the world, and it is so wonderful to see his good nature blossoming. I hope that he always keeps his sweet, positive attitude and loving demeanor. I am so blessed. ---Aiden sings this song to his little brother whenever he is crying, and most of the time it works in calming him down. :)


Saturday, September 19, 2015

Long Overdue


Connor is 10 months old now. He stands on his own, took his first steps last weekend at his first "Kasbon Campout", crawls at lighting speed, eats anything and everything he can get his hands on and has the cutest laugh I have ever heard. He loves playing with his brother, comes to me when I call, waves like crazy to say hello and already has an adventurers spirit. His hair is still red and his eyes are still blue, but he is losing some of his chunkiness since he is on the move so much now.


Aiden gets smarter everyday, "reads" to me and his brother, surprises me with his logic everyday, loves to help me in the kitchen and has now added cracking eggs to his repertoire. He told me today in the car that his favorite farm animal was a pig and that his favorite zoo animal is a monkey. He is big on favorites, he asks me what all my favorites are and likes to tell me what his favorite things are. His favorite book right now is called, "Don't Laugh Joe." He has recently become afraid of his room at night, which has added to mommy not getting any sleep because I am now rotating the boys throughout the night in and out of my bed. He is SO excited for Halloween. He asks me everyday if it is Halloween yet, and currently wants to be a witch but it has changed a few times so far.


In the past couple months we have been to Michigan to see our good friends get married, gone to Big Bear for Cousins Campout, started the crazy volleyball coaching season, took Aiden bowling for the first time and went to the Kasbon Campout. I have fallen dreadfully behind on sending out birthday cards (sorry to people who were born in July, August & September), I am going to try to pick back up with it by the end of the month but I feel bad for all those missed birthdays in the middle. I have been obsessively baking lately, I cannot put my finger on what it is I want to bake so I am trying several things in hopes that I will just happen upon that unknown delight that I am craving. No one here is complaining since they have a never ending line of treats to satisfy their sweet cravings.  My Kitchenaid is getting a daily(sometimes more)  workout with all the baking and cooking I have been doing. I used it the other day to grate cheese, shred chicken and makes cookie dough. :) Well, I have rambled enough for now just thought I would give you all a long overdue update on how we are doing! :)


Me and the boys have started eating all our meals together at the table....

as you can see, they have a good time. :) My silly boys.

He LOVES food!! It makes him happy.

Grandma put him to sleep after a long day...

Aiden and Connor playing through the glass door.

Cuddles in Mommy's bed!!

He ate four pieces!! Love those baby blues!

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Pictures & Videos!

If I cannot find the time to write a thorough and detailed blog, the least I could do is brighten your day with a few pictures and videos.

Aiden and Piper playing in the garage. 

Woah! Why am I wearing this Detroit hat??

High Five Brother!

8 Months Old!! Crawling, Pulling Himself Up to Stand, Eating Everything!!

    
Baby Play Yard! He LOVES IT!!!





There is no sound I love more than the laughter of my boys!!

"There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor."
Charles Dickens

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Blogger Silence Broken


I have let the fact that I have fallen so behind in blogging keep me from actually blogging. I tell myself that I will write catch up posts that are thorough and fantastic, but that just puts me further behind when I am unable to get them done.  Basically, life has been crazy and does not show any signs of slowing down. Work is nuts, I have been putting in at least 9 hours a day and I still have enough work to keep me busy on the weekends.

Aiden loves feeding all of our animals. Every day he asks to feed the dogs, fish and our bearded dragon.  His vocabulary is "enormous." I swear that sometimes he sounds like an adult, but then he reminds me that he is still a little kid with his crazy antics. He is loud and funny, and very smart. He begs me to go to school everyday, so we will probably start more structured "class time" soon. I have not decided if I am homeschooling yet, but I am still leaning towards taking that on as well. Right now I am teaching him how to play Go Fish, he is catching on pretty quickly. I really want him to love games like I do, it will be so great to have people to play with as the boys grow older!

Connor is growing like crazy. He started full on crawling two days ago. He is still faster getting places by rolling and scooting, but he has added crawling to his mobility wheelhouse. Connor has been sitting up on his own from a laying down position and pulling himself up. I feel like he is going to start walking too soon after crawling :( He just cut his third tooth a few days ago, but has been good about not using it too much to bite me. He loves pretty much any food he can get his hands on and likes to drink small amount of water from a bottle. His favorite person is Aiden, hands down. Aiden will spend hours making Connor laugh, it is both adorable and wonderful. I hope that they always have a fantastic relationship.

I am missing A LOT of pictures to post here, I will try to get them off my dad's camera next time I am in town. For now, here are some pictures of the kids and some of our recent adventures.



Passed out from playing too hard in his ball pit

San Diego Wild Animal Park

Super Baby!

Brother Pictures are fun!

Don't you mess with my brother!

Giggles with mama

Happy Baby!!!

What is he doing??

He is crazy!



Happy Fourth of July!!!!

Fun in the Sun!!!

Connor planning his next move to grab the cards.



Helicopter ride outside the Kmart in Kingman



Mmmm..I found a spoon to chew...

My goodness, it's delicious!!!

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Surviving!

Connor at a Wedding
I have never experienced something before quite like taking care of two sick little boys while you, yourself are sick. If I thought life was challenging before, it does not hold a candle to the difficulty when everyone is under the weather. I know I missed last weeks post, time just slipped away while I was appeasing a very whiny three-year-old and a tooth cutting 5-month old.  That is right, my little Connor has not only cut his first tooth but his second as well!
Aiden and his buddy Thunder
We did manage to get Connor's crib put together and his room pretty much all set up, since Connor is officially too big and mobile for the cradle. He is rolling all over now, and is loving hanging out in his room.  He is pretty pleasant for a sick baby, he does not let it get him down. Aiden and I have started reading The Wizard of Oz before bed.  We read a chapter a night, and it is a time that I truly treasure.  There is something really special about sharing good literature with the people you love. I hope that Aiden continues to develop his love of books and that his little brother follows in his footsteps! Please enjoy these pictures and videos; pray that the three of us get better soon and that Dave does not catch it! I am not posting any weigh-ins this week since we have all been sick and have either lost weight or not gained any at all. When we are healthier, we will pick it back up.


Best Big Brother Ever!

Bath Time!

Cute and Crazy

Connor in his "new" crib

Aiden picked this poppy from our yard for me! :) Love him!!
Aiden Entertaining Connor in the Car

Connor--too cute for words

Seriously..best big brother--before I captured this video Aiden was
 making Connor giggle so hard. Love these boys!