Fun LITTLE office!

I spruced up my office a bit...it's really not an office. We have a little space near our living room that works very well for a place to keep my photography business stuff! I'm really loving my little yellow shelves (IKEA spice racks)...they match my yellow pillows on my couches! :)

Day 30 - 40 Days of Blogging

So happy to remember that 9 years ago this guy asked me to marry him. Man...what a great memory. And yep, I'm still so in love with him. Mushy, I know...but I thank God daily that I get to spend my days with him...even when he's grumpy or I'm tired or the kids don't listen - it's an amazing little life we've created together and I just love it. Just like I love him. 

On another note...the kids and I spent some time outside today! For me, it was still a little chilly, but the kids LOVED it! 

Haha...I totally RAN some sprints in our back yard while the kids were playing in the sandbox. Remember how I was cold...thought it would help me warm up! And it did! I felt like I was back in track, running 'accelerations' on the football field! And the neighbors? Yeah, they think I'm nuts.

Only my kid would be wearing a stocking hat (because I'm always worried about ear infections with Zay) but then also kick his shoes off! 

She is somewhere in between being a 'rough-n-tough' little girl and being a 'girly-girl'...she has moments of both!

Day 2 - 40 Days of Blogging

Eeeek! I can't even believe I'm going to show this...but this winter has got to end. I'm ready to SPRING CLEAN our home...and some open windows with refreshing spring air blowing through would be lovely too! Our poor coat closet has had it. Ick...check this out!

Bad, huh!?!

(I just want to note...I often give Zay and Ellie the job of taking shoes from the front/back door and put them away in the closet........and this is the results you get!!!)

This little girl was a BIG "help" in this 20 minute cleanup task! And notice...she discovered how fun it is to wear her brother's rain boots! ;)

Ahhh...much better!

Anyone else getting ready to do some spring cleaning? Have you heard of the 40 bags in 40 days challenge? I've done versions of this 'purging' challenge before and I'm making some strong attempts to do more cleaning/purging/organizing in the next few weeks!!

The New Digs

We've lived in our house for 4+ months now.

If my memory serves me correctly, I have yet to post a single picture of our new digs. Trouble is, there really isn't a "completed room". In fact, I cannot recall a single moment when our entire house has been picture perfect, let alone picture worthy. Having a baby less than 2 weeks after moving in kind of slows the remodeling-unpacking-decorating process down.

Even with very few pictures on the walls and decorations scattered sparingly around, I love our comfy home. We have put a lot of love and a lot sweat into this house. It's quite common for a power drill to be sitting on our kitchen counter and stud-finder to be left on the laundry room floor.

So, although not perfect and we most likely could show you imperfections in our work, we have stories to tell about this home. I spent the majority of my final month of pregnancy scrubbing tiles and changing electrical outlets (I assure you...the electricity was OFF while I did this!) :)

And now. Now, that we are moved and settled. I have kiddos to care for. Admittedly, I consistently prefer a spic-n-span type of home, but have quickly learned how to be okay with fingerprints on the windows and crumbs on the floor. And I've surprised myself with just how okay I am with this. I will never regret making play-doh snakes instead of doing dishes, or singing patty-cake instead of making the bed. So I share these photos not to prove we have a perfect home, but to show where we are right now. From September until now...with a baby, holidays, birthday, and most recently a bad bout of the flu in between...I'd say we've done alright. Hopefully in another four months it will reflect even more of our home.

Dining/Living/Kitchen

Please excuse the blank walls...work-in-progress! :) 

That rocking chair sticks out like a sore thumb...but it was my grandparent's and I hope to give it a "facelift" one day.

Rocking chair...see comment above. :)

I've never had a pantry before...LOVE! 

Zay's corner of the living room... 

Zay's Room

Zay picked the colors for his room...blue & yellow! 

My mom made Zay (& Ellie's) curtains and quilts for their beds. Love them! 

Grandma Judy bought Zay (& Ellie's cribs)...love those too!

Ellie's Room

Ellie's already got her big girl bed in her room too...garage sale find that we couldn't pass up! 

Love Ellie's crib and quilt...so girlie!

Master Bedroom

I (sort of) made the bed for you... :)

Thankful!

Being the month of November and all I thought I would finally get this post up and give a BIG shout out to our parents! Both my mom and dad and Shane's mom! They all have helped out in so many ways...when you move, renovate a house, have a baby, and change positions at your job...all within a matter of weeks, things can be a little hectic!!! 

I'm so thankful and I probably haven't told them enough how much I appreciate their help! Here are a few pictures of just one area we've reaped the benefits of our family's help...yard cleanup! Our house hadn't been lived in for over 5 years before we bought it...needless to say, the yard was a tad overgrown! 

(A picture when we still had Bongo! Still miss that pup!)

 Probably Shane's favorite part of yardwork...driving Dad's Ranger!

Zay was a BIG helper too!

Thanks to Dad's handiwork with his skid-steer, we have a driveway! 

in our backyard

We've turned our backyard into the ultimate hangout. We discover things like the sweet flowers that smell (bad if you ask Zay), rough rocks to touch, throw and put in our pockets, and sturdy shade trees to rest underneath. We run through the grass barefoot and share each other's company as we eat our snack on the patio. 

It's a place where we the birds chirp and the bunnies run. Where our doggies lounge and then run away to the neighbors yard. And while I yell at the little black pooch to come back, Zay sternly points in the direction of the house while yelling "LEE! MOM!" (He strategically leaves out the "bai" part of Bailey's name and goes with "lee" instead. And he's become so accustomed to hearing me holler at her, he takes it upon himself to help me out, letting her know that Mom is talking to her. It's beyond cute...as long as I'm not too annoyed with the wandering dog.)

So much energy is released in this big grassy space, and each day I'm just plain thankful. While we long to find our permanent home, God has blessed us richly with our temporary home that just happens to come with a big green turf begging for bare feet and playtime.

 

And as much as we love our backyard...we highly dislike leaving it to go inside for a nap. Certain days it's clearly hard being a two-year-old!

Progress and Productivity

It's always a good week when there is productivity happening in our house! The saying I keep saying..."It's good to feel good!". A rough first trimester makes me all the more appreciative for the second trimester! Energy galore! 

This past week Zay decided to like marinara sauce for the first time ever. Isn't spaghetti a food that every young kiddo likes?  We've introduced this tasty treat many-a-time to Zay, but he'd have no part. He would rather have his lo-pro noodles plain. Yet, the other night he actually ate the sauce! I won't say that he ate a TON of it, but the evidence is there...he ate some! Progress!

Yay! Another meal our family can eat together! Besides making Zay's separate noodles and separate garlic bread...it looks the same! 

Laundry is such an ongoing event in our house. Thankfully I have help.

In he goes.......after the dryer balls........then they are thrown throughout the house like they are baseballs. He puts his dirty laundry into his hamper, he helps hand me the clothes to put into the washer, he tosses the wet clothes into the dryer and he helps carry the folded laundry baskets to the designated room. But the dryer balls..........in his eyes they are 'balls' and not to be associated with 'laundry'.

We've done some organizing in a certain someone's room this week.

The boy doesn't lack in the clothes department! I imagine a girl will be even worse?

I found satisfaction in going through lots of clothes, toys, and odds & ends that needed to be bagged up to go to Goodwill. Zay on the other hand was perfectly content to find a tub of old toys he hadn't seen in a few months. Most of the toys I thought he would get bored with, but who knew I'd uncovered an hour's worth of entertainment just by opening his closet!

It's only Tuesday...here's to hoping there is even more productivity in our future this week!