Happy Birthday Giveaway!

Today I hit 26. I am no longer in the 18-25 category, and its very surreal. I dont know where the time went, and when I hit 26. I am trying to embrace it. Its still hard! SO.... because of my step up in the age world, I am offering a fun giveaway! I am very excited for the wonderful women that sponsored this giveaway!

Since I love presents, I am giving away a pair of Adorabows from Just Lovely Things. I have them in hot pink, and I looooove them! :)
Also, I have a new obsession with the magazine Mollie Makes!


Hello! My name is Charley and I write Cooke's Frontier. Let's start off by answering the biggest question that I get, why the name Cooke's Frontier? I chose that name because starting a blog and sharing my life, recipes and crafts with the world was a whole new experience for me. I was going where I have never been before, but I was excited to do it and prove to myself that I could. This blog is about our life and all that it brings us. It's an honest blog, it won't always be pretty or happy but it will be real. I'm honest and I honestly love doing this.
Charley is giving away a vanilla scented lotion stick! Seriously, I always have mine on hand. Its definately love with me and my lotion!!

Amanda Carlisle Design has literally been years in the making. I graduated in 2008 with a degree in graphic design and like a lot of college graduates, haven't done anything with that degree. That is, until now. Once I found out I was pregnant with my son, it really hit me with just how much I would love to be home with him & as luck would have it, I had a degree under my belt that could allow me to do just that. Amanda is offering up a personalized blog design! Check out her portfolio, this girl has skills! :)   You have a week to enter this giveaway! (which happens to be ending on my bff's birthday!) Go and show these girls lots of love for being so awesome!    

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pumpkin Time!

This year I jumped on the painted pumpkin bandwagon. Call me lazy, I see it as a chance for my babies' inner Picasso's to come out. Plus with Hubs new crazy schedule, Id have to plan waaaay to far in advance to fit in carving.

I taped paper to the kitchen table, and set up a bunch of different pants and brushes. Viola, painting pumpkin time!

(Dont mind the pile of sewing machine and stuff in the corner of my dining room! haha!)

I also had a pack of foam pumpkins I picked up at Michael's last year for like a dime. So we all painted those up too. (I did something cute with them... post on that later on!)

 

 They concentrated so hard, and had so much fun. Did I mention I also put out 4 containers of glitter (Yup, my boys use glitter!) and I think most of it ended up on the floor. I guess thats a small sacrifice in the grand scheme of keeping it easy!

 

 

Pay no mind to the fact my kids are in unders, and Boden has paint all over his mouth. He was licking it off his fingers!!!

 



 

 

Back To School For Hubs {a story on how mama deals!}

Three weeks ago, the Hubs started going to school again. On top of his full time job,he is now in school Tuesday and Thursday nights, along with every other Saturday, ALL DAY. Talk about putting a kink in our family dynamics. My kiddos are so super sweet, but they are rough. So by the end of the day, Daddy comes home from work, and I get to escape to the grocery store, fabric store, dinner, or whatever for a little break. Not so much anymore. On school days, Hubs gets home and his schedule is a little like this:

 

Say "hi" to the fam

Shower

Take 5 minutes deciding on dinner (if I haven't already made his decision for him)

Eat

Say "good night" to the fam

Go to school

 

 

There is very little room for a break for mama in there. But I know deep down, school is only for 8 months. I can deal for 8 months right? {haha maybe...} But with Hubs back in school, it makes me miss the days of new notebooks, lectures, and classes. If I were going to go back to school, it would be a DU masters in business administration. I would love to get a business degree. It would be so useful in so many areas of life. Seriously, being a stay at home mom with a business degree... totally rad right? I would have the most beautifully organized expense charts, and money trackers. It would be pretty fun.

I am quite sure, until Hubs finishes school {oh, did I mention its to become a Sheriff???} I am just plain, not degree holding, crazed and dazed, and walking zombieish Mama. Some day I may go back to school, but for now, I am the wife of a man who works full time, goes to school part time, and is getting ready to have a career where he lays his life down everyday to make my little town safer for our babies. {major stud factor}

The super long days are hard. I am slowly learning to adjust to less "me" time, and more "mom" time. {Amen to all you single mamas out there, you all are incredible} I hope that once I get used to being alone more, I will start to craft more, and netflix and cheap wine will stop holding me hostage! Because, lets be honest, 4 hours alone after the kids go to bed... that's the perfect time to kick your feet up, catch up {and fall in love with} new shows, and have a pretty glass of wine.

Cheers to a wonderful Saturday, a day with my Hubs and the kiddos!

 

 

{This is a sponsored post for the University of Denver, however, all the
points and views are my own.}

School, School and More School!

I have a little school depression going on in this house. September rolls around, and I knew Brax would be heading back to school. Easy Peasy. Three days a week, 3 hours a day. Errand running time.
Mid summer, we realized there was a chance that Hubs would be starting school in the fall also. That was never really talked about, we just knew it was all part of the package. (More on the "package" later)
Then the mini-bombshell. Boden would be in school Mondays also. You see, Boden turned 2 in July. At his 2 year appt. I expressed my concerns, as he didn't talk very much. (We're talking 20 words max) Apparently I had expressed my concerns at his 18m appt also, which of course I cant remember 6 months ago! So, the Dr. said that we should get him an evaluation. Then, she said the word that up turned my family for 2 months. Autism. Its funny, how one little word can make your head turn to mush, and turn a totally together family, all wonky.
Autism.
Bo has some issues, which clearly are effecting his daily life, but really? Hes 2. No big deal right. So he doesn't talk, so he likes to line up his cars, and cans of soup. So what if he likes to be kind of repetitious. So what if he gets frustrated because he cant talk,and bangs his head, hits me, bites me, and tries to choke me out. So what right? Im the mom, I can fix it. By the way, hes 2. Isn't some of this normal?
I am certain that Boden understood everything that was going on in our family, after that doctors appointment. About 2 weeks later, he was using more words. He started repeating everything, and basically became my little parrot. I still was stressed out. What did I do wrong if they think my baby boy has Autism. My oldest is fine, in fact, he is so highly intelligent that I don't know what to do with him. (he is reading chapter books, and adding double digits at 4... Yeah, mommy brag moment) So, is Bo behind because I didn't have all the solo time with him that I did with Brax? Did I not read to him enough, did he learn about bad habits from watching Brother go through the "terrible Threes"? Because you know, as a mom, this is all my fault. It must be.
Well, after 2 evaluations, a failed attempt at a hearing test, and a parents meeting with the therapists, we came to the conclusion that Bo is behind in his social skills, and his communication skills. (Duh. Thanks for the heads up, guys??) Instead of going the route of speech and occupational therapies, they offered us a small "class" option. Mondays from 11- 12:45 Boden goes to "school" with 3 other little ones who are also behind. They have gross motor time, circle time, activity time, One on One time (there are 3 teachers in the classroom at all times) and the most important to Bo, outside time. He has started talking and expressing his needs with great improvement before school started last week, but even after only 2 classes, I can see a difference. There hasn't really been any further mention of the "A" word, but it is only a stigma if you make it one. My little guy is happy and healthy, and Autistic or not, I love the snot out of my little red headed monster.
So you can see that there is a lot of schooling going on in this household. My blog posts should begin to regulate as Hubs is gone 2 nights a week now. As long as I can get my boys to bed, its mommy time!!!


Sending Kids Back to School Healthy!

Ok, so we all know that when you walk into the classroom, its germ central. I am by no means a germophobe, but I really dont want to catch anything at preschool. There is always that kiddo that you look at and know, shouldnt be in school. Mom probably had all she could take, and needed to shower. (Isnt that what all of us moms do when our kids are at school?) But seriously, Moms (and Dads, too) lets try not to spread the same cold around the classroom for the next 9 months.

I am kind of on a rant, but really, there are sooo many simple things we can do to keep our kids healthy! First and Foremost: give your kids plenty of water! Yes, water. Not apple juice, not milk, not soda (yuck!) WATER. My cute boys ask for juice most of the time, so I might pour a splash in there, and add water. But my most favorite trick of all is to put water in a colored cup, so they cant tell its just plain old water, until they drink it! (Sneaky, sneaky!) Another fantastic idea is getting one of those water dispenser things. Nicolet Natural Artesian Water is one of those brands where you buy the big jugs that you can use to fill up your green water bottles. With the number of water bottles I go through, that might be cheaper!

Another thing you can do to keep your kids from passing their green nose around... dont feed them junk all the time. Your kids are hungry? Give them an apple to munch on, not a snickers bar. Lets be honest, yes, its much easier to unwrap something and hand it to your kiddo. But take the 3 minutes to walk your butt to the kitchen, and cut the apple up. America will thank you in the long run.

I am pretty lax as far as my kids washing their hands at home, but when we are out in public, Im the Nazi. I always carry hand sanitizer, and wet naps. Of course the good ol' fashion soap and water is the best, its not always the easiest. I love that at B's preschool they have an over abundance of sanitizer. I leave my "helper" days with dry hands, from over use of sanitizer. 

Lastly, if your adorable little child has a green and disgusting nose, a cough that hurts you to hear, or so much gunk coming out of their eyes that they can barely see, KEEP YOUR KIDS HOME!

 

As you can tell, school is fully back in at our house and we have the stuffy nose going 'round and round. I am soooo excited for flu season! ;)




*This is a sponsored post for Nicolet Natural Artesian Water, however,
all the points and views are my own.

Back to school Giveaway!

With school totally back in session for most of our kiddos now, I thought it was time for a fun little giveaway!

Brax is in preschool, M W F 8:45 to 11:15, so I am trying to run errands with Bo during those times. I have to have snacks handy, because there is no guarantee that Bo will have eaten breakfast by the time we take Brax to school. I just learned about the most awesome thing ever.... Shelf Safe Milk! {Seriously rad, for a family of dairy lovers}

I try to always have snacks handy, but that doesnt mean that I havent driven through the coffee stand just to get milk for my boys! This is seriously some exciting news for me.

 

After taking the quiz on my own, here is how our family ranked:

 



You are:

Your family is kept organized with the help of
a little friend we call technology. You’re always up to date with the latest time management apps that keep your family on schedule. Whether you’re Yelping a new place to grub or bidding on a hotel using Priceline... Apps, widgets, and wifi are your best friends. You’re always crunched for time but you and your kids love living the fast paced lifestyle. Fun is on your itinerary, and you’re looking to check it off!

 

 

 

So now for the fun part! I have a 4 pack to giveaway, for your snacks-on-the-go stash!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Schools Back In!!! {and so am I}

Apparently I needed a loooong blogging break. So I unintentionally stepped back from the computer, and went on Summer vacation. We didnt really do much, but it was a much needed family focus time!
I also took the time to read up on some blogging tips, and advice. Expect changes in the coming weeks, as things settle back into the school time schedule!

For now, here are some of our summer adventure pictures!

I got a little dab of new ink on my foot, so I now have pretty dashboard feet! :)

Bo on his first pair of roller skates!!!

There was only one pair of Lightning McQueen skates, so Brax graciously gave those to his brother, so that he could have Buzz Lightyear Blades!!

 

 

I cant wait to get back up and going. I have so much awesomeness planned, that I dont know what to do with myself! :)

 

Wiww [hair accesory addition]

*Side note, I thought I had set this up for Wednesday, but apparently I didnt!*
I am definitely not huge on taking pictures of my outfits, (lets be honest, how many people looove it??) so I decided to do a hair accessory addition of What I Wore Wednesday.

I love hair things. A lot. So when I got my latest bag of lovelys from {Just.Lovely.Things} I was sooo excited to see a few surprises in there! I wear them all the time. Even if my hair is dirty, and messy, and knotty, it looks a little prettier with a flower, or a bow!
Here is my WIW, and I wore lovelys 6 days in a row.(I told you, its an addiction!)

Days 1-3

Days 4&5

Day 6, With a little bit of day 5 on the bottom!

What are your go to hair accessories??

Anniversary (#1)

Today, back in 2009 I married my wonderful husband. That makes today our 3 year wedding anniversary right? Wrong. We had 2 weddings that summer, and today's anniversary is merely in the eyes of the court. (sounds harsh, theres a good story, I promise)

May 20th, 2009, (2 weeks before our wedding) Hubby gets a really bad headache. He cant shake it, and the next day, it hasn't gone away. I make him a dentist appointment, (his jaw hurt also) thinking that maybe he needed a root canal or something. The dentist says he has great teeth, and that his mouth is not the source of the headache. Still not gone, but now his back hurts also. Being the good fiance that I am, (toot,toot!) I make him an emergency massage appointment, and get him in a few hours later. The massage therapist wasn't fantastic, and he still had a head/back ache.

Flash forward to the next day. Hubby goes to the hospital. He is one of the strongest guys I know, so for him to be so sick, and in so much pain, I knew there was something seriously wrong.

We get a room in E.R. They proceed to do some blood tests, but he is so dehydrated that the only place (after 3 nurses) they could start it, was in his jugular. (not a pretty sight.)

They run their tests, and then decide he needs a spinal tap to see if its M.S. Now, when they tell me it could very well be MS, I cry. A lot.

Hubby doesn't want to get a spinal tap, and doped up on the pain meds, he gave me some pretty choice words about how he felt about it. (I don't hold them against him!) Finally, he tells me, its my choice, and if I want him to do it, he will. DUH!

Spinal tap comes back, no MS. At this point, everyone is truly baffled by whats going on with him, so they admit us. (Us is Hubs, Mil and I.) I called my mom, and asked her to keep B, because we really had no idea how long we were going to be there.

Hubs is on lots of meds, and doesn't remember the first 3 days in the hospital. A lot happened in this time, including the canceling of our bachelor/bachelorette parties. No big deal, we still had a week until the wedding.

They did cat scans and MRI's and found lesions in his brain and around his spine. Still no answers. At this point, Hubs is on steroids to treat an infection, because that is the best guess. MIL and I know that the "infection" is in his brain and spine, hubs just thinks its in his spine. He went into a severe depression, and we made the call to limit the information intake on his part.

End of day 3, we get one really mean Dr. who completely disregards our warnings, and tells Hubs, (with no bedside manner whatsoever... JERK) that if he doesn't show signs of improvement, they are going to fly him to Portland and biopsy his brain. (Remember, he didn't know there was anything wrong in his brain... JERK)

Finally, day 4, we get our prayers answered. Dr. Narus, the radiologist walks in. He looks at everything, and give this infection a name. ADEM. Its not very common, especially in older(ish) people. Mainly a childs thing. Good news is, steroids and antivirals will clear it up!

YAY. Now the bad news, Nick has to stay 2 more days, and Dr. says we need to cancel the wedding. :( Nick doesn't take this lightly at all. I tell him we'll just postpone until we know its all better.

Hubs is stubborn. Really stubborn. We get home, and he can talk about nothing but getting married, and I finally cave. I called the preacher back, and asked if he could do a very quick, very small ceremony, just so Hubs is happy.

On pain meds and steroids, and not at all what I imagined...

May 31,2009 I legally became Mrs. Boyers.

This is our very first picture together, (not as H&W) I dont have any of our first wedding.

*I will have the "real" anniversary post at a later date! :)*



Awesome Plan!

Do you make awesome plans for your week on Mondays?

See, Brax went with his Grandma to Texas to see his Dad on Friday. (Mouthful right?) I thought I would have tonnnns of time to get things done. Clean out his toys, organize my work space, decorate my work space, do some laundry, make a Medford trip, take a long enough shower to shave my legs, and so on and so forth. Big goals, anyone?

Well, Friday I took Brax and Grandma to the airport. Then I came home and put Bo down for his nap. Got caught up on my blog reading. Bo wakes up, We go to the Mils house, because my sister in law is in town. The weather wasn't particularly great, so instead of doing something fun and productive, we literally just sat and hung out. (Now, I am not saying this is a bad thing, I don't get to see SIL as often as I would like.) Saturday, we went and bought my MIL a new handgun. Sunday, again, nothing. Monday they were headed back to the black hole (aka Grass Valley, CA). We went out to lunch before they left. Its tradition.

So, the company is gone, and life is slowing down, so I can get to all those must do's right? WRONG! My little brother is graduating HS down in LA Friday. What does this mean for me? COMPANY! My Grandmother and Uncle from Seattle are driving through. First, I thought they would be here Thursday evening. Perfect, two full days to get things done. Ehhnnn! (In case you didn't know, that's a buzzer noise!) They will be here TODAY. This afternoon.

I love my family, and I am so grateful that I get to see them, but what happened to my productive week. One baby down, I thought for sure I would accomplish something?? So far, Its not looking so good.

I did manage my Wordless Wednesday Post. (Go Me!)

I am also trying to update shop, and choose a direction. (more on this struggle coming)

But for now, I will leave you with a few pictures of new products I am (slowly) adding to the shop!



Wordless(ish) Wednesday!

Apparently, I blinked. My little red headed lover baby, has turned into a way-too-busy-for-my-own-good little boy.

I dont know how it happened! Maybe at the same time my B finished his first year of preschool! I just dont know where the time goes.

Relaxing in his big boy chair!

I'm Linking up Over *Here* with The Paper Mama!

Awesome & Awkward Thrusday

So, I saved my awesomeness just for today, then couldn't find a link up... Oh well, you'll all get a good laugh out of this.

See, I am slightly addicted to Just Lovely Things. (aren't we all??) So when Heather announced that she was opening up the Love Club, I was ecstatic. (duh) Tuesday morning rolls around (which is also preschool day) and I give the kids breakfast a tad early, so that I can make sure I get in. I'm waiting and waiting, and Bo decides he is done eating. I get him out of the high chair and go back to the computer to wait. He comes and sits on my lap, which is totally normal. ITS TIME! I get all signed up after being slightly spastic with the form. Whew, I am in like flinn.... Then I go to get up from the computer...

BAM!

Seeping diarrhea on my leg. This means that little man had a blow out, and now I have to chase him around the house so it doesn't get anywhere else.

Yes, I got diarrhea on my leg, while waiting so impatiently to get a spot in the Love Club. That right there, is some true love. (Not only for my J.L.T's but for Bo too!)

I know there are tons more awkward things that happened this week, (since they tend to outweigh the awesome) but I cant remember, and I certainly don't have pictures of them!

Whats your addiction? What about your awkwardness for the week??

Wordless(ish) Wednesday

Yesterday, while B was at school, I put together a new water table for the kiddos to play with. Bo and I went to Toys R Us last Friday, and used up the last of our Christmas gift cards. With the weather hitting in the 90's here, I figured the water table was a good buy. I like that its small, (our backyard is a glorified piece of grass) but still fun for the kiddos. I also couldn't resist these little lawn chairs. They are so cute, and even have cup holders!!

They weren't really playing too nicely together. Bo would throw the little squirty balls out, and B would have to go find them. Apparently he wasn't up for hide and seek!

Then Bo thought it would be awesome to dump tea cups full of water on B. This B could handle. He just laughed it off, and said "Oh, Boden!" LoL! My littles are so funny!

What have you been doing to keep the little ones cool?? I would love some more ideas for kids in a small backyard, if you have any, pass them on this way!!!

I'm linking up over *here* with The Paper Mama!

Manicure Day!

Its not very often that I paint my nails. I will paint them, and then they will chip off, and peel, and look yucky. Last night, after looking through all of the pretty Mani Monday photos, I thought I would paint my nails. I found this awesome bright orange color. Then I pulled out my cute white nail design pen. It looks so much better on my toes! LOL. But, I like it, and it makes me feel summery!

 

After I spent all that time doing my nails all nice and pretty last night, I decided today, to put the kiddos water table together. Little did I know I actually had to screw things in. So in my nice new manicure, there are already chips!!

Does anyone else feel like top coat makes their nails chip sooner? I need like a super glue to hold the polish on, but without fail, top coat, and glitter overcoat, my nails chip within a day or two.



I know its kind of hard to see my little pigs, but they are pretty, and I am happy to wear sandals now! (If only I could tan my pale white legs!!!)

I'm linking up with Just.Lovely.Things

Tea Time!

So, my girl *Nay* does a cute little coffee post every Friday! She always has some fun little insight, or motivation, and its just fun to read. It got me thinking though, if i could sit down with 4 of my favorite bloggers, who would they be.

This is where it all gets tricky. I am a total blog stalker, and I love them all for totally different reasons. I need that little motivational boost, I go to Ashley with The Shine Project. That woman is the picture of inspiration, and achieving your goals. If I need to get my craft on, and am looking for a starting point, I head over to Craft Gossip. I love all of the projects, and it helps so much with ideas. But with being in love with so many blogs, I have 4 trusty blogs I read without fail, and these are the women I would love to sit down to tea with!

:Diana:

She is my go to girl for all things green. I love how goal oriented she is, and I love that she shares it all with her readers. She is a huge giver-backer! (Made up words, fist pump!) She is just such a world conscious woman, and that is inspiring. I would love to sit down with her, and make a plan to "Green up" the world. (Trust me, if anyone could do it, shes the one!)

{Heather}

She makes me pretty. Yes, you heard me right! If you see me with some smokin' hot hair, its all her and her lovelies! But more than just making me pretty hair accessories (Like how I focus it all on me, like she does this just for me? :) ) she runs a blog, that she uses to share all of the business woman she is. I know that when I am in a little blah time with this crazy handmade world, I can go to her blog, read her stuff, jot down some notes, and tah dah. I'm winning. (No seriously, I have thought about printing out all of her business posts and making myself a little book.) If I could just jump inside of her head for an hour, Id be happy!

*Pidg*(errr or Andi)
This crazy busy mama of 6 (yeah, and i think 2 is bad!!!) is the funniest blogger friend ever. Anytime I see that she puts up a post, I brace myself, and make sure the house is empty. Empty house??? Why? Ill tell you why, because I am guaranteed to laugh until a) I wet my pants, or b) I am crying. Literally big alligator tears! I just want to sit down at her dinner table, with her family and play the Who's Hair game.


~Beth~
Her blog is my current obsession! I feel like she totally gets it. More than once, she has gotten into my brain, and posted exactly what I laid in bed the night before thinking of. I love how honest she is. She is a down to earth mama, who feels my pain about the highs and lows of being a SAHM. She is working her way through raising her babies, and just opened an etsy shop. Sometimes I swear she is my twin soul. :)


There are so many amazing bloggers out there, and many many more that I haven't yet found. I love this adventure of blogging. Being a small fish in a blog world can be over whelming, but these 4 ladies, whether they know it or not, make it fun. And totally bearable. :) Now if I could just get these loves together in one place for tea...

Being a SAHM

Lordy, Lordy, Lordy.

This is a topic that gives me so many mixed emotions. On any given day, my opinion of it can change. (and it frequently fluctuates.) Its a love-hate relationship, this being a Stay At Home Mom thing. But in the very end, when my kids are both in school full time, and when the day comes that I finally get myself an "out of home" job, I know I will miss this.

All too often, people assume that just because I am a SAHM that:

A) I must get bored

B) My husband must make great money

and

C) I have always got to be available to hang out, since I don't have a "real" job and all.

Oh people. GIVE ME A BREAK!!! There are days, that I would kill to go out, and find a job. Just so that I could leave, and talk to real adults for more than 10 minutes. However, I know that right now in my kiddos lives, they need their mama. I get to teach them, nurture them, guide them, play with them, and parent them all day long. (The way I want them to be raised) I know that my little monkeys will have a core set of values and morals that I have instilled in them, and that is priceless.

So here are some of the myths busted wide open for all those who make assumptions of us SAHMS!

My job is anything but clean. In fact, I spend most of my day, yes... alll day long, cleaning up after these 2 little boys. They are messy with their food, toys, clothes, and anything else they can get their grubby little paws on!

They eat crayons, spill drinks, dump out every toy bin, pull every book off the shelf, and bring rocks and sticks and other "boy" objects in from the yard. It is a constant job keeping up with those little ones.

I am most certainly a short order cook. All day, everyday. Both of these boys have HUGE appetites. Growing boys are constantly eating, so I am constantly trying to create new things to eat. They do get tired of grilled cheese and apples!

My husband must make "the big bucks" for me to be able to stay home right? Wrong again. My husband has a good, steady job. It pays the bills, but that's it. We rarely go out to eat, and when we do, its most likely from a gift card one of us received for Christmas! (Gift cards are like gold in our house!) My husband drives a pos. (I say that most lovingly!) A cute little 2 wheel drive Toyota pick up. Oh, did I mention its older than both of us! ;) I have a cute little car, that has a very low payment. It works. Is it my dream car?? Hardly. But it fits my kiddos in it, it has a decent trunk, and it drives with no problems. (Winning!) We sacrifice cable TV, and we just go the Internet at our home 6 months ago. There are not very many luxuries around this neck of the woods!
Oh, you want me to take my kids and go to the mall for the day? Why Cant I, you ask? I guess you don't know, but 10:30 is nap time. Do you want to see one very upset little red head? You know those kids that you don't like in the restaurant, or in the stores that are screaming and should have just been left at home? Yup, those are my kids, if you (after hours of persuading) get me to come out in public. Then I start to sweat, curse myself, (and you) for talking me into this, since it is horribly embarrassing. Those screaming kids SHOULD be left at home, and guess what, I have to stay there with them, since they cant quite watch themselves. Yet. However, you will get angry with me, since I "stay home all day" but can never seem to make time for you. News flash, I don't have time for myself. EVER. Shower in peace and quiet? Oh yeah, I do that... at midnight, when I am run ragged, but have to get the food out of my hair. I cant even pee alone. So, you assume that I can just leave the house whenever I want?? Guess what? Most often, Id rather stay home.

Now, all of this sounds so "negative Nancy".  The truth is, its hard. Trying. Maddening. And I wouldn't trade a single day of it. Those just woke up snuggles, reading books together, watching the boys play nicely with one another (even for just a few minutes) teaching my babies manners, responsibilities, and rules. All of those crazy days at home, every sacrifice we make, every gray hair that pops into my frazzled little head is worth these years of staying home with my kids.

Wordless Wednesday (not so wordless today!)

Yesterday was my last day of brining snack and helping out in B's classroom. He is almost done for the year. I can't believe my little boy has one year of preschool almost under his belt! Time is flying past me, and these two cute little monsters are growing up faster than I would like!

Juiced!

I have been hearing a ton of people talk about juicing. To be completely honest, half of the ingredients that get mixed together kinda gross me out. BUT, I gave it a try anyways.

I went to the grocery store and picked up a bunch of produce. Then searched recipes. (Backwards, yes?)

 
I chopped myself up a green apple, a little bit of broccoli, 1 1/2 Kale leaves, a handful of spinach, a kiwi and a banana. I really had no idea what it was going to taste like. I figured I like Odwallas Superfood, so how bad can it be right?

My cute handy dandy juicer. (Dont mind that I got it 2 years ago for Christmas, and have only used it twice!)

So, I had the juice, and it was soooo yummy! It didnt make a whole lot, so I am thinking I need to put more things in. I feel like this is going to be a lot of trial and error on my part.

When I was cleaning out the juicer, this is what I found. A lot of the veggies were just shredded up in the catch basin. I dont know if that is normal or not, since im not a pro juicer and all, but it felt like a waste to me.



If any of you beautiful readers are juicers, I would loooove any tips and tricks that you might have for me. I want to make this a regular habit, but I want to know that I am being the most efficient with my produce as possible. Oh yeah, and any yummy, non veggie tasting recipes you might have, send them my way!

Annoyed Wordless Wednesday!

Dear Careless Dog Walker,
I would like to let you know, that having your clearly rather large dog, POOP on my sidewalk right in front of my house is extremely RUDE!
If you really are too lazy to pick up after your dog, than you should know that there are 2 vacant lots right across the street from my house. Would it be too much for you to take 3 steps to the other side of the road, and have your dog poop in the grass??
Thank you very much,
Your usually friendly, but pissed off neighborhood blogger!

I am linking up over here!

Birthday Boy!

Last Wednesday Hubs turned 27! We usually go out to dinner with both of our families, and call it good. But this year, I wanted to do something a little different. You see, Hubs feels like he never gets surprised. (and he's been complaining about being old!)

I was chatting with his sister on the phone, and she had brought up a concert in Reno, that would have been fun for all 4 of us to go to. It didn't mesh well with BILS (Brother in Law) schedule, so we nixed it. Then I had my Ahhh ahhhh ahhh ahhh moment. (I hope you all sang that as you read it,because I sang it as I typed it! LOL!)

I would surprise Hubs, and take him down to Grass Valley to spend 2 nights with his sister. I asked MIL to watch the boys, and I packed up a bag for the two of us. When he got home, Brax was very excited to give him his gift. In fact, he ran straight up to him, with the bag open, and yelled, "DAD, HERES YOUR NEW PLAYSTATION GAME!" I kinda feel like the surprise got ruined! LOL!

Then, I told him I had a little surprise I wanted to do with him before dinner. We hopped in the car, and got on the freeway. Naturally he assumed we were going to a) The Mall or b) Best Buy. This is where I got realllly lucky, He fell asleep. We were about 20 minutes from the California border when he woke up. He was so confused. He asked his questions, and finally, he guessed!

So, here are the pictures from our little day and a half getaway down south!

Rainy view of Lake Shasta!

View from Sis's porch! You would never know she is only 40 (ish) minutes from Roseville!





The boys playing some "shoot 'em up" at Dave and Busters!

The cute old Theater in Grass Valley

This street is lovingly named "the Orchard Ghetto". It could be the worst road I have ever traveled on. Its like CalTrans forgot it exists!

Cant go down south without stopping!!

Because everyone wants to see my burger!

Yes, I am that girl. Toe prints on the windshield!

It was such a fun little trip, but by the time we got home, we were ready to be with the kiddos again. :)

My Fawn And Flora!

I have a HUGE love for *Fawn & Flora*. So when I saw these cute little wooden push pins, I bought them. (I had no purpose for them at the time!) Then, I got a bunch of vintage buttons from my Great Grandma. As I was going through them, and cleaning them up and IT HIT ME! I am going to glue the buttons on, and tah dah! Cute push pins!

Here are my push pins! Order Them *Here*

 My Mix of Vintage Buttons and some pretty colorful ones from Joanns!

 My Handy-Dandy Glue Gun!

All I did at this point, was put a little bit of glue on the head of the push pin, and put the button on. Once the glue dried, if there was an that poked through the button holes, I picked it off with my fingernail! (Technical right??)

Here are my pretty push pins! I am going to use them for my inspiration board, once my craft room is finished! I cant wait to use them!!

Its spring, and I am going to start fixing things up around this place, and making pretty decorations! Stay tuned for some fun tutorials!!

I am linking up over here with Nichelle!