Our First Home!

It’s official! We are homeowners! We signed our final papers this morning and got the keys! We are so excited and of course a little nervous! As much as it may appear we jump into things, marriage, babies, home buying, etc… we actually spend a lot of time thinking and talking to be sure we are really prepared to take the leap. I look back over the last 2 years and can’t believe how far we have come. It’s truly crazy but that is another post!

I can’t wait to move and decorate and make this house our home! We have been so lucky to live next door to our Aunt and rent her house…I will say there is some comfort knowing if anything REALLY breaks bad she will fix it. Now, it’s just us! We also don’t have the comfort of having family so near by. Once we knew we would be moving we really didn’t decorate or “nest” so it’s almost felt like we were just camping out. Kind of like when you are young and move every 6 months…or was that just me? Anyways…this we can make our own!! Woo Hoo…now if only everything would move and unpack itself!

Driving down our new road

Home sweet Home!

My loves in the living room

Sawyer in his "for now" pink room...hoping to change that pretty soon.

Karly in her "for now" green room...she has no idea what she REALLY wants to do with it!

Wings Ballet

Dance is back in full swing. Karly decided to drop cheer this year. Last year was her first year and she wasn’t crazy about it. She is the smallest so of course she was the flier and terrified of being dropped. Every week was a battle to get her there, so on one hand it’s a relief…on the other I worry she will really regret dropping it later.

In moving up a level in ballet Karly now has it twice a week. So every Tuesday and Thursday we have to hope Chris is off or I have to leave work at 3 which I am sure my boss will get sick of. I really wish extracurricular activities made things more doable for working parents. ANYWAYS…I am in the process of hopefully finding some after school care for Karly and that they can drive!

Here is the first dance picture of the year! At this level the older girls mentor the younger ones. Karly’s “big sister” is Maggie, dark haired girl smack dab in the middle of the top row. Karly thinks she is pretty awesome. She seems like a pretty good young lady…she is in high school and planning to be a missionary so much better than a little party animal. Karly says that ballet is much more difficult and strict this year. Her best little pal from last year, Johanna (sitting next to her) was also moved up so at least she has a buddy…they even have the same birthday. Karly asked for a ballet bar to be put up in her new room so I guess she still loves it! Love that she loves to dance!

Had To Share This

I just had to share this! First of all...I love anything that is for a good cause (which it is). Secondly...I love sandals! I blame this on my inner Arizona girl. We are going on our 7th straight day of rain and I am still sporting flip flops...its a sickness I swear :) Anyways onto more important sharing than talk of my sausage toes.

I will admit I am not the most fashionable gal and tend to lean towards comfort, and well...whatever can fit my chub these days. So forgive me if these aren't mainstream cute but I love them! The best part is the ties are interchangeable! Well the best part is probably that in buying the shoes you are helping put young Ugandan women through college.

Summer is almost over for most parts of the US but my AZ peeps still have a few months and we do here too!

Now...how to sneak order them without my bank account stalker noticing...hmmm????

Now go read their story, see their pictures and order yours!!! Sseko Designs

You can check out the blog here.

New Casa!

Soooo if you haven't heard yet we are moving! Yes ma'am you read that correctly! We had wanted to buy about a year ago but had to get some things cleared up and build up on my credit and hope the market slowly came back. We also wanted to wait for our little man to be born a healthy boy and get him paid off :) yes babies cost a lot of dollars to have! Well, we fixed what needed to be fixed, banks slowly are starting to loan again and the starts and planets aligned! Woo Hoo!

Anyways after looking at about a million houses we found "the one". My biggest complaint is that it is farther from work than I would like. We are spoiled with a quick commute right now. I adore the neighborhood so it seemed like an ok trade for me. I also wanted 4 bedrooms but settled on a huge laundry room...where my sewing and I have been banished to and a pool! I can't wait until we close and have keys in hand! It is right around 2000 sq feet which isn't a lot to some of you but is huge compared to what we are doing now. Also...a dishwasher! Hallelujah no more hand washing! Who does Chris think I am Cinderella?!?!

I am stoked to slowly make this house our own a room at a time! Here are some pics!

Ready for your virtual tour?

Welcome to the front door/entry way

The entry walks you right into the living and dining area...also pretty much the kitchen. They are all kind of hooked up together and open.

Living

DiningKitchen; not crazy about the cupboards--have short and long term plans for them :)

Dining/Kitchen/Living

We will take a little walk to the right down the hall...bathroom #1; not crazy about the lovely counter tile...lucky for us we have a wonderful uncle who does granite work ;) not a must be done now project though

Back down the hall...bedroom #1 (Karly's not because its green and she enjoys making me paint but because its bigger and she wants the bigger...too bad Sawyer can't talk yet) I am secretly hoping she will like the pink one better which eliminates the painting all around.

Bedroom #2 - Sawyers room

Another of bedroom #2and the MasterMaster bath...the best part...2 separate closets and separate sinks and counters! Yes, all of the bedrooms are on the same side of the house...most people hate that and wont even consider a house that isn't a split floor plan. I am psycho and terrified that someone will steal my kids out of their window so I prefer to be close by...so this is perfect for me!

Ok, now turn around and go back down the hall and through the kitchen...

enter the mudroom. I am not sure what they call these rooms here in TX but I don't think its mudroom because when I say it people don't seem to know what I am talking about. Either way it is a little room off the back door. Has some space and storage and you can see the 1/2 bath...perfect for wet bodies that have to pee :) If you walk through the bath the laundry room is there. Not sure why I didn't attach a picture of that. Maybe because laundry rooms aren't very exciting? Should be interesting attempting to fit all my crafty goodness in it.

Go out that lovely white back door to the backyard. I LOVE the backyard! I think it pretty much sealed the house for us! Obviously there is a pool, but there is also a great shop, raised garden bed, brick fire pit, and lots of great grass to run in!I hope you enjoyed your virtual tour :) Can't wait to post pics as we get moved in!

PS my biggest advice to youth...baby your credit! Trust me once you have a few dings it takes a decade to fix it! Then when you get married you get to listen to your spouse bitch about your irresponsibility at 20 :)

Galveston, TX

The weekend of September 6 we (the kids and I) headed down to Katy, TX. Cousin Laura was having a birthday party for her daughter Neely's 4th birthday! We headed down Friday afternoon so we could make a little mini vaca of it. As usual Chris had to work and missed out :(

Friday night we were exhausted...made it to the hotel and crashed! Saturday morning we got up and headed to Galveston to play at the beach! I packed up my book and crochet stuff..ha ha yeah right what was I thinking?!?! Karly had fun for about 2 hours and then needed a friend. Apparently 3 month old babies aren't much fun when you want someone to swim with. Traveling alone with 2 children was quite stressful. I need a wagon to tote all of our crap around! Overall it was a busy moderately stressful but wonderful weekend. There is something about the ocean that makes you r-e-l-a-x. Here are some pictures and video clips from the hotel and beach trip.

Karly & Sawyer chatting in the hotel room

take a Dramamine before watching this one...Karly's cinematography skills are still in the making :) yes I am wearing Karly's peace sign rhinestone Justice sunglasses...must buy sunglasses asap! Sawyers first feet in the ocean!

Hi from Texas!

My little fish

I will post the pics in a separate post...they always screw everything up and piss me smooth off :) Hope you enjoyed!

Random Hotel & Beach Pictures

Honest Scrap Blog Award!!

I start my morning like most others....coffee, work stuff then sneak in a few minutes of blog reading while I feed Sawyer. Kylee is always posting something for my entertainment...ok not just mine. Either way she always has lots of great pics and usually a heartfelt post so I love to read her. This morning I head over and see that she has given me an award!

Thanks Kylee!

So for those of you non all the time bloggers you may not know the whole blog award deal. Honestly I have never really done it and this is only the second time I have been given one. The first time was from Allison at Finding Inspiration in Food...go check her out...tasty tasty stuff....anyways... I really didn't know what to do with it so I did nothing (sorry!) Now that my chance has come again I wanted to be sure I did it and sent out a big thanks!

Kylee blog parent to The Life of a Proud Young Mommy gave me this award! Love it and Thank You Thank You Thank You! I have met Kylee face to face just a handful of times. She is the daughter of my old boss and a great lady! Susan (her momma) was more than just a boss she really was more of a life mentor. When I was feeling (and being) a train wreck Susan sat me down and talked to me. She is a great woman that probably has no idea how much of an impact she left on me. It is no surprise that her daughter Kylee is so amazing! Some may look at Kylee and say...great another teenage mom. She is a teen mom, but so much more. She blows me away with her maturity, grace and love for life and most importantly her daughter. Being a teen mom I read her blogs (yes plural) and have been brought to tears on more than one occasion. She has handled teen pregnancy, single parenthood, and all the things that life throws her way wonderfully! I truly have more respect for this young woman than I can put into words.

With this award I am supposed to share 10 honest things about myself...seems easy but now that I am thinking of 10 things its harder to think of 10 interesting things that I haven't shared already ;) Sometimes I worry I share too much on here, but find it so healing and wonderful when other people share things that I can relate to. I think as women and mothers we have long been pressured to present this picture perfect un-reality (not sure if its a word but it is now). No one is everything to everyone and can be the perfect wife, parent, daughter, sister and friend all while looking smashing at 7am :)

Now Let the Sharing Begin!

1.
I am super insecure. I truly think if I went to a doctor it would classify as social phobia. If you know me you would never guess it because once I know people I appear confident and borderline annoying with how much I talk :) In reality I constantly feel like people are looking at me and judging me. This is the main cause of me dropping out of college. I would drive to school and have a meltdown in the parking lot and not be able to get out of my car. This is something that has held me back so much in life. As I said it was the main reason I stopped going to school but also effects me daily from being too insecure to go somewhere alone or even ask for help in the local fabric store. I try daily to work on overcoming it. I will probably battle this much of my life.

2.
I LOVE my family more than is probably healthy. Chris and my babies are my entire world. I talk to my mom and sisters just about every day. I worry about the day that they all get too busy to chat with me. I am super sad my kids will not grow up with their cousins :( My sisters and I are tremendously close and I always imagined us living a short drive from each other...not in 3 different states.

3.
I love creating. I dream of creative ideas and crafting...on the regular! Some of my best ideas come to me while I am snoring away...which brings me to #4

4.
I snore! Not a sweet precious little lady snore. I am a full on fat man snore. I never snored until I was in my 20's. My dear husband sleeps with ear plugs in...honestly. I love you Chris!

5.
I am a good friend... if you aren't high maintenance. If you ever need me I will be there for you. I just can't handle constant drama or negative Nelly's. I hate talking on the phone so if I can't facebook, email, IM or something similar with you we probably don't talk much. It isn't that I don't love you or want to talk to you. I just hate talking on the phone.

6.
I love pictures and envy my great photographer friends and family. I wish I were better and hope to spend more time practicing this.

7.
I struggle with people that take advantage of the government when it isn't absolutely necessary. I wish they made it more difficult for people to get assitance. I think if you can afford your fake nails, beer, and cell phone you can afford to feed your kids. No child should go hungry but no parent should expect a free ride. If you can't afford prenatal bills, hospital bill to birth your child, formula, their medical and food you surely can't afford that child...quit having kids. I know there are cases where truly people cannot feed their families and that is a shame. What is even worse is when these people can't get help because the lazy ass down the street expects a handout.

8.
The birth of Sawyer was the single most healing event of my life. It allowed me to feel like a complete and able woman. It brought Chris and I to a completely different level. It gave Karly a sibling. The only thing it did that I wouldn't have imagined was to allow me to see my mom in a completely different way. I always felt like my relationship with my mom was fragile and bruised. Mothering 2 children requires far more energy and effort than I could have imagined. Mothering 3 young ones alone at my age is beyond my comprehension. I used to judge her decisions now I realize she was doing the best she could with what she had to take care of us. This has been a humbling and amazing realization. I love my momma.

9.

I am a terrible terrible procrastinator. It is unhealthy and drives me crazy. I can't stop myself from doing it.10.I am desperate to own my own business. I have always had the dream to do something I am passionate about. I have a good job that treats me extremely well. I just want to do something that fills me with joy and fulfills me every day. Something that I can share my creativity...oh and bring my kids with me if I want.

10.

I am desperate to own my own business. I spend many hours of my life day dreaming how fabulous it will be! I have always had this dream and truly believe it will come true for me. I have a good job that I can't complain about. I want something that feeds my passion and leaves me fulfilled...oh and something I can do and bring my babies. I know exactly what this dream is and hope to make it come true soon.

I hope you all enjoyed my 10 tidbits that you may not have not known about me :)

Now to pass on the award...

1.

Dani at Dani, Kasey, & Ryder- we go WAY back... to see her as a mom now is amazing!! Her son Ryder is adorable!! and always up to something completely 'boy'.

2.

Nicki at A Mermaid and her Mommy- probably the most involved parent I know...wish I could be more like that...then I realize I hate playing barbies :) Nicki is the momma we see on tv...feel free to pinch her if you would like ;)

3.

Priscilla at Priscilla Bakes- this young lady is YOUNG!!! I want to say high school aged. Her blog kicks a$$...she has great recipes and tons of sponsorships. She is a young lady of great talent and faith. Looking for something for dinner...cruise on over!

4.

My new Texas friend Brandi at The Procrastinator not only does she juggle her 2 kids but has 4 nieces and nephews full time...did I mention she is my age!?!?!

5.

Anna at A. Banana's Blogs - love reading her blog and checking out the tons of new pics she always post.

6.

Not sure how food blogs play into the whole honesty things but as I mention above Allison from Finding Inspiration in Food is great...tons of great stuff I always swear I am going to try to make...try the sopapilla cheesecake...its to die for!

7.
and last but definitely not least Aly at The Slones this woman has endured and overcome more than most of could ever imagine. She never stops cracking me up with her witty honest posts on motherhood! She has taught me to embrace my imperfections and short comings because lets be honest...none of us are perfect behind closed doors! Not to mention her girls are adorable!

Sawyer Rolled

Thursday September 10 Sawyer rolled over!!

Can you believe it!?!? It is the cutest thing ever...ok, well the cutest thing until he does the next cutest thing. I actually missed it the first time. I put him on his belly and was working...turned back and he was on his back! Soooo needless to say I put him back on his belly and watched him this time! He has only done it a few times since and really doesn't seem to have much interest in it for the time being. I am hoping to get it on video for you soon but to hold you over here is a picture of him looking tough and adorable on his belly!

Karly is home from AZ

So I know this is a little late but that's how I seem to roll on her lately! Sorry!

My little Princess is home from her summer vacation with Nini. It has only been 2 months but she seems so much more grown up. She is getting so beautiful and seems so much more mature every day. I just can't believe how fast it goes. She flew home by herself! She wasn't thrilled, but did really great! She even said she would do it again. She hadn't seen her brother since he was 4 weeks old...he grew quite a bit!

Waiting patiently for sister

My little loves!

Quick August Update

Sawyer is now 12 weeks old. I can't believe how fast it is going. I love watching him get smarter and more aware everyday but at the same time it breaks my heart that he isn't my newborn anymore. Having an almost 11 year old I truly know just how fast it goes. I wish I could keep them both little forever! Sawyer started smiling (with quite a bit of effort) around 7 weeks, now he is really good at it and if you work hard enough he may even give you a little laugh. Love that boys laugh and dimples. He had a doctors appointment at 10 weeks and weighed 13.5 pounds and was 23.5 inches long. Karly is over the moon for him and he loves her too. She will take him in her room and lay with him, talk to him and "play" with him...which ended like this

This is Sawyers work bouncy. He loves it a lot...my coworker likes it less :) He gets so excited!

Mr. KicksALot...love at the end when he starts to cry...cutest pouty bottom lip!

Talking with Daddy