:: a new blog i love ::

Hi everyone! Once again I am behind in blog world but I will try to get some good stuff on here and pictures to! Wanted to throw out a blog I love that I stole from Pioneer Woman's website. Enjoy!

http://theletteredcottage.net/

Until I blog again!

:: balance ::

Balance. That is my new word for October. I feel like everyday I have changes in my life and I have to find the balance through the change and find a happiness through that change. Not fun, not easy. Everyday we get a call from Larry which is awesome but it always changes he is coming home he isn't, he has to stay 3 more weeks which would make it 1 and 1/2 months he would be gone, and then the next day he is coming home in a week. Seriously, it makes me crazy. I just want him home and I want balance in our lives for a week or more before he has to go back. The last change was he is coming home! Yeah! But I wish it was tomorrow cause I am ready to have balance in my life and have my family of four back and my man back. But I am going to San Fransico this weekend so when I leave he will (hopefully) be coming home!

One of the defintions for balance is harmony. Wow, love that. I try to make harmony in my life when it is just me and the kids but I will be honest I am not good at it. I need to be better my set back is I don't want it to be just me and the kids I want Larry here with us but I got to just make it balanced and harmonic when he is here or not.

My challenge of this month with the rain, halloween activities, Preschool, work, life, vacation, and having Larry home is to find a balance through it all. :)

:: the kitties ::

After I took Misha's tired dog pics I went in search of the cats. Here are update pictures of the cats. I feel bad I don't take their picture much they usually are sleeping away the day.

Kramer
Lucy, she is my fav I had her before I married Larry and she is the oldest of the animals. She is queen cat in my book. :) Hi Lucy! Sorry about the floor I am pretty sure I vaccumed before I took these pictures :)
There you go the kitties. Not kittens anymore. Lucy is 10 and Kramer is 8 the way I remember is I got Lucy 1 year before I got married and we got Kramer 1 year after we were married. Pretty cool way to remember, huh!?

:: Hunter is a Preschooler! ::

I am so behind in posting these pictures but my big boy is a Preschooler! I still can't believe he is in school! I should have put him in last year but under the circumstances didn't. But I think he is more ready this year then he would have been last year. He has a buddy named Logan that he sees 1 day a week at daycare that is in his class so he is thrilled! I took the morning off so Grace and I could take him to school! Here he is for his first day of school picture and sorry I took them with my cell phone. My bad!

He had to get a picture with his bunny cause when he is nervous or unsure of something bunny is there. So bunny went in the car to school but stayed in his carseat.Once he was at school he was SO excited! We got there when Logan did and Logan is on the left of him in this picture. I think these other boys are going to be some friends of his too! He is all smiles! Here he is once he got in his class he was all done with me and Grace he didn't even notice we were gone. He put his name stick in a pouch and told me mama I did it can I go into school and I said yes and he was gone into Preschool heaven. I just let him go in and do his thing I didn't go in and make sure he was ok and Grace and I went to Starbucks together to have some breakfast and then she went to daycare. Hunter and I had went the Friday before for the meet and greet at his Preschool which was nice cause we got to check everything out before the big day! It was so weird to be alone for the next hour and a half cause I knew my buddy was in the teacher's hands and I had no control of him and he wasn't with family. I was just hoping he was listening and obeying and going to the bathroom right just stressing over the little stuff. I know one of his teacher's cause she is a patient and I know some of his fellow students cause they are patients too! But still that first day was nerve racking! When I went to pick him up he was so excited to see me and I was so excited to see how his first big day was! I can't believe how much he has grown and that he is officially in school!

:: fish tank project almost complete ::

Before picture!After picture!

Here is my updated picture of the fish tank wall project like I promised! I am doing pretty good at blogging and taking pictures! So I need a plant for my white vase I got at Ikea super cheap and I wanted color but they were to much so white it is. I have to figure out what to put on top of the new cube shelving unit. Grace has taken so many books out of the top shelf so I am very glad that I didn't get bins for the top and decided to put books in them. The bins have all of the kids stuffed animals and I need to go through them and send some to Goodwill we have way to many that are baby kind and don't get touched. But for the moment I just put them in there for time. Then I moved the fish tank myself over just a bit to make it somewhat aligned. I also am thinking of getting a canvas print to put above the fish tank to fill it all up. There you have it weekend project is coming together! :)

:: misha's new look ::

The last time we went to the beach I saw a dog that looked just like Misha but with no long fur and the dog was very cute! I asked the owners if their dog had long hair like mine and they said yes and that the fur would grow back. I was so on a mission to get Misha trimmed! She had been scratching off tuffs of her fur for almost a month and it wasn't fleas she just had to shed her fur for the season and it just had to land on my carpet daily! I couldn't find a place locally that would take her cause she had bad experiences in the past with getting shampooed and washed and I know that she needs to be muzzeled. I finally found out the Wilco in Canby was fine with muzzeling her and shaving her. I was so nervous about doing this it would be the shortest haircut ever and I hope she was ok with it! I took her in and Grace and my mom picked her up and when I saw Misha I was shocked she was shaved to almost her skin, but I knew she needed it. Then after a few minutes I warmed up to it and then I felt so bad that I did it to her but it took me a day to realize she was so much happy and she actually did look pretty cute. Now I think it has been over a month and I love, love, love her new cut! I will probably not have her grow her fur out long like it was before anymore she really likes to be scratched and petted and seems so much more happier. Before you could just scratch her through her long locks now you can rub her and scratch her. Here are pictures I took of her the other day she was so tired and just looked to cute!

If you look to the right you can see her before picture and then see her now!

I totally get the vibe that she doesn't want her picture taken...

Why are you on the floor, mom?

This is her saying thank you for my new look now let me sleep or rub my belly!

:: my fridge ::

Life has been challenging for me lately with Hunter starting Preschool, keeping up with the house, working full time, being a mom, and doing all this with Larry gone. This time he will be gone a month or longer not sure when he comes home maybe in a couple of weeks but that might change. So I needed help and my fridge is my helper. Who knew, right? It helps me with Hunter's Preschool stuff the purple calendar has all the stuff that I need to remember for that month. Then I have my dry eraser board that tells me what I am going to cook for dinner cause when I get home I just don't want to try to figure out what to make and the energy starts draining out of me by this time. Then something new that I started today is the kids star chore chart! They have been difficult lately trying to get them to take their vitamins, take a bath and cleaning up after themselves so now they will get rewarded when they do. Hunter also needs to take allergy meds and he was so not wanting to until I made him get a star each time so life will be better regarding this and no meltdown! This will also help me with getting things done around the house and helping them learn daily duties and keeping themselves clean and feeding the animals. Their chores! They love that they get a star! I know Grace is probably too young for this but she wants to be and do things like her brother so she gets one to! Hunter is in charge of feeding the cats and Grace is in charge of feeding Misha.
They will get rewards for completing the week of chores based on what they are into at that time. I think my fridge is going to be a life saver and it all starts today! Yeah for organization and ways to make life easier. :)

:: projects ::

The before picture of the fish tank wall project!
I have done a ton of house projects since my last post about updating the house and have taken so many before and after pictures of all my projects but it has been with my phone! So I will try to get caught up and blog about my past projects but here is a project I am doing this weekend.

It is the fish tank wall project...

It involves buying a new storage shelf for Grace and Hunter's stuffed animals on the left side of the fish tank. Mostly Grace's cause she loves her stuffed animals! And I am putting their books in it so they can grab them and read them on the floor, the table, or the couch and ottoman. Will see if that happens I think it will. So I just bought the shelving storage piece today at Ikea and I will attempt tomorrow to put it together. Cross my fingers it works. Then I am getting a plant to put in a planter on the right side of the fish tank that hopefully my cats don't eat. I got a vase at Ikea that hopefully will not scrape the hardwood floors. I found the perfect plant to put in it that isn't too high and will be lower then the picture frame on the wall but Grace wasn't tall enough to go in the playland at Ikea so she went shopping with me and didn't like the plant I loved cause she said it was to tall and had a fit when I tried to put it in the cart. Go figure! I was so excited to go to Ikea for the first time and put both kids in the playland cause Grace had to be potty trained in order to go so we were all excited cause she is and has been dry for weeks, but I forgot about the height rule and she was just 1/2 inch shy of it and they wouldn't let her go in. Bummer. Maybe next time. So I don't have a plant but I have a planter vase, yet!

Tomorrow will see how I do in construction world and I hope to have an after picture for you all!

:: my trip to Canada ::

In August, I went to Calgary and visited Larry there for the first time. It was only me and the kids stayed home with the grandparents. I was gone for a weekend. I had a great time and it was nice just to be with Larry all by myself and see where he has been and what he does while he is away from us. I missed the kids alot, but it was nice to sleep in and to be an adult for 3 whole days and not have to cook, clean, or put kids down for a nap. It was a weekend of bliss, but to meet the kids at the airport to pick me up was priceless. Here are some pictures Larry took. We did so much in Calgary and I left my camera at the hotel and so we used our cell phones. We went the Rockies and stopped in a town had some food and beer and watched a bike race then headed to Banff where I went on a gandola for the first time, we hiked in Banff, touched cold water by a waterfall, drove to Lake Louise had some food and beers and hung out with Larry around Lake Lousie hotel and got to have some us time in a place that I needed to not be afraid of anymore. I am glad I went and could so visit again this time when it snows and with the kiddos, but I still don't like flying but I could do it now. The kids want to get their passports so they can see their Papa and Grace wants a pink passport so not sure how that will work out for her but we will see.

Canada is a beautiful place and the Rockies are breath taking. I could spend a whole weekend just exploring all the wonders of them and flying over them at night and during the day is awesome too! They just keep going and going of amazing mountains some with snow so without. It was a great vacation and an enjoyable time with Larry and to actually get away and see somewhere I have never been before and to travel by myself and use my passport for the first time was very rewarding. :)

:: pictures, finally! ::

I have so much catching up to do it is CRAZY! So here are just a couple of pics from this Summer. I had a week of vacation since I have to take it the same time as the doctor I work for and so I filled it up with fun things with the kids and Larry was home for the week and took it off too! Here are just a couple pictures from Yurting at Champoeg! We have been back to the Yurt since and we have alot of fun and bike and just camp for a night and if something goes wrong or a kiddo is to grumpy we can just pack back up and go home, which we have not done yet!
Grace hanging out with her glow sticks that Larry got the kids in front of the yurt.

Hunter playing on the "family" Iphone hanging out on the entrance to the yurt. He looks like Larry so much in this picture! I love that he is in sweats and barefooted just hanging out in the fresh air! :)
These pictures are from August and I really need to post more but it is late so I better jet. More to come, promise! :)

gonna catch up soon!

Wow, seriously it has been a long time since I have blogged, taken pictures with my camera not my phone, and downloaded my pictures. I am gonna try to catch up soon! Got projects to finish then I am going to TRY to make blogging a better priority cause alot going on with dude in Preschool now and Grace being potty trained I got tell you guys all about it! So let me get back to you all SOON! :)

...first I got to fold laundry, put away laundry, put my coupons away, finish studying for my continued education stuff, watch 2 Netflix movies, clean my house, play with kids and then I will blog :)

my new favorite's for this year

1. My Keurig! I have had it for 2 weeks or so and love, love, love it! I got it for Larry for Father's day but he knew it was really for us and really for me since he isn't home all the time with him working in Canada. It has saved me big time in going to Starbucks. I still go once a week just for a treat :)

2. Groupon and Living Social! I have been using these for date nights, date stuff, or for special treats for me, the kids, or Larry. Larry and I are going kayaking our vacation week thanks to a Groupon :)

3. Amazon! Love Amazon cause I love getting packages at my door and I love that I don't have to drag the kids to the store.

4. Hopscout! http://www.hopscout.com/ Love this website! It is a website of toys or baby items that they send you a daily email about a new toy and there is NO shipping if you order anything! Jessica Biel started it and I have a friend from highschool, Jamie, who was just hired by them to rate toys and she is a stay at home mom!

5. SOS! http://www.sixoclockscramble/ It is called Six O'clock scramble. It is a menu planner website that you have to pay for for 3 months at a time they will send you an email every Wednesday with a weeks worth of dinner's and a grocery list with it so you can try new fresh ideas and not have to think of what to make for dinner.

I think that is about all I can think of at the moment. So much has happened since my last blog I just have been lazy! We got a new couch and I will have to post some pics of before and after on my blog.

Kids are doing great. They challenge me everyday but I think that we are getting better with each other and going through terrible two's and four's but I am ready for a vacation, soon! :)

a new leaf

I changed my blog picture to leaves going on a new leaf is what I am calling it. Alot has been going on and I still haven't been taking pictures with my camera but alot with my phone. I got a new phone last month cause I dropped my old one and shattered the front of it and it was time for new phones anyways. I am still plugging away doing the same thing taking care of the kids, me, animals, and the house while Larry is away working in Canada and I think it is finally getting to me, honestly. But nothing I can do but just be thankful we both have jobs and keep plugging away here. The kids have been grumpy lately and trying me alot so I am trying to be strong and the disciplinarian but it isn't fun but I gotta do it. Hunter is getting so big and he is as high as the middle of my rib cage and keeps me on my toes. Grace talks me ear off and wants snacks all the time. Love them both but I crash when I go to bed let me tell you! Larry and I are doing good. Going to marriage counseling learning new stuff getting through the hard stuff but we are plugging away. We bought a couch for the living room and had fun going and looking at them and communicating in a way I don't think we have before so it was fun and a good learning experience for us. Now we both can't wait for it to get here! It is too big for our living room but since our living room looks like a bowling alley it will divide the living space into two different spaces. Super excited for it to come and we paid for it in cash which was even better. Got Larry on board with buying stuff when we can afford it and not putting it on cards like we used to. We are learning together! Yeah! My next post I will try to post pictures of my crazy whompers so you can see how much the have grown! But for now you can enjoy my new leaf...my new leaf look :)

paying off debt isn't fun...

but in the long run it is totally worth it! I have myself on the $200 to $20 bucks plan. Aka the 200/20 plan. I am on week 3 of this plan and it seems to be working but I still don't like it but I am trying not to complain cause it is totally worth it. I am on my last "big" credit debt that I am trying to get rid of then I just owe one more thing to someone and then all I have is student loans and then I am good. I am not going to stress about the student loans though. So my plan consist of paying off $200 dollars a week on my last big debt until it is paid off and allowing myself $20 cash each week to spend on me for coffee and lunches or whatever comes my way for me or if I have to my kiddos. Yep, every week I am going to do this. Doesn't sound like much but it totally is. That is $800 toward debt a month for a 4 week month and $1000 for a 5 week month and that isn't money I can spend it is money I have to give to the debt I have made. Total sacrifice but worth it in the end I keep telling myself. I so want so much right now for me and the house but I know and have learned that getting out of debt is more important than my wants right now. If I look at what I have done a year ago today I have paid off 3 big debts that were over $5,000 and bought furniture for my bedroom with cash or gift cards, kids room is totally redone and paid for by cash, pantry room redone and stocking up on food with coupons. I would say that I can keep at my new goal and realize I am alot better now than I was a year ago :) My next venture is a new couch and recycliner for the living room. Gonna save and budget for that but super excited to get something the kids and Larry and I can lounge on and veg on and enjoy and know that it is something I picked out and not a hand me down I have had for 10 years that the kids have pucked on and the cats have ruined. Gonna be cool let me tell you when I figure out which ones to get :) So there you go my 200/20 plan. It will take me tell Christmas to finish my goal but well worth it. My kids and me will just have to wait for new toys and new fun stuff until I get out of debt but that is less than a year away :)

pantry pics

Very embarrased to show these before pics but here goes! And remember this is where I would put everything at when I didn't want to go to the shed. The black shelving was holding my extra food and stuff. Very, very messy and not organized. So not me. But I did clean up and make room every once an awhile but not like I did this weekend.

The before pantry The new and improved and organized pantry! Yeah!
There you go! Tonight I cleaned out my laundry room had alot of what was in the first picture in the laundry room. Now I still have alot of it in my bedroom and carport and I hope to tackle it each night and finish it up and make my house all pretty again. But more organized and workable. Goodwill is going to love me this week!