Our Life...

Lately, our life has consisted of a lot of this:

Wiping graphite (aka. marker) off the walls. It probably happens 3-4 times a day...will he ever learn? Patience....

And this kid...putting lots of tooth paste on all his tooth brushes...He does them for all of us in our family...even though he uses them all himself. Notice all the toothpaste all over the counter...nice.

Have a great week!

Scrappin' Weekend

This weekend was a scrapbooking weekend at my extremely creative friend's house. I've shared her blog many times, but in case if you haven't seen it...go here! So for the past few days I didn't scrap a single page! But, I did manage to finish up Jakey's invitations, make a "boys" wall hanging for the boy's room, make two family birthday banners, and trading for some more canvas's I did last month. Here are some pictures:
Jakey's completed birthday invitations...

The colors above are too bright, this picture below is more the actual colors. It was dark and late at night, but I wanted to get these up because I worked so hard! I had to take the pictures down on the wall behind this because you couldn't see the sign...hence the white walls with nails in them:) And the two people falling in love too...


I'm planning on saving the banner and using it for all our birthdays instead of those cheapy ones...I think it's a little cuter!

This is one of Nancy's kits, I had her cut boys instead of love because I needed something for their room. I will get pictures up here soon, I promise! But what a cute idea she had...she's so creative...

Thanks for a fun weekend fellow scrappers...if you want to come and join us next time it's April 23rd-24th, and only $5!!! Let me know! She has lots of great ideas and kits, but is so patient and helpful with teaching newbies...like me!

Which one?

I am almost done with Jakey's invites...I just need to pick up the pictures from Costco. So what I need to know, is which one do you like better? The yellow or blue background?

This is the picture I'm using on it....I don't really have anything fabulous of Jakey lately.

I should have known...

I was getting the boys dressed this morning and picking out their shirts. It was such a nice day, why not short sleeves? I can't resist a little boy in a Nike dry-fit shirt...so picked out two. The same size mind you. I gave the red to Noah, the white to Jakey-boy. I should have known better! I think in my mind I was thinking Noah has some red Nike Shox to match...but still. White? For an almost two year old? Well as you can see, there is some smoothie (although not very much), avacado, strawberries, and I'm really not sure what the rest of it is on his shirt...but there's a lot! I love his little belly in that shirt...it makes me want to squeeze it! Now to see if I can get it all out in the wash...

I really do love my furniture. It's not dream furniture, but it's great for having kids, and it still looks pretty nice and is comfy to snuggle on watching movies with my man. This being said, we do not care for our furniture like we should. But this is Oregon. And it rains. And I want my kids to be active. And burning up some of their tireless energy. So I let them jump. A lot. They climb up on the the arms like so:

Say something like, "To infinity and beyond," and away they go!

I love the one sock on, one sock off here. I took him out like this to Costco without even knowing. In his dirty shirt. Yes, I am a great mom.
We just got the new Toy Story 1&2 bluerays (for a killer deal I might add, thanks to couponing;), so Noah is pressing his buttons and letting out his wings like Buzz. He's a pro.

You're Lucky You're Cute...

***Yes, that is a bruise on his head...they are all over this wild man. I added these pictures from the playground tonight...they are nothing special, but thought I should get some pictures of where this crazy boy is at...

Jakey is driving me crazy these days! He is such a sweet boy, he really is. But last week we got rid of Jakey's binkie...no big deal, right? By the time our kids are two, the controversial binkie is gone. Well he has been going through withdrawals...big time. Or maybe it's me going through the withdrawals. I loved being able to "plug him up" when he got cranky, tired, or put him to bed at night. I know, isn't that the reason binkie's were invented? No? Shoot. Well that's all gone. So now I hear whining all day long.

"Mama, mama, mama..."

Or maybe it's just that he's almost two. He has an opinion about EVERYTHING! And he makes it known. He also does everything that Noah does, good or bad. He says every word, fakes every fall, and follows every step. My sweet boy used to be a source of pride when people came over and couldn't believe he fell asleep in seconds after being in bed for his naps. Now it's hours! He and Noah just play and play. Even with both of their heads on their pillows, they still find a way to play. Nap time is no longer a break for me...it's a chore.

Or maybe it's that we need to focus on obedience. Noah is getting much better at obeying, and is really enjoyable to have around! He is capable of reasoning and understanding things. He still needs parenting, but some of the training is already done. But since Jakey is around Noah, we treat him very similar to Noah...even though he hasn't had a lot of that training...hmmm...problem there.

So for now, we are dealing with a moody-almost-two-year-old. And I love it. I love my boys, and even though Jakey is driving me crazy right now...I wouldn't trade it for anything. Well, maybe a massage and a night out....

Brothers...

Ready....jump!

Trying to tackle Daddy...

Jumping off the slide...do you see a theme with jumping?

Looking up at airplanes...

another one!

Chasing after Noah...following in his footsteps...and yes, that is a very full, messy diaper right after we got to the park...nice. The other day after a bath, Jakey went over to the toilet and peed in it...weird. Maybe we should let him walk around naked more? lol

Love that smile...it's an evil smile, he had escaped out of the playground area and knew it;)

Andrew and I were talking tonight about all the big changes that have happened our boy's lives lately...

-Jakey is sleeping in his big boy bed

-No more binkies

-Noah stays dry for naps/night...which is another story in itself...one day he wanted to wear an old pull-up he found in the closet from when I potty-trained him last year. I said no because he doesn't stay dry at night. He said he would...yeah right I thought, he still leaks out sometimes and we've never talked about staying dry...I've always thought the more water the better, so never limited it at night. Well, he stayed dry ever nap and night since then...crazy! Guess he was ready:)

Those are all big changes for little boys, and I guess a little cranky is ok:)

Couponing...

Well it's no secret around here...I've lost my couponing virginity. I've read a lot before, and thought it would be great to try...but I just haven't! Thanks to the help of lots of different websites like The Krazy Coupon Lady, I've joined with the other money saving mom's out there. I am determined about a few things:

1. Not to buy things we don't normally get. (there are so many things out there that are great deals, but either super un-healthy, or medicines we don't need/use, etc.)

2. Not to sacrifice health for saving a buck or two.

3. Not to waste my time running all over town looking to save a few bucks...I'm trying to simplify my life here, not waste more time.

So, there is what I have gotten all for just $10!!! Plus there was a bar of buddies soap that the boys have already started using, so it's not pictured. I have gotten 2 Monopoly Deal's (one of our favorite games that we misplaced), 2 KY yours and mine (that will last us a long time, but is something we normally use!), baby soap & shampoo, bandaids, desitin, and Connect 4. I probably wouldn't have normally bought connect four, but the boys were excited about it. That's a good deal for $10!

I also have found some good deals on diapers, but here is the best because it's on whatever brand you want!

Go to www.diapers.com if you are new customer. Get whatever diapers you want totaling $49+. That's how you get free shipping. Then enter this code at checkout (NADI0359) through March 31st to get $10 off. That brings it down to $39. Place your order. Then print it out and go to here for a $14.97 rebate! That brings it down to $25!!! Plus, I get $10 off for each new person's order, and so can you after you sign up, you'll get a referral code for $10 off for you and your friend when they place an order:) It makes it cheaper then Costco. (Don't worry, Costco, I still love you dearly.)

So that's what I've been up to. Oh, and this, a sneak peak at Jakey's birthday invites:

Spring Cleaning...

We've started on our spring cleaning around here! That's always exciting. I didn't want to post anything yet because I don't have any pictures, but I'll take some soon...I promise!

So far we have:

-organized the storage closet...BIG job!

-cleaned up/organized all the toys in the play room (bought new shelves and now have no toys on the ground, they are all tucked nicely away in the closet!)

-moved Jakey into his bunk bed, so put away the crib

-moved a bookshelf into the boys room

-little re-decorating touches;)

On the to do list:

-wipe down all walls/cupboards

-touch up paint spots

-clean carpets

-windows in and out with screens removed

-re-touching on closets/drawers

I'm hoping to have everything done by Friday so we can enjoy all of spring break together as a family! I'll keep you posted. Will you be doing any spring cleaning this year?

Holes...

My boys play rough. That's all there is to it. I have made it almost 4 years without getting a single hole in the boys jeans, unless if they were there by design, something my mom LOVED growing up. Paying for jeans with holes in them...but it's different. And now, all of a sudden, in the past month or so, the boys have ripped through 7 pairs of pants! Here are the clean ones I could find...there are a few more in the wash still. These aren't just jeans from target...these are Guess, Gap, Quicksilver, Pumpkin Patch, Nordstrom, Levi's, and Polo jeans! In fact, the only jeans they have left that don't have holes in them are Janie and Jack, which really surprises me because they are thinner then all the other jeans. But really, who can afford a bunch of their jeans? They each have a pair of those, and then Jakey has a cheap pair from Old Navy, and Noah has a cheap pair from Children's Place....what do I do? Do I spend money on nicer jeans only to have them get holes? Or do I buy cheaper jeans that aren't as cute that might last longer?

So, where do you buy jeans for your kids? Does anyone else have this problem? Am I alone out there? :)

Noah wanted me to take this picture of this card he made for my birthday with our babysitter. He hasn't let me keep it since he made it because he loves it so much:)

Filling the Walls...

I've been doing some scrapping lately for my walls. We can't paint, so I feel like it's even more important to have things up on the walls to give our house some character. Of course I did not come up with these ideas all on my own...my trusty scrapping friend did! Click here to check out her blog, and even come along to one of her scrapping weekends...the next one is Friday/Saturday March 26th-27th. It's only $15 for the table space and two dinners...that's a steal! She has lots of things at her house to use and buy, all for very reasonable, and often less then you can buy at scrapbook stores! Plus, she has lots of ideas around for people like me who need a little...ok, lots, of help!

I've been holding off with posting until I got pictures on these, but I haven't ordered yet...so decided just to get them posted:) They'll look fun once they have pictures on them!

Virus...

I think I must have had a virus...because my blog was being weird. But I think it's gone? It would take me to another website after a few seconds...nothing bad, just weird? I deleted some things and it seems to be better. I have a Mac, so I've never experienced a virus before...and now on my brand new one this happens! I don't think it was the computer, I think it must have been the music player or something...anyways, I'll be back to blogging soon! It's my 24th birthday tomorrow...getting old:) I'll post some pictures tomorrow.

Update on Nicole...

Here are some pictures of Nicole in the hospital. Last Thursday, she was watching my boys. Andrew got home and after a few minutes, she started having chest pains. They got really intense and her sides were going numb, and she couldn't really breathe, so Andrew called 911. (I get all of this second hand, so if I'm wrong with anything, correct me, Nicole!) She was taken to the ER where she was for 6 hours and run through a battery of tests. On the last one, the CT scan, it showed she had a torn aorta. Not good. So, within an hour or so, she had emergency open heart surgery. Her body temp was cooled down, she was split open, and they were getting ready to stop her heart...which is where it really gets dangerous.

Pause for a moment, and let me tell you what I know about a torn aorta. Not much, but it's the main trunk through which your body gives blood to the arteries. Not good for this to be bleeding, in fact, every hour it bleeds your chance of survival decreases. On top of the 1 in 4 chance of dying during open heart surgery, is the 1 in 4 chance you'll die in the next 3 years after having a torn aorta. Serious stuff. Why would a 27 year old have this?

So, the doctors are in there and see that it's not a torn aorta. This is all before they stop her heart. But, it's really a gland, the thymus gland? This gland is normally above your heart, and is only used when you are developing and through your teen years, then it gets absorbed into fatty tissue. Well it had dropped down and was making a horse shoe shape surrounding her heart. And in fact, this is what had a tear in it, not her aorta. So her body had mimicked the torn aorta, thinking that's what it was. So they removed 75% of that and closed her back up.

I think it's a miracle. The doctor said that any cardiologist looking at the scan would say it was a torn aorta, but it wasn't. There are also several other little things that make me see God's hand in this, like the fact that it happened right after Andrew got home instead of while Nicole was alone with my boys.

Not to say that her recovery won't be long and hard, it will be. She is now out of the hospital, but unable to really do anything for herself. Her chest/ribs, are broken. I didn't really understand this until I saw her. I figured she would be recovering like I did after having babies. No. She can not use her hands at all to help her with things. Sit up? Nope, hold on to the railing? Nope. Open the fridge? Nope. Put a plate into the microwave? Nope. Cut up food? Nope. Pull up her pants? Nope. Not for 6-8 weeks. But then after that, it will be another 6 months before she can pick up the boys, or play with them really at all. And they are her joy!

So, pray for Nicole. It will be a long recovery journey. But I am so thankful that she is with us, and that it wasn't anything more serious then a gland. And also thankful for all the friends/family that helped my parents out so much. Thanks! She is going to live with my parents for a while so she can be taken care of. They have been amazing through all of this, but what a stress it will be. So there's a little update. I know she would really appreciate a word of encouragement, she kept asking me to read comments to her from facebook when she was in the hospital. So leave her a note and let her know you are thinking of her!