Am I becoming demositcated?

Mike and I decided to start eating at home more.  There are many reasons but the biggest was to save money and eat healthier.  I have never liked to cook that much but I have always loved baking.  However, when we made this decision to eat more at home my hubby was too busy to cook due to his new job. Therefore, if we were going to eat I had to kick it into gear.  
To my surprise I love it.  I have truly had fun researching what we are going to eat and how I can make different meals out of leftovers.  Tonight we had homemade barbecue chicken pizza that was leftover barbecue from last night.  Yes, you heard right that it was homemade, which included the pizza dough.  I should of taken a picture so you could see how pretty and easy. 
I made the dough and then rolled it out and added barbecue sauce, barbecue chicken, red onions, mozzarella and cilantro.  It was yummy and healthy as the crust was using wheat flour.

On another front I have so many craft ideas and not enough time.  My to do list is getting longer for my vacation.  I want to paint the living room, add fabric backing to our bookshelves in the living room, new curtains for the dining room, recover the dining room chairs and decorate my study.

I will definitely post pictures of progress soon but I leave you with some eye candy.

This would be a great seating in our sun room..

Love the rug, books on the bookshelves..

Happy Fathers Day!

We have had a lot going on this weekend.  We started with Mike coming home from being gone for a week.  I was so happy as I have been battling some migraines and he took the kids to the VBS carnival to give me some alone time.  On Saturday, we woke up and I finished...well almost finished my grandmothers antique desk.  I only have to complete the gold rub-n-buff in the crevacies.  Then we had baseball until almost midnight.  The kids had so much fun running around with friends but we paid for it today.  More baseball, tired kids, Mommy still had a migraine = chaos but we ended with taking Daddy to dinner and relaxing by the pool. 

I have to say the boys love being with their Daddy.  All they ever want to do is throw the base ball, catch, pitch and it is so cute.  Reese is also wanting his time in throwing to her or watching her swim.  He is their rock.  He is the strong one who follows through much better than Mommy but he has a heart of gold toward those kids.  Tonight some of our girl neighbors who Reese loves were not as nice.  They are older and when she cam up to them they were chanting "Reese alert".  Needless to say Reese came running in crying that she has no friends.  It made my heart melt as she is only 5.  Mike immediately told the boys they were not aloud to play with them if they were not going to include there sister.  He then went up to the girls (we have known them along time) and told them that they hurt Reese's feelings and made a 5 year old cry.  That is her Dad sticking up for her and the girls came right over and apologized.  I am sure they were worried Mr. Mike was going to say something else to them, he can be kindof scary when you mess with his kids :).  Hate to see when a boy breaks her heart.

Finished antique desk!!!

New adopted puppy :)

Silly sweet girl!!

Beautiful fun girl!

Friends!

End of the School Year

I have such mixed emotions this time of year.  On one hand I love the lack of schedules, lazy summer days (kind of once baseball is over), pool time, being with friends.  However, since Mike and I both work, I get sad that I cannot spend more time with the kids and the lack of schedule effects us a little as the kids stay up later and then we are tired the next day. 
We have started our Summer "wish list" and will put it in full swing next week.  First on the list is to go pick strawberries and blueberries.  I cannot wait to cook with the fresh fruit, make jam and anything else I can think of.  
We are also struggling with what to do with the kids.  Keep them at school or let our old Nanny take care of them.  I like the idea of the Nanny being able to take them to the pool, camps and other activities but she is kind of a push over.  Therefore, I am going to have to really set boundaries for her and the kids.  It should help that I am working from the house or is going to wear me out?

Well I am back to trying to make working out a priority.  I have lost 11lbs of the weight I had gained back and today I met up with one of my girlfriends and we did 30 minutes of core training and an hour of 30 minute strength training and 30 cardio classes.  I was so worn out and dripping with sweat.  It is good for me to see how out of shape I get.  The room was hot but I feel great now.
Wish me luck as I am trying to eat clean and I have definitely noticed when I eat clean I feel good and when I don't I feel tired, sluggish and bloated.  I will keep you posted on my journey.  I have decided I am turning 37 this year and this will be the year I quit talking about losing the weight and "Do it".  It is funny how when I want something related to work I usually strive hard and obtain the goal but in my personal struggle with weight it is much harder but I think it is all in my head.

Reese and her afternoon teacher on Graduation day.

Reese and her bestie.  They are so cute.  Reese is tiny next to her and Haley will run and pick her up.  So cute to see friendships budding.

Reese and her class singing.  Of course somehow I missed the whole performance.  I thought I was taping and I was not.

Happy Friday and have a great Memorial Weekend!

End of the School Year

This time of year is so crazy.  We have had end of the year field day, parties, registration, baseball tournaments and trying to fit in some family time.  This time of year is so overwhelming but I would not trade the memories, however, I would like some more sleep.  Reese graduates tomorrow and I have mixed emotions.  My baby is growing up and is starting kindergarten.  Tonight while taking care of all my flowers, which I will talk about in later, I stared outside watching Mike throw balls to the boys and Reese racing on her bike around the circle.  It has become our favorite time of the day to sit outside and play baseball, ride bikes, and water the plants.  Sometimes I will bring my book but normally I just watch the kids and Daddy giving lessons, stern words of encouragement on baseball and I smile.  These are the times I know we will all remember when we are older.

My flowers are work....I love to garden but this year has been hard.  I have bought new types of  flowers and I think they do not like my soil.  I have tried miracle grow and it really did not help.  So, I will be replacing some of them this weekend with heartier ones but I am loving all the color around my house.  I have to say it looks great.  I have also decorated the front porch with an outdoor rug which makes it feel like a room.  I will post pictures soon but this weekend we are going to work on the back yard.  I would love for my backyard to have the below flowers.  We will see how mine ends up.

Happy Monday and I will post pics of the kiddos and Graduation tomorrow!!

Quick post...Gardening love

As many of you are aware, I loooove gardening.  Unfortunately, I do not have much time for it but I wanted to show you my latest flowers.  I love their blooms.  I should of shot with my camera but only had my i-phone so they are even more vibrant in person.  The kiddos share in my passion of flowers and help me plant and watch them grow.  I also have a handful of gladiolas blooming.  I want to cut to bring in but then I cannot enjoy in the front yard. 

Isn't this gorgeous...It is a passion flower and grows on a vine.  I love it.

This is a Maui Ixora.  She can withstand the wonderful high temps we have.  Another new love..

Ferns, rosemary and roses.  Who could not love. 



Happy Thursday!!! Did I inspire anyone to garden this weekend.  Hop on over as we will be working in our backyard for Mothers Day!

What has been going on...

It has been a crazy week and therefore I have not had time to blog.  Work has gotten busier, Gavin tried out for a summer baseball league, Zach had tournaments all weekend and it has been our normal activity filled week.  I have had a hard time slowing down and smelling the roses.  Last night Reese kept begging me to play cards with her and I was very grumpy for some reason.  I finally gave in and made my coffee, grabbed a blanket and went outside on the patio curled up and played cards.  She was in heaven and her laughter instantly made me melt.  Once again I realized she only wants my attention and us sharing a card game together got me in a good mood.  Of course with Summer right around the corner the kiddos are staying up later and later which is making me so tired.....  

We found out Gavin made the team tonight but as an alternate.  So proud he made the team but kind of strange to know he will be on the team and practice with the team but not play all the games.  Good learning experience and I feel guilty that two of his good friends wanted to be on the team and did not make it.  It is so hard at this age to see kiddos want something and not get it.  The great thing is they will be done with tournaments by the end of June.  Woohoo, we will actually be able to enjoy our summer in July as a family.  We are a baseball family and love the game but I get so excited about summer to spend quality time with my family. It is much needed r&r.

So far on our wish list this Summer;  Visit friends at their beach house, visit friends and spend the weekend on the lake, pick blueberries and make jam, cobbler and other yummy goodies, swim, go to trails and bike, spend time with friends and family. 

That is the short list.  I have a fun trip planned with my mom and sister to go antiquing.  Can't wait to share treasures and pictures.  Tonight I am going to bed as I think I still hear Reese.  The girl never sleeps.... she has been in bed for 2 hours and still playing.

More eye candy below.  Love the Kate Spade house and her wall.  I am working on my own art wall and this is such inspiration.

Love the striped walls in the bathroom.  Not sure where this picture came from but it is fun and a bit unexpected and whimsical.  I think it would be great in a mud room or laundry room.  I would definitely feel inspired to fold clothes.

Happy Wednesday close to Happy Thursday!!

I have a secret....

I am obsessed with this beauty below.  How can I incorporate it in our next home.  I told my husband that I want it over jewels.  I know you say "Crazy" but it had me when I saw all the shine and character.  What a show stopper and would be a conversation piece.  Now of course I would only put this in the house I plan to live in forever or I would have to carry it around. 

Anyways enough with my dreaming....We have a crazy busy weekend of sports, cleaning the house and trying to finish my antique desk project.  I am trying to have the kiddos help more during the weekend to keep the house clean.  It is hard for us to clean on the weekend with this much sports.  I have a housekeeper every 2 weeks but the house gets dirty on a daily basis.  Also, I am a very picky cleaner and the housekeeper is doing a looks clean job but when you look closer at the baseboards, doors, etc it is really not clean.   Therefore, I am declaring today to create a list.  You have seen them all over Pinterest but I am creating a to do every day for the family and hoping this will help us.  We all feel better and work better as a family when our stuff is organized and clean.   Well I am off to finish all our to do's.  Hope you enjoy a wonderful weekend!   Happy Friday!

Art and it what it means to me.....

As you may or may not know I love art work.  I love all kinds and am not partial to one.  It brings out such a feeling of emotion for me.  I wished I could paint ant maybe one day I will pick up a paint brush.  I love it when you see a home with real art work displayed.  I think it tells so much about someones personality.  Of course art can be very expensive but I have learned their are so many options. Etsy is wonderful and I have got some beautiful pieces.  Ebay/Craigslist could be a place to visit for vintage pictures.  Of course if your Mom paints that is wonderful as I commission one painting a year from her.  Mom...if you are reading we need to plan for Christmas :).  She is wonderful and as soon as my camera is charged I will post some of the beautiful art work she has done for me.  My Grandmother was also wonderful.  When she passed away I took two of hers that were pictures of her school house when she was younger.  She painted her memories.  However, I love to read blogs and today I saw a giveaway for a beautiful painting.  She is doing a give away so I am hoping I win.  Visit her wonderful blog below.

Pawleys Island Posh: Marsh Painting Giveaway:

Christmas picture from Mom.  This picture does not do it justice.

2 years ago Christmas Picture from Mom

Grandmother's artwork

Grandmothers artwork

Mom's first picture she painted me

One of my cuties little paintings he did for me

I am hoping to instill the love I have for art to my children.  Encourage creativity.  That means no helping unless they want it.  It cracks me up to see the projects in Pre-K and even grade school.  You can so tell the Parents pretty much did the whole project.  Mike used to get on to me as our kids would be all scribble and then his friends would be scrapbook worthy.  However, I want my kids to create and use their imagination.  This is what helps them create passion.  I will assist if they are going a little too crazy but I try to keep that as little as possible.  I have a ton of my kids artwork up in our house.  You would be surprised that a simple painting which is just brush strokes, will look wonderful in a frame. 

Anyhoo, my ramblings for the day.  Happy Thursday, only two days until the weekend!!

My creative family...

My family is so creative.  My Mom and Sis started a store selling antiques and re-purposed furniture.  My sister cannot keep anything she repurposes in stock as she is so creative.  If you are in the DFW area you must visit Frisco Mercantile, Anniething Goes.  My sister's website is below.

http://vintageintexas.blogspot.com/p/before-after.html


My other sister in the Seattle area has a wonderful soap business. I have been a tester for 2 years and cannot get enough.  The kiddos love her chocolate soap and I love all of them.  Her business is called DD & Lamber. 

http://ddandlamber.com/

It is so interesting to look around at your family and see their strengths.  I am so proud to have such a wonderful creative family as I think we all rub off on each other.

So my dream is to one day work in the housing industry.  This could be decorating, selling, anything.  I love what I do for now but would love to pursue my creative talents later in life.  I am hopeful my dream becomes a reality!!

Because I never not include a pic.  See how cute 2 of my babies are.  It is 90 degrees here and the pool opened today.  They were anxiously waiting for Daddy and brother to get home from baseball and take a swim.  The funny thing is the boys only lasted 10 minutes as it was getting dark and the water was cold.  Baby Sis could of stayed in all night.  Sorry, for the poor pic quality as it was from my iphone.

Happy Wednesday!

The dreaded word...Finances



Does it seem like I have a different random thought everyday.  Well that is just me.  It could be my worst enemy as I am constantly thinking of ways to do things better in my life and teach my children.  In my first years on my own I was horrible with money.  I have always been a hard worker and can make money but I definitely do not watch where it goes.  This has not been a huge issue until the economy went in the tanker and my Hubby's once fruitful job lost a ton of customers.  I would not of changed it for anything.  It has taught me so much about us and what is important in life.  Don't get me wrong I still love to buy things but I try not to impulse buy because at the end of the day I have 3 kids college and a retirement in our future.  A couple of years ago,  Mike and I did Dave Ramsey and loved it.  Now the message is nothing you do not already know but it is the way he delivers the message and it spoke to us.  Well it is time to start living it again.  Our biggest spending in our family is eating out.   Is that not crazy since we really do not enjoy it and I am trying to lose weight.  I would rather eat out a couple of times with my Hubby for date night and enjoy new places.  The last 2 weeks I have been cooking (yes, I am cooking and I am actually pretty good) and Mike enjoys coming home to a cooked meal and they have been healthy.  The Kid's are still struglling with eating everything we eat but we are making progress, which I will take.  This will save us hugeeee...I am embarrassed to tell you how much but lets just say thousands, thousands of dollars. 

I figure all this is fitting since I am trying to do a overhaul on my Family and I.  I am hoping by us showing our kids how to be good with money, they will learn.  I want them to learn to be hard working but how to manage money.  We are starting the save, spend, give jars this weekend.  This is a Dave Ramsey process if you have kids and our kids love to give to church and they like to spend.  How many pokemon cards can we have, not enough for them?

I will keep you posted on how it is going. 

More pictures because I love seeing my kiddos and this is for their reading later in life....

I love this picture from last summer.  Makes me excited for the pool opening today and it is so my boys.  Zachary all smiles and G-man wondering why I have to take a picture.




I love this because it is so Reese. Sassy, arms on hips and full smiles. She has the best spirit.



How our children shape us?

I was talking with a good friend today about our children.  My children are the most fun loving, generous children you will meet.  However, they have been testing me on every level lately.  In talking with her it made me think "are they really testing me" or is this children?  Do I expect too much?  All of these thoughts go through my head.  We are a family of two working parents and we have to juggle all the activities, homework, familiy life.  This is kindof my topic before about slowing down but I also want to raise well adjusted, loving and hard working children.  I also love each of their spirits and do not want that to change.  We have been brainstorming ideas to do in our household.  One is no playing with friends during the week.  This is hard as the kiddos have a ton of great friends that live next to us.  However, I have noticed that when they play after school, they are more irritable, rush through their homework and rush to bed.   The next is truly having family chores we do consistently and not just when Mom says something.  Lastly is introduce Sunday family day.  I saw this on a blog and loved it.  We will have baseball interferences but maybe we can use that to go on a picnic after the tournaments or go swimming together as a family. 

Food for thought on a Monday!! Eye Candy below which you know I love....


Unknown picture source.  Love the colors, bed, mirrors on nightstand.

 Love the French range.  Seriously thinking I would like this over jewelry...

Jenny Wolf picture.  Like the doors on the track, windows, chandeliers...

Of course, my little Reese.  Got her soccer pics in the mail and this is one of my best eye candy...

FYI-my Grandma's antique desk looks awesome.  I am going to sand and was this week.  I had so much fun that I am now going to do a tray I have.  So easy and makes such a big difference in my room.  Just the perfect pop of color.

Another Crazy Weekend..

This weekend seems like a blur.  It is like I blink and notice the kids are getting bigger, more mature and downright hilarious.   Reese had her last soccer game and we think someone took over her body.  She rocked the whole game.  I had parents asking me "wow, what happened".   She looked at me at the end and said "I love soccer".  We will see how long that lasts, since we have always thought she was awesome but I think she is a little "lazy".  She likes to do things when she wants to but she sure knows how to shock her Mommy and Daddy when she does them.  We love you to peaches.  Afterwards, gymnastics which I think the girl is a natural.  I love sitting in the room of parents and watching my little girl.  I am the anti-social one because it is my one hour with no other kiddos that I can soak her up by just watching.  It makes me sad that she does not look like a baby anymore but watching her grow into a strong headed, silly, dance crazy, sassy, loving, sweet girl is fun.   I could do with a little less sassy and strong headed but Mike said we are just the same.  Is that true?  Am I strong headed?  Maybe I am as I do sulk when I do not get my way.

After gymnastics, we rushed to G-man's baseball game to watch a super fun competitive game.  I love watching 2 teams who are fighting it out to win.  The boys did great.  G-man got hit by a ball in the face, blood nose and wiggly tooth.


Crazy girl showing her dancing moves.  It looks like in the 2nd picture she is dancing to "low, low"

Then we rushed to Zach's 2nd tournament game where I learned Zach had lost one of his tooth.  What is going on today, we have a common theme.  This is the part I do not like about sports.  I want to keep my boys faces perfect with no scars but does this bring character and stories?  Zach's team had a rough game which I hate to watch.  I sat on the edge of my seat the whole game as who likes to watch their kids get run ruled. 

We have been trying to eat at home for all meals.  I was so worn out and still not feeling good from earlier week of bronchitis and sinus infection, I gave into dinner out.  A nice dinner on the patio and off we went to get in pj's for the remainder of the evening.  Mike and I finally watched "A girl with Dragon tattoo".  Very interesting movie but I am not sure If I liked the ending.  By this time, I officially could not breathe due to all our crazy wind and my weak lungs, I slept all night sitting up. 

On a whole another subject, I started detoxing this week my food since I was sick.  I feel great, less bloated, more energy and I lost 6 lbs.  Woohoo, I am going to keep it going and have started researching more about clean diets for the whole family.  More on that later.

My next project is to start a summer list.  I saw this on a blog and thought what a great idea.  You have the kids tell you what they want to do and of course Mom/Dad sneak some in.  Of course these are simple ideas not all about going on vacation.  To start off we want to go pick berries, make jam, plant a small vegtable garden, go to the park to ride bikes and run as much as possible, kayak (this is me..not sure about the kiddos).  Enjoy family time.  Anyways, you get the point.  I think I am going to turn a big frame I have into a chalk board and right them all down so we can visualize them.  Of course Mom and Dad want a vacation and I am thinking Maine.  It sounds so glorious and romantic.

I have so many ideas that I want to do.  Therefore, for today I am done blogging and I am going to start my first painting job on an old antique desk from my Grandma.  I will post before and afters.  My sister repurposes furniture and is so talented.  She has inspired me and if I botch the job I have an expert to look too.

The second coat of Annie Sloan paint on the desk was added.  Sanding, waxing this week.  Looks great in person and will post a better picture once completed. I added stenciling inside of the desk for fun, a surprise when we open.  It is super easy to paint with Annie Sloan.  Great therapy! :)


Hope you had a great weekend!

2 posts in one day...This one is for my sister

Today was a beautiful day.  I worked from home and got a lot done and I decided to water my plants and what did I see...my first bloom on my magnolia tree.  Oh how I love flowers and this time of year.  It makes everything right.

Are these not the pretties dragon begonias?  I love how they drape.

Love the smell of rosemary by the door.

This is a added shot of my son sitting on the trash can in the garage.  He tells me " He is the leader of the spy club and they are having a meeting in the heat of the garage?  Gotta love them as you can't see the younger brothers.  Notice the artwork on the wall.  Reese painted and thought our garage needed a painting. 

Here is one of the younger brothers.  How can you resist that smile.  Not the best picture quality but I could not resist.

I have been thinking alot...

This morning I woke up at 4:45 and that is unusual but it was awesome.  I went outside with my cup of coffee and read and thought.  I had 30 minutes by myself to think.  I have been doing a lot of that lately.  Mike and I both have demanding jobs, lots of kid's activities and we sometimes pass each other by.  I do not want my kids to remember that Mom and Dad were always busy or that Mike and I wake up one day not realizing we do not know each other.  I have been working on this for the last few years but recently it has really torn at my soul. 

I am one who loves to work.  I get such a sense of accomplishment but I do have regret or stress that is it best for our family.  As I was thinking today, I finally came to the realization "yes".  It is about balance and doing your best.  I would love to stay at home but financially that is not an option and unfortunately I think my personality likes to work, right or wrong.

Therefore, I decided today I am going to stop and smell the roses.  When I am asked to play Barbies and I have 100 things going on I am going to stop and enjoy before she does not want to play.  I am going to continue to create traditions and memories.  I am going to engage the Man I love and who means the world to me even if I am tired.  I am not perfect and realize know one else is.  You have to do what is right for you and your family.  If my house is messy, so what I can tidy it up after the kiddos go to bed or another day.  I am going to get more organized to make our life work a little better and take the small steps. 

I want to celebrate life and what we have.  This is pretty deep for me but I am using this blog as my journal for all of life.  I want my kids to one day read it and realize that know one is perfect.  We all have to go through this journey of life and figure it out in our own way but we need to make a life and not let it pass us by.

Kids are what bring laughter, innocence and fun to our life.  I love my family more than anything!