I'm baaaaaack!! Lovelies, I have a new laptop and I could not be happier.  It has been a long time coming.  So much stuff has happened- gotta update you.  Soon.  I promise.  Thanks for hanging in there with me!  ;)

Moment of silence please.

I'm not sure if you have heard about the  Deputy who was killed last week? Well, this story hits close to home because he is the husband of one of my close co-workers.  There are no words.  To have someone ripped out of your life is something that no one should ever have to experience.  We are all hurting for our friend and what she and her children are going through.  Lovelies, there are 5 of us (specifically specialized professionals) in the City where we do what we do. Yes we bicker and sometimes I start stuff, but we are family.

So I am taking a moment to recognize my friend and her family.  They have a long road of grief and healing ahead of them. 

I am taking a moment to thank Deputy Coleman for his service to the community.   

Bethie, we are so, so sorry for this your loss.
We love you and we are here to help take care of you.  xo.

Resolutions anyone?

Did you make any resolutions, lovelies? I sort of made some. In my head.  Like I haven't written anything specific down.... I have the usual- lose weight, spend more time with the family, you know how it goes.  I feel like I am being redundant though, you know? There are certain things that I know I need to get done.  All the 'experts' say that if you write things down, you are more likely to do them/achieve your goals/complete your resolutions.  Ok. We'll see.  I am publicly announcing that I will list my goals for 2012 before the end of the month.  I will do it. Promise. 

peek!

can't you just hear her laughing?

:)

Lovelies, how were your holidays/holidaze? My December started with a most amazing and wonderful wedding, rolled into a Christmas with my family which included a visit from my big brother and his girlfriend and so far this week, I hung out with my Aunt and baby (ok, she is 22) cousin.  I can't complain.  S1 went to NY to visit his dad and stepmom.  I think he will be coming back a bit swagged (spelling?) out. LOL.  I am looking forward to making some changes in the coming year- I think some will be more challenging than others but I plan to write down goals this year.  I slacked on documenting these last couple of years and I really think it bit me in the butt because I've been feeling like I've kind of been rolling along, you know? Ready, set, bring on 2012!!

Holidaze

This title feels familiar- did I blog about being in a holidaze last year? LOL.  Well, here we go again. Two weeks away from Christmas and S3 and I are headed out of town for a wedding.  Umm, I have gotten no Christmas shopping done at all. I'm not sure how I feel about Christmas anymore.  By that, I mean the ridiculousness that the holiday season has become.  Commercialism is at its finest this year, with decorations hitting the store in early October.  October! Are you kiddng me? Way to suck out any and all 'true' meaning of Christmas. 
Don't get me wrong- I love getting cards in the mail and I am all about traditions and spending time with family but I can absolutely do without the stress of gift lists, battling folks at the store, trying to find the best deals, blah. blah, blah. I have a friend who no longer even celebrates Christmas because it is not biblical (the tree, presents, stockings, Santa, etc). I can dig it, and am seriously considering weaning off of all this madness.  I think that my family will be better off for it.... Would you purge your house/youself of the madness that the holidays have become? How would you start?

OMG

Really though? I do believe that my computer crashed around this time last year right, lovelies? Well, it has happened yet again.  Only this time, I don't think it officially crashed.  I think I just got a bad virus.  Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.  This is some ridiculousness! Of course, my warranty expired ummm, last month. Yeah. So now, I've got to fine someone to get rid of the virus.  I used up my one 'get out of jail free' card last year.  Time to pay up.  Bah.  
The good news is that I copied all of my  pictures to a external hard drive about 10 days ago, so there.  My pictures are really what I would have cried over, had they been lost. 
Have you ever lost digital pictures, lovelies? What did you do?

Welcome winter?

Lovelies, can I just rejoice in the fact that the weather has finally dropped below 70 degrees?  Yes.  I live in a state of perpetual summer and so I am thrilled that I can wear boots and long-sleeved shirts without looking completely out of place.  My Canadian and East Coast friends would be laughing at me right now because 70 degrees is cause for celebratory shorts and flip flops in their worlds.  To me, 70 degrees means I can turn off my air conditioner and leave my thermostat off for the next few weeks before turning on the heat.  My children act like they've never seen my feet in socks before.  I put some on the other day and S3's eyes lit up! 'Mom! You're wearing socks?' LOL.  Yes lovelies, I am thrilled.  Off to find my toque and scarf. 

Lonnnnng overdue....

Lovelies, this year is whizzing by.  It's November already! October was hugely busy with my brother's wedding, catering jobs for chef and life!  We managed to finally get some family pictures taken.  The last time we took family pictures, S3 was less than a year old.  Terrible, I know.  My dear friend Kim (go like her on Facebook! KimmyBee Photography) and her friend Natalie took pictures of us in the park and we could not be more thrilled with the way they turned out! Sneak peek!

Ohmylanta!!

Psst. Lovelies, I have recently become an addict.  I was warned. I was warned that this addiction is worse than crack, but I took it on. I took it on and now I am full fledged addicted to....




Pinterest. OMG!!! Where has this site been all my life? It is hands down, the best.site.evarrrrrrr!!!! Projects and tutorials and funny stuff, oh my! The website is basically a snapshot of internet stuff that you like.  So you 'pin' them on your theme boards and then your pins (interests) are shared.  You can follow friends, like others' pins and so forth.  All I can say is wow. Yay! Wow.  Check the site.  YOu've been warned.  Follow me into the depths of craftiness and DIY home decor.  You will not regret it.  Or maybe you will.....

Some pics from the last month!

Wordless Weekend! ;)

Let's catch up!!

Lovelies, we have some catching up to do!  My younger brother got married and we schlepped the tribe all the way to the east coast.  It was an adventure! Everyone (including S4!!) traveled extremely well.  We had coloring books and snacks for the plane and everything went pretty well!  We got upgraded from a minivan to a Ford Expedition (yay!!), got lost from the airport to the hotel (we were turned around for a good 2 hours in the wee hours of the morning.  Not cool at all!).  We stayed in a big mansion with an amazing backyard but best of all, my brother looked happy.  He looked happy and relaxed.  I will admit that I was worried.  My big brother was able to make it and all was well with the world.  We were all together for a short while, but were happy to have shared in my little brother's day. 
As complainey (sp?) as he is, hubby told me that he really enjoyed himself, which caught me off guard because all he did was complain about the weather before we even left the airport after we landed! The Ss were in the wedding party and looked so awesome.  I was in the wedding party too, but after seeing the pictures, I know I have some work to do. (eek!).  The airplane we were on for the ride home was delayed, causing us to miss our connection and be put on standby, only to not make it onto the last flight out to AZ, thereby sending my entire family into semi freakout mode.  We got bumped to the next day's flight and were put up in a hotel and given food vouchers, courtesy of the airline.  Still plan on sending the airline a letter informing them of the inconvenience that we were made to deal with, with 4 children in tow!
Pics in a bit!  ;)

Wedding, marriage, little brothers.

Have I ever told you that I have two brothers?  I am the most blessed sister to be smack in the middle of my two brothers.  It's good to be a middle child with such awesome beings on either side.  Well, the youngest of our sib-set is getting married.  I'm trying not to freak out.  I'm not even sure if he can believe it! Of course, I have my big sister hat on, trying to get to know my future sister in law, which is cool. Plus I gave them both the 'plan your life, not just your wedding' speech while they had me on speaker phone a few weeks ago.  I am happy, worried, excited, all the feelings that go along with this type of occasion.  I'll probably bawl at the ceremony- just because my baby brother is officially grown.  He has been a grown man for awhile now, but jeez! lol

They are not planning on having babies right away, but you best believe that I will be educating/advocating for a midwife or doula and breastfeeding, co-sleeping, cloth diapering and all the other facets of natural parenting that society has been so slow to get back to.  My future sister in law seems to be open to try cloth diapering- she even sent me a cloth diaper after S4 arrived.
Lovelies, what advice would you give to a newly engaged/wedded couple? Is there any advice that you got and loved? Hated? Laughed at? Wished you had gotten?

Can I tell you

just how smart S4 is? She will be a year old in a couple of weeks and she is a serious problem solver.  OK- there is a phone on my nightstand that S4 loves to play with.  It is not a phone for playing.  So, in order dissuade her from getting to the phone, I put a basket of laundry in front of the nightstand.  Yeah- don't you know that this baby climbed into the basket?? She climbed into the basket and got the phone.  She climbed into the basket all.by.herself!  Her mission was accomplished.  Pictures for your viewing pleasure!

Do you...

enter giveaways? Contests? Attend Twitter parties? I do! My latest entry is for Livie and Luca shoes from Life with My Littles.  Yes. Livie and Luca shoes.  Omgoodness lovelies, have you been to this website to gaze at their footwear? So gorgeous.  In order to get a hold of a little piece of shoedom, I am posting without shame in order to gain more entries.  While you're reading this, you may want to enter too. :P

Labor Day

It's Labor day, lovelies.  We are hanging out at the house, surrounded by boxes (an organizational project that hubs started a couple of days ago).  Lots of boxes and laughing children.  The weather is amazing today, so we'll go outside for a bit.
Today also happens to be my parents' anniversary. 37 years.  Yes.  That's a lifetime, good people! Thirty-seven.  Trente septe. I love the example they have put out for us- marriage is hard work, but with lots of prayer and perseverance, a couple can get through just about anything. Thank you mom and dad! Wishing you another 37 years of wedded bliss! <3
My oldest and my folks;

wordless friday

I hope my friend doesn't mind that I post this pic.... I had the pleasure of shooting her last week, and this week she gave birth to a lovely baby boy at home.  Congratulations my friend! I am so happy to know you! <3

I'm still here!!

Lovelies, settling into the school routine has been more challenging than I expected it to be.  School started two weeks ago and I (because it's all about me. lol) am just now getting the hang of it! First day of high school for S1 and first day of grade 1 for S2.  All I can say is wow. So fresh and so clean! 

 Yes. Her shoes are pink and green.  Pinkies up!

Overacheiver

S4 took her first unassisted step on Thursday.  No- she took three steps.  Three steps in a row.  Did I get a pic? Nope. Was I able to catch it on video? Yeah right! It happened so fast that I almost missed it!  I'm a bit bummed about not capturing the moment.  She just did it.  It was cool.  I freaked out.  Hubs was like 'you know she is looking at you crazy because you just freaked out right?' Whatever dude.  You're a guy.  Go do something guy-ish. Like babyproof the house! :P

just the girls!

Is this not the cutest picture? Taken by my fellow midwife lovin new friend, Jen! Check her out!