Tuesday, May 31, 2011

never a dull moment with this one...

and if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

Monday, May 30, 2011

Noah & Ninny Weekend {Part 1}

this weekend it was all about her...


it is so obvious that noah loves his aunt ninny,
because when she comes to visit, no one else exists.

Jenny came down on Thursday night. we had dinner together with the whole family, then we came back to our house and Jenny showed noah how to make balloon hats and swords! She brought him a few new cars...she even found the Tormentor {Mater's Tall Tales}! he was so excited!!

Jenny spent the night at our house...noah was a little confused. he thought he was going home with her, he didn't realize she was staying with us. he was so afraid she was going to leave him!

Friday we spent the day running errands and getting everything ready for our big plans on Saturday {stay tuned for Noah & Ninny Weekend Part 2}.


We ran into town to get supplies and worked on some projects at the house. We even attempted cake pops, but they were a dud {tasted great, looked awful!}, so Jenny made a new batch on Saturday morning! That evening, we all got together at my house for homemade lasagna. I made two kinds, one had all mushroom and spinach and the other had italian sausage and spinach. my in laws don't like mushrooms but i persuaded them to try it and guess what?! they LOVED it!!

after dinner we packed the kids up and headed for Chuck E. Cheese!! Noah had been talking about going there all day...seriously. about once every hour or so he would say, "we go to Chuck Cheese?" and i would have to tell him not yet!! the boys both had a great time...jonah is almost walking and can just barely reach a couple of the games. he spent time watching me play skeeball and riding around in his stroller. he also really enjoyed the slide this time! noah loves one little game in particular. it is basically just a phone with big buttons! he LOVES it!! we all won a bunch of tickets {430!!} so noah got to pick out a small skateboard, TinkerBell pencil, crazy straw, and a small blue frisbee for his brother!

noah did not want his picture taken at Chuck E. Cheese! he was too busy playing!!

up next: Noah & Ninny Weekend {Part 2} - our ginormous Saturday project!!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

insta-friday {on saturday}

okay. so i have a problem.
i feel like i'm always a day behind this week.
not sure why this is, but i totally forgot yesterday was Friday..oh well..

last Sunday, at church with my hubby :)

sweet baby fell asleep on me early this week. i love the rare moments when he is still and lets me hold him..he's always on the move now. almost walking!!

Thursday i let Andrea put some feathers in my hair!! i don't usually go for the super trendy stuff, but i thought this was a really subtle, fun thing to do! i have 2 in...one is light pink and the other is black and white!


Thursday night. jamie made the Tom's shoes i wanted "magically appear" in my closet! his note says, "Abra-Cadabra!" :) he is so thoughtful!!

my new Tom's. bottlecap green! i <3 them!

jonah's first picture with Chuck E. Cheese! :) 5/27/11

jenny {aunt ninny}, jonah, and jamie at Chuck E. Cheese...we all had a great time!!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

testing, testing, 1 2 3

Just testing out this new iPhone app.... What did I do before the iPhone?
Hope this works!!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:My livingroom!

Weight Loss Wednesday

lost this week -1.75!

ME
goal: -55 lbs by December vacation to Disney!!!
total lost: -10.75lbs
to go: -44.25 lbs!
days until goal: 205

JAMIE
goal: -100 lbs
total lost: -20 lbs
to go: 80 lbs!

FINALLY made it to the 10 pound mark!
WOO HOO!! it seems like such a small achievement, but i'm takin it!
we got a new scale this week...so nice to finally have a scale that says the same thing the scale at the gym says {our old one always showed me about 5-6 lbs heavier! not encouraging!} it also tracks your weight loss and goals, as well as your BMI, water weight, and bone weight?! i have no idea how it figures out how much your bones weigh, but it's kinda cool!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

brothers

there is nothing sweeter than the love of a brother; he's a built in best friend!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

insta-friday {on saturday}

i found these cute boys at the park by our house... :)
we stopped at the gas station first to get something to drink and noah picked out a Gatorade. he's never had it before, i have no idea why he picked it out
he only drank about 1/4 of the whole bottle...it's still in the fridge

noah running away from me at the park...a common occurrence lately!
{we loved this bridge! so pretty!}

noah is totally type A. loves to organize like his mama!

friday night my sister and i surprised the guys with a trip to Sky Vue, our favorite little getaway place! it's such a nice little bed and breakfast!!
we cheated on our diet and had their amazing pizza friday night {and again for lunch on saturday!} and then saturday morning Janice made us an amazing breakfast!
oh my was it good!!
my hubby and i at Sky Vue. we have lost track on how many times we have stayed here.
we came here on our honeymoon and for a few anniversaries!

best friends...alyssa and noah after the movies today.
{noah wanted to hold her hand, she wasn't sure at first}
we watched Rio. they thought the birds were pretty and funny, we thought there was a little too much adult humor...good thing they don't understand any of it yet.

that was my awesome week! :) hope yours was grand!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

a big moment


this boy did something amazing...

after two pairs of "big boy" undies, one pull-up, peeing on the kitchen floor and then on the living room carpet...

he FINALLY peed in the potty tonight!! WOO HOO!!

he was so proud to get to pick out his first sucker!! {we rarely let him eat suckers - very special treat usually reserved for La Fiesta excursions. but while at Sam's the other day, i let him pick out whatever he wanted to be his "potty reward" and he picked out a massive bag of Dum Dum suckers!}

5/18/11 5:45 pm
Noah - 2 1/2 years old

noah and i made him a sticker sheet for the fridge. noah got to pick out things that he would like to get as his "potty rewards!" he got to put his first sticker tonight!! i'm so proud of my big boy!!

Weight Loss Wednesday


lost this week -1.5!

ME
goal: -55 lbs by December vacation to Disney!!!
lost: -9 lbs
to go: 46 lbs!
days until goal: 212

JAMIE
goal: -100 lbs
lost: -17 lbs
to go: 83 lbs!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

my baby


jonah norman. my second-born. little brother. you are such an individual!

at 10 months old you like to go, go, go and you LOVE food! you love applesauce, bananas, avocados, asparagus, rice, cheesy beans from La Fiesta. you don't like meat very much yet. sometimes you like pasta. it depends on your mood. you LOVE cinnamon toast Eggo's!

you are almost walking. we think it'll happen any day now. you love to hold onto the back of my pant legs and walk with me {well, usually you want to be picked up, but i use this as an opportunity to make you walk!}

you love to be held; on your own terms. you like to be held when someone is standing up, but if they sit down, watch out! your screams are piercing!

you growl at people. we think noah taught you this.

sometimes people don't really see the "real" you, because it takes you a while to warm up. you study faces for a long time before you will smile, unless it's someone you know well. you look really serious when you stare, like you are really trying to figure something out.

you weigh a little over 20 pounds and are about 30 inches tall...you are catching up to your big brother fast in height! you wear 12 month shirts and 6-9 month pants...even though you are so tall, you are pretty small around still, so the 12 month pants just fall right off! we're glad it's summer now, because the shorts look better than too-short jeans!

you have big feet, just like the rest of us. we don't put shoes on you yet, unless we are dressing up for church sometimes. you wear around a 4 1/2 or a 5 in shoes. to put this in perspective, your brother at 2 1/2 {who also has big feet} is in a size 9-10

you are completely uninterested in tv. you would rather be following otis around, playing with noah, or getting into the trash than watch a show.

you take 1-2 naps per day {usually around 10:00 and then after lunch sometime around 1 - the 2nd nap is usually pretty long, the 1st one varies} you sleep through the night most of the time. you still wake up every now and then...lately it's been every night. ugh!

there is so much about you that i don't know yet. you are so different from your brother, but in many ways i see that you guys are alike too. you are such a special little boy, jonah! i love my second-born and i thank God for letting me be your mommy!


Monday, May 16, 2011

my firstborn

my baby is growing up! he's now 2 1/2...31 months on May 21st. he is such a rambunctious, fun little man! he keeps his daddy and me on our toes, and says some of the funniest stuff lately.
*he's really into talking in sentences and really loves to tell us, "i do it by myself!" he's constantly telling us, "i tall!" especially when he's standing in a chair, on a table, or on his stool.
*he really has become very independent and will look for things to help him accomplish whatever task he's trying to complete. a common phrase heard around here is, "my stool will help me." {as in: my stool will help me get in the bath, make cookies with aunt cc, climb into bed, etc..}

*he LOVES to sing and dance. he has a microphone and a guitar {te-tar as he calls it} and he will most usually be caught singing a Veggie Tales song. his favorites are: the bunny song, stand up {for what you believe in}, the song of the cebu, and LARRY BOY! he also loves to sing this little light of mine and Jesus loves me! we sing everyday in the car and every night before bed. most days, i turn the radio on in the house and we like to sing and dance around. he woke up the other day, and the first thing he said to me was, "mama, sing hot dog song." that's the mickey mouse clubhouse theme for those of you that don't speak noahese

*he sleeps in the guest bed, our old queen size bed, because he kept climbing out of his crib and didn't like sleeping in his toddler bed. most nights he sleepwalks to our room, carrying his "mo-mo" {blankie}, water cup, and an assortment of toys that he was sleeping with. if he forgets one thing in his bed, he puts up a finger and says, "i be right back" then he runs back to his room to get his lost items.

*mo-mo still goes everywhere with him. lately i've started leaving it behind, and if he doesn't grab it then he doesn't get it. i tell him, "you are big enough to remember what you want to take with you. if you forget it we will just have to get it once we get back home." no more special trips back to the house to get mo-mo. {i have a "blankie" of sorts that i use to keep the light out of my eyes when i sleep, and he has begun referring to it as "mama's mo-mo" :) too funny!}

*noah weighs about 32 pounds and is somewhere around 37 inches tall {i could be wrong on this one, we haven't measured in a while}. he loves to stand on my scale and see how much he weighs, then he tells me, "you're turn!" he is wearing anything from a 2t to a 4t...it just depends on the brand. we love the children's place pants because they have the adjustable waist...both my boys are tall and skinny, so it's a necessity! the 3t pants fit great if they are adjusted to almost the tightest setting.

*he is a little bit ocd. he gets really upset if something spills on him, or if he gets his hands dirty, esp sticky. he has methods for how he likes things done. for example: his mo-mo must be laying across the back of his chair during meals...he seriously will go look for it, and then show me where to put it! he is obsessive about really small things. he asks us constantly, "where is Jessie's/ Woody's hat?" he will look all over and then proudly exclaim, "i found Woody's hat!"

*he would wear his Buzz lightyear t-shirt and his Woody boots everyday if i would let him...and most days, i let him ;) {if it's clean!}

*he loves his family. i mean he really, really, really loves his grandparents and his aunts and uncles, and his bubba! he loves his mama and daddy too, but there is just something about the way he lights up when he sees his Nana, Daya, Gramps, PaPa, aunt ninny, aunt cc...i could go on and on...he is so blessed to be around so much family!!

*he LOVES to go to church. he knows that this is where he sees his friends and of course his PaPa, but we are really making it a point that he knows we go to church not to just see our friends, but we go to learn about Jesus. it makes my heart so happy when he reminds us to pray at dinner and then he wants to list everyone that he thinks needs prayer. he always finishes with a loud AMEN! :)

i love my firstborn so much. he was such an easy baby and has grown into such a joyful, beautiful toddler. God has truly blessed me with Noah.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

bark for the arc


trying to get a picture with 2 kids and a dog is quite difficult :)

this morning we attended "Bark for the Arc" a dog walk for a great organization here in Fort Smith that benefits disabled children.

first we walked all around Ben Geren park, 1.5 miles with 2 kids and our little shi tzu, Otis! noah and otis did great, but jonah wasn't really having a great time...he had a little accident about half way through the walk and we had to wait til we finished and got back to the car to change him. oh life with kids is never boring!! {ps. it was 54 degrees... we were freezing! my thinking was, oh it'll be fine once we start walking, we'll work up a sweat! nope. never warmed up. poor jonah was cold even in pants and a jacket}

our little group (minus jamie) at the finish line!

after the walk, there was a firetruck and police truck to visit! the boys loved this!! they even got to take a picture with 3 firemen!

they also provided lunch and a t-shirt for us {i'm not wearing the shirt because all they had left were smalls. the sweet lady said "i hope you can wear a small" and i just said, "nope, but my kids can grow into them!"} during lunch they did awards for the dogs, smallest dog, largest dog, most energetic dog, etc. i'm not sure when you were supposed to enter your dog for the contest because i didn't have the chance to enter otis for any of the categories...oh well, he's the BEST dog to us!! :) {he was my valentine's day gift for our first v-day as a married couple - he was born january 15, 2006}

my sweet oti' boy before on the way to the walk. he found a new favorite place in the car!

Friday, May 13, 2011

insta-friday

jonah, lover of all foods...tuesday morning it was chocolate chip pancakes! (ps i'll be doing a post about his upcoming birthday plans soon!! it's food related - because at 10 months food is his absolute favorite thing!)

noah played so hard at the park wednesday afternoon with alyssa. he promptly crashed as soon as we got in the car :)

jonah decided to wake up particularly early this morning. he was so cute and in a great mood, just wanted to be awake at 5:30!

my latest hairstyle...rope braids! i've been trying it different ways..the first time i only did 2, both on the left side...didn't really turn out great. the second time i did 2 on the left side and 1 on the right side...didn't know what to do with the rest of the hair, so i put it all up in a low bun. i got 3 compliments at work that day! :)

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

the SHELLAC experience continues!

i just had to mention that my amazing hubby is down 15 pounds!! he flexed for me last night and let me just say, wow! :) love you jame! keep it up!!!

{you can view the original post here}

here we are at day 5 of my Shellac manicure {picture was taken on tuesday}! it's holding up really nicely, only a couple of minor chips, both on my first fingers, and now a small chip on my right thumb. my nails were very brittle and thin to start with after removing the solar nails i had worn for quite some time. i think the next manicure will last even better now that they've had a little chance to grow out a bit.

have any of y'all had the chance to try the shellac experience yet?? let me know if you try it! i'd love to see pics of different colors!!! there are so many new colors i want to try...my salon only offers about 8 colors though. bummer! i may have to ask them to order some more!!

colors i want to try include: Gotcha, Iced Coral, Hot Pop Pink, and Rock Royalty... i also think it would be fun to try the Mother of Pearl..white nails seem to be in this season and you have to love the sparkles!!

Weight Loss Wednesday

during our walk today, it was close to 90 degrees and it took us nearly an hour to make it around our neighborhood...noah and otis were not cooperating! i ended up carrying otis while pushing jonah in the stroller and then had to stop and go back for noah who decided to just sit in the middle of the street! what a crazy adventure!! thank God for air conditioning!!


lost this week -1.5!

goal: -55 lbs by December vacation to Disney!!!
lost: -7.5 lbs
to go: 47.5 lbs!
days until goal: 219

i feel like this week i have gained more muscle mass...i didn't lose as much as i wanted to. i've set a goal for myself to drink 6-8 glasses of water. i would like to be down 10 pounds by my next weigh in so i'm going to really step up my cardio workouts this week. i've been doing between 20 and 3o minutes on either the elliptical or the treadmill, usually going about 1.5 or 2 miles. i'd like to work up to 45 minutes on the elliptical and eventually be able to do a full hour. i have been doing really good in my class, i missed yesterday, but i plan to go thursday morning. i've also been moving steadily up on my weights. i'm still doing 2 sets of 10 reps on all the arm machines {we haven't moved to free weights yet, except in class} and i can do some of them at 50 or 62.5 lbs! it's a long way from where i started about a month ago. back then 12.5 lbs was about to kill me!
my body is feeling so energized and i can tell i'm really getting in shape! i want to see more weight come off, and it's so easy to get discouraged, but jamie is really helping me see that i am losing inches {i'll update that tomorrow after we measure} and i'm gaining muscle mass which in the long run will help me burn more fat. i know it's gonna be slow and steady and i have to remind myself that this is a lifestyle change.
brooke bought me the book i mentioned last week, Reshaping It All by Candace Cameron Bure, and so far i really like it. she struggled with bulimia, but God helped her turn it all around and showed her how to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle with His help.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

a good time

last night my friend, Brooke, and i hosted a dinner party at my house. she and her hubby, Craig, were in for a few days to attend her sister's bachelorette party in Dallas and we had the opportunity to get together with them a couple of different times. he is an air force pilot and they are about to be stationed in las vegas, so any time they are in town we like to try and plan a little get together!! brooke is one of my closest and dearest friends and i love that no matter how long it's been since we've seen each other we can always pick right back up where we left off. this is true also for the other couples we invited last night. all four of us girls graduated high school together and have been friends since 10th or 11th grade.Tedd and Emily and Grant and Rachel are so much fun to be around and we always have a great time together! we were all discussing, over dinner, how special it is that all four of the guys are almost the same age (between 28-30) and all of us girls graduated high school together! there were several connections between each couple and i love it when we can all hang out together!

mason jars with colored flowers for the girls


we bought 3 types of burger buns: potato, wheat, and thin, whole wheat...haha! we overdid it a little!

sweet brooke made cute labels for all of the food

the condiment table

we started off the night with a yummy dinner!! jamie got to use his new grill and we had veggie burgers, regular burgers, and Nathan's hotdogs! i made a yummy, cold pasta salad, corn on the cob, as well as some delicious carrots and grapes. Emily made a tangy, virgin Sangria {she told me that sangria means blood in spanish!} which we served in the mason jars! Rachel rounded out the dinner with some amazing chocolate chip cookies!! she used her mom's recipe and they were a hit!

the boys always enjoy company!!
noah was so cute at bedtime..he had to tell everyone "bye guys!"

we all ate outside since the weather was perfect! it had been hot during the day, but as the evening went on it was so nice. we all took turns holding baby Ian, who was just an absolute doll! noah played in the yard while we ate; and jonah even crawled around on the patio with noah! his knees and hands were filthy once we came in! we stayed outside and talked for quite a while, then we headed into the living room to watch some crazy videos we had made during our senior year of high school. we were all thoroughly embarrassed to be watching these videos with our hubbies, but it was so much fun to just laugh and reminisce about those easy days! i also had all of my old scrapbooks out for the girls to go through. it's so neat to look back at all the fun things we did together in school.

after nearly passing out from laughing so hard at the videos, we played a round of charades. boys vs. girls. the theme: movies. basically this is how it went down. we {the girls} tried to pick some hard movies, like: Breakfast at Tiffany's, Chronicles of Narnia, and It. these were no challenge for the boys who guessed every single movie in record speed. they {the boys} were ruthless and picked some off the wall movies like: Bridge on the River Quai, Delta Force, and a show-stopping, 10 word movie Don't Be a Menace While Drinking Juice in the Hood! poor rachel picked this one and she literally went word by word until we figured it out! it took forever and of course none of us had ever even heard of this movie!! i drew Last of the Mohicans and was totally stumped, until finally i put my hand over my mouth and {illegally} made a indian dance noise. it was a fun game, but the guys have to go a little easier on us next time!

our group: the Lowe's, the Lodes' + baby Ian, the Pachlhofer's, and the Brown's

i am so blessed to have such sweet, Godly, sincere friendships! we are going to make it a point to get together much more frequently. i especially think having girl time is so important, and i miss these girls {as well as my other girlfriends that couldn't be there} and the bond we shared through high school. i think it is such a God thing that we are all still able to keep in touch and that all of our hubbies get along so well! Thank you God for this amazing group of friends!!

1 Samuel 20:42 {Jonathan said,"Go in peace! The two of us have vowed friendship in God's name, saying,}
'God will be the bond between me and you,
and between my children and your children forever!'"

Monday, May 9, 2011

christmas cookies in may?

while jamie and craig {uncle teg} were gone to a MMA {mixed martial arts} tournament, carah and i decided to let the boys help us make sugar cookies. of course the only cookie cutters i have are a christmas set :) we had a blast! i'm sure noah ate more cookie dough than actual cookies. every time he would break a shape, he would eat the dough! then jonah got in on that action and the little sneaky boy would just every so slowly reach his hand into the pile of dough and grab a piece until his mouth was absolutely stuffed with it!

Noah really enjoyed decorating the shapes with blue and pink crystals and little green men shapes {left overs from his Toy Story birthday cupcakes!}

the cookies were so yummy!! {oh ya, we totally cheated on the diet this weekend!}

a weekend at ninny's

we recently traveled over to Tulsa to visit my sister in law, Jenny.
We had a great time just hanging out with her.
We even ventured out to Incredible Pizza one day. that place is seriously incredible! noah thinks it's chuck e. cheese and there is no amount of persuasion to convince him it isn't.

when we first arrived at jenny's house, she ushered us outside to show us something in the backyard...

my kids love their aunt ninny (jenny)
when she's around, no one else exists
maybe it's because she built them an awesome clubhouse, complete with a pirate ship steering wheel and "hot dog" on top! {the crow's nest is coming soon}...or maybe it's just because she will always stop to play with them and will do anything and everything to make them feel special. she's such a cool aunt :)

mommy

notes in my lunchbox. picnics and camping in the backyard. tents in the living room. really, really special birthday parties. she took the time to make me into the mom i am today. she took time to tell me about Jesus and how much He loves me. she is such a giver and a great role model. i find myself being more like her everyday. we cry at the same things (pretty much everything) and we both have an unstoppable joy in our hearts. she would say i giggle more though :) i love you mommy. i'm so glad we are best friends.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

it has potential!


it's true this chair has seen better days. it's dusty, dirty, and a little stained. but it has the potential to be something great!! {plus it was only $12.99 at Saver's!} it's gonna need some serious tlc! i was totally inspired by a new blog - Hyphen Interiors- i found the other day to try and paint a chair {upholstery is so expensive and her tutorial shows you exactly what to do} wish me luck!

Friday, May 6, 2011

insta-friday

here's my week in instagram pics :) i double love this app on my iphone! it transforms all of my regular pics into works of art...okay, so not really, but it's really awesome!

i already posted this pic, but this was the night i got my mother's day gift in the mail!! i love this necklace from the vintage pearl and have worn it pretty much ever since i got it...i almost slept in it last night, but then i worried that it might get tangled in my hair...have you seen my hair lately? it's LONG! and jamie likes it, so it'll stay that way!

here's a good pic of the long hair...this was tonight, date night! we went to olive garden! yummy!! we have been doing so good dieting and we manage to still eat pretty good when we go to olive garden...i get the salad, no cheese, with the dressing on the side{and i'm not allowed to ask for more dressing}, jamie gets the soup and then we split an entree. tonight we had some kind of roasted beef with cheese tortellini in a marinara sauce. mmmmm! pretty sure i went over my calories on that meal, but we each only ate half and were so stuffed!! i did eat one small bite of a breadstick, but i'm staying away from those because a patient at work told me that one breadstick is 8 points on weight watchers...well i'm not doing weight watchers, but that sounds like a lot for one measly little breadstick..and i don't really like them, unless they are dipped in the dressing and we already went there {ps the drink is lime with water - yes i meant it that way}
okay so i enough of the necklace i know! but i really love it! it's so special and i want to wear it everyday! i thought it paired nicely with my black Grey's Anatomy scrubs today :)

me and my mom at work today. do you think i look like her? did y'all know i get to work with my mom? yuppers! every other friday from 1-5 at Dr. J's office! we have a blast and try not to gab too much when Dr. J is there ;)

as you can tell these flowers are not in a vase...nope. they are in a drink dispenser...why you might ask? well when i tried to put them in the only tall vase i have, they looked awful! they were all scrunched together and they just didn't look happy...the closest thing i had to a vase was this great drink dispenser from Kirkland's {i got it last year when we moved into the new house} while it's not the ideal vase, i thought it looked kinda cute and different! the arrangement is currently sitting on my island, making my kitchen feel very summery!

if you know me at all, then you know i'm a -tooth freak- {aka registered dental hygienist} and i love all things teeth. well, i always thought i had a pretty white smile, until i started working for Dr. J and one of the first things he said to me was, "have you ever thought about whitening?" well, he continued to press the matter and even bought me a box of Equate Advanced Whitestrips...which i used {he only gave me the tops he kept the bottoms for himself...he's kinda strange that way} all week and barely saw any difference. so tonight after dinner i made jamie drop me off at walmart so i could go buy some stronger whitestrips. here's the dilemma..i have really sensitive teeth, so i just have to go kinda slow..but i'll keep you updated on the progress :) {ps the Equate strips were very nice...no mess, held onto my teeth well, and did not taste bad - i just didn't see much results after using the entire kit}

this picture is EPIC! jamie called me today to say that craig was in town {go here to read all about craig and brooke! it's a great story!} he wanted to invite him over to play video games...he just needed a guy night..that was fine, because we had plans for our date night, but that's really just going out to eat with my sister and her hubby, then we usually just chill at the house or watch a movie...i said that would be great because i would be blogging and working on some house stuff {ie: shopping online for stuff for our bedroom} so when we got home tonight, craig was already waiting in our driveway with his backpack on containing his computer...these boys are total tech nerds!!! so i'm in the kitchen blogging and i can hear the guys playing call of duty in our bedroom...the xbox is set up in our room so it's not so loud {jamie only plays those games after the boys are asleep - i do not endorse call of duty or games like it...they are wayyy too violent and realistic} just thought the pic of the guys in bed together was pretty funny!

last, this is a cool picture frame i found today at Kirkland's for only $9.99-it had been $24! it's a family tree and says "the roots of a family tree begin with the love of two hearts"...i have post-its all over showing whose picture i want to go where...it will hang either in the boys hallway or possibly in the kitchen. i haven't decided yet.