Today is the busiest shopping day of the year and....

we are TOTALLY OUT of toilet paper! How did I allow this to happen. One would think I would have checked the closet and bathrooms to ensure we were well stocked on the essentials. I did NOT! So today on the busiest day of the year I have no choice but to go to Wal-Mart to buy toilet paper. Toilet paper of all things!
Pray for my safely...Just kidding!

Today I am thankful for...

My husband and two wonderful boys!

My husband who is a wonderful daddy to our two boys and a wonderful husband to me! He supports me in my journey through school, works hard so I can stay home with the boys, and enjoys playing with the boys and caring for them.

I am thankful for my two boys who are the light of my life. They have added so much to our family and are truly a blessing to us. I love them greatly!

What are you Thankful for today?

Across the bridge

This week has been beautiful and in an attempt to get the boys outside in the fresh air I took the boys to a bridge that goes over train tracks. In the mornings the trains pass under the tracks and it's a lot of fun. When we first arrived a train was passing under the tracks and we had to hurry up the stairs to watch. The boys run across the bridge numerous times, looked through the railing, and had a lot of fun. Shortly before we left another train came and the boys both stood at the railing saying "Choo Choo". It was a great experience. Now when we get in the car Levi says " Go Choo Choo". As usual I used this as a photo opportunity to hopefully get some good pictures for Christmas cards.I got a few of them separate but could not for the life of me a get a good picture of them together. It is nearly impossible to get them to sit still for a picture at their ages. Oh well.

I love how cute this hat is and how cute it looks on him. I do not love how much older it makes him look.

They were watching the train in the distance. I love when they interact with each other and get excited about new adventures.

Luke was running across the bridge to me. He was so excited to be outside and enjoying the day. We got a lot of energy out and took great naps after this.

After we had watched the trains pass under it was time for us to load back up in the truck and get some lunch. Levi was concentrating very hard while walking down the stairs.

This is my favorite picture of our afternoon. Luke was looking up at my husband and was so excited.

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In other news, I have been doing great with keeping up with the laundry and watching very little T.V. during the day. Although, there is laundry piled on my dining room table it is all washed and ready to be put away. There are not many baskets of clothes just waiting around to be worn. I feel like my house has stayed much much cleaner this past week which makes for a happy mom. I am still trying to de-clutter and organize but that could take awhile.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Setting new goals

I have been a stay at home for a little over a year now. Although, I have the opportunity to stay home I also babysit two little boys. My days are full of diaper changes, more juice, snack please, more mickey, nap times, runny noses, picking up toys, and trying to keep 4 boys, 2 and under, in good moods and playing well. Cleaning the house and doing laundry is not always a top priority and many times the laundry gets neglected. I wish I had a good excuse as to why it does not get put away but I don't. I go weeks with just washing and drying. I have laundry baskets of clean clothes in the basement that need to be put away. It's embarrassing really. It frustrates my husband when he can't find a work shirt because everything is in baskets; It frustrates me when I can't find a shirt or pants for the boys and i'm in a hurry yet I've done nothing to fix the problem.

Tonight I have decided that I am going to set new goals for myself.

I DVR many shows and watch them the following day and I have decided that before I watch any of my shows I will make sure the clean laundry is put away, the dirty laundry is washing, the kitchen is tidy, and the house is always presentable. Will the house always be perfect? No way. Will there be days that I struggle and just want to relax? Yes. Will there be days that I fail at this new goal? Yes.

Another goal that I am making is menu planning and meal making. I enjoy cooking but I despise making a menu. I have found many blogs recently that have new recipes that are easy and delicious. I have made a list of meals that look appetizing to my husband or myself and plan to prepare a meal every night of the week. My husband deserves a hot meal after working (or taken to him on nights he works) and my boys deserve a healthy dinner after a long day of play. As with any new goal there are going to be nights that take out is a must because of a busy schedule but nights that I am home I plan to prepare a hot and healthy meal.

These are my new goals and I hope to stick to them as best as I possibly can. I want my husband to help encourage me to succeed with these goals. Maybe once I get a routine down with these goals i'll make more goals. I'm all about bettering myself for the sake of myself and my family.

Good night all!

Outdoor fun before the Rain

Last week was absolutely beautiful with sunny sky and warm-ish fall days. We knew rain was in the forecast so we decided it was time to blow all the leaves into a pile and bag them up (or let the boys play in them). I knew our days of outdoor play were coming to an end so we played outside all day for 2 days. The boys had so much fun jumping in leaves...

Laying beside the leaves while covering eyes so I wouldn't take a picture. Too bad I still think it's cute.
Capturing cute pictures of Luke with Levi "hiding" in the background

Making funny faces and looking a little guilty of something I am unaware of

And sitting in a pile of leaves for a cute fall picture. He is my serious little guy.
The rain and cold weather has returned so we are back indoors trying to find fun activities. Today is a homework day for me so the boys are left to play and entertain themselves. Maybe Jump Mania is a possibility for tomorrow.

It has been way too long...

The past few weeks have been very busy and I have not had a lot of time to sit and compose a new post.
~I finally finished my statistics class and am happy to announce that somehow I passed the class.
~I started a new class and I am loving it. Human Growth and Development is very interesting and keeps my attention.
~Levi and Luke are busy little boys and if they are upstairs for too long without me checking in on them they tend to do something they aren't supposed to.
~Laundry piles are growing daily and really needs to be washed and put away.
~I miss my family in Colorado and California.
~I love my husband and my boys!
~My practicum is going very well. I have completed 85 hours and am sad I am half way over. I have enjoyed learning about Drug and Alcohol addiction and seeing how recovery works. It is an area that I would love to work in after graduation and an area I never thought I would enjoy.
~I miss my boys so much on Saturday and Sundays when I am at practicum. I am not used to being away from them for such long hours.
~I am looking forward to a Thanksgiving feast with friends and their precious little baby girl.
~The spent two days last week jumping in the leaves and ruining the piles that daddy was making. He didn't mind though.

I am hoping to get back in the swing of blogging. It seems that many other moms have the time to blog daily while caring for small children. Surely, I can be better about it too. I would love to join Not Me Monday, Five Question Friday, and many other blog hops that I read.

Happy Monday all!

Halloween fun

Halloween Morning I got up and completed my rainbow cake for Adelle's Birthday, got the boys dressed in their Halloween shirts, and of course took them out front for a few quick photos. I was running late for my practicum so I only got a few, but this was my favorite of Levi hugging Luke. They love each other so much. I am so thankful for my two sweet boys. I was excited to spend the weekend in Branson with my little family at our great friends house. They have 3 kids that are 6, 4, and 3.



Our weekend in Branson started off with trick or treating in their neighborhood. This was Levi and Luke's first time ever trick or treating so I of course was following them taking pictures. I am so happy Ry didn't have to work and he could enjoy the night with us. They had so much fun. As soon as Levi realized that he got candy when he went to doors he was all about it. Luke is very shy and everytime we went to a door he would hold his bucket and sit down. It was so cute.




Luke was a very sleepy lion and did a great job walking. He occasionally would get tired and just sit down while walking to the next house. He spent some time on daddy's shoulders, threw a fit in a drive way, and face planted once. Luckily his costume protected him and he didn't even cry. It was a great night and I look forward to many more nights taking the boys house to house.



The kids that are already at the door are my friends kids. They are much faster than Levi so my little puppy was alwas the last one to get to the door. He loved the attention the older people at the homes gave him. He kinda said "trick or treat" but definitely said "thank you" at every house. He had so much and I am so happy we were able to take them to a safe neighborhood and have a great night as a family with close friends.




And finally back home after a long walk through the neighborhoods. Levi was trying to eat every piece of candy in his bucket. I quickly dumped the candy into a bag and only left a few pieces in his bucket. It was already past bedtime and I did not want them up on a sugar high all weekend. I may be a little biased by I am pretty sure they are the cutest little Lion and Puppy i've ever seen. After this picture was taken we had 5 kids on a sugar high. We quickly sent them to the basement to run, jump, play, and get all their energy out. Overall, we had a great weekend of trick or treating, cake making (pictures soon), lots of playing, and a birthday party. The boys are a little cranky and exhausted today but it was worth it. I look forward to many more holidays to spend with my family and friends.