Happy Halloween!

Mia was an Olympic Gymnast!

 And Marshall was a Magic Monkey!!!

There is a story behind this one!

Caleb started calling Marshall "Magic Monkey" shortly after we brought him home. 

Don't know why, he just did. 

And it has stuck!

So when I was thinking about his first Halloween, I knew exactly what he had to be!

I made the little top hat and cape and attached them to this adorable monkey costume and voila!

The Magic Monkey!!!

I love it!

Even if he only wore it for a little while!

 He did this after just one block!

This year my mom was in town and my sister and her family came over to celebrate with us.

We set up a table and chairs in the driveway, ordered pizza and made a party out of it!

This is the only picture I managed to get!

Terrible I know, but it's really all I have!

My neighborhood goes nuts for Halloween and the kids had a grand time!

Think it might need to be a tradition to get together at my place!

Happy Halloween! (Almost)

Mia-isim

Mia just informed me of a new word she made up. 
Ramana- she says it means in touch with the season and the holiday. 
The sentence she used was 
"I think I am going to wear some sunglasses with my Halloween outfit. It will be very ramana." 
This girl!!!

Marshall's New Ride!

This thing is so awesome!

It is a 3-in-1 and will grow with him

Love it!

Suck it up

While I was folding the clothes earlier,
and having quite the pity party,
all of a sudden the song "It won't be like this for long" started playing in my head.
I actually heard it over all the other needless chatter in there.
It's so true.
So now I say to myself:
Suck it up sister.
Life is good.
Great actually.
You can do this.
Then the song "You're gonna miss this" starts to play in the noisy box that is my brain.
And I take a deep,cleansing breath and push on.

Hamster Wheel

I feel like I am running on one constantly!
Lately I have been feeling slightly crazy.
Literally.
I am having such a hard time focusing on anything.
I can't seem to keep up with things.
Like the house, laundry, kids, husband, work, etc...
I will start one task and the next thing I know I am doing some other random thing and the initial task is not completed.
The other day I got Marshall's lunch ready and about 4 hours later realized I left the whole bag of frozen applesauce cubes on the counter.
I can't remember the last time I made an official trip to the grocery store.
Haven't clipped coupons in weeks.
The flyers are stacking up.
The stack is quite intimidating actually.
This is not me.
I find myself looking forward to nap time and bed time.
This frustrates me because I love spending time with my family and I don't like it when I am wishing it away.
I feel so crazy inside.
My head is spinning with thoughts, tasks, wants, needs, plans.
I get short with Mia when it is unnecessary.
Sometimes her 50 millionth question just pushes me over the edge and I feel like I can't take any more.
She asks me to play with her and I say "No, I have to do x,y or z."
I used to have so much time to play with her, and I enjoyed it.
Lately it is feeling like a job.
I can't seem to get enough rest.
When I do sleep I have the craziest dreams.
Thus my sleep doesn't seem very restful.
I feel like I don't spend enough time interacting with my sweet boy.
I just try to find things to keep him occupied.
I need to quiet my head.
I want to enjoy my family.
I have to do the dishes, make breakfast, lunch and dinner, wash everyone's clothes, bathe the kiddos, straighten up the house, then get up and do it all over again.
Oh ya, I also have a full time job.
Good grief.
I was hoping venting here a little would make me feel better.
Not so much.
The dryer is beeping, I have to go fold some clothes...

First Picinic

I took the kids down to the neighborhood park today for the first picnic of the season!
It was Marshall's first picnic ever!

Ultimately it was a little too hot, but it was so nice to get outside and feel the fresh air!
It's gonna cool off soon....right?!?!

Ya da dadada.....

Afro Circus!!!!!!!!!!!

This wig came with the new Madagascar movie!
It was too small for Mia, but just right for Marshy!!!
Too cute!

I saw a story on this article on the Today Show the other day.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/allison-tate/mom-pictures-with-kids_b_1926073.html
It was a pretty touching story that has gotten a lot of attention. It is about the fact that we take tons of pictures of our kids, but mom's are almost always behind the camera and thus don't have many pics of ourselves with our kids.  It is so true. 
So today I took these pics of me with my littles!

Then I thought a little more about it...
This is the closing paragraph of the article: So when all is said and done, if I can't do it for myself, I want to do it for my kids. I want to be in the picture, to give them that visual memory of me. I want them to see how much I am here, how my body looks wrapped around them in a hug, how loved they are.

What really matters to me is that my kids have many pictures in their heads of all the time I spend with them, loving them, teaching them, having fun with them and taking care of them. That they know how my body feels wrapped around them when I hug them, hold them or snuggle them before bed and can recall that feeling from memory for the rest of their lives. And that they know in their very being how much I love and cherish them. Whether I have a million pictures of us together, or just one.
And I will spend the rest of my days ensuring just that!

9 months!

Here we are, another month has passed.
Big sigh...
My poor sweet boy got a cold for his 9 month birthday present!
He is so sick!
I fear that it may be spreading to his ears.
He is miserable!
I hate that I can't do much for him.
Just gave him a nice warm bath and slathered him with vicks and put him to bed.
Let's hope he gets some sleep tonight!

So this month he has been on the go!
He loves exploring all over the house.
This last week he started waving and giving high fives!
He is still eating like a champ!
His newest faves are spaghetti and meatballs (all blended up of course!), yogurt, acorn squash baked with butter and brown sugar and pretty much anything you give him really!
I think that eating times are his favorite times of the day!!!
Here is his 9month pic I took this morning.

Even when he is sick he still has smiles for the camera!
(I think he is worse tonight though :( )

We love you Magic Monkey!
Cheers to another great month!

Gettin' ready for Halloween!

Here is the new Halloween wreath I made this year!

Love it!

School Pictures!

Mia

Pre-K

Marhsall's new favorite thing is to stand up!
He can't do it by himself, but if we stand him up at his little piano he just stands there with a big ol' proud grin on his face!

Love this little man!

ABQ!!!

Me and the kids flew to Albuquerque this week to spend some time with my mama!
The weather was gorgeous, we spent so much time outside!

I am so in love with these pictures of my mom my kiddos!
My mom's backyard is amazing and the light was perfect!

Mia took this one!

Marshall got to have his first bubble bath!

He thought it was pretty cool!

We got to spend some time with Caleb's dad also!
It was a beautiful evening in Grampa Eddie's new outdoor space!

And Marshall had his first trip to the Zoo!

 Mia's cousin (almost!) came with us and the girls loved spending the day together.

This peacock was not at all shy!
Maybe even a little too close for comfort!

The Albuquerque zoo is so amazing!

We had such a wonderful time!
Thanks Mom for having us!