And most photogenic goes to.....

NOT TOMMY!!!! I was going through my pictures again and I just had to share these that I found from the last year or so. Don't get me wrong, I think he's the CUTEST boy ever, but his knack for capturing hilarious/scary faces in a picture is UNreal!

 Pooping or smiling? Not sure.

 Mad? Happy? Who knows?

 Scary smile....I think.

 I think this look says EXACTLY what's going on in his head at that moment! He was deliriously happy about being outside.

 Yeahhh.......I just don't even know what's happening here.

 I think he's going for "forlorn" in this one.

This is his , "I'm exhausted because I refused to sleep last night and I don't want to take this stupid picture AGAIN" look. 

And then there's this. What can I say about this? I love this kid.

But just to show that he's not COMPLETELY incapable of taking a good picture, here are a few of my favorites....

Love you, bud!

An ode to Diet Pepsi......the greatest drink ever made

One of the days on my staycation, I started having a lot of kidney pain. The doctor tested me and said there was no sign of infection (even though I've had this pain several times in the past and that's always what it is). So they wouldn't give me an antibiotic. But in the past, it's always helped if I give up pop......and that's SO hard for me, because as you're about to see....I love pop. So here it is. A tribute to the greatest pop ever.

A week I've gone without you
Though 7 days can feel like years
There's been lost sleep, hours of pain and
Countless caffeine-free tears

Your bubbly fizz, your cool burn,
The browness of your hue
Diet Pepsi, OH DIET PEPSI,
I'm dying without you.

Why do you have to hurt me;
Make my kidneys pain?
My life without my Pepsi
Is making me insane.

Most will say I'm crazy
To write a poem all about pop
But Diet Pepsi, I don't care....
My love for you won't stop.

















Maybe some day soon, DP,
We can reunite
When my kidneys are all flushed out
And pain is out of sight.

But until that time, my friend,
Keep on doing what you do.
And I will drink my water
While I'm dreaming about you.

Staycation!

I took a lot of time off over the Christmas holiday. Our office closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and on New Year's day, so I took off December 24th through January 1st. And it has been the BEST!!

Nick and I were going to go to Kansas City for a few days over that time, but due to some scheduling conflicts, we ended up deciding to have a staycation at home! We got my mom and sister to babysit the kids Friday night through Sunday afternoon. And it was wonderful.

Friday night, Nick's friend that lives out of town came back and we got a group of friends together and went out. We don't go "OUT" out very often. It's usually dinner and a movie. But Friday we got to have dinner and drinks and then we went to Stooge's for some drinks and karaoke. It was SO fun. I danced. And karaoked. And if you know me at all, you know that is SO out of my comfort zone. I just love that group of friends because there's no drama.....just FUN! We may have had a few drinks, but Nick's friend Dillon said something amidst all the singing and dancing that made me think. He was trying to get me to karaoke and I told him no way. He said I needed to work on that in 2014. So I told him I would work on caring less of what other people thought of me. He stopped me and said, "No. You need to care less of what you think about yourself. What other people think isn't what's stopping you. YOU are stopping you."

Simple, but true. So many times I don't do things because of how I think it'll make me look or because I'm too nervous or scared. So that's MY "new year's resolution." To stop stopping myself.

Saturday, we slept off our previous night and then I got to go shopping! Woot, woot! I FINALLY bought a new pair of tennis shoes. The soles on my other ones were literally falling off. Looked a little trashy. Nick went hunting while I was shopping and then we met up at Chili's for a delicious dinner. It was SO good. And we didn't have to take care of any screaming children while we were eating! We rented a movie that night but ended up falling asleep by 10:15pm. Lame, but we felt amazingly refreshed the next morning.

The kids came home around 10:30am Sunday morning. It was good to see them, but we definitely enjoyed our time as a kidless couple! If you're married with kids, I highly recommend you do this. It's a great way to get refreshed without having to spend a lot of money!

The rest of my time off was amazing. The kids behaved so good every day. We did a lot of snuggling, movie watching, shopping, reading and just enjoying each other. They are the sweetest kids (most days). It almost made me want to be a stay at home mom! There was no way I could have done it when they were younger, but now that they're older and easier to get around, it was so much fun!

But back to work I went...................when's the NEXT vacation?! ;)

Tessa Grace--17 months

So I might've missed a few months. My bad. Tessa, if you're reading this 15 years down the road, please know I do not love you any less than your brother because I missed a few months. You just keep me a heck of a lot busier than he ever did!

At 17 months, you are:

*25 lbs and I believe around 31 inches. I think.

*in size 18-24 month clothes and some 2T if they fit small

*wearing size 5 and size 6 shoes. Your feet are growing like crazy!

*in size 4 diapers

*becoming more picky. For awhile, you were eating anything and everything we put in front of you. Now, you're eating a lot less.

*FULL of attitude! Your favorite thing to say is, "No-noooooo!" You say it over and over and over. You also cross your arms and jut your lip out when you're mad. It's hilariously cute and completely unintimidating. You've also been hitting a lot, thus spending lots of time in time out.

*still an excellent sleeper! When you're tired, you are TIRED. There have been nights you walk to your bed and shake the rails until we let you in. We can usually lay you in your crib at night and we don't hear another peep from you until 7:30 or 8am the next morning. You take a 2-3 hour nap every day. And you can sleep anywhere, any time.

*saying quite a few words. You've really started repeating a lot. Consistently, you say mama, dada, dog, nana, Bubba, Tessa, please, no, yes, love you (which sounds like luuuuuub boo), hug, shoes,  boots and Shhh!

*really getting into dolls and babies. You love them and carry them around everywhere. You insist on sleeping with one and cry until we put her with you.

 

*developing the funniest personality! You always have us laughing and you definitely keep us on our toes. You love to "put on makeup" and LOOOOVE doing your nails. You could sit and try on shoes all day if I would let you......and sometimes I do because I like it too! You are normally very happy and smiley, but when you're upset or your feelings are hurt, it is ALL drama. You get the cry face going and I'm a goner. You climb more than Tommy EVER did--we find you on chairs, on top of tables, getting ready to leap off the couch. Crazy girl! You have no fear!

*following your brother all the time. You constantly have to be doing whatever he's doing. Sometimes he loves it, sometimes he hates it. But you never give up! You want to potty like him, dress like him, walk like him, play with his toys...it's pretty sweet how much you love him! You guys USUALLY have a good time playing and wrestling.

 Tessa Grace, you are the best surprise I ever got!! I love you so much! Mommy and Daddy can't imagine life without your cheesy grin and spunky personality! You are not a perfect little girl, but you are perfectly wonderful. I can't wait to see what kind of young lady you grow up to be! Love you, sweetie girl!

Christmas Day 2013

Christmas Day started with the best present ever! The kids slept in--I think until around 8:30am! Woo-hoo! We ate a little breakfast and then got straight to business. Presents! They were so excited this year! Here comes picture overload.....

 Have I ever mentioned how photogenic Tommy is?! ;)

We all got more than we could ever want or need! Tommy got a Bronco's hat, a few DVDs, a Woody doll, a remote control helicopter, undies, a super hero cape and some shoes. Tessa got a necklace, her own make up bag, snow boots, PJs, a DVD and a few other little things. Nick got a dehydrator (every deer-jerky makers dream come true), a knife and some DVDs. And I got the best presents of all! Perfume, SUPER cute snow boots (or Nick has dubbed them my chore boots--right) and a color printer that prints pictures! I'll be putting that to good use!

After we had our family Christmas, we headed to Nana's. We ate a little brunch and then opened MORE presents!

Tommy spent more time playing with this little doctor's set than anything else! He was listening to everybody's "hawt."

 Tommy and Tessa got a tablet from Aunt Brooke and Uncle Michael! Tommy calls it their ipad. We go along with it!

 Miss Essie got some chapstick in her stocking that she was just DYING to open! She was making the most hilarious faces trying to get that lid off! So funny!

 Uncle Brandon and Aunt JJ got Tommy a "Nunder shirt!!!" It's a Thunder Hockey shirt. He's obsessed!

 Alex and Tommy both got bikes from Nana! They were happy kids. Although Tommy was trying to ride his inside. Not a good plan.

We did a lot of relaxing after we opened presents and of course, we ate some more! After a quick stop at the Wilhelm's again, we headed home for the evening. We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and read their devotional. And then I got my favorite picture of the day....

Merry CHRISTmas!!

Christmas Eve 2013

Christmas Eve this year was perfect! It had snowed a few days before, so we were literally having a white Christmas (which is my dream come true!).

We slept in (as much as the kids allowed) and lounged most of the morning. We were heading to a Christmas Eve service at 1pm at Newspring. I dressed Tessa up in her pretty Christmas dress, got Tommy wrangled into a nice shirt and we headed out to meet Nana at church.

I'm not a huge fan of Newspring church because I feel like they're super showy and from their Christmas decorations (which were definitely beautiful), I feel like there money is going to the wrong place. And I could be wrong, but I like when the focus of a church is God, not their decorations. That being said, they were the only church around having a Christmas Eve service that didn't interfere with our family plans, so we went. They DID have some beautiful music! Tessa was mesmerized. She clapped and danced and stared in awe for most of the service.

After church, we put the kids down for a nap for a few hours and then headed over to Nick's parent's house. We had a delicious Mexican meal (my mouth is watering just thinking about it!). After we ate, it was present time! There were lots of presents under the tree! They all got the annual set of Christmas PJs.

Tommy got a remote control truck that he LOVES, a truck and boat set and a trike.

 Isabelle got a keyboard! She's been saving up to buy one but all of her grandparents chipped in to get her one for Christmas. She was a happy girl!

 Josh and Christi got a crazy chair that everybody loved. It looked like a trampoline (and did seem to be very bouncy!) but everyone said it was super comfy! I think Tessa wanted to take it home.

 Makayla got a bike! She was a happy girl, too! Tommy didn't know it at this point, but he was getting the exact same bike the next morning ;)

 Miss Tessa got a play kitchen!! It took her forever to get it unwrapped and the box was bigger than her, but she was excited!

I didn't get pictures of our presents, but we got Gambino's hoodies, I got a TON of lotion, Nick got a shooting target and together we got some gift cards! It was a good evening, topped off with some delicious sopapillas and churros!

Isabelle informed us before leaving that Santa had made it to North America, so we headed home to get the kids in bed. We had to leave milk and cookies for Santa.

Tommy dictated a letter for me to write to Santa.
It said: Merry Christmas! I love you. It's Jesus' birthday! I want an engine and a Bronco's hat please! And boots for Sissy. Merry Christmas. Thanks for coming. Don't let the bed bugs bite. Dream about lady bugs! Love-Tommy

Sweetest letter ever!

We finally got them laid down and to sleep. They had such a fun and busy day!