Last night, around 3:00am, Zach let out a loud yell. Not so much a scream, but more of holler as they say.

It woke me up obviously. I’m not accustomed to my darling Zach yelling in the middle the night (a certain baby boy on the monitor I’m very familiar with however- ahem).

So I roll over and shook him awake.

Me: “Are you okay? You just yelled.”

Zach: “Oh, that was just my battle cry.”

Me: “Your battle cry?”

Zach: “Yes, I’m a warrior.”

And at that he drifted back into a deep sleep.

Can I just say that I love my husband?

I love that he dreams about being a warrior. I love that he has a battle cry. I love that he is a man.

A real man.

I love that he can fix most anything and that he isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.

I love that he is willing to fight for our family.

I love that I can ask him to draw a flower, grow a flower or buy me flowers and that he can and will do all three.

I love that he makes me proud to be his wife.

I love that he is stronger than an ox.

I love that he is a man of courage, honor and integrity.

I love that he loves me and can show me that love without hesitation or embarrassment. He’s so very good at loving me well.

I love that he loves our babies so much. He is truly the best daddy in the whole wide world.

I love that he learns more about how to be man and a warrior through God’s Word every day.

I love that not only dreams about being a warrior, but that he is one.

My warrior.

My hero.

Hands off girls, he’s all mine.

Brother Bear was asleep and missed our smushy face pic!

So yesterday was my birthday.

It was a perfect day full of Jesus, Zach and my babies. The perfect combo pack.

The funny thing is though, no matter how old I get, I always think I’m 22.

I don’t just pretend, I really think it.

When someone says, “How old are you?” I immediately think that I’m 22.

But not just me. Everyone I know is apparently 22 as well.

For example, not too long ago I was out to dinner with my lady friends and one of my dear darlings said that she went out on a date with a guy who was really nice but older than her. When I asked how old and she responded that he was 38.

38?

“You can’t go out with him! He’s 16 years older than you! He’s way too old for you!”

Then, all of my friends looked at me like I was a crazy person (more than usual).

“You know that I’m not 22 any more, right?”

“Oh my. You’re not? How old are you anyway?”

See? Everyone is 22 forever.

In my defense, 22 was a darn good year for me. I met my Zach, graduated from college, moved to Louisville, started my first job, met some of my best friends and lived on my own. It was quite eventful, but so wonderful.

Now that I’m, ahem, not 22, every year continues to be eventful…and wonderful.

In my old age I am beginning to become more thankful for birthdays, because well, the alternative is grim. But then I get greedy, panicky almost. Like I have to super pumped to get older because I’m so frantic about something happening to me and leaving my babies and Zach.

So, with gratitude I celebrate another birthday full of wrinkles, sags and headaches!!!!

Being 22 isn’t so bad after all! Keep ‘em coming!

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with this little story. Just thought I’d share some eye candy.

Ha! You thought I was going to say that I just started running again didn’t you?

Now THAT would be very sad story.

Because friends, that means that I would have died.

I think I’m too old to run.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Anyway, my sweet little precious ones have given me a run for the money this week.

Between Brother teething and Bitzy struggling with being very off schedule since Christmas and trying to get back on schedule, it’s been a doozy of a week.

This Mama is very excited for Daddy to be home with us this weekend.

But then, in the midst of the exhaustion, as I nursed and rocked sweet Brother bear to sleep, as his eyes got heavier and heavier he unlatched, locked eyes with me and smiled the most beautiful smile. Almost as if to say, “I love you Mama, goodnight.”

What a gift.

And then, as I tucked Bitzy into her crib with her blankies after rocking and reading, she sleepily whispered, “Goodnight Kanga, I love you.” And I smiled and said, “Goodnight Sweet Roo. I love you.”

And that my friends, is what it’s all about.

Have a great weekend friends!

The culprit

My very first post about poop was many moons ago. Read it here.

It’s sweet that I thought I was a Poopologist then. Ha, aha, ahahahahaha. Since then, I have earned several doctorates in the subject. In fact, almost every single day I wake up with a nice stew of pee and poop all over me.

Nice, eh?

You see, my sweet Brother bear has gone from being the best little sleeper ever, to, well, NOT the best little sleeper ever. Sure, he’s no Bitzy. He doesn’t hate sleep with the sincere hatred that she did as a baby, but still, I feel like we’re on a slippery slope.

{more to come on that later}.

All that said, he normally wakes up ready to eat, snuggle, cuddle around 6:00am. If I just feed him and lay him down in the crib he’ll scream his brains out, however, if I bring him into bed with me (Zach is long gone at this point) then he’ll eat and go back to sleep for another hour or two.

And clearly I don’t mind the snuggles, not one bit.

What I do mind? Him waking up every 3 hours during the night. You got that right. The child is 7 months old and he goes to bed at 7:00pm and wakes to eat every 3 hours until 6:00am.

What I mind more? The fact that his tiny little size 3 diapers simple cannot hold the massive amounts of excrement coming from his sweet little booty. I’ve tried double diapering, bigger sizes, changing him during the night…nothing works.

No matter what, ever single morning as I breathe him in and try to memorize the way his chest rises and falls, I also smell the sweet smell of baby poop as it oozes all over me.

Yummy, no?

Ah, motherhood.

Someday when I’m old and grey I will miss many things about my babies being tiny…but I have a feeling I will not miss being pooped on every.single.day.

There are many things about this picture that I love…and then some others that I find extremely disturbing.

As I always try to find the silver lining, let’s start with the positive. In fact, my friend Bethany has taught me the rule of PNP (Positive, Negative, Positive). So here we go:

Positive: Bitzy is having a blast. She’s a sucker for the playground. And the swing? Around 8 months old she began her love affair with swinging. Then, as suddenly as it started she banned all swings everywhere. Just the sight of them started her saying, “No, no, no!” Just recently she has shyly ventured back in. We’re starting slowly but surely. Kids are so strange and funny about things…

Negative: Will you look at me? I look like a frumpy Mommy. I may as well have on mom jeans. If I ever needed some motivation for Weight Watchers this is it. Well, and maybe a makeover from What Not to Wear. And I look old? When did I get so old?

Positive:  The owl hat. The cuteness just makes me die and go to heaven. Whoever came up with the concept of the owl hat needs a Nobel Prize. It just slays me. In case you need more evidence, here’s a picture of Brother wearing his too.

My Mama, AKA: Gammy got the sweet owl hats for my babies for Christmas. If you’d like to order one go here. (Linda has no idea that I’m doing this, so, SURPRISE Linda! I love the hats!!!).

Me: “Hey Bitzy Boo, would you like some water baby?”

Bitzy: “NO THANK YOU MAMA, JUST A POLAR BEAR.”

Me: “Hmmm…OK. Well, I don’t have a polar bear, but I do have some water. Would you like some?”

Bitzy: “LET ME SEE,” as she taps her chin, “NO WATER, JUST A POLAR BEAR.”

Me: “Okay, I just need to run into the dining room for a minute and pick up our new polar bear, one second.” (I walk into the dining and count 1-2-3). “OK, here’s your very own polar bear named Polly! Hooray for Polly the Polar Bear!” as I hand her a pretend polar bear.

Bitzy: “NO MAMA, A REAL POLAR BEAR, NOT A TEND ONE. PLEASE MAMA. CAN I, CAN, CAN I?”

Me: “Here’s the problem. Polar bears live in the North Pole with Santa. It would be really hard for our family to have a pet polar bear. But I do have a pretend one named Polly. Wanna play with her?”

Bitzy: “NO THANK YOU.” Then she sits in the floor and puts her face in her hands. “I’M SO, SO, SO SAD. I MISS MY BABY POLAR BEAR.”

Me: “I know baby, it’s hard. I wish we could have a pet polar bear too. Maybe we should move to the North Pole with Santa.”

Bitzy: She totally brightens up and says, “GREAT IDEA MAMA. ME, YOU, SANTA, LEONARD, DADDY AND BROTHER WILL LIVE AT POLLY POLAR BEARS HOUSE WITH HER GRANDMA. IT WILL BE AWESOME. I SO CITED!”

Me. “Of course it will be. I’m so glad we worked that out. Now, how about some water?”

Bitzy: “SURE MAMA. SOUNDS GREAT, I VERY THIRSTY.”

Whew.

I’m gonna get all Billy Mays on ya (may he rest in peace). Just imagine me talking in my most salesmaney, excited, youarenevergonnabelievethedealihaveforyou voice. Because friends of mine, the time is now.

It’s a brand spanking new year and it’s time to start saving some money.

While Zach and I are saving a ton of money these days with couponing, we are still not happy with our budget. We’re (actually, I am), spending way too much on random things that really should be accounted for. “But it’s on sale! It was almost free! We really need it! We might need it someday! I only paid $8 for a $60 item!!!” (that we have no use for- ahem).

One thing I’m learning with couponing is that even if it’s a great deal, it doesn’t necessarily mean we need it.

This whole couponing thing has really brought out my inner shopaholic.

So, starting today, we’re getting reacquainted with our old buddy, Dave Ramsey.

If you’re unfamiliar with him, he’s a famous radio host and a money managing genius.

He believes in a cash only system and discourages debt at all costs. His story is truly inspiring.

We have been on the program before and saved a ton of money while paying off quite a bit of debt. Now, our only debts are student loans and our house payment.

While I’m thrilled to have no credit card debt, having a house/student loan payment are still costing us a fortune. So, Mr. Dave Ramsey himself is gonna help us.

Financial freedom, here we come!

The bad news? Since I’m a stay at home mama now (praise Jesus), and Zach is a hard working sole provider, we just do not have a ton of  ”wiggle” room in our budget. That is going to make achieving financial freedom all the more challenging.

But guess what? I know that we can do it! And I know that you can too!

Here are some ways that we are cutting back and easily reliving some tension off of our tight budget.

Couponing- I recommend price matching coupled with couponing to get the maximum effect. I have written 3 previous blogs about price matching and couponing. Read them Here, Here and Here.

Shop At Home- This is what I call a “click through” site. Let’s say that you are going to buy something on Target.com. Rather than going straight there you go to  Shopathome.com first. When you get there you type in “target” and it will give you a list of coupons/deals. Then you click on the target tab and it will activate a percentage off of your online order on Target. That’s right!  Just because you clicked through their site first, you save a percentage off your order. Right now, Target is offered 6% back. So basically, you are “earning” 6% back on your online order to Target just for going to Shopathome first. Amazing. I just got a check for $45 for basically doing nothing but clicking through. It’s like free money!

Swagbucks- Swagbucks is search engine basically. So rather than doing a google search you search through Swagbucks. When you do you “earn” swagbucks just for searching. So just for doing your normal everyday Internet searches you get paid! I’ve gotten several Amazon gift cards this way. Easy peasy!

Ebates- Ebates is exactly like Shopathome. I normally do a search on both to see who has the higher percentage back. I just got a check for $11 from Ebates. Again, free money!

Rebates- I’m a big fan of rebates. Sure, they are work, but you get a free product and often make money in the process. Take tonight’s haul below. See the box of Bissell Stomp and Go? It’s on the corner and it’s blue. It was $4.98 at The Wal-Mart. I used a $1 off coupon making it $3.98. I’ll fill out this form and get $4.98 back via a check in the next few weeks. It’s like delayed satisfaction. Last month I “made” $65 in rebate money. So not only do I get to try out a free product but I make money in the process.

In other news, here’s my haul from tonight. I want to show you beautiful people that it’s possible to coupon, save money and eat well. Check this out.

I know that this stuff isn’t organic…but it’s not Ramen Noodles either. This stuff to me, is normal, healthy(ish) food, mixed with some other amazing deals.

Here’s the list:

7 lbs. of Gala Apples

3lbs. Cuties

12 Weight Watcher Smart Ones

6 Boxes of Cheerios

4lbs. of Bananas

2 Green Peppers

4 Bottles of Suave Shampoo

1 Suave Deodorant

2 Reach Floss

2 Boxes of Visine

9lbs. of different varieties of Steak

2 500ml bottles of Listerine

2 Boxes of GE Lightbulbs

1 box of Bissell Stomp and Go (rebate form linked)

2 bottles of Purell Hand Sanitizer

7 cans of Chicken “Nuggie” Soup as Bitzy would say

6 packs of gum

2 Pictionary Card Games (For our gift closet)

1 Package of Dole Frozen Blueberries

6 Packages of Scotch Brite Antibacterial Wipes

The pre-tax retail for all of this was $189.76. Tonight after price matching and coupons it was $82.11. That’s a savings of 56.7%. I’m thrilled with this savings based on the produce and meat that I bought.

You can coupon and be healthy, it just takes some effort!!!

We can do this friends, I just know it!!!!

Here’s to saving money!

Love to all,

Disclaimer: If you click on the Shopathome link and you become a member I will receive a credit for $5. This, in no way, means that I’m telling you this information to receive compensation. Rather, I want you to earn more through this site as I have. It’s totally awesome and I want you to benefit from it too. Same goes for Swagbucks and Ebates. I get a referrel credit, but I totally believe it’s a quick and EASY way to earn money. I have not been paid a dime by Shopathome, Ebates or Swagbucks for this post. These words and opinions, are all my own.

Bitzy is a baker!!!!

Every single day I wonder why in the world God has blessed me so incredibly. I am selfish and prideful and rude and arrogant and many more horrible sinful flaws. I do not deserve these little angels.

They are so perfect, so innocent.

They rely on Zach and I for everything. In a way it’s incredibly comforting to know that I am able and willing to provide for their daily needs, but also their need for love, comfort and encouragement.  But in another sense it scares me to death. I am not qualified for this position! I didn’t take a test or study for this job. Somedays I feel so unprepared.

Brother all snuggled at the park!

This week as Zach has been on “staycation,” my job as a stay at home mommy has been exponentially easier. Right now we’re playing a man-to-man defense which is WAY easier than my usual zone defense Monday-Friday.

To tell you the truth I’m so nervous for Monday! Including the weekends he’s been off for 9 whole days!!!! Even though we didn’t go on a fancy vacation, it has been amazing.  We went to the park (even in the freezing cold), the zoo, the science center, and even had a few PJ days (my personal favorite).

An added bonus was that Brother decided this week that he hated taking naps. So, unfortunately we had a few days that he screamed his ever lovin’ brains out for an hour. If I were here without Zach I cannot promise that I would have let him cry…but with Zach I was strong, and yesterday our sweet baby boy slept for 3 hours straight for nap!!! Amazing.

So tomorrow to further increase my nervous nerves we’re heading back on the Weight Watcher train. It’s been a full month of debauchery, but it’s time to get back on the system. And, in case that wasn’t enough we’re going hard core on the Dave Ramsey Financial Freedom plan.

I’ll be writing more this week about all of these fun things:).

Hopefully I’ll still be in my right mind to write!!! Ha!

Have a happy Sunday!

If you have been following my little blog for awhile you know that every so often I get all sudsy and clean on my own personal soap box. It’s not often that I get my feathers ruffled, but for the past week or two, everyday there have been little comments, facebook posts, or conversations with people that have culminated in me becoming very frustrated.

Ya see, I’m gonna need to complain a little.

About what, you ask?

Well that would be about People Complaining.

Ah, complaining.

We call it many things, “getting something off our chest,” or ” being authentic”, or as we said in 1993, “Getting Real.”

To me, it’s called, COMPLAINING.

Now don’t get me wrong. I know that life is hard. Really hard. Disturbingly hard sometimes.

I know that each day isn’t easy and filled with bubbles and big bowls of Milk Duds (what I would do for a Milk Dud right now). I know that. And I know that sometimes offhanded comments are made about physical aches and pains or how the baby was up all night and you’re tired or about how the house is a wreck or about how your husband forgot your anniversary or how your baby boy refuses to take a nap and screams endlessly (oh wait, that would be MY child).

I get it.

I really do.

What I don’t get?

The constant, negative, need to complain.

I know that we all want to be heard…to be acknowledged. But is complaining really the best way?

I don’t know if I’m just attracted in some weird way to stories of heartache and tragedy, but I feel like I’m constantly hearing stories that sting my eyes with tears.  A story about parents losing their three precious children in a car accident. One about a baby boy being born with a congenial heart defect that lived only 5 short years before going home to the Lord. A story about a 5 month old baby inside his mommies tummy who died as his mommies kidneys and heart began failing due to the stress the pregnancy had on her body. And my least favorite (and the one that produced the most tears) a story about an innocent couple that were carjacked, kidnapped and subsequently tortured and murdered. No reason, nope none at all. Just the wrong place at the wrong time.

All this said, it makes my napping woes seem a bit less serious, no?

It’s this little thing I like to call perspective.

So many people say, “it can’t get worse” about simple things like disciplining their toddler or their car breaking down. And then, I hear stories, these horrible stories, and remember that oh yes, yes, it can.

In an instant, a heartbeat, everything, and I mean everything, could get worse. Like, way worse.

So friends, today, I encourage you to bite your tongue when you begin to complain. Remember that somewhere in this great big beautiful world someones daddy is dying, a child is starving, a terminal diagnosis has been made, someone’s heart is breaking and that in an instant your problems could become much, much worse.

So today, try to enjoy your life. Regardless of the hand you’ve been dealt. No matter how bad you think you’ve got it, remember, it could always be worse.

And if you’re feeling really, really up for a challenge stop focusing on all the awful stuff, and remember how amazingly blessed you are. Because, you are ya know, you really are.

What will you do today to celebrate how blessed you are?  Let’s chat about it!  Do tell!

I’m a little late to the party on the whole 2012 thing.

What a surprise, I know.

You see, Zach is on “staycation” this week, which is honestly the greatest, greatest, greatest thing ever. Why must he work I ask? Why can’t we just live on love? Why can’t be heirs to a bazillion dollar inheritance?

Questions for the ages I tell ya.

That said, things like writing a little story have been far from my mind. I’ve been too busy playing peek-a-boo and tea party. Which in my opinion are activities far more important than writing.

Does that hurt your feelings? Don’t take it personally.

So now that I’m officially four days overdue in writing the obligatory New Years Resolutions blog post, I figure that I’ll just skip it. I mean, clearly I want to lose weight (who doesn’t?), pray more, love harder, be better. Of course. But, resolutions just seem so, how you say, cliche.

Last year at this time I wrote this post. While we haven’t written a children’s book (yet!), we have successfully accomplished all of our other goals which makes my heart happy.

Some highlights from 2011:

We birthed the worlds most precious son. He is truly a blessing straight from the hand of God. To say that we are in love with him doesn’t do our deep love justice. He is truly amazing.

Our Bitzy has grown and changed so much in the last year. She is incredible. Last year at this time she was grunting and pointing, now she is singing songs and counting to 25. She’s simply a miracle.

In the past year our house payment has doubled and our income has been cut in half, yet we have still managed to not go into debt. This to me is a major accomplishment.

I have begun what I like to call, “The Great Coupon Adventure” and I love it. It’s saved us a bundle and it’s very, very, very fun.

But more than anything, I am grateful that in 2011 God taught me so much about who He is. About what a loving Father He is, how much He loves us all and how available He is to us. I am so amazed that I get to be His daughter.

So friends, as we begin the journey into 2012 I wish you all good health, happiness, and more than anything, love. Sweet precious love.

Thank you all for helping make 2011 amazing. Here’s to making 2012 even better!

Have I mentioned lately how much these two slay me? So freaking precious.

I’d like to introduce you to someone. He is a very special addition to our family these days.

His name is Leonard.

You see, he’s a magic elf.

He has randomly visited our house over past few weeks, dropping off gifts and promises of what’s to come on Christmas morning.

While we’ve never seen him, as he prefers to visit during bedtime/naptime hours, we love him and speak of him fondly.

In fact, every time a certain man in a brown uniform comes to the door Bitzy asks if the boxes are from Leonard. Sometimes they are, and sometimes they are whisked away quickly to Gammy’s room (AKA: Santa’s workshop).

Talking about Leonard and Santa Claus is pure old fashion fun. Bitzy and Brother are still too young (in my humble opinion) for Elf on the Shelf, plus, I’m not so into the naughty/nice part of Santa. I prefer the anticipation of Christmas, the gifts, and the spirit of fun and giving. With all of our talk of Leonard and Santa we’ve been talking much more about how it’s Jesus’ birthday! We’re having Him a party full with balloons, a birthday cake and candles. We’re talking about how the wise men brought presents and that’s why we do too. I’m not sure how much they are actually soaking in, but seeing as how my Bitzy is such a little sponge these days, I’m hoping she’s getting it all.

Since our babies are so young we’re going to celebrate Christmas morning tomorrow, so tonight is our Christmas Eve. I have Jesus’ birthday cake baked, as well as cookies for Santa. We picked out a big round onion for Rudolph to eat too!  All the presents are wrapped and (I think) we’re ready!

So tonight when daddy gets home we’ll decorate the cake, cookies and party it up for baby Jesus. After it’s all done we’ll get cuddled, read the Christmas story of how Jesus was born in a manager and then read The Night Before Christmas.

While all of this has been a lot of work, I’m so overwhelmed and grateful for the opportunity to begin creating traditions and memories for our little family. In fact, today as I was mopping I thought, “We are creating memories for our children that they will always remember and cherish. We are the memory makers.” Tears stung my eyes at this opportunity and responsibility.

More than Leonard or parties or cookies, I want our babies to remember being loved and wanted and wrapped in our arms as we treasured the gift of the baby Jesus.

On this Christmas Eve Eve, may you snuggle close with you family and friends and soak it all up, every single bit of it. Because friends, this life, this beautiful, wonderful, mysterious, fun life is indeed a gift.

I love Christmas.

Like, a lot a lot.

Before I had babies, I really liked it. But, now? Oh, it’s just magical.

In the next few days, I’ll detail more about our Christmas adventures, including random visits from Leonard the Elf, our visit with Santa, and how we are trying to share the magic of Santa with the truth and beauty of Christ coming to Earth as a baby boy.

But for now, here is our Christmas house!!!! To say that I love it is an understatement.

I think it’s the twinkle lights…they get me every time.

Well, and this little reindeer. He’s a dreamboat.

Our Christmas dining room where we will host a family Christmas Eve breakfast.

“The Magic Stairs” as we call them these days.

Ah, the mantle. All my life I’ve dreamed of decorating a mantle for Christmas, and now I can. Have I mentioned how much I love our house, mantle and all? LOVE IT.

Tiny details like this throughout the house.

And our 9.5 foot tree…TA DA.

Bitzy and I sitting on the fireplace just snuggling. My babies are the best Christmas present ever.

And as Bitzy says about 100 times per days, “Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!” Ha!

Last night at “The Wal-Mart” (I feel like this blog is turning into only posts about “The Wal-Mart”, what can I say, they are my people), I happened upon a scene that was burned into my mind and I’ve thought/prayed/obsessed about it all day.

My beautiful Bitzy and Brother were tucked securely in bed at home with Daddy while I went couponing.

You see, when I go on my deal adventures I’m focused and quiet. I do not talk on the phone, or make new friends while shopping. I stick to my list and try to get out as soon as possible. Just because the deals are the best at “The Wal-Mart” doesn’t mean that I like it there.

So as I was searching in one of the aisles for a certain kind of coffee creamer, I see a man and woman (probably around 30ish) with a toddler in the cart, a teenage son and adolescent daughter coming toward me. Their clothes were dirty and they smelled like a stew of onions and trash. They were talking loudly and cursing. Then, the toddler began yelling “Out! Hungry! Out! Hungry! Out!”

For those of you with babies/toddlers, this is a common occurrence. These little angels do not like to be trapped into anything, much less in a big store where they dream of running and pulling every last thing off the shelves.

So the child says “Out! Hungry!” probably 10 times or so and the Mama grabs the child’s arm and says, “You better shut up before I punch you in the damn face!”

At this point I’m right beside them. Tears were literally stinging my eyes when I turned around and looked directly at this scene. The toddler immediately stopped crying and put his tiny hands over his face in defeat. The rest of the family carried on like this happened all the time.

I couldn’t believe it. I was completely frozen.

I am so blessed to live in a happy world of imaginative play and happy dances. I live in a fun, kind, supportive environment. I would never, ever, ever in a billion zillion years dream of speaking to my babies that way. And growing up I was never treated that way. You see, I grew up in a happy house too. So call me sheltered if you will, but if the alternative is abusive and harsh, then I’m choosing sheltered all day long.

So in my frozen state I just stared. I couldn’t peel my eyes away from this scene. In fact, one may say that I was burning wholes through these folks. And now in hindsight I regret not speaking up. I should have gone straight to the child and told them that they are beautiful and wanted and loved by their Father in heaven. That they are valuable and cherished by Jesus.

I should have gone to the parents and told them that they only have a few short years to bathe their children in love and encouragement before they must go out in to the world. That they are the memory makers. They are the ones that could be and should be their children’s heroes. “Don’t waste it!” I should have said.

But I didn’t.

And now here I sit, thinking and praying for that child and wondering how many more hear those harsh words every day as I sit in my happy house.

Sometimes life just doesn’t seem very fair like that.

These, my friends, are my most favorite jeans in the land. Gap Long and Lean jeans. While I may be long, lean isn’t exactly a word I would use to describe myself. But alas, if Gap wants to call me lean, then they have my permission.

It’s possible that I *may* be a jeans hoarder. I admit it. I have fancy jeans and jeans that I bought on clearance for $3. I love them all in their own way. But these jeans? They are perfection. Especially after 2 or 3 wears, they are like buttah.

Although I have 4 different pairs of these jeans in different sizes and washes, these are my most favorite. They fit the best, I feel good (and skinny!) in them, and they are very comfortable.

Which is why, I may or may not have practically burst into tears when I discovered an innocent fray in the left knee of said jeans.

NONONONONONONONONONONONONO! Take any other pair of jeans! Please! Just not these! They are my forever favorites!

But alas, the fray has continued until a hole is coming any day now.

When I showed Zach he tells me that holey jeans are “cool and hip.” “Maybe you should try still wearing them”, he says.

Clearly, he doesn’t know me. This is evidence.

I may be many things- but hip, I am not.

I am not cool enough to wear holey jeans. I’m just not.

As if that isn’t bad enough, this morning I put on my favorite, favorite, favorite yoga pants (not that I’ve actually done yoga in 2 years mind you), and there is a hole in them too!!!!!

Oh the cruelty!!!!

So here I am left to wallow in my holey clothes.

Holes hurt my feelings.

Do you have any favorite clothes that are unwearable now? Do you share in my agony?

Classic Bitzy.

Me: “Hey! I have an idea. Let’s go downstairs and eat bacon and read books!”

Bitzy: “UMMM…MAMA, DO ME A FAVOR AND MAKE ME SOME OF PIGLETS HAYCORN COOKIES FIRST. AND MILK AND BOOKS. OKAY MAMA? RIGHT MAMA?”

Me: “Sure thing! I just made you some, here they are.” (we are playing pretend you see. In fact, we’re playing pretend about 95% of the time).

Bitzy: OH MAMA. THEY ARE DELCIOUS MOMMY DARLING. YOU GOOD BAKER COCO. MAMA IS YOU NAME COCO MOMMY?”

Runs in the other room laughing.

Me: “Yes! My name is CoCo for sure. Mommy CoCo needs you to come downstairs and eat bacon. I know that baby CoCo is hungry, right?”

Bitzy: “MINE NAME IS NOT COCO. IT’S PRINCESS DARLING DARLING. RIGHT MAMA?”

Me: “Okay Princess Darling Darling, would you like to eat some royal bacon?”

Bear in mind that I am pushing bacon harder than the meth addict at the Wal-Mart because…

A. Bacon is awesome.

B. Brother is fussy and ready for a nap. In order to feed him and give him said nap, I need for a certain 2 year old to be still for about 6 minutes downstairs while I get Brother to sleep upstairs.

C. She is starving even though she doesn’t know it. A sure fire way of knowing that she’s hungry is her incessant begging for milk. She’s ALWAYS been a milk addict, but when she’s hungry it goes from “I WANT MILK!” to “I WANT MILK MAMA, MILK, MILK, MILKY, MILK!” And if she’s really starving it goes, “I WANT BRUDDERS MILKY MILK. I WANT HIS CAKE.” You see, she insists that “Brudders milk” tastes like cake. Granted, she has barely eaten cake in her short life, but really? My milk tastes like cake? Maybe I should market my magic cake milk.

And I digress. Back to the story.

Me: “Listen baby, we really need to go downstairs because Brother is fussy and Mama needs to put him down for a nap.”

Bitzy: “NO WAY MAMA. MY BABY IS NO SLEEPY. HE IS HAPPY BOY! HE MY BABY BOY, BABY BOY, BABY BOY. BRUDDER AND SISSY ARE BEST BUDDIES. MAMA! I WANT MILK. MILKY MILKY. PWEASE MOMMY, I NEED MILKY. BRUDDERS MILK. NOW MOMMY PWEASE!”

Me: “Baby, let’s have a happy day, not a sad day, OK? Don’t make me put you in time out. I’m going to ask you one more time to go downstairs OK. Do you understand?”

Bitzy: “SURE MAMA. BABY COCO DARLING DARLING LOVES BACON AND BABY SOOOOOO MUCH. AND CINDERELLA TOO. WES BEST BUDDIES.”

Me: “Great! Let’s go Darling Darling.”

Bitzy: “NO NO NO NO NO NO! MINE NAME IS SISTER BEAR, NOT DARLING DARLING. YOU SILLY MAMA.”

Clearly, my method isn’t working. I try a different approach.

Me: “Oh Bitzy! I think that Santa may have left a very special prize for you last night. Let’s go downstairs and get it!’

Bitzy: “OH SANTA! I LOVE HIM. HE IS SOOOOO NICE! HE GOT RUDOLOP AND ELF TOO. HE IS SO SWEET MAMA! OKAY LET’S GO MAMA!”

Me: “Great idea! Let’s go!”

Meanwhile I scan the room for a toy, book, crayon, ANYTHING that she hasn’t played with for awhile and may have forgotten about, but I got nothing.

So we get downstairs (finally) and she says, “OKAY! WHAT MY PRIZE MAMA?”

Me: “Guess what?! Santa brought you a baby brother! Sweet Santa! He brought you the best Christmas prize ever!”

Bitzy: “YOU SNEAKY MAMA. YOU TRICKED ME AGAIN! HOW ‘BOUT BACON TIME?!”

Clearly, this ain’t our first rodeo.

Dear Brother Bear,

In the big scheme of life you’ll come to realize that time is tricky. Sometimes time flies (mainly when you’re having fun- like when you’re on vacation) and others it drags on like molasses (like in Geometry class). I can tell you honestly that the past six months have been a mixture of the most challenging moments of my life, mixed with the sweetest, most amazing moments as well. And for you, my love, six months marks the entirety of your life. For it was only six short months ago that you entered this great big world.

And guess what?

The world got a whole lot brighter the moment you made your entrance.

I’m not just saying that because I’m your Mama, ya know. You truly are a light. A beautiful shining light.

You have always been mostly happy. Sure, you have your fussy days, but overall, you’re extremely happy and compliant. You smile at me, your sissy, your daddy, strangers, Christmas trees, the TV, basically any old thing is your best buddy.

Today I took you to your 6 month well check up and when they gave you those nasty shots you didn’t even cry.  I’m sure it’s because of your yummy delicious chubby legs! Not one tear, I tell ya!  You continue to amaze me with your resilience, laid back nature and outgoing personality.

The other day as I held you and snuggled with you God gave me a very beautiful insight…He reminded me that even though I wanted you, and loved you long before you were born, I could never have imagined how amazing you would truly be. Every prayer, desire, and hope I had for you has been answered more beautifully than anything I could have hoped or imagined (Ephesians 3:20).

You are absolutely my dream come true, love. I never want you to doubt how loved you are.

Not now, not ever.

I am so proud of you baby boy, already.

I love you to the moon and back,

Mama

Ya know those moments in life where you want time to stop? The moments that should be frozen in time and celebrated again and again?

We had one of those yesterday.

Typically Monday mornings are tough because we’re all adjusting to Daddy being at work. I know that sounds silly, but it’s true. Bitzy especially has a tough time. It’s a real heartbreaker when she wakes up in the morning all bright eyed and bushy-tailed and in the middle of reading books, rocking and nursing she looks at me and says, “WHERE DADDY AT?” I say, “Oh baby I’m so sorry, but Daddy is at work.”

Then the cries come.

The desperate, “NO, NO, NO. I WANT MY DADDY. I MISS MY DADDY. HE COME HOME NOW?”

It’s truly pitiful.

After she rejoins the world from the pit of her despair we all have to readjust.

That said, sometimes Mondays are a good day for an adventure. We get out of the house and “go to town” as my Mama would say.

So yesterday we had some errands to run, nothing major, but a few things that needed to happen. Things like picking up a prescription, using a Groupon at the store, and picking up an order at the mall.

Note: This is literally only the second time in Bitzy’s life that she can remember ever going to the mall. We’re just not really mall people. We’re Amazon.com people.

Anyway, picture us strolling into the mall in our Cadillac double stroller (which is somewhat like driving a tractor trailer. It’s big and loooooonnnnggggg), while I’m wearing Brother in the Bjorn. Bitzy is all, “WOW, WHOA, DID YOU SEE THAT MAMA? AWESOME! DOWN, PLEASE DOWN MAMA! I GET DOWN, DOWN, DOWN PLEASE!” Note that she’s just looking at racks of clothes and imagining how she can destroy as many displays as possible. It’s not like little elves are dancing at her eye level. Just boring racks of clothes.

I really resisted the urge of letting her frolic aimlessly in the department store, so we finally made it out into the mall  as I was convincing her to be patient.

But then, oh then it was all worth it. “MAMA, DID YOU SEE? IT’S A HORSEY IN THE SKY. IT’S A SUPERHERO HORSEY IN THE AIR. OH MAMA, THANK YOU FOR MY WATERFALL HORSEY IN THE JUNGLE!”

There is a place in one of our malls here with a pond of sorts. There are coins in the water made from hundreds of wishes and horses dancing through the sky. There are even huge palm trees.

When I looked around through 2 year old eyes, that is exactly what I saw. Horses flying through the sky and waterfalls in the jungle. As she looked around, she was amazed. Truly amazed. Then, she made up a story about the horses. “MAMA, THE HORSEY IS STUCK IN THE JUNGLE. I SAVE THEM. I SUPER BITZY BOO!”

And then, she said, “WHERE ALL DAT MONEY GO? I NEED MONEY TOO!”

I told her that sometimes people make a wish and throw money into the water and their wishes all come true. Then I said, “Bitzy, what’s your magic wish?”

She said, “I CLOSE MINE EYES AND MILLIONS OF WISHES FOR MY MOMMY TO BE BEST FRIEND ALWAYS. AMEN!”

And then, I died from delight.

All the while, my baby boy is laughing at Bitzy like she is the funniest thing in the world (which she is, if you ask me).

This simple moment was absolutely magical.

After lots of storytelling and laying on the ground looking up at the jungle (Bitzy, not me), and even laying on her belly gazing into the water (and me asking her NOT to lick the floor), I convinced her to run, run, run and find “The Nuggie House.” AKA: Chick Fila.

While we’re “running” which is really a whole lot more like prancing, we walk by a store that has music blaring. She stops and says, “MY MUSIC! IT’S TIME TO DANCE EVERYONE! I DANCING, I TWIRL. I A BALLERINA! MAMA, YOU DANCE WIT ME?”

Oh my goodness. Seeing my beautiful precious girl twirling and dancing in circles and literally making every person within ear shot smile from ear to ear, well, it just made my heart sing.

So, we danced. My Bitzy, Brother and I we danced right there in the middle of the mall with our tractor trailer stroller and diaper bag for a good 5 minutes. She didn’t want to stop…

And neither did I.

Dear time, please stand still. I’m having the time of my life.

All my life I have listened to people say, “Just Wait.”

In Kindergarten it was, “Just wait ’til 1st grade, you learn subtraction and it’s really hard.”

Same goes for 8th grade, “Just wait ’til high school, balancing sports and studies is tough!”

Then it was the “just wait’s” for certain classes in high school and then college.

My personal favorite, “Just wait ’til after college graduation when you’re in the real world.”

I always hated when people said that. Like college isn’t the “real world.” College is freaking hard. I remember thinking that at least when I got into the “real world” I wouldn’t have to go to class all day and study all night.

“The real world” sounded dreamy.

Anyway, after college it was “just wait ’til your married.” Some people were saying this as a positive thing, like, “Just wait ’til your married, it’s amazing,” but more often than not it was, “Just wait ’til your married, then you’ll never be able to do anything again, so go travel and live it up!”

Then, it was “just wait ’til you have kids.” Again, sometimes it was positive and then sometimes negative.

It seems like my whole life people have told me to “Just Wait.”

I regret to inform those peeps that rather than just waiting around I have actually LIVED my life with a positive attitude rather than waiting on something harder, better, MORE.

What’s wrong with just being in the moment?

Granted, if you want a 5 year plan, I’m not your girl. But if you want to have a spontaneous dance party in your living room, you know exactly who to call.

Realizing these things makes me wonder how to instill a spirit of contentment in the now in my little ones. To realize that the future is uncertain, but we have today, so let’s enjoy it.

As I prayed for our family last night I didn’t ask God to make my babies smart, successful or wealthy, I asked Him to make them joyful, positive and to delight in Him. That’s all.

Somewhere along the way our society has stopped looking at today as a gift and has become obsessed with stressing about tomorrow.

So will you join me in delighting in today? Enjoying those around us and being grateful?

Don’t wait.

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34

I consider myself somewhat of a clean freak…or at least a tidy freak. Having two babies (a fresh 2 year old and a 5 month old), and being a clean/tidy freak has proved itself to be somewhat challenging, I will admit. Especially since I’m a freak-a-zoid about not cleaning when they’re awake, because I’m obsessed with playing. But that’s for another day…

Today, I want to tell you that I discovered this morning that I’m not a clean freak at all. In fact, I’m kind of grody.

That’s right, I said GRODY.

I went to The Fly Lady’s website. I innocently clicked on “Deep Cleaning Your Kitchen” and immediately realized the depth of my nastiness.

Do people like her really exist? Can I have one Mommy, please?

Very few times in life do I wish for things, as I really, really, really try to be content with what we have…but I REALLY want a Fly Lady of my very own. Pretty please with sugar on top?

Or at least I want to have an extremely organized, fun, exciting, scheduled, disciplined, and CLEAN existence….

Is it just me that gets completely overwhelmed at times? I want my babies to have so much fun every day, to play and learn and to have my complete attention. And then, I’ve got this wonderful husband who needs me too…and this house that has LOTS of needs (dishes, laundry, organizing, couponing, sweeping, mopping…you get it).

I find myself so overwhelmed at times. Like it will not ever get done…especially little things like the bookshelf full of books that need to read or sold or SOMETHING.

Again, I either want to transform into Fly Lady or I want one for Christmas please.

Do you? Is it just me?

Don’t worry, I’m not holding my breath either.

As I shopped, I had my handy dandy calculator out figuring how much my haul would be at full retail value. As I put my final item in the cart the total was $405.13.

Holy smokes.

Being as how we’re a one income family now, we simply do not have $405.13 for a weeks worth of groceries. So, I immediately began sweating.

Because, friends, I’m a sweater.

Always have been.

As I pushed my cart up to the front of the store I scanned the cashiers. I have a few favorites, but I didn’t see them.  You see, choosing the right cashier is an important detail in the saving process. Choose the wrong one (like I did last week) and it’s rough.  I like middle aged women. They are my favorite.

Aha! Melissa just came up to a register to begin her shift. Praise the Lord. Melissa is one of my favorites.

When it was my turn, I looked and her shyly and said, “Hey! It’s me again, your favorite!” She didn’t roll her eyes on the outside, but I’m pretty sure that I’m her least favorite customer of all time, as it takes me FOREVER to check out. I told her that even though she didn’t love me the way that I love her, I will still always choose her if given the choice. Somehow I’m pretty sure that she didn’t appreciate my sentiments.

Anyway, I had my list ready and as she picked up the first item I said, “You know that every single item is going to be a price match. We may be here for awhile.”

You see, as I said before, Wal-Mart price matches. This is a wonderful gift.

When you price match and use coupons, it can be a serious home run if you play your cards right.

For example, here are some of my items from my haul…

20 Tubes of Aquafresh Whitening Toothpaste- They paid me $.04 per tube!

20 Oral B Toothbrushes-FREE

12 Colgate 360 Toothbrushes- FREE

10 Smart Ones- $.95 each

3 Packs of Scott Paper Towels (6 pack)- $3.00 each

20 Boxes of Whole Wheat Pasta- FREE

66 Packs of gum- FREE

3 bottles of Masterpiece BBQ Sauce- $.89 Each

2 jars of pasta sauce- FREE

5 boxes of Finish tablets for dishwashers- $1.99 EACH

2 bottles of Finish Rinse Agent- $2.49 EACH

9 bags of Halloween Candy- $1 EACH

With price matching and coupons I paid $71.25 (which included over $9 in tax) for over $400 worth of stuff! That’s a savings of over 80%!

Let me say, for the record, that I am a novice. There are tons of people who are much better, and much more organized than me. I use several sites to help me. Here are a few…Coupon Katie, Couponing to Be Debt Free, The Krazy Koupon Lady, and Money Saving Mom.

Even though I’m very new to this couponing game, I will share my strategy and hopefully you’ll be inspired to give it a whirl. Why not? Don’t we all like to save money?

First things first: Buy a Sunday Paper. Pull out the inserts and start clipping those coupons! Also, look online for coupons! About 25% of my coupons come from online sources like Coupons.com, Smartsource, Red Plum, and others promotions (like Facebook offers).

Second: Buy some kind of 3 ring binder. I have one with lots of pockets. Some may call it a trapperkeeper, like we did in 7th grade.

Third: Buy baseball card clear organizers. I ordered mine on Amazon.

Fourth: Find a way to organize that works for you. I am not the most organized gal. I’m totally OCD about things being clean: but organized? Not so much. There are tons of resources online for how to organize your binder, I simply organize by month. It’s the easiest way for me. I’m sure that my binder would give Type A personalities a heart attack (as would my closet).

Fifth: Look at the sales ads. If Rite Aid has Herbal Essence Shampoo on sale this week for $1.99 (they do), then look for a coupon to match (in the 10/31 Sunday paper there was a $1 off coupon). You can go to Rite Aid and get it for $.99 or go to Wal-Mart and price match.

Sixth: Strategize. Are you looking to save a little and plan your meals out? Or bulid a stock pile? Or only coupon for free stuff?  To be honest with you, when I started couponing I jumped in head first with no real strategy (shocking, I know), which for me, worked great. I’m not so much of a planner, so pulling from the pantry/stockpile every day for meals works for me. But again, if you’re a planner, you can simply plan your meals based on the sales ads and coupons. For example, my family loves “NuNu Nights” for supper. Translation: Pasta with tomato sauce and meat (sometimes I do chicken breast and sometimes I do ground turkey).  It’s a simple  and easy meal. So, I know that I will use them. When I saw the  whole wheat noodles on sale for $.99 a box (normally $1.64) I ordered 20 coupons for $1 off from ebay for $1.50. So basically, I paid $1.50 for 20 boxes of pasta and I will use them for a healthy meal for my family. So, technically, I don’t meal plan, but I only buy and stockpile what I will use. I am not going to get 100 boxes of processed food just because I can get it free, because we won’t eat it. Another example, soup is on sale this week for $.49 a can at Kroger (normally $1.29). I have accumulated several coupons over the past few weeks for soup, so I’m going to get 20 cans for $6.10. I know that I’ll use them, so why not take advantage of such a great deal?

Seventh: Make a list. Again, make a list that works for you. I just write it all out on a piece of paper (because I’m old school). I put my list into categories: Health/Beauty, Food and Cleaning Products. This helps when navigating the store. I write down the quantity, the product name, where the price match comes from, the matched price and then my final cost (after match and coupon). Side Note: Wal-Mart does not require you to bring ads to prove your match, however, if you’re getting something for more than 50% off the Wal-Mart price they will ask to see the ad.

Eighth: Be confident. Couponing requires concentration and attention to detail (which is a real struggle for me), but you CAN do it. Start small and build up. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Ninth: Be kind. Your cashier may not be familiar with all the policies and that’s OK. I have found that having the coupon policies handy, helps everyone.

Tenth: Celebrate! Whether you save 10% or 90% you’re saving something!!!

So there you go! As I’ve said, I’m new at this and would love to share stories and lean on each other for help and pointers!  Now, go SAVE!

PS: One more pointer: GO ALONE. Taking kiddos would be a terrible idea.

Love to all,

My beautiful girl,

Yesterday at 6:17pm you turned two years old. This truth seems unbelievable to me. In some ways if seems like you were born just yesterday, and in others if feels like we’ve been together forever. I barely remember life without you.

You have absolutely, in every way possible, made the world a better, more beautiful place. Especially the world as your daddy and I see it. You are so delightful, so beautiful. You make every day sweeter. I cherish every single day that I get to grow with you. You make me better. In fact, you and your brother are the very best things I’ve ever done.

You have such a sensitive, sweet spirit. You are smart, kind and most of all FULL of life.

Tonight as I rocked you to sleep I was reminded that while you are now two, you are still very much a baby. And I must admit, this gives me great joy. I want you to remain a baby forever, my baby.

Sadly, someday you will not want me to rock you to sleep, but I hope and pray that you will still gaze into my eyes and say, “I love you mama, so much” as you did before drifting off to dreamland.

And then, tears will slip down my cheeks as they did tonight, because baby, I love being your mama and I’m so grateful that you love me back. God picked you out for me and me out for you. We were made for each other.

Your daddy says that we’re just alike. We are both hyper, clumsy, silly, loud, emotional, we laugh easily, and we know what we want and when we want it (which isn’t always a good thing). I get you, Bitzy boo, I really do. Perhaps the reason that I can read you so easily is that we are so much alike. Just like yesterday when you began having a meltdown over something silly, rather than disciplining you, I simply took you in my arms, sat you on my lap and held you. You just needed a break and I knew it. Sometimes I just need a break too sweetheart. Maybe we can always take our breaks together.

Most of all, I want you to know how loved  and wanted you are darling. You are loved by so many. Your daddy and I prayed and begged God for you. We never, ever could have imagined the blessing He had in store for us in you. He is good like that.

I want you to remember that no one on earth loves you as I do (although your daddy is a close second). I will always, always, always love you no matter what. But as much I love you, God loves you more. And I pray every day that you will love Him back, because He has loved you since the beginning of time sweetheart. He is so good. Trust Him, Love Him and Know Him as your own. This is my prayer for you my love.

I love you to the moon and back…Happy Birthday dear baby, happy birthday to you.

Mama

And the Winner is….Melani Moore!!! Congrats Melani!!!! I hope you LOVE you babylegs from Tater ‘N Sass. I just got my Bitzy a pair and they are precious:).

Thanks again to Amy at Tater ‘N Sass for the giveaway!

Do you ever see baby stuff that you want to wear? I know I sure do.

I mean, why doesn’t Target make the little baby owl hats for mommies? Why only the babies?

Do you think it would be weird if I started wearing baby legs, even though I have Mama legs? Probably. I think they called ‘em leg warmers back in the 80′s.

I did have a Barbie who sported some pretty smokin’ hot leg warmers.

Well since I’m weird enough sans baby legs, I think I’ll leave it to my littles and my old and faithful Barbie to sport the sweetest little leggings ever.

Amy, a precious gal that I went to college with has generously offered to give away a pair of her homemade babylegs to one lucky reader!  Below you’ll see 2 different examples, but if you go to her Etsy Store you’ll see more samples! If you’re the lucky winner you can let Amy know what color/style and size you need for your little Barbie!

They’re great for little kiddos who are learning to crawl to protect their little knees, they’re great for potty training and diaper changes so you don’t have to remove tights, and quite honestly, just look super cute.  Amy’s Etsy store is called Tater ‘n Sass. Sweet huh?

Leaving a comment on this post is all you have to do to enter! Of course, for those over achievers, you can gain one extra entry by “liking” Tater ‘n Sass on Facebook! Please just remember to leave me an extra comment telling me that you “liked” it.

This giveaway closes at 10:00pm EST Tuesday, November 1st. The winner will be announced the next day.

Good luck!

Disclosure: Tater n’ Sass has provided this giveaway today.

Love to all,

I’m not one of those gals who gets all in a tizzy about her hair. I’ve never once cried over a haircut or color gone wrong. It will grow back after all, right? Hopefully?

Anyway, my days of non-tizziness came to a screeching halt a few months ago when I declared that I hated, HATED, hated my hair. Too long, too dark, too awful.

So, what did I do? I slapped it up in a pony-tail every.single.day.

I became the typical stay at home mom who had on no make-up, hair up and a coffee mug in hand.

I’m not proud of this folks.

While it’s not practical for me to wear high heels every day, for me, it’s important to feel good about myself. I figure that we all will benefit from mommy looking and feeling good. As they say, “If Mama ain’t happy, nobody’s happy.” True dat.

So, I called a salon about one minute down the road and got an appointment. My sweet mother in-law came over and watched the babies and I spent one solid hour alone getting my hair did.

And…I love it.

Granted she could have given me a crew cut and I would’ve liked it better than the matted long mess of hair that I had.

Thankfully, she did exactly what I asked her to do and I’m in happy hair heaven.

I’ve even worn make-up for 2 days in a row!

Shut the front door, Molly is back!

Here are some pictures:

Front

Back

It’s slightly embarrassing how much better I feel. My step is lighter and slowly but surely I’m feeling like myself again. I’ve been pregnant/breastfeeding for nearly 3 years! Crazy.

Now that my hair is cute and my baby weight is almost gone I’ll probably get pregnant again any second…because that’s how I roll (relax Mama, I’m joking).

Where have I been, you ask?

Well, basically having the time of my life! Literally.

I don’t want to be all cliche and annoying, but honestly, having a loving, handsome husband and two adorable babies makes for one happy mama!

Also, I’m thrilled to report that I am officially a stay at home mama now. This is a long answered prayer and I am overwhelmed that God has so graciously given my family this gift. This is my dream job!

Being with my sweet ones all day, everyday, is honestly my dream come true.

I am also able to serve Zach in many simple ways that add up to be gifts that I love to give him. Things like, the gift of dinner on the table every night when he gets home from work, a clean house, clean clothes, the gift of praying for him throughout the day, but most importantly the gift and mission of kissing every boo boo, teaching every song, dancing every dance and loving on our babies all day long. Like I said, it’s a dream come true for both Zach and I.

I cannot, and will not take this gift for granted.

So, that said, here’s what we’ve been up to…

This, my friends, is the good life.

Some days I feel as if I could sit down, put my fingers on the keys of my laptop and words would burst out of my soul. I would write beautiful, smart, witty things that would inspire and provide laughter to the masses.

But shockingly, a 22 month old and 3 month old really don’t care about said minute and demand my full attention.

Hence, I guess we’ll never know if those words truly would pour out of me.

Probably not.

I would get distracted by People.com or the mountains of laundry that need to be folded and put away and then those words would be bottled for another day.

The real truth is that when the babies are finally asleep I am far too exhausted to spell my name much less write anything that is coherent, much less meaningful.

That said, the utter exhaustion that I am experiencing is the most precious place that I’ve ever been. These sweet babies are growing so rapidly that I can hardly keep up.

Bitzy’s language development is tripling by the day and my sweet baby boy now weighs 17 pounds! Amazing how they grow isn’t? What a wonderful way to spend my days.

Someone much smarter than me once said, “How you spend your days is how you spend your life.” So true. I feel overwhelmingly blessed to spend my days picking up toys, kissing boo-boos, changing diapers, reading books and loving on these two sweet ones. Even with Bitzy’s new term, “No way!” for everything I ask her to do, which results in time-outs and tantrums, and with Brothers new desire to only sleep in my arms (which clearly I LOVE), I am amazed that I get to be with them all day, every day. It is a gift that humbles me.

So, at this point in my life no profound words will be written anywhere but my heart, as I desperately try to memorize the moments that are flying by.

Maybe when I’m 50 I will write something fabulous.

Until then, this is all you get.

Ha!