that time my brother was on the Ellen show

Okay, okay, so technically he wasn't on the show, but! If you watch (which, actually, I don't) then you may have seen yesterday's episode with a phone call from Gladys. Well, Gladys is chatting with Ellen about all sorts of fun stuff and then brings up how people can be so kind and do good things for others.... much like her neighbor, who happens to also be her mailman, which would be my brother.

Anyhow, I'm sharing the video with you all because I can and it's fun. Also, because it's kind of exciting to hear your brother being talked about (in a good way) on national television. Even if it's only a few seconds at the end of a funny phone call.



Get this, I knew nothing of it until my mother in law called saying (barely after I could finsish saying hello), "Gladys called Ellen!" I'm thinking, okay, well that's neat because I actually know who you're talking about...  "She mentioned your brother and said how he was helping fight the wildfire." Needless to say, I was on Ellen's site in a flash watching her talk to my brother's neighbor, Gladys. (Btw, thanks for telling me, apparently my brother had already found out from Gladys and told my mom to watch it....... no one tells me anything.)

making a fire break to save "all the critters"

my bro and CLB

Original link:
 http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2012/01/a_phone_call_from_gladys_0130.php

 I guess I'm just a proud sister.

weekend review

I got the bathroom painted Friday, although my little angels were not helpful during their nap time. It was so much fun having to paint that tiny space (which was also the most challenging of all rooms) with the door shut for half of it. Oh well, I think I recovered by dinner time to make cheese enchiladas. It's all a bit fuzzy though.

Saturday we did some family shopping/browsing at Home Depot and Best Buy, because isn't that where all the cool people shop? Anyhow we ended up scoring a major deal on a bathroom vanity and my dreams came true when we (clearly I mean T) installed it Sunday afternoon. The most overheard phrase at our casa right now is, "Wow! It's so different!"

T and I went on a date and the restaurant we wanted to go to was "unexpectedly busy" so we decided to try it at a later date and headed down the street and around the corner to one of our favorite places. We talked and talked. It was great to only be interrupted for our dinner. We had chicken fried steak and it was delicious. Then we picked up the kiddos and looked at the clock which told us we were losers. It was 9:30 and we both thought it was at least 11. I do suppose a four hour long dinner would have been somewhat excessive.

Sunday we went to church. We even arrived 15 minutes early (an incredible feat for our family). We were able to meet the pastor before service and were assured that no one would mind our children and he certainly understood since he has four ranging for 4-9 years old (I think that was the age range). They were sitting with their mama on the front row. Our kids were really well behaved. The church even hands out special kid themed bulletins they can fill out and color. They had a cry room and nursery that we were lucky enough to not visit. Yea! Anyhow, we really liked it and will probably go back next weekend.

We stopped at a playground on the way home and the kids got to run off some energy and we had lunch there. After we got home the kids took naps and I chilled while T worked on the bathroom.

It was a really nice weekend. I guess I have to get back to the everyday things now. I've got really big plans and I'm sure you can guess what they are. bye for now!

ten happy things friday

1.) Early mornings with just me and him at the table with our coffee.

2.) Watching the sunrise and the misty fog coming off the water.

3.) Seeing my mom yesterday.

4.) Snuggling with Rose. Even at 4:49am. (I was going to wake up in 10-30 minutes anyhow.)

5.) Tomorrow is date night. I say that like we routinely have date nights... Ha! Glad that T arranged it and babysitters (thanks Pappy G & Grandma! and Ethan and Shauna- I'm sure the kids will seek you out in record time if y'all happen to not meet them at the door!)

6.) Paint. I have it ready to go and hopefully during nap time I can knock out the majority of the bathroom. I'll have to work fast!

7.) The kids getting along and sharing. They even want to share their fruit snacks with me! That's a big deal around here.

8.) The weather. Today our high is 70. (Tomorrow is awful with a high of only 57. Go ahead and roll your eyes everyone that lives north of the Red River.)

9.) I just realized I get to dress up twice this weekend! It's exciting to think about, but I know when it comes to choosing what to wear I'll be completely stumped.  Can't I just wear jeans everywhere?

10.) Good friends. The ones I know in person and the ones I'm making through the blog world. I really enjoy reading your blogs and seeing how similar and sometimes how different our lives are. Thanks for your comments (and for your suggestions on yesterday's post).

Have a great weekend!

a question for you

Those of you that attend church and have children what do you do to keep them quiet during the service?

A few Sundays into attending a very, very small church (we doubled the attendance and I'm not even joking) after failed attempts at shushing a loud/inquisitive child and then having him, in turn, hush the pastor we gave up. No amount of picture Bibles, prayer books, snacks or pen and paper occupied him for more than five minutes before I or T had to wait outside with him. (There was no other option!) We also had a newborn to deal with and the handful of regular members of the church routinely had to adjust their hearing aids or tell the pastor to speak up at the beginning of each sermon. This made for an awkward morning for our much younger family, although everyone was kind and always said how much they liked seeing us.

So, this coming Sunday we are thinking of trying out a new church and I'm more than a little worried that (ohmygosh) we will have to endure a lot more attention than the always pleasant "Hi, we're new! I will never remember your name, but you seem nice! Can we sit in the very back?" meet and greet. I am already dreading introductions and the inevitable "shake your neighbors hand" thing. (Please don't let them do this.) I guess I'm little nervous.

Your suggestions on what to pack as quiet activities/attention grabbers will be so very much appreciated, as well as any advice on how to prepare them for the quiet time that they will likely have to endure.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

P.S. Ages are 5, 3.5 and 2.

almost wordless wednesday

It looks like we got some rain, finally. 

I do believe I could have paddled a canoe down our driveway and 

(if the gate hadn't been closed) 

on down our road.

top left/bottom left: 6:30am 

I luckily escaped being struck by lightening multiple times in my attempt to photograph (poorly) the flash flooding event of January 2012

top right: stock tanks should always have water (possibly a mirage?)

bottom right: who needs ankle weights when you can have fifteen pounds of mud on your boots?

It's not a crib anymore (update)

If you remember from Thursday Rose started scaling her crib and I was thinking of transitioning it to a day bed. Friday morning I took the front panel off (I followed the instruction manual) and she really enjoyed climbing in and out of her bed trying it all out. I know some of you were interested in how this transition would go. Here is an update of how the past 4 days have gone.


We went to the grocery store Friday morning and when we made it home Rose was sleeping so I laid her in bed and went on about my business. She took a long nap and was still asleep when T got home. Shortly after I told him that I had taken the crib apart we hear her crying... yeah, she rolled off her bed. She wasn't hurt, just startled because she wasn't fully awake. The bed is 15 inches above the floor (I just measured it). Anyhow, she was fine and I made a mental note to put pillows on the floor at bed time to cushion any other falls.

Bed time was a bit more interesting, however I can't remember all the details. I know she got out of bed a few times and I had to turn the light out at the ceiling fan because she wanted to turn the light on and run around. She did roll off the bed during the night and onto the pillows which woke her up and required a visit from mommy, but she went back to sleep fine.

Saturday night she woke up a few times (I think once was due to rolling off). Nap time has been  fairly decent except for Saturday due to her 30 minute nap on the drive home from town. She does crawl off the bed occasionally after I put her down for nap or bedtime, but I've been consistent in putting her right back on the bed and telling her she needs to sleep. So far it's worked.

Sunday and Monday night she slept all night, which was awesome. She hasn't rolled off the bed anymore, but I still have row of pillows next to her bed just in case. I think it's been a fairly easy transition. I hope I'm not jinxing things by saying that!

That's about it for now. Good luck to anyone else embarking on this "milestone"!

what's happenin'

 1.) It's been a busy morning of toy (re)organization. I'm happy to say I am almost done and just have a few left to sort through. I did a major clean out before D's birthday back in November so this was mainly to give everything from birthday and Christmas a proper home. I don't know why, since I'm not a crazy organized person, but seeing dinosaurs, cars and trains all thrown in the same basket really bothers me. The same thing bothers me with Rose's toys. I have to have all her play food and kitchen things together, baby stuff separate from stuffed animals and stacking and sorting toys together. If I could be so organizationally motivated in my own room it would be amazing.

2.) My husband started a new job today. It's a drastic change from what he's been doing so I'm praying that he adjusts easily.

3.) I'm watching D put together an alphabet puzzle right now. He said he didn't need any help... he was right. It's so fun watching him figure it out.

4.) I have a overflowing basket of laundry to put away. It shouldn't be too bad since it's just the kid's clothes.

5.) All my kids are currently napping or resting (D just got up and said he was tired.) So I should finish cleaning up the huge mess I made with all those toys.

See ya tomorrow!

Don't Fence Me In

 *no children were allowed to climb out during the making of this picture*

(I could get right to the point, but instead I'll make this longer and more detailed than necessary. Because I can.)

Yesterday while we were outside playing Rose got really upset so I brought her inside where she threw an even bigger tantrum. After a couple of attempts to settle her down I told her she would have to sit in her crib until she wanted to play again. (She was in the throws of a full on, fists flying, back arching fit.) I put her in the crib with her blanket and walked out of the room to wait for her to stop crying. I checked on the boys and they were still safely enclosed on the trampoline and Rose continued her crying so I decided to check on blogs and email. Rose's cries were suddenly quiet so I got up to get her only to see her walking through the living room to me. Oh my word! She finally climbed out of her crib! (I say finally because she has climbed in before, with the help of a small nightstand- that has been moved, but hasn't been able to climb out.) I asked her if she had climbed out and she said, yeah, I wanna sit [with] you. So, I explained to her the dangers of climbing out of her crib and how she could get hurt, because I know my two year old fully comprehends the dangers of climbing... um no.

Bedtime comes and we put the kids in bed and settle in for some comedy on the TV only to hear Rose trying to open her door. She climbed out. She can't get back in her crib though so T went in and told her in a firm voice to not climb out and to go to sleep. A few minutes later her light comes on. She climbed out. Again. I went that time and put her in bed and she immediately threw her leg up to climb out and, needless to say, I didn't let that happen. She stayed in her bed after that. This morning I went and got her before she could climb out. I guess it's time to turn that crib into a toddler/day bed.

The boys never had a chance to climb out of the crib. They were moved into a regular twin bed between 13 & 15 months old. (I needed them out of the crib for new baby reasons.) Granted, the bed was not raised off the floor, so they couldn't possibly fall out of it. My fear is that Rose will simply not stay in the bed at all, especially for naps. I'm sure we'll have to adjust and eventually she will learn to stay in the bed... I went through it twice already, right? Except we still find Ry sleeping under the play table, in a tiny space, under the fitted sheet or directly in front of the door. I'd say 50% of his naps are taken on the floor. He just doesn't seem to mind.

We'll see how nap time goes today. The transition from crib to "day bed" is the removal of the front panel of the crib, so easy! Another step away from baby.(Aside from the fact that she is a two year old, holds complete (intelligible) conversations with us, feeds herself, is potty training herself and is forward facing in the car seat... Minor details.)

you call this "nap time"?

90 minutes ago T called and asked what I was doing. I told him it was the start of nap time and everyone was in their designated places and it was quiet for the first time since the kids opened their eyes this morning. I was searching for some sort of ear protection just prior to nap time due to an increase in volume for reasons I can't explain except that maybe those kids think it's funny to torment my sensitive ears.

D was quiet and content for about five whole minutes in his new space before he started with the "Mommy? Um, I'm hungry, what can I have to eat?" He always asks sweetly which is very clever on his part. Unfortunately for him I retain knowledge of what and when he last ate and usually I tell him he can have a piece of fruit. He usually declines my generous offer of a banana or apple and counters with "I want some cookies and milk", specifically, golden oreos. (Yes, I made a terrible mistake buying them a few weeks ago and they are evil. Evil in the I have to have no less than four six at a time sense. They are probably the worst thing I buy and I feel so guilty I hide them under a pack of diapers or a couple of loaves of whole wheat bread. Let me lick my fingers and brush these crumbs from the last three off my hands.)

ignore the obvious neglect of my nails and focus on that cookie

Anyhow, where was I? Oh, yes, D was trying to persuade me to let him out of his little tee-pee of curtains and I was firmly holding my ground that he needed to rest. Then Ry decided he "couldn't sleep while the sun was up" and tried his best to convince me it wasn't possible for him to fall asleep or be near his bed in the daytime. I put him back in bed no less than three times until he feigned the "I have to go potty excuse" and sat in there (quietly) for several long minutes. I finally gave up with D and his rapid questioning of foods to eat and things to watch/do and sent him outside to drive his power wheel. The only thing wrong I did was go into the room where Ry was "sleeping" (I found him under the fitted sheet) to get some socks and he heard me and continued with the "can't sleep" thing. So... I sent both of them outside. (I suppose I lost this battle today.)

You would think that's the end of it, at least Rose is napping, right? She took one hour's worth of nap (just enough to cover her in a blanket of crankiness) and is grabbing at my arms, crying about not being to find her shoes and continuing to open the door and letting the dog in to eat the crumbs off the floor as I type fast and furiously to finish this nonsense of a "nap time" that I've just had the pleasure of experiencing. That was a painfully long sentence.

I had the greatest plans for nap time today. I was going to make my grocery list and print out some coupons... I guess I can still do that. At least it's nice outside and I can send them out to play while I reminisce about what nap time used to be like. They do look like they are having a great time, though. I'll think I'll join them.

some really fascinating stuff here

Accomplishment is a wonderful feeling and I am happily enjoying it for a brief moment. If you happened to drop by my house right now, however, it wouldn't look like I've accomplished much at all. The breakfast and lunch dishes are waiting on the counter for me and there are toys discarded throughout the house that form a trail from the bedrooms through the living and dining room and into the kitchen. I have a stack of papers beside me that need to be put away, expired coupons that need to be trashed and Rose brought me $1.28 in change that she found scattered on the floor.

Oh, but what I have done: filed some paperwork, updated an address, made sure we were registered to vote, downloaded a free book, constructed a "quiet place" for D during nap time (seen above), put a majority of the laundry away (actually in closets and drawers), vacuumed the den rug twice, found our leftover white and blue paint, paint roller and cover and am trying to decide how I will paint D & Ry's room without buying any additional paint. Tuesday just said, "Take that!" to my No Motivation Monday.  That's cool.

Now I'll just get that kitchen cleaned up and sweep the floor and it should look nice around here. If I get it done in less than 30 minutes I'll let myself have chips and salsa. What? Is it bad to reward myself with food? Oh well, what's done is done.

any riveting subjects you wanna read about tomorrow? I'm feeling a bit low on the blogging right now, which explains my list-post today. aye.

No Motivation Monday

Mondays frustrate me. I have zero to no motivation to do anything. Instead of ranting or complaining here (I tried, but ended up even more demotivated) I complained to my husband. He listened and acknowledged how I was feeling. Apparently that's all I needed because as soon as I got off the phone I washed the dishes, cleaned out a laundry basket that was housing random junk from cleaning out the car, sorted some laundry for tomorrow and folded the throw blankets in the living room and put them away. As soon as I publish this I am headed to our bedroom to tackle the clean laundry. I guess I just needed a listening ear today.

Do Mondays leave you frustrated and searching for motivation like me? Do you gradually gain motivation or is there something specific that motivates you to get moving? Please share any advice you have!

ten happy things friday

one

canvases, washable paint & paintbrushes = two very unique pieces of art.

two

sunshine

three

new beginnings

four

my (new) favorite green coffee cup and drinking more cups of water than coffee

five

spicy hummus with veggie chips

six

quiet moments

seven

TV shows that make me laugh

eight

holding hands

nine

listening to my kids tell each other they are geniuses and hearing them laugh

ten (a thing you didn't know)

I lack of fear of aging
(it was recently pointed out that I was not part of the majority on the subject of aging, especially in the 25-30 age group. maybe some elaboration on this in a different post, because I have some theories.)

more vision updates (D & me)

We're back home again from another trip to the optometrist. This time it was for me and D. D's checkup went well and his vision has really improved! We are continuing to patch and do strengthening exercises. The only thing that didn't improve was his depth perception. (I was not even aware it was that bad.) Anyhow, our optometrist is referring us to a specialist she works with and we will probably have to see her for an evaluation and get set up with some in office therapy.

I do have mixed feelings on this. I am so glad his sight is getting better!! I'm also glad we caught this before it progressively worsened. I am glad we can do something to improve his vision. My sad feelings are mainly about cost of therapy (will insurance cover? will the doc accept it?) and the (probably) weekly visits to an office an hour away. I didn't expect to hear there wasn't improvement. Especially after Ry showed improvement across the board... I just thought it would be good news all over again. We'll do what it takes, though. It's good to know that we can do something!

I had my first eye exam and there was nothing to be worried about. My eyes are healthy and my vision is "better than perfect" (doctor's words). Oh, but I do have a slight astigmatism in both eyes (I'm told it's common) and have a prescription for reading glasses (although I could just pick up a pair anywhere; the prescription is because of the astigmatism.) My left eye is worse than my right and I have noticed while I'm focusing on things close up (reading, computer time) that my right eye seems to be doing more of the work. It's hard to explain but I have been aware of my left eye's lack of focus for a while. I did get my eyes dilated (the drop stung a little, but it was fine). The whole process made me much more aware of how my kids feel at each visit.

That's all for now! See ya tomorrow.

gardening, again

It seems like I just can't let gardening go, no matter how challenging it is for me. Last year my garden was doing great until the drought and grasshoppers started destroying it. The watering and caring to production ratio was way off so I let it all die. Here I am with this years new seed catolouges. I've never ordered from them, but I love looking through them and getting ideas and planning. You'll have to bear with me through the process because I tend to get overly excited about peppers and squash and then I crash about halfway through when the Texas heat starts burning my plants up. Then there is the pestilence problem (grasshoppers) we can't shake no matter how high we raise our garden off the ground.

Our chickens are gone and we aren't planning on getting a new flock this year. I know what the title of this blog is and it's true that I still live in the country, but there are really no farming updates or adventures to share for the time being. I'm going to try to have a small garden and we'll see how it fares. It'll be my little hobby and as soon as it starts stressing me out it's gone. There is absolutely no reason to serve up any additional stress to my life. Especially in a year that we start T-ball, kindergarten and lots of saving and planning for building our house. That will be a real adventure! I can't wait to be able to share pictures of that. Then you'll see just how crazy we are!

I hope everyone has a nice Wednesday. I'll be back at some point tomorrow with all sorts of fascinating talk about eye exams.

Some things we did

Yesterday we took Ry to his eye checkup. He is still making progress and we are continuing to patch and do eye exercises. His depth perception has improved and his eyes are working together more. He definitely has more awareness of using his left eye. We go back in three months for his checkup and one year evaluation.
T also had an eye exam and is getting some new glasses. (I've been telling him for two years that he needs new ones.) He came out of his exam and the doc came over and said, "So, he tells me you've never had an eye exam! Why don't you schedule one for Thursday when you bring D in for his?" Ugh. It's true, I've never had a complete evaluation. I've only done the vision test for getting my drivers license to prove I'm not blind. I suppose it's the right thing to do. I'm a little nervous, but have been reassured that it's nothing to stress about. (I just don't want to do the glaucoma test or have to get my eyes dilated.)


We rented The Help last night and watched it with my sister and brother-in-law. I was so excited about it, but it's different from the book. That's the problem with movies based on books. First if you didn't read the book there were a lot of things you are missing out on in the movie, especially background info on different people. I was somewhat disappointed in it. My sister and I took turns giving each other looks and saying, "That's not what happened in the book!" So, if you really want know what all the fuss is about you still need to read the book. 

Well, my house missed me the last couple of days. I think I'll clean the kitchen and then organize Rose's new birthday and Christmas toys... or just play with them. That sounds like more fun!

before & after

At first sight...

D exclaimed, "Well, you don't even look like Mommy anymore!"

I think that was a compliment.

Ry- "Hi Mommy!" then proceeded to rub the top of my head. 

(??)

Rose- attacked me when I walked in the door and has been taking every opportunity to "tousle" my hair. Completely normal.

a typical evening

This was the scene in our house last night for a good hour. Everyone was subject to being tackled, sat upon and chased. Rose wore a baseball helmet for protection (we were glad she was wearing it on multiple trips, falls and collisions) because she cannot not be involved in her brothers' shenanigans.

Unfortunately I didn't have head gear so when Rose decided to tackle-hug me and I tried to hug her back she whipped her helmeted head right into my nose. My nose is fine, but any hit to the nose brings pain and watering eyes. That was when I decided I was no longer safe sitting on the floor and resorted to running around like the rest of them and letting my hair blow in wind. Ha.

I'm having flashbacks from this picture alone.  

(tucks head between knees and curls into fetal position)

They sure did have a good time.

By 7:30 they were ready for a break for a pb&j sandwich (refueling after a big energy inducing pasta supper)

and a nice quiet bedtime story. 

I figured they would sleep in today, but no, they woke at 6:30 and have been eating and playing monster chase and eating some more. They never stop eating... or moving. At least they are keeping me in good shape since they can't exactly fix their own meals yet. I must walk a couple of miles going back and forth to the kitchen in a day. I don't even eat something every time I'm there. I'm sure that would cancel out all the walking.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend. I'm excited about mine!

p.s. although I'm not sure when exactly, I will post some before and after hair pictures. I know you are all on the edge of your seats to see my transformation!

I wrote it anyway

It's nap time, glorious nap time in my house. I should be washing the dishes or sweeping up the abundant amount of crumbs on the floor, but I stopped and settled down with my computer for a few minutes. This morning I actually accomplished the near impossible task of putting the laundry away. All five loads that were awaiting me. I even cleaned up my bedroom while I was at it, although I haven't touched the nightstand and dresser clutter yet. It was kind of a mess. It makes me a little bit happier to have that done.
(little tip- a pair of pants had some dry caked on mud, so I rubbed a bunch of baking soda over it and then poured some vinegar over it. Stain be gone! at least for mud. Yea!!)

I am trying to get the house cleaned up really well by Saturday because we will be pretty much gone all weekend. Saturday while I get my hair cut and spend some time browsing through some stores (without my band of collapsing children) T is taking them to Pappy G and Grandma's house to watch football and be spoiled. (Maybe some T-ball registration, too.)
Sunday we are having Rose's party (at my mom's) so I will be baking cupcakes and pigs in blanket and decorating. Hopefully I won't be worrying about having enough food or fancy plastic forks. I'm feeling pretty chill about it.
I hate coming home to a mess so getting everything in order before we go out will be rewarding in the end.

Well, I have dawdled long enough and the quiet will soon be broken with shrills and jumping and those are outside noises!

p.s.
don't forget to cast your vote for my hair! I see the side swept and away party is in the lead...

Comfy Cozy

I'm not sure why our dog does this, but he likes to nap in this big tub that I had flowers in during the spring. He curls up and nods off. I guess the soil in it is nice and soft.

The title is courtesy of Ry, as he is quick to declare blankets, beds, clothes and chairs... "comfy cozy!"

my hair needs your vote

I have some plans to get a hairchop on Saturday. It's actually more like a trim and style since I don't want to go short-short. Anyhow, here's the thing, I want something pretty and easy. I haven't brushed my hair in days so... yeah. I'm hoping a little trim will give me some kind of pick me up so I will want to brush my hair, get dressed before noon and make me a tiny bit happier. I don't care what anyone says, when my hair looks good I feel better.

I had bangs growing up. Sometimes they looked good and sometimes I wonder how my mother let me go to school looking so fine. Sarcasm, y'all. I have some wonderful examples:

Ignore how dorky I look in that birthday pic. These are the best pics I could find showing the hair in a semi-good state.

Here is what I'd love to avoid:

Not only am I missing a lot of front teeth in this picture, I also look like I was just rescued from the wild. See how that hair flips out on the right side? I have to deal with that all the time. Still. The picture above with my hair pulled back... the wispy hairs? Every day. I used to call them horns. Not that I was devilish but that's what they look like. I have wavy hair. Not good wavy, mind of it's own wavy.

Hold on, I'm embarrassing myself here so I can get your opinion! Bangs or no? Currently I have none. (Except for the weird ones growing out.) The closest I've been to having bangs was almost three years ago.

I had some side swept bangs and it looks nice. (My hair is straightened in this pic.)

I've had some bad haircuts in the past and a few good ones. Even if I do decide to get bangs it'll probably be another year before I get a real haircut (I'm shooting for something closer to six months, but we'll see) so any bangs will be growing out as soon as the haircut is complete. I'm a bad maintainer.

I'm going to put up a poll and you may vote away. I know I'm asking you to do this, however, it's all up to how daring I feel on Saturday.

Here's my current look...

We have until Saturday to figure this out! Bangs or not? That is the question.

Weekend Highlight

Yesterday we trekked to the back to set up a game feeder (not for livestock; for deer and wild hogs and hunting). The kids climbed up on this fallen tree that was laying across a dry creek bed, so I had to get their picture. They were looking so cute and isn't it sweet how the boys have their arms behind Rose to make sure she didn't fall backwards? (It was only about two feet off the ground.)

This was one of the few times Rose wasn't hanging on to me... she hasn't been feeling super for the past few days. (Cedar pollen really sucks right now.)

That's me. Sawing a Yaupon (yo-pawn is how we say it 'round here). They are so spring-y! I had to sit on it (obviously it wasn't like I was cutting down a giant oak or something) and sawed away until I had it done. It was probably 15 feet tall, but only about 2 inches in diameter. If my saw had been sharper it would have been effortless, I'm sure. T thought it was funny watching me hack my way through it. I cut a couple more down... just because I could (and they were in the way of the feeder).

The boys. They had a blast riding on the tractor and playing hide and seek. (They were so worn out that they actually took naps in the afternoon!) We had such a nice time. I even packed us a lunch and we had a picnic.

That's how we celebrate New Years.

(By the way, I fiddled with the blog... do you like the new layout? I like that my pictures can be bigger now and the posts are more centered.)

adios 2011, hello 2012

Resolutions. I am reading a lot of them today on different blogs and if you make them, great, but I am not a big resolution maker. I tend to make changes at random times throughout the year. I don't like waiting to make a change because I'll end up putting it off and then forgetting about it.

I do have some things I've been working on and will continue in 2012. Here they are:

Around the house

• Keep getting rid of things I don't use or need. (Simplify our life)
• Put the laundry away (can we go for twice a week? that would be a huge improvement!)
• Paint the kitchen, finish updating bathroom

Me

• Make time for myself
• Drink more water
• Stop eating the entire bag of tortilla chips in two days without sharing
• Be a better listener
• Be kinder
• Be patient
• Have more self control
• Be a good example of the previous 4 statements to my children

 Things I'd like to do

• Plan and go on a vacation that is relatively inexpensive, but lots of fun (This CAN happen, right?)
• Have date with T (at least) once a month. Even it's just a few hours on a Sunday afternoon to go for a walk and talk about winning the lottery. (Any volunteer babysitters? Sign up now!) 
• Save $$ so we can build our house.