A raccoon got in....

The Mess....

The culprit....

The story....

Lucas and Lila have both gotten some nasty sleep habits as of late. Lila has been waking up numerous times during the night, keeping Matt and I up as well. Lucas has been waking up earlier and coming into our room to watch cartoons. On this particular day, Lila was up so many times I lost count. We were SO tired. Lucas woke up about 6:30 (not terribly early, but after a night like that, it was too early!). Since we can't sleep while he is in our bed, I (yes me, I am taking the blame here) decided to have him watch a show on the couch. I turned it on, I got him a blanket and drink, and I went back to bed. Next thing I know he is waking us up an hour later (don't know how we didn't hear him the whole time) and he is covered with gooey stuff. And saying he is eating cereal on the couch. So we went to see. Here is the list of things he did: got into Lila's thermometer and probe covers (opened every one of them), into the butt creme, into three different kinds of hydro cortisone (both kids have really bad skin issues), got into a BIG tub of vaseline (enough said), opened a box of cereal (more like destroyed it), got into strawberries and cream oatmeal and ate all the strawberries from it, poured an entire container of saline solution into the vaseline. I keep finding little greasy hand-prints in random places throughout the house. Needless to day, we will not be doing that again. The pictures are terrible, I was laughing to hard, I about peed my pants, so it is very blurry. :)

Thanks!!

I have to give a shout out to all those who commented on an earlier post. All of your comments were very sweet and endearing. I am going to work on remembering what each of you said, especially when I am in one of those slumps again. Thank you - really.

I LOVE free stuff!

I have never done a family Christmas card, ever. We have been married for almost 5 years, have 2 children, and have never done it. Why you might ask? First I didn't know I was 'supposed' to, now, I just never get it done in time, so I give up. Until my next attempt the following year. But a few friends reminded me it is that time again, and they have showed me this awesome deal! 50 free Christmas cards!! I have already looked through all of the designs, all 800+. There were some I liked more than other, but they were all SO cute, and classy. I was worried they would be cheap looking, but nope, they are awesome! I have never ordered from Shutterfly, but because of this, I am going to from now on. I think very highly of a company willing to give away stuff especially during such difficult times. I want to support them by giving them my business.

Here are some other really cute products from Shutterfly:

Here are the cute Christmas cards: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-photo-cards

Every mom would love to receive some personalized gifts: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/mothers-day-cards-stationery

And some adorable birthday cards and invitations: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/birthday-cards-stationery

So, how can you get 50 free Christmas cards? Easy, go here . I can't wait to get mine!

accomplishments?

I have been thinking a lot lately about my life. I know I am still very young, I still have a lot of life to live, hopefully. But I wonder if I am doing it right. I want to start by saying, I LOVE my life. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband, and two beautiful and healthy kids. But living in a place like this, I can't help but feel a little unaccomplished. I got married at 18 (I know, incredibly young. But I wouldn't change it, it was perfect timing for me), so obviously I didn't have many college credits. We were poor, and were trying to make things work, Matt was in school. I took a class here and there at SLCC, but not much, at all. I then had a baby, and we made the decision for me to stay home with Lucas. In order to make that a reality, Matt had to work and go to school full time. We didn't make enough money to pay for any form on childcare, so the idea of me going to school at that time wasn't an option. Finally the time came. It felt good, it made since. So I enrolled in classes and was SO excited. Then, about a week before school started, something didn't seem so right. I felt like I was jumping the gun. So I prayed about it, and felt it was best to cancel my plans to go back to school. I was very disappointed. A few short weeks later, we found out we were expecting our little Ladybug, Lila. It all made since. I was so tired and sick during the pregnancy, I realized I couldn't have done school on top of it. Then, Matt got into the masters program for speech and language pathology. We understood it would be busy, but we had no idea just how busy it would be. And then you add the fact that I am struggling to figure out the whole "mom thing", let alone with two kids, so life seems VERY busy, and stressful all the time. We live in a ward that almost everyone is a student. All the women in the ward go to school, all those that don't, already have a degree, plus they served a mission. I haven't done anything! I look up to these women, not just from what they have accomplished in those aspects. But these women are strong, smart, and incredible; they have testimonies that are so strong, they are great at practicing their religion. They are wonderful homemakers, and great cooks. They know how to budget, grocery shop with the kids (I HATE doing that!), they keep their houses clean, they have time to play with their kids. Do these talents (yes, I consider all of those talents) come from mission or school? I used to think you learn to do these things as time goes by, and as you have more practice. I have been married for almost 5 years, my oldest is 3, I still don't have it down, not even close. A lot of these women have children who are just a year or two older than Lucas. It is not like they have years and years and years of practice that I lack. All of my sisters and sisters in law, have some schooling done, it ranges anywhere from an associates, to hair school, to bachelors, to masters. Me, well I have nothing. I am not complaining about my life. Like I said, I love it! I love staying home with my kids (some days more than others). I truly do believe that being a mom is a calling far more sacred than anything else. But sometimes I feel so unaccomplished. I don't think I would feel this way if I didn't believe that school or missions are important. If I thought that school wasn't for me, then it would be different. But I don't feel that way. I feel like I would be a great student, I enjoyed my one semester at SNOW before I got married, and the few classes I took later on. I think I would enjoy it now. I told a dear friend some of my feelings. She said something that made me feel better. She said 'everything has a season.' As much as I want to do more (not that motherhood isn't enough, but you know what I mean) it isn't my time yet. For now I need to learn how to be the best mom and wife that I can be. I am thankful for the women, married or single, with or without children, who show me how to be better every day. Thank you. I pray that one day, I can be like you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUCAS!!!

Today is kind of an emotional day for me. My baby is three years old today!! This morning during our breakfast prayer, I just broke down crying. I can't believe my baby is so old! Now, I know, 3 isn't "old", but he isn't a baby anymore! He draws (he even drew a stick figure of me the other day!), he knows all of his letters and is working on the sounds. He is SO active, all the time. He is about potty trained. We haven't worked on naps and bed time yet. But during the day he is doing really well. He is the best big brother to Lila - he LOVES to make her laugh. They just laugh back and forth at each other all the time. He is so smart, and talks so well. He is definitely at the funnest age, so far... But my mind changes with every stage he is in, the new one always becomes the funnest one. Although he is SO fun at this age, he is also at the most challenging age, at least for me. He fights with me, and yells at me, and is just flat out difficult at times. But, totally worth it all! This is for you Lucas - Mommy loves you so much!! I am the luckiest mommy in the world to have you to play with every day!

First time we met.

He was SO tiny, those were preemie clothes, and they were still too big. He looks like my little elf, I love it!

How did that get in there?? :)

First birthday - opening presents.

Second birthday playing in new tent!

Pictures of third birthday coming soon. ;)

Day 2 and 3

Oops, I obviously didn't do this right. So here is my day 2 and day 3:
Day 2: There is no meaning behind our blog name - boring I know.
Day 3: This are the most recent pictures I have of my friends and I, though they aren't all that recent.

Day One

Day 1 - A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about your family

1- I can do the "hang loose" sign with my toes.

2- Matt is the best at voice impressions - especially of anyone in his family.

3- I have always LOVED chocolate and any baked goods, but since my pregnancy with Lila, it has multiplied by a trillion. I literally can eat sweets all day every day. Matt on the other hand can have one or two cookies here and there, thats it.

4- Sometimes I get so annoyed when Lucas says "mommy" over and over again. It gets so bad that I start to despise the title. Then by morning I love it again.

5- Lucas' cry face it very disturbing. His mouth opens as wide as can be, and he lets it just drop down (well not just drop down, he stretches it as far as he can). It literally looks like the mask from the "scream" shows.

6- Lila has a 'borderline birth defect' on her bum. She has a dimple thing. The doctor said if it were much deeper/bigger they would classify it as a birth defect.

7- Lucas has just learned to draw, like real things. Today he drew stick figures of me and Lila. I was SO impressed, I wanted to save it, but it was on a doodle pad, so I couldn't.

8- Most days I LOVE staying home with my children, but there are days where I really miss the outside world. I miss talking to adults, I miss getting out of the house, I miss having "work friends". But home is still where I would rather be.

9- Matt and I knew he would be busy with grad school, but we had no idea it would be this busy. I think in the last 3 days, Lucas has seen Daddy about 3-4 hours, most of which is while Matt is doing more homework. It makes all of us sad.

10- I don't enjoy cooking.

11- Matt makes the best chocolate milk, at least thats what I tell him so he will make it for me. :) But really, his is better than mine. Something about his milk:chocolate ratio.

12- Lila does this head bobbing dance that is hilarious to watch. But while I am holding her I almost drop her every time. It is weird.

13- I believe in aliens (not little green men but something else), I also believe they come to earth. And I believe in ghosts.

14- Whenever Matt hugs me, or kisses me, I still get butterflies, even after almost 5 years of marriage.

15- Every year on our anniversary I think of those people who said we were making a mistake in getting married so young, and I think about calling them, or paying them a visit and saying "I told you so! We were making the right decision!" (no I don't hold grudges....:)