Attempting to be a Super Mom

Sandra, over at  Diary of a Stay at Home Mom  had blogged about going back to the beginning of her blog, and getting back to what she loved so much about herself and the blog.  It sounded like a good idea, and that's what I intend to do as well.  I want to blog about what's important to me, and what my family is up to. I also want to get back into projects with my kids.  I'm planning on bringing back Watercolor Wednesdays and Finger paint Fridays.  I would like to work on the alphabet with both Ben and Sydney.  We'll probably do a lot of the projects we've already done, but they are new to Sydney and will make sense in a different way to Ben than they did before.  I'm hoping to spend more time either at the park or at the pool.  I'd love to get the kids going to play dates as well as "field trips" like the zoo, the river, the capital, etc. I'm going to make my husband sit down with me and help put together a page I can be proud of.  ...

The other day, I was talking to my Aunt Marci on the phone.  We were talking about all of the changes we, and our families, have undergone in the last five years.  I couldn't believe the amount of change we'd had in our lives.  Sometimes it's easy to forget the transformation you've made, and you need to reflect to see how far you've come.  Today, I'm taking the trip back to see some big points from over the past 5 years. Warning: This will be a long post, with lots and lots of pictures. Five years ago, we had just moved into our lovely little house.  It was our first actual house as a couple.  We'd lived in apartments until this point, but were moving forward as a family and found a house that seemed meant to be. It was important to us to move to this house because our family was expanding as well.  Yup, we were having a baby. We spent a lot of time prepping for the baby, but didn't tell any family until we had already found out that...

Ok, so technically this should have gone up yesterday but we got up somewhat early and were on the move all day. The weather::: : It has been super hot, like 90s hot and this week we are supposed to get some rain. On my reading pile::: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest by Stieg Larsson Bible We Live to know, love, and serve God by Fr. Osacr Lukefahr, CM  On my tv::: My Gypsies and Sister Wives.   On the menu for this week::: Monday-  Chicken/fish/shrimp, salad, corn on the cob, mushroom rice Tuesday-  Veggie Frittata, bacon, sweet bread Wednesday-   Spaghetti with meatballs and bread Thursday-   Baked Ham and Cheese Sliders Friday-   Chicken and Potato Casserole Saturday-   Sunday-   On my to do list::: Laundry Dishes make beds What am I sewing, crocheting, knitting, or creating::: Nothing at the moment Summer fun::: We are taking a real vacation this summer.  I'm excited because we haven't had one lately and even then, ...

The weather::: : I can't get over the amazing weather.  It's supposed to get into the high 70s today. On my reading pile::: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest by Stieg Larsson Bible  On my tv::: I have to watch my Gypsies and Sister Wives.   On the menu for this week::: Monday-  I don't know what I'm cooking for dinner tonight or the rest of the week. Tuesday-   Wednesday-    Thursday-   Friday-   Saturday-   Sunday-   On my to do list::: Laundry Dishes make beds What am I sewing, crocheting, knitting, or creating::: Nothing at the moment Looking around my house::: Shawn is sleeping on the couch.  The big kids are playing in their room and I'm about to make an Iced mocha.  Rylie is grunting on the couch next to me. From the camera : :: Something fun to share::: My brother in law and his girlfriend are looking for a house to rent and they are looking out here in Lawrence!  I'm so ex...

I'm sure, like most people, we live for the weekends in this house.  I love the time we get to spend together and the fun that we get to have.  I also love the time we get to spend with our extended families.  This weekend was another absolute whirlwind. I love when we get up and everybody comes to our bed (if they weren't already there) and we all snuggle, play on the iPad, watch TV, and talk. I say that weekends start on Friday evenings here.  It's when Shawn comes home from work and the play time begins.  Friday I wanted to get some reading done and the weather has been amazing, so I decided to set up a nice spot outside and let the kids play.  Needless to say I only got about 5 pages of reading done.  It was too much fun playing with the kids. I made a canopy with a blanket over the top of Rylie's swing so she could enjoy being outside without getting too much sun. It was actually really hot though so when Shawn came hom...