Why am I awake?

No idea. I could blame it on waiting on my laundry, but I think we all know that isn't the truth.

I'm tired but not ready for bed yet so I decided to share some more pictures. These mostly make me laugh. :0)

Possibly one of my favorite pictures. It makes me laugh really hard!

Mason loves watching me put on my make-up.
While I had my back turned one day, he decided that it was his turn.

If this isn't the spirit of Christmas, I just don't
know what is. ;0)

We <3 U-Paint-It

Bubble bath!!

Marc relaxing.

Have I mentioned that I love these little men with all of my hearts!? Because I DO!

Catching up: From proposal to potty training.

WOW! I have been horrible about keeping up with this. In my defense, life has been slightly chaotic. Short run down of the wonderful things that have been happening in my life, then I will share a TON of pics (be prepared, it's seriously a lot!)

-I GOT ENGAGED! (officially! I will write a post with the story soon)
-I went to the Tri-State fair with the fam and ate a million calories.
-I learned I can cross only one of my eyes
-I bought a wedding dress (well, Mom and dad bought me a wedding dress)
-I watched a HORRIBLE Aggie football game with Maggie (but had AMAZING seats, so it was ok)
-Made cookie dough with Marc and NARROWLY escaped the cookie adventure without contracting diabetes.
-Went to Barrington farm with Casey & Noah
-Went to the Ft. Worth Zoo with Maggie, Marc, and Mason
-Moved all of my belongings into Daniel's house (after he used his weekend to fly to Amarillo and get everything out of storage for me)
-Am currently trying to potty train Mason
-Also, working on colors with Mason
-Learned that Mason is CRAZY stubborn

Now, who's ready for some insanely out of order pictures??

Me too!

Showing off my new bling!

I'm pretty sure there isn't anything about this photo
that isn't attractive. ;0)

Happy Halloween!

Marc and Maggie with the Giraffes.

A strange hairy worm thing on a sign at the Ft. Worth Zoo.

Sleeping on the way to Ft. Worth

*shudders* I hate snakes! (But MOLA was pretty amazing,
despite the slimy ickiness)

A lizard! 

Ummm, EWWW!

A really weird snake.

Maggie and the boys at the zoo.

I'm SOOO in love with my bling! It's PERFECT!

Watching the Aggie volleyball girls attempt to play football.

My Love and me the night he proposed!

Whatcha doin' Mason?

A quick smoochie while stopping to look at the scenery
at Palo Duro Canyon after the engagement pictures.

The gorgeous table setting for our romantic dinner when Daniel
proposed! It was on my Aunt B's front porch and it was (like
the entire day) perfect!

Have I mentioned how much I adore my bling?
My baby did GOOD!

Just a pretty sunburst.

Love the clouds in this sunset!

Marc started Tae Kwon Do! He competed this past weekend
in a tournament and won 3rd! :0) He's super proud of his medal!

"AN AIRPLANE! UP IN THE SKY!"

I got to see the Faciane family this past weekend! I love them!
This is Daniil and me on the Merry-go-round at Bass Pro shops.

Weekend (not such an) Adventure

I decided that since it was a holiday weekend I was going to do something fun to celebrate. When I think of good times and lots of laughing, this face is the one that comes to mind...

Maggie with her SWEET 3-D glasses.
I think she rocks them.

So naturally I decided to spend Sunday and Monday with my favorite biological sister! I tried to hang out with MG as well, but she had more important things to do. ;0)

For my Saturday plans I had committed to babysit the sweet Hawkins boys in exchange for A&M football tickets. (Maggie is pretty super excited about being able to sit down when we watch our boys B.T.H.O. Missouri.) Saturday early afternoon I went to the laundromat and got all of my laundry done, then spent the evening with Sweet Noah. After the Hawkins family got home around 10ish I headed off to Ft. Worth. Normally I don't like to drive at night. But now that I have my WONDERFUL car, it's actually kind of fun being on the road in the night. I feel like the only person in the world. I arrived at Marggie's about 1am. Sunday morning I woke up to her staring at the back of my head (willing me to wake up) because she was hungry. We had a pretty typical day together, eating and shopping. (mostly of the window variety) One of the highlights of my long weekend was when we went to the Love Shack! It was SOOOO delicious! I have never had better nachos in my life! Another highlight was that my sweet Maggie got me pedicure. It was lovely as usual and I think my toes turned out pretty.

I'm in love with the little flowers!

While it was a relaxing experience fore me, poor Maggie got a HORRIBLE nail lady! We're talking particularly horrible! The crazy lady cleaned out the foot bath thing while Maggie was still sitting in the chair, didn't help Maggie put on her sandals, and had the WORST attitude about life in general! I felt horrible for poor Cricket.

So when the weekend was over I came home and had a lovely yesterday (Tuesday) with the boys. We played inside all day because THIS is what was going on:

I very much enjoyed the rainy day and am enjoying the cloudy weather today. It's supposed do be like this until Friday, which is perfectly ok with me!

That's pretty much all that is going on right now.
-The boys are fabulous as always.
-I'm getting excited about Daniel coming home this weekend! (he's been gone for 2 weeks!) I can't seem to keep him in one place! He's in California right now with his family on vacation. I think he's having TONS more fun than me this week, what do you think?

-I'm getting excited about going to Amarillo next week and going to the fair!

Hope you had a splendid Labor Day weekend!

Until next time...

The newest member of the family!

I would like to introduce y'all to the puppy previously known as Colt! (Now called Colby)

I'm pretty much in love with him.

He is SO soft and fluffy! Until tomorrow morning when he's getting a hair cut. (Insert pouty face here.) I wish country dogs could be fluffy and not encounter major issues.
New puppy arrived yesterday evening. His name was quickly changed from Colt to Colby because Marc was calling him “Colty” and Mason says Colby SO sweetly! :0) His fur is super soft! Considering that he just got here from Indiana last night, he’s incredibly calm and sweet. This morning I was still in bed when I heard Mason get mildly upset about something and then start REALLY screaming. Jules explained to me that Mason had thrown himself down on the ground and Colby, thinking he was playing, jumped on top of Mason and started licking him. Mason was VERY not ok with this. We’ll see how much longer Mason deals with disappointment by “playing” with Colby. My vote it not much longer.

Yesterday evening was pretty fantastic. Marc and I made French Bread Pizza (One of my favorites!) He was really proud of his creation.

Before baking. What a great little chef!

MmMmMm! Delicious!

After dinner I went with my dear cousin (Brandon) to see Scott Pilgrim v. The World. McK had told me that I had no choice but to go see it. About halfway through the movie it dawned on me! McK wanted me to watch it so badly because it's a cinematic portrayal of how his mind works!! It was good times and I enjoyed  spending time with Brandon. After that was over I took him home and picked up my beautiful friend Alex Rangel (I know her from Joni and Friends) and took her to Midnight Yell.

We had a blast! WHOOP! Today marks the opening of Aggie football season and I couldn't be more pleased with life. Well, that's kind of a lie. If I was going to the game with My Love I would be happier. But he's in California with his family so I'll be happy with babysitting in exchange for tickets later in the season (so I can go with my Maggie!) then driving up to see Maggie tonight and staying with her until Monday evening. Praise God for a long weekend! :0)

Well, time to go play with my other loves...

Casey (5)  &  Noah (2)

Boys, they never grow up.

Just a quick post while I make lunch. (Mac & Cheese with chicken. Yummy!) It's been a fabulous morning the weather was perfect so we've been outside since we finished breakfast. Yes, I do track time by meals. Do not judge lest ye be judged. So the little men made me smile because I know grown "boys" that pass their time the same way.

The coolest, toughest Power Wheel EVER!
The swords on the front just add a little something.

Love them!

An Adventure at the H-E-B

So if you know me very well, you know that I HATE going to the grocery store. Not in the sense that I would prefer to be sitting on the beach sipping a pina colada, but in that I would rather be locked in a room forced to listen to techno music for 48 hours than go to the grocery store. Normally as I "leisurely" stroll through the grocery store my pulse quickens, my palms get clammy, I sometimes hallucinate. It's rough. I think that it must be amusing for others. I'm sure I appear to be on the verge of a mental break, what with the crazy eyes and talking to myself.
Despite all of this I decided that I wanted to sit down an plan out meals for the next 2 weeks AND go to the grocery store. So last night I picked the meals and organized the recipes. This morning I made the shopping list and organized it in the order that I walk through the store. (Thanks Mom for teaching me to do this! You rock!) Then as I prepared to print I hit a productivity wall. I recently acquired a new-to-me laptop (Thank you Babe!!) and it didn't have the printer driver that I needed. So getting that found and downloaded turned into a 2 hour hulabaloo that ALMOST ended with me in tears.
The silver lining in the printer situation is that today I went through my cornucopia of symptoms in the comfort of my own home! I was forced into my little meltdown by the perfect storm that was the dread of the store combined with the annoyance of getting the computer and printer to join hands and sing Kumbaya. It was a nice change of pace! I was able to sit down and listen to some calming music and regain my composure. So once all of that drama was out of the way I gathered up the boys and put them into their seats and headed off to slay my dragon. Nerves hardened by a sweet tea and thanking God that the boys were in a good mood we went to my familiar H-E-B. The entire trip went quite smoothly and the boys were AMAZING! I actually got everything I needed (which I think is a first for me) and remained calm, and I assume I appeared sane as well! BONUS! 

During the trip Marc was obsessed with the numbers on the race car attachments to the shopping carts and yelling "Howdy, Partner!" at each fellow race car driver we passed. Mason had fun spinning the fake steering wheel and saying "broom, broom" at varying volumes. Over all, I consider today a success. :0)

While I was organizing my shopping list we were in the back yard. I ended up with two boys that were all that is little boy!

During breakfast Marc was busy trying to convince me to let Curly (the dog) come to the table because he "wasn't" begging, he just needed to be "petted" all while making an incredibly pitiful face, Mason was eating breakfast and talking a million miles an hour.

I caught him looking introspective. Made me laugh.

What a sweet boy!

I have two videos to add later. But it's been a trying day (with the near breakdown and such) so I'm going to head off to bed. See all you lovely people again soon!

Just a quick cute goodnight

We painted today and learned to use everyday objects in a new way.

My life as it stands

Hello cyberworld. By way of introduction I will say these few short things about myself. I am just your average girl with not too much to say, but everyone that knows me will tell you that I use a lot of words to say it. I love being with my family and friends more than anything. I love to bake, eat, listen to music, and read. I am currently in a place in my life where I am supremely happy and feel very blessed. However, the past three years have contained some major drama! (Which I do NOT care to recount at this point, but there will be some references made at times, I'm sure.) I choose to spend my time here talking about what is currently going on in my life. I'm mostly doing this as a sort of journal for me to look back at and remember good times and funny daily happenings.

So I am currently living my job. I am a nanny for one of my best friends while her hubby is in Iraq, until December. I moved here to help her out in January. 

Mason (2 years) Marc (4 years)

They are balls of energy and DEFINITELY keep me on my toes! I love both of them dearly. They are 2/3 of the most important men in my life. The other 1/3 is the love of my life, Daniel. 

My Love and Me the day he arrived home!

He just got home from Iraq on August 21st. We began our relationship RIGHT before he deployed. The adjustment has been pretty smooth and life has been wonderful since he got home. I could be gushy about him for this entire post but I will add some more pictures instead. Let's just all realize that I love him with my entire heart and I'm pretty sure he loves me too. 

I love this picture. :0)

This pic is a wonderful representation of my current energy level.

My other best friends are my sister (Maggie) and my brother (McK). They know me best and are amazing at life in general.

My stunning Maggie (A.k.a. Cricket)

My McK while volunteering at JAF Family Retreat.

Things I want to remember from today:

-Daniel and I went to the first Breakaway last night. It was incredibly packed and we were forced to sit behind the stage line. The speakers were facing away from us so all we could hear were the echoes. We ended up leaving early 

-Daniel washed my car and filled it up before he left last night! I love all the little ways that he shows me he loves me! He's the best!
-Marc is currently gauging how much a particular item is valued in comparison to a house. (i.e. "I love this cake!" his response "Do you love it more than a house?")

-Mason is exhausted and SUPER cranky. He's either laughing or throwing himself down on the floor quite dramatically when not getting his way.

-Yesterday when Mason was throwing a fit while I was cooking I sent him to his room. Marc came into the kitchen and asked if he could go talk to Moose about throwing fits. I listened from the kitchen as Marc told Mason "sometimes we have to do things that we don't want to do; but even when that happens we shouldn't throw fits. It's not right." Then Moose came into the kitchen and gave me a hug. :0) How sweet is that?!?!?!

Welp, the boys are napping and now is my time to get things accomplished! So I'm going to run get the kitchen clean and watch the newest episode of Covert Affairs. (I am addicted to every series on USA!!) Hope you have a lovely day!