5 years

Today is our 5th anniversary! June 8, 2007, I married this hot man.  Most days, I don't regret that decision! (Come on... you all know what I mean.)


We had the best day.  I wouldn't change anything about our wedding.  It was perfect.  Although with the joys of Pinterest, I'd totally love to do a vow renewal with something completely different!


I love that we don't have any traditional group shots! I wanted to show my real friends!


Everything about this day was magical.  I love him!


Happy Anniversary Will!

High on Thrifting Thursday!

I'm linking up with Harper's Happenings for High on Thrifting Thursday! I've just started thrifting and I love it! I find all kinds of cool vintage things for the house and super cute clothes for the girls! Here's my latest finds!

Super cute vintage pillowcase, milk glass vase, vintage Corningware, Oshkosh jumper, and an awesome wicker basket!

Easy Peasy Kind of Day

Today was super fun, well, maybe not for all of us.  We took the girls to their first swim lessons of the summer.  Let me tell you, the water was COLD!  I chose this pool because it's out in the open, under our hot Arizona sunlight.  Unfortunately, it surely wasn't heated to my liking.  Nor to Ella's.  She screamed her head off for most of the lesson.  Hayden enjoyed it though!

They were wiped out by the time we got to the car, and the lessons are only 30 minutes long!  They were both sleeping by the time we met my dad and stepmom for lunch.

When we came home, I wanted to start being a "good mom," so I of course Pinterested.  (Follow me or leave me a comment with your email address if you want an invite!)


Pinterest project #1:  We played with paint in bags taped to the table!

Yes, I know Ella looks board out of her mind. She was ready for nap time, and went down as soon as I took the picture!


While Ella was napping, Hayden and I worked on some school.  She can already identify all of the letters, but we're going to go a little more in depth with them.  Today was A.  She loved it!

*Side note* This picture was my inspiration to clean my sliding glass door.  Ick.  I'm sorry I'm showing it to you but she was so proud of her work!


This is the very first letter she EVER traced BY HERSELF!! I had to document it!


This is the after picture.  After, meaning I throughly cleaned the door, and then I REALLY mopped the floor while Ella was napping.  I EVEN picked up the crap that had accumulated on the dining table.  Don't you love the mixture of vintage lace on the table with the zebra seat cover for Hayden.  Yah.  I need to really have a theme.  I want a vintage them in my house.  Slowly but surely, I will thrift my way into a home looking the way I want!

Heartbreak and Joy

Finally.  That word has a few meanings right now.  Finally, I'm writing a post.  It's been a little while.  Finally, schools out for summer! And, the greatest finally... Finally, I'm a REAL stay at home mom! No going back.  We have to make this work.  I'm so excited, so thankful, so overwhelmed.

A little back story.  Not that everyone in the world didn't already know that I wanted to be a stay at home mom, but the reason we decided I'd stay home this year.  Well, my mom turned 60 on March 29, 2012.  That same day, I discovered that I was pregnant with baby #3! That was a complete shocker.  We weren't trying.  We were in fact, preventing.  Fact: picking up your prescription late= pregnancy chance.  Not that I didn't know that, but, you know...

That was our deciding factor in whether or not I should stay home next year.  I mean, I'd been praying desperately for God to give us a way for me to stay home.  It was the deepest desire of my heart.  That was a huge answer to prayer.  Flat out, stay home with 3, 3 and under.

Fast forward, 9 weeks pregnant, May 8.  I started to bleed at work.  Obviously not good.  Thankfully, my principal let me leave immediately.  I literally called Will 30 times from the moment I left, until I pulled in the garage, because he wasn't answering his phone.  (He was napping with the girls.) I called my mom and she immediately left work to watch the girls while I went to the doctor.

The doctor's appointment, obviously wasn't good.  When he looked, all he saw was a sac, yolk, and fetal pole, but no baby.  It looked like it was a "blighted ovum," which is basically where everything forms, but the baby.  Will and I lost it.  We had been trying to think positive, but it was crushing.

I decided to go ahead and go to work the next day because I already had a half day scheduled since I was supposed to have my first appointment the very next day.  I got to work, but couldn't think straight, see straight, nothing.  I was in a blur or emotions.  I was bleeding quite a bit more before work, but thought I could make it.  Then about 10 minutes before I was supposed to pick my class up, things turned bad...real bad. I picked the kids up, but heard absolutely nothing that any one of them said to me.  I swear they all had to come up and tell me something as soon as they walked in.

Thankfully, my friend Emily, who taught next door, came in and took control while I called the principal and let him know that I had to leave, NOW.  He understood.  I took the next two days off, to recoup my body, mind, and heart.

I felt embarrassed that I had already told the world, and now had to take it all back.  Then, I truly thought about it.  I know quite a few people who had miscarriages.  I felt like I COULD eventually talk about it.  Why should I be embarrassed, I wasn't alone.  The love I received was amazing.

Anyway, that brings us back to today.  I'm loving my life with my two beautiful girls.  When God grants us another baby, our hearts are ready.  It's all God's timing and we believe and trust in it.  God gave me the gift of changing Will's heart towards letting me stay home.  (Not that he was against it, just worried about money, you know... realistically, it'll be hard.)

Now, I'm home, not stressing about work.  I've got to keep up with this blog! :o) It can't be THAT hard.

I'll end this with my last "Finally," some pictures to leave you on a happy note:

Ella is now 16 months old!
and she has amazing morning hair if she sleeps in a ponytail!














































































Hayden turns 3 this month!! She's feisty, sassy, little girl.  She's an amazing hugger, smoocher, and snuggler.  I love the fire in this girl, even though she, at almost 3, brings fire in my eyes often! Ha!

Spring Break!

Oh my. Here's a fact for you: I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY don't want to go back to work. Like, ever.

Break has been fun, exhausting, challenging, and whatever else you can think of. My goal over break was to potty train Hayden. At 2 years 9 months.... it's time. And... for the most part we succeeded! She'll go anytime she has to by herself now! (Here's the catch... she'll only go if she's naked on the bottom. ) So, what now? How in the world do I panty train her now? Help!

Celebrating successfully using all of her stickers and earning her princess dress! What a cheeseball she is!

We had to stop and look at the Coach purses at the BX.

My adorable bottomless pit after she opened the messy pantry.

Ella's now tall enough to: open our doors, and bash her head at the dining room table. Both frequently experienced this week.

We had to take Ella to the doctor for her 2nd half of shots from her 1 year appointment.

10 Things

There are five rules:
1. Post these rules.
2. Post a photo of yourself and 11 random things.
3. Answer the questions set for you in the original post.
4. Create 11 new questions and tag people to answer them.
5. Go to their blog/twitter and tell them you've tagged them.

10 Random Things:

1. I can't sleep with my hair down. It drives me nuts having my hair get stuck when I move around. It has to be in a ponytail... and Will hates it. :o)

2. I DESPERATELY want to be a stay at home mom. That's no secret. It's such an ache in my heart right now, so all of my praying friends, please put that on your prayer list. We need to figure out a way to make that happen. (Also, Will tests for Tech Sgt on Tuesday, he doesn't think he'll make it his first time, but you could still pray for that because then I could definitely stay home.) I know God is bigger, and will make a way when He's ready, but patience is not my strongest suit.

3. I love rap music. I really do. I love me some Lil' Wayne, Jay-Z, and Drake. I love the way their voices sound. I don't often listen to it because Will hates it and obviously the girls shouldn't be listening to it, but when I hear a new song on the radio, I love it!

4. I HATE cheese, milk and cilantro the most of all of my picky weird food things. Bleck! Soo gross! My step mom likes to make things with cheese and watch my reaction when I actually like it and then tell me there's cheese in it! Sigh... Milk just plain grosses me out. And cilantro? That just tastes like a giant cloud of stink.

5. I like going to the gym. I don't EVER get to go though... another reason I'm still fat. I hate working out at home.

6. I met Will at the Cactus Moon (a country bar). Embarrassing, yes, but it's true. He told me he was in love with me before we were even "official." We were engaged 3 weeks later.

7. My love language is Words of Affirmation, so I'm super sensitive and really need to hear nice things. I cry really easily, and I'm a sympathy crier. If I see tears beginning to form when I'm talking to you, I start tearing up. I can't control it.

8. I love doing hair and makeup. LOVE it. I got hired at MAC earlier this year when I was teaching part time, I really wanted to do it but then the next day was asked to take on the full time 2nd grade position. If I could go back to school I'd totally want to go to cosmetology school.

9. I really, really, REALLY want more tattoos. I only have the one heart on the back of my neck, but I would totally have a half sleeve if I was brave enough. I've got a few more that I have in my mind that I want.

10. I love all reality tv and rarely watch the real news. Fo reals. All of the Real Housewives, Jersey Shore, E! News, Battle of the Exes on MTV, Khloe and Lamar, The Bachleor, Jerseylicious, Glam Fairy, all of it. Really, ALL of it.

Questions from Danielle:

1. If money, schooling or time was no obstacle, what career would you choose?
I'd be a stay at home mom, but for real like out of the house career I'd love to be a famous stylist like Rachel Zoe.

2. What's the one thing you look forward to every day?
Kissing my girls and seeing them usually when I get home from work, since they are usually asleep when I leave.

3. What is your number one, all-time, favorite blog?
I love Kelly's Korner and Sometimes Sweet.

4. Biggest online pet peeve?
I don't really have one!

5. What is your all-time favorite book?
Well I don't get to read often anymore, but I love Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner and of course The Hunger Games.

6. What would your "last meal" be?
Easy- Crab legs and artichokes with lots of melted butter

7. Do you believe in love at first site?
I do because I experienced it with Will!

8. What would your ideal Sunday morning consist of?
Making a nice breakfast, having Will get up and all of us happily head off to church then to a nice lunch afterward.

9. Why do you blog?
I blog to get memories down forever, since I don't scrapbook!

10. If you had to choose one color to wear forever, what would you pick?

Probably gray. I have a lot of gray!

My questions for you:

1. If you could go back in time, would you study something different or have a different career?

2. Why'd you choose your children's names?

3. What's your favorite tv show?

4. How'd you meet your spouse?

5. What's your favorite website?

6. What's your favorite place to shop for your clothes?

7. What's your favorite thing about where you live?

8. What's the first thing you'd buy if you won the lottery?

9. What's your favorite way to relax?

10. Which celebrity do you want to be friends with?

I tag: Georgia, Lori, Ami, Jenny, and Meghan, and whoever else wants to participate!

Golf N' Stuff... Can't Get Enough

We're lucky here in AZ to have Rodeo Break! Two days off to celebrate our AZ heritage. Do you think we'd actually go to the rodeo? Ha! Maybe someday, but yesterday we went to mini golf! Hayden had such a blast hitting the ball then chasing it down. She's gotten a lot of practice at Papa and Grammy's house because they have a little putting green in their backyard.

Hole in one!

"I got it!"

Ella wanted in on the action!

We got in a few arcade games.

Then came the mother of all meltdowns as soon as we got to the car. She was so tired because she woke up at 4 am. Yes, 4 am. She kicked and screamed until she put herself to sleep. What a way to end a fun day.