it's happening.

The Summer that we looked forward to for months is now almost over.

I ordered the uniforms last night. We have it marked on the calendar so we don't forget to go to the school to check who her teacher will be. We have started making our first teacher gifts already, and all the new school supplies are loaded in Van's new back pack.

We have a 2nd grader. How in the world did this happen!?

Van is ready, and because she is...I guess I am. She helps so much around the house that I am definitely going to miss her. Devin will most definitely be playing by himself more, and Sabrina will most definitely be crying more...because as much as I want to sit and hold her all day, I can't. :(

This will always be a memorable Summer, and not because of some amazing vacation we went on...

I learned how to really play, and appreciate being out in the sun. Just last night I made huge holes in the dirt trying to find my kids a family of earth worms. If you would have told me I would be doing this a few months ago, I wouldn't have believed you.

I am ending this Summer a changed woman.

surgery.

We crossed our fingers, and hoped that Mister Cyster would disappear on his own...but no such luck.

I will need surgery, and soon.

Poop.

The Dr and I discussed all my options today for birth control, because if I am being completely honest...I am scared to get pregnant again unexpectedly. I definitely don't trust the pill anymore. We are in the process of coming up with a few thousand dollars before heading into the operating room to fix my ovary and the tubes too. Eh, who said we ever needed a vacation again when we can have fun paying hospital bills, right!?

So as a joke my Dr wrote me a note to give to Paul until I can get my girly parts taken care of...

AND he thought this was serious...which made it all the more funny! I am glad that I have a Dr with a sense of humor!

This little chica was definitely worth everything we have gone through to get her here! She makes me ridiculously happy, even if she never wants to be put down. :)

creativity for kids party!

Last year we had a back to school brunch to celebrate the end of the Summer. Right around the time we were starting to wonder what we were going to do this year, we received notice we were picked to host a Creativity for Kids party!

When our supplies came, we decided we had enough stuff to make an invite to all of my Facebook friends to a craft party. You guys, they totally hooked us up. Everything looked ridiculously fun, and I knew I really didn't have much to "plan"...because everyone would be busy having fun with the crafts.

We packed everything up and headed to the pavilion at the park near our house. We made little stations so the guests could just pick what looked fun, and move from one station to the next. This worked out lovely, and I couldn't tell who was having more fun...the kids or the parents. Seriously. I am pretty sure everyone went away happy.

It was fun to sit and chat while making headbands, bracelets, totes, coloring, etc. We had some awesome creations happening by everyone. I think the bracelets were my absolute favorite thing to watch transform...so fun!

The only kit that really scared me was the bandanna tie dye kit, because of the obvious...MESSY! It was by far Savannah's favorite one though, and turned out absolutely adorable. My hands were tie dyed by the end, and Savannah's clothes got some of the liquid on them. The good news, the dye came out of her clothes, and came off my hands easily.

Our house has definitely become Creativity for Kids Craft Kits newest, biggest fans! Savannah is definitely at that age where she loves to make and create fun stuff, and I like that you can buy a kit with all the supplies you need.

Thank you Faber-Castell's Creativity for Kids Craft Kits for letting me and my friends enjoy your product...we had a blast!

Disclosure: All opinions are my own. A big shout out to MommyParties and Faber-Castell's Creativity for Kids Craft Kits for sending us enough stuff to have an amazing afternoon full of creativity!

staying home.

I feel like I am starting to change since being a stay at home Mom, and it was probably long overdue.

I have learned I need something to motivate me, and so I have been making plans.

My plans don't have to be extravagant, but I need them. If I don't have plans, I end up sitting on my toosh all day in front the tube. It is no bueno, and I get cranky with the kids. I tend to stay in my pj's when I don't have plans, and look like I could stand on the corner and beg for money.

Our plans have been something as small as going to the store to buy those few things to make a new recipe we found, or walking around Kohl's...we aren't picky with our plans. My favorite days are when we tag along on errands with Paul, because then I don't have to watch all of the kids by myself.

I have learned that I have to do some sort of house cleaning every day.

Even if  it is as simple as unloading the dishwasher, or just getting the mopping done..it makes me feel better about myself. I feel like the house work is my job, and even though my house may never be spotless...I like it to look like I care about my job.

I have learned that I needed to step up my game in the friend, and neighbor department.

I have never been that person to take a meal to someone, or even cookies for that matter. It isn't because I don't care, but I am insecure that they may not like what I make. Silly, but true. I have been making an effort to change, and it feels good. My kids really like delivering goodies, and I feel like it is a good teaching tool. Operation snail mail is in full swing again too. Should I even admit it took me 3 months to mail out my nieces birthday present...yup, slacker! I was in desperate need of stepping up my game.

It feels good to work on my flaws. I realize I will never be perfect, but I like knowing that change is totally possible...

stanley steemer {finally tried them!}

Remember when I did a giveaway for a $100 gift certificate to Stanley Steemer? I asked my awesome readers if you had an opinion of them, and most of you hadn't used their services.

Welll, I finally got around to picking something I wanted done, and now I have an opinion of Stanley Steemer.

I decided I wanted to clean my front room furniture. It is rarely sat on, and is in near perfect condition. I had a couple of spots {less than a quarter in size} that I wanted to have a professional clean off.

Scheduling was a breeze, and they even offered to come the day I called. I was able to pick between three time windows, and I decided on the 3 PM - 6 PM. They are great with follow through, I received an email reminding me of my appointment and a phone call.

The day of my appointment I decided to head out, and when I returned home at 2:30 PM I had two messages from Stanley Steemer on my voicemail. One asked if they could come earlier than the time slot, and the next told me they were on their way.

Uh, I thought I chose the time slot for a reason, but whatever. I made a quick call to make sure I hadn't missed them, and was told they were 5 minutes away. Well, good thing I came home early. Who knows what would have happened if I wasn't home.

The two guys were friendly enough, and were quick. When they started trying to sell me on EVERY service they do, I got a little turned off. Initially I just had scheduled the love seat and chair to be cleaned, and I did end up being sold on doing our ottoman too. After that he tried to sell me on my front wood door being protected, my grout being done, my other chair being cleaned, fabric protection for the furniture, and I am sure there was more. It was a. lot. to talk about since they were only in my house for less than an hour. I get that they want to make me spend money, but maybe one or two extras would have been enough to talk about.

I can overlook that they don't carry change when you pay cash, even though it was slightly annoying. I realize that this world is all about the credit card/debit card. So, if your bill is $106, and you have $120...you won't be getting your $14 back. Oh, and you can't just give that to the guys as a tip either, because they aren't able to take those. Weird.

What I really can't overlook though, is that the next day when I was putting on all my cushions...the two little spots I wanted them to clean off were still there. Boo. Kind of a waste of money if they can't actually clean anything noticeable off.

So, what all this really means...I won't be using them again.

PS My Sista has used them before for carpet cleaning, and was happy with them...but she did say they were on the expensive side in her area.

Disclosure: I am not being compensated to write this follow up post, I just wanted to give my readers the 4-1-1. Peace out.

starting tomorrow.

I don't know how many times I have said this, but starting tomorrow I am going to get serious about losing weight. {dun, dun, dun!}

I have had some pretty good excuses the past few years, and now those good excuses have run out. I mean two pregnancies, an IUD, depression, and now...uh, I have none of those.

Since Bri was born I have lost 24 pounds. Don't be too impressed, after all I delivered an 8 pound baby. :)

I have gotten in the habit of late night gas station runs, and those darn chocolate chip cookies I can't stop making have got to stop. Sad panda.

I knew I wanted to watch my progression in this journey so here are my first few pictures of myself...enjoy!

{very pregnant with Bri}

{48 hours after having a baby}

{2 weeks after having a baby}

Now that I have gotten past the 6 weeks of takin' it easy...I am ready to start. Ready or not, I am about to lose 40+ more pounds. Wish me luck.

i survived.

paul and savannah went to idaho.

i stayed with these two.

i totally survived a blow out in public.

a devin melt down.

changing devin's diaper in the trunk of the car.

a large coke spilled all over a certain 2 year old

and a car seat.

stanley steemer coming to clean my furniture, and waking devin up from his nap after 45 minutes. sob.

at bedtime when bean wouldn't let me put her down,
i loaded both of those little people in the car and just started driving.

she screamed the entire time, devin sang,

and i ordered myself a pizza!

maybe next week when they have to go back to idaho, it will go a little more smoothly...
and if it doesn't...we will still survive.