bows and some singing

I have been in the creative mood lately! I even got a new sewing machine thanks to my rockstar sister! But my sewing creations will get their own post!

For now, I will share some bows I made Sunday! They belong to Saylor's best friend Lily now!! Saylor as so many bows so I thought I would share the love!!

The first one has my favorite thing on it..cupcakes! I am a sucker for anything cupcake! Don't I have a cute model! This one is just bright and cherry for summer! They are so fun and easy to make!

This is what I have to do to make the next kind. They may be my favorite, I just need to work on getting them to look a little better!!

And here it is, hot out of the oven!


Just so I didn't leave out Dylan, he helped with the bow making by singing to me!

About 5

Well, my first week of 30 by 30 went pretty good. I lost around 5 pounds. I know the first week you lose more than normal, so I am sure this week won't be as good!! I ate pretty good last week and went on couple good, long walks. Not as many as I would have liked, but that's life! This week is stressful since I am going back to work...eating OK but doubt I will get too many walks in.

Honestly, I already feel better. I know it's all mental, but I fell like my pants fit better and those tops aren't quite as snug!

Rock Star Sister

My sister is a rock star when it comes to sewing.

Well, she's a rock star at other things too.

Like cooking.

Baking...cupcakes are her specialty.

Being a sister.

Being an aunt.

A friend.

Shoe shopper.

Reader.

The list goes on and on.

But today, I will tell you about her sewing! She has already made Saylor 2 dresses, and has many more planned!

This was her first one. For St. Pattys Day. It was so stinkin cute!

She also made Saylor 3 blankets. They are my 3 favorite that Saylor has. One of them, the one with lots of cupcakes, is the blanket that Saylor snuggled in while we spent 3 very long and stressful days in the hospital. I will keep that blanket forever. It will remind me of the hardest 3 days of my life but more importantly it will remind me to never take a day for granted with my 2 kiddos.

She also made this little taggie thing! Love the colors!
And, oh my goodness, look at the hair clip! This is my new favorite and we will be making so many more!!

It doesn't hurt that she has a darn cute niece to wear all of her creations!

And the latest dress. It's a pillow case dress.

I am thinking a purple and white one for football season is on order.

And one for 4th of July.

Maybe a cupcake one to wear for her brother's birthday.

And maybe a few fun prints for the summer!!

Then, she can wear them all fall with a long sleeved shirt and jeans!

So cute!

And don't worry. She's made things for Dylan too.
His favorite thing is his pillow case. It's a monster truck one...so he's in love!!!

Love you sis!! Thanks for being such a great aunt to Dylan and Saylor and the best sister ever!!

Soup

Want to make some soup on a nice, warm spring day...here is the perfect recipe

Some steak...rubber mulch

A little lettuce...grass

Water...rain

Flowers...weeds

Plastic sand box toys

Any other tasty looking objects found around the yard

Oh, and a Lightening McQueen Bucket to mix it all in and some shovels to mix it with.

Did I mention dog toys also taste great in this soup.

The chef even picks all the finest ingredients in his very own backyard.

And for an extra crunch, some tree bark is a good addition.



But most of all...to make this soup a success you need an over the top handsome chef, a pretty day to play outside, and a wild imagination!

Enjoy!

Some Very Random Thoughts

A couple months ago the Baskin Robbins right by our house reopened. LOVE IT! So does Dylan. He asks several times a week to go there after dinner. We used to go every time he asked! Sometimes we would even offer to take him even if he didn't ask. Yum. I would get Mint Chocolate Chip or World Class Chocolate. Seth always gets Pralines and Cream. Dylan...he picks by color, not taste!! Well, this week he asked and guess what...we took him but only Dylan had ice cream! That's right, Seth and I passed it up. Man, that was tough! This is SOOOO fake! Seth is NOT sleeping here! When Dylan was a baby this scene happened almost daily (but real sleeping going on by Seth). I have the pictures to prove it. But when you have 2, there isn't as much time to snuggle and take naps. Because when she's sleeping there is almost always something that can be done! Still, so cute though!

These are my new favorite breakfast item!! They are Thomas Bagel Thins. They are bagels, just thinner! I love them and they have fewer calories than regular bagels. I need to get some pizza sauce, pepperoni, and cheese to make pizza bagels on them..so good! This picture cracks me up. She looks bald. She doesn't have a lot of hair up front but she does have some! This was Saylor's first trip to the zoo. She wasn't thrilled. Dylan doesn't want to take her back until she gets bigger!! I guess he didn't enjoy the crying baby as he was trying to enjoy the animals! Poor guy.

Last week I wouldn't have thought twice about stopping and getting a large Dr. Pepper. I LOVE Dr. Pepper. Especially from Wendys. This week, I have had one. And it was a small. So proud! Come Monday though I will enjoy a large one from Sonic. It's my first day back to work and a super duper friend I work with is bringing me one. It's a little tradition we have, I took her one on her first day back from maternity leave. The tradition stops here though. No more babies for us!!
This is what happen to my table when I need to change out pictures in my frames that the great Ken Doll takes. He has now done 4 shoots for us and I love all the pictures. It is so hard to take down the old ones to put up the new ones. I keep a few up from each session and just add lots of new ones.

It cracks me up when Dylan sings this song. He keeps up with it pretty good. Not as good as daddy though! Not really what a 3 year old should sing, but oh well! This one isn't any better. But to hear Dylan yell "she thinks my tractors SEXAY" is the funniest thing ever!

We rode the train yesterday. So much fun. For Dylan that is! I am still kind of ticked that I have to pay $1.25 for my 7 week old to ride!!

And the last one...I hear people say all the time that having a girl and getting to dress her up must be so much fun. Yeah, fun for me. Not so much for her!!!
People also tell me that I now have the "perfect family", that I have a "million dollar family", that I must be so happy to have a girl and boy...well yes I am. I do think my family is perfect, we are more than a million dollar family, in my opnion we are a trillion dollar family, and I am more than happy...I am beyond thrilled. But, I would have felt just the same about my family if we would have been blessed with another boy. I LOVE my boy. I just can't believe some people think having all boys or all girls is anything less than perfect. Having the honor to be a mommy to any child is a true blessing.

Have a Happy Weekend! I am going to enjoy my babies before I head back to school Monday. Which I am actually excited about!! I love Dylan and Saylor more than anything in the world, but being a teacher by day is what I need to do...it is the best thing for our little family of 4!

Golfing

Dylan is so lucky to have such a great daddy.
A daddy that will take him golfing on a Friday afternoon!
Seth loves to golf and I think having a little buddy to follow him around on the course makes it just a little more fun! They went golfing a lot last summer, so I am sure they will go often this summer too. They will probably want a break from mommy and Saylor!

30 by 30

OK, I am really putting myself out there with this. I will either be very proud of myself or regret ever posting this...

I turn 30 August 8, so a little less than 4 months and by my 30th birthday I want to lose 30 pounds. I can count on both hands (and probably both feet) the number of times I've said I'm going to lose weight, I'm tired of feeling like this, I think I'll start eating better, start walking in the evening...and never have stuck to it. Sure there have been a few times I've stuck to it. Before my wedding I lose 30 pounds or so. After Dylan I maybe lost 15-2o pounds, but I've gained it all back and then some. I'm tired of blaming it on being too busy, having 2 kids...I need to just do something about it!
So, here I am. Putting it out there for you all to see. I figured if I tell you about it then I will feel more accountable. I am going to blog every week about my progress. Tell you how much I've lost and how I am feeling. I will keep it short and sweet. You don't even have to read it, I will just pretend in my head that thousands (ha ha) are reading it each week so I HAVE to stick to it or it would be embarrassing!! Plus, I am wanting my dear husband to throw a little 30th birthday party for me (Ash and mom, that means you need to help him!!) and how AMAZING would it be to be 30 pounds lighter!! But, most importantly I will feel better. I will be able to enjoy life just a little more..and I have some pretty awesome people to enjoy life with!!

So, it starts now. I am going to eat better, not snack as much and try and get out there and walk a few times a week.

Wish me luck!

Dylan Man

How is it that almost 2 years ago Dylan just got his new swing set and could hardly go up the ladder alone. We had to be there to catch him. There was no way he could do the big boy swing. And now...he doesn't need us out there at all...I just sit at the patio (sometimes on the computer!!) and watch! He does the slide like a pro and swings very high on his own.

Looking back at those pictures is crazy. He wasn't even 2 yet and now he is getting ready to turn 4 in a couple months. 4, there is no way!! People always say to enjoy these times because they go SO fast, and they do!! It is amazing how quickly Dylan has grown up. Going through it all again with Saylor brings back a lot of memories. I wish I could freeze time. Keep Dylan at this stage of his life. He is constantly saying something funny. Learning something new. I am always in awe of this little life that I created. I love to just watch him play, explore, eat, sleep...he just about always makes me smile!! I love him with all my heart and I hope we always have as much fun together as we are having now!

mess

Man, Dylan's room is such a mess right now!! You can see he is busy playing over there in the corner!! He usually comes home from school and goes right to his room to begin playing!! I love that he is so content playing in his room! It gives me time to feed Saylor, make lunch, do things around the house (no mom, I haven't dusted yet!!), and blog!! He has such an imagination. He is constantly pretending his toys do things. He builds buildings with his Cars Dominoes then has his monster trucks knock them down, sometimes his monster trucks play basketball with his foam golf balls, he has races with his cars...the list goes on and on!!
What I love most is that even though he has a TV in his room and he had a movie on, he just plays and plays! Only once when I went back there was he laying down and watching his movie! He loves to play!! Now if I can just get him to like cleaning up as much as playing!!

Life

All smiles!! L.O.V.E that face!!
That's all for today! Going to go make some cookies with my little man while his baby sister is sleeping!

Easter

I will start off with some yummy eggs that Dylan and I made for his class!! I am such a bad mommy and we didn't color eggs this year. I bought the stuff but we never did it! He got to do it at my parents with them, so at least he got to do it!!

Our Easter started off very early...4 AM to be exact!!! Saylor woke up at 4, ready to eat! I had to be up at 5, so I just stayed up after she ate!! Once we got Dylan up he saw his Easter basket and was very excited. It was pretty cute because he wanted to make sure Saylor got hers too! They are alike, but Saylor's is bigger...not on purpose though! We got Dylan his when he had his 1st Easter and got Saylor's this year. After church at my grandma's they had an Easter Egg Hunt. Dylan was pretty into it, but had to show us everything he got. Anything that was pink he would bring over to give to Saylor! Next year he will have fun showing her how it's done!! I tried so hard to get a picture of the 2 of them, but this is all I got! Oh well!! We have many more Easters in our future!!

It was a fun day filled with family! It was our first holiday as a family of 4 and one we will always remember!!