Siblings

My kids have been quite something lately.
Really,
really,
really difficult.
Between being sick, teething, Alayna wanting to talk more than she can and in turn getting upset constantly,
lots of crabby whining and screaming has been happening at my house.
Seriously, If one child is not screaming,
the other one is.

Some days lately I literally feel like I want to loose my mind.

The fighting between my two seemed to have started so early....
it's a rare moment to have my kids playing nicely together.
Mostly, it's that Ethan will randomly hit or smack or push Alayna,
or yell at her,
and then she is quite dramatic about it and lets the whole world know just how upset she is.
We work a lot about being kind...
using kind words,
playing nicely together.
Unfortunately it seems to not be doing any good lately :(

The moments that we catch them playing peacefully together are bliss...
pure bliss I tell you.
They can be so sweet together (and it's usually just that Ethan decides to be sweet, Alayna will always willingly play with him).
I know this is just the beginning, right?
Siblings often seem to have a love/hate relationship growing up.
I guess I just have to keep praying that the bond they have will remain strong,
as they might possibly only have one another
(because quite honestly this mama does not have the desire to gestate another baby).
Anyhow....
we will keep on working on things over here...
and I'll probably be saying that for the rest of the time they live with us :)

In the meantime,
I will cling to sweet pictures like this one....
because sweet moments DO happen...
sometimes :)

An Icky Week

Matt's been out of town all week for work,
and the kids have been sick.
Fevers, runny noses, icky sickies.
On the plus side they've slept good every night but last night.
Alayna was fussy and miserable and up a lot of the night.
To say I'm tired today is an understatement.
Days like this remind me how grateful I am to be sleeping normally again...
after that year of insomnia,
I will NEVER again take sleep for granted.

This past weekend I had a photoshoot in Laguna beach.
My mom took the kids for the afternoon and my handsome hubby came along to assist.
I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of him...
and of course the gorgeous sunset.

He took my camera and snapped one of me...

my hair does not like the beach climate :)

I have no idea what these are... I think some kids built them.  I thought they looked pretty cool.

Matt took this one of me too :)

Notice the photographer on the right.
It was funny...
the sun started setting and a plethora of photographers descended upon the beach.
Along with me there was someone shooting engagement photos, maternity photos, family photos and a few others as well.
It was a hot spot!

Ahhhh.... sunsets at the beach...
breathtaking.

January Days

The weather the past couple of weeks has been amazing. We've enjoyed playing in the back yard, going to the park, and making the most of not having to hunker down from icky weather.

Alayna loves to play with Cookie... it's super cute to watch

Once in a while I like to bring my Netbook out back with me, prop my feet up and read blogs while my kids play. It's relaxing... for about 2 minutes until I have to chase after someone, pull dirt out of someone's mouth, punish someone... or... well... you get the point :)

I picked up this three pack of cups at Costco and I love them... I always have one by my side

 I attempted to paint my nails red the other day.  

They looked pretty for about... 30 minutes :) 

I was reminded why I do not pain my nails, lol.

Look at the view behind me....

that's Oak Glen in the reflection of my kitchen window.

Our backyard may have a long way to go in getting pretty again,

but at least the view is gorgeous.

I enjoy it every single day.

Valentine's Banner & other stuff

I have a current affection for bunting banners.
I think they make a room look instantly festive.
I've been making them for every holiday.
Here is my Valentine's banner (which I also used for a photoshoot).
I whipped this up the other morning out of scraps from my scrap pile :)

I hung these three canvasses in our hallway the other week.
I love how they look.
I want to get a few more canvasses for our home.

I like them right here because we have a skylight,
so they have nice natural light on them during the day, despite being in a long hallway.
The doorway to the left of them is my laundry room....
to the right is the kitchen pantry.

My gift cards were causing my wallet to be too bulky to snap shut.
I whipped up a little gift card holder to keep in my purse.
It literally took me a few minutes,
and in true fashion looks pretty hacked together,
but I was proud :)
Plus, I used scraps... so it cost me nothing to make.

Rag to the Muffin

I've mentioned it many times before....

 but Alayna is a dirt magnet.

If dirt is nearby,

she will find it within minutes.

Seriously... it only takes her a few minutes to go from 

squeaky clean,

to mega ragamuffin.

She will dig her hands through dirt, 

put it in her mouth,

smear it on her face,

get it all over her clothes,

and anywhere else she possibly can.

 I figure the girl is either building up her immune system,

or going to end up with ringworm.

The funny thing is that her brother never got anywhere as near as dirty as she gets on a daily basis.

What is it about this child and dirt?

Despite my best efforts, 

she is filthy in a matter of minutes.

So, I guess.....

If God made dirt,

then dirt don't hurt.

lol.

Comfortable in MY skin

 I've noticed something....

The older I get,
the more comfortable I am in my own skin.
I've noticed that I like me for ME.
I don't try to be anyone else.
I embrace what I enjoy.
I make no apologies for who I am.

I like growing older.
It seems like with each passing year my contentment with the little things grows.
I embrace the things I enjoy and savor the moments I can carve out of my day for me.
I've embraced the things I once considered flaws.
I've learned to love the body God gave me (while at least trying to keep it healthy).
I've learned to let the little things go (most of the time),
and embrace what really matters to me.
I've learned that I don't have to look like anyone else...
because I am unique...
I am ME.

I am so many things each day....
mother
wife
daughter
sister
photographer
child of God
friend
neighbor

I think that when one wears so many hats,
and needs to be there for people all day long...
it is all the more important to embrace one's inner self.

I guess that's why I'm happy that I enjoy being ME.
Embrace yourself ladies...
YOU are beautiful!


***Disclaimer:
I took these photos with my point and shoot while Matt was driving.
I was NOT the one driving :)

Ready for tomorrow

I titled this post "Ready for Tomorrow" because I am finished with today.
It's been a rough day.
One of those days where I was low on patience....
yelled at my kids way too much....
felt like a total looser of a mom...
and was in tears by the end of the day (and honestly... throughout it).

I got off to the day on the wrong foot,
my kids were extra naughty and needy and whiny,
and the day just got worse from there.

Mama needed a time out more than the kids.

Do you ever have those days?
I know you do :)
As I was whining/crying/venting to my husband,
and totally beating myself up about my short comings,
I started thinking...
I get the chance to start over again tomorrow.
My Savior forgives me...
He wipes my slate clean.
He lets me have the chance to hang up my failures and start over again fresh every day.
How amazing is that?
It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

My kids will wake up tomorrow and love me just as much as they always do,
even though I fell short as a mom today.
My Lord loves me as much as he ALWAYS does,
even though I failed miserably today... as I do every day really,
because NO ONE is perfect.
I get the chance to wake up tomorrow,
learn from today,
and make the most of what I'm given.

I'm humbled,
and oh so grateful that I get a clean slate every day.
I pray I make the most of it.

Lamentations 3:22-23
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness."

Snapshots of our weekend

Thanks to my handy dandy point and shoot I have a few snapshots from our weekend....

Date night on Friday night.
Drinks at the wine bar (Time in a Bottle),
followed by a tasty meal at Romanos.
My mom babysat (and she even offered, I didn't ask!).

Dinner at the Flores casa on Saturday.
Oh my was it tasty (of course it always is).
Jolene is an amazing cook... and baker!
The amazing thing was that for a brief time we had all four adults AND all four kids sitting at the table eating dinner!  That's a rare thing with all the littles :)

Alayna found some beads and was acting super girly and cute with them.
It was making us laugh.
Gotta love her little Pebbles ponytail :)

The kids even got to watch a movie in a tent while the adults enjoyed dessert and conversation.
Tents make everything more fun.

Thankfully they both took long naps that day because we didn't get home until almost 9:30.

Sunday was church.
The service was awesome.
Love, love, love our new pastor.
Right now he's preaching on TULIP (the 5 points of Calvinism.... we go to a reformed church),
which is not something that is not easy to preach on!
I look forward to church every week.
After church we went to Mill Creek with Matt's parents.
While the service is often a bit slow... the meat makes up for it!

Like this picture?  My father in law and me being supa cheesy

 Alayna was tired from being out late the night before,
and due to the slow service was a bit done with sitting in her high chair.
I took her outside and she was happy to play in the patio area for a bit.

So there...
our weekend in snapshots!