Today you are You, that is truer than true!

Most play times or projects just don't work out as planned.  It's one of the great things about having kids.  They take projects where we'd never even dream of.  And sometimes, they even reject the invitations we set up.  A couple weeks ago, I thought I had a great idea that the boys would both love, but it turns out I was wrong.

I put a little paint on a paper plate, cut a few tips off our pines trees in the backyard, and thought the boys would be happy as clams stamping their papers.  From the get go, Caden wanted nothing to do with it.  Porter seemed to at least want to try.





But after a couple tries, he scrunched his nose and pushed the paint away.

In the meantime, Caden stuffed his pants with art supplies.




It's a great reminder that we are who we are and we'll like what we'll like.  I'm not here to change that as a mother.  I'm only here to inspire, teach and love.  Failed projects will come, and invitations to create will be turned away, but I will love them no matter what.

I hope you have a great weekend!  xo

Happy 10 Years, Sweetheart!

10 years ago today, I married the love of my life. It is the best decision I've ever made in my life.  Period.

He makes me happy.  Really, really happy.

And there's no better match for me.

I remember walking down the aisle with my dad with tears rolling down my eyes.  Happy tears because I knew I was marrying the man for me.

And here I am with happy tears again today.

We've been through a lot in these short ten years.  Some of my favorite memories (in no particular order) are:  graduating college (both of us!), getting Casey started in an MBA program (he's over half way!), moving to a different state (twice!), two lovely boys, a dog, moving just about every year into a new apartment, buying and selling a house, mudding and sanding the basement (never again!), trips to various parts of the country and Mexico.

Wow!  10 wonderful years!

To celebrate, we'll be going somewhere nice for dinner tonight.  Down the road, we will be taking a trip- just him and me.  We aren't quite sure where or when yet, but hopefully this fall.  (This move has put us a little behind in planning).  I've been shopping different vacation spots and I've seen some great deals for Costa Rica.  Have you ever been there, or do you have any favorite vacation spots that you'd like to share?

Caden's Prayer

When saying prayers tonight, Caden had three trucks in his hands: a red fire truck, a orange cement mixer and a black truck.

Here was his prayer:
Father
Thanks
Red truck
Orange truck
Black truck
Daddy work
Mommy
Pants
Shirt
Amen!

9 years

9 years ago today, I married this awesome guy.

And it's the best decision I've ever made. He is the most loving, patient, fun, even keeled person I've ever met.

Love you, Case!!

Mr. Right

I am seriously the luckiest person on earth. Look at this guy. Don't you just want to hang out with him? Well, guess what? I get to every freakin' day.

I had the rare opportunity of snapping pictures of my Mr. and it was fun. I captured most of the looks that he sends my way.

There's the: Really? That's not what your going to do. Really?

And the: Funny, go lucky.

And then there's the.... well, I'm not going there.

I couldn't ask for a better husband and supporter. He's here for me during my toughest times and let's me lean on him whenever I need to. Now, if I could only think of someway to show him how much I love him. He deserves that and so much more.

Vive le weekend!

My boys

Over the weekend, we check out the Farmer's Market downtown. I love going there. So many talented people showing off their goodies.

I look at my little Caden and wonder where my little baby went. He is a full blown toddler now. How did that happen? It seems like just yesterday when he was born, and only weighed a mere 8 lbs. We went to the doctor on Monday and he weighs nearly 30 lbs. 95-100 percentile on everything. Yeah, we are total over achievers.

I love my little family so much.

8 years

It has been 8 wonderful years since I tied the knot with Casey. I seriously don't know what I'd do without him. He is the best person I know.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

The apple of my heart

Apple Logo Cookies

My husband seriously rocks. He came home with one of these last night. It's the best gift he's given me since this.

Oh, Apple just melts my heart.

All in time for the conference this weekend. I am speaking with Christy and I honestly can't wait. It's going to be a riot.

Red Barn and my many rants

image via flickr

I have red barns on the mind today. It probably has something to do with fall. I've always wanted to have a barn dance in the fall. You know, a bon fire with honky music playing and everyone doing the dosey-do. Swing your partner round-n-round. Can't you just hear it?

Well, this leads me to my post today. Really it's just a round and round sort of post. (Read: A bunch of random Mumbo Jumbo... now you know how I got the name for my blog... I know-- how original! End sidenote). Last week Casey and I were able to go to lunch. This hasn't happened in ages sans Caden. It was delightful and it's just like we were back in our own little dating world. The world where we would ride around in the old blue slug bug and kiss at red lights. Sweet romance, I tell you. Now our red lights are filled with climbing over the seat to make sure Caden has what he needs, or to swat away the dog from making a popsicle out of him (because he licks Caden THAT much).

Speaking of licking, I love, love, LOVE carmel apples and I need to make some very, very soon. Too bad my parents apple tree has stopped giving us love. I'm sure Caden would love some apples now. He is busy eating everything that comes in his way. Including dog food and lint. Yummy, yummy. I bet you're hungry right now. Speaking of hungry, did I tell you what Casey said last night? He said that we should cut down on our meat intake. Crazy, I know! I tend to agree with him, but we are the meat and potatoes kind of family so this will be hard. He mentioned tofu and I think I shriveled up and died right there. I don't like tofu. I repeat, I don't like tofu. Maybe the dog would eat my tofu... he is on a slight diet as the vet said he's gaining wait too rapidily. Have you seen our dog? Yeah, he's big, but I pretty sure he is suppose to be. So our dog is probably starving. Especially now that Caden's eating some of his food.

Now aren't you glad that I brought you up to date on all of our randomness? You are probably starving now so I will whip you up some carmel apples. Do you want any special toppings on yours?

xoxoxoxo

Lucky 7

Today marks our 7 year anniversary of our married life. I must say that these have been the best 7 years of my life and I'm sure it will only get better. I have the best husband in the entire world and this is why:

1. He's a good listener & an even better communicator.
2. He loves to analyze and philosophize.
   
3. He makes me want to be a better person.
4. He's creative.
5. He's a great father and ALWAYS puts family first.
6. He only worries about the important things.
7. He is so funny and makes me laugh all the time.

To celebrate, I think we are going to go out to dinner tonight. We were thinking somewhere special. Maybe the Outback. We love ourselves a good steak. And their bread and salads are to die for. MMMmmmm.

Lovin' is where it's at

So here it is... my first Mother's Day as a mother has come and gone. It was a great day. It was the most I have pondered and thought about my goals and priorities in life in a really long time. Since my return to work, I have thought about these things more often. I constantly analyze and reanalyze my choices to make sure I am doing what I think is best.

When I woke up yesterday morning, I was filled with guilt. The house was a mess, I was really tired (Caden has decided that sleeping through the night isn't quite his cup of tea), the laundry hadn't been done in over a week and I was s-t-a-r-v-i-n-g. And there Caden was with a huge smile on his face. All of my worries had seemed to go away.

Casey had made it his goal to make sure my first mother's day was awesome and whipped up some pancakes, bacon and eggs. It was good.

I sat there in church and thought about my life. Am I doing all that I can? Yes, I am trying and that is all I can do. I have a tendency to be really hard on myself. I think I can do it all and not only that, but do it with perfection. I am not perfect, I know that, but I like to try. I am always trying to be more positive and be the best I can be and as I look back at yesterday, I think I was just that... the best I could be. The dishes waited and so did the laundry. I spent time with family, enjoying motherhood and being a wife. Enjoying my mother, father and sisters and brothers. Friends. And Jonzy. Family brings me so much joy and I love spending time with them. It's as if all my worries go away and I can just focus on the love that we have for one another.

When it really comes down to it, I don't think we will ever be judged by how clean our house was or if we remember to send Sally-Sue a birthday card. I do think, however, we will be judged on how much love we spread throughout the world and whether we have a testimony and personal relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I hope you had a great mother's day!!
xoxo

Just the Two of Us

I really do love the New Year. It's such a fresh way to look at things and start out with a clean slate. Yesterday was so relaxing as we had a very slow start with our church now starting at 1 pm. I must say that this is the hardest time to go to church, but I'm trying to maintain a positive attitude about it. And it wasn't so bad yesterday. Here's to 51 more weeks of it, though!

After church, Casey and I were able to enjoy a relaxing evening together. It just seemed so quiet around the house and I got to thinking that there won't be too many more days that we have like this together. I must say that I'm having a hard time picturing what it will be like with a little one around. Here was a conversation Casey and I had over the weekend...

"Do you think we are ever going to hang out... just the two of us?" I asked.

"Yeah, but probably not a whole lot," Casey said.

"That makes me sad," I say in my mopiest voice. "Not that I'm not excited... but I love hanging out with just you."

"Me too."

And then we rode off into the sunset on our white stallion horse. Golly, I love this guy and I want to keep up the close-to-perfect love and friendship that we have. And I don't say that in a boastful way... but I really do think we have the best relationship I could ever ask for.

Overflowing with Love

Have I told you how much I love this guy? He is seriously the best husband in the world for so many reasons.... many of which I can't tell you about. However, this weekend in the season of celebrating the holidays, we had some friends over. Not only did he get everything ready for the party because I had a really bad headache, but he was also quite the entertainer while everyone was over.

Last night we came to the obvious conclusion that it's never going to be "just the two of us" anymore. Never. Ever. And we are okay with that. Well, mostly. I love hanging out with my man and could easily spend another 10 years alone with the guy.

And I love this little guy alot too. He makes me laugh so much and always makes my bad moods go away. Having a bad day? Just let Jonzy give you a nice little greeting (okay, big greeting with a wiggling booty and all) and I promise all your bad feelings will go away. It's no wonder they say having pets decreases depression and anxiety. I can tell you this is so true.

Celebrate

Saturday was Casey & I's (or would it be me & Casey's??) 6th wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe how quickly time has gone. (We have been together for 10 years now). Wowzers!!

There are so many things that I love about him and our marriage.

1. His great sense of humor.
2. His ability to communicate.
3. His confidence.
4. His intelligence.
5. His even keel.
6. His ability to question everything and not just go with what everyone else is doing because it's the popular thing to do.

These are just some of my favorites... I have to keep some of his favorite traits to myself, you know!! I feel blessed to be married to such a wonderful man. Happy Anniversary, Case.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo