Another working mom moment.

My life as a working mom is a cycle of ups and downs. Some days I couldn't imagine my life without work, a life without the structure and accountability that work provides. And then there are those days, like today, where I want nothing more than to be home with my kiddos.

We woke up this morning to 6 inches of fresh snow. It was pretty and all, but honestly, I am SO over snow after Christmas. So, I enjoyed my usual chaotic morning of throwing myself together while little people tugged on my pant legs and begged me to pay attention to them. Then, I proceeded to brush snow off the car (our little, ghetto car since Andy was going to be home with the kiddos today and needed our mom&popmobile) and very carefully head off to work. Mind you, the roads hadn't been plowed yet. Five minutes from home I got stuck on a snow berm and had to use a dust pan (what it was doing in the car, I have no idea) to dig myself out. Then, I slid through a 4 way stop, nearly causing a collision. But God is good, and in the end I made it to work safely.

The rest of my day consisted of too much stress to handle (and over NOTHING that truly matters to me) and a stream of text message photos from my hubby of the kids playing in the snow. WAAAAAAAAAAAA! I wanna play in the snow, too! No fair! Yes, there was a fair share of feeling sorry for myself today.

Photos courtesy of Andy. While I was miserably stuck in a closet of an office with no windows.






Oh the joys of being a working parent. But ya know what? All of the stress and frustration from work melted as soon as I walked through the door tonight and was bombarded with a chatty 3 year old and drooling, smiley toddler. I've spent my evening showering my littles with love and making the most of our time together. One thing being a working momma does afford me is the ability to never take a moment of my time with my children for granted. Each second is precious to me and I'm so grateful for the time that I do have.

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FYI... I apologize if you happened to visit my blog earlier today or late last night and saw a new, strange, contentless blog. I am in the process of designing a new space for my blog via Wordpress and I had a little mix up switching my domain over to my new web host. I am clueless as to what I am doing, so bear with me. Hopefully my blog's new home will be ready soon! :-)

This boy.

Landon Drew.

My little momma's boy. The missing piece of the puzzle to this momma's full heart. When I was pregnant with him I remember all of the fear and anxiety I had over being a mom of two. I remember spending more time worrying about Leila adjusting to having a sibling than imagining how full my heart would feel. This little boy has brought our family SO much happiness. Not only to me and Andy, but to his big sister, too.

Landon is 14 months old now. He's silly and sassy and really starting to develop a strong personality. Already such a comedian, he makes me belly laugh daily. And talk about trouble! Landon is a little boy through and through. Today I left him alone in the living room for 5 seconds and returned to find him sitting IN the fireplace (no fire going, obviously - I would never leave him alone with a fire going!), throwing soot up in the air. But the trouble-making side of Landon is easily counteracted by the fact the he is the biggest sweetheart. He loves his momma and doesn't hesitate to nuzzle his head into my neck and lay on my shoulder when I pick him up. Leila would NEVER do that as a baby! He also gives me big, slobbery kisses when I ask for them. I love my little man so much.

Sometimes I try to remember what it was like before I had him - what it was like to only have Leila. But, I can't. The fact that I existed without him boggles my mind. This little boy was my destiny, as was his sister. I was born to be their mother. And I am SO blessed because of them.

My funny, cuddly, smooshy, giggly, lovey, handsome little man. I love you so.

He also loves wearing sissy's crowns and headbands. No joke, he puts them on himself...

This girl.

Leila Jade.

My daughter will be three and a half on Tuesday. When I was putting my homage to 2012 post together the other day and reflecting back on last year, it boggled my mind how much my daughter has changed since the start of 2011. I think the growth from 2.5 to 3.5 is the craziest transformation I've witnessed in my life thus far. Exactly one year ago I was still changing her poopy diapers and struggling to understand her sentences. And now? Now I have a little princess on my hands with a love for poofy dresses (that's seriously all she will wear these days) and baby dolls who can write her own name and voice her opinion on EVERYTHING.

"Um Mom, if you keep acting that way you're not going to be invited to my birthday party!" <~~ The latest Leila-ism that cracks me up.

Three is the best age I've experienced so far. They're potty trained, they can communicate clearly, and they are SO much fun! It is also an extremely difficult age. One minute I will have the sweetest little daughter who I just can't get enough of and the next minute a flip will switch and she's not my daughter any more - she's a strange creature throwing a tantrum unlike anything I've ever seen. It's an amazing phenomenon, really.

Every night I say a prayer.  I thank God for giving me Leila and I feel my love and thankfulness for her pulsing through every part of my body from my head to my toes. She is worth every single tantrum, tear, scream, mess, and sass that she can throw my way. Bring it on, girl!

& a post for my little Lando-pie will be up tomorrow. :-)

Wise Words Wednesday: Time to Wake Up

"The secret to living the life of your dreams is to start living the life of your dreams today, in every little way you possibly can." ~ Mike Dooley

I'm sitting in silence at home on my lunch break. The Christmas tree is gone. The house is clean. My kids are at daycare and my hubby is at work. January 2nd is always an interesting day. I consider it the real 1st day of the new year. The holidays are officially over and it's time to get back to life, back to reality.

My mind is in a fog. I drove to work this morning on busy streets. Kids were freezing at school bus stops and the drive-through line at Starbucks wrapped around the building. At work this morning the buzz of the office totally threw me off. Everyone is back from vacation and busy, busy, busy getting caught up and settled back in to the work mindset. I'm not quite there yet.

January 2nd is like waking up from a dream. For a couple of weeks we get to live in a world of holiday joy, extended family time, and glutenous ways. But now? Now we're awake. Now it is time to re-focus. For me, I feel more pressure than ever (from myself, of course) to work hard and to start making things happen in my life. I'm just having a little bit of a tough time waking up.

How are you feeling on this 1st Wednesday of the new year? Ready to get going on those resolutions yet or are you taking a break this year, like me?

Side note: How cute are my kiddos? I've been getting some great shots of them in the bath lately via the ever-wonderful Instagram (@dreamstodo).

An homage to 2012...

Okay, okay... so I know I was pretty dang negative in my last post due to my less-than-happy week. But guess what? It's a new week and just about the start of a new year! I'm happy to report that I am in a much better place and ready to kick off 2013 on the right foot.

But first, I must pay my respects to 2012. I know I've said that it wasn't my year. After all, 2012 had some HUGE shoes to fill after 2008-2011...

2008 made the love of my life my husband.
2009 made me a mommy.
2010 made me a homeowner.
2011 made me the mommy of two.
and 2012?
I guess 2012 made me just a little bit wiser.

I'd like to pay my respects to 2012 while she's still here. After all, maybe nothing notably super exciting happened in my life, but it was still a year full of memories and happiness.

My year in pics...

Leila, Jan. 2012. She's grown up so much this year!


Not to mention my little Lando...






The project (Instagram Wall Initial) that brought my blog to Pinterest... :)


Easter 2012...


We ventured into cloth diapering in 2012 & still love it!


Landon went through helmet therapy this year...


Our garden was out of control beautiful thanks to my hubby's hard work!


We attempted a family self-portrait. Ha!


I "unplugged" a few times this past summer which felt SO good!


We enjoyed many family fun outdoor activities in the summer sun...


My baby girl turned THREE!


We took a family vacay to Priest Lake...


Enjoyed some fall fair fun...


Family time at the pumpkin patch...


My boy turned ONE!


Enjoyed a weekend getaway to Seattle...


Made the most of a wonderful winter & happy holiday season!



Gosh, maybe 2012 wasn't as pathetic as I thought! Reflecting back has really opened my eyes to how blessed I've been. I really couldn't ask for more. In fact, I'm actually rather proud of myself for how much I did accomplish. Not only did I implement my monthly DIY projects which have gotten my creative juices a-flowing, but I also started exercising regularly (I can cross this off my Dreams To Do list! Yeah!) via The Bar Method, which I love! Two big things that I really wanted to focus on this past year and I DID. So, maybe 2012 wasn't such a dud after all. :-)

Wishing you all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR! May 2013 bring us all joy beyond our wildest dreams.

2013 can't get here fast enough!

To say I've had a terrible week would be an understatement. And considering it's the week of Christmas, I'm sure I am one of few who is complaining. Let me just summarize the last few days for you - this should explain my lack of blogging and motivation...

• I get the stomach flu on Christmas day, so Christmas for me is pretty much non-existent.
• I have to go to work the day after Christmas, still feeling like crap.
• Recovering from sickness, I've been going to bed early which is resulting in our house STILL looking like a disaster zone from the 15 people we hosted for Christmas Eve dinner. I'm serious!
• Last night everything that could go wrong, did... Landon pooped in the bath and tried to eat it, I stubbed my toe, Leila peed a puddle on the living room floor for no reason, the toilet overflowed a TON in our bathroom which then leaked through the floor down onto a basket of freshly cleaned laundry. Oh, and then Andy spilled a glass of water on me in bed. It's so bad it's almost humorous. Almost.

Seems a little surreal, huh? No lie, when it rains it pours.

So, instead of my usual happy-end-of-the-year New Years resolutions post, I am just wanting 2013 to hurry up and get here already. Not gonna lie, I was less-than-impressed with 2012. I pretty much failed in the resolutions department and nothing spectacular happened.

Ok, end negativity.


Yes, I am crazy. Never claimed that I wasn't! :)

2013! My year for change and challenge! I plan on embracing 2013 with open arms and excitement. I love a new year because I really view it as a clean slate - a chance to start over fresh and make things happen. This year in lieu of resolutions (since I suck at them), I am planning on focusing on HAPPINESS. What makes me happy? What makes my family happy? What makes those around me happy? And hopefully I will accomplish a whole lotta dream doing, too. :-)

Wishing you all a most wonderful and joyous New Year! Let's party!

A very un-merry Christmas?

At this point, all I can do is laugh about my Christmas day. Woke up bright and early Christmas morning to a tummy ache and some nausea. I chose to ignore it and my little family and I had a wonderful morning of "Santa came!" joy and present unwrapping. The excitement in my kiddos eyes (yes, even little Lando's!) was all that I hoped it would be and more and worth every second of work that went into making this Christmas magical for them.





By 9am I wasn't feeling too hot. Ended up puking and spending Christmas day curled up in a ball, clutching my stomach and drifting in and out of sleep. I was so sad that I didn't get to spend the day with all of my family back home - it was the first Christmas in my life that I didn't see my parents! But ya know what? This was a very humbling experience for me. As I moaned and groaned in pain I kept thinking of the more gut-wrenching pain that the families of those affected by the Newtown shooting were experiencing on this Christmas day. And I thought about people all around our planet who are missing loved ones and those people who don't even know what the joy of Christmas is all about. So, while I was miserable, I know that there were people out there suffering much greater than I was. My heart hurt for them, too.



Today I am counting my blessings. I am feeling much better (just very weak from not eating for 24 hours). I am so grateful for a hubby who stepped it up an extra notch to take care of me and our children yesterday. I'm grateful that my kiddos still had a wonderful Christmas and spent the day feeling happy and healthy. I am grateful that I got to enjoy Christmas morning and the days leading up to it. And most of all, I am grateful for getting to spend Christmas surrounded by my three favorite people in the whole wide world. Really, that's all that matters.

And we were blessed with a very beautiful white Christmas!


I truly hope that your Christmas was extra magical and special to make up for mine!