My My...

PHEW!!

Over a month since i've last posted an update! Sorry! I'm not even sure how many people even read this entries, but it's almost theraputic typing out all of the things in our lives.

So, in BIG NEWS: Tj got into the AECP program! WOO HOOO!!! Which means we are OFFICIALLY moving to Maryland! We are oh so excited!

Tj has to take a final PT test this Thursday, and then his package is finished, so then he'll send it off to the big wigs, and THEN the waiting game starts! Ugh, we have to wait to get our orders, to let us know when we need to be there. We can't start any of the moving process without the orders, so that is kind of frustrating...Oh well!!

The boys continue to grow! I wonder how I can slow that down a little? lol Nolan is crawling all over the place!! He crawls just like Gabe did, he pulls with his left leg, and drags his right, so funny. Sometimes he'll even get on the balls of his feet, and take steps with them-he looks like a little gorilla...haha

Gabe is still Gabe,lol...It seems like he adds 20 different words to his vocabulary every day. He's getting so big!! Pre-school when we get to Maryland!!! Where did my little boy go?! He tells me at least three times a day-"mommy, you booty-full" haha, what a love bug!

I am getting so excited about the thought of moving-i'll probably be eating those words as we get closer, and things get a little bit more hectic. BUT, for now, i'll stay optimistic and excited! I'm excited to start a new chapter to our lives, get out of the midwest for a little while-all the exploring in Baltimore and DC, gosh-DC!! I can't wait to get to the museums, and New York! We'll be close to the Big Apple, as well! I have a few friends that live on the Upper East Side (yuppies-lol-jk jk), so we'll have places to stay, and people to take us to the places only the locals know about.

How is everyone else doing? Ready for summer? I know i'm not, that bathing suit is like the devil. Just glaring at me-i probably won't get into it more than a few times. I am DEFINATELY not bathing suit ready. Unforunately, I am in that class of moms who don't loose much of their weight until AFTER they stop breastfeeding-lucky me. I get sooo hungry now! I feel like i've never eaten a bite somtimes.. It's nuts...

Ok, this should do for now, Nolan is having a crank fit, speaking of someone who is always hungry...lol

love,

Sam

Autism

Happy World Autism Day! Every 20 mins a child is diagnosed with Autism!!

Day Four

"How precious are Your thoughts to me...How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand..." (psalm 139:17-18)

Tj and I are reading a great new book, it's called "The Love Dare." Each day there is a new "dare" that we do, as a couple. Day four's dare was: "contact your spouse during the business of the day. Have no agenda other than asking how he or she is doing, and if there is anything you could do for them."

Every night we read the Dare for the next day, and when the next day rolls around, we make sure and work on what we read. We're learning to respect one another more, help one another more, love and be more considerate of one another. It's kind of funny that a book could help someone out the way it has us-and we're not even half way through!

Marriage and being a parent, it's the hardest job in the world. No one prepares you for it, it's not like they really can... And sometimes you feel like you are being pulled in a thousand different directions, your husband or wife should be the one that keeps you centered. For a while, I lost sight of my center-many people, and things, along with this book have helped me find that center again, Tj.

Pay It Forward

The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a gift from me during this year.
When and what will be a surprise!
There's a small catch though....
Post this same thing on your blog and then come back and leave a comment telling me you're in.
Remember, only the first 3 comments receive the gift.
*Don't forget to post this on your blog first,then come back and leave a comment on this post!*

Just Waiting...

So, it's 11 pm and here I am-just waiting an appointment online; here's the catch, I have to wait until midnight...ugh! They really want to make sure you want/need those appointments!lol

I am going to try and get my thyroid checked out. My great friend Amber (in florida, not cali-lol) mentioned something about doing it. After she had her daughter, she lost weight, and then gained a lot of it back-she was also really sluggish, and her hair came out in clumps...All of which I am experiencing-the one that bothers me the most, is you guessed it-the weight! I'm curious to see how much I weigh in at tomorrow, since i've been playing volleyball for about a month anyway.

I know that i'm not the only one who has problems loosing weight after a baby...I'm just not used to looking like I do, i'm also worried about my milk supply. I tried to cut back calories for a few days, and my supply went down enough for me to notice-i didn't have a good let down for two days...oi

I also started running again last night. Man it feels good!-for the most part...This morning when i woke up, I was reminded of a few things-I'm not as young as I used to be, and i should have walked A LOT more before I came inside afterwards...oh boy!haha

I have been taking the girls with me when i run-the three of us need some exercise! I loop one of their leashes around the other, then tie another around my waist... I feel really great after I finish-i ran two miles last night, and pumped out another tonight... I think I am going to go out and find a leash that I can hook the both of them to, tomorrow. I know they have them, i'll have to do some investigating :)

We were in KC last week, and while we were out boppin around, we went into a Hot Topic (for giggles) and one of the guys that worked there gave me a business card for his wife's business. She has a cloth diaper business! She makes her own diapers, covers, AND she travels to lawrence and topeka to deliver and pick up new/dirty diapers!! I wish there was someone here in town that did that! Gosh, that would make my life so much easier!! I think I might google it and see what i come up with!

I hope everyone is doing well!

Love-moi

Picture overload!!

Finally, an update!

Hello Lovelies!
So, i haven't updated in a quite a while! I check to see if I have any comments during the day, and I wonder why I don't have any! Maybe, it's because I don't update! :)
I think Nolan is trying to get some teeth!! Poor guy only ate about four times today, and he has four little white dots on the bottom set of his gums! I hope he doesn't start to bite when he nurses now!! OUCH!
Gabe has been a little bit of a stinker the last couple days. I'm not sure what his deal is, but i'm sure in the next few days he'll even out a bit. It seems like whenever he misses a nap one day, the next few are a hit and miss...
We are going to my parents' house this saturday. My girlfriend katie is getting married, March 7th! How exciting!! I still need to try and find something to wear, I just haven't had any luck! I found a dress from Gap-but to make it look better, i am going to need to get the pockets sewn shut. They hit right at my hips, and make me look really wide-no one needs that!!
Vicki bought me a wonderful book called " Easy Green Living" I LOVE it! It has bits on how to read labels, the best cleaning products, recipes for cleaning products, face masks and everyhing you ever would want and need to know about being green!
My friend Amber had mentioned something about pthatlates, and that I should look them up. I googled them, and I couldn't find much. I was pleased to find that there is quite a bit about them in "Easy Green Living." Pthatlates are used to make fragrance last longer, whether it be in air freshener or cleaning products. They cause reproductive and developmental disorders, and cancer; they have a bigger effect on men-they can also cause testicular atrophy! OI VE!! All that just for a smelly good room!! Its reccommended that you use the reed diffusers instead of a spray or the plug ins-but you need to make sure that they are derived from plant sources...
Did you know that if just one New Yorker would use a cloth sack for their groceries, it would prevent 5 MILLION pounds of waste, and save $250,000 in disposal costs??
I'm going to try and include at least one new thing that i've learned from this book every post or so...Maybe if someone just glances through my posts and sees my green tips and tid bits-then maybe they'll apply it to their daily routines. I know it's a task to grab a book and flip through to find the things that might apply to you-so ill make it easy on you! :)
We love ya'll, hope you have a good week!!

Valentine Tag

♥ How long have you been together? Married Almost 4 years
♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating? Maybe a week?
♥ Who asked who out? We just kind of assumed that one another was exclusive :)
♥ How old are each of you? Both of us are 24
♥ Whose siblings do/ did you see the most? Mine
♥ Do you have any children together? Two little beans!
♥ What about pets? Two dogs, Indigo and Hannah, and a cat Myles
♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Finances-but that will be all fixed here once we get our taxes! Bye bye credit cards!!
♥ Did you go to the same school? Sure did, Kstate!
♥ Are you from the same home town? Definately not, I'm an Army Brat, and he is from St. Peters
♥ Who is the smartest? Depends on what we're talkin about-I'm more street and he's more book smart :)
♥ Who is the most sensitive? Both of us are pretty sensitive
♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple? We don't eat out a lot...but, we both love Freddy's
♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Jamaica
♥ Who has the craziest exes? DEFINATELY me. HA
♥ Who has the worst temper? TOTALLY Tj
♥ Who does the cooking? most certainly... ME
♥ Who is more social? That would be me!
♥ Who is the neat freak? Gosh, Tj is insanely neat, but at the same time, messy. I am organized in my chaos!
♥ Who is the more stubborn? Oh Lordy, both of us are pretty stubborn, but I would have to say me!!
♥ Who hogs the bed? Tj, he likes to lay in the shape of a "C"...and then you have to take into account the two DOGS that sleep with us. I usually end up in the fetal position...lol
♥ Who wakes up earlier? He does on the weekdays, and I do on the weekends.
♥ Where was your first date? We went to a little greasy spoon, called Bob's Diner...
♥ Who has the bigger family? He does, one of three, i'm one of two
♥ Do you get flowers often? No
♥ Who is more jealous? Definitely me.
♥ How long did it take to get serious? Moments :)
♥ Who does/ did the laundry? I do. I LOATHE putting it away, i'll fold and whatever else, but please don't make me put it away
♥ Who’s better with the computer? Moi!
♥ Who drives when you are together? Me-he drives too slow!
I don't know anyone on here, besides Amy, who tagged me...sooo this is where it ends :)

Salma Hayek

Say what you will about this clip, but I think this is wonderful. I wish I could fly to Africa and help!
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=6860841
Ok ok, I teared :)

picture post

happy boys

aww

sleepy boy

this was taken about a month and a half ago

Going Green

SO, anyone that knows me, knows that I love being healthy. All through highschool I ate very modestly and as healthy as I could.
The problem I am running into now is the financial aspect of eating organically and natural. Another problem is TJ-poor guy is trying to gain weight, and I am trying to loose weight. I'm sure you can see my problem!
There was a study done about the milk at walmart-something about the walmart brand containing the most hormones out of all the milk tested. shesh-and people wonder why little 9 year old girls are needing bras, and having their periods so early! Their milk is also the cheapest, so as you can imagine all of the lower income families are buying it up and giving it to their children. Obviously it's great that the kids are getting milk in the first place, but I just feel sad that they can't get quality milk for a good price, you know?
Unfortunately, we don't make very much "moolah," in fact we are eligible for WIC, which don't get me wrong is a blessing-we get a ton of milk and what not every month. BUT, we receive the cheapest milk possible, which like i said previously, means hormones and yada yada. So, every other gallon, I try to get an organic one. All the meat I buy is from a meat locker, which only uses grain fed/grass fed meat, and the cheese I buy is organic as well. I figure if I can't do everything, the things we eat the most of, and the items that have the most hormones in them-do those.
As far as cleaning products, I don't get real picky-a friend of mine, Amber, she lives in California; she gets down to the nitty gritty boy! I love Mrs. Meyers and since we have hardwood floors, i like Murphys Wood Oil soap.
I really love California Baby bath products for the kiddos-while we were visiting Dawn in Chicago, I used the soap on Gabe and LOVED it! It smells fantastic, and it does it's job, that's for sure! Speaking of Dawn, how wonderful is she! I need to pick her brain about what she buys and what not-she shops mostly at Whole Foods... *note to self*
I also have been using cloth diapers for Nolan. Very time consuming and a lot more work, but money saving in the long run. I have bamboo diapers, which were the priciest, BumGenius-which i LOVE, and the traditional pre-folds, which get a bit messy at times.
Back to my friend Amber, she reccomended a book called "Whats Safe and What's Not" it's a neat little book, about $8, it's basically a dicitionary of all the ingredients on the labels of the food we buy. If you find lets say monosodium glutamate, and you are like, "what in the heck is that?" You flip through the book, and wham-MSG-which is terrible, you can say, "alright, next item on the list." ha As you can imagine, it would be a little time consuming reading all of the labels and what not, which is why I haven't done it yet with all of the things that I need. I will most definately be attempting it when I go grocery shopping without the boys, as i'm sure it will take me double the time.
I'm excited to live on the east coast! I've already looked up Whole Foods, to see if there are some stores near where we plan on living; and there are a bunch within 30 mins of where we'll be! EXCITING!
I cannot wait until we start bringing in a little bit more money, I feel like when we do, I'll be able to cook more organic, and just live more organically.
ANYWAY...after that rant, i feel like i should talk a little bit about the boys! :)
Tonight was bath night, and I really dread giving Nolan a bath...he really loathes taking baths-except for tonight! He was kicking and splashing around, and just giggling! It's so much more fun to give him a bath when he's not screeching, and not to mention peeing because he gets so mad. haha...Of course Gabe is just a treat, he loves taking baths! There for a while it seemed as if I had beat him or something! It was terrible, the second his toes touched the water he was a different boy!
Potty training is just fantastic! Gabe has taken to going potty so well! I really thought it was going to be a task, considering what everyone says about boys, being so much more difficult than girls. The second day of training, he pooped in the potty-and from day one, we've really only had a handful of accidents. I feel so lucky! I used chocolate as a bribing tool, that boy loves chocolate! Then of course I let him pick out his own big boy "unders" and he calls them. I think we have, Batman, Star Wars, Kung Fu Panda, Hulk, and some dinosaur ones as of right now. It's funny, with as many as we have, I always feel like we never have enough. I feel like I am washing underwear everyday!
Tj and I are doing well, sometimes it feels like somedays we just go through the motions because we get so busy. At nighttime we really try to take a few breaths and just relax together and watch a movie or a show, before we sack out. It's been really nice here lately, Nolan has been going down for the night at about 8:30, and then Gabe shortly after. So, Tj and I have the whole rest of the night to ourselves...
I promise I am going to get a new charger for my camera soon! I wish I could just find mine!! Unfortunately the battery i have needs it's only special charger, so I haven't been able to take pictures, which if you know, has been KILLING me. Especially since Nolan is starting to sit up by himself and smile a ton more. So, hopefully tomorrow I can find one!
Well, i better quit here, i've practically typed a whole book. Most of which I'm sure no one is interested in, except for the last three paragraphs...haha...
Love ya!

My Very First Post

Hey ya'll!
Ok, so it took me a while to catch up to the rest of the world, but here I am! Thanks to my sweet friend Amy, I have a blog! A wonderful way to keep the rest of our family involved and updated about my beautiful family!
I can't wait to figure out all of the little secrets, and fun "gadgets" on here! Hopefully Nolan will allow me flip through backgrounds and what not, so I can find the right one! Probably not, as think he is ALWAYS hungry! I swear, that child will never be full!
Gabe just turned three last month-which still blows my mind! I cannot believe that he is three! He sure does love his Trains, especially Thomas and James! He got a train table for Christmas, and he spends hours in his room playing by himself. When Tj comes home, the two of them play in there together-it's too cute!
As for me, well, i'm just the spectator! I love watching how Gabe interacts with Nolan, and then how the dogs interact with the two of them. It's just crazy looking back three years ago, Tj and I were engaged and getting married; then Gabe came along, and our whole world was turned upside down!
I suppose I should head to bed, it's pretty late, and I'm sure Nolan will wake up in a few hours to eat!
Love ya'll!

Figuring This Out

Sample :)