Play it forward!

Pay It Forward! So, here's how it works: the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (or copy and paste like I did). Then come back, let me know you're going to play and then sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift! Hurry -be one of the first three!

i just need to tell myself...

potty training + sick kid + house bound for a week = unhappy mama

a little time with the girls

Last weekend I had a much needed weekend with some of my favorite girlfriends. Who doesn't love a little vegas right? We spent the drive up reminiscing about the good ol' days back in the alabama house. Immediately after arriving, we picked up Sara and drove directly to Cafe Rio which happened to be having "free food day" umm okay. We'll wait in line 20 minutes. If possible the $0 price tag made it all the more tasty! The next day in loo of the pool (turned freezing) we got our shop on. There might have been a mani pedi in there as well. I didn't change one single diaper and I didn't spend all of dinner trying to get Ruby to stop climbing out of her high chair. Most of all we just enjoyed our time together and remembering why i love these girls so much.

p.s. thanks to my dear husband for watching the kiddies all weekend.

meet molly.

She is the latest evidence of our insanity. Don't let the cute face fool you--she's got razor sharp teeth and she knows how to use them.

I can't believe I forgot to add this little girl to the things that make me smile about Brian. We traveled all the way to Mississippi to get her. One might ask, "you couldn't find a lab puppy in CA?" yes, yes we could. But she wouldn't be a "wildrose dog"--the offspring of two of the finest hunting dogs bred with the finest hunting attributes and training. you think to yourself, "oh, i guess i didn't know that brian was a hunter..." He's avid. I think he went dove hunting one time with his dad last year.

But that's not the only part that makes me smile. A year and a half before we got the dog he ordered "training the wildrose way" instructional dvd and has probably watched it 20 times. (and has forced others to watch it as well--sorry!!) He's determined to make this a well trained beast. I have to had it to hand it to him. He's been doing training sessions every day. And for those of you that are concerned for my emotional well being (already having 2 under 3 at home--one being jack)--Brian takes it to work with him almost every day and he takes it out in the freezing cold at the 3am to go to the bathroom.




We did make a weekend out of it. We stayed in this cute little cabin on the wildrose property


You can't go to Memphis without visiting "graceland" right? Trust us, skip it. it's totally "underwhelming" not a very big house for a "mansion" straight out of the 70s with a "white trash" flare about it.



We also visited the Lorraine Motel--the site of Martin Luther King's assassination. They converted it into the civil rights museum. Very cool. Not the oppression, but the museum.



What is a visit to the south with out some down and dirty bbq eating? Which is yet another thing about brian that I left off his list--his bbq obsession.

i heart brian...and his mom!!

Four years ago, on a very stormy day, I married my best friend. It was honestly one of the best days of my life. I had everyone around me that I love and I started a new life with Brian. Some of the things about Brian that makes me smile:
He wants to buy a gyrocopter (who even knows what that is, right?) and talks about it every time we sit in traffic. Remember we live in CA right?
He hates stickers, or should I say what is left behind when you remove a sticker.
He loves jiu-jitsu
His amazing green eyes
He dreams about buying a submarine
He calls his brother and dad such endearing terms as "ogre," "fat face" and"porker"
He loves to clean, I mean, deep clean professional steamer kind of clean, but hates to pick up his underwear off the floor--go figure.
He wants to put Jack into jiu-jitsu (just what my boy with "anger issues" needs right?)
He and Jeff want to buy a beater VW bug, put a fast engine in it, and race it in the baja 500.
He loves to ride motorcycles
He could spend hours watching survivor man, how its made, and the military channel.
He gets an instant headache when he eats candy but he eats it anyway.
Whenever he's sick he tells me every half an hour about how sick he is (still)
He'll sit and eat ice cream with me while we watch "the biggest loser"
He begged me to buy a sprinter van instead of the town and country and now is adamante about buying an aptera--google it--straight up jetsons.

I love all of his little quirks, each and every one of them. I love how hard he works to provide the best life for his little family. I love that he loves us more than any of those other things in his life. I love what a great dad he is to them.



and I love that he is mine forever and always!

Happy Anniversary Lover!!

We love sharing our anniversary with one of my favorite people on the planet! Happy Birthday Kathy! We love you so much!!

Starting the 2 month recap...

So Christmas (I know-I know) was so fun! We traveled to Boise to be with my side of the family. Boise doesn't usually get that much snow, but the week we were there it dumped! The kids had so much fun having snow ball fights and going sleding--Brian and I were able to get away and go snowboarding for a day as well. Jack and Ruby adore their cousins! Lauren and Megan each had called dibs on one of the kids before we got there. Lauren was assigned to Jack and Megan was assigned to Ruby. They were our own personal nannys for the week and the kids were loving it! It is so great to spend time playing games and the wii. Is the video of jack not hilarious?! Watch his little legs go!

This Christmas was so much more fun being able to see Jack start to "get it" I have always loved this holiday, but I can honestly say I have so much more fun now watching my own children get excited.