21 day sugar detox

It's been about a year since I started my "fitness" journey. In that time I've completely changed the way I eat and have made exercise a priority. I've managed to loose all my baby weight and then some! It feels good to be able to fit into my college jeans, but I have to admit that after two babies, they just don't fit the same. Pregnancy has transformed my body, without a doubt. My biggest issue was the stubborn fat that wanted to linger on my tummy and thighs. After a lot of research and some encouragement from some like-minded mama friends, I decided that my sweet tooth was the culprit and a detox was in order. Sugar, in all forms, was putting a halt to my journey. So 21 days ago I started a 21 day sugar detox. It was pretty daunting reading about it. No fruit, no simple carbs, no cheese or milk. My diet for the past 21 days consisted of lots of veggies, meats, healthy fats (avocado, nuts), complex carbs (quinoa, brown rice) and free range chicken eggs. I did add fruit half way through, but tried to limit them to breakfast and lunch. After the first few days I started getting headaches, but they were gone after day seven. The second week I started feeling less bloated, which is funny because I didn't even know I was bloated, until I wasn't anymore. Ha! My energy picked up a ton, and my sugar cravings were gone. Week three was more of the same awesomeness, along with clearer skin. This was a great challenge. I don't think I could ever make it permanent. I'd miss bread and pasta and cheese too much, but I did learn healthier versions of some of these foods that I will permanently add to my diet. For example. I discovered caulimash. Mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes! It's amazing how similar they taste! If you didn't know, potatoes turn into sugar almost immediately after being consumed. They're not the most terrible thing you can eat I suppose, but they certainly don't have nearly as much nutritional value as cauliflower :)
I've also discovered sprouted bread opposed to whole wheat, and that all pastas are not created equal.
Ok, so here is the slightly embarrassing part. I'm going to share my before and after pictures. I didn't think I would. But I decided that I can't be proud of myself and embarrassed at the same time.

Also, I already had a very healthy diet, so I didn't loose much weight (1.5 pounds) but weight loss wasn't my goal.

I encourage EVERYONE to give this detox a go. It is a little restrictive, yes, but it is just a handful of days. If you learn one thing about how to live a healthier lifestyle in 21 days, it's worth it right?

I think so :)

I have a ways to go on my journey, but I'll get there. Of that, I have no doubt.

More?

I'm just going to dive into this one because I cannot think of a witty preface. I love me a good preface.... so you know these string of thoughts must be bubbling inside of me dying to get out. They are.

People ask me ALL of the time when we will have another baby. "when's the next one coming?" "You guys make beautiful babies, make more" "Aren't you going to try again for a boy?" I've told people, multiple times, that we are content and done, and the same people keep asking. Is it really so inconceivable that two people could be happy with just two children?

Wanting children was (and still is, in some ways) a VERY strong, innate feeling. I love my husband and our strong, supportive relationship, I loved being pregnant, I am fascinated with the process of being in labor and birthing babies, I feel I am a good, nurturing mother. I'd love a whole brood of kids, sure! But two is enough for us, and this is why...

There are over 7 billion people on this planet. That number is rising quickly. Very quickly. Our planet does not have the ability to sustain our rapid population growth. It just doesn't. Understanding the lack of resources and the unfairness of it all is really reason enough for me to not have more children. Emotionally, I want a houseful of children! Realistically, I just can't and won't go there.

I want to have two children and raise them really well, not four or five and raise them marginally. I want to give as much of my time to my two girls as I can. I want to be able to financially support them... myself.... not the government. I want to educate them and make them aware of the whole world. I want them to be able to lean on us forever. For me, having more than two children would be selfish. That said, I am surrounded by all sorts of families. I know good, educated people who have four and five kids and I know people who have none. It's all good and fine and I am certainly not saying that if you have or want more than two kids, you are dumb and selfish, but for every good, educated family doing their best, there are COUNTLESS people popping out children (on the governments dime) with absolutely no understanding of the repercussions.... for them, for the innocent children they create, and for this world. Or maybe they do kind of understand, but they don't care because it is "not their problem."

It all just makes me really sad. I never understood people who didn't want any children. I always thought they were a little crazy, to be honest. I understand now. Sometimes I get a little short of breath thinking about what the world will be like when my girls are grown and raising children of their own. My grandchildren.... my great-grandchildren. :(


Don't get me wrong... our world is beautiful and precious.... which is why I try everyday to do my part in taking the best care of it that I possibly can. "Think globally, act locally" has never had so much meaning to me.

(I apologize for another jumbled, unorganized post full of grammatically incorrect, run-on sentences, but I am not going to re-read this sucker... it is my vent... good and bad)

How's all of that for a Sunday morning?!
Happy weekend everyone :)

Las Vegas

I'm going to try to make this short and sweet because I'm tired and a pile of dirty dishes are begging to be washed before I go to sleep.

I went to the park today. I packed up a blanket and some grapes, found my favorite Ingrid Michaelson station on pandora, wrapped the girls in light sweaters, threw them in the stroller and we were on our way. Our backyard is the beautiful Pueblo Park so there is never much fuss in getting out the door. I sat with the girls on the grass for a bit, enjoying the sunshine and unusually warm weather. Charlea ran around like a crazy chicken trying to gather ALL of the sticks in the area before Cheyne could get them. Cheyne couldn't care less about the sticks. She was too busy eating leaves and rocks and driving me crazy. I was barefoot. And happy. I wish we had stayed there in the sun listening to the sweet melodies of my kindred spirit, Ingrid. After Charlea had sufficiently gathered every stick around, she begged to go to the swings....

A little boy about Charlea's age was playing by the swings so of course, being a little social butterfly, she went straight up to him and told him that he should swing with her because it would be so much fun. He did and I started chatting with his mother. We started with small talk... isn't the weather beautiful... how old is your son... I love your daughters shirt.... do you live around here? I learned that she was a work at home mom who moved to Las Vegas 3 months ago with her husband. She hates Las Vegas. She hates the people. She hates the weather. She pretty much likes nothing about this town and cannot wait to get out. She went on and on about how awful the school system is here and how she would never, ever allow her son to begin school in Vegas. The more she talked the more I was itching to get away from her. She made me angry. Las Vegas is like my brother. I tease him, I pick on him, I am downright mean to him sometimes... But if anyone else does the same? I loose it a little.

Here is the thing... A home is what YOU make it. Happy, good people can be found ANYWHERE. Beauty can be found in ANYTHING. I have only lived in Las Vegas for 3 years, but NO ONE can tell me that a sunset over the pacific is more beautiful than the majestic mountains that wrap around this city. They are both beautiful... in their own way. Sure, there are bad parts of Vegas, but the same can be said for any city. Yes, I do have some concerns about the schools here, but I know at the end of the day the most important and influential teachers that my daughters will EVER have are Mommy and Daddy. They will be good, hardworking, happy people because that is how we will raise them to be. This lady struck a nerve with her negativity. And what did I say to her? I smiled and said "good luck" because I honestly think that she will need it more than I.

Ok, short and sweet right? the dishes, I'm going... Goodnight.

Low

I've been feeling low lately. Tyson has been stretching himself pretty thin working on a handful of side projects to make up for "slow season". He's been working his days off and, after his regular shift at the shop, will spend hours in his office drawing, painting, contemplating. I love him. He works so hard to support our family and never complains. A god, he is. That said, I'm going to complain a little (I am not as good as he is). I miss him. I crave his hugs and kisses and his warm body sleeping next to mine. I miss talking with him and sharing good food. I almost can't function without those things. Good thing my job entails watching two of the most adorable, happy girls on this side of the world. They drive me bonkers some days, but they keep me sane always. 

My Mom and Stepdad are coming for a visit next week. I. CANNOT. WAIT. I miss them everyday and can't wait to see them, but I'm SO excited to get some alone time with Tyson. We will be celebrating valentines a bit early and will hopefully be able to go on a couple of dates. Plus, I don't kid myself and pretend like my parents come to town to see me ;) They'll be busy soaking up the grandbaby love.

Ahh, see I feel a little bit better already :)

May I introduce the very awesome, very sexy.... Bubba. My favorite house-guest of the week. Cheyne was smitten.

 

I'll leave you with some bath-time shenanigans. This never fails to pick me up :)

Goodnight!

lately

Fevers, long nights and baby tylenol are still unwelcome guests in our house. We are getting better, slowly. I'm thinking of venturing out to take the girls to the zoo tomorrow, which I may very well regret on thursday, but I'm going stir crazy in this illness-infested house. Plus, visiting animals is good for the soul and we have been experiencing unusually warm weather this week.

I also wanted to share that I am just about ready to start re-building my etsy shop. Although, I am thinking of switching to store envy. I have a bit of research to do on them. I'm switching it up a bit and expanding my items beyond beanies. Along with handmade goods, I am also going to be selling awesome thrifted finds. You see, I have this addiction. Thrift stores. I love them. What could be more awesome than finding an item that has been so loved, that you love, for so cheap! "One man's junk is another man's treasure" is the truest thing anyone has ever said!

So my new shop "Hook & Hunt" will be open for business very soon! Tyson has been helping me with ideas and we're both very excited. I'll leave with a few pictures of Chuck in a collar that I'll have in my shop. I'm still working on tweaking the pattern a bit more. A similar pattern can be found on Lulu Loves Blog. Take a gander. She has a beautiful blog.

Have a happy week everyone!

XOXO

Photos

I'm going to try my hardest to post a few of my favorite photos of the week. I know I have a few family members that regularly scold me for not posting enough photos... These were from a short walk in the park. ALL four of us are sick at the moment. Tyson and I just caught the nasty cold that the girls have had for TWO weeks. It's been rough. Not many pictures have been taken. It almost doesn't seem fair that we have had to start the new year blowing our sore, red noses every other minute. Ahh... such is life. Happy Thursday! I hope you all have a fabulous, non-mucous-y (ya, I made up a word.) weekend. Kiss!!!

 

A New Year

It's been so long since I have last written that I almost don't know where to start.

It's a new year! 2013! Feels strange to write that...

The last three months have been more busy than the previous nine, which is perhaps why I haven't been blogging as much... or at all... ha :(

We wrapped up our new year in this order...

A trip to California to meet Florida cousins, Charlea's third birthday party, lots of crocheting, Tyson's first tattoo convention, Thanksgiving with Vegas family, Tyson switching shops, Vacation in Cabo, Cheyne's first birthday, Christmas in California, and New Years at home.

I could go into great detail about each one, but I would most likely get a finger cramp. Plus, One of my new years goals is to spend less time with electronics and social media :)

To be really honest, 2012 was a bit of a dud of a year. There were amazing moments, yes. Even on the cloudiest of days, I could still find a little bit of sunshine. But, man, there was a couple of really big disappointments. For example... We should have become homeowners in March and after a long and completely consuming process, we lost our house. Sure I can put a positive spin on it... it wasn't meant to be... it wasn't exactly what we wanted... it wasn't that great of a deal anyways... we'll find something better, But the truth is.... it would have been really nice to have a much smaller mortgage for a much bigger 4 bedroom home, than live in a small 3 bed condo and pay higher rent. saving the extra money would have meant so much to us, particularly for Tyson's art. It could have meant more conventions, more business trips, more merchandise.

I really am not complaining. We set high expectations for 2012, and it fell slightly short, but we still made it through the year with a roof over our heads, with food always on our table, with the ability to indulge a little in the activities we love, with our health... I know that in hard times, not many can say the same.

Perhaps the greatest thing that Tyson and I did in 2012 was get into better shape and completely changed the way we feed ourselves and our daughters. If I did nothing else last year, I would still be proud of myself... just because of that. It's easy to eat poorly in this country. Very easy. And that is why obesity is the number two "preventable" killer of people in the US. Moreover! something like 9 million children are overweight! It's sickening. It absolutely turns my stomach... much like a ONE THOUSAND calorie big mac meal from mcdonalds would. We have completely cut out all fast food, which wasn't very hard since we never really ate much in the first place. We eat out maybe once a month. We grocery shop more often so that we can get weekly fresh fruits and veggies. We buy as much organic and un-processed food as our budget will allow. And we have made exercise a priority. It's amazing how much better we both feel. The VERY best part is that it is creating good, healthy habits for our girls, and there is really nothing more important than that. One day towards the end of the year, Tyson and I both got done working out, we were eating a healthy meal and he said to me, with a smile on his face "This is it right babe? This is how it's going to be forever." (referring to our new healthy lifestyle) I smiled back and said "yes" absolutely knowing that it was true.

I have a few more hopes for 2013 that I would like to share!
1. Watch less TV and read more.
2. Teach Charlea to swim this summer.
3. MAYBE try to buy a house.
4. Get another tattoo.
5. Start Charlea in school in the fall.
6. Be a more patient mom.
7. Move Cheyne into her crib in her room.
8. Kiss Tyson every single day.
9. Craft with the girls every week.
10. Start a family day with no electronics.
11. Get back into a bikini :)
12.  make salads everyday.
13. Be more organized.

Ok that was more than a few, but appropriate that there are 13 right?

A brand new year feels so good doesn't it? I hope that 2013 IS a good year for all people, for this country, and for the world.


I will add some photos tonight, but for now, I'm going to close the computer and play with my girls.

9 months

Sweet baby Cheyne is 3/4ths the way through her first year. The ninth month has been more of the same amazingness. She is getting more and more personality everyday and it is becoming more and more clear that she is going to be our wild child. It is still crazy to me how mobil and coordinated she is.

Sometimes I see her tiny little body do something and it just looks unnatural! Ha! She has also become very stubborn about her meals. She is still nursing, of course, but when she eats food she insists on feeding herself. Pureed foods can kick rocks as far as she's concerned. She is loving pea's, carrots, all kinds of beans and a few fruits here and there, but honestly, she isn't crazy about the sweet stuff! She continues to do the opposite of her sister, and that's ok. Charlea is my sweet, emotional girl who helps me see the beauty in the world, and Cheyne is my firey, energetic girl who pushes me to stay on my toes. What a perfect pair they are.

Speaking of Charlea, she is about to turn three and all kinds of birthday fabulousness is happening in the Taumaoe house. More to come on that. In the meantime, we hope that you all are enjoying the season change as much as we are! Good day!

8 months

My littlest chick turned 8 months old a couple of days ago. She is (deep breath) crawling, pulling herself up to stand, aaaaalmost sleeping through the night, eating all sorts of yummy purees, still nursing like a champ, babbling that adorable Cheyne talk, working her tiny pincher claw to feed herself puffs and yogurt chips, starting to wave, smiling non-stop, in complete awe of her big sister, in crazy, mad love with her daddy, and the very best snuggle buddy a mama could ask for. We love her so!

Eating a Carrot popsicle 

Long Lovely Lately

Ok folks, Here goes the update!
  

     I'll start with Charlea since she is the Taumaoe that takes up most of our time and energy. Bringing Cheyne into our family mix had me thinking that she would take up more time and energy than anything, but I was wrong, it's Chuck, 100%, and that's kind of cool. I dig curve balls. With her third birthday less than three months away she is looking more and more like a little lady. It seems like shoes and clothes that fit her a few months ago are too small today. Her hair has grown so long. It sits on top of her head wild and unruly... but still soft and beautiful... much like her personality these days. On a scale of one to ten her sass level is about a 20, but she tells me that she loves me 100 times a day and rips herself from her busy schedule to give me hugs and kisses all of the time. A few days ago I had a heaping pile of laundry that I was determined to get through. I mean, I was on a serious mission. But when my Chuck came up to me and asked me to hold her, I dropped the clothes ask quick as a blink. I sat there with my arms around her listening to her stories about squirms, peanut butter sammiches, and how the papa dinosaur stepped on the mama dinosaur. She just wanted to be in her mama's arms and I was more than happy to oblige. I live for moments like that. Sometimes I get a little lost in the more repetitive, mundane aspects of being a homemaker, but moments like that are my fuel to trek on. Charlea is a constant reminder that being a housewife and mama is challenging and exhausting, but beautiful and so so important.

     So much has happened with Cheyne in the two months that I have neglected this online diary. She is now over 7 months! At 6 months she started eating pureed fruits and veggies! Her first food was butternut squash that I roasted and pureed for her. Honestly, it didn't go very well. She was willing to try three bites before she gagged and refused it altogether. At first, I was thinking that it was the way it tasted.... but now I'm convinced that it was just the fact that it was something different than breastmilk and breastfeeding. We tried a few different things throughout her 6th month and now, a month later, she loves pretty much ALL fruits and veggies. We are still taking it slow with the foods. I'm a strong believer that solids should be delayed as long as possible so Cheyne will have only one or two ounces for dinner and I'm thinking by 9 months we will work our way up to lunch and dinner. I'm trying my best to give her little digestive system the proper time to mature. And she is growing so well! Still at the top of the charts for her measurements! She is also pretty mobil these days. She doesn't quite get up on her knees for long periods of time, but she can army crawl around the house like nobody's business! I'm not use to the moving. Charlea never really crawled and didn't walk until about 13 months so I was never chasing her around. Cheyne also has this uncanny ability to find the tiniest speck of ANYTHING on the floor. It's like she has "tiny speck" radar. She sees it, crawls to it and works her tiny pincher claw to pick it up and eat it. Let's just say that we've had a couple of interesting poops. ha! Her sleeping habits have sort of gone through a loop, which can be very exhausting, but I'm trying my hardest to let her figure out how she is comfortable and what she needs to get the right amount of sleep and of course loving her and helping her on the way. She's making all sorts of new sounds. "Dadadada" came first, "Mumumumum" and "Didididid" shortly followed. She also has mastered the farting sound (with her mouth), undoubtedly because she hears it so much from her Daddy and big Sister. A few weeks ago she started clucking too. Really, every week brings some new sound or movement. It's an amazing thing to witness. Like a flower blooming. My Chey is my little rose. Only seven months old, but I feel as if I have loved her my entire life.

     One day in the beginning of June I told Tyson that I really wanted to go home for 4th of July and without even thinking about money or work. He said "ok babe". Almost immediately after we made the decision to go and gave notice to his work, it became dead in the shop. One week he had 13 cancellations! I'm not going to lie.... I was a bit worried. But it must have been some crazy fluke because he was steadily busy before and has been crazy busy since we came home. He works so hard for us 3 chicks. I imagine he must feel a bit more pressure to provide since I quit my job to take care of the girls full time, but I hope his reward is knowing that we are beyond proud of him, and that we love him to the moon and back one thousand times. He also bought a lil fixer upper van for work. He's been working on it with friends and family and even though the van is pretty much a pile of junk, he is adding to his wealth of knowledge. Also, he does look mighty fine covered in oil and dirt :)
     Reading the updates on those three pretty much give you my update as well since maybe 90% of my day is spent taking care of them, but since Cheyne has gotten a little older and a tiny bit less dependent on only me, I have been able to put a couple of selfish activities back into my schedule. Crocheting for instance. I crochet or do some sort of craft almost every chance I get and being able to create again is exhilarating as silly as it sounds. It reminds me that I am good at something other than soothing a baby and entertaining a 2 year old. I've been reading a lot as well. In fact, I have gone through a good 7 books in the past 2 months. I almost forgot how much I love getting lost in a good story!! A few bad stories too (cough cough 50 shades of cough grey... poorly written, but highly addicting). Also, Tyson and I have made a pact to get healthy. We have been working out and eating much better. It's really amazing how feeling better about yourself makes you feel better about every other aspect of life. I've lost all of my pregnancy weight and then some and Tyson has some nice little abs going on. Ha! Overall, I don't think I've been so happy in a long time, and happiness has never been lacking in our family. Sure there are those days when nothing goes right, laundry never gets done, dishes pile up, kids are crying, drinks are spilt, and messes are made, but my goodness I love those days too, even if I don't know it at the time. They make the good days all the sweeter.

Last, I wanted to share a few pictures from our California trip via Instagram photos.... since some hair brain mama forgot our camera...

Del Mar Fair Daze

Magic Mike and Champagne with Mama and Auntie Anne

A Date with My Ty

My beloved Tony's <3

Update Soon

Hi Blog, I know you might not remember me, but I use to write you regularly. We use to be madly in love with describing the joys of motherhood and the fabulousness of being the wife of a certain gorgeous tattoo artist. Well... as my "things I need to blog about" list got longer, I also discovered the beauty in keeping memories and pictures just for myself, Tyson and our girls. That is not to say that I'm going to stop writing you, because I love you so. I can guarantee you that I will be here with you blogging the day Charlea sits behind the wheel of her first car and the night I send Cheyne off all sparkly and beautiful to her senior prom.

That said... I promise you that we will continue our love affair with adjectives this weekend. Stay tuned for a long and overdue update about the Taumaoes!!!

(Random thought: I love that Spell check wants to change "Taumaoes" to "tamales" mmmm.)

Happy May

I love May. If I had to choose one of the 12 months to be my favorite... I would most definitely choose May. For so many reasons. It starts off right with Mother's day. Even though my babies are too young to understand that on Mother's day they should be fanning me with large paradise palm leaves and feeding me funfetti cake, I still love the day. Though, I'm totally kidding about the fanning. Not the cake. Mother's Day to me is kind of like a birthday. Celebrating the day that my true self was born when I pushed a tiny lil Charlea soul into the world. I became a mama, and that is cause for celebration. May delivers. 

Next May brings the day that my mama became a mama. My Brother's birthday. The relationship between my brother and I has been interesting. I'll break it down in quarters. The first quarter of my life I spent adoringly following him around, the next quarter I spent most of my time stealing his GI joes and beating him up, unafraid of retaliation (because at a year younger, I was bigger and much more mean). The next quarter we spent ignoring each other... maybe a door slam and a yelling match here and there. This last quarter has been interesting. We somehow made our way into adulthood together. Sometimes I still just want to hang around him... Talk to him... play with his toys and sometimes I just want to slap the jerk out of him and promise myself that I will never speak to him again. We certainly don't have this "made for the movies" big brother, lil sister relationship... But I love my brother. Whether we were fighting or playing nicely, it was always just him and I. He is my ultimate best friend and no matter how many titles I gain in my life... one of the first titles I was ever given was "sister" and that is unbreakable. A big Happy May Birthday to my big brother, Brock. 

I love seasons... the changing of seasons more specifically. May is when it starts getting hot in Vegas. Literally, the first week in may is spring, but by the last? It is full blown summer. Out with the tiny baby bikini's, flowery sun dresses, and ice cream dinners. Summer feels like the vacation portion of the year. May delivers again.

I have to say... Along with May, October holds a special place in my heart. Pumpkins, comfort food, candy, cool weather, nutmeg.... I could go on. December is right up there as well. I think I love Christmastime even more these days than as a Santa obsessed little girl. Ah yes, May has some stiff competition for sure. It wasn't until 3 years ago that May officially beat out the rest and became my very favorite. 3 years ago on May 16th I married my Tyson. Three years, one big move, one career change, two babies, three pregnancies,  and thousands of kisses later... I am still as madly in love with him today as I was the day those three words, eight letters left my lips for the first time. No one knows me like you do, babe. Thank you for three years of incandescent love... love that grows brighter and stronger with every day that passes. I love you. If your a bird, I'm a bird :)

So that's it! Ahhh May, I love you so! And there's still 11 days left! Lets see what kind of fabulous trouble we can get ourselves into in that time.

Just a side note! May, the 5th month of the year, my littlest chic turned 5 months old. So I'll leave you with her 5 month picture......

Happy May to everyone!!!

Mama's Day

Mother's Day is tomorrow :)

Is there anything more important than celebrating the woman who brought you into the world? Or the woman who had such a heart full of love, that they took you in as their own? Or the woman who miraculously grew your child in her belly, and gave birth to the beginning of your very own family? Nope. Nothing more important.

Mother's Day means so much more to me now that I am a mother. Every single day that passes I find new appreciation for my own mother. With every fever that keeps me up in the middle of the night, with every mess that I have to clean up, with every load of laundry that I do, and with every tear that I wipe off of my babies cheeks... I know that my mom has been there. I know how lucky I am to have such a mommy.

This year brought a very special moment for my mom and I. She was there for the birth of my second daughter. I think anyone who has witnessed the birth of a child knows that it changes you. An instant bond is created. It is my single most favorite moment of this past year. Thank you, Mom, for being there for me in that hospital room, and always.

Happy Mama's day to you Susan Standerfer. You are the epitome of what a mother is suppose to be and I love you with the deepest part of my heart.

A special shout out to all of the mother's in my life. Friends, aunts, grandmas, cousins... each and every one of you deserves to be celebrated today.

What I'm Loving...

I can't believe April 2012 will soon be no more. Summer is a comin' and she's bringing the heat this year. I can feel her already, tip toeing sneakily into our weekends giving us a little taste of fire. I don't think summer in Vegas is something that anyone can get use to, but I find beauty in it still. For now, the weather is bearable and I'm drinking in the last bits of our semi-cool spring. There is nothing particularly noteworthy going on right now, but I feel like writing, so thought I make a good ol' "what I'm loving" post. It's always good to reflect on the things that make you happy anyways. I don't do it enough, people don't do it enough. So here I go...

1. I love the smell of the rain. Yesterday the weather forecast promised rain. It was chilly, the clouds turned a beautiful shade of gray, and the wind was blowing through the leaves making that "pre-rain" sound. I sat by the window most of the day waiting for it. I knew this could very well be the last cozy rain before summer. I waited and waited and checked the weather app on my phone every 10 minutes or so. Nothing. My sweet little nursling's coo begged me to lay down with her. I was happy to oblige. I fell asleep nursing her on the couch and woke up to the smell of wet earth. Favorite moment of my Thursday. It wasn't much of a rain... It was hardly even a sprinkle, but it gave me the last dose of April that I needed.

2. I love spaghetti squash!!! New favorite food EVER!!! My mom and brother came for a quick visit in the beginning of the week. My brother introduced me to this fabulous squash. If you are scratching your head right now because you have never heard of such a vegetable, do yourself a favor and buy one asap. We ate it with a simple marinara and it was so delicious. It really does taste like pasta!

3. I love auto-correct. Most annoying and overused phrase besides "FML".... "damn auto-correct strikes again!". Auto-correct is awesome people! That is it.

4. Earlier today Tyson and I got into a lil spat about something so insignificant I can't even fully remember why it started, but It ended with me stomping to the living room and him slamming his  man-cave door. 2.5 seconds later he ran out of his room with a huge smile on his face and his "lost" contacts in his hand. We'd been unsuccessfully searching for them the past few days. I love that, when something exciting happens, he can't wait to share it with me. So much so, that he will instantly drop his anger towards me so that he can. I love him. 

5. I love that Charlea wakes up a good while before Cheyne. It's always hard to rip my body from my sweet baby whom I usually pull into bed with me around 6am, but I love my morning routine with Charlea. We snuggle on the couch, talk about our dreams, and argue over what we should have for breakfast. Alone time with Charlea is a precious commodity these days. I'm glad to start every day just her and I. Nothing better.

I have to end this post with some pictures... can't you just see their bond growing? Every single day it grows. An indescribably beautiful thing to behold.

 Have A Colorful Weekend!!!!

Lately - Finally

So I sat down a couple of nights ago and spent about an hour and a half writing up this post only to have it deleted right as I was trying to post. I was pissed. That was 5 days ago. It's amazing how quickly the days just get away from me. But I guess the excuse I have for not writing about my life, is that I am living it... and thats pretty sweet :)

Ok on to the "lately". A lot has been going on. The month of March was Madness. I start with March 8th. That was the day that we were SUPPOSE to close escrow on our house. A very long and complicated story short, we lost our house again. We found out March 11th that it wasn't going to happen. Tyson and I were at a friends house when I got the call and it was all that I could do to hold in my tears. When we got into the car, I let the mourning begin. I cried the whole 45 minute car ride back to our apartment. It hurt to walk into the door knowing there was a great possibility that we could have to live there even longer. Even though that apartment will hold a special place in our hearts, we knew that we really didn't like anything about it outside of the memories that we created there. So that was it, we were definitely moving in two weeks time, we just didn't know where. We began the rental search the next day. We saw a handful of places in the next week. It came down to two condos. Both were in much better areas, both were bigger with an extra room. Our top choice was in our favorite part of town, was bigger than any we had seen, was in a gated community and overlooked a big beautiful park that stretches a mile long. It was also the most expensive place that we had seen. It was a whole 80 dollars more expensive per month. We ultimately decided that, while the 80 dollars extra a month would have been worth it, saving money was more important since we are just going to revisit the "home buying" experience next year. We told the owner of the condo that we loved his place, but we were going to go with a different home. He responded and inquired why we decided on the other place and after hearing our reasons he lowered his rent 50 dollars! That. Is. Huge! He said that he really liked us and that he would rather have tenants he liked and get a little less rent, than crazy tenants for full price. Tyson and I were pretty upset about loosing the house. I kept saying to myself "we deserve a freaking break"! Well, there it was!

Now that we are all moved in, I almost feel bad that I was even considering the other place just because of money. The park ALONE makes the extra money so completely worth it. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to wake up hearing the birds chirping and children playing in our front yard. Nothing quite like it. When you live in a home that you like, it makes keeping it up not feel like such a job!

Speaking of jobs, I no longer have one!!! Or, rather, I quit one of them. I am now officially a stay at home mama. It was a little nerve wrecking at first.... getting rid of my entire income. But, The transition has been smooth and wonderful. It feels good that I am getting back to a routine with the girls. I am getting back into crafting as well! Did I mention that our new place is right down the street from a Jo-Ann's? Yes. Dangerous. Very, very dangerous! Deliciously dangerous! So now I am back doing the things that I feel I am meant to do, raising my babies and creating.

Now to our babies!!! I'll start with the big one. Chuck is officially potty trained. Can I get a hallelujah! I mean, She's not even two and a half, so I know she is ahead of the curve, but it was a frustrating process for me. I had to constantly remind myself to be patient. She is still being a rockstar big sister. I think the two favorite things I have ever heard her say are "I love you baby Cheyne" and "Baby Cheyne is my beeeest friend". Melt me to the ground.

Cheyne turned 4 months old yesterday! A year ago at the end of March I found out that I was pregnant with her. It was the third month that we were trying for another baby after we lost our second. The other day I was thinking about our second baby and Cheyne. If my second pregnancy had been successful, I would no doubt have a 10 month old baby that I loved, but I would also have no Cheyne, which is a thought that takes away my breath. I could not imagine my life without my Cheyne. She is my air.

I have said it once and I'll say it one thousand times. Things don't always work out exactly how you plan them, but it always works out EXACTLY as it is meant to. That is so abundantly clear as I am sitting here in our new home with my two sweet girls sleeping soundly.

Thought I would post some pictures of our Easter! It was a great day!

Ok, another hour down. This thing better post!

Tonight!

So many exciting things have been going on! A few sad things too. I swear to Zeus I will make a blog update tonight. Stay tuned folks :)

3 months!

Has it really been only three months since I met my youngest little chick? I looked at her today and it felt as if she were there all along. I sure can't imagine my life, our family without her. She is magnificent.

At 3 months she is smiling non-stop, giving us little giggles when tickled, being completely and utterly in AWE of her own fists, sleeping 8 to 10 hours straight at night, watching her big sis like a hawk, and just spreading her awesome-ness day by day.

3 months of meant to be magic :)

OLD

Growing older has been the choice topic of discussion lately. I'm sure my parents and parents, parents would laugh at the thought that 27 is old, but I really do feel like I have turned the corner onto grown-up street. Like, real grown up. Like, knee cracking, stretch mark having,eye wrinkling, metabolism slowing, hair graying... grown up. It is a tiny bit hard to handle. I am a little ashamed to admit that it is the cosmetic things that hurt the worst. Most likely because they are punching me in the face every time I look in the mirror. I find new lil kinky gray hairs all of the time. I use to feel like a monkey sifting curiously through my hair looking for the light strands. I don't have to look anymore. They are right there... in plain sight! I am also noticing the wrinkles around my eyes much more lately. My mom thinks they are cute, but I am convinced that she only says that because she still looks like she is 27 with her wrinkle-free, beautiful mexican skin. I got my Dad's skin. And, don't fret Dad, you are ruggedly handsome... like a cowboy kissed by the sun. Sun-kissed, rugged eye wrinkles are not flattering on a chick like me.

We spend the first quarter of our lives dying to be older and then we are and we would give anything for our perky teenage boobs.

Here is my attempt at convincing myself that growing older is fabulous:

I have gray hairs because I have LIVED through stressful events, my wrinkles are proof that a smile never leaves my face, my bones crack because I love being active, and I have stretch marks because I am a mother fucking mama tiger.

Getting old IS fabulous. Bring it on.

Smile wrinkles :)