Telling Our Story

Life in Pictures {old post from April 2010}

2010-08-20T16:53:00.000-07:00

Bye Bye Blankets! We had to put the boy's baby blankets up in their keepsake boxes this week. As usual, it was much harder on me than on the boys. They both asked for them once! Too bad we didn't take them away earlier. There's not much left of little Coop's. :( They have loved on those hand knitted blankets so very much. I'm very thankful we never lost one in 3 years of dragging them around with us everywhere we went.

I love taking pictures and recording life's simple everyday moments. I'm following along with Ali's Week In The Life project next week.

I'm excited to see a finished album showcasing a week in our life. It will be a cool time capsule in years to come.

The boys are on their 2nd month of swim lessons at the YMCA. They are too cute to watch. I really get a kick out of watching them interract with their peers and instructor. Last week they had a new instructor... when he asked Corbin what his name is he replied Cooper. But Cooper quickly corrected that when the instructor asked him his name. He said MY name is Cooper, he is Corbin... with such a serious look on his face. Corbin is going to keep us on our game, I tell ya!

(sorry I posted those so small. I can't figure out how to make them larger.)

We started a great garden and finally filled up the planters in front. Everything looks so nice and green. The landscaping was in really bad shape when we moved in. It's taken a lot of hard work to clean it up. Adam and I love working in the yard. It's good for our marriage :) ha!

Adam

Loving Spring weather and lots of sunshine!

Catch Up Post {long and full of pictures}

2010-08-20T16:14:00.000-07:00

I just love summer time! It's the season that holds my most happiest memories from being little. Early June we ventured to Inks Lake State Park to take the boys tent camping for their first time. It was exhausting getting everything gathered and packed, then unpacked and set up, but I'm so glad we went. The weather was perfect!

Adam got to spend lots of time fishing, and even caught a keeper we cooked in the campfire for dinner. The boys were so interested in all the gory details of cleaning the fish. They are truly ALL boy! We rented a canoe and took a stroll around the lake to see the infamous cliffs and divers. There were about 15-20 young highschool age boys jumping. I had visions of my two littles growing up and doing the same brave act while at the lake with their friends. Yikes! Please just remember to be careful.

Adam and I did very well rowing out and back, while the boys sat hunkered down between us with life vests up to their ears. It was a hoot! I was so glad to make it back to the bank without tiping over. Cooper was equally elated to just be back on solid ground.

Cooper and Corbin really enjoyed being outside all day playing with worms, chasing squirrels, and swimming in the lake. They were especially curious at bedtime with all the noises of the night. Cooper asked me to please make it stop.

Over July 4th we took a road trip to visit my brother and sister in law in west Texas. Then we spent another couple days visiting mom and step dad in Clovis, NM. Adam rigged up the Wii in the back seat and he and the boys played it for hours. It made the time go by so quickly for them. I didn't mind driving at all. It gave me something to do besides get sleepy riding all day.

My big bro, Ronnie and me

Mom and the boys

Most Tuesday's we go to the library. I let the boys pick out two kid's videos and as many books as ~~they~~ I can carry. Cooper started picking Superman and Justice League videos. He loves all things superhero related.

Cooper

Corbin

Hard to believe this time next year I'll be sending my boys off to Kindergarten :( I miss will them so much! But I bet I find something to do with my free time ;)

March 2010 Round Up

2010-03-30T09:42:00.001-07:00

Whoa, really? It's almost been 2 months since I've been here. Well no matter all the many reasons why... I'm back to tell our story from March 2010.

Cooper and Corbin are 5 weeks away now from turning 4 years old. Seriously?! Stop the growing! You are taller than TALL these days. Corbin weighs 39 pounds and Cooper 37.

Both boys got sick this month with sinus infection and a nasty cough and cold. We got to visit our new pediatrican for the first time. Of course, you both were charming and made it fun. This was the first time either of you had been sick since in 5+ months. We've been healthy around here! Hooray!

We moved the boys into big boy booster car seats. It's been an adjustment for everyone. As always I just pray they are kept safe while riding in the car. We hope to adventure on a very long rode trip to Colorado in a few months. Riding for hours no doubt will take some self control for these two busy boys. We all love the leap frog TAG book and playing on our computers will help pass some of the time.

My laptop pooped out on my again in March so I am very slowly getting caught up in editing, ordering, journaling pictures. There's not a day I don't take some pictures, which is awesome but also becomes a job to edit, order, print, organize, scrapbook, frame, etc.

The boys completed their first month of swim lessons. They are still a ways off from "connecting the dots" but hopefully they are learning those life long swim skills to keep them safe around water.

This was my last month working for Kaler. I was sorta sad to see the work end but understand that's life. I just feel thankful I was able to continue to work some from home while I did. Who knows what it's store next?

Jason Bleeker came to visit us from Atlanta, GA. It was so great to see him, even though it was only for a little while. I know he and Adam were grateful for the time to chat.

We finally got a new car this month!! Thanks to our precious neighbors who are also our car salesman and dentist :) Life is good! Adam worked so hard to make it happen. Thanks babe for all you do so we can stay home together and play. You're the best!!

Until next time,

Amanda

Thankful Thursday

2010-02-04T10:19:00.001-08:00

Oh so thankful today for many, many reasons:

1. Thankful for health insurance, and the ability to get some peace of mind where our health is concerned.
2. Thankful for a fully stocked refrigerator with good, healthy meals planned to feed my family.
3. Thankful for such a loving and supportive husband.
4. Thankful for all this messy, wet rain. I know we will be really thankful when the hottest days of summer arrive very soon.
5. Thankful for the gift of being a wife, mom, daughter, sister, and friend.
6. Thankful for the technology created to capture those ordinary moments in time with pictures.
7. Thankful for cold bottled water, semi-sweetened iced tea, and hot black coffee.
8. Thankful for a working computer where I can find inspiration, record my thoughts, share with others, and keep in touch with family and friends.
9. Thankful for a quiet room upstairs where I can escape and be crafty.
10. Thankful for this opportunity to be home all day with my boys, and also work a little to keep my brain stimulated.

Love,
Amanda

Around The House

2010-02-03T14:56:00.000-08:00

I've had such a productive day, so I thought I'd throw in a blog post as well.

I'm still waiting to get curtains and a new down comforter for our room, but here is a picture of the new accent wall color. It's deep chocolate brown. We love how it turned out.

I made those 4 canvas wall hangings last year. They look smaller in the picture than in person. They are 12x12 wrapped canvas' painted and covered with patterned paper and Mod Podge. Another super, fast and easy craft project!

Adam is so handy and loves to try to make anything. I found this in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog but wasn't willing to pay their price for one, so Adam made it.

Didn't he do a great job?! The boys have TONS of books! We keep most of them in our "library" bookshelves, however I thought one of these would be nice in their room to store books at night after story time.

Their room is really turning out cute to me. My mom made them new quilts for their beds. I've always kind of used blue for Cooper, and green for Corbin as their colors so she used that in their quilts. She's in the process of making them a curtain too!

LOVE LOVE LOVE them!
She appliqued their name on the front, as well as quilted them throughout. My mom has such talent! I wish I had the patience for quilting. Maybe one day I will. I'll post pictures of another quilt she just made them as well. It's a nursery rhyme themed quilt. Oh my, it is AMAZING!

I have quite the collection of quilts that my mom has made. I'll have to take a picture of all of them together sometime. I love this collection... it's super special!

Have you ever heard of Chicken Pillows? They are so tasty! I'm not sure where I found this recipe so I'm not able to give credit where credit is due. But wanted to share it anyway.

2-3 pieces of cooked chicken breasts, diced
(Or 2 cans of chicken, if you're in a pinch for time)
8 oz. cream cheese
Salt & Pepper
2 TBSP. butter or margarine, melted
6 crescent rolls
Stuffing Mix, uncooked

Combine first 3 ingredients. Add a spoonful of mixture on crescent roll. Wrap around and pinch the edges. Dip in melted butter and then roll in stuffing mix. Bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes.

Not the healthiest meal I cook but oh so good, and the kids eat them up!

Next time I'll share my recipe for homemade croutons. Yum!

Goodbye January

2010-01-29T14:07:00.000-08:00

Feeling super thankful today that I finally figured out what was wrong with my Nikon. It's working again and I'm back to looking like this to the boys. :) I missed you big heavy fast shooting awesome camera!

Adam has been gone since early Friday morning to New Orleans for the annual lacrosse Sugarbowl tournament. I am thankful he gets to go, just naturally more than ready for him to be home now.

It was super cold here this weekend (I know we Texans are whimps... it was in the 40's during the day) so me and the boys have stayed in most of the time. We did run out for a bit yesterday to pick up a few movies. I watched My Sister's Keeper last night after the boys were in bed. It was sad. The boys started watching G Force this morning, but I don't think they cared for it. It didn't keep their attention for long.

I finished our taxes yesterday. We're not getting much of a refund, which we feel pretty good about. Just means we didn't make much of a loan to the government last year. :)

Adam took tomorrow off work and is giving me the day off, so my list of to do's is in the works. Yay me! I'm so ready for a me day. Adam has been working really long hours during the week and then was gone all weekend so he probably needs a he day as well. I'm hoping we can secure some good childcare options for such days very soon. I spoke with one candidate on Saturday but knew right away she wasn't the right fit. We're praying about it. Someone will come along.

I've been doing some online research to figure out how to add some more features to our blog. My scanner is not big enough to scan the big 12x12 pages into the computer, however I want to add an area to include some of my scrapbook pages. This weekend I gathered some great things to begin putting mine and Adam's story book together. I found our wedding song's CD and immediately had to listen to it and journal some about the songs we picked, etc. It feels so good when I get some of our history documented and celebrated with words, pictures and paper. I've focused on documenting the boys non stop for the past 3.9 years. I'll never stop keeping books for them, but it's time to work on telling the story of me and my honey :)

Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday. Happy Birthday Nana Banana!

Love & Hugs,

Amanda

This Life Sure is Fun

2010-01-27T13:09:00.000-08:00

Feels like we've been on the Go! Go! Go! a little more than usual the past week.
We joined the Buda YMCA. It is such a nice "Y". The boys couldn't wait for daddy to get home from work the first day we joined so we could all go swimming at the indoor pool after dinner.

The water was so nice and warm. It was a little chilly out of the water though. Adam was able to enjoy the hot tub and sauna some as well. Both boys continue to be cautious around water and stayed close to the steps and sides.

I'm excited they offer swim lessons here, and will be signing them up in February. There are 2 indoor pools and two outdoor pools as well. If you are looking for us this summer check the "Y". We knew when we moved from San Antonio we would miss our neighborhood pool dearly. Seems like this will be a great subsitute.

We were blessed with a perfectly warm and sunny afternoon a few days later so we met up with the Clute's to spend a few hours at Landa Park. I absolutely love this park! So much to see and do.

What boy doesn't LOVE pretending to drive a fire truck?!

This teeter totter is so neat.

Feeding the ducks was a huge hit. Thank you Felicia for remembering to bring old bread to share. Cooper was really nervous about being near the ducks initially. He's been around a few times when we've seen ducks be a little aggressive. After a few minutes of watching the others he grabbed some bread and joined in the feeding fun.
Then fast forward to Saturday when me and the boys went to San Antonio to Ryah's birthday party. It was at Pump It Up, an inflatable wonderland of bounce houses. We all climbed and crawled and slid down the slides until we were worn out. It was a lot of fun.

Little Ryah turned 3 years old. We sure miss all our neighbor friends in SA. It was nice to meet up with many of them to spend a few hours playing and catching up.

What's For Dinner?

2010-01-22T06:42:00.000-08:00

When the boys were about 6 months old I discovered making weekly menus for our meals.

It seemed when dinner time rolled around every night I was left standing in the kitchen scratching my head about what's for dinner. Sure I would grocery shop every week and pick up things we were out of and ingredients for meals that came to my head while walking the grocery store aisles, but putting it together on a daily basis became such a task that I dreaded so much. (You know the feeling... I just spent $150 at the grocery story and there is nothing to eat!)
Now before I go to the grocery store each week I sit down with my recipe binder, pull out the recipes I'd like to use, make my list of ingredients needed from that and then write on my calendar or menus what we are having each night.

Sometime before lunch each day I glance at the menu and/or calendar to know what, if anything, I need to thaw out for dinner. And when dinner time approaches I grab my recipe and I'm good to go. It makes cooking so enjoyable to me, and certainly cuts down on not having all the necessary ingredients or eating out/ordering pizza in a pinch.

How do you plan your meals?

Did You Take The Pledge?

2010-01-20T11:57:00.000-08:00

I don't watch Oprah much anymore, but I happen to watch this week when she had the story about talking/texting on your cell phone while driving. Whoa, it was so tough to watch!

I could never live with myself if I let my cell phone ruin my family or any other. This is serious! So I've taken the pledge to not text or talk while driving. If I need to communicate with anyone I can pull over and stop first, or it can wait.

This is very timely for me as well because a new law came into effect Jan 1st here in Austin where you can be pulled over and ticketed if caught texting while driving.

Won't you take the pledge?

Create This

2010-01-19T06:24:00.000-08:00

My sweet friend Felicia had one of these charms on her necklace last time I saw her. She told me how she made them, so I thought I'd give it a try. They are so easy and take minutes to complete! So satisfying to be able to complete a craft project in minutes :) Aren't they cute? You like?

Blog This

2010-01-18T19:13:00.000-08:00

I'm certainly not one to invite rodents into our home... but I gave in and brought this little guy home on Saturday.

The boys seem interested in having a pet of their own, and this was about as far as we're ready to explore for now. This is Hamlet, the hamster. The boys were really surprised when we showed them. They kept asking me why I brought it home. For the first few days we are keeping Hamlet in a quiet room, and not handling him a lot so he can settle in to his new home.

The boys are anxious to hold and pet him, and feed him little chunks of apple. I'm hoping they will enjoy their first little pet. He seems to be pretty low maintenance, and I for one am super excited about that!

Adam and I decided to paint an accent wall in our bedroom today. Here's a sneak peek.

I need to get our room put back together now. Then I'll show off the finished product. We really like the way the dark color changed the feeling in our room. It was such a big blank canvas of white in there. Next up I'm going to get some type of curtains hung, and we're going to get a king sized comforter that actually fits our bed.

Hope everyone had a great long weekend like us. This was Adam's 4th long weekend in the past 5 weeks. We could get used to that!

More tomorrow,

amanda