Feet Friday---silly footwear

I dont have nearly all the silly footwear pictures that I have of Liam (most of them are on my old computer which died and is waiting for the more computer-savvy to come rescue the photos for me) but here are a couple:
Nana's sandals. He sported these during our first trip to Lake Cavanaugh.

Daddy's Boots. He normally gets in trouble for playing with them, but this once we didn't mind, but got a cute photo for letting him wear them for a minute.

No Kids Allowed.....could be TMI for the best of us.

So, I ran across an interesting blog with a very interesting challenge. It's for us married ladies and it's all about sex and having more of it, and doing things to spice it up and all.
Oh, did I mention it's from a CHRISTIAN perspective?!?!?

1 Corinthians 7:5 says:
So do not deprive each other of sexual relations. The only exception to this rule would be the agreement of both husband and wife to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time, so they can give themselves more completely to prayer. Afterward they should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt them because of their lack of self-control.

The Bible tells us to!!! Ha ha, I love it.

This area in life has been a bit hard for me lately. Pregnancy, prolaspe, hormones running haywire....None of it really helpful to love-making.

Anyway, so this challenge is called the "1 Corinthians 7:5" challenge and the author gives a challenge each week to help out the love-making.
For instance, week one is all about getting the bedroom set up to be a haven for the couple. (this may take me awhile, as I still have to get David OUT, LOL).

Anyway, take a look, even if you don't want to join the challenge! And lets all have a lot more sex with our hubbies! (oh my!!!)

January Round Up--Filing Cabinet

Here I am at my first Round Up! Before I begin, can I just say that I think Laura from Organizing Junkie is a pretty cool gal for doing this (AND menu monday, and a ton of other amazing stuff) and I am excited to be a part of it.


So, for January, it was filing cabinets. I must say, a rather appropriate one for me, as my files had gotten out of hand in a big way. When you take a look here at my "before" pictures, you'll see what I mean:

Papers, bills, magazines, stuff stacked everywhere. That little green container in the upper left corner was my only "cabinet". I had put a bunch of archived bills in a 3 ring binder, but it wasn't big enough and I don't have enough binders for everything. Wanting everything in one place nixes this really great organizing idea.

I knew I was in for a long haul, as there was sorting to do, a new filing system to work out, and it all to put together and organize into something useful.

During this process, I ran across of box of nice, professional-style filing boxes that we have hiding behind the door in our bedroom...left over from when we moved. Knowing that we didn't have the money to go all out with a fancy filing cabinet, I decided to utilize one of these boxes and make my own filing cabinet. I think it worked well.

In the end, I got done almost a week early, which I was happy about because in the middle, I wasn't sure I'd be done by Round Up time! But, take a look at my finished work (I guess this doubles as an "office space" or "desk" Round Up too, ha ha:

ABC Wednesday---B

"B" was a hard one for me. I was thinking about what to pick, and there are so many choices for me!
Just to list a few:

*boys, I love all my boys so much. My house is full of boys. Even my cat is a boy.

*babies...I love their cuddliness, their softness. Their littleness.

*Blankets, who doesn't love to curl up in a favorite blankie?

*Board games, love 'em!

*Books...can't get enough of books! I love, love, LOVE to read!

In the end, my "B" pick was actually kind of easy. This "B" has saved my sanity in so many ways and so many times. And so, without further ado (and because I'm ticked off at myself for having to re-write all of this), here is my "B" pick:

B is for Binkies. They have been such a help for this mommy. I applaude mommies who don't use them, but for me they are a life saver.....sanity saver....et cetera. Below is a picture of a binkie (using my camera's digital macro option, it's SO cool!) and a couple pictures of my boys with theirs, enjoy:

Davey-Boy, I went and took a picture of him sleeping (yes, took the risk of waking him up, couldn't resist!)

Little Liam and myself. We both look so young in this picture! Look how little hair he has!

That's it for me and "B". Check out the rest of the ABC Wednesday group here!

For the love of the vaccuum

Don't know how many people know this, but Liam hates the vacuum. H A T E S it!
When he was little, he'd scream and sob the whole time I was vacuuming. Now, he either hides on the couch, or runs around trying to shoot and kill it. I'm not even kidding.

So, I was curious about how David would respond. Especially since we haven't done much vacuuming around here (I wasn't allowed to after prolapsing this last summer). Well, I'm finally easing back into vacuuming, and...well, I'll let you decide for yourselves what you think David thinks of the vacuum (just so you know, it's ON in the first two pictures. I had to turn it off to even get the third):

That’s right, folks. In picture number two, he’s KISSING the vacuum (ok, I admit, it's more likely that he just likes the feel of the vibrations on his mouth, but which is funnier?!)! I pull the thing out of the closet, and he gets this, “What’s this now!?” look on his face. The second I turn it on, he beelines it to the vacuum, and has to be touching it, climbing on it, kissing it….he LOVES it.

I should have guessed. He’s been so different from Liam in so many things. Baths are the other biggie. Liam hated them too. Took YEARS to get him to do anything other than stand at the side and cry. David only cries when I take him OUT. I think he’d LIVE in water if we’d let him!

distraction

"what a cool ceiling fan!"

Feet Friday---feet at the park

My parents came over last Monday and it was such a nice day that we all bundled up and took a walk to the local park.

my sweet baby

ABC Wednesday----I'm joining with A!

I have noticed this weekly blog idea on this beautiful site, and liked the idea. Also, my mom has talked about it a bunch too, although not on her blog....yet.

As they are just starting a new round, I thought it would be fun to join in this time. But, I figure I need a theme to help me along, and I thought what fun it would be to do a "my favorite things" theme.

So, here is my favorite "A":

Animal Friends.

As in this little feline, who resides with us:
Sal is sweet, kind, generally patient, even with the boys, and all around the type of cat who give cats a good reputation. We love him around here!

Also, this little friend has been seen around our house the last couple of days:

Have to add a shout out to a few of my Puppy Friends:

This little guy is not so little, but I don't have a recent photo of Mr Finn:

And, last but not least, our stuff animal friends. Lee calls this little guy "Curious George" and he often is who's chosen for the animal to snuggle with at bedtime:

What a fun post idea!!!! Don't forget to check out the master ABC Wednesday site and take a look at others who are are joining in the fun!!!!

Make Me Laugh Monday

Last night, I looked over at David, to find him here:
He had gotten in the basket of the stroller all by himself. And, of course, in true brother fashion, Liam just HAD to climb in when David got out:

Fun times. I love these kids!

New Year and a New Game

When we had our New Years party at the Elder Butchers', they had a game I'd never seen before. It's called "Chairs". You play with little plastic chairs, trying to stack them into towers, seeing how high you can get it before they collapse. It is great fun.
Our friend, Tony, managed to make a chair tower using every chair. It was amazing for about a minute (long enough for me to get a picture or two.) and then it fell over.

Cleaning....

I took on Liam's room a couple of weeks ago. It was an afternoon project, as it had gotten pretty bad, take a look:
In the end, I got it nicely cleaned and organized. It felt good, it always feels good to see the accomplishments of an afternoon:

Of course, it's rather easy to spend an afternoon cleaning. The hard part -for me- is keeping it clean!

But, so far, it's been pretty easy...Liam's not really using the room, as we have turned off the heater and closed the door...trying to use less energy and save a little in heating costs. Liam is bunking with the rest of us, which means we really only have to heat one room at night.

...Slowly but surely, I'm getting the house cleaned up. I've also gotten the kitchen in order (one of the HARDEST rooms for me to keep clean!) and I just overhauled the bathroom today. I didn't get pictures of those endeavors, though.

I also really want to get rid of the STUFF....but I am trying to concentrate on getting clean first.

For The Birds...

This:
Became this:

I brought the garland Liam and I made to my parents house when we went for Christmas, and my Dad and Mom took Liam out to hang it on the holly tree in their front yard for the birds to munch on. So much nicer than just throwing it away!

"sleep is for whimps" and other tidbits

I once saw a onesie at Hot Topic with that quaint little statement on it. It was back when Liam was a baby and I was tempted to get it for him, as it described his obvious feelings towards sleep perfectly.

I am reminded of that onesie now. I guess I should have bought it after all.....

I cant believe it's 4am and I am awake. Have been for at least an hour. This was not my plan, nor my idea. No. It is all because of this little guy:
Apparently, sleep is overrated and unnecessary. I hope he changes his mind soon, because I am one of those people to whom sleep is not only quite a necessity but also an enjoyable passtime which, as the mommy of two amazing little boys, I truly do not get enough of.

Another thing my wee one doesn't think necessary? Sharing:

It took no time at all for him to have EVERY toy in his lap.

So funny!

While I'm up and at it, take a look at this picture. I am truly amazed it turned out this cool:

With that, I will say "good night" or rather, "good morning". David is nearly asleep again and I hope to be quickly following...

beauty

A Fun Way To Clean

To help out in my resolutions, specially number 4, I've decided to follow along with Organizing Junkie's "Monthly Organizing Round Up" this year. She created a list that focuses on smaller aspects of the home, but there is also last years Round Up, which focused room by room. I'm thinking of tackling both, but for sure this years. I am excited!

See the rest of Organizing Junkie's site here!

...resolutions...

Wow, a whole week of 2009 is almost over already. Time flies.

I’ve spent some time this afternoon reading blogs. On the most recent one, the lady had a list of “resolutions”. I’ve been trying to ignore this, but now is the time.
So, without further ado, here’s my list for 2009.

(1) Daily “school” with Liam. Specifically to get his alphabet learned.
(2) Weekly menu planning. I took a break in December, and want to get back into the swing of things. I’d really like to get to having two-four weeks done in advance, so that I can accomplish #3 better.
(3) Spend less money on groceries. Learn how to use coupons, make a grocery log book, etcetera.
(4) Keep my home clean and organized.
(5) Actually have a quiet/devotional time each day.
(6) Have a date night with Hubby at least once a month.

Yes. That is a good list. Those are the things I feel strongly about accomplishing this year. There are other things, but I don’t want to overload myself because then my procrastinating self will not do any of it, LOL!

Make Me Laugh Monday

I needed a giggle this afternoon. It's been a long day of trying to clean up mi casa, and my hubby is still home cuz it snowed again last night. Don't get me wrong, I love the man, and have enjoyed *most* of this time off with him. I say *most* because he's been sick for most of it, and we all know men are a wee bit whiny when they are sick. I've had to escape the house a few times before I did or said something that would have caused an arguement. I'm quite ready to have things go back to normal.

But, I have gotten distracted. Here is my contribution to this lovely way to start the week, Laughing:
Baby in a laundry basket. Classic Fun. But, it gets better. Take a look:

Yep, folks. David had his big brother trapped in a laundry basket! It was all fun and games, though. Liam spent the whole time laughing.

I was reminded of Make Me Laugh Monday from reading my mom's site. It originated over here. Check them out!

Christmas Cowboy

Christmas in Jandtland

Christmas with the Butcher side