What day is it?

It's April! It's the 2nd which means the month of March is over! How crazy is that? What happened to February? I know it's the shortest month, but really? Anyone else feel the same? Here comes the rush of events!
Going list style, shocking right?!?!

• We've got our state testing coming up, the dates were set but we've had snow days so now it's all up in the air.
• End of the quarter was Friday, which means as of today there are only nine weeks left of the year! Whoa!
  
• Ryker's first birthday is under two weeks away.

I'm how old??!?!

• The Man is crazy busy, between school and work he's got a lot going on.
• Easter, bringing all its excitement, flew by in a whirlwind!
• I've been trying to tackle my spring cleaning list, it's a little over whelming.
  

So, you know what? Time to embrace it and just move faster! Right?

First Birthday coming up!

I can NOT believe that Ryker is almost 11 months. With just a month away from his party, I've been on the look out for ideas to make the day fun. I know he won't remember this day but I will and I love to decorate for the boys' b-days.

Our theme is "the Very Hungry Caterpillar". Such a cute little book and so many fun colors. Here is my collection of ideas-

I can't wait! I'm starting to get things done now so that it's a little more at a time rather than a cram to get everything done at the end. Hopefully it all pays off.

Pinterest projects

So I haven't kept up with posting, shocking I know! But I have been working on some of the projects I've pinned.

First off I've been tackling some cleaning ideas-
I've thrown a couple shirts to the side that were favorites but had stains on them that I couldn't get out with my normal Oxiclean collection.

I wish I had taken before and after shots because this stuff WORKED, so easy and I really didn't scrub that hard. I did try it on a shirt that had been stained by suntan lotion but it didn't work, so I'll stick to my bleach soaks for that.

I kept finding clothes that I put away from Tucker that I almost tossed instead of using for Ryker, but then I tried a combination of a few pins. I took some onesies and a couple shirts that had formula, food, or diaper stains and put them in a heavy bleach bath for about an hour. Then put this "magic stick" on them,

and soaked them all in my washer with a scoop of Oxiclean for about 25 minutes, then I washed them like normal. It worked on all the formula stains, the lighter food, but it didn't completely get rid of the diaper stains, just lightened them.

I tried this shower cleaner on our tub and wasn't to impressed. The cleaning smell wasn't there which is nice but I'm going to stick with my Scrubbing Bubbles.

I love, LOVE, this super easy method of cleaning my stove top. I've done it three times now! I tend to get preoccupied when cooking- oops! But every time my stove top looks brand new!

Those are my cleaning pins, stayed tuned for other project pins. Hopefully it won't be another month!

Meet the newest member of our family!

The Man and I have talked about having a pet for the boys since before having Ryker. We're definetly dog people, but had thought that we'd wait until moving into a different house with more yard space. But then a co-worker got a black lab. And we fell in love with the idea of having our own puppy one day.

A couple weeks ago the Man went in to pay for gas and saw a sign about puppies for sale. Lots of texting went back and forth that day. Could we take on a dog? Would Tucker want one? Was he ready for one? What would we do during the day? That night we also talked with our parents and they were all for it. So the hunt began!

By the next evening we made a phone call, two hours later we had a date set to get our puppy.
Bane, is a male yellow lab. He's very sweet, calm, not a barker (yet), and great with the boys. Since we got him at 14 weeks, he was familiar with the kennel and doing okay with potty training. Luckily his accidents are in the garage but that's totally fine.

All I know is that I have one little guy who's in love. He's learning to take Bane for walks. Most of all, I've already seen a gain in his confidence. We're hoping that it helps our sensitive boy break out of his shell a bit more. I think they're already best friends.

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2013!! What an amazing year it should be!

2012 was an up and down year I think for everyone. I think there were some great achievements and events that occurred but sadly there were also some devastating moments. 

Last year (so weird to say that already) brought many moments to our home!

The Man, Tucker, and I took a little weekend trip to enjoy some time as a family of three.

We welcomed Ryker in April! What an AMAZING event!

We went to our first MLB game! Go TWINS!

Tucker started first grade! 

The Man started his last year of school, the end is coming, I'm not sure who's more excited- me or him.

Tucker was asked to be on homecoming court! Such an honor for him!

We (more the Man, than me) started finishing our basement.

Ryker's nursery was put together and completed on time!

It was an amazing year, I hope 2013 brings just as much, if not more! Happy New Year! 

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

Our Christmas

On our way home from the last family gathering I got to thinking about this holiday season and how incredibly blessed we are. The Man and I are both fully employed, we work with great people and like what we do every day. Tucker goes to a fabulous school with a very good teacher, and Ryker is with an amazing daycare. We spent the last week with family and friends that showered our boys with love.

The boys received some great gifts, as well as the Man and I. Santa brought Tucker a pair of roller blades and he puts on quite the show already. Ryker got some new toys and outfits but the most exciting thing is that in the last hour or so he's learned how to sit up from laying position.

Getting to spend this time with my family is wonderful. Getting time to relax and enjoy each others company is a blessing. I hope you get the same experience and joy that we did. Merry Christmas!!!

Our Christmas Card

It's that time of year!

And while I'm super behind on blogging, as in I haven't posted Tucker's birthday or Ryker's 7 months, I did get our Christmas cards ordered. After only spending about an hour going through all the options I finally picked this card. I'm obsessed with Shutterfly and all their cute cards. I even found some thank you cards for the boys that I need to get for them to send out after Christmas. 

How about that photo of the two of them? Way to look at the camera boys!! We tried so many different things but finally called it good after Tucker's second laugh attack, totally my son. Ryker had to have been stuffed with all the puffs we were giving him to keep him smiling, or not smiling. As long as we had fun I guess thats all that matters.

Hopefully more to come soon!