New Hair Do

It was high time for a trim.  I have been a bit bored with my hair lately.  It's too long, too straight and because it's too long, it was driving my crazy.  Every time I put it up in a pony tail, the ends would still hit around the middle of my back and I just don't like that.

I went to see my favorite stylist and together we decided to add some layers and maybe make me a bit more girly.  There are reasons why I probably only have boys.  I can't do a lot of girly hair do's and can't imagine having to do a little girls hair too.  Any hoo, she showed me how to curly my hair ( I do at least own 3 curling irons, a straight iron and hair dryer of course) and I'm really liking my new do.

Here's to hoping I actually spend the time curling my hair now :)

Happy Hour at Home

What a week!!

Snow, ice, power outage, no school for 3 days.  We had a lot of good family time playing in the snow, playing board games when the power was out and just hanging out.  But today, we escaped our house, went sledding with some friends at their house and my husband was very glad to go to work.

Kids are in bed, hubby is out with the guys and I'm making myself a margarita.

Happy Weekend Y'all!!

Snow Day 2012

It snowed....and snowed....and I think we have at least three inches at our house and it's still coming down.  My boys, all four of them, are excited because it's a snow day.  No school and a modified work at home day.  I made monkey bread the night before and baked it this morning and of course, no day is ever started without my beloved Nespresso.  


We will eventually get all bundled up to see how much snow there is and if we can go sledding down the hill.  Happy Wednesday!

Happy Mail Day

I have an Amazon wish list that I like to keep more for me, but I know that my family likes to see the kinds of items I would like to have.  I am in need of more serving bowls because I'm not a fan of bring the pots of food to the table, I like to have pretty bowls even if it does mean more dishes for my hubby to clean. :)  I had added a few bowls from Crate and Barrel to my wish list before Christmas and since I didn't get any, I went back to the C&B website and oh happy day, my set of bowls were on sale!  So while they were marked down quite a bit, I still had to pay shipping.  Not of fan of shelling out extra for s&h, but hey, it happens.

So here are my happy new Parker bowls from Crate and Barrel :)  I was having fun and stacked them to take another picture.  Kind of looks like a honey comb.

Oh and that snow....my kiddo went to school today, but I had to pick him up early.  Massive miscommunication with the school district.  Yippee!!!  It's snowing and I think gonna stay around awhile.  I'm happy for 1 snow day, the whole week.....not so much.

Happy Snowy MLK Day

Happy Martin Luther King Jr Day!  Lucky for us, the snow has fallen and school is out for the holiday so here's hoping for no snow days.

Yeah right, with what the weather people are predicting around here, it might be a very long week of going nowhere......

Fiesta Bowl 2012

Happy New Year!! Like most Americans, I brought in the new year watching college football bowl games. Since we don't pay for tv, I'm very thankful that ESPN showed the games online.  My beloved OSU Cowboys were playing in the Tostito's Fiesta Bowl against Stanford.  I must confess that I was saddened by the fact that OSU was not playing in the national championship game, but none the less, I am very proud that my Cowboys were ranked 3rd.

I set up the computer on the kitchen table since I could still get a bit of work done and prepare for the week.  As you can see I was folding towels and making out my to do list for the week which includes all the errands and chores to be done, but also my menu plan.

The boys were in bed during the 4th quarter and I had to contain my excitement though the last few minutes of the game.  It was a good game and even though OSU did win, it was Stanford's to lose.  I look forward to how Coach Gundy leads the Cowboys in the up coming season.

Next......college basketball :)

Road Trip 2011

So instead of spending wads of money we don't have to fly 5 people from Seattle to the middle of no where Oklahoma Panhandle, we drove 3,400 miles round trip in my big, bad, black SUV. Nope, no mini van around here. Anyhoo, here are some pictures I took with my phone along the way.

Dinner the first night in Ellensburg, WA and I happen to read the ingredient list of the apple juice.  Why is our apples coming from other countries when the state of Washington is known for their apples.  Just saying People.

My oldest wearing his In-N-Out hat.  We drove 20 miles out of the way for a double-double on the second day of driving.  Love me some In-N-Out.

My second born son showing us his sticker page courtesy of the gal who took our order and handed over the goods :)

MMMMMMM, dinner

Our third day of travel. I-80 cruising eastbound through Wyoming

Just east of Green River, WY. Crystal clear blue sky and white snow covered plateaus.

My little man listening to his big brother's ipod.  He wasn't a happy camper being strapped down in a 5 point harness for days on end, but he still loves me :)

It seemed the further south we drove....

the colder the temperature.

Western Kansas around 2 am.  Brrrrrrrr!

Now for the return drive home. This was Western Kansas, flat land and lots of snow.

Not the best picture, but as we entered I-70 westbound to Denver, the moon was just beautiful against the darkening sky.

DINNER!!!!! Oh, how I love Chick-fil-A but despise the fact they are no where near me at all :(

After 11 hours in the car, we had finally arrived to Laramie, WY where we stayed the night.

More beautiful Wyoming landscape.

And even more headed westbound on I-80.

Oh yes we did :)

Hello normal winter temperatures.

We had a great trip seeing 8 states, driving 3,400 miles round trip, loving on grandparents and cousins and Praising Jesus for a SAFE trip too.

Homemade Christmas Gifts

I have two new nieces this year and I am so excited to get to make girly things now.  Both my brothers each had a girl, one in January and the other in April.  So this year for Christmas I wanted to do something fun for Christmas gifts rather than some cute outfit from the mall or a toy.  A gal on Etsy sells these absolutely stinking cute ballet shoes and I purchased the pattern from her to make my nieces gifts.

All I have to say is I had SO MUCH FUN making these shoes.  One of my sister-in-laws was a dancer and I'm sure she will  *hopefully* love these shoes.  I have another niece from my husband's side of the family that I may try to rework the pattern to fit the other sister-in-law i.e. straps versus the ribbon.

I may have three boys and am truly thankful for how crazy filled my house is, but I am also very thankful that God gave me some nieces to spoil too and get my girl fix in :)

Christmas dinner

The other night was the annual Ladies Christmas Dinner at Crossroads Bible Church. I usually host a table with my mother-in-law and we decide on a theme and run with it without going garishly over the top.  We ended up doing a winter white theme with these really cool frosty plates from Pier One and white dishes to accent.  I have no idea as to why I have no pictures from that evening as I had my iPhone, but alas, I took no pictures.

I did get to sit at the table with my mother-in-law, Mike's grandma and my lovely friends from our home fellowship group.  Some of these gals are friends that I have known almost as long as I have lived in Washington and others are newer friends.  I am super blessed to know each one of these ladies.  It was a fun evening to chat with one another without our passel of 21 children asking us questions, requesting food and needing our attention like they do every other Friday when we get together for bible study.


We had a yummy dinner and then fun entertainment courtesy of the local Christian university's jazz ensemble. I am thankful that this year we were able to eat dinner together and begin our Christmas season together.

Peace, peace, no peace in a house of boys

Tonight I decided if I was going to get any Christmas decorating accomplished, then I better get a move on and do something.  This is my something.

Yes, it's only the stocking and the pretty Pottery Barn stocking holders, but it's about all I'm excited to do.  If I had started decorating before Thanksgiving, then my house would have been all decked out for the season, but once Thanksgiving came and went, so did my motivation for Christmas decorating.

I have to laugh that Mike and I ended up buying the PEACE stocking holders. At the time we only had two boys and because discussions about a third child were underway, Mike chose the peace.

Yup, there is lots of peace in my house with three boys.....I do love each and every one of my boys.