iphone update~

For those of you who follow me on Instagram, this post will be a snoozer~ sorry. I am sad to admit that the only photos I have as of late, are the ones found on my phone... oops! So here is a little sampling of what we've been up to via my iphone pics~ in no particular order;)

V-day the hubs and i had a hot date, and the kiddos had a blast at Gramy's house.

check and check!Came across this nifty little desk, and knew I had to have it for the Ry-bug. She has been obsessed with playing school lately, and was so excited at the prospect of having her very own desk!

A little tlc, and he was good as new~

Parker has a new nasty habit of coloring on the walls. Not.Good. The weather has been fabulous, lots of time out and about the neighborhood. And darn those girl scout cookies!

Koda got his pins out, and is healing like a champ. Oh, happy days...

Ski days with cousins are always a good time~

I may, or may not have let my kids sluff school to go skiing...

What? It was just a short day;)

Parke really enjoys pb&j's right now... it's almost the only thing he will eat!

This picture is precious to me~

Kade's basketball games, Parke's "pond & reptile" preschool treats, homemade chicken noodle soup and rolls for a stormy night, and Rylie and her jello-playdough~ huge hit! recipe here.

Nutella fruit dip~ recipe here. Tasty!

These two... melt a momma's heart.

No idea where my week went, but always happy to welcome another weekend;)

Looking forward to some spiritual enlightenment, and good eats with conference.

Hope you all enjoy!

~xo

Fireman Parke

Hey there!

Yep, still kickin'

We've had a busy few weeks around here, a couple of weekend getaways {I'm still catching up on laundry~yuck!} and lots of fun in between. I will get to all of that good stuff later, but for now I must report on this littlest of mine. Parke had a field trip to the fire station with his preschool class. This little spunkster is wild and crazy... until you get him out of his comfort zone. This was no different~ as the rest of his class ran around answering questions and fully participating in the fire safety extravaganza, this one stayed mum!

It was all I could do to get him to stand near his classmates for a group picture... and forget about wearing that fireman hat! But isn't he adorable? I think I'll keep him;)Me and my troops~

When we left, I asked Parker why he was being so shy and his reply was, "Because I didn't know dat fireman guy." Silly stink. The fireman hat has since become a fan favorite and adopted into his repertoire of hero clothing;)
A few things that melt my heart lately...

~ Parker dressing like a super hero every.single.day. If we get him ready in the morning, you can guarantee if you turn your head for two seconds he is out of those clothes and into full hero gear. I don't know how he works so quick??

~ The way Kaden dotes on his baby brother, to which Parker usually tries to squirm away from his hugs and kisses but is secretly loving every second of it.

~ Rylie being the biggest 'daddy's girl'~ she sure does love that daddy one, and is always hanging on him... to which, he does not complain;)

~ The fact that my boys make me lay in their bed with them every night until they fall asleep. Sometimes I lay there thinking of all the things I could be getting done, but I quickly dismiss that crazy thinking and remember they will be grown boys before I even know it, and the last thing they will need is their momma snuggling them to sleep. I will take it!!

~ Any time I am in the kitchen, there is always someone jumping in and wanting to help with whatever is on the menu. Sometimes a little too much help, a few egg shells in the batter, but again... I'll take it!!

~ Rylie learning to read, and taking such pride in her school work. Oh! and cartwheels, the girl never stops cartwheeling around the house. A few injuries have been induced due to this new trick, but she has got them down~ even the one-hander! Go Ry!

~ My sweet hubby working so hard to provide for his growing family. Sometimes I wish we could all just be home all day every day together, playing and making memories. But alas, that is not reality, and I am so appreciative of all Nic does to make our world go round. He is most definitely my better half, and the best daddy to our kiddos.

And that is going to be all for now. I will get crack-a-lackin on these vacay photos and hope it's not another month before I get them posted~ sheesh!

Have a happy day!

~xo

laundry gone cheerful

I'm not even sure how this latest laundry room re-do came to pass...

I think it all started when I got the itch to paint those cabinets white. It is a pretty beensie room, and it was feeling sort of dark and dreary. I mean, who wants a dark and dreary laundry room? Laundry is daunting enough as it is, may as well do it in a cheery room, eh? So I disassembled those cabinets{a little nervously, i must admit} and got to town refinishing them in a shiny coat of white~

Next, I decided to brighten up those walls! After a first coat of pale yellow I was not sold, and went with this pale blue instead...

cabinets before~

cabinets after~ ah, happy:)

This chalkboard/coat hook wall we actually put up a couple years ago, so the kiddos would have a place to doodle, and hang their school garb. It has been a fun addition~

a preview of what this room uuuusually looks like, unfortunately. Although, I have to say it has been much more intising to keep it clean now;)

and after~

While we're speaking laundry, I have to send a shout out to the homemade detergent recipe I found on pinterest. I have been using it for several months now, and am quite enjoying it!

Recipe found here. I've altered it a bit, to 1 1/2 c. of the washing soda, and borax, to one bar of Fels Naptha. Super easy, huge money saver, and just makes me feel better knowing what's in it!

And a little bit, goes a long way! You only need between one and two tablespoons per batch, depending on what it is you are washing.

Another favorite is this lavender water~ instruction here.

So many different ways to use this, it has changed my world.

So there you have it folks, a bit of laundry goodness.

Happy Monday.

~xo

Bieber Fever~

The sis took on a little cheer clinic to try her hand at something new. All went well, and she really enjoyed this new avenue. At the end of her clinics, they were able to perform at a high school basketball game~ so exciting! Her amazing grandparents there to cheer her on!~

So I pretty much failed in the picture department. Had my camera on the wrong setting, and 98% of her 'action' shots were a blurry mess! oops~ forgive me love. She did an awesome job out there though, and cheered her little heart out {with a not-so-sure-about-this look on her sweet face;)}

Rylie and her home-girls~ what a sweet bunch of gals...

What a lucky gal to have so many fans;)

After all of that cheering, it was time for a drink. Which led to the finding of this nifty little corner... couldn't resist some monkey business, silly faces, and posing:)

Now this one here, just couldn't get enough of the camera. He kept dragging me back to this spot, and directing me to take more pictures~ man I get a kick out of him!

A shot with Mom and Dad~ so proud of our girl:)

Some Instagram pics from the night. We went home and Parke dug into his bedtime stories~ the boy loves to read! And those who haven't discovered Instagram~ you must! My new favorite tool:)

And this post wouldn't be complete without a few more ski pix, right? It is just too convenient to have my phone up there, and too many memories being made to not snap away;)

Papa and the kiddos~

Have I mentioned how much we adore it up there? Magic, I tell ya.

Oh, and if you are wondering what's with the title of this post?? Check out Rylie's cheer shirt~ Bieber Fever, baby. Pretty sure Ry has NO idea who he is, but it was pretty exciting to jam to his tunes:) Ah, takes me back to the days when I got my very first New Kids on the Block T-shirt. Yep, those were the days...

Happy weekend!

~xo

love is in the air~

Well hello there.

This post is going to sort of be all over the place, but in the end it all comes down to one simple fact... we are set for v~day! Something special about this lover's day that I just can't get enough of. Is it just me, or did it sneak up way to quick this year? To all my pinterest buddies, did you spy these little sweethearts? Couldn't resist~ the peanut butter blossom, with a lovely twist...

I actually posted this recipe waaay back here, for those interested. And gotta send a shout out to one of my most favorite kitchen tools, my cookie dough scoop! Makes life just sweeter i say, and only a few bucks at your local Bed Bath and Beyond! This is me and my sweet nephew Krew~ I was getting some serious snuggles, and loving every minute of it:)

We dug out some keepers from last year~ nothing too crazy, but very special to me. That planter is actually from when my sweet grandma passed a few months ago. I am pretty impressed it is still living;)

Ry-bug celebrated her 100th day of school, and dug into carefully autographing her valentine's~

Parker has been pretty much obsessed with Lego Ninjago, and insists on watching or rehearsing all of their sweet moves... pretty flippin' adorable if you ask me.

Some more quality time on the slopes~ such fun times with my family.

The gals in my family came over for some serious craftin'~ there were goodies involved... Nic never shy's away from a little treat;) Oh! and just to clarify, he does not sport his jersey around the house, unless he is fresh home from a b-ball game... which was the case here:)

I thought a hot cocoa bar was in order for such a night~ um. I made homemade mallows. I will never turn back, they are pure delightfulness. Recipe here.

This little bowl speaks to me;0~ thanks Meg, you are my girl!

These mini-cake donuts are from my kitchen as well, recipe here. They were a little taste of heaven I must say. I left out the maple, and stuck with chocolate and vanilla glaze.

And then it was time to get our craft on!

We laughed until I was doubled over, and crying...

I needed that. Girl time is a must!

And the finished product~

Oh, how I love this bunch!~

{hotta, we missed you!! almost made you a 'hotta' banner;)}

The next day was a lazy one. Playing in the leftover paint mess, making masterpiece's! And special mail~ my favorite!

And got my new banner hung~

A little close up~

And what's going on behind me you ask...

monkey business! We are all about it:)

And that is that folks.

Hope you all have a happy lover's day.

I'm going to be lovin' up on my sweet family;)

And loves to you, too!

~xo