7 months... Really?! How does that even happen?

I'm completely embarrassed for myself right now. I'm sure that after my 7 month blog disappearance my regular readers have dwindled. And I don't blame you... I would have stopped checking for any new gems a long time ago. But Alas, I'm back, if only for a brief second to warn you to stand by because there are some new fun things on the horizon! I can't tell you what they are right this minute, but I will give you a hint! It includes a new blog address, some fun new creations I've been playing with and maybe a few giveaways of my fun new creations!! Stay tuned!! By the way, I know this isn't very personal or informative of our recent happenings. But I promise that if you stick with me, you wont be disappointed!! I love you guys, thanks for not losing faith in me!!

Guilty Pleasures

In lieu of any major life happenings at the moment, I have decided that for today, I'd share a few of my guilty pleasures with all of you, my faithful readers :)
We all have guilty pleasures, "Something that we shouldn't like, but like anyways" as defined by the Urban Dictionary. Most of mine are probably fairly unknown, because I don't always feel like sharing my quirks with the world. But as a special treat, I've decided to make my top 10 list just for you! Send me a comment with a few of yours or if you're a blogger, continue my trend and make your own list. You may be surprised at the guilty pleasures that you have in common with your friends!

1. There are so many TV shows that would fall into the guilty pleasure category, but I decided to include the one that inspired this post, High School Reunion on TV Land. Yeah, what can I say, I'm a sucker for dysfunctional people on reality TV. Real World would probably fit in this category, too.

2. 16oz hot, skinny Chai Tea lattes. I have one every single afternoon. (But in all fairness, I make them at home, so I'm not hitting the coffee shop daily.)

3. Hour long baths. A good book, some good tunes and I could sit and marinate all day long. I think I need to invest in a hot tub.

4. '80's music. Poison, Michael Jackson, Motley Crue, Guns and Roses, Tina Turner and Cyndi Lauper, Yes, Please.

5. Rockband and Guitar Hero on the XBox. Ya I can totally rock out on the guitar on that silly game, now just to learn how to play the real thing...

6. Self-help books. Especially those with ideas similar to The Secret focusing on inner peace and happiness.

7. Oogling dirty rockstar boys. In another life I know that i was totally a groupie.

8. Sappy kids/pre-teen movies. The Hannah Montana Movie. 'Nuff said.

9. The public library. I could hide out there all day, reading, studying enjoying the quiet... whatever.

10. Facebook/Blog stalking. Do I really need to elaborate on this one? :)

Man, I'm such a strange girl... Apparently I'm the epitome of organized chaos.
Now it's your turn...

An awesome and amazing 2010 to you.

It's time for the customary New Years resolution post! Aren't you excited?! I know I am! I can't believe that we are finding ourselves at the end of a decade, I mean, where in the h e double hockey sticks have the last 10 years gone! I remember sitting around 10 years ago waiting for the world to end with all of the technology on earth shutting down because our computers couldn't handle a silly 20 instead of the former 19. Man, how things can change in 10 years and now I sit here at 26 years old (26 really, is that even possible?) with my life having gone in a completely different direction than I would have ever anticipated. And the crazy thing is, I can't imagine being any happier than I am right now!! Okay, so having a little extra money would be nice, but really I don't think that money ever makes you happier, and living with less makes you appreciate so much more. Looking back on last years resolution list, I was thoroughly impressed with how many goals I have actually accomplished this year!! I have worked really hard on my emotional and spiritual side and the results have paid off immensely. My marriage is the best it's ever been, I'm truly happy and more in love with my life than I would have ever expected. I made it back to school after an 8 year hiatus and achieved A's in my first 4 classes. I am truly blessed and have taken up the mantra that I am surrounded by so much love that I always have a reason to be happy. Of course, we all have our bad days but I have learned not to let those things bother me anymore. Of the 10 resolutions that I set last year (you can find that list here, I would say that I have accomplished about 8. And in terms of resolutions, I think that's pretty successful! So for this year, I'm sticking with the 2 resolutions that I wasn't able to achieve last year. Those are concerning my health/weight and finances. I know they're cliche, but I think that the reason they are is because they are the most difficult to achieve. Last year, the 2 resolutions were worded a little differently then this years will be though.
Previous resolution:
*To keep up with bills and get completely out of debt by 2010.
*To lose my last 10 lbs and then maintain (healthfully of course).
New Resolutions:
*Stop eating out so much, keep a budget more consistently and build up our savings account.
*Start working out and take up a vegetarian lifestyle again. Drink more water and get into shape.
Its time for the outside to reflect the happiness on the inside. 2010 will be our year!!
To all of my wonderful friends and family reading this blog, I can't thank you enough for being there and I love you and appreciate you more than I can say. You are the best in the world and I can't imagine my life without you all in it. I hope that your 2010 is amazing and that you can accomplish everything you wish for. I can't wait to see where this year takes us!!

can I get a whoop whoop.

I just realized that the last time I posted was the Friday before my first full college semester began. If the fact that it's taken me nearly 4 months to update isn't any indication as to how crazy my life has been, well then I don't know what is. What I do know is that my absence from the blog-o-sphere has completely paid off and I finished my first actual college semester with straight A's... With that news, I figured that a celebratory blog post was in order, because lets face it, you can only brag so much on facebook before people start rolling their eyes at you. Let me just say... I'M SO FREAKIN' STOKED.
Okay, now that that's out of my system, we can move on to more pressing issues...
I'm hoping that with my 4 month absence, I might still have a few readers. If you're still with me, humor me and let me know.
So, whats going on with us otherwise? Well, Austyn is nearly halfway through second grade. Still loving school. Struggling a little with reading, still. But otherwise a "delightful student" in the words of her teachers. Begging for a Nintendo DS for Christmas, thank God its not a cellphone instead.
Peyton is starting to talk all the time. Mostly being a little parrot, copying everything you say... its too stinkin' cute, even tho I'm a little biased. He is BADLY in need of a haircut right now. Totally rocking the little 21 month old mullet. I'll try to post the before and after pics this weekend after we take him to get all beautified for the plethora of Christmas pictures that are sure to follow in a mere 9 days.
Hmmm...
What Else...
Wes is busy doing what he always does... work. Nothing new, but he is still enjoying what he does and really enjoys the other people that he works with so there are no complaints.
And for me, well, my daycare is still going strong, right now I have 2 full-time kids and 2 part-timers. While I've had the opportunity to take on more children recently, I'm perfectly happy with the ones that I have right now and I'm just at the right number for my tiny house. I'm also working at Hey Baby, part-time for those of you that didn't know, mainly to give me a reason to get up, shower and put on decent clothes(any of you SAHM's can probably relate with that. Either that or I'm just very lazy, which is a likely possibility as well). The people that I work with are awesome and I love the atmosphere. What more could you ask for?! So as you can see, with all of the different hats (as my 6th grade teacher would have called them) that I have been wearing lately, I've been a little bit pulled in 50,000,000 different directions these past few months. But I can at least take off the student hat for a month and can hopefully replace it with a more diligent blogger hat to entertain all of you that have stuck by my side.
Oh and the Christmas cards will be in the mail shortly...
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. XOXO

A new day.

I'm feeling completely stumped with my words tonight so instead of rambling through a post, I'll just delight you with a few new kiddo pictures. Included are a couple shots of Austyn's first day of school and birthday party and Peyton at the 4H parade! More later, thanks for the patience :)

My baby is growing up.

Last week Austyn was in our friends Dan and Alisa's wedding. I had to share a couple pics that I snapped after I got her ready. She's growing up so quickly, it makes me sad.

Ode to the greatest friends in the history of the world.

Last night I couldn't sleep. As we all know, when that happens your brain starts spinning. I got to thinking about the sad fact that by the end of this summer most of my closest friends will have moved on to other cities. I know that as we grow up and move on in life, it happens. But that doesn't make it any easier. So anyway, I just wanted to make sure that all of my best-ies know just how awesome I think they are and say Thanks for being so totally amazing.
I think that you are truly blessed if you get one friend that you are close to for your entire life (or as much of your life as you can remember). I am lucky enough to have two. I don't know what I would've done growing up without Amanda and Nicole. We've been through so much together and just because Manda is living in Nashville now and Nicole will be moving to Kansas City with her adorable little family in August, I don't expect to ever lose touch with them. They are the epitome of true friendship and I love them both dearly.
Then you have the friends that come into your life through another friend and you instantly bond with and grow to become unexpectedly close to. Amber, whom I met through Wes' friend Ryan has become a very close confidant to me and I'm so thankful for her amazing listening skills and her ability to relate to my current situation. And Lindsey, who is the wife to our friend Mike, is incredibly caring and loves my children (for both her and Mike to embrace our kids without having any children of their own yet, means sooo much to me). And Alisa, who was married this last weekend to our close friend, Dan. I'm so sad that they are getting ready to move all the way to Wisconsin in the fall, but know that we will always be there for one another.
I am lucky enough to be in touch with many of my friends from elementary, middle and high school as well. I love the moments, tho not as frequent as I'd like because we're all so busy, that we still get spend time together, catching up and reverting back to our silly school days selves. Lizzy, Sarah, Liz, Laura, Casie,Stephanie, Amy and Anne, you guys are the greatest. Janine, you are the awesome "cool girl" that I've always envied and I so appreciate you always being there for me. Thanks for welcoming me into your circle and introducing me to your girls, Jaime and Megan are amazing! Abby, I appreciate all of your help when we were working at Dara's together and I'm so glad that we have gotten to continue our friendship since then. Its nice to have someone that I completely trust to stay with my kids and I wish you all the happiness in the world. And I can't forget the boys, Brandon, who is a great advice-giver and will always be my big brother. Dan, who knows me better than almost anyone and still likes me anyway. And Wes, who even tho is my husband too, is my best friend and I can't imagine facing this crazy journey without him.
I wouldn't be who I am without all of you, Thank You for being the greatest friends that anyone could ask for!