I really am alive..

I'm really alive, and actually have an update, not reviews! (though I do love doing the product reviews!) I'm actually going to make a few different posts.

We have been doing the usual, lately. Tomorrow we leave for Michigan for my brother-in-laws wedding. I'm the mistress of ceremonies, and I'm pretty excited to be involved in the wedding. The only other wedding I've been to was my parents, when I was like, 7 or 8 I think. I got my dress and shoes last weekend, and I love them. I got a purple dress, and gold shoes. I got my shoes at Ross, for 18 bucks, and they are nine west. Score! They are actually like a size too big, but they *work* without being uncomfortable, haha. Cody is going to be the ring bearer. I'm so excited to see my little men dressed up. Nathaniel looks great in his suit, too. He has a pink tie, and it's sort of funny, lol, but it looks really good.

I've been cooking quite a bit lately. I've got major love for my crockpot lately. Chicken noodle soup, green chile chicken, hawaiian bbq chicken, pot roast. I've made a few things from pinterest, as well. Shredded chicken really bothers me for some reason, even when I make it myself. Nathaniel has loved everything, though, so it doesn't bother me to cook, even if it's not something I fully enjoy. I make a lot of homemade breads and rolls with meals, and I usually fill up on those.

Cody is doing pretty well in school. He is still kind of behind, and part of me thinks he wasn't ready for regular kindergarten just yet. Maybe he is, I guess I just fear that kids will pick on him since he is still a bit behind other kids his age. He is insanely smart, he's just kind of hard to understand sometimes, still. We have been doing his homework together, and I got behind this week, since today is his last day until after our vacation, and we had to do it this morning before school, but we made puppets!

(he added mouths and stuff, but i wanted to snap a picture quickly)

Well.. uh? Hi there?

With Cody back school now, I really want to get this thing back up. I really need some more followers.. or something.. lol.

Cody started back to school this past Wednesday. I officially have a kindergartner! I'm such a lucky and proud mom. I love my boys so much. Since we currently do only have 1 vehicle until the beginning of next year, I mostly have to walk Cody. Nate starts work too early to take him, and "campfire" (like latchkey in my day) gets really expensive. There isn't any bus service, since the kids are close to the school. However, we have to cross 3 subdivision exits, and we walk along a really traveled road. I would never let my kindergartner walk there by himself. Ever. It is actually nice, more so in the morning when it's not so hot.

He was nervous at first, but warmed up pretty well when I brought him over to the other kids. He gave me a kiss, and off I went with Noah, in tears, of course. 

We've been leaving here a half hour before school starts, and both boys usually have about 15 minutes to play before the bell rings and it's time to line up. It's a great way to get Cody focused, get a little morning energy out, and get ready to start his FULL day of kindergarten. I pack him a lunch every morning. I think I pack him way too much to eat, because he ends up bringing back a good amount. I just want to make sure that he has options, and eats a good lunch. He eats breakfast, but he's really energetic and gets cranky when he's hungry. Plus, there's the walk back, in the heat. 

They both had checkups last Friday. Both growing like weeds. We have to schedule an appointment to get Cody evaluated to rule out a few things. I know that his behavior is good in school, but at home, it is not. And, it doesn't matter the amount of time you spend with him. He still does everything to defy you, and he gets SO emotional, and just can't control himself. Everything I've read points to ADHD, and if we need to get him on medication to make HIS days better, and ours, we certainly will be doing so. It's gotta get tiring for him to always be getting in trouble. Noah is slowly (but surely) entering the terrible 2's stage. Uh oh.

We leave in exactly a week from today for our Labor Day vacation. Last year, we visited around New Mexico. (Carlsbad caverns, white sands, Roswell, etc) This year, we are going to California! I'm so excited. We are going for my birthday and a family trip. My birthday is the 31st, and we're leaving the 30th. Our hotel is about a mile or two from the beach, and I'm so excited to go collect seashells and other things with the kids! We ordered a nice lightweight stroller since we downsized our vehicle from a Jeep, to a Hyundai Veloster. 

I will leave you with some pictures via instagram!

Addicted to Pinterest lately. (Oh, and Starbucks, which my husband has been graciously getting for me almost every night!)

The night before Cody started school, I could not sleep, so I sat up, filled out paper work, and made a to-do list for the morning.

I got an organizer last night, and organized all of my makeup and nail polish. This drawer is just my Essie's!

Playing before school!

Recently, I switched from MAC to Urban Decay. I'm in so much love with all of their shadows, I wish that I could use them all at once. I bought this stuff from their recent sale! 

Birthday update... just a few days late!

That's right! I'm a mom to a 5 year old now! I'm a few days late updating this, but late is better than never, right?

Let's see.. Nate has 1/2 days on Fridays, so we planned to take Cody out to lunch for his birthday. He's been wanting to go to the "pop place". The place is called Frontier, and they have the Coca Cola freestyle machine, which allows you to customize your soda flavors. It was actually pretty neat. He had a plate of fries and a soda, while playing with his new iPad.

We let him open his iPad early, since we planned a small get together at Chuck E Cheese later, and didn't really want it left at the table. I asked him what he thought his gift was, and he said "a robot, cuz it's wrapped in robot paper".

I think he was pleasantly happy, and probably even surprised to get an iPad instead of a robot, lol.

..However, Noah was not very happy that gift was for Cody, and not him.

I didn't get any pictures at the "pop place", because it was really busy, and I didn't want to lug around the camera.

But, we took him to the popcorn store, so that he could get some of his favorite cheese popcorn, and of course, I got some Green Chile Caramel popcorn. Yum!

And, here's some pictures from ChuckEcheese with his friends :)

Of course, they get a good picture together, and they pick a girls' card. -facepalm-

We stayed there until around 10pm. They all had a blast. 

Oh hai!

I have to start on dinner very soon, but wanted to update quickly.

The weather has been staying nice, finally. I can't wait until they open the pool up here.

I have really just been doing a whole lot of crocheting, so that I can open up my own etsy store very soon! I have a few orders that I got the past couple of days. So, I have been a busy bee.

Cody had an eye appointment last week, and we found out that he is VERY far-sighted, and needs glasses. We are going to order those Friday after he gets out of school. He is going to be 5 in just over a month, and I'm thinking of doing a party at Peter Piper or Chuck e cheese. Not my ideal place, but he loves it at places like that. It would really be only friends, since our family is back home, but I really feel like he is getting to the age where he would really enjoy a birthday party with kids his age.

I really need to be starting dinner now, but here are some instagram pictures of the past week. (I really need to pull out my Nikon more)

 about everything we can do on a balcony. Sandbox, garden, and there's 2 birdfeeders. Only 1 is pictured. We also laid out carpet on the concrete.

 homemade broccoli cheddar soup in homemade whole wheat bread bowls. Yum.

 New clothes for Noah from Gymboree!

 Making his own pizza for lunch!

 Taco salad

Wordless Wednesday!

Field trip to the fire station!

I didn't get off to the best start this morning. I was really stressed out, and my mornings are SO crazy. Now that Noah sleeps through the night, (finally, thank you, Lord!) he wakes up really hungry, and Cody is up at 6:30-7am most mornings, ready to go. So, it's a battle to get Cody's breakfast order, get Noah's breakfast made, change him, keep Cody out of trouble, etc., while maintaining my "cool". I had to remind Cody that today was his field trip to the fire station, and he had to behave, and set a really good example.

Nate left work a half hour early today so I could take a shower and get ready to go out to lunch. I got ready, and we headed off to lunch at Genghis Grill. We had to hurry a bit, since it's on the other side of town, and Cody's field trip was at 2. We got to the station around 1:45, and Cody was really excited to see his classmates. His teachers just love him to pieces and are so proud of him. (along with mommy and daddy!) I took a lot of pictures, and had tons of fun editing them. Cody had a blast, and was really involved in the indoor activities, as well as the outdoor ones. We were there for almost an hour and 45 minutes. We stayed a little later than the other parents, and were talking to the firefighters, and Cody's 2 teachers. It was a whole lot of fun! Cody got a fireman helmet, and he wore it everywhere today!

I started our garden, inside this year, from seeds. (instead of starter plants) We got Cody a terrarium, and his cucumber plant is growing wild. So, we picked him up his own long container to move his plants to. I'm so excited to watch how excited he gets when the first one grows, even if it's little, he will be so happy❤ We also picked up "Zumba Fitness: Rush" tonight. I ended up spending too much time editing photos/ blogging to feel like playing, but I'm excited to try it out! I leave you with some pictures from today, and I hope to get more followers here, and blog more regularly :)