I know its been quite a while since I last posted. Sorry! I will post something more soon. But for now...

Happy Father's Day! (ok so it was yesterday...but I was too busy spending the day with my boys to be able to post anything.)

Happy Father's day to my husband.


Happy Father's Day to my dad.


Happy Father's day to my father in-law.






We enjoyed a really nice long relaxing day at one of the state parks. Enjoyed some hiking, swimming below waterfalls, playing games with family. lots of food. good conversation, and beautiful sunshine!

Happy Father's day!

Happy Birthday Monkey!!!

Today my baby turns one!

Today I am thankful for all of the joy he brings to our lives.

Today I am remembering everything from the past 21 months.

Remembering how excited and scared and shocked 

we were when we found out I was pregnant. 

Remembering all of the ups and downs of my pregnancy.

Remembering how scared we were when we thought I was going to lose him.

Remembering our crazy trip across the country while I was 9 months pregnant.

Remembering our disappointment when we came home 

without our baby boy in our arms.

(Twice.) 

Remembering the night before my (second) induction and how Dowe and I just laid in bed and talked for the longest time with the reality of how our lives were about to change forever.

Remembering a year ago today how our lives changed forever.

My Dear Son,

With one flash of your smile, You melt my heart.

With your cry, You make me want to keep you safe from the whole world.

With every "Momma", You make me fall in love with you all over again.

The sound of your laugh when you play with daddy, I can't help but get misty eyed.

Watching you learn, makes me want to teach you more.

You, my dear child, Have given me so much more than I could have ever imagined.

I never knew my heart could be so full.

I can't imagine my life without you in it, nor would I want to!

Your daddy and I love you so very much.

As painfully difficult as it is to believe that you are growing up, 

we are loving every second of you.

We are looking forward to celebrating this first year we have had 

with you over the course of this whole weekend.

We love you tons and tons, and even though this weekend is going to be somewhat

crazy and jam packed, loaded with lots of family...

This weekend is all about you.

No matter what, YOU come first.

I promise you that mommy and daddy will spend lots and lots of time playing, hugging, kissing, tickling, holding, snuggling, and just being all around silly with you.

We love you big boy!

We love you.

ps...one year ago today...at 11:11pm....our wish came true.

Random updateish post....

Well its been pretty chaotic around here lately if you couldn't tell by my lack of posts over the last week.


However, it has been full of exciting, fun, and wonderful moments. Totally worth the chaos.
I have been cleaning up a storm! The house is FINALLY really starting to shape up again. (a lot of thanks goes to my husband who has been helping me out tons and tons.) I was reminded once again on Sunday about how "God is not a God of disorder" and that I need to get my life back in order and living a God Honoring life. 
Not that I'm doing anything crazy bad but I feel like I don't honor God as much as I should with how I take care of my house and my boys. He has given me a roof over my head, a hard working husband with a decent job, made it possible for me to stay home with my son, and this beautiful little boy to take care of. 


The new schedule is going really well and I must tell you that I really am loving it! I never thought that just having a little bit of guaranteed alone time in the evenings between the time Monkey goes to bed and the time Dowe gets home would be so good for me! I'm really finding it makes me a better wife and mother. I find myself spending more and more time with my boys and less time feeling like I'm losing myself. I think I may have found the cure to my identity crisis and found myself again. 


Dowe and I are planning Monkey's first birthday party. I still can not believe that on Friday he's going to be a year. We're having a Fish themed party as our son LOVES fish. Dowe and I got Monkey a 10 gallon fish tank for his birthday. It is in his bedroom and has been quite therapeutic for him. He has started taking better naps again in the afternoons and sleeping better at night since its been in his room. 
We're hosting his party at our church this Sunday and I'm really excited for it. I honestly use to think that throwing a first birthday party was silly and unnecessary, however, it is on Dowe's side of the family, almost a right of passage. And now I'm honestly so thankful that we are throwing one. I honestly believe its helping me be excited and happy that Monkey is turning one instead of sad and depressed that a whole year has gone by so quickly. Don't worry...I will post pictures after the party. :)


Monday was Memorial Day. We went to my sister in-law's for the day. It was WONDERFUL. 
My husband is one of eight kids and so getting all of us together is a lot of times just...crazy. There are 6 kids ages 3 and under with another on the way (Second oldest sister in-law is expecting around August), and when we all get together there is a grand total of 19 people. And that is just the immediate family! So as much as we all LOVE getting all of us together, it is difficult to get good quality time with anyone really. Having just the seven of us together was really nice. My sister in-law cut my hair (THANK YOU!!!), we played games together, sat and chatted, and just all around got to enjoy each other's company. We went to a parade in town which was a blast. Just an all around WONDERFUL day with them. We have wanted to get together all winter and it finally happened thanks to the men having the holiday off.




Monkey and I have been spending a lot of time outside. He really doesn't care for the feel of the grass so he stays put for the most part on the blanket I lay out and just plays with the few toys I take out with us. Its been nice as I've been able to spend time reading while he's playing. More often than not, I lay on the blanket with him and become "jungle-gym-mommy" as he climbs over me.  We have lots of fun though. It really makes me wish Dowe was home during the afternoon/evening time that we go out though as he loves being outside too and its really relaxing. But I am so thankful for his job and how hard he works for us. 


Also a few little fun things about my Monkey as of lately...
Monkey took his first steps on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :) :) :) (Can you say Excited Mommy?!)
I am mostly excited about when it happened because Dowe was home and was able to see it with me! Monkey is still pretty chicken about letting go and just walking but he is getting more and more brave and doing it more without being coaxed. :)


(*** Disclaimer: I will be talking about our experience with breastfeeding in the next section so if you don't want to know then skip the next paragraph and we'll catch up again real quick at the end. :)   ***)






 Also for those of you who don't know, I have been breastfeeding Monkey for the past year. We had a little bit of a rough start and a bumpy patch in the middle but over all have had a great experience with breastfeeding. I was very determined from the beginning to nourish our baby that way and had a fantastic support system. (I couldn't have done it without the 1000000% support of my husband and both of our families being supportive as well as my mom giving me tips, ideas, and encouragement.) However, our time with breastfeeding is coming to an end. I have always said that I was alright with nursing up till 2 years of age but then that was my cut off point. Monkey has begun to ween himself and I am ok with it. More than anything I wanted to make it past the 6 month mark as I knew how important that was nutritionally for him. Then we went through a really horrible time with baby food back in January and had to go back to strictly just nursing. When we went to reintroduce baby food Monkey refused to eat it. Finally when he got enough teeth in to bite things we started regular foods with him. He is now down to nursing 3-4 times a day. It is slightly sad in a way as this means my baby is growing up but nice and exciting at the same time. It will mean it'll be easier for Dowe and I to go away for our anniversary in a couple of months and I am greatly looking forward to being out of these nursing bras and back into regular ones. (ahhh to feel like a woman! haha) Plus it does mean that it gives me more freedom of being away for more than 2ish hours and not having to worry about getting back at a certain time for the next feeding. I will miss that bonding time to a certain extent but I am also thankful that he is doing this on his own and that I am not forcing him to stop.  My little boy is getting so big! :)










Well I think thats enough of a random update....I probably should get a couple of things done before Dowe gets home (which will be really soon!) Hope you all had a good Wednesday!




TOOTLES! :)

Rough days....blessed heart.

So it has honestly been a rough couple of days here in my home.


Monkey has been unusually fussy and oh so very clingy. I am however so thankful for the time he and I have been able to spend together. The Mei Tai carrier could not have been finished at a more perfect time for us!
I'm not sure if Monkey is just about to hit a major milestone or if we are just in a weird phase right now but he has not been napping and so I have not been able to work. However, instead of getting worked up and frustrated that I haven't been able to work much as of lately I am totally enjoying this time with my baby. 
I still cannot believe he will be a year on the 3rd! We did all of this waiting for him to arrive and then time just FLEW by us!


My thumb is going to be alright. ha... No stitches required. I just took the bandage off to check it and redress it and though it is extremely sore it will be fine. This just happened at an annoying time for me as I'm trying really hard to get things caught up around the house before Monkey's birthday party. We're not having it at our house but I'm sure there will be family/friends who will come over after the party plus I just want and need to have things back in order as well as to be able to continue my chaos cleaning. 


On a more enjoyable note Monkey and I had a WONDERFUL time playing outside today!
We were out there for a few hours together. I laid out a blanket for us, took a small bin of toys out there for him and took a cup of coffee and a book for me. I became a mommy jungle gym and great fun to crawl over, on, up, tickle, and lick for Monkey and did not mind any of it one bit! (ok so not a flattering picture of my son at all...he looks...drunk or something haha)
 

While Monkey was playing I was reading "Self Talk, Soul Talk." This is an AMAZING book that every woman NEEDS to read!!! Seriously....you need to get yourself on over to amazon and buy a copy. (or at least attempt to find one at either your local library or see if a friend has it that you can borrow.) 
(if you click on the picture it will take you right to the listing on Amazon.)
I am actually going to buy myself a copy even though my local library has it and I've been borrowing it to read. I just feel this is one of those books I need to have on my shelf so I can highlight in it, write in it, go back to on those days when my self talk isn't what it should be, as well as let some of those special lovely ladies in my life read too.
    This time spent outside in the quite of our backyard, the sounds of my beautiful son playing and getting to spend some time reading today really blessed my heart and soul. I can not remember the last time I read a book. Especially something that betters my life the way this book is. I talk to myself all the time but most of the time they aren't the kindest of words. Words I wouldn't let others hear me say, things I would not say to someone else, but things I say to myself....to my soul. This is something God has really been working on in my life for quite some time now. I've pretty much always felt that I am never good enough and fail those I love most of the time. But I am learning that God made me who I am and how I am which is perfect in His eyes, I am only human, and I can not always be everything to everyone.
   The women's Sunday School class I was attending started doing Jennifer Rothschild's "Me, Myself, and Lies" just before I started going to the Dave Ramsey Class. I have wanted to do it on my own and keep up so I can go back to the class but I haven't kept up the way I wanted to. However, I am planning to go through the study myself fairly soon. Over the last few months I have really felt God moving in this area of my life. There have been several times at church and at small group about how we need to take our thoughts and minds captive. I need to replace my wrong thinking with things that are True. I need to speak truth to my soul.
How about you? Do you talk to yourself? I bet you do and don't even realize it.
Take notice tomorrow....what things are you saying to yourself? Are you being a cheerleader and speaking truth to your soul or are you being a "Debbie Downer" telling yourself lies, hurtful words, and continually scolding yourself?   Let me know your thoughts on this.






Last but not least......as Promised.... Mei Tai pictures!!!



Daddy will even "wear" Monkey! They BOTH enjoyed the wearing bond they got today :)
Hubby was saying how great its going to be for going to the Fairs this summer! :) Wohoo!!!

Domestic Diva FAIL

Well all in one day I went from being Domestic Diva to Domestic Disaster!!!

Please don't laugh at me too much as I honestly share with you my domestic fiasco with you.

I had planned on getting up on time today (Dowe and I have been sleeping in a little the last few days.)  so that way I could shower, feed Monkey, then go do grocery shopping. I hadn't been shopping in a while and I wanted to know I had time to do everything I needed and wanted to do while I was gone. Well that didn't go so well. I've been having horrible nightmares again and last night was no different. This one was so bad I will not even tell Dowe about it. Blah. 

So instead of getting up I took comfort in my husband's arms. (Thank you sweetie!)

When I finally got up, showered, dressed, fed Monkey, and headed out the door I had less than 2 hours. So I drove across town, got cash from the ATM and made my first stop. Old Navy. 

Dangerous place for me as I use to work there. So its easy to get chatting with the people that still work there that I know as well as the fact that there was a 50% off clearance sale going on! The whole reason I went in there was to exchange a few things of Monkey's that I wanted to get in a bigger size for him. (crossing my fingers that we can get two summers out of these clothes...)

So I did what all I needed to do there without too much of a problem and without taking toooo much time.  Then to Walmart where I needed to get two things for Monkey's birthday aquarium, thread for husband's pants so I can finish hemming them, and shampoo for me. 

I grabbed the stuff for monkey and checked out totally forgetting the other two items...Dowe called me about the thread thankfully and I went back in to get it but still forgot the shampoo. :(  I then went to  get groceries and ran back home. I did pretty good with all of the groceries but I got back home with only around 15 minutes to make lunch, have Dowe eat, and leave for work on time. I planned on making taco salads which wouldn't take any longer than the meat to cook and throw everything together. Dowe worked on unloading the groceries while I started cooking. Monkey desperately wanted mommy so I threw him in the Mei Tai Carrier and away we went executing my plan for lunch. I had the ground beef cooking, Monkey was trying to watch daddy walk in and out of the house unloading groceries, and I was working on cutting up a tomato when *SLICE!!!* I cut my thumb wide open! UGH! I was using a serrated  knife and I wasn't using a cutting board. Then to top it off the juices from the tomato burned inside my cut. Dowe got monkey off my back and dealt with him while I tried to get the bleeding to stop. He then got me all bandaged up and asked if I was going to need stitches (still no real verdict on that but I don't THINK I will need any) and ended up leaving late for work. Blah! 

Then Monkey didn't nap well at all and was fussy pretty much all day long. Thankfully he loves being in the Mei Tai and was happy to be in there more than not today. We walked to the park and played for a while. He's now in bed and I have to go make dinner...oh yeah...another fail on my part tonight...Because of the sliced thumb I didn't have time to make dinner to send with hubby for at work so I'm off to make some dinner now. ugh.... ready for this day to be over with and to just go lay down in bed.

Tootles Blogspot World.

A Few Things I Love....

.....baby feet....


......spring time and getting to play outside.....


.....getting dirty......

....old navy $1 baby flip flops.....

.....walking in my son's room to wake him up for the day and finding him in a little ball in the corner, uncovered, and laying on top of his Tigger that he CANNOT sleep without.....

....my boys.....

...my husband and best friend....this picture from our wedding day....and the source of strength he has been to me over the past 21 months of being married......

....how crazy we were to drive from NY to Arizona when I was 36.5 weeks pregnant.....
...don't worry...I didn't have Monkey somewhere between here and there....we got back and I didn't have him till I was 41.5 weeks pregnant....11 days over due...


.....my family.

Domestic Diva

A few friends of mine have this little mini contest between themselves as to which one is a Domestic Diva. Bek, Biz, Rah, and Rebe who happen to all be related (first three are sisters last one is their cousin) are constantly trying to out Diva each other. I find this little contest a total riot! But today I am a Domestic Diva! I completed my first major sewing project since like 5th grade all on my own! WOHOO!!! Also I hemmed 2.5 of 6 pairs of Dowe's work pants. I ran out of the right color thread so I have to finish that yet but at least he wont get in any kind of trouble for not wearing his work pants now that he has 2 pairs hemmed.



I promised pictures so here they are! I am sorry that I didn't take more as I was working on the project. I will have to upload a picture of Monkey in it a little later.



Fabric Cut and Ready to Sew!



Completed Mei Tai. Outside.



Complete Mei Tai Inside.




Totally loving this already. I wasn't sure how Monkey would do being "worn"as he hasn't fit in the sling my mom made for me in quite some time. However, he did great! He actually really enjoyed himself "dancing" with mommy while I did some dishes. We put on some loud crazy up beat music and I bounced slightly while I washed the dishes and he wiggled around with me :)  Looking to maybe eventually put these up on my Etsy shop as well. :) 
(still unsure as to when my launch date will be but trust me I will let you all know!)