proud momma...

So, I had this one other picture from the photo shoot the other day that I really loved

Super cute, but I hate that truck!  I was willing to chalk it up to a lesson learned about staging, but then a photographer friend of mine told me about super secret called "cloning tool."  Ok, maybe it was only super secret to me.  SO, I decided to try it out and see what I could do.  Here's what I came up with:

Not too shabby, eh?  I feel so super proud of myself for that.

Also, my house is clean.  Floors mopped and everything(right up until that closed bedroom door)
ALSO, the dishes are done.  Even the pans!
ALSO also, hubs already has clean work clothes and socks for next week.

All of that with a cranky baby!

GO ME!

I do love a good day.

photo shoot!

I took out my Grandpa's film SLR(minolta xd 11) and went for a walk with my boys.  We all had so much fun!  Here are some of my favorites.

trying so hard to escape!

He's not all about sitting still

Isn't he handsome?

ps, I linked this post up to "look what I found Friday" over at vintage revivals.  Here's the camera I used

coupons?

SO, the fad thing to do right now is COUPONING, right?  What I"M wondering, is if all people who embark on the coupon journey end up like this guy.  Will couponing drive me TOTALLY bonkers?  Cause that's what it sounds like is happening to him.  Is it worth it?  Could I save 500 dollars on groceries or is this a big myth?  I don't want to attempt it if it's going to be heinously hard.  I'd love to hear from current couponers and get some tips and see if I need to jump on this bandwagon.

YAY!

I LOVE today!  Shorts, sandals, sunblock, strollers, and SUNSHINE!!  Hopefully sun-tan lines to follow soon.  Took muffin and Hunk swimming and had SO much fun!  Muffin loved it!  So splashy!  He didn't even complain that it was a little chilly since the pool was in the shade. 

On days like this I am amazed that I get to live on this earth.  Heavenly Father is so amazing!  The little things baffle me on days like today.  Like the grass turning from brown, back to green.  The flowers popping their little heads up through ground packed hard from months of freezing snow.  Tiny new leaves on the trees.  HOW does he DO that?! It just reminds me of His Awesome power and his tender mercies.  After the barren dreariness of a long winter, seeing the tulips makes me think of spring as a reminder of what Heaven is like.  A tiny taste of Eden, just for me. 

Mom...

I am the poop-checker.
The nose wiper.
I'm the one who gets snot and spit-up all over myself.
I stick my finger in tiny slobbery mouths to fish out choking hazards.
I change the sheets when pee and blowouts soak through diapers and pajamas.
I get up in the middle of the night and can make bottles in my sleep.
I make weird faces when I try to feed mush to the baby.
I clean the mush out of the babies toes, ears, hair, etc.
GROSS! Why didn't anyone ever tell me THAT part of being a mom?

Because, that's not what being a mom is really about.

It's about finally seeing that face you've been thinking of for months and months.  It's about neck snuggles, first smiles and laughs.  It's about the feeling you get when your baby leans out and reaches for you.  It's about getting to do for HIM all the things my mom did for me.

She taught me how to crack an egg.  I always got to help stir and dump, and I even had my own tiny apron.
She taught me how to make home made bread.
She taught me that you don't have to grow out of being silly and having fun.
She taught me that prayers get answered.
She put diapers on my dollies and pop in my teapot.
She taught me how to whistle.  LOUD.
She taught me that you were only pulling weeds the right way if you're fingers were getting dirty.
She didn't get mad when I pulled things that WEREN"T weeds.
She taught me that the bathroom was not clean if there were still "furries and dusties" on the baseboard behind the toilet(that one took a long time for me)
She taught me that your siblings should be your best friends.
She showed me what it REALLY meant to be a Visiting Teacher.
She taught me that it always turns out ok in the end if you rely on the Lord.

How, oh how, can I measure up?  I want so badly to be a good mom, and I really am trying.  It's a good thing I have the best example ever.  Thanks Mom.

Looks like I'm doin' alright so far!

Brilliance in a box!

Once upon a time, I had a genius idea to make myself a tiny little garden box.  Ya know, try to pretty up my poor white trash yard a little bit.  I thought it was such a great idea that I needed to brag just a little bit, since it was for FREEE!

FIRST, I scavenged a pallet (it wasn't IN the dumpster, just by it)

She's not much to look at, but just look at how BIG it is!  Its a good sized pallet, eh?

Then I went ahead and ripped off the bracing boards on the...top(?)of the pallet.  Cause they were ug of course! And I wanted a box, not a pallet so that was the most obvious course of action.

The box was a little bit shallow, so I took some of the boards I ripped off and used them to make the box deeper.

Then I just crammed some of the same leftover boards on the ends and POOF! D.U.N  done.  Please don't judge me for having a white trash yard...it's the next apartment's junk.

Its just BEGGING for dirt and veggies, don't you think?  Now, all I need is some dirt...