Friday Rewind.

HELLO!!!!! Well another school week has come and gone. I cannot believe how fast the days and weeks go by. It seriously feels like the first day of school was just yesterday. The kids are getting so big and growing up so fast. Bentley is talking like crazy these days and repeats EVERYTHING! He is so smart and picks up on things so quickly. 

Easton is improving so much with his speech. He still has lots of work to do before Kindergarten. I am just hoping his whining stops SOON. 

And Cameron picked up a Ready Freddy book yesterday and started reading it. He has issues with not trying {the reason he has just started going to reading club after school} he doesn't realize all he has to do is try a little and he can do anything. Little things like this make me a happy and a proud Mom. And makes me want to freeze time. 

So for the past couple of weeks or so we have really been trying to make the kids eat what we eat for dinner. Usually I end up making food for them {which is usually 2 or 3 different things} then cook dinner for Ryan and I. Everyone keeps saying that eventually they will eat it if they are hungry. Well so far it hasn't gone very well and almost every night the kids {Cameron} end up in tears. They are the pickiest eaters ever!!! They won't even try anything new or different. Cameron was gagging up a potato that was cooked with the pot roast. Things they should like they do not. As toddlers they were not this picky and did eat what we eat and now I think them pushing the food away is rubbing off on Bentley because he is starting to do the same. There has been lots of nights I know they had to be starving...oh well...we will keep trying.

So last week I got a wild idea and decided to sign up with Thirty-One gifts. One of our "Midwest" friends was hosting an event and I was talking to Ryan about how I really wanted a couple of these bags that I've had my eye on for while. So I contacted her and we chatted about things and crazy me I signed up! Click here to check it out and see what products they have to offer. It's a direct sells company that offers totes, thermals, purses & accessories in a variety of prints that can personalized to make it uniquely yours. I finally received my enrollment kit today!!! A big pink box was waiting for me when I got home today. This Sunday Cynthia is hosting a party via Facebook. Since she lives out of town a facebook party is perfect for her:) She told me she would be happy to help me kick off my new business adventure {seriously love her so much, we would do anything for each other} I am hoping it goes well and Cynthia gets lots and lots of freebies and awesome deals. 

The kids love their whip sticks from Dutch Bros. coffee, Bentley now even asks for them every time we drive by and Easton will whine every time we drive by and don't stop. The employees there are awesome! Always happy and upbeat and have spoiled the boys with the whip sticks:)

Last Sunday was not a good football day in our house as the Packers LOST to the Seahawks in the last 5 minutes of the game. Always sucks when your team loses and especially like that. So on Tuesday we got our new Beckettstrong shirts in the mail. Cynthia's husband Joe makes all kinds of shirts to help show support for Beckett. He is going to make us Disneyland Beckettstrong shirts for our trip next month...so excited about that!!!  I couldn't help myself and had to post this picture of Ryan......

I hope everyone has a great weekend. We are headed to Monster Jam on Sunday. The kids are super excited and this is Bentley's first time. It's going to to be so much FUN!!!

Make it Monday.

Today's Make it Monday comes from several different samples I have seen and I finally found a website in the US that sells these little mini calendars, Taylored Expressions. I have been wanting to make these little calendars for forever now. When I finally found the mini calendars I ordered them right away. I am hoping to get a few different designs made up and give my AWESOME customers. I only have a handful of customers and appreciate them so much so I thought a little desktop calendar would be a nice little something extra for them. 

The template I used for the calendar I got from Diane Barnes, a fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrator. I think the calendars she used are just a tad bit smaller than the ones I have. Mine didn't exactly turn out how I had pictured {nothing ever comes out how I picture it}. The flower I wanted to use was way too big for the area I had to work with. So this is what I came up with. They are very easy and simple to make so I can make up several in no time. I think the next one I will try using the owl punch:)

Bentley was shining one of his little finger lights on this one and he thought that was sooo funny since I was trying to take a picture.

Here are the items I used: 

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Make it Monday.

So yesterday I had my monthly card class {second Sunday of the month} and that's where today's Make it Monday comes from,  we made it in class yesterday. But before we get into the card details I have to thank My wonderful husband for getting the kids out of the house. Usually he takes Cameron and Easton to a movie and Bentley goes to my Grandma's to hang out BUT yesterday the Packers were playing and of course they had the early game and most of you know Ryan is a Packers fan. Well he took all the boys over to Nino's {this is what the boys call her} to watch the game. My Grandma was looking forward to them coming over plus she had a new remote she wanted Ryan to program. She goes through remotes like crazy, don't ask me how her remotes just stop working. THANK YOU THANK YOU TO MY WONDERFUL SUPPORTIVE HUSBAND!!!! 

For this card I used the new in-colors and a stamp set from the Sale-A-Bration catalog. Oh and the new super cute bow builder punch....love it!!!! For the background of this card I used sponge daubers to make the polka dots. I wasn't too thrilled with the new in-colors at first but the more I use them all together I am loving them. 

Remember Sale-A-Bration goes until March 31. For every $50 in product you spend you get to choose a FREE item from an exclusive catalog. Click here to take a look at the online store.

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Friday Rewind.

Well we all had a great first week back to school after the little break.  Back to running around but also back to normal....speech, doctors appointment, and parent meetings. Easton had a good week.  No tantrums when I dropped him...thank goodness!!!!

On Sunday we took the Jeep out for a test drive at Prairie City, an Off-Highway Vehicular Recreation Park. Lots of dirt tracks for motorbikes and quads. They have some 4x4 obstacle things set up as well. Nothing like what we see when we are out on the trail but enough for Ryan to test out the Jeep and get a feel for it. Since this Jeep is bigger than the old one it's a lot harder and so much different trying to maneuver it over the rocks.  The kids had a blast and Ryan had a great time finally getting the Jeep out on some rocks. 

Cameron had his first basketball practice and game this week. We were thinking about signing him up but then I found out his friend from school had already signed up so at the last minute we decided to sign him up and he was able to get on the same team as his friend. We thought he would enjoy it more and would be more willing to try it. And it turns out there are a couple other kids on the team that are 2nd graders at his school. 
They had their first game tonight after only one practice. And it went surprisingly well but still very entertaining.  Ryan was really impressed on how well all the kids did. Most of the kids have never played before but they all caught on pretty quick. Cameron was very into it and looked like he was really enjoying it. 

Make it Monday.

Today school is back in!!!! WHOOHOOOO!!!! Although as I try and type this it doesn't sound like they were in school at all. It's very loud, noisy, and crazy.....still, after all day at school....ugh!
Pretty soon Bentley will be in bed and the boys will play Sorry for a few short minutes before bed. I am counting down the minutes. In about 15 minutes at 7:00 {yes he goes to sleep early....no nap=early bedtime} that little booger butt Bentley will be laying his cute little snot nose face on his little pillow pet for bed.

Today's Make it Monday wasn't what I had originally planned on sharing. I noticed that I never shared anything using the love stamp from Seasonally Scattered. So I used a couple of new products that will be available starting tomorrow and an old one that will no longer be available after today. 

Here are the items I used to make this card: 

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Friday Rewind {on Saturday}.

So last night I was laying in bed and I couldn't fall asleep. I had already turned off the TV and was just laying there in the dark and I was just thinking of everything and then I realized it was FRIDAY! With the kids being out of school and Ryan's off days all messed up because of the holidays I am all screwed up. Then I realized I didn't do a Friday Rewind post. By that time it was too late to get started plus I was tired just couldn't fall asleep. 

These last 2 weeks with the kids being off of school has been SOOOOOO LONG! Yesterday we did make it out of the house to run some errands before we had to go to my nephews birthday in the late afternoon. And taking the crazies out to run errands made it so clear why I have barely left the house with them since they have been out of school. THEY ARE CRAZY!!!!

Cameron and Easton both had dental appointments earlier in the week and both did so good. Easton had to be held down but whatever that's normal. But Cameron did so good I was proud. And what a relief all is good in their mouths. Cameron doesn't have any new cavities and he only needs to get one taken care of because the other couple he has haven't gotten any bigger and have had no change....so that was so nice to hear. 

The kids got so much crap for Christmas. Lots and lots of new stuff to play with. But I would say the one thing they have been playing the met when we let them are the Kindles Santa brought them. They are going to get a rude awakening when school starts because they will not be allowed to play on them as much. And it's going to be the end of the world. They are so obsessed with the game Minecraft. The one cool thing they figured out is how to enter eachother's world. So they can play and build crap together. This game is getting more and more popular, I really don't see what the big deal is but whatever. I am just glad Christmas and birthdays are with over for now. 

                                           

Some sad news to report.....the day after Christmas our family cat Homer passed away.

We noticed something had happened to him and he wasn't himself and could barely walk. Ryan took him to the vet and they said that cats his age don't really respond well to treatment and if they do at first more than likely a week or so later he will be right back to how he was. So we decided it was time to put him down:( Animals are just like us in the that they can get sick without any symptoms or notice. He was fine on Christmas Eve and slept with Easton all night then on Christmas we were pretty much gone all day and got home late and the kiddos went straight to bed so we didn't notice him until the next morning. 

It's hard trying to explain to the kids. Easton had really gotten attached to him over the past 6-9 months. Homer would sleep with him every night and the nights he didn't fall asleep with him he would jump at the door handle in the middle of the night to be let in. He was such a good cat. He loved to be loved and loved to snuggle with you. I know the kids really miss him.  

We got Homer when we lived in Dubuque, Iowa where Ryan was going to college. He was the runt of the litter weighing just 1.4 pounds, tiny little dude but he grew up to be the fattest cat.