holidays

a happy belated holidays from us! i would have never guessed that we would be this busy while our kids are still so young. the holidays were crazy but i loved every minute of it! we even got snow on christmas eve!

guess what else happened around christmas. 6 days before christmas i got the best present ever, it's called a bachelors degree! i am officially done. in some ways i felt like i was done 3 1/2 years ago but at the same time i felt like i was never really going to complete my degreee. i'm so glad to have it over and done with i know people who are usually in school for 10 years are called dr.s but i say better late then never right?

we were able to sneak out one drizzly afternoon and get some family pictures taken for cards this year. can i just say that i have a VERY talented and very fast photographer friend katherine. when ever we hang out it seems like she'll sneak a shot in of my girls for me and i love it! she captures peyton the way that ian and i see her, i melt everytime i open a pciture of peyton that katherine took. check out her blog jelly-pop.blogspot.com. she's also took all of the 2 little mamma slide show pictures for our site, so lucky to have her huh?

thank you...

thank you to the person i parked by at wal mart. thank you for being so enthusiastic about the upcoming halloween holiday. thank you for giving me something new to talk to my girls about. i always love the opportunity to teach them something new. i have to admit though that my favorite subject is not how bloody body limbs can be hanging out of a tail gate of an s.u.v.


lots of questions and a lot of looks later after we got to walk by twice, we were able drive away with just a little more information stored away in those tiny little memories. mixed in with snuggling, laughing, reading and puzzles is now a memory of a bloody arm hanging from a car to celebrate this upcoming halloween.



lovely

fall

the pumpkins are out at the arboretum which is about the only sign that we have that fall has arrived. we've gone twice in the past week. i love it there. the girls love it there.

the first time we saw our lady, Laura Bush. yes the real Laura Bush. she was riding in a golf cart right next to us. i think she heard us talking about her (how could she not she was well within hearing distance). katherine and i got a big smile and wave. so cool! if i would have brought my camera i would have snapped a photo. crazy to think they live so close by.

11:58

that's what time she was born today 4 years ago. so glad she's mine. wouldn't change a thing about her. i can't believe it's already been 4 years today!

b.f.f.

becoming a mother of 2 was no easy task. i couldn't get out of the house on time; i thought i would never get another full nights sleep when peyton was still waking up during the night at 9 months old. never mind about a peaceful shower without one of them trying to open they door and jump in with me; there was to much crying, to many buckles to do up, and frankly 3 heads of hair to keep up with was more then i had the patience for! and where was i supposed to put the food i needed to buy to feed us all with 2 little ones in the cart when ian wasn't around with an extra pair of hands?




as i speak (type) i have two little girls playing a computer game together. it's really nice.

the adjustment may have been difficult for me but it wasn't for them. the best thing about having my second little girl was that they both instantly feel in love with each other.

i would have guessed that they would have gotten sick of each other by now, or that one of them would have decided that the other really wasn't all that cool, but no. the first thing they want in the morning is each other, the last thing they need before a nap or bed is a kiss and and an, "i love you" before they get tucked in. sure they have their moments but it only lasts a second before it's off to another hug, kiss and "i'm sorry, i love you" and then off to play again.

the other day they went to the backyard to pick some, "spinach" afterwards they hung out on the swing and admired their findings. so typical.

moving on

i guess we're moving on. we officially have no babies left in our house, only toddlers.

we have no crib up.

we no longer purchase diapers or have any, "back up" diapers in our house, not even for the night.

we no longer use sippy cups.

we don't need the burp cloths in the hall closet.

the crib bumper and crib skirt are in the attic.

i've been slowly going weeding out the baby toys to put away.

we are not washing either of our girls with baby soap or baby shampoo.

i don't have to put my kids in their car seats anymore, all i have to do is open the door for peyton.

i really like these changes!



peyton turned 2 just over a month ago and it feels like she hasn't only made so many changes so fast but that she also looks so much older.

she and i made a quick trip to utah for a few days to see some friends before we to start buying her airline tickets. i knew before i got there that we needed to do something with her mullet. i was pretty nervous she would just end up looking like a boy but it turned out the exact opposite. I LOVE IT! so does she, no more pig tails every day.

we also knew the time was coming to pierce her ears; she had been asking for about 6 months. on her birthday we took her to get earrings, and she shows them to every adult that comes over to our house.

this is what else she's into right now.
*having her toes and nails painted.
*she refuses to wear anything but dresses.
*all colors are called pink.
*one of her favorite things to do is draw with chalk, either on her chalk board or on the sidewalk.
*she is always singing.
*if we are at the store, in our house, or in the car she wants to dance, preferably with riley.
*if she could suck her thumb and pinch my elbow all day she would.
*she takes 3 hour naps.
*every time ian walks through the door she runs straight to him for a big hug.
*if riley is gone she walks around and repeats "where's riley at?"
*her least favorite thing to eat is chicken.
*she loves to, "call" any and all grandparents on the phone.



with all of the progress she is making no matter what i do i can't seem to get this permanent crusty look off of her face. i wonder where she got it from.

always thinking

riley decided a while ago that she is going to marry her friend jack jack when she grows up. all bedtime stories must end what a couple getting married in the temple and having kids, "just like me and jack jack mom".

riley and i quietly sat by each other while she was eating crackers and out of the blue she said...... "mom when i'm a grown up you and dad will sleep in your bed, peyton will sleep in her bed, but where will jack jack and i sleep? oh i know mom jack jack and i will sleep right next to you guys in your bed."

"so are you going to have your bed right next to ours ri?"

"no mom we can't because my bed doesn't have 2 big pillows like your bed, it only has one, so my kid will sleep in my bed and jack jack and i will just sleep right by you guys"

that's one crowded master bedroom isn't it? why doesn't she want to take the guest room?

she wants to be called sarah but her name is peyton

i'm head over heals for this little girl! so snuggly, always telling us she loves us, always ready to give a kiss to anyone who's around, so quick to say sorry when she knows she's done something wrong.

as much as she is sweet she has the, "spunky" personality to match it!

one thing peyton does 100% of the time is keep me on my toes and completely worn out by the time she goes down for the night.

i wouldn't change a thing about her!

for rachel

rachel (smith, but not smith for much longer) emailed me today and told me to update my blog with some pic's of the girls. sometimes i feel like that's all i talk about but i'll gladly take this opportunity to do it again.

the other day ian was at church (as usual) and i was getting peyton's lotion on and dressed after the bath while riley was dressing herself. i had my back to her and i heard in an annoyed tone, "mom i look like a freak". as i turned around i said "what?" and then i saw her, and she kinda did! i made her stay that way until i got the picture. we giggled about it for a while then of course the girls wanted to take pictures so we did. (i guess i still need to work on getting the shirt over the head with her).

*by the way i don't know who taught her the phrase, "i look like a freak" oops!*

my little rock stars

my girls love to sing and dance. yes my girls also love Pink right now. i may even sing a long and dance with them time to time. what can i say it's catchy!

i just happened to have my camera in my purse while they were doing their routine the other day. nothing like a family trip to wal-mart to get you in the mood to rock out right?

oh yeah baby!

and we're off! after months of talking, working, thinking, wondering, stressing, and spending the money to make it happen http://www.2littlemammas.com/ is up! we didn't realize it was actually working until yesterday. we still have some adjustments to make like showing a few more buttons for products we haven't gotten the pictures captured for yet (tu tu's, birthday sash, and caRe seat), but we're rolling with it anyway. why you may wonder do you need to have your site up. i'll tell you. 2 little mammas was picked to be featured in the july issue of, "Pregnancy and Newborn" magazine! both the baby bundle and let's do lunch bag, on 2 different pages! so we needed to have a site to put in the issue of where our products could be purchased.

so excited for the opportunities we've been given, so far!

i have also been asked to post pictures of riley's bed that i did last week. remember when i said that i really wanted a headboard for her bed? well i got a whole bed not just the headboard, i was wanting one with 4 small posts but wasn't having any luck. the day after blogging about it i found it, and it was exactly what i was looking for. you know the absolute best part? it was free off of craigslist! can you believe it? all i had to pay for was the gas to get there and a new roller for the paint brush. we had some left over paints in the garage i was able to mix myself for the perfect color and ta da! i love it, and so does she!

lame, that's what my blog has been. done, with my last math class and second spanish class. busy that's what i was until a couple of weeks ago. one, it's how many semesters i have left to be completely done with school. tan, that's what i wish i was! committed, that's what i will be to my blog. froogle, it's a fun game for me. creative, it's what i've tried to be lately. in shape, another something i've tried to work on. patient, something i need to start being. tired, it's how i feel. rich, something i don't aspire to be. far, it's how i feel when i think of keri and sarah and shannyn. grateful, for two beautiful girls and one amazing husband. laugh, something i've been cravting, you know one of those stomach ache, tired cheeks, watery eyes ones! headboard, something i'm dying to find for riley's room. excited, it's what i am bout 2littlemammas. me in a nutshell as of late.

now that we're all caught up, we had some plain ikea chairs upstairs next to our purple couch that we wanted to tie together. this is what i came up with. super fun and cost about 50 cents for each chair. riley has one too the exact same but her name is in orange up top.

and all that wisdom

last time we were at the park by our house ri met a little boy named jaden. we went back tonight and he was out playing again. ri recognized him and ran over to talk. every time he passed by on his little bike ri asked where he was going. his older brother (maybe 7 years old) passed by with him once.

ri- hey jaden where are you going?
jaden's brother- jaden i think that little girl has a crush on you.

jaden didn't answer and kept riding so riley came back.

me-riley what did jaden's brother say?
ri-nothing.
me-ri he said that you like jaden, that you think he's cute.
ri-mom he doesn't know anything about girls.

just like her dad

riley defiantly gets her honesty from her father. last week she was in the bathroom watching me get ready for the day like she does everyday. the radio was one and it had a commercial saying that an infertility dr. would be at a hospital in dallas doing a free seminar.

riley: mom they said baby mom! mom did you hear that they said baby! mom your stomach in HUGE and ROUND are you going to have a baby?

(let me just say that she has been telling us lately that we need to have 13 kids in our family and that she doesn't mind sharing or helping take care of them all. i say yeah right i'm sure she really wouldn't mind sharing or helping but 13 come on! 2 is more then enough for this family right now.)

me: ri really mommy has a HUGE ROUND tummy? doesn't it look just like yours and peytons?

riley: no mom i said its really BIG and ROUND, do you have a baby in there?

and on go the running shoes.

all i really want...

to do is make sit down and make clips and headbands forever. i just can't get enough of them latley and i really feel like they have imporved over time, i know that may sound lame, but it's still so new and fun for me to create something of my own! what i've been doing most recently.

have i mentioned

that i'm head over heals in love with this man? i'm still amazed at how fast i fell for him. is he perfect? no, but he continues to amaze me.

i love him because the girls can't get enough of him. i love him because yesterday when i didn't feel well and we were supposed to be working on a house project together he told me to go inside and rest. i love him because he woke up with a sick child last night so i could sleep. i love him because he asked if i wanted him to take time off of work to be at the girls dental check ups next week. i love him because he tells me he loves me more then once every day. i love that when i make up silly rules like we have to tell eachother why we love eachother every night before bed he actually does it, what a man.

i was so scared when i realized how i felt for him. it was worth the risk.

oh and can i mention his good looks?

since when?

since when does my little toddler not look much like a toddler anymore? since when does riley know all about white meat and women's under garments? it's all happening so fast!


last week while i was getting dressed. riley walked right up to me and inspected the bra i was putting on.

ri: mom i like the dots on your overalls, they're so cute.

i just want to make it clear that it wasn't overalls she was talking about. i don't wear overalls.

HILARIOUS!!!!

on v-day when i was gone ALL day ian took the girls out from some fine dinning at wendy's.

ian: riley what do you want to eat?
ri: um i want chicken mcnuggets with all white meat.

sometimes...

i wonder sometimes if i really am going to miss cleaning off this little face every time i turn around, especially when my hands are cracked and bleeding from washing so many little fingers and cheeks all day every day.

even if i'm not loving all of the messy body parts i am completely head over heals in love with her brown eyes, the perfect shape, the perfect shade, with so much expression, i'm constantly sucked into staring at them.

it's been 18 months but i still can't believe my boy and i ended up with a small, blond haired, brown eyed baby, not so baby anymore.

rudolph?

a typical lunch with my 3 year old

i've been wondering lately if there is going to be riley's and peyton's around every corner when ours starts school. so i thought about trying on their middle names for size see what ri would say.

ME: riley do you want us to call you riley or jade?

RI: like jaden my friend? is jaden a boys or a girls name?

ME: jaden is a boys name but jade is a girls name, so what one do you like?

RI: so jade is a girls name?

ME: yes listen jaden has an n at the end but jade does not. so do you like riley or jade? what one do you want us to call you?

RI: jade.

ME: you like jade better, you want us to call you jade from now on?

RI: yep.

ME: okay well what about peyte should we call her peyton or sarah?

RI: (without even taking a breath) sarah.

ME: so you want us to call you jade and you think we should call peyton sarah?

Ri: uh hu and you know what mom? i think we should call you rudolph the red nosed reindeer.


what?

one happy little 3 year old

it's a daily struggle to get riley out of her p.j.'s. i'm not kidding.

me-"ri time to get dressed, let's go upstairs."
ri-"no mom i don't want. to can't i just stay in my pajamas all day?"
"no"
"why not mom?"
"you're not sick and people don't do that"
"but i do, i want to. let's watch movies and stay in our pajamas all day."

she's just like her dad.

this has been going on for months now. everyday for months. last week both girls ended up the beginnings of a cold. i let them lie around in their pajamas and watch a movie then changed them to get out for a while.

while we were out things weren't as fun as we had hoped for so we went home. when ri refused to take a nap so i gave in. yes i gave in.

i pulled her out of bed at 3:00 p.m. turned the bath on and put her in. i did the same with peyton when she woke up. i am happy to report at 5:00 when my husband pulled up to the house all 3 of us were in our pajamas with dinner on the table. ian was pleased as punch and immediately joined us in his p.j.s for dinner.

after dinner we relaxed as a family playing duck duck goose, reading, and playing a board game.

i'll have to admit that even though i had to change peyton's pajamas after dinner i was way more patient and less rushed at 3 and 4 in the afternoon then i am at 7. i think i'll do it again sometime.




in memory of our evening together here is riley modeling her favorite toy and cute little dog p.j.'s. nothing and i mean nothing was taking that smile off of her face.

christmas texas style

i know this is really really late but i couldn't not post about Christmas. very hectic and filled with excitement? of course! why so exciting you wonder? because we live in texas and things are done a little different. how are they done different? Christmas parades that start off at 30 degrees and end up at 70. short sleeved shirts on Christmas day, and last but not least the coolest Christmas lights i've ever seen on a house. well at least the most extravagant, just wait you'll see.

back to the Christmas parade, well our town has one. the forney home town Christmas started off with the parade then had a pie eating contest where they gave away a huge plasma t.v.. it also included free face painting, jump houses, a, "train" ride, petting zoo, pony rides, pictures with santa, bounce houses and did i mention all free! i couldn't believe it! with all of this free and exciting things you must be dying to know what mine and ian's favorite part was, well hold on because it's good. it was the parade! why the parade you ask? what does every small town parade have? CANDY and how likes candy? WE DO! and what kind of candy is our favorite? the kind that is thrown to you from (and i'm not kidding) the round up cowboy church. yep there is such a thing and do you know how they give out their candy? oh i'll tell you first they start collecting old toilet paper rolls in july i'm guessing. next they go out and purchase rolls and rolls of wrapping paper and string. probably some time around Christmas they go buy the candy to pass out for the parade. to put it all to the best use they put the candy in the old toilet paper rolls and wrap it with holiday paper tie it with string attaching their card to it of course then through it out. AMAZING! first ian and i thought it might be a bible rolled up in there but boy were we wrong actual candy. we had to take a picture for proof.


TA DA!




the other cool thing was when i was out doing visits with relief society we saw this house that was very well lit up. i took my family back on Christmas eve and then found out what the house was really capable of. i just have to mention before you see the video that there were signs in the yard warning against high voltage. so here's how it worked. you stay in your car and watch the santa that is some how projected into the front window who's walking around looking at everyone until the fun begins. every have of an hour you tune your radio in your car to a certain station and this is what happens the house lights up to the music. also free i should add.



and let the count down to the next holiday season begin!