How do I make my blog cute???

I suck at blogger. I avoid posting because I hate the look at my blog. I paid for a blog template, once, that I ended up deleting. I think I may have to do that again just so I like to look at my blog. If I had my own design... I love aqua blue and red. I love ladybugs and flowers. I like lines, but not chevron. Clean looking blogs are perfect. I don't like all the busy, in your face, distractions.... ugh, help me. This coming August, I will be all alone for 9 hours during the week. My number 3 will be entering kindergarten and my number 4 will be heading off to preschool. It is bitter sweet. I have been fantasizing about what I will do with my time. I love the idea of a game plan for my blog. A day to day structure. I am thinking -Monday: Making it with Mike (Vlog) -Tuesday: Total Talker with Zachary -Wednesday: What I wore... to the gym -Thursday: Thankful for crafts with Lily -Friday: Funday!! With Liam I just thought it would be fun to have my kiddos who inspire the blog to be apart of the blog. With the 9 hours I will have during the week, I would like to work on making this blog something special. Besides I would love to be an ambassador for certain companies and there is no way they will want me with a blog that no one looks at... Good luck to me.

Silly bugs

I love when kids get hit with the giggles. That uncontrollable kind, when their faces turn red and their bellies jiggle. We've had that a lot these days mostly due to Zachary. His personality is really showing and he is a bit of a class clown.

This is him trying to escape get thing dressed

And this is him pretending to be a roller coaster,sounds and all.

He's really becoming a little boy and we are all enjoying every minute of it

30!!

This week I will turn 30!! No, I am not asking for birthday wishes nor am I looking for condolences. This week I will reflect in the past 30 years and all I have accomplished. The saying "you are only as old as you feel" really rings true. Some days I can't believe I have a husband, 4 kids and a mortgage, other day I wonder when retirement is and fantasize about the days when I will miss "these days". 

Now to lay it all on the table... When Darren and I got married, I weighed 107 lbs. when I got pregnant with Michael, I weighed 111 lbs. Now, 10 1/2 years and 4 kids later... I weigh 138 lbs. (keep in mind, I am 5'2" and small boned) I realize that many of you will look at these numbers in disgust, for me, I do for an entirely different reason. There will not be another baby in our future, I have finished nursing Zachary and I am anxious to have my body back. Darren and I talk regularly about having a healthier family and what we can do to achieve this. Michael has a mild weight issue that is fueled by "fries chicken". This saddens me since we were so cautious about his food intake as a baby and it now has gone out the window. I feel like someone is always sick and rundown. I know this is because our eating habits (personal hygiene is something I am already very adamant about) Today I vow to change this for my family. 

My personal goal... Next year I will weigh 110 lbs. I am going to take hideous pictures of myself and post them monthly for the blogosphere to see. We will only eat out once a week at a non "fast food" restaurant. We will eat more fruits and veggies and less packaged foods. Juice and soda will be a treat instead of a staple. And we will act as if Hostess never returned. TV and video games will be replaced with family outdoor games. This time next year, my family and myself will be happier and healthier. 

Crazy hair day!!

Our favorite spirit day of the school year!! 

Michael wanted pipe cleaners in his hair too, but lets face it, even with some creativity, there was no way they would stay in his hair. So mike has blue hair. i chased him around the car in the morning to apply it because the second it came out of the can he ran. It was so cold outside and the can was pretty cold too. We could see the steam coming off his head. Our neighbors had fun watching us circle the car laughing. He was the only one in his class with crazy hair aside from his teacher.

Lily got crazy braids in a side pony. Yes it was time consuming and she was a total trooper. We used pipe cleaner to make it twisty and colorful. It was tricky to braid around, but after the first one I got the hang of how my fingers needed to move. Then we twisted the braids around a pencil to make them curly and stick all directions. This picture was taken at the end of the day and most if them had fallen. As we walked up to her class line, all of the moms and kiddos ooo'd and aah'd. One mom said, "uh, Lily wins!" They had a lot of crazy hair, or bed head in her class.

Evening swim

Zachary is crawling everywhere and fast these days. He crawls on tile flooring all day long, so concrete isn't a problem. While the kids were playing in the backyard last night after dinner, Zachary was chasing this giant green ball. When it hopped in the pool, so did he. It had been a nice day and the pool was in the sun long enough that the water was warm. He thoroughly enjoyed himself and we had fun watching him. This also then made the older kids think they might like an evening swim as well. Ahh, summer

What!?

This is awesome! I just found the blogger app! Yes, sad but true I didn't know it existed until now and not for a lack of trying. I thought there had to be an app to be able to post via mobile but each time I searched for "blog" in the App Store it wouldn't come up. Now you are all going to hear too much from me. So get ready cuz this is awesome! 

I started another new blog called "Bitty Bug Crafts" at bittybugcrafts.blogspot.com Yes it is a craft blog. I will put a link to get to it on this site when I am not mobile (squeal!) it may sound dumb, but I love to craft and have been sadly unable to do so for some time. I haven't made it a priority and when I did have the time I didn't have the desire. I don't know what changed, but I am now into over drive. This is all I think about that is all I dream about. I love having this creative side back! It is so therapeutic for me. So I created the blog to showcase all of the things I have and will be doing. Lets face it, if I become a craft blogger and make money doing so, that wouldn't be so bad either. ;) 

For now, just check it out and enjoy. I am going back to bed. ;)

Sugar Rush

This morning as Zachary woke up for his final "feeding", (that's me trying to extend my sleep) we heard a crash from down the hall. Darren started to get up and I said "just sleep, it wasn't breakable." The kids always get up around 6, Michael usually gets up earlier. So if it isn't breakable then it isn't totally worth it. Then about 20 min later Michael and Liam came running in. Liam asked "Me want cake, please?" it was very cute and while I was tempted to just say yes, I asked "is that what crashed?" Michael was very animated as he said "Yes! I wash my hands and my face, see, feel it!" So did he eat the cake, my guess is only a little that Liam said he had to ask mommy first. This is usually how things go. Liam is good at asking mommy first even though he knows mommy might say no and he will cry, it is better than getting in trouble for not asking. I got out of bed then, Zachary was awake and trying to get to the boys anyway, might as well go see the damage.

This is the cake from Lily's birthday last Wednesday.