My little happiness

This girl just makes me smile...

She's cheezy...She's giggly...

And she's also got an attitude. Hmmm...wonder who she gets that from?

Hope she will make you smile today too!

THIRTY...hitting hard

Here I am, 29 years ago. And today...same crooked teeth (that I typically don't point out). Same thin blonde hair that I don't even bother to put a barrett in. Same chub on the arms...but don't have an excuse but laziness for that. Really today is just overall depressing for me. I could really try and suck it up and be the happy go lucky person I use to be. I could try and pretend that the thought of turning 30 didn't hit me like a ton of bricks about 5:00 yesterday. I think I just have way too much going on in my life right now to be able to mentally take turning 30 as something that is easy to do. I don't even think the 30 is what the problem is obviously, but of course you start to take a look at your life and everything turns into this big pivotol moment in your life and mine is not where I really want it to be.

Somewhere in the midst of momyhood, I have lost that central piece of myself that is able to just relax and have a good time. Not saying that this doesn't happen every now and then...but how can you still carry all the responsibility that goes along with parenthood and still be able to maintain the balance of your life that makes everything work?

The to-do list this week is so overwhelming I am thinking maybe if I ignore it, it will just magically go away. I am struggling. How do you keep everything going including yourself and still try and find time for anything fun, let alone just time to think. I feel like I have created too much structure and therefore cannot relax enough to enjoy the day to day without knowing exactly how that day is going to actually fall. Some days I feel organized and content and other days I feel like throwing my hands in the air and locking myself in the bedroom...except for the fact that my 3 1/2 year old would take full advantage of my absense and my 1 1/2 year old would probably just stand at the door and cry.

Soooo, I will do what most moms probably do everyday. I will take a deep breathe, try to capture those precious moments that happen in the little things we or our children do, I will try to be the best mommy that I can be, I will accomplish those items around the house that stare at me and seem to scream out at times, I will make some crucial work phone calls when I get a few moments of silence and then maybe...possibly...somewhere...in the midst of the day I can take another deep breathe and realize how truly blessed I am.

The Up Close and Personal Series by LSH...

This is an abstract photo collection from THE best 3 year old photographer I know. Keep your hands and arms inside the Biplane.

Show a wheel dude.

Ready for take off.

Ohhh...

Peek a boo...I see you.

Throwback Thursday...One Year Ago

One Year minus 2 days ago...wow, what a difference.

I think Lilly has now grown into those cheeks!
And Lucas and daddy used to have short hair!
Still a couple of cuties though, what a difference a year can make...too bad I still look the same. Time for a sassy short hair cut don't you think?

Our Hero

I seem to be late in blogging, but hope everyone had a good Father's Day weekend!

We celebrated our Amazing Hero with a simple day at home in the sun.

Lucas ADORES his daddy.And can you tell who has who wrapped around their finger?
I just wanted to say what an amazing father Tim is. Every reason I fell in love with him is the reason he is such an incredible dad. He loves to do anything and everything with them and is a huge help when he is home. He works very hard to provide for us and we are truly thankful that we have been blessed with such a Super Hero.

The Zoo

Headed out to the zoo with some friends on Thursday! It was a hot one but the kids had a great time...I think they actually did more chasing of eachother than looking at animals, but whatever wears them out, right?

These were the monkeys at the zoo.
Hmmm...do you think they didn't want their picture taken?

Amy and Sydney who treated us to our zoo day! Thanks!!

Tambi the 7,200lb. elephant saying hello!

And we got an extra special treat to get our picture taken with Tambi b/c we have secret in's with the elephant keeper! Thanks Nikki!! Gotta love the zoo.

Back to Life...Back to Reality

Well, if the lyrics don't pop up in your head once you read the title...well you are just too young. I got back yesterday from Neocon and it is definitely back to reality pretty quickly. I woke up this morning at 4:50am to Lucas calling out, "Mom! Can we go outside to play yet?" I was really hoping maybe he was dreaming and wasn't truly wide awake but I heard him talking quietly to himself for about the next 1/2 hour before he decided he was truly ready to start his day...I was not. The kids were pretty cute when I pulled in the drive, Lilly was REALLY excited to see me and was full of hugs. Thanks to Tim's mom for coming down and helping out! It is really nice when you are away and don't have to worry about your kids being well taken care of!

This is the one and only picture I got this year. We were down a few good women, but had a great time seeing all the new product and catching up with the industry.

I also think I caught up with my waist line, I did eat alot of good food in the midst of 52 hours, but seriously I think I left 5 pounds skinnier...really need to get on that diet/work-out plan asap. Why is it so much easier said than done?

My painters...

Both of our kids LOVE to paint. But it can get messy...
Brush painting turns into finger/hand/body painting. But it all washes off so straight to the tub we go. I think Lilly is going to be an artist. She also does this often with food such as applesauce, oatmeal, and yogurt. We try to let the creativity flow...but usually end it when it is starting to cover her head.

Throwback Thursday...Hotties

Next week I am headed up to NeoCon again. It is an Interior Design Trade Show at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. Lots of great new product to see, amazing showrooms to walk, and restaurants to be wined and dined at by our favorite reps!

This is "the girls" two years ago. I also went out with these girls + 3 last night to see Sex in the City. I had never watched the show before due to lack of cable but I would have to say the movie was very good. If you laugh and cry it has to be good right? Have you seen any good movies lately?

Yummmm!

First corn on the cob outside on the deck! Yummm!

I guess you only need those front 8 in order to eat corn on the cob!
This is about the only vegetable Lucas eats (without a fight)...guess we need to fix corn on the cob at least once a week this summer!! Have you had your corn fix yet?

Years ago...

Found some old pics of us and thought I would share now that I have a scanner!

Here is Tim when he was little, what a cutie!! Can you see the curls under the hat? Need to get Lucas into something fun this summer...should probably get in on that now!

Here is me about Lilly's age...And I wonder where Lilly gets her chapstick fetish? She LOVES to rub chapstick all over her face...(and has even gotten ahold of Tim's deoderant). Nice! Hasn't gotten into any lipstick yet but I am sure that isn't too far away!

So, do you think our kids look like us?