12,13,14, and 15.

Ok i have one picture that sums up this week :



With that said, here are my pics from the week. Tuesday's class got canceled so i decided to take the kids on a run. I've been using my double jogger alot more lately, and at first is was SO hard to run pushing the both of them! It has gotten a little easier this week and today was the first day i didnt feel like dying at the end of my 3 miles.

Day 12



I'm happy to say that Noah's behavior has improved over the past week. No more poop episodes, so now we're learning how to not yell........ALL DAY. My head hurts by the time he goes to bed because he talks SO loud, and pretty much constantly. And then when he gets mad it's full blown screaming for a good 10 minutes. Here is Noah's gem jar that i made him. He gets a gem everytime i see him doing something good. He reacts VERY well to positive reinforcments o this has worked! Since he is so young i colored some tape at the half way mark so that way he could get a little prize (animal crackers) when he reached it. I learned about the gem jar from this cool gal (HERE).

Day 13



Belle received some new diapers in the mail this week. They are OH SO soft and look so cute on her! I ordered them from a great Mama (HERE).

Day 14



And to end the week i thought this picture was fitting. Or at least her bib is :)

Day 15



This weekend we are going to finish the patio. We have had lots of rain and storms so it was put on hold, but we're almost done. So hopefully i will have a final patio post to share soon! And then i've started on our master bath and hope to at least get it painted this up coming week :)

Day 10 & 11

Day 10 fell on Easter, and because i dont want to seem like i love one of my kids over another i will post 2 pics :) I REALLY wanted to get a good pic of them together but between Noah streaking all day and Belle lifting her dress, it just didnt happen.

Day 10 my pretty lil belle in her first Easter dress :)

The Easter bunny sure was good to my handsome dude!



This is what i found tonight when i got home from school. Both kids tucked in bed and my man sitting out, enjoying a cigar and reading. i love him so much and all that he does for our family. He is the BEST dad in the world and takes such good care of the kids. Not just the kids but me too. I'm always the first in bed and last out of bed because he's picking up and tucking the kids in, or getting them up and fed. He knows how stressful my last year of school has become, and i honestly dont think i could have done it without his help.


Day 11

Day 7, 8, and 9 oh my!

So i think what works best for me in this 365 day project is to do a few days at a time. I DO take these pics on the right days, i just dont upload them that day. It's hard enough for me to find time to sit down, much less find my camera cord, camera, and then upload one pic to post. Things have been rather hard here lately. I wont go into much detail, maybe soon i will have the courage to write about my recent battles, but right now let's just say they have been hard. Things should start looking up soon and i'm looking forward to a small break before Summer semester starts. I still cant believe it will be my very last summer semester in the undergraduate program. i can do this, i can do this, i can do this!! I have tell myself this everyday! Well here are my pics for today and the last 2 days. Tomorrow is easter. Belle's very first easter. That makes me a little teary eyed to think about. She is getting SO big SO fast and sometimes i wish i could just freeze time.

Day 7. This is Belle at her Orthopedic appointment for one of her hips. Her pediatrician thought something might be wrong with it at her 4 month appt so they sent us to a specialist. They did x-rays and after an intensive check up they found that her hips are 100% A-OK! Despite everything Belle kept her usual, to.die.for. smile and everyone loved her!


Here is my Day 8 picture. It is of the kids finished Easter baskets. I tend to go a little overboard and i LOOVEEE holidays with kids. That's the best part about having kids, you get to relive holidays like you're a kid. I wanted to do mostly handmade and all natural things for their baskets. I also didnt want to put too much candy in Noah's because we all know his Mimi in California sent him a nothing but candy basket :) I have included a few links at the bottom to some of the items i bought for their baskets.



Belle's basket liner i specially ordered from (HERE). It was about 75% cheaper than the potter barn kids one i got Noah last year.

Belle's doll and Noah's dino i ordered from a dear friend. I LOOOVEE all her things :) (HERE)

Belle's sensory clutch ball is from (HERE)

And Noah's wooden bunny puzzle is from (HERE)

I also made my own letter crayons in Noah's name. I cant wait for them to get their easter baskets tomorrow!!! :)

And here is my Day 9 picture from today. Mine and Noah's dyed easter eggs :)

Day 5 & 6

So i've given up trying to catch up each night from the one day i missed so i will post my day 5 picture now and day 6 picture from this morning! I need to accept that by the time the kids go to bed at night i cant peel myself off the couch to even upload a pic.

Motherhod has been a journey that i did not know would be so hard. It started out rather simple and easy with Noah. He was SUCH a good baby. I really had NO problems with him whatsoever. George and i immediately wanted another and i guess fell into the trap that most parents fall into thinking our 2nd one would be a breeze and 2 would be no different than one. Boy were we wrong. I'm not saying Belle has been difficult, because she really is a good baby herself. She is just SO different than Noah and we had NO idea that the "terrible 2's" would get SO MUCH WORSE as Noah get's closer to 3. It has been SUCH a challenge for me personally having 2. I know school has alot to do with it too, but i think some people just dont understand how much work really goes into having kids. i know there are different circumstances for everyone. For one, George and i dont live near family. We dont have anyone to come take the kids when we've had a hard day to give us a small break. We also arent the type to just throw both our kids in daycare to make things easier on ourselves. We like spending time with them and want the best for them even if that means we're sleep deprived and havent talked to eachother for days. The fact of the matter is, with one you can still go to the gym, or go out to eat, or go shopping. It's reasonable. But with 2 it's just plain crazy. Getting out of the house takes me AT LEAST 2 hours to prepare. Because by the time i've fed and gotten both changed and dressed to go, one is hungry again and the other has to be changed. It's a never ending story. I hate to complain, it's just where i am right now. I love both my kids to death but i think George and i have FINALLY reached our threshold and agree that there wont be anymore kids in our future. We want to keep our marriage alive and spend quality time with the kids we have now.

As this semester winds down for me i find myself having more time to do more with Noah. I cant help but think of all the fun things i could do with Noah if i wasnt in school. And sometimes i kill myself trying to do it all becasue i have guilt that i am in school and dont get to do as much as i would like to with Noah. But I am almost done and George reminds me everyday that next year at this time i will be graduating! Yesterday one of my best friends invited Noah and I to a playdate at Monkey Joe's. As hard as it was to get the kids out of the house, it was SO nice to see Noah have so much fun. Here is my Day 5 picture from our playdate yesterday :)

There's nothing like friends :)



When we got home yesterday Noah and i had a falling out. He has been OBSESSED with his poo to be completely honest with you and decided to paint almost every item in his room with it. This has been going on for about 2 weeks now, every.single.day. I hit rock bottom yesterday when i was forced to throw out half of Noah's book collection, some of his furniture, and alot of toys due to poop. I really dont know what to do anymore and that's what drives me the most crazy. I have a few ideas that some of my moms friends gave me, so i'm hoping it works. Trust me i've tried just about everything.

This morning i woke up and thought, today is a brand new day! No need to still be upset from the day before. So i came up with a great idea to make Noah and I some rainbow pancakes. Here is my Day 6 picture from this morning. They were DELISH!

Blessed

I've been SO blessed to be a part of a great group of girls. We all met online, and alot of people probably wouldnt understand our story but it doesnt matter because we all do. We would all love to meet one day with our babies and that desire became a reality when one of the girls came up with a good idea to write the Ellen show about our story. Here is the letter my friend came up with. It brought tears to my eyes and although i've never met any of them, i could not be more thankful for their friendship.


Dear Ellen Show Peeps!,

First and Foremost I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I will start off by telling you about an amazing group of women that I am a part of. It all started in early 2010 when we all found out we were all expecting babies in November 2010 by “peein on a stick”, A group of crunchy, cloth diapering, organic, and crafty preggo mommies found themselves searching for people to talk to, there started our “Nov 2010 Due Date Club” on diaperswappers.com. Throughout our pregnancies, we shared stories of our daily life, we supported the struggles with marriage and weightloss, the lives of our other children, crafting and recipe ideas, our exciting news on our pregnancies, the birth (and stillbirth) of our babies, and have now linked with each other on Facebook to continue our journey as our babies grow and as we grow as mothers.

It has been an amazing journey. I have come to meet some amazing women. Each and every one of us brings a different story to the table. We range from from ultra liberal tattooed agnostics to conservative Christians, and Canadians to American Crazies. But all of us are women who have been through so much, who can help one another, who do not judge one another’s lifestyles or choices, who laugh with one another, who cry with one another, and who would one day like to meet one another. These women have become my friends, if even through a computer screen, our words have traveled far and straight through to eachothers hearts.

One of our most heartbreaking moments was that of our dear friend Krystal, who is also my sister. While all of us were experiencing the joyous moments of our Childs births, she was experiencing the tragic loss of a full term stillbirth. It has affected all of us greatly. Some can relate, because they themselves had suffered that same tragic loss, but others have never experienced that, and it has brought us that much closer.

We do lots of amazing things for one another as well. One mother experienced a den of skunks destroying her house and items in it; we rallied together and sent her toys and diapers for her children. Another mother’s cloth diapers were destroyed in her dryer (melted) so we sent her new ones! We do crafty toy swaps, and send each other random gifts out of the kindness of our hearts. We are doing a mother’s day swap and sending each other gifts for that. We will eventually be sending each other gifts for our children’s 1st birthday!!

Its so fun to be able to share the stories of our babies all growing up together. We get to share the milestones that our babies are achieving, we talk and laugh about the funny silly things they do, we share pictures of how they are growing, we give eachother advice about cloth diapering, breast feeding, and even when our babies are up at 3am, we have someone to talk to!
Daily, we talk and learn more about each other. We talk of one day meeting with our babies as well. It would be so neat to meet these women face to face and be able to hug them, cry with them, laugh with them.. And to be honest.. we need to have some cocktails together!! I think it would be so neat for the world to see how we met on a message board and how social media is turning a new circle on meeting moms with common interests. I can tell these women anything, and know that they will be there with advice and help me in any situation.

I hope this story brings new light on how people meet and maintain friendships by using the social network!
Sincerely,
Korin Bourdo and the November DDC!!

Day 4

I know i am late again posting Day 4, which was suppose to be yesterday, but school is literally sucking the life out of me. Anyhoo, the kids and i have a fun day planned today since my class got canceled tonight. I'm excited to use my new camera because Noah has a playdate with one of his friends! Although i didn't upload and post my Day 4 yesterday, i did take a pic. Here is my Day 4 pic. It is one of my first vintage pieces. Everyone knows i'm a sucker for the Goodwill, but i am also a sucker for true vintage items. I got this dress a few weeks ago, and just by looking at the tag alone you know it was made long before my time. It fits like a glove and i just LOVE it! Had to snap a pic before i left to class yesterday. So here i am.....DAY 4!



Here, you can see the dress better without my sweater :)

Day 3

I know, i know it's only day 3 and i'm already about 12 hours late. I'll post another later for Day 4 but here is my Day 3 picture i took yesterday. I found that i hold Belle alot more than i held Noah. Partly because she whines a little more and likes to hang with mom, and partly because i miss having a little baby. Noah grew up so fast and has ALWAYS been so independent, it's nice having a little one cling to you so much. So i found my hands full while trying to carry the laundry downstairs and i came up with a good idea :)

*Day 2*

I will be the first to say it, I've ALWAYS wanted a little boy. Little boys are SO curious and so carefree. They never care about what people are saying, what they're wearing, how they look ect. In a nutshell, they are alot like myself: a freespirit. Noah's personality is so much like mine it's scary. Although he has George's hot temper and stubborness (ok maybe he gets that from me too), he likes to run barefoot and always has a smile on his face. Day 2 of my 365 project is of my little boy. My son who will always hold my heart in his hands. I love this picture, and i know in 364 days my eyes will tear up looking at this because another year will have gone by and he will be that much older.

Commitment

So one of my goals was to blog more this year. What better, than to take on the challenge of 365. Basically that means, take a picture everyday for 365 days. I thought about this for the past 2 days. Wondering if this was a commitment i could take and actually do. And then i thought about how much my life has changed in the last year. And how much it is going to change a year from now. That's when i decided to take the commitment. So here i will post, a picture a day for the next year. Bear with me, i'm sure i will call in sick here and there but overall, you will see my life enfold over the next year. Here's to the next 365 days.

*Day 1*

The dreaded ISL. 21 pages of pure hell. How i did it with 2 kids i will not know.

PLayroom update

So i have had many ideas for our playroom/loft. One of the biggest is that if i make it vibrant enough maybe Noah will actually play in it? Who am i kidding, right? Ayways, we had been SO focused on getting Noah's big boy room together and the nursery together for Belle that the playroom kind of took the back-burner. That and our room. But i'm saving that for when i get around to actually doing something to our room haha. Anyways, i knew of a few things i wanted to get for the playroom, 2 of the biggest we have yet to get (an entertainment center and tv) BUT it is heading in the right direction. I've been drooling over this dark teal color for awhile, and although i didnt want to paint the entire playroom i did want to add some pop of color. So while my dad and George worked on our patio i decided to.....PAINT! Yes, i'm always pretty random like that. I also had this GREAT wooden shelf i scored at the Goodwill when i was pregnant with belle and really wanted to hang it on that giant open wall above the futon. I have some dreams of bunting that might make an appearance, but for now the shelf lives. Of course my color coordinator, George, is the one who chose the orange, BUT dont forget about me. I chose the teal :) Here is a before and a after. I will update as soon as we either a. get some curtains, or b. get a tv that wasnt made in the 80's. Don't hold your breath.

BEFORE



AFTER

Spring time weather calls for a picnic!

Since i've been on spring break i've been diving into SO many different things that have been on hold the whole year. My life is SO consumed by school right now since i only have one year left, so my time with the kids is very valuable. This week the weather has been SO nice and i thought what better than to have a picnic in our own backyard with my 2 most favorite people :)

My thumb might be green

So when we moved in George RANDOMLY said he wanted to do a veggie garden out back. I grew up with my mom gardening and my dear neighbor Mary, so you would think that i would be ALL about it........WRONG-O! The thought of having to take care of, yet ANOTHER thing makes me tired just thinking about it. How in the world do you design a garden, what do you put in it, what do you feed flowers besides water? It was just too much for me. So our backyard remained the same.....until one little potted plant. I bought this beautiful potted inside plant at Lowes last year, mostly because i LOVED the pot! I put it inside, watered it here and there and it lived! Having something green and alive in my house has never made me happier. So this year i have been playing with the idea of starting a garden out back. Nothing too serious, Lord knows i hate roses and practically every other kind of flower besides wild flowers because they are just that, wild and LOW maintenance.

I have these cute little pots that sit on my window sill and they have been sitting empty ALL winter long. I finally decided to throw some cilantro seeds in one to see what would happen. Well lo and behold not only did they grow, but they outgrew the pot! I moved them to a bigger pot and they survived. I decided to venture off more and took the plunge. I bought a hibiscus tree, a strawberry plant, and a tomato plant. I figured if i can take care of them here in my home then maybe they can make the move outside in our imaginary garden we have yet to start. I hate to admit it, but i'm starting not to want them to move out. Everyday walking into my kitchen with all these things blooming brightens my day and lifts my mood! I think when the plants move out i might need to buy some more of my friendly potted plants. Here are some snapshots of my lil lovelies :)

My perdy hibiscus tree. We are thinking of planting this next to our patio where we want to do a big flower bed.

My tomato plant. No plans for this guy quite yet. I guess he'll go in the veggie garden that George is still planning lol



Not the best picture, but my window sill with my cilantro, basil, and parsely. My basil and parsley have gotten bigger since i took this too!



And my home wouldnt feel complete without some fresh flowers on my island. These are from my parents for my birthday. Love them!



Not pictured is my cute potted plant in my living room HMPF! I must get a pic soon! And my strawberry plant, which is in a hanging pot and hanging outside our front door. I'm thinking i might have to venture into other parts of our home. Maybe an inside plant in the playroom, or mine and George's bathroom :) Kinda like this :

Another year

Well another year has flown by and i cant help but be nostalgic looking back at the past few years. It hit me last night when i asked george if he could believe that he's been with me since i was 19 and here i am turning 25. i never would have thought in a million years that i would be where i am today, but i am in a much better place than i could have ever imagined! I feel like i've just started living since having my children. We're finally in a home where i can exercise my creativity and do projects i always dreamed of doing. i'm finishing up school which is something i never thought i would do when i was in the service. i have AMAZING friends and family around me, and this year just feels really good. I may be a little more blunt, but its because the older i get, i know what i want and can careless what people think about me. I'm too old and busy for petty things so i choose to surround myself with family and friends that are the same way. And they have really shaped me into who i am today. i feel so blessed and i pray that i continue doing what God wants me to do so that i never fall short of his glory or blessings.

With all that said, i have been DYING for a new camera for about 2 years now! I have been wanting a nice camera since Noah was born. I take SO many pictures, and i wanted one that i could think outside of the box a little and be creative. Well two years later and George finally got me one for my birthday! I got this Nikon D3100 and i absolutely LOVE it!!!! I was really torn on whether or not to get the canon rebel but i am SO glad i got this one. It is SO easy to use and just amazing all around :) Here are some pictures i took with it on my birthday and i cant wait to take some more of the kids and the house as i continue on my projects. Speaking of, on my bday i decided i need to go thrifting because nothing makes me happier. Well i got some double trouble that i will be re-doing and CANT wait to take some pics when they're done!

I woke up to this wonderful breakfast waiting for me. In case you didn't know, my husband makes the BEST biscuits and gravy :)

My beautiful boy on my bday watching cartoons

Me and gorgeous girl with her messy hair. Just woke up from a nap.

One of the best gifts i have ever gotten. Lil Beauty Belle.


Sigh, i love our backyard in the spring.

Delicious cake hubby ordered me with gorgeous flowers from my sweet parents.

YUM-O!

We had such a nice relaxing evening at home eating din together. With our busy schedules it had been awhile since we did that. This is the Baked Penne with Chicken and sun-dried tomatos i made. Here is the recipe ;)