2012 is going to be amazing!

So we are coming close to the end of 2011, and I couldn't be happier. Although 2011 was MUCH better than 2010, 2012 is going to be the best by far. I now have a new prespective on life. My family is complete, and we can start a new chapter in our lives. I read a quote on Pinterest that says "You cannot start a new chapter in your life if you keep re-reading the last one." So true!

I have so many things planned for the new year and for a new me. Along with the bucket list I made for myself to complete as life goes on, I have made one specifically for 2012. If you haven't made your bucket list, I suggest you start one. Its a great motivator!

I cannot wait for the new year to start. So many people say that they are going to change this or that, or do this or that in the new year, but hardly any of them actually do it. Well, I refuse to be a statistic. Since the things on my bucket list are goals and not resolutions, they are attainable.

Starting in the new year, I will start a new blog. I haven't decided on a nifty name yet, but it will document my crafts. I am going to do 52 crafts (one each week) and then blog about how easy or difficult they were and include pictures. Be on the lookout! I am also thinking about doing a blog about my weight loss and training for the marathon...haven't completely decided on that yet. I think that it would help me loose the weight because I couldn't leave my readers hanging right! :)

I really appreciate those that read this blog, and I hope that you will continue to follow this and my other blogs in the new year. I also hope that I have inspired you (or will in the future) to make changes for yourself. Just remember that if you are going to make a change, do it for yourself and NOT for anyone else. If someone wants you to change anything, they dont really love you for you.

Parenting

Ok I don't claim to be the best parent in the world. I admit that I have made many mistakes as a parent, and I know that I will make more along the way.

Some parents amaze me though...

Today I took Trent and Dylan to McDonald's for lunch. We don't sit in the play area while we eat, because a nearly 3 year old WILL NOT eat if there is a slide present...oh and I dont think that kids need to eat in the play place...gross. Anyway, after we were done eating, I let Trent go play. Yes, he took his shoes off, but he had socks on. So there was this little boy that was playing, he had to have just turned two. First, he was playing with a ketchup packet that was not from McD's. Imagine if hed actually got it open...then I saw him paying with a straw! In the play area! That is so dangerous people! Luckily he didnt fall or get pushed down...

Then there was another lady. She had three kids, none of which had a jacket on by the way, but SHE had on a jacket. One of her kids was walking around in short tights and a t-shirt...IT WAS 50 DEGREES OUT! Come on lady! And then they wonder why their kids get sick...

Ok one more...

McD's recently renovated the play area. They added in a stage coach seating area which includes bar type seating. There was a little boy crawling all over the bar! Its not a far drop, but he still could have gotten hurt if he fell...

I think that some parents leave their common sense at home when they leave the house...

And they were probably thinking "Gosh that lady can't even dress her kid right..." (Trent was wearing two different socks, that he picked out and put on himself...HA!)

Its got me thinking...

So Ive been on Pinterest for a few weeks and i look at these neat things that people come up with, and its got me thinking "Now why didn't I think of that?!" Some people are simply genius! I mean taking old pallets and making them into a bed or an entertainment center? Making several mason jars into a chandelier? Seriously? When I looked at a pallet, all I would see was a bunch of old wood with nails in it and mason jars were for canning right? Boy I was so wrong...

So as you know my huby and I have decided that we are going to build our dream house out of old shipping containers...so following those lines, I have also decided that a lot of our household decor will also be made of recycled items (I believe its called upcyling).

So Ive already mentioned the pallets and mason jars, but what about an old metal rake? How about making it into a wine glass rack? Genius!

Have some old tires or cinder blocks? Make them into a garden! Genius!

What about those metal vegetable cans? Ever think to spray paint them and nail them to a wall for storage? Genius!

Milk cartons made into a leftover container? Wine bottles made into vases or candle holders? Genius!

If you haven't looked at Pinterest yet,  highly suggest you do. It will bring out the crafter inside you! Even if your not crafty, there are some really useful tips and tricks on there as well. Today I found a blogger who rolled her grocery store bags so that they can be pulled out of a Lysol cleaning wipe can...SERIOUSLY! I've been storing mine all wrong! I rolled my bags, but instead of putting them in the lysol can, I put mine in a baby wipe box...same idea, and still genius! I've also decided that I will decorate the wipe box so that others know that there are bags in there, not wipes.

The other day, I stole some of my hubby's shirts and made t-shirt vests out of them!

This website has really got me thinking about tons of things that I want to make for my future home, my boys, myself, and others. There are already a few things that I have found that will be gifts for my family.

The website isn't all crafty things though...you can pin pictures of places you want to travel, things that you want, things that are funny, and tons of other stuff. Its really a good way to express yourself through the internet! Need some ideas for family pictures that aren't traditional? Need some wedding ideas? Want a new look? ITS ALL ON THERE! Its like a million websites all rolled into one. Oh and did I mention that you can add to the craziness of pinterest? Yes. If you find a picture of whatever on the internet somewhere, you just download this little "pin it" link onto your favorites bar, and you can pin things to your board and also onto the website for others to see. Super cool!

So anyway, the point of this blog is that after being on pinterest and seeing the genius ideas that people come up with, I often think to myself "why didnt I think of that?!"

My dream house

So the hubby and I were talking, and we have decided that instead of paying for a mortgage for years, were going to build a house...out of old shipping containers. I know, I know. It sounds crazy, but they are actually pretty cool. Basically you only use them for the skeleton of the house (the outside) and then you cut out the insides to make the house...

Trust me I was not on board at first either. he showed me a few pictures of houses that had been built from these shipping containers, and I have to admit, they look pretty cool. You can do whatever you want to them, and its so much cheaper than building a house from scratch. Did I mention that they will withstand just about any kind of storm mother nature can throw at you?

So its been decided...were going to get 4 of these shipping containers and build our dream home...once we find land of course. We've already decided on a layout and I've started picking out some things that I would like to have in my house.

Now we just need to decide where we are going to find land and start saving our money!

Words to live by

So thanks to Pinterest.com I found some very encouraging words to live by. Some a cute, some are sweet, and some are just funny! P.S. if you haven't checked out pinterest.com I suggest you look at it, unless you have something better to do... :)

"Everything will be alright. Maybe not today, but eventually."

"Be so happy that when others look at you, they become happy too!"

"When I get sad, I stop being sad and be AWESOME instead."

"Rudeness is the weak persons imitation of strength."

"Follow your hear, but take your brain with you."

" The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These person's have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen." -Elizabeth Kubler Ros

"If you spent less time bitching about your life, you'd possibly enjoy it more."

"It's not a hangover. It's wine flu."

"Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day."

"When people walk away from you...let them go...Your destiny is never tied down to anyone who leaves you, and it doesn't mean they are bad people. It just means that their part in your story is over."

"Life is too short to stress yourself with people who don't deserve to be an issue in your life."

"Do what you feel in heart is right-for you'll be criticized anyway."-Eleanor Roosevelt

"While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about."

"Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." (YEA RIGHT!!!)

"Enjoy the little things in life...for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things."

"Nothing is impossible. The word itself says 'I'm Possible'." -Audrey Hepburn

"Don't marry a man unless you would be proud to have a son exactly like him."

"I am who I am. Your approval is not needed."

"I loved you yesterday. I love you still. I always have...I always will."

"Haters don't really hate you. They hate themselves cause you're a reflection of what they wish to be."

"In 3 words I can sum up everything I know about life: it goes on." -Robert Frost

"We are all a little weird and lifes a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join together in mutual weirdness and call it love." Dr. Seuss

"A clean house is the sign of a broken computer."

"Todays modern woman: clean house, healthy dinner on the table (at dinnertime), fit, trim and well-groomed. works full time, laundry done and put away, great sex life. Pick any two."

Today's adventure...

Well today was an adventure for sure.

Before Trent was born, I would wonder how I would do things with a baby. How would things  be different? Could I still do what I needed/wanted to do with a baby?

After a few months of having Trent, I figured it out. Grocery shopping got easier, running errands was fairly simple. I figured out how to open doors for myself even with the carseat and diaper bag. I could even feed him and do other things...I thought I was supermom!

One kid is easy.

When I got pregnant with Dylan, I often wondered how much things were going to change. Trent could walk and talk and help me out...another baby would be easy...right?

I thought "pssh if I can do it with one, I can do it with two!" Boy was I mistaken...

Onto my adventure today...

Dylan had a doc appt for his two month shots. Of course Trent wanted to touch this, wash his hands in the sink, play on the doctors chair, climb on the exam table...pretty much drive me crazy. Dylan got his shots, and of course flipped out. So in the midst of consoling a crying infant, I had to put trents shoes back on, put on his jacket, and put everything back into the diaper bag that Trent so graciously pulled out.

Then we went to lunch...Dylan is sleeping at this point, but Trent doesnt want to eat. So we leave.

Onto HEB...oh man. I thought maybe it would be easier if I carried Dylan in the front carrier thing that straps on and put Trent in the basket. Although I didnt have to chase Trent, Dylan was sooo fussy. Dylan is not a fussy baby, at all. I know it was because of the shots, so I tried not to get frustrated...

This is where people start to annoy me. They see a mother struggling to push a basket with one hand, one kid trying to escape from the basket, and an infant crying, and all they can do is smile and say "oh what cute kids"...errrr! yes they are cute, but quit stopping me because I just want to go home!! Oh and HEB didnt have the milk I needed...they were all out...now I'm a tad irritated.

So I finish getting what I need and my basket is overflowing. We get in line and I'm trying to put the groceries on the counter while Trent keeps standing up trying to get the divider thing to play with it like a train. Naturally, Dylan has fallen asleep now. Im trying to get all my coupons together, Trent is crying for some buddy bucks, and the lady from the next register keeps blabbing on and on about her granddaughter who just turned two months and is getting shots soon....blah blah blah. Im hot because I still have my jacket on, Dylan has woken up and is crying again, and the girl bagging up my groceries didnt even offer to help me out. Fine. I will do it myself! She probably doesnt have kids...

I get both boys in the car, all the groceries in the car, get in my seat, turn on the car, put on my seatbelt and realize that I forgot formula...errr.

Onto to walmart we go! I had to get milk anyway. Walmart was a little better, except Trent decided to use the wrapping paper tube as a megaphone for his "firetruck" siren...oh and he hit a few people with it...errr!

We were finally on our way home...

On the way home I finally had a chance to breathe and realize that I kinda feel like Im getting sick...great.

We are finally home, the groceries are put away, Dylan is sleeping comfortably, Trent is playing nicely with his cars, and I still feel like im getting sick. I need a nap! :)

Sorry if I seemed to just rattle on, but I needed to vent just a little.

A tiny dilemma

So as you know, Josh and I have been discussing moving back to San Antonio. I am so torn with this idea…

To move or not to move? I have decided to use this post as a pro and con list for moving and staying…

Pros to moving:

Be closer to family

Be able to have mommy/daddy dates

No 5 hour drive

Have a house on land

Get Charlie (our dog) back once we get a house

Cons:

Have to pack up AGAIN!

Truck rental and other moving expenses

Possibility of not finding a house

Cannot bring back the past…nothing will be the same

So now onto the pros and cons of staying…

Pros:

Be on our own…no one to answer to

Kids will go to a very good school

Love the annual celebrations in Midlothian

Chance to establish ourselves in a new town

New, possibility better opportunities

Cons:

Family is far away

LONG 5 hour drive to San Antonio

May not be able to afford a house

Unless we find a house, Charlie has to stay in SA

So there they are…the pros and cons. Even after writing this I am still torn, but I think I am leaning more toward staying…at least for another year. I think that we (me, Josh, Trent, and Dylan) need to grow as a family together, before we move back to San Antonio. Also, I think that it would be MUCH easier to move with two kids that can walk rather than with an infant…