Wow, it's been SO "LONG!"

I can't believe it has been since the middle of October since I have blogged! :(  So sorry about that friends and family!  I tell myself each day, "I should blog about this .... or that ..." but never get the time to sit down to do so!

Here is what I have been working on the past few days .... you probably have seen the idea on Pinterest!  Gotta love me some Pinterest!  Although, I have been working on my Pinterest addiction and haven't been on for at least a month!  I know ... gasp now ...

My sis made one of these for Hannah, so I thought Sophia probably should have one too!  We split the felt so it cost both of us probably less than $5-7 to make this!

The ornaments are all hand made (many of the ideas were Sarah's ... gotta give her credit, I just copied!) and they come off and on the tree!  I can't wait till she wakes up to find it on the wall and has a chance to play with it!!

Thanks PINTEREST!

Since I haven't blogged in 2 months, here are the months in pictures ...

Trip to the Children's Museum in early November.  Jax had a blast playing in the sand!

Somehow I don't think a Harley is in her future!

Jax is NOT OK being in the passengers seat!

Tea anyone?

Digger + Princess = Hum?  

Fun picture from Eagle Creek while Nate and I had Jackson for the weekend!  We went for a nice long run!

Halloween 2012: The tale of a dog and his Princess!

My little pumpkins!

Sophia's Preschool Picture!  She is growing up so quickly!!

Hannah-banana the LadyBug, Cinderella Sophia, and Woof Jackson!

What a warm evening ... well, for the most part!

We ran into "Belle" in the neighborhood!  Sophia's friend Maddy!

Sugar-high or slap-happy ... you pick!

Every dog needs a good bath!

The LOOT ... no, she didn't get to eat it all ... she got about 1/16 of it over the month,
the rest either went in my mouth or the trash!

I promise to stick with it .... blogging is my way of journaling, but somehow I am running out of time!

Easter Memories

It seems like the month of April has just flown by!  I can not believe it is already the 17th!!  Whew!!

Sophia and I had a blast coloring eggs!  I used a recipe on from Pinterest for my hard-boiled eggs and I won’t do it any other way in the future!  Thank you Alton Brown!  As you see in the picture, place all the eggs on the racks in a preheated oven at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.  Transfer them immediately into a cold water bath.  The eggs were perfect and took absolutely NO effort on my part!  I also learned that 6 eggs was PLENTY for a 3 year old, plus it only cost me $0.80!  I bought the kit last year on clearance for $0.50!  A very cheap, yet fun activity for Sophia and I to do during Jackson’s nap time!

We had a busy Easter weekend this year!  Saturday morning we had a great time at the Easter Egg Hunt at a park near our house!  Sophia was much more into it this year compared to last year!  It is amazing the difference 1 year makes in a little kids life!  We celebrate Resurrection Sunday at church bright and early, came home for Jackson’s nap, then headed down to the g-wood to visit my parents!  We had a WONDERFUL meal, the kids too awesome naps, and we finished with another Easter Egg Hunt in Mimi and Papi’s yard!  Sophia was a little bummed the eggs were empty, but still enjoyed finding them all over the yard.  Next year Hannah is going to give Sophia a run for her money!  I am excited to see how Jackson does next year as well! :)  My cousin Lori and her husband Chuck also joined us and we had a great time reconnecting with them!

Two of my FAVORITE people!!

Hannah and Sophia at Mimi and Papi's!

Cousin Lori!

Time to eat!

This past weekend we were able to celebrate my sister's 29th birthday!  I keep teasing her she has to enjoy this last year in her 20's before the big 3-0!!  We had a WONDERFUL meal thanks to my mom's awesome cooking as well as a Dairy Queen ice cream cake!  Sarah always requests one every year!!

Mimi and her girls!

Papi and Jackson!!  

A few pictures for you ...

I know I haven't been blogging much!  Honestly, the January weather leaves little to be desired plus I have been a busy busy woman since Thanksgiving!  

A few things keeping me busy ...

My one and only favorite sister is PREGO and due in 5 weeks!  Yipee!  Sophia is really excited to meet Baby Hannah!!  Here is a good pic of sis and I at Christmas!!!  She of course is way fashionable as a prego-girl!!  I never was that fashionable!!

I also just threw sissy a baby shower a few weeks ago so that took lots of my time and planning!!

 MamaD101 (aka my mom) and I at Christmas .... she had an amazingly tasty spread at Christmas and even worked 12 hours the night before delivering babies at the hospital!  (She is an OB nurse!)

Trying to find things to do with this little one who is always full of energy!!! :)  We just had her birthday party a few weeks ago!  Can't believe she is already two!!

Riding on her friend Isaiah's horse! 

All sleepy on the way home from Dayton for the Long family Christmas!

Honestly, I haven't had the camera out for the past few weeks thus minimal pictures!  Without good pictures, sometimes I lack the motivation to blog!!!

Hopefully you can understand!  I promise ... more blogs to come over the next month, but Jan might be a little slow!!!  

School = Sadness

Now that I have been primarily staying home with Sophia for the past 19 months, I have seen two school years come and go. Each August I think will be easier than the last on me, but alas, I still grieve and mourn all the teachers going back to school! Why you may ask ... well, b/c I lose some of my closest friends (and sister) to their "day jobs." No longer can I call up so-and-so and meet them at the park or pool! It means the end to our summer bible study at church where Sophia gets to play with all their kids and make good friends! It means the outdoor pools will be closing until NEXT MAY! It means minimal social outings until after 4pm! Worst of all, it means Aunt Sarah can't come over at any time or any day to hang out with us (or give this mama a much-needed break!) So, as "this summer of ten draws to an end", I reflect and continue to be very thankful for the fun summer memories with all my teacher friends, while I anxiously await next May!!

Allyson