My inspiration(s)

I have to say that I love my family. My little dudes are seriously the reason for waking in the morning. I really don't get to spend enough time with them because I work all day long, but they more than make up for that fact by being extra cute and silly when I get home.

I am using this picture of myself for my 365 because I think that it represents the steps I am going to take this year to better myself. I want to get healthy, I want to look better, I want to learn things, and I want to get a better job in the same place.

These two pictures of my boys together are so darn awesome. Of course I couldn't pick just one.

This picture of Eli is so spot on. He is ever the clown, and when he put the hat on Josh and I both said, "wait Eli, let me get a picture".

Noah loves to ride his mommy's legs like a carnival ride. This picture is super cute of him doing just that.

Ugh

So today has been a very gray day. Not even a snowy gray day, just blah. Rainy. Melting. Boring.


Today we got our replacement heat element for our oven. I had intended to buy the replacement part in town, but they marked it up nearly 70 percent. So online is where our hard earned money went. And it got here only one day later than the quote for the townie. I dislike being cheated, as I am sure anyone would tell ya. So after that long intro, here is Josh fixing our broken oven. It broke on Christmas day. We found out as we where roasting our prime rib for dinner. Luckily Santa brought me a new convection oven, and it rocks!!!
In the midst of moving and cleaning behind the stove, the bouncy ball was located. I learned this as I got home from work. So here is a picture of Eli showing me the find
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Here is myself and Noah first thing this morning. I was trying to get a picture of the two of us cause we were eating our breakfast together. This one was just hilarious! While I don't see any improvement in my photography due to the project, there are some awesome pictures that have come out, even if they are only judged on content.

Photos for today

Here are todays pictures.



Daddy is preparing a lovely dinner. It will be spicy beef tostados. Yum!


I just love it when my boys are loving each other. Usually Eli is knocking Noah down, but I captured the moment, and it is miraculously loving.
And finally we have a weekend's worth of cooking. Chicken stock for weeks. Thumbs up fo sho!

I am thankful....

I know, it isn't thanksgiving any more. I guess on that particular day I wasn't in a thankful mood for several reasons.



Today was kinda boring at work, and my mind tends to wander when I am not fully engaged in a task. Usually I am thinking about what I want, be it a new kitchen toy or a new book. Today was different. My family is kinda struggling right now with some money problems stemming from a lack of receiving the entitlements we deserve as veterans.



This post isn't about that though. I am thankful that in spite of having less than adequate funds, we are still able to eat well because of our skills as a family to make food from scratch. I am thankful that I have an area in my backyard that I can use to grow some of our food this coming growing season. I am thankful that I have learned the skills to preserve the food we can grow. And I am thankful that I have a husband that is more than willing to try new things and indulge his wife when she wants to try dehydrating food or learn how to can something. I am also thankful that I have a husband that is willing to chip in and prepare food, and always great food, or do the dishes. Thanks Josh, I appreciate you more than you know.


I also am thankful that I have a family to come home to at night. My little dudes really rock my world. I am thankful that I have a job to go to in during the day. While it sucks having to go to work, it would suck so much more if I wasn't able to go to work. I am thankful that I have a sister that will bring my darling niece and nephew to visit. (that is a hint sis) I am thankful that I have so much family that live nearby, and I can visit them and then go home. There really is so much to be thankful for, and even though I might be having a bad day, or a hard couple of months, I am going to focus my efforts on these things while I work on what to do next.

End of the weekend...

Sundays seem very low key to me. The weekend isn't new anymore, tomorrow is a work day, so Sundays don't hold high expectations in my house. Usually...

Today was a productive day around here. Yesterday was a great start to a total house cleaning weekend. With all the recycling gone, all the extra appliances and toys donated to the church store, yesterday set us up for a great Sunday. We got lots of laundry done and folded, washed sheets, made and canned chicken stock, made muffins and maintained the new toy organization act. Eli even pitched in by vacuuming his own room and emptying the little trash cans around the house.

This first picture is of mommy and Noah at grandma's house early this morning. He is so cute! If you ask him for kisses, or mooches, he will give them to you. Daddy got a picture to prove it!

This shot is of Eli just being Eli. He is sometimes willing to play along for a good shot like this one, and sometimes he is just too busy or too silly to want to pose.

This picture was another one of us all together. I kinda like this one, all except that I think I look fat here, as usual.
This is my favorite for the day. Noah wasn't into being in yet another picture but Eli is adorable. Even the mommy figure looks presentable.
I am really excited to continue on this photo project. It is nice to have so many more pictures already, only 3 days into the project!

Day two....

Today has been an interesting day. As is always the case, the boys and I went out to my grandma's house for the morning visit. Noah is always very "rambunctious" there. I think it is because her house is much more horizontal, making for longer runways. Our house is very vertical so he has learned to climb very well here.

Yesterday, when I decided to really do the 365 project, I was thinking that it would be very nice to have pictures of everyone for each day in addition to my own self portraits that I would post. This hasn't really been finalized in my mind, for example, do I take individual pictures of each child or will a sort of group photo suffice. I have decided that I like the group photos as much as just individual photos, and so if the 3 boys are in a photo together then I am happy to consider my personal obligation met. Here is today's photo of my boys. Josh likes to wrestle with the boys daily, and I got a picture of them in action. It is so funny to watch. Even little Noah gets in on the action, usually helping out this brother in the tag team beat dad effort.
This is my picture. I was cooking dinner here (eggs and potatos) and used that is inspiration for this shot. I am thinking that I need to fiddle with my camera before tomorrow's shots so I can get better or at least different pictures.

New Year

So, today marks the beginning of a new year. Traditionally people make resolutions, and so I am going to do just that. This year I would like to document the growth of my children with photos. I want to hopefully document myself shrinking as well with photos. I want to see a picture of my family every day this year. And so on that note, here is the first photos from my 365 project.

See, really excited to start this! And no double chin! Awesome.

We are all very excited! Yay! Go us!
In this picture, Eli had just lost his very first cribbage match. He was super sad, crying real tears. I like how this picture is not in focus, how Eli is really fuzzy.


This is one of Noah's favorite positions right now, laying on the floor, looking around. And I love how this photo has little dude on Grandma's retro carpet!

I certainly hope this year will be the beginning of new, healthy choices regarding my own personal health. I hope this year finds me a little more motivated. I hope this year is documented, and not just more wasted time. My beautiful children are growing every second, and I don't want to find myself wondering what they looked like in the future. This will be a good year.......