Random-ness

My cake pops/balls turned out awesome.  I think their are 2 left, but I am going to try to not eat them.  Today I am going to *try* to start dieting. I gained a little weight because my thyroid was out of wack again, and i lost a little of it when I got it back under control, but Im still not where I would like to be.   I want to be skinny again! But, we'll see.

Today their is a cold frost outside so I trying to think of things to take the little guy to do that is out side.  Havent figured it out yet, other than the park.  Maybe just going to the Town Center and walking around.  Not sure.

Corbin has had an attitude the past couple of days and it is driving me loco!  He thinks he can get away with murder when his dad is around, and i am losing my mind.  Clynt tells me that he doesnt want to have to be the bad guy because he wants Corbin to like him and he only gets to see him a couple hours a day.  Boo!!  So we are trying to work on a happy medium.

hmmm... seems like I had some else to say, but I don't remember what it was.   Hopefully I'll blog a little more later.

Priorities

Today was a good day.  We went to Hobby Lobby and bought some goodies for crafts with Corbin and for my cake pops (yum!).  Then we went to Barnes and Noble where it is all too common for me to spend a fortune.  Corbin loves to read and I LOVE reading to him.  It is a blast.  So we go get some books for Corbin and one for the little boy that had a birthday party today.  So that leads us to our next activity, going to a birthday party.  It was such a cute birthday party with a Sesame Street theme, and the whole thing was super cute and Corbs had a blast.  Since I told you yesterday how much Corbin loves Elmo, you could only imagine how much he loved this party, and especially his Elmo cupcake!  yum!

Then we came home and I made cake pops.   And some cake balls.  Now, these are not very pretty but I am just testing different things because I want to have cake pops for Corbin's b-day in a few months.  So I am just playing.  The next set I do, I will actually decorate, and stuff.  These I just dipped in the chocolate candy, but I am going to do some white chocolate with food colorings and make them different colors and then add sprinkles and stuff like that.   But they tasted awesome!  Corbin really loved them, and I think it will work out perfect for a 2  year old birthday party.

Okay, and now to the reason why I titled this post "priorities".  This afternoon Corbin and I had a play date with a friend and her kids (one of which is only a couple weeks older than Corbin).  The topic of much of our conversation was priorities.  THINGS CHANGE (or at least they should) when you have kids.  Your kids become at the top of your priorities (well... behind God, and your spouse).  Loving, nurturing, taking care of sick kids, and giving kisses should then become the things that you WANT and LOVE to do.   Where you spend your money for sure changes also, and that's a given.  I was watching a show the other day and the mom on the show was their because her daughter died at just a few weeks old. The mom claims she didnt have the money for gas and no one to take her to the hospital evern though her daughter was having trouble breathing.  BUT-  The mom had gotten a tattoo a couple days earlier.  The person hosting the show made sure to let the girl know that that was crazy!  If you are that tight on your money that you can't even afford gas if your child needs to go to the hospital, then you shouldn't spend the money on a stinking tattoo.   

So, things change.  It doesn't mean that you should never have time to yourself, or spend money on your self, but you should definitely think about other people (your children) first. =)

Corbin, I LOVE you!

Elmo

What is the deal with Elmo??  Corbin is super obsessed with Elmo, it is crazy.  He is not super intrigued by any other cartoon, nor have we ever watched Elmo more than 7 or 8 times in his life.  But all of a sudden, he looks at the TV and says Elmo every single more.  Thank goodness for the Netflix for Wii because they have Elmo on Demand.  It used to be that Corbin would say "BV" (which means TV because he hasnt quite mastered his T's yet), when he would want the TV on, but now it is all about Elmo.  I mean, the kids doesn't even own an Elmo doll! I guess I have a Christmas present idea=)

Corbin's favorites right now seem to be "bubbles", "bible", "elmo", "chalk", and "outside", oh and "markers". So that is much what our day looks like.  Oh and also "bye-bye" (he loves going places, crazy).  If we don't go outside at least once a day, then by the end of the day Corbin is stir crazy.  Which is cool, I don't mind sitting in my little rocker outside watching him run around like a wild man.  I love it.   Plus, he must read his "bible" every night, and say his "amen" (prayers).  It is adorable.  I just love it!

Our week has been pretty good, though I havent been very productive, so today, I need to clean house a little and work on a couple of things.  But first, we need to hit up the grocery store and Toddler Time.   At Toddler Time, Corbin is pretty quite and doesn't quite stand up to participate until the last song.  But I figure taking him 2 times a week every week for a while will get him in to the spirit.  He loves being their and watches very intently at all the other kids, so Im sure soon enough he will be participating.

Last night we went and saw some friends with a little one Corbin's age, and they just run around and play, although they do have a small problem with sharing, you can tell how much they like to be playing with each other.  They are only 12 days apart and they are both little boys, so they just go to town playing.  When we left Corbin was calling for "Joshua!".   It was sweet.

Okay, well I've got to get us ready for the day.  Talk to you all soon! =)

Play Groups

When I first started staying at home with Corbin, I thought I was going to go crazy.  I cannot stand not having interaction with people on a regular (or even hourly) basis.  My sanity was well worth me still being at home with Corbin, because he was much happier already.  However, I knew right away that I would need to make some more stay at home mom friends, so that is what I have done.  For starters I have joined 2 different play groups, which is really awesome.  Only one is very active, but still I am in communication with lots of other mommies.  The one that is active has other parents that are actually eco-nuts like me!  That is something else that i needed.  I needed more moms (or dads) around me that don't think I am nutty for cloth diapering or composting, or anything.  Before that I only had 2 or 3 people in my life that did the same thing.  Now with my influencing and also meeting more moms, I am just one of many that do these things, or desires to do these things.  I love it.

The other problem that I had when deciding to stay at home was finding free activities to do.  So we have really managed to do that.  Not only with play groups (which are only a very minimal fee per year), but we have found libraries that do activities too.  Being around a lot of the kids in a group setting had helped Corbin lots with his shyness. I am loving that he is starting to open up and starting to talk a lot more.  The little guy is really developing such a little personality, I just loved it.  

We are going to start going to MOPS soon also.  A couple of my favorite mommy friends and I decided to start a bible study, or just getting into the Word a little bit during our long weeks with kiddos.  We have found a MOPS group that we are excited about going to.  We are really excited and I am just excited to meet some more moms and to fellowship with some Christian Stay at Home Moms.

Anyways, my life has become so blessed and filled with so many wonderful activities and I am just so so excited!

Bible study of the month will be the book of Titus!  Thanks Courtney for coming up with it.  I am so blessed to have other wonderful moms in my life. =)

Pictures! Finally

Okay, you will be getting a couple of different blogs because I am on my picture computer and I want to do a little blog with pictures and stuff of Corbin, but I also wanted to show you all some hilarious pictures of Michael's first soccer game, and I just dont think they all belong in the same blog, not to mention that it would be a very picture heavy post.

Corbin LOVES to give kisses. If you tell him to tell someone goodbye, he blows a kiss before he will wave or just say good bye. He will run up and give any one a kiss too. It is adorable. Here he is loving on my sister (his aunt Rachel.)

Below are a couple of pictures of Corbin on his horse tire swing. Clynt's mom and step-dad got it for him last year for his birthday. We hadnt had a place to put it yet and I didnt think that he was quite ready for it anyways, but OMG it is perfect for him! The ears of the horse he can hold onto, the tails of the horse is a back for him to lean on and the body of the horse is wide enough that it is comfortable. He loves it and we love it too! It is now on his swing set in place of the rope swing. Here are some pictures of him playing on it. NO, he was not swinging at midnight either, it was after CARE group on Sunday and Clynt had just gotten it done. So it was just after dark and we were just anxious for him to play.

Okay and here are just a couple more cute ones of Corbin watching TV in mommy and daddy's room. He loves being on our bed just lounging. I love it too. He's too stinking cute!

He comes up with some crazy stuff too. He learns several new words every day and it is just so much fun. Today we were leaving my Mom's office and a lady their told Corbin to have a good day and he says "Alright!". It was too stinking funny. I just love that little guy to pieces!!

Corbin's Birthday is around the corner.

It is a very very sad thing to sad, but my little baby boy will be two in a little over 3 months! I simply cannot believe it. So, the planning has started. Some might say it is still too early to plan, but I beg to differ. I refuse to be stressed out the week of the party! So this year, if you remember from a previous blog, Corbin's birthday falls on a Wednesday. The Saturday before is Christmas and the Saturday after is New Years, so that was the first dilemma. So we have decided to do his part on December 18th. That is only 11 days before his actual birthday, so this should be okay. Plus, we will always do a dinner the night of his birthday anyways. So this should work. The problem is only that it is still the Saturday before Christmas, but you know, we can't control that he was born then (well...... we could, but he came early, and that wasnt exactly the plan!).

Anywho... the details. It will be on December 18th, from 4:30-6:30pm. We will have dinner since that is at dinner time. It will be at the all new Pearland Rec Center/Natatorium. The exact activities are yet to be decided but we will have a gymnasium the first hour to play in and their will be a parachute and some tumbling stuff, and then hopefully their will will be some basketballs and stuff for the older kiddos and parents that want something else to play with a little. Then the second hour will be in their Kidz Corner where their is a jungle gym thing, lots of toys, a Wii, and then even baby toys. That is also when the eating and stuff will occur.

The menu- I am really looking into Cake Pops. If you don't know what these are, they are cake balls with lollipop sticks in them, so they are like cake of a stick. Since the venue doesnt have the theme that I would really like to go with, we are going to just do bright colors and not really do a theme. The cups and plates and stuff will be just a Happy Birthday thing with bright colors and I am going to make a bunch of cake balls in several different colors. I will probably also have a small cake made that we can put the candles and stuff on, but the main "cake" will be the cake pops. It will be easy to pass out and such. For the food, I havent decided quite yet. The easiest thing would be pizza, but that's unhealthy and all that, so I may do sandwiches. Lenny's and Subways and even Wal-Mart do big platters, so I will probably do something like that. I want to keep it easy, but good! So we will see.

Sorry i have been promising pictures for a few days and you still havent gotten them, but i promise soon! =)

Ten on Tuesday

I have been pretty bad about blogging the past couple of days, so I apologize. Here are the Ten on Tuesday questions and my answers. I am hoping to blog a little about life when the little stinker is sleeping! =)

1. What’s the one thing you always do when you’re stressed?
Bite my nails. I know it's bad, but my nails are generally nubs. =(

2. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever done for a friend?
I dont know... This is just a weird question.

3. What cleaning supply could you not live without?
The green stuff that they sell door to door... Can't think of what it is called, but the guy actually drinks it and everything. I love that stuff, its safe for my little man, and it can clean ANYTHING!

4. How long do you plan on living where you currently reside?.
Probably a while. We want to buy some property and pay it off and then build on it. That will be a while. We really want to get this house paid off and then rent it out for a while. And, if Clynt has his way, we will be traveling for his work somewhere in there too. So, to answer the question, I have no idea!!

5. Do you usually vote straight party, a mixture, or not at all?
Straight party.

6. What’s something that you love to do, but seem to never make time for?
Read. I love to read, but I never seem to have the time to do it!

7. What’s your favorite store to buy things for other people?
Anywhere online! I LOVE internet shopping!

8. What’s the weather like around you today?
Looks dreary outside.

9. What’s the worst book you’ve ever bought and read?
I don't know. If I dont like it, I dont make it past page 10.

10. What’s the closest thing to you that is yellow?
A magazine.

Okay, kind of lame, I know. But I am going to post pictures later, so that should be good!

Do you recycle?

Everything for Corbin

This is what Corbin is getting today:

Okay... Before you think that we went out and spent the $3500+ that this thing cost, let me say that Corbin's is used and the tarp and flags are missing and it needs a little TLC. We hope hoping that his will look that the one above after Clynt gets finished working on it. Clynt is a very handy person, so I am sure that it will looks awesome! He is going to stain it and we want to get all the little things that are missing off of it replace, but some of that might not happen right away!

We love craigslist and I have been stalking it to find a playground for Corbin. This popped up on it for VERY cheap and we had to take it. It was at a YMCA somewhere, and the guy who has it put in a new play ground at that Y and they had him take this one off. So he is selling it just to make a little bit of money. We are really excited to get and I think that Corbin will be too.

Do you believe that my little man will be 2 in only a few months? Dec 29 his is birthday and it is also Clynt and I's 3rd wedding anniversary. At first I hated the thought of Corbin being born on our anniversary, but I am coming around to the idea. It is kind of fun, and my sweet husband does not have a problem remember either date. It might be even better if that wasn't 4 days after Christmas and 2 weeks before my birthday, but all the same, it is a very special day. I get to celebrate with the 2 best guys in my life.

I took some really cute pictures of Corbin earlier, but I will have to load them on my other computer, so I will try to post them tomorrow.

Sorry, I dont have any more to post today, but I am tired.

Blog out!

Our Weekend.....

Was BUSY!!! Oh-My-Gosh, I am more tired right now than I have been in a VERY long time. Friday night Clynt took Corbin and I to Saltgrass, and then we left early Saturday morning to go to Navasota to see Clynt's momma and step-dad.

Navasota is almost to College Station from here. They have 30 acres out in the country. They are in the process of building a home and it sure will be nice when the house is done. They have been liing in a travel trailer for the past year and I just cannot imagine living in such a small space or that long. But they have, and Im sure that it will make their house that much more special. It is really nice to go out their because it is peaceful and because Corbin LOVES running around free and playing with all the animals. He just eats it all up. We had intended on leaving around 8:30 to get back by 10 and be able to get in bed by our "bed-time" but that didn't happen because of the stars.... OMG- THE STARS!! They were AMAZING! We go out their fairly often, and they stars in the country are always nice, but last night they were incredibly gorgeous and we just wanted to sit a look at them. Corbin even sat for a little while and looked up into the sky. It was so serene. So we left around 10, and who knew that we would be hitting traffic!! Do you remember when I told you that we were near College Station? Well, their was a home Aggies game, and it just happened to have ended just a bit before we left his mom's place. So that was awesome.

We got home before midnight, and we crashed. Then, today was Grand Opening weekend of the new location of our church. That was awesome, but it meant that I had to be at the church around 7:30am.... and was their until 1:30ish. The attendance was over 1000 though, so all of that work was so so so worth it. God is so good and is doing miracles in our church. It is so amazing.

Then we got to CARE group at 2:30 and that went great as well. Usually group isnt until 5, but because Clynt's brother's birthday party was at 5, our other group members wonderfully said we could do it at 3. So we had group, left their and went to his brother's thing, and now we just got home and it is after 8. Everything went great.

Today was a good day and this weekend was a good weekend, but we can't continue to everything because now I am useless.

Well, I've got to get Corbin in bed, so Ill talk to you later!

blog out!

Busy Day

Today has been a busy day. I like busy days though, so its cool. Plus I have something to tell you about! =)

We started off by going to return a movie at the beloved Blockbuster, then we went to the Pearland Library to return books. While at the library, we hang out and search for some new books. Corbin loves to read and I love to read to him. He comes and sits in my ap and gets so excited. I just love it!! That is one of those things that i am going to miss one day. =( Okay, no tears... We find a few books that we want to get and we check out. We got a bunch of really cute ones that Corbin was super excited about. He loves anything with animals in it. He is in that phase of learning the animals names and what they say. He is having a really hard time repeating what a dog says for some reason. Is it bad that this little boy of mine can say "ROAR" for a Dinosaur but wont even say "woof" for a dog. He cracks me up. But we found a couple of animal stories and some color ones and just some fun ones.

Since the Pearland Library is not geared for children Corbin's age, we then head over to the Friendswood Library. We love the Friendswood library. They do toddler time 3 days a week and they have a wonderful area with puzzles, colors, books (of course) and so much more for the kids to play with. So we hang out their for a little while.

We then go to get some bread from my moms house so we can feed the ducks in their subdivision, but she was not home. So I thought that we could just go and look at the ducks. BAD IDEA. The second that we walked up, so did the ducks! Corbin LOVES ducks so he wanted to hug them (which, no, I did not let him do!). He happened to have a peanut butter cracker in his hand, so I take it from him, and break it up into little pieces and have him throw them at the ducks. He had fun throwing for a minute, but then he wanted for the ducks to eat them out of his hands. All I could imagine was the duck attacking my child's hand and me having to go to the emergency room (which we are sick of getting bills from!) so I quickly grab his hand and make him throw the last pieces so we can leave. Soon, we will go with bread for the little ducks. Corbin will have a blast!

Soon after we went to lunch with my momma and Corbin and I got to visit. Corbin loved it, cause Grandma taught him how to use his chip as a spoon for his rice and beans. He loved that! Did I mention that Corbin is just a bit cute?! =)

Then we came home and read. And then it was Corbin's nap time.

I then got out the book Bringing up Boys which I started reading a while back and then put down. But as Corbin is getting older I have told myself that I must read it. And now that I understand a lot of what Dobson (the author) is talking about, I can't seem to put it down. I think it is going to really help help in my perspective while raising Corbin and any other boys that we may have.

So, I am going to get back to reading. Have a blessed day and weekend!

I. Must. Blog.

The past several days with no blogs have been nothing but busy. This past weekend was Labor Day, and we stayed pretty busy and saw many friends, which is always nice.

Friday, Clynt was off, so he came with me to Toddler Time at the Library and he made it clear that he is glad I am the one who does all of those activities with Corbin. He wasn't very enthralled but the whole deal, but he did think it was good for Corbin. Then we went to the Pearland Rec Center (you know... the big, beautiful, new one!) and went and toured it for Corbin's birthday party. His second birthday is not until the end of December but I am far from a procrastinator when it comes to stuff like that. I would love to just have it planned out early, let everyone know when it is and just relax! For his first birthday, everything was planned early and then it decided to snow like crazy the day before so we had to cancel all the outdoor activities, although some of the older kiddos still played in the snow outside. So, this year, we are not planning outdoor activities so that i don't end up having to come up with plans last minute again. I remember going to a concert with my good friend Courtney at our church the night before the party and picking her brain half the night with what to do at the party! Poor thing. Sorry Courtney! Anyway (sorry for always getting off subject!) the Rec Center has a really cool little kids area and an ability to rent a side of the gym for the kiddos to run around and play ball and stuff. It is very well priced, and I really think that is what we are going to do this year. Now the decision comes down to when. The Saturday before his birthday is Christmas and the Saturday after is New Years. So I guess it will have to be a couple weeks early again. That detail is always going to stink!

We had several people over on Saturday night, and had a WONDERFUL, and MUCH needed visit. It was awesome. It was several friends that we just don't get to see often enough. So we had fajitas and just hung out. Very good night.

Sunday we had church, and then when to lunch at my parent's house with all of my family. It was nice. Our family is much smaller than Clynt's so it is so much easier to get everyone together for the afternoon. After that we went to Clynt's Dad's Beach house. We went and stayed their on Sunday night. Then on Sunday a couple of out good friends came down to visit and hang out at the beach. They have an adorable little girl whom Corbin just loves to play with. She was soo funny because she was just finicky with the water and mud/sand. She is such a little girl and I love it! Mean while, Corbin was climbing up on all the sand dunes. lol. It is so funny how girls are girls and boys are boys at such young ages. It is adorable!

The Tuesday came around and Clynt went back to work and Corbin had an upset tummy all day. Tuesday night/Wednesday morning Clynt was up all night sick and come about 6am I was sick as a dog also. We both were just sick to our stomachs and could eat anything. So Clynt stayed home, and by lunch time, I was already feeling much better. Clynt continued to be really sick the rest of the day. The only thing I can think of is that we ate something wrong on Monday or Tuesday. None of us were sick very long, but we all were definitely affected.

So then we come to today. I got Corbin's room clean and laundry done, got him registered for his music class, went and ran a few errands, baked some cookies, and cleaned the kitchen. So, I am definitely feeling better today. We are going over to my dad's house tonight for the Saints Vs. Vikings game. He is very excited about it because he was born and Minnesota and he is a Vikings fanatic. Crazy boy.

Well, that's life in a nutshell. Since I hadn't updated in a week or so, I just thought I would do the whole overview!

Blog out!

Don't take it for granted

As I sit here with my little 20 months old son sitting right next to me, I just think that one day he will not at all want to sit this close to me. He wont want to make funny faces at the camera on my computer with me, he probably wont want to smile in any picture with me at some point. It makes me just think. Everyday is the last day that he will be 20 months, 1 day old, or 20 months and 2 days old. These days will never ever ever come back. So, for the time being I will not take it for granted. I will try to not make my anger for silly mistakes get in the way of letting Corbin know that I love him, because I do. I love him with all my heart. He will never learn to say a word twice, so I will try to be just as excited about every word he learns as I was about the very first time he said something.

One day he will want to eat everything in the house, so I am going to not stress about him not eating his peas with his dinner now. Clynt and I hardly ever have "us" time, and we don't go out with out Corbin almost ever, and the reason is because some day, he won't be around for me to spend all that time with, so for now I cherish it.

These are just some quick thoughts I had while I am sitting here, Corbin watching TV curling up next to me to do so. I LOVE this little man!!

Now, Im going to give him some love...

Labor Day Weekend

Clynt has a 4 day weekend this weekend, and I know he couldn't be happier. And frankly, I couldnt be either. I LOVE when I have a long weekend with him. You know, when I originally decided to stay at home with Corbin I thought that every day would feel like weekend, but it doesnt! It doenst feel like weekend unless Clynt is home. I have a lot more freedom now, like I did on the weekend before, but it really not the same. Their is so so much to do all day everyday. I get some downtime with Corbin is napping, but then it is time to clean, do laundry, cook, bake, read emails, etc. so it is not like I get to nap ever. Although, Im sure that when I get pregnant again (if it is anything like Corbin) I will want and NEED a nap every day!!

Anyways, sorry for getting so off subject, He has a 4 day weekend. We were going to go see his mama and step dad on Friday but just found out that they have plans already. It's not their fault, Clynt just REALLY procrastinates getting together with anyone. So, I just asked if we could come today, and unfortunately it wont work out. Maybe next weekend. We are going to go to the beach on Monday, maybe stay on Sunday night at Clynt's dad's beach house. They have a beach house in Surfside, which is awesome. The night times at the beach are the best. It is so so nice to go walk on the beach when it is not so hot and the tide is out. I really like it.

On Sunday, its church as always and probably lunch with my parents. But now that we don't have anywhere to be on Friday, we will have a chance to maybe have a date night. That would be nice. We don't get that opportunity very often at all so I think I might take it.

This morning we went to toddler time at a different library and it was SOOOO much better than our unsuccessful trip yesterday. Although, Corbin takes time to warm up so he didnt start dancing or playing until the "goodbye" song. But hopefully if we go more often, he will be able to have much more fun the whole time.

So, this was completely random. But, I was wondering if any of you have big plans for Labor Day?!?!