Before and After

I decided a few weeks ago that I needed a change. With all the "change" going on in our life right now I guess I just wanted some change that I could personally control. I cut almost 9 inches off. I was thinking of donating it but that 1 inch seemed to much when it came down to it.
I also decided to die my hair back to a more blonde color. I kind of miss my long pretty hair. But I'm loving the newness of my new do.

This lasted almost an hour....

Who knew one bucket could hold an hours worth of entertainment?
And get you into trouble.

These two took turns putting their heads in and yelling into the bucket. While the other would pound on the outside. They laughed and laughed.

The laughter stopped, I should of known he was up to no good. He was packing the the bucket full of food from the pantry.

Fun's over mom took away the bucket. Sad little guy ran away.

Cheap Therapy

While packing things up, getting ready to move I started having a hard time putting things away. Especially my pictures. If you've ever been to my house you've seen my obsession with having my walls full of pictures. I decided to start taking pictures of my pictures. I know that sounds silly. But it really helped me take them down. I thought I would blog some for theraputic reasons.

This is one of my walls in the living room. My preschool calendar unually hangs under the March sign. Probably fell down. It usally does. For some reason tape doesn't stick to my walls.

I couldn't pick just one of the many pictures pictures of Manning. So I learned how to make collages.

Mason when he was 3 months old. I love the caption. "Just a Boy... And his mom!" I was so proud of this picture. Just wasn't to excited to pay $50 for it. Won't do that again. I can now do it my self. I kind of carried on the tradition with each of my boys. I took one of Mattix's mommy's boy pic. But it didn't turn out. Manning's has me and him in it to.

My bishop and his wife gave this to us for Christmas. I thought it was perfect for my wall.
Such a special picture.

This has always been one of my most favorite pictures. My first Christmas as a Mommy, Mason and Matt gave me this picture. Being a mom to 3 boys it has alot of meaning behind it.

My complete "All because two people fell in love" wall minus Matt and I's collage and our family picture. JaNean took our family pictures back before winter. I had this vision of how I wanted this wall to be. I just never got it all complete. I will have to build it up in my new living room.

Can you see a theme here?

I put this up above my back door. So I could see it often. It's been a reminder to me that I have a job to do. And of course it's a bit from one of my most favorite Primary songs.

No matter how many times I straighten it, it's always crooked. Probably from the slamming of the door?

I love displaying the boys' school work and pictures.

And last but not least. The sticker from Matt's election. I came home put it up on the pantry door. I didn't want to take it down. I loved the way it was a conversation starter that led to me bragging about how proud I am of my husband. Even the boys remember.

Proud Mommy Moment

We've been practicing our names in preschool this month. Mostly just tracing. Mattix is always "to tired" to practice for too long. But the other day he totally wrote his whole name all by himself. I was very surprised. There's something about when my kids learn to write their own name that just seems so big in my mind. But once they learn to write their name I expect to see this on everything. When Mason learned to write his name he practiced everywhere. And thanks to Andy on Toy Story marking his toys. Mason would "claim" everything. I even found his name on the walls a few times.

I'm so excited I just love it!

Can I help you Dad?

Whenever Matt reaches for a screwdriver, or any kind of tool really it's like the boys have radar. They know when daddy is going to be fixing something. Automatically they are right there. To lend a hand or 2 or 3. And get a little in the way.

Mason was so excited to tell me that they were watching daddy fix the bathtub. It's so funny. They get so excited to help even in the littliest possible way. Matt said "someone go get me a paper towel." Imediately there was a fight over who got to carry it to dad.
They love to help Daddy.

He May Be Crazy and BIG Mess....

But he's a cute crazy mess!

He's becoming very brave and loves to find ways to climb higher.

And when he does, he doesn't hide the fact that he's so proud of himself.

When he wants something he has no ability to wait for mommy to help him.

Like I said he's very good at finding ways to reach higher.

He had no clue why I was laughing so hard at him. He thought he was being silly.

I couldn't help but snap a few pictures of what I saw from my end.

With a face like this it's hard to stay frustrated to long.

He can't help it. He's 1 and he's got alot to figure out. And he's determined to figure it all out his way!

Change is Good

I value horoscopes just as much as I do fortune cookies. Sometimes it may offer some good advice. Every now and than I read my horoscope and it says something good. Today was one of those days. A friend of mine is a Libra like me and she gets daily posted horoscopes. I often read hers because it may or may not pertain to me too. I read it today and I do have to say it made me stop and think.

It said "Don't fear any changes that lie ahead. Even if you think you don't adjust well, you may have more adaptablilty than you realize. Without change life would become stagnant. It won't be long before you become dissatisfied and bored with the same old thing. Try to see change as an adventure and a gateway to greater happiness and fullfillment. Trust you versatility."
With all the exciting events coming up for our family, seriously I needed to hear this. Even if it came from somewhere so unexpected.