I hate the eye dr

Ok well maybe not so much the dr but getting new glasses is my ultimate hate.

I've been putting off the eye dr for awhile because with Ryan's new job we don't have vision insurance. But my old glasses were starting to fall apart so I needed to go in. This week I made a bunch of calls to find out prices for the uninsured and was surprised that it was fairly reasonable so I made an apt.

The appointment went fine, then comes the dreaded part.... Finding glasses.

This must be some cruel joke for the blind. 

I am pretty sure I am legally blind without my glasses.  So taking them off then trying to see what I look like with a new pair on is near impossible. 

One year the store was slow so I just let the ladies working pick out a pair for me. I mean I figured they do this all day they should know what looks best. Wrong. I came out with pink glasses that made me look 12. 

So I try to never go alone to pick out glasses. Luckily technology has changed and I took a million selfies trying to pick out a good pair. They all looked the same. When I finally came to a conclusion the girl told me my prescription was to strong for that pair and I had to start my search over! Aaaahhhh! 

Oh yes and glasses are cheap unless you are blind. You have to get thin lenses so it doesn't look like you are wearing bottle caps and they charged an additional fee for having a strong prescription. Like its not bad enough that we are blind!! 

Anyway $300 later and my new glasses and first ever pair of prescription sunglasses should be ready tomorrow. ( it was the same price to get shades as glasses that tint)

Oh how I miss the days of contacts!! Darn you dry eyes!!! 

And for your enjoyment:   Your welcome!

Communication

Well for now I take it back about hating the word No! 

Along with No another popular word that's been added to my sons vocabulary is Yeah!  Which works out great.

Whenever I ask a question I either get a yeah or a no as an answer and it is actually rather nice to know what he wants with certainty. 

You know like, Colin it is time for bed. No! Colin time to change your diaper. No!   Ha! Just kidding... Kinda. 

But last night for example he was crying and I asked him if he wanted something and he said, yeah. I got it and he stopped crying.  Communication is awesome!!   :) 

So this happened tonight....

Yeah, that's my baby sitting on a toilet!  Nothing happened, but after his bath he requested to pee in the potty. Say what!? He just sat there for awhile and then wanted mommy to pee and then wanted daddy to pee. He tried again after our successes but nothing happened.  So yeah... Guess I maybe buying a baby toilet of some sort sooner rather than later! I was planning on waiting til 2, but it looks like we may need it sooner! I'm scared! 

Happy Birthday to my Hubby!!

Yesterday was my hubby's birthday!!  He had to work, but had training so he got off early. We met him for lunch and then he went to his favorite place: the shooting range!  Colin and I had made his favorite dinner and dessert, Lasagna and Cheesecake! Not the healthiest, but boy was it yummy!!!

I hate shopping for Ryan. He is the hardest person to buy for because when he thinks he needs or wants something, he will just get it.  I had no clue what to get him for his birthday. I thought of everything and came up with nothing.  Then one afternoon last week I had an idea. He has talked about going buffalo hunting for a long time, but it is rather expensive. We love buffalo meat so much more than beef and it is healthier for you, but it has gotten rather pricey in the store. I did some online research and found a place that sold buffalo meat. They seemed very legit, no antibiotics, grass fed buffalo.  They even had a facebook page with people vouching for them and their product.  They were having some sales and specials so I ended up buying quite a few pounds (30 to be exact) of buffalo for his birthday. It was delivered today and I was very impressed that it was still frozen and wasn't even overnight-ed! So cool (literally)! It was still a bit pricey, but cheaper than buying it in the store and I know we will be eating off of it for a very long time!

Now to meal plan around buffalo meat! Mmmm... can't wait!  

No spend Augustish

We are doing another no spend month! We did really well in June and saved quite a bit of money when we did a no spend month. July was a terrible month for us. We made quite a few trips back and forth from Albuquerque and between that, hotels, eating out and having Ryan's sisters here (teenagers eat A LOT) we blew our budget. It was not pretty.  Taking into account we have 2 mortgages and sets of bills we really need to stay on track.

I actually find it quite the challenge staying on budget and enjoy doing it... minus the no shopping part of it!  Grocery shopping is my favorite part. I have a budget of 100 and my goal is to stay under that every week. I meal plan and figure out exactly what we will eat every day of the week and buy ONLY that. I have got it down to a science and know almost exactly what I'll spend. Last week I did so well we only spent $75 and this week I hit $100 almost exactly... if I hadn't thrown in that package of blackberries... I knew it throw us over! Lol   But Colin loves them, so its ok!

The hardest part of this month is that we had two birthdays. My mom's was last week and Ryan's was this week!  So we had to get presents. BUT My hubby's present is edible and we can eat off it for awhile (next post) so I feel it was worth the money!

We need to sell our darn house so we don't have to do no spend months, but until them we will probably do them often. It isn't to hard, just not fun. No ice creams, froyos, starbucks, very limited eating out, no unnecessary clothes or anything like that.  We want to make money in a month and not lose it and that seems to be the way, that works for us... for now. Just until we sell our other house... Prayers for a sale soon!!

Weekend Fashion

My new favorite weekend casual outfit. 

I got this cool hippy shirt on clearance at target and of course my white AE shorts! 

Snuggles

I wonder if Colin will forever be my cuddle bug?

We've gone about 3 months with a 7-10 hour stretch without nursing at night. Huge for him. Yet he is still waking throughout that time. Most of the time he wakes up and requests water and will chug a sippy cup of water and return back to sleep.... Just a thirsty kid? Then there are nights like last night. He woke up at 1:30 and pointed to the spare bed. This means he wants to sleep with me. We sleep together on the spare bed on rough nights that he wakes up often or if he wakes up around the time Ryan gets up. (Ryan gets up around 4 and our bathroom in our bedroom doesn't have a door, just an archway, so the bathroom lights up the bedroom. I can sleep through it now, but it wakes Colin up if I bring him to our room).  

Ideally I started laying with Colin on the spare bed and then when he fell asleep I would sneak away. Well, he now knows this. So he clings on for dear life! Last night I had to laugh. He was clinging to me and fell asleep so I was trying to sneak away. As soon as I moved, his arms  and legs swung toward me and he hung on for dear life... And he was still asleep!

I layed there thinking I should feel honored that he wants to be so close to me At All Times! And how lucky am i to actually have a little monkey to hug all night, when so many struggle to have children. I know someday soon he will be a big boy. 

I've been seeing all these pictures of kids starting school and thinking of that makes me sick. Ya mean I have to share my kid someday with the rest of the world?? No way!!  Lol I'm sure in time it will be better... Maybe... But for now the thought is scary, very scary!  For now I will soak in the fact that he'd rather snuggle his mommy than do anything else! ;) 

Wordless Wednesday!

Linking up to wordless Wednesday with Jenni from the blog!

All these pictures were taken the past two days! I swear I don't take pictures in weeks then I will take 20 on one day!  Yesterday Colin didnt nap so we took lots of pictures when I thought I might lose my mind. This morning I put on my new AE tank top ($6) and went for a run. About 3/4 of a mile in I decided it was too hot, so we picked apples and played at the park instead!!

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Birthday dreaming

Colin's second birthday is fast approaching. I love party planning... Specifically looking on Pinterest for ideas!   I've been pinning ideas for months. I had pretty much decided on a truck themed birthday, until this morning! I saw this cake and fell in love:  

I'm not 100% set on a train theme, but there are a ton of cute and simple ideas, like putting tape on the sidewalk as a track to your house, making a giant card board train for the kids and some cute food ideas, including a bunch of small cakes making a long train. See: 

See???  Cute and totally affordable and doable! I could even combine it with Halloween and get him a little conductor outfit and make a train for him to walk around in... Oh the ideas are endless!  Colin has just started liking trains, too! 

The other ideas I've been thinking of are:

Daniel Tiger theme 

Airplanes 

Monster trucks

Construction site

What do you guys think??!!

A Peak Above the Rest - Cibola Beacon: Cibola Living

A Peak Above the Rest - Cibola Beacon: Cibola Living

6 months at home

6 months as a SAHM. 

Wow that went fast. 

When I was thinking about this decision I was on the fence. I worried about not meeting people, loosing myself and my career. 

Today, 6 months later none of that matters.

I feel like a different person. I'm more confident in who I am today than I was back then. I have amazing friends, not all of them live near me, but they are always there for me. I have an awesome freelance gig. I feel like I haven't lost all my skills and I'm glad I'm still writing because if I did decide to jump back on the work train I'd feel confident in my abilities. However I don't see that happening for awhile! 

I must admit I was scared. Working is all I've know for a very long time. I love people and socializing and feeling confident and accomplished. Somehow I've still been able to feel satisfied with all that over these past few months. 

The last time I was unemployed was a low time for me. We had lived in Grants 6 months. I had more enemies than friends and I was super depressed. I lived in my pajamas and watched tv all day. It was sad. I got a job and met people and things turned around, but I was determined this move wouldn't do that to me. 

I've taken a shower every day. ( a big task when you have a child lol ). I've dressed nice every day and put on makeup. Yup, i was determined to still feel like me.., although i don't wear near as much makeup! There are very few days we spend the entire day at home. We go to the park, shopping, museum, play dates or even just out for an ice cream date, just the two of us. I exercise more and I eat better. We play games, make things up or just spray each other with the garden hose. 

It is perfect. I've lost weight. I feel healthier. Together we eat fruits, veggies and have homemade meals every day. Things I didn't have as much time to do while working. My house is clean because I don't try to do it all on the weekends. And I have so much less stress.

6 months later I am definitely at peace with this decision. I left one job for the best job I could have ever imagined, being a mommy and a wife and I have no regrets.

:) 

21 months...

Does this mean I'm going to have 2 year old soon? Yikes! Guess I should start party planning ;)


My Colin is quite the character.  He is talking up a storm. Loves the outdoors, trucks, the iPad and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood.

He learns new words everyday. Today's words were, NOOOooo, Nana, and Boo and Berry!!  Boo is what I feel about the No word! Lol.  Other more recent words are: dirt, stick, baby, water, please, eat eat, more and beep beep. There are soo many more that aren't new, but needless to say I'm glad his vocabulary is really picking up.   My favorite word is definitely Please, pronounced PEEEeee. I love it! :)  I'm not liking this new No word. He says it with so much force! Ha!

He is a big ham. I'm afraid he maybe a class clown someday. He loves doing silly things and waiting for a reaction from people. He is also a huge dare devil. He loves climbing and standing on anything unstable. AKA giving me a heart attack! He also enjoys wrestling. If you are on the floor he will be on top of you in a matter of seconds. He loves rolling around the floor with you and I love attacking him with tickles when he comes after me! Ha!

He really likes kids, especially ones that are a few years older than him. I think maybe because they talk to him while they play. We have had some really fun experiences at the children's museum with kids that are around 3 and 4 and they would just play and play together. It is fun to watch him finally play with other kids and socialize. He also has become very fond of babies and wants to say Hi and kiss them! :)

He just started watching more TV and is in love with Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. He watches it on the iPad and I've recorded a few episodes of it on TV for him, but he gets disappointed that there are some commercials! Ha! It comes in handy when I want to wash dishes or take a shower. I try to make sure he is distracted with Daniel Tiger and I'm good for a few minutes at least! Until he notices I'm gone!

He is still very clingy, but seems to be easing up a bit. I was able to kayak away from him with Daddy watching him on the lake shore this weekend without him even crying. And when Ryan's sisters were here they babysat while we went on a date and he didn't cry either! But heaven forbid I walk out of his sight in the house!! Lol

Stats:
I think we are going through a growth spurt judging by how much he's eaten the past few days. I weighed him yesterday and it looks like he gained a pound and is 23! Not sure about the height, but I swear some days we wakes up and looks taller! His legs are finally growing into his torso! Lol
 Size 4 diapers
 Still in 18 month clothes, BUT the one pieces are getting small ad I just tried a 24 month one piece and it totally fit!
Sleep is getting better... with the exception of this week. We had two 7 hour stretches and one 9 hour in the past few weeks!! But this week has been terrible. I'm thinking either growth spurt or teething... or both!
Still Nursing. I'm guessing about 4 times in a day.

Favorites:
Food - Berries, Yogurt, Cheese, Almonds, Cookies, Ice Cream and Anything he can dip a chip into
Places - Childrens Museum, Any playground and the Froyo place. He screams with joy when he sees where we are.
Activities - Playing Trucks, Running around outside, climbing anything, playing with the iPad, dancing

Forgiveness

I have a hard time with forgiveness. I am a grudge holder so if you really really make me upset I don't forget or let go of it very easily (my poor husband). Lol

I've been trying to work on becoming a better and happier me and I feel like the next thing I need to work on is forgiveness, but I'm not really sure where to start.

I have a lot of issues with my family. Specifically cousins. We all got into a disagreement a good 6 years and we still don't speak. I had one apologize to me last yearish via Facebook, but she has since deleted her account and I don't really know how to contact her to show that I truly forgive her. Her sister never apologized and probably never will. So I guess the whole point of forgiving is to accept the apology even if they never give it?? That would be the bigger thing to do.  But apart of me is mad still that they were so rude and disrespectful and hurtful. I mean I didn't even invite them to my wedding! Lol that's a big deal!  How do I get over this and move forward so I can have a relationship with them again? I reached out to their mom, my aunt today. I haven't really spoken to her either, since this all went down. But I hate that Colin hasn't met her and she was always an awesome aunt to me. So that is my first step.

Then there is another cousin who I was very close with growing up. His parents divorced and that caused a lot of family tension. I was busy with my life and starting my family as was he and we grew apart. I got an email from him when I was like 6 months pregnant that he was disowning me and our side of the family. Lol... oh ok. Looking back i should have just said, ok bye! lol  but i was pregnant and hormonal so it brought out some furry and pissed off my husband for making his preggars wife upset so I'm not sure it is fixable. He hasn't even spoken to his dad, my uncle, since then.  I'm thinking that is a lost cause???  I saw a picture of him the other day and it made me sad that we don't talk. We've never met each others kids. But you can't change someone and I guess if I'm disowned then we probably never will. I often wonder what would happen if I ran into them. Would I stop to say hello or pretend I didn't know them and keep on walking.

I feel like my family fell apart after my grandma died. She was the glue. We always gathered at her house for every holiday even if we were bickering and we just let it all go. I feel like she would be so disappointed to know that half her family doesn't speak. I'm not sure I can fix it, but I'd like to at least be on speaking terms with most of them!  So I am going to make some efforts. Lets see what happens. Any advice would be appreciated!!!

The process of a family photo

And I only have 1 kid!! Lol 

Colorado Camping

Had a wonderful weekend camping in our favorite place: Vallecito, Co. Some of our friends were camping up there with their family and we met them for the weekend. 

Colin had a blast playing with the other kids as well as exploring the great outdoors. He is such an outdoorsy kid and I love it! From playing at the lake, exploring the river, playing on the kayaks and chasing chipmunks and raccoons we all had a very fun weekend.

  Kabobs with a lake view,ya can't beat it!!

My crazy hubby in the freezing lake! 

Colin's friend Natalie being silly!  You can follow her mommy at http://www.thesimplethingsblog.com. ;) 

Colin, Mommy and our friend Jenna!

Nattie and Colin on a log fighting over flowers! 

Checking out the river!

Colin and Jenna chasing each other around the lake!

And splashing!

Morning!!! And our happy camper!

Sunday morning kayak rides!!