it's here

making muffins on a lazy saturday

'it' finally came to the ehly's. 'it' meaning the flu. we have been fairly healthy this winter, minus the three ear infections hank has had. but today, it has come full force. poor mason, i've been watching him like a hawk trying race towards him and beat him with the bucket before i have to clean up the mess. not an easy task with a 10 month old crawling like the speed of lightning at home too :) oh, the joys of parenting, right?! lets cheer this place up a bit with a few pictures from the weekend...after all this wouldn't be a blog post with out any pictures, right? ha!

stuffing my face :)

cheeser

  

"helping" mom make pies

celebrating sweet emery :)

 

please pray we can kick this flu bug right in the pants :) 

 -melinda

and i'm backkk

i can see you all jumping up and down cheering. teehee :)

after much contemplation and deep thought, i’ve decided to give blogging another shot for a couple of reasons.  it has now been just over a year since i posted my last blog post.  i guess you could say life got crazy, busy just like everyone else and i just felt like blogging was something i didn’t *have* to keep up with.   i started a new job last year, gave birth to our second son 10 months ago, and just was trying to figure life out...you know figuring out the balance between being a wife, mother, teacher, and coach.  so blogging got put on the back burner and never was taken off that burner.

i want to get back to documenting our little {growing} family.  even if some of our moments seems mundane, it’s our family and i want to record our most mundane times. my hope is that *one* day our littles will enjoy reliving their childhood memories.  i always think about my mom when she was my age....what drove her crazy when she was raising kids, what was her way of de-stressing?, what was her style?, did she sometimes cuss like i do?, was she super organized?, what was her favorite song?, etc.....i don’t know any of those answers because lets be real, she didn’t have a computer nor did she have time to document our everyday moments evidently.  she was just trying to get through life. a lot like i am right now.  i won’t ever be a fashion blogger, a blogger that blogs every day, or a food blogger, but i might be a blogger that posts once a week or once a month about bits and pieces of our everyday life.

it also makes me pretty sad to think that i haven’t recorded an *ounce* of little hank’s life.  i didn’t record how often he nursed as a wee one, when he rolled over for the first time, when his first tooth popped through, when he started sitting up, when he stood for the first time, and when his first word was “uh-oh” and not “mama” or “dada.”  these are things that my brain won’t remember as i get older, although i wished it would.  i haven’t recorded when mason and hank started playing together and laughing hysterically with each other.  those are the moments that make life the greatest.....and they aren't documented. 

my goal with blogging is to make our life real.  so often blogs show all the “good” stuff and none of the real life stuff like, my kids are driving me NUTS today and i want to hid in my closet so they can’t find me, my heart is heavy in not knowing what i’m supposed to do/be in life, etc, etc,......all while trying not to make this blog a complaining outlet.  i want my kids to know one day that our life as a family was not perfect, no where near perfect.  but i want them to see that by the grace of our dear Lord, new mercies are seen each day.  we tried to live like Him daily but failed miserably each day, but he is always there to forgive. i want my kids to see that they are and were loved very, very much.

also, mr. and i are opening up an etsy shop and hoping i can use this blog to achieve our little goal :)  i will be sure to let you know when we are opening up and what our adventure is going to entail!  i’m pretty excited about this :)

congratulations to those of you who made it through this whole post!
cheers to 2013 and this little blog, hope to have you read along! :)

recent pastimes

we love our new football beanbag from mema!....although it can be quite dangerous at times :)


you have been learning how to drive.....mama's directions: go sllooowww! when you live in hick town, you can do these kinds of things :)


you've been running around in a diaper and cowboy boots....nbd annnnnd possibly reaching your hand down your diaper to play....how does he already know that's what boys do??? ahhhhh!!!!!


playin' in your tubby


and helpin' ma vacuum...i will guarantee when he is actually able to do a good job of this task, he will hate it. how does that work either?! :)

stickyGram

this is especially for those of you who have an iPhone and use instagram and want to turn your photos to magnets! don't worry android users, i guess instagram is coming your way soon!

anyways, we got our first set of stickyGram magnets and love them! they are great quality and what a fun way to see those pictures everyday on your refrigerator door! They make great gifts for friends or family, as we are giving a pack of 9 away to grandparents for a Christmas gift. They would also look nice on your filing cabinet at work. where ever you decide to stick them, they will look great! they best part is, you get a pack of 9 magnets for only 14.99, with world wide shipping! it's really addicting!, i'm wanting to take all my photos via instagram just so i can print them to magnets!!





so cool.

oh, christmas!

is it just me, or are Christmas light the most magical thing during this season? i love them. every time i look at them, they just seem to say Christmas!



there is something even more special sharing this special time of the year with a little one. seeing his eyes light up at the tree and the ornaments hanging is priceless. i have said it before and i'll keep saying it, he makes life so much more fun :)

he now his own Nativity set to play with and i must say it's the cutest. i love it when he doesn't know i'm listening, and he will say the sounds of the animals :) my heart does a few extra flips when this happens :)


hello beautiful Nebraska sunrise :) love waking up to that view every morning!




have yourself a very merry Christmas!!

xoxo

mason: 16 months

how do i have an {almost} year and a half little boy?? say what?! caarazy.

mason is fascinated about sitting in corners. weird i know. we don't even do the "sit in the corner because you are in trouble" either. he just thinks it's the best.

dont worry, i had JUST cleaned the floors and toilet. so we're good.



mason also thinks he is a cool dude :)


mason might be the next "dancing with the stars" star! that boy can bust a move if i don't say so myself!



....other bits about mason....
...mason says "AHHAHH" when ever he sees a duck on tv, one of dads decoys, on the calendar, or his bath toy duck. so cute.
...mason says "MOOO" when he gets to go to the farm or when he is playing with his LittlePeople Nativity set.
...says "WOOWOO" for puppy.
...he tries really hard to form words
...is a giggle box :)
...is a blabber mouth
...has a new love of books, especially tractor books or animal books. we found out that flap books aren't for him yet, as there aren't any more flaps on his books.
...he just can't help but dance when he hears any song!
...pretty much would eat a hot dog for every meal if we let him.
...the kid goes WILD when he sees a balloon. so needless to say our house is full of them. when we are in a store he will point and say BALL until the store clerk gives him one...good thing he's cute :)
...he naps once a day. usually a 2-2 1/2 hour nap.
...goes to bed around 8pm and wakes about 7-7:30am.
...still takes a bottle for nap and bed time. as long as he doesn't have it by kindergarten we'll be fine, right?! {oh well i don't care!}


love you to the moon and back little boy! :)
mama xoxo

weekend happenings

this past weekend was pretty glorious. for once, we didn't have any "set plans" with anyone or anywhere. don't get me wrong, i love to be in company with great friends, but every once in a while, it's great to be home with the two boys i love the most.

mason got to watch the first snow fall of the winter season. there is something magical about the first snow. aside staying in our pj's ALL day long, it makes me giddy and hope that we are snowed in for the day, sipping on hot cocoa, playing with mason, and watching movies during nap time :)





"da-da" and mason got to snuggle up too.....i might add that i was jealous. i mean come on, that's a mamas job to snuggle her little's :)



we got to meet up with my sister for a little bit and she game me this awesomely cute shirt for my birthday!!! thanks manda!! i just had to wear it for the 28 week snappy to show it off :)


yes, we are having a cowBOY :)


and last but not least, this weekend was chucked full of.......

tractors. mason has a new love of tractors. "ta-tor" as he would say :) do we have a farmer on our hands?????

have a great wednesday, friends!!!