resolutions.

or things i want to do this year.

1. learn photoshop elements. i do all my editing in lightroom. i have PSE and should learn how to use it. now, whether i actually use it for processing my photos? eh, we'll see. but i want to know more of what i *can* do.

2. bust out my new sigma 85 1.4 and show it out in all its glory. its a mere few states away on a nice USPS truck coming to my house right now. and im purely giddy about it.

3. keep going to the gym 3-4x a week. the holidays (and EJ home) made me so lazy bc i didnt want to get up and go. so instead of 3-4, i was down to 2-3 and it bummed me out. so this year i really do want to make sure i get up and OUT! of course, the kids back in school will help bc i have to take them by 9am :)

4. change up my gym routine. i go to the same classes all the time. i dont want to miss those classes -- but i need to add something to confuse my body a bit. i always get down to the same "body" after babies and then it stalls.... bc nothing changes in my routine. so that needs to be fixed.

5. eat better. make the kids eat better. i need to take out the processed crap we have in our house and just STOP with it all. i can get them to eat fruit at any point in time, but i need to figure out how to throw veggies in there without having to make a smoothie and trick them ;) and besides, going to the gym does nothing when i come home and eat shit.

6. be more patient. i really do think i have a lot of patience as a mom with a 4 year old, 2.5 year old, and 8 month old. i pride myself in that -- but i want it to be 100% of the time (ok 99%. lets not go crazy). i dont want to get frustrated with the small things and "la dee da" with bigger ones. i want to be "its okay. none of this is a big deal" with everything my kids do to torment me throughout the day. its okay that ive said "put your shoes on please" 50x. its okay that aidan's room is, yet again, a disaster zone. its okay that ive gone through 203942309482 dishes for the day even thought i *just* did them earlier that morning. its allllll okay.

7. go to church. this is something i think would be nice for all of us. i have aidan and sawyer learning so much in their baptist little preschool, but i want to be a part of it again. i want to make nice friends there, have my kids meet more friends, and overall - have a day of the week where i can feel whole again.

8. plan, in advance, date nights with EJ. i am going to talk to the sitter and mark down days ahead of time that she can come over. that way, even if my parents are at the lake, we can at least go out to dinner more often just the 2 of us :)

9. stay on top of my business. not bc i was ever behind, mind you - but i want to make sure i keep organized, everything filed as it should, etc etc... i dont ever want to be in a spot where "omg where is that" or "omg i totally forgot about ______". so i will continue to be as diligent as i have been in the past few months :) it feels good to have a whole sector of my life that i can keep completely how *i* want it to be. bc its mine. its my business.

10. fight my baby fever. well, eh? maybe. LOL

day 9.

Day 9-A picture of your friends

or rather, picturessssss.

we'll just do those who we see most often. ;) and who my kids are besties with as well.

first, we have david. or, "day-did" :) ive known him since, oh, 2004. and we are 2 peas in a pod. he loves my girls, and they adore him back. now in dallas (after spending a few wretched years after waco in the sink-hole known as houston) life is inevitably better. lol





we also have ashley. or, "lashley" :) who ive known since.. wow, 1998? is that right? a long time LOL either way, she's been around for all my kids. and they know her so well that im pretty sure they think she's their bestie.







then there's nathan. or "nason". which is ashley boyfriend turned our friend then kid friend as well :) he's full of fun all the time ;) ive "known" him since HS, but not really until last spring.



we have other friends, obviously LOL i am still searching for that wine pic of amanda w. and sawyer. it'll show up soon haha then that'll be on here too.

we're so lucky, though. i cant imagine not having these people in my life. they get us. they understand that we cant go out all the time, but hey - just come over. they help with the kids if we need them too, they come over a bit early just to make sure they see ASR before bedtime.

we are are blessed.

birthday parties.

so.

we always have bday parties for the kids. always. for a few reasons.

1. we dont have a lot of friends with kids so its a reason for all of us to get together and have a great time.

2. the kids LOVE our friends and vice versa. so having them all there in one place at one time is phenomenal.

3. good food and good drinks. yep.

so sawyer and EJ's combo bday party was sunday. so much fun. we DID, actually, have kids there this time - some cousins, aidan's best friend, etc - so that was nice :) my parents and brother/sil were there. we had a nice baby station set up for reese and rylan (my new niece) lol

and we had yummies.

our snackies included (not all made by me. no way lol my mom and friends brought lots of stuff):

7 layer dip
buffalo chicken dip
mini-philly things
cream cheese/olive dip
little weenie pigs in a blanket things
sliders with all the "stuff"
cake
mojitos
beer
lots of wine
and all the sodas, chips, pretzels, etc.


yep. divine. my diet of the past 2 days has consisted of the extras. and thats okay by me. you can go to my other blog to check out some pics :)