IT'S IN THE AIR...

LOVE...THAT IS!!!

The LOVE month is right around the corner!!!

GET READY FOR SOME LOVIN!!!

I'M PUBLISHED!!! Or I should say quoted...

I am a V.I.P. people! At least in my own head I am. :) We have a friend from college, Tiernan, and she is a writer. (Remember I posted a pic of her from our Colorado trip.) ANYWAY...like I said she is a writer for a couple online websites and in her latest article on starting a family blog she asked me to help! WOO HOO!!! Of course I would help!!! I am a blog expert...right?!

So, Tiernan emailed me some questions to answer, and I sent them back to her. Then in a mighty quick fashion, she sent me the draft that her editor was going to review. Too fun!!! I was quoted twice and feel famous!

Here's the link...so be sure to check it out! http://www.sheknows.com/articles/813426

THANK YOU TIERNAN for including me!!!

WOO HOO!!! He's napping today...even after sleeping 12 hours last night!!!

Although, that might not be a good thing if it keeps him up later. :( I could wake him up and not let him just wake up on his own? My mommy decision making skills are going to have to help me decide what to do with this child of mine and his naps. I guess he's about 2 months shy of turning 3, so I could pull the plug on the napping, and not feel too guilty. Do I absolutely need Christian to take a nap? NO! Does it make him any less or more crazy later in the day if he doesn't have one? NO! Do I love that he still is a solid nighttime sleeper and will go to bed with ease? YES! Do I love that his napping would free me from a couple of hours of brotherly squabbles? YES! I do love too that it might make him a bit more scheduled too. Oh the decision...I guess this no nap thing might not make him my little baby anymore either...boo hoo! I have had a good ride with both my kids and their fab sleeping habits, so I can't complain. Maybe it's time to start a new chapter of childhood nap free?!

I KNOW...I will sleep on it!!!

What to do with my little CW?!

Oh, my little Christian Walker...you are a stinker! This is you at dinner, making a train track out of your grapes and blueberries.

AND NOW...

YOU WANT TO GIVE UP NAPS???!!!

I can't even believe this is what you want? Don't you want your mommy to have some sanity? Don't you want your own peace and quiet away from me and Cutter? PLEASE, say that you do??!! Don't you know that you are still 2??!!

AHHHHHH...

BOYS BEING BOYS...

NO WORDS ARE NECESSARY...

OH, BUT OF COURSE LET'S NOT FORGET MR. CHRISTIAN!

I LOVE THESE BOYS!!!

It's raining...it's pouring...

It sure is...and we LOVE it!!! Seriously, rainy and cloudy weather is my favorite!!! It does make coming and going to school an adventure...

Christian just taking his sweet time.
DUDE...it's pouring...hurry up!!!


Okay...have a little playtime...why not?!

Cutter's turn...

Finally, back to the car and FREEZING!
WE LOVE OUR RAINY AZ DAYS!!!

Patience is a virtue!

That's right people it is!!! I am happy to say that my patience and parenting skills have paid off because this sweet boy...is now an official big kid!

WOO HOO...CUTTER ANDREW KENNEDY IS DONE WITH DIAPERS!!!

ADIOS PULL UPS, WE NO LONGER NEED YOU FOR POOP OR FOR BEDTIME!!!

THANKS FOR BEING THERE FOR US FOR ALMOST 5 YEARS, WE SO APPRECIATE YOUR LOYALTY!!!

Ok, that's 1 down and 1 to go...Christian get ready because this might be the thing to get me motivated!!!

HAPPY DAY...HAPPY DAY...HAPPY DAY!!!

Silence is golden...

Is it??? I guess when you have boys, silence usually means trouble! The blessing of a small house is that you can be in any room and hear what's going on in another. So, while in my room today I am thinking "oh, my boys are so good, nice and QUIET!" I should have known better...I walked out to find this...

Yes...Christian is getting ready to climb up onto the entertainment center. :)

"What? I didn't do anything?"


Cutter says, "Mom, it's our chairlift".


It could of been worse. I guess they just wanted to be close to the TV so they could put their feet up and relax.

Mental note to self: silence+boys=go check it out mom.

Park Play

What do you do when you can't go eat??? (I mean besides go insane!) You blow off nap time, get out of the house, and go to the park!!!

At least the kiddos are happy!!!

The Waffle Routine...

Christian's breakfast of choice right now is waffles, with butter and sugar on it. However, he also has a certain way that he has to go about it before he can eat it.

STEP 1...He gets the waffles out of the freezer.

STEP 2...He has to be the one to "choose" which one he wants out of the bag. I guess all waffles are not created equal. :)

STEP 3...He freakin' has to bite the frozen waffle before he hands it over. GROSS!


STEP 4...He can now enjoy the yummy goodness!
(I swear I toasted it.)

We do this EVERYTIME he has one!

That's our crazy Christian!!!

The 2010 Mommy & Wife

Ok, so still feeling the newness of the new year, I have been trying to use this week to get the Kennedy family organized and in some kind of routine. I do enjoy routines/schedules/lists but don't always stick to them (even though I do LOVE to make them). However, this week between cleaning, organizing, trial and error, I think I am going to be able to get on board with some mommy & wife 2010 goals for myself. I mean who doesn't want to feel like the best mommy & wife ever?!

Now, first off I am not perfect by any means nor do I want to be. BUT...I would like to feel like I am doing my best daily for my 3 boys. I am very blessed to have the life I have and not to mention the time I have. The Kennedy house is more or less pretty mellow, day in and day out, and truly God has blessed us with a very peaceful existence we can truly enjoy. SO...I am going to do my best to not take it for granted. I will be content and happy being a great mommy to Cutter and Christian AND a very appreciative and loving wife to Collin.

After all...I think they are worth it!!!

So, this post is really about ME! I figured if I put the words out there it might help me stay in check and committed to what I want to accomplish. Let's get started...shall we???

MOMMY GOALS

1. Boys in bed at 8 pm.
2. READ, READ, READ with Cutter and Christian.
3. Consistent discipline
4. Teeth brushed 2x a day...UGH! (not gonna lie, not one of best duties)
5. Play more with them...use 1 on 1 time better with them.

WIFE GOALS

1. Take better care of house, so Collin feels more relaxed after working.
2. Be more appreciative & loving.
3. Cooking
4. Being financially responsible
5. Quality time with Collin (the boys in bed @ 8 will help with this)

ME GOALS

I will make sure to be my best to my family that I will take time for myself too.

That's it...I guess I am on my way to that perfection I talked about...HA...wish me luck!!!

(Seriously...I can't freakin' figure this font stuff out...WTH!!!)

New Year Resolution Time

Okay, so I always love the new year and the chance to make a few resolutions. There is just something about starting over or starting something new, and I get kind of a high from it. Well, I am sure I am not the only one, but mine never last. There's always the same ones each year...lose weight/exercise...be a better CEO of the Kennedy House...blah, blah, blah. So, this year instead of "resolutions", how about a....

I looked the two words up in the dictionary and "goal" seemed to be more powerful to me, therefore, leading the Kennedy's to make some family goals. (Actually, I am making them for us, and Collin will find out about them when he reads this.) :) He'll love it!

GOAL 1...
DATE NIGHTS FOR US!!!

Although, I do hesitate at using the term "date night". It doesn't really fit us, seems a bit too mushy for my taste. BUT...if that's what it has to be called to get a night out, then that's what we will call it! We always say we are going to have them, but it never happens. As a couple we know it's important to get away from the boys and spend some time alone together, so we'll give it a go in 2010.

GOAL 2 and 3...

QUALITY ONE ON ONE TIME WITH KIDDOS!

Now that the boys are older and much easier to go places with, I think it's good parenting to spend some time alone with each one. So, I guess they can each have a "date night" with myself or Collin. :) Too cute!!! I figure to keep it budget friendly when one kid is out the other can just hang at home, and next time we'll switch. I am looking forward to seeing what "kid dates" we can come up with.

THE BIG GOAL...MAYBE WE SHOULD CALL IT A CHALLENGE???

I can't even believe I agreed to this one, but Collin suggested that for the month of January we try and not eat out to see how much money we save. WHAT??? Seriously, this is what we like to do...it's our weekend food plan!!! I guess I will try anything once and who knows it might be kinda fun! So here is our starting point...

I know it can be a bit shocking, but more often than not our refrigerator usually looks like this. I am a week to week shopper, and don't like to over buy. I feel like we waste too much if I buy too much. The plus is, our fridge is always clean and wiped down. I LOVE IT!!! Anyway, tomorrow it all starts and this will be filled (kind of) and the challenge will begin. I guess if it works, then by the end of January I should be the new Rachel Ray considering all the cooking I will be doing.

HMMMMM...time to go ask Collin where we are going for dinner...let the games begin!!!

GOOD MORNING 2010!

What were we doing last night at this time??? Catching some Z's, of course! :) Seriously, I did wake up at 12:04, but went right back to bed thinking "ok...it's 2010". The night was not lost however with no celebration. Collin and I managed a night out and headed to a fab New Year's Eve dinner. We went to our favorite (it has seen our engagment, some birthdays and anniversaries) and there's no better place to celebrate other than....MASTRO'S!!! YUMMY!!!

On our drive there we were trying to figure out the last time we went out for New Year's. We figured it had to be pre-kids, and probably 2004! (Kari, remember "smoke more in 04!") The last few years we have been in Durango, so I thought since we were here let's do something! We had a great dinner, good mommy/daddy time, and we were back home at 9. Thank you east coast time because at least we made it to midnight by your time. :) I think we are finally OLD!

So, now it is a new day and a new year...time to get resolutions in order...and start 2010 off right! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!