hair

I have been wearing my hair curly almost everyday for about a year and a half now.  I have more recently done some research as to what is the best way to take care of curly hair and just hair in general.  I have learn some new things and been putting them into practice recently.  Yesterday I took my shower in the evening after the kids we put to bed.  I think decided to go ahead and blow dry it straight with a round brush.  Last time I took my shower at night and tried to style it curly and naturally dry it didnt look so hot the next day so I thought maybe this would be an option for the mornings I just cant pull myself out of bed early enough to shower and get the boys out the door on time.  I must say I think it turned out pretty well.  No one in my family has mentioned the difference but I suppose that is what you get with a bunch of boys and a 2 year old girl.  I guess if they didnt say anything it must not look terrible or I am sure one of the little boys would have said something!  Hope everyone is having a great week and staying warm here in Iowa!

Some pictures for our weekend away at the hotel with Jeremy's family

Cooking with Mommy

I found a new homemade granola bar on pintrest last week and Aubrey and I decided to make it one morning after taking the big boys to school. It was much quicker and easier than my previous recipie and the results were just as good. Aubrey got a cute little apron and chef hat for Christmas so she enjoys wearing those when she helps me in the kitchen.

100 days of school

Nile and I completed his 100 day school project tonight. He is super excited for the 100th day of school party in his kindergarten class, mostly because it falls on the day after his 6th birthday! The next two weeks will be busy around here with birthday parties, our 8th anniversary, an Iowa basketball game, etc. We enjoyed this weekend since we had nothing on the calendar and know that from here on out we will probably be pretty busy until we head out on our big trip to Disney World!

Aubrey's new bed

Aubrey is now potty trained so she got her new big girl bed Friday night. Bed time and naps have been a little more difficult but we will adjust. I know what you are thinking - she will be three in three months and she was still in a crib! Well to be honest she never tried to climb out or fell out and so we just kept her in there. She didnt mind and it was just easier with all of the other changes we had last year. She was so excited to get her bed so I am hoping soon she will sleep in it a little easier. I had to nap with her this afternoon, I know I know I was very disappointed about this too! But I am getting ready to start classes again so I need naptime to get studying and homework done.

Pictures to go along with homemade post

homemade laundry detergent chicken breasts marinating in homemade Italian dressing for grilling

Homemade

Yesterday Jeremy mentioned that it would be nice to take advantage of the nice weather we will be having Friday and grill.  We decided on chicken breast since we had some from a meal we didnt end up making this week.  I didnt have any Italian dressing at home and in an attempt to make due with what we have and make more things from scratch I found a pintrest recipe online.  Heres hoping it tastes great!  I am sure it will since it will have been marinating for over 24 hours!

This morning I needed to make some more homemade laundry detergent so I brought all of the ingredients up to the kitchen and get it done.  I had found a few new recipes on pinterest that took only a few more ingredients and made a much bigger batch.  I mixed everything up and if definitely makes a much bigger batch!!  Now I just need to work on the kids bathroom, not smelling so great in there with three little ones using the potty!  But we are officially out of diapers!  Aubrey has been doing great all day and during naps.  She just needs a pull up for bedtime.  It is so nice to not have to change diapers anymore!  I have been changing kiddos for over 8 years straight!!  Although it is somewhat bitter sweet and means that my babies are all growing up it is also wonderful to not have to drag a diaper bag everywhere and spend money on diapers and wipes.  Later today Aubrey will be getting her new big girl bed.  My parents will be bringing over a full size bed that matches the dresser they gave us for Aubrey when we moved here.  She is very excited about this.  We have ordered her a set of Minnie Mouse sheets and we already have one other set.  Hopefully for her birthday she will get the full bedding zebra set I have picked out from Target.

Along with the new year Jeremy and I are trying to be better stewards with our money and more diligent with saving and not "wasting" our hard earned money.  Pella Corp is starting a new thing where they auto withdrawal 3% from your paycheck before taxes to go into your retirement account.  You can opt out of the program but we are going to give it a try.  We are also working to not use credit cards if at all possible.  This is something hard for me.  We always pay off the full balance each month so I never thought of it as a problem.  The more I have thought about it though the more I have seen that maybe the purchases with make with are cards could be better serviced to delay the purchase until we have the cash or do without.  So far it is a great feeling to now that soon we will have little to not credit card bill each month and should be coming out ahead each month. 

I was hoping to add some pictures to this post but am having trouble getting it to come up with my pictures on my computer.  Oh well.  Hopefully next time!