Rylan's Turing ONE!!

I can not believe it! You know when when everyone (older people) tells you to "enjoy it now, they grow up so fast" when you have your first baby... I don't think you really realize it until it seems like you blinked and they are having their 1st, 2nd, 3rd birthday... I know that you may be thinking... wait until they are teenagers, graduate and move out... then you will really think time flies... well honestly I don't want to think about that so right now we are just going to chat about how fast Rylan's 1st year went...

This was me the day of my due date...
then a few days later HE ARRIVED!
Cam is such an amazing daddy! He loves his little girl and his little guy!
Our first family photo...
My little baby boy! We were SOOOO excited to hear we were having a boy after having our baby girl first. (I honestly dreamed of having a girl then a boy when I was younger) we were so blessed to have a healthy (little chunky) baby boy arrive only a few days after his due date.
Let me tell you, after having him I would have 5 more! He was an EASY baby! My first, not so much... she didn't sleep through the night until her brother came along... She was a challenge(a good challenge) but I wouldn't change it because she prepared me for having another baby!
Rylan slept through the night, ate very well, was healthy his whole first year (with minor colds here and there) and got his nick name "Smilin' Rylan" Everyone says he smiles soo much, they have never seen a kid smile like him... He is my happy boy! I love it!


His birthday is actually May 3rd but we are having his first birthday party with family and friends on the 7th of May (Saturday) because weekend work best and his daddy will be home too :)
He makes me smile :)
I am one of those moms who likes checking out ideas online for parties to get inspired and wants to have a theme and have fun with it :) For Adalie's 2nd Birthday we did a Cowgirl theme, I used Create a Critter and did all the farm animals on 12x12 paper to decorate and it was a blast. I am so sad I forgot to take pictures of all my boy and girl farm animals :( ... For Rylan's Birthday I tossed the idea of Dinosaurs, Robots or Monsters for a theme... we came up with monsters (mostly because I just love the mini monster cartridge and wanted to use it so bad)

Here are the invitations (just for a peak of whats to come)

I got the paper in a big pack from Winners... it had a little of every occasion and this was the "Halloween" themed stuff... (we don't do Halloween so I am getting a different use out of it)

I have so many fun ideas and I WILL remember to take photos of all the fun decorations! I am going to use my cartridge as much as possible, Favors, Decor, even a t-shirt for the little birthday monster... Stay tuned for photos from our little monster's party after the weekend of the 7th :)

Thanks for visiting :)

Photobucket

Staying Organized...

My life has change drastically over the last 5 years. Here is my last 5 years in a nutshell...
- April 7th, 2007 I got engaged to my best friend (My high school sweetheart)
- October 13, 2007 we got married on a beautiful fall day.
- January 14th, 2008 (our 5 year dating anniversary) we found out we were expecting our first baby!
- September 23, 2008 our daughter Adalie Lydia was born on her due date.
- July 2009 we found out number two was on the way.
- May 3, 2010 our son, Rylan Darcy arrived 3 days late.

Going from a dating couple to wife to mom of two happened so fast. I wouldn't change a thing! I LOVE my husband and two beautiful kids! We were blessed to be able to have kids so soon and have healthy pregnancies and babies! But being a mommy of two and a wife to a hard working husband who works out of town most of the year life is sometimes a little overwhelming.

To keep myself sane and life somewhat in order I use a few tools that help me get and stay organized. I thought I would share a few of those resources with you :)

One of my main resources I use is my Household Planner. You can view and download the templates HERE. After looking at a ton of websites and books I came up with my own household planner. I keep my budget, bills, meal planner, daily planner etc in this binder. It has all the information I need to stay organized.
My other favorite resource is one I have just discovered. My husband and I both have iPhones and I also have a rooted Nook that is now an Android tablet. I came across this website www.cozi.com If my kids were teenagers this would be an amazing way to keep everyone on track too!
My husband and I are able to add, edit, and create our calendar. Appointments, bills, important dates, etc get added to the calendar. You can color categorize everything, also you can get it to send email reminders to everyone in your family who it applies to. It is awesome! and it is FREE!!!
From Grocery lists to your daily calendar this app is awesome! We love it because no matter where in the country my husband is he still knows and can check dates, appointments and everything. We even have added what comes out of our bank on auto withdrawal. Its great! When the kids get older it will also be great to add school events and such as well!

My other resources for keeping life manageable are from some of my favorite websites and magazines. I use tips and tricks from each of the following

FlyLady.net - This website is full of de-clutter, cleaning and organizing tricks!
www.realsimple.com - I love this magazine! Full of tips and tricks! I love the issues where they give you uses for every day things or new uses for old things!! You don't have to purchase the magazine, they have great information on their website!!
www.bhg.com - I LOVE this website! They have so many good magazines too, I love the Do it Yourself magazine, the Storage magazine and the quilting magazines (My MOST favorite is Quilts and More)
My last website I am going to share with you is my favorite place to find last minute recipes, they are simple, SOO good and a bonus, most of them contain ingredients I already have in my cupboards. www.kraftcanada.com
I hope you find these helpful! I love reading articles and learning new ways to make life simple!

Enjoy! Hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Easter!!

Photobucket