Meet Kona

Let me introduce you to Kona, my third child! He is also know as Kona Bear, Kona Doodle and Koy ( that is what Jaxson called him before he could say Kona). We got Kona about a year before Jaxson was born. Let me tell you the story of how he came into our family.


We had discussed getting a dog numerous times before, but hadn't settled on what kind of dog. We knew we wanted a puppy we could train and a breed that had a good history of interacting with children. We knew we wanted to have kids soon, so we had to keep that in mind. One day, Brandon came home with the idea of a Labradoodle. I was like What? Did you just make that up? I was a little skeptical but another guy at the station hadn't recently gotten one and brought her in a few times. Brandon instantly fell in love with her. He had seen an ad in the paper for a breeder in our town and they had a litter. I saw the price and my jaw dropped! I didn't want to pay that much money for a dog, but I had to admit, they were pretty adorable.

I reluctantly agreed to go see the dogs. We initially thought we wanted a female but as soon as we walked to the kennel a shy little male walked over to us and laid his paw on my lap. I began to pet him and soon enough he climbed right into my lap and never left the whole time. I like to think that he chose us. Needless to say, I couldn't leave without knowing he was ours. We paid the deposit and came back a few weeks later to get him.

He is the most loving, patient, loyal, kind-hearted dog I know.  I am pretty sure he thinks he is human!

This what he looked like when we first brought him home!

With Jaxson

A couple Christmas' ago. Had to get all my kids in the picture!

Her favorite place to snuggle

Kendra prefers if Kona wears her bows. :)

perfect pillow!

Tag! You're it!

I have seen this fun game going around the blogosphere for awhile now and I am so excited that Catie over at Tales of a Real Housewife tagged me!

The rules are pretty simple; just post and answer the questions listed and tag a few people in your blog to answer some of your questions.

Catie's questions for me:

1. What do you order to drink at Sonic?
I have never been to a Sonic before! We don't have one nearby.
2. What is your favorite movie?
Hmm... this really depends on my mood. I love movies like Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Emma, but I also really enjoy thrillers too!
3. What is your favorite color?
Any shade of pink... but I tend to gravitate toward black and gray in my clothing.
4. If you could have any animal for a pet, what would it be?
A monkey
5. What is your favorite flower?
I love Orchids and Lilys
6. If you could go anywhere, where would it be and who would you go with?
There are so many places I would love to go. It has always been a dream of mine to spend a few months traveling through Europe and of course I would go with my hubby and kids!




So, here is who I am tagging:


Kerry @  It's the Little Things


Chelsea @  Feels Like Home


Tabitha @  Diva to Domestic


Jennifer @  I wanna Feel That Fire


Here are my questions for you ladies


1.) How do you take your coffee?
2.) Favorite weekend activity?
3.) Most treasured memory from childhood?
4.) Do you have any nicknames?
5.) What is your bedtime? 
6.) Favorite pizza toppings?


Thanks for playing along!

Friday's Letters

Dear Self,
Stop beating yourself up ALL the time!! The things you say to and think of yourself you would never ever say to anyone else. So, why do you say it you? Yes, you are still carrying around some extra weight and are very self conscious about it, but you can and will do something about it. Stop dwelling on the little things and start looking at the big picture! Learn to forgive yourself for your mistakes. Life is full of mistakes, you should know that by now. Use those mistakes as learning experiences and move on. You give such fantastic advice to others; it is about time you start following it.

Dear Kona,
I am sorry you had to take the back burner once the kids came along. I could never ever ask for a more patient and loving dog than you. You are the biggest sweetheart and silliest dog I know. You don't even think you are a dog. You are so loyal and protective of the kids. You have endured endless hours of ear tugging, tail pulling, treat stealing and being ridden as a horse. I promise we will get back to our regular walks soon.

Dear Jaxson,
We may be right at the end of the terrible twos and fazing into the trying threes. We have had some rough days, lately. Momma is still trying to get a handle on all of this. So, please bare with me as I try not to loose my patience. I love you more than words could ever explain and am so proud of all the new things you are learning and doing.

Dear Kendra,
You are really starting to find your voice and have no problem asserting yourself! Nearly everyday you are surprising me with brand new words. A few from this week are shoe, nose and even Zumba! You are a little spitfire and so full of energy. Thank you for being such an awesome sleeper. :)

Budgeting Failure!

Another one of my resolutions this year was to really sit down and go through our finances and pinpoint where all our money is going! I used to pride myself on being really thorough and organized.... well not anymore. Let's be honest here. We live on one income and it is not always easy.

I will be the first to admit that I have a bit of a shopping problem. Now, when I was working full time as well, this wasn't much of a problem. It was no biggie to drop a little bit here and a little bit there. Now, it's a huge deal if I am not conscious of every penny! Of course, that is fine and we all have to make sacrifices and these are sacrifices I gladly and willingly make.

However, as the end of the year approached I noticed our savings beginning to dwindle more and more. With Christmas and birthdays and vacation things got a little out of hand and I decided I needed to sit down and get it back on track. Now, before we just made estimates of what we thought we were spending on groceries and entertainment and so on. I sat down today and went through a suggested budget on Dave Ramsey's total money makeover site. It was such a helpful tool to give me good guidelines. I felt like these were realistic numbers for us and something we could really do if we stuck to it. I like the idea of using envelopes and keeping a pre-determined amount of cash in each. When it's gone it's gone! I don't know about you, but when I have to hand over cash and not a debit card I have a much harder time parting with it, and think twice about what I am purchasing.

So, with a plan of action in hand I headed over to Mint.com (which is amazing, as well). You link up all of your accounts and it creates a budget and categorizes your spending. Let's just say that what I thought I was paying for groceries was WAY off base. You know a few trips here and there really add up! I was shocked! I realized now that this is going to be harder than I thought. Sure, I have a budget that I feel will be workable but when I actually see right in front of me how we have been spending our money the last few months I am very disappointed. I know we can do so much better.

So, I drew up a budget with a little bit of wiggle room and I am hoping that we can stick to it. I really like the idea of cash envelopes and think I will implement that into how we pay for things. A few months ago I surrendered(on my own!) my credit card over to the hubby because I don't even want the temptation in my wallet. I really want to pay down our debt and build up our savings!

I will have to let you know how it goes! What are some of the ways you budget or do you have any good tips for me?

Splish Splash!!

Well, it's back to rain up here in the Pacific Northwest. I can't say that I am surprised and to be honest, I enjoy it more than the snow.

If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that one of my resolutions this year was to  slow down a bit more and take time to really enjoy the little moments. I want to say "yes" to my kids more  and "no" a lot less.

So, in an effort to enjoy a simple pleasure today I bundled Jaxson up in his rain gear and we headed out to find the best puddles we could to splash in ! Let me tell you, he was so excited! Normally I am shrieking at him to stop because he generally finds the muddiest puddle and soaks himself when we are trying to get into the car.  He couldn't believe that I was actually giving him permission and encouraging him to do so.

I may have joined in too! :)

There is something about a big pot of chili simmering ALL day that makes it feel like Winter.I love Sundays when I am curled up inside watching football while it is stormy outside and the aroma of dinner is wafting through the house all day. Here is my favorite chili recipe and it is pretty simple ( I love simple).

Here's what you will need:

•   1 lb ground turkey ( or ground beef, if you prefer)
•   1 can black beans
•   1 can kidney beans
•   1 pkg chili seasoning
•   1 15 oz. can mexican style stewed tomatoes
•   1 15 oz. can whole kernel corn
•   1 5.5 oz. can V8 or tomato juice

* I prefer a really  thick chili,so I usually add an extra can of beans, either kidney or black, whatever I have on hand. :)

Go ahead and brown your meat and then it is as simple as throwing everything into the crockpot and stirring it together. You can cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4-6.  I like to add Tabasco sauce to mine for extra flavor but because we have little ones I don't mix it in beforehand.


That's it! Enjoy!

Linking up today!

Seven Sins Survey

Linking up today over at Whispering Sweet Nothings. Such a fun little survey.
                                                                     pride

seven great things in your life.

1.My kids!

2. My loving and supportive husband.

3.A great group of friends who are always there for me.

4. Planning a mini getaway with the hubby soon.

5. My family.... I have incredible parents and in-laws!

6.Contentment

7. A comfortable, happy home that is all ours!

envy

seven things you lack and covet

1. More time to myself

2. A better relationship with God

3. Height ( I'm not even 5 '1)

4. A fitter, healthier body

5. another baby :(

6. More patience with my loved ones
7. A college degree or technical degree... some sort of degree. :)

wrath

seven things that make you angry

1. When people cut me off

2. Any form of child or animal abuse.

3.Narrow mindedness of any kind

4.Judgmental people

5. Loud chewers (it's a pet peeve)

6. My son's back talking

7.  The basic lack of respect that seems to be so prevalent these days.

sloth

seven things that you neglect to do.

1. work out :(

2. floss daily

3.read or watch the news

4. Give my dog enough attention

5.  Spend time with my friends

6. relax!

7. Organize

greed

seven worldly material desires.

1. an Ipad

2. New bed and pillows

3. a kitchen remodel

4. New wedding ring..... quite a few of my diamonds are loose and or chipped.

5. A walk in closet

6. New wardrobe for new closet :)

7. hmm.......treadmill?

gluttony

seven guilty pleasures.

1. Pinterest

2. Starbucks Peppermint Mochas

3.Hershey's special dark candy bars

4. Coach purses 

5.Reality t.v.

6. Mexican food

7. Facebook.

lust

seven things you love about love

1. The inside jokes that only a history of being together can bring

2.Finishing eachother's thoughts and sentences

3. Being best friends.

   4. Creating life together

5. the memories

6. Pet names.

7. Being a team.