5x7 Folded Card

Thanks Much Sky Thank You 5x7 folded card

Send custom cards from Shutterfly for St. Patrick's Day.

View the entire collection of cards.

debbie downer

i'm having a rough mommy day. there are a lot of variables contributing, not really sure any one of them warrants the cranky feeling i'm having. but all combined, they are bringing me to the edge. ok, not really the edge.....but i'm still .... just .... blah. i feel like i'm in over my head with this toddler i have. for the first time, he pulled something breakable off a shelf at hancock fabrics today. and it broke. and the cashier wouldn't let me pay for it. i said "i'm so sorry" and she said "i know you are" i'm not sure if she was being sarcastic or not, but i felt judged for having a wild child running around laughing. i felt really judged. the worst part was that i didn't know...really....how to handle it. obviously i wanted to/tried to pay for the broken little knickky-knack. but as for levi, i didn't know how to handle it. i told him that was not ok, but what else should i have done? when do you start spanking? what warrants a spanking? how do you discipline an (almost) 18 month old wild child who is too curious to pay attention to you for more than 5 seconds? i know these questions are so different for every parent, i just really feel like i need some guidance. i feel so impatient. i feel like i'm losing my temper with him too quickly. i don't want to be the mom who yells.....i just don't feel like he listens to me. he's starting to pitch little fits....involving kicking, screaming and writhing on the floor, simply when i ask him to get out of the fridge. how did he get so old so fast?

on top of all this feeling inadequate and judged....... we have water in our basement :( and none of our babysitters are available on saturday to watch levi so we can go out for our anniversary (which is FINE. i understand they have their own lives..... just bummed) and i feel sick. it's probably the weather, but it's a vicious cycle. i feel gross cuz i can't go outside and play, but i can't go outside and play cuz the weather is bad. so i feel sick :( like i said, each of these on their own is really no big deal. when they all culminate at once, they are sucky :(

and then the little monster falls asleep like this, even before lunch. apparently running wild and breaking things takes it's toll on you. this makes me smile, even when i want to pull my hair out.

what an arm!

i'm sad how long it's been since i've updated this thing. i got sick, then healthy, then sick again. mat's taken three business trips, my sister came to visit, levi's been sick for almost a month and we took a vacation to seattle (levi and i met mat out there on the tale end of one business trip). it's been a whirlwind few weeks, and now the littlest smith has an ear infection, cold virus, faucet for a nose and a wicked cough. but he's still fun. and he still offers kisses......which i readily accept even when there is snot in them. all too soon, the day will come that he won't want to kiss his mama anymore.
his newest thing is chucking EVERYTHING. he walks up to me with a toy. i cringe, worrying he's going to throw it in my face. he sucked down a sippy cup of water at hobby lobby today, and promptly rocketed it to the lady standing behind us in line. then he smiled. little stinker.
our vacation was amazing. it was our first not-montana vacation in 3 years (i think)......our first 3 member family vacation EVER. we spent thursday through tuesday in seattle, staying on lake union. we rode the elevator, watched the sea planes land from our room, ate lots of seafood, walked a lot and cuddled in our king size bed. levi did good, all except for the first night. but don't we all cry and wail in our first night in a strange hotel bed? we visited family, met lots of new friends, saw some dear old friends, took a trip up the space needle, to the children's museum, the waterfront.....it was excellent. we have lots and lots of pictures, i'll put them in the next post. i'm a lucky lady, with some great friends and two boys in my life whom i love very very much.
blessed.

here's a link to the vacation pictures. hope it works!

stop chewing on aunt katie

for some reason there are tons of school pictures of aunt katie floaing around our basement, and levi loves carrying her around with him :) and he's getting more teeth, so everything is going in the mouth again. and he's a slobber monster. and he's napping in the morning again. these teeth are really taking a lot out of him. poor goober. other than his mouth hurting, he's doing great. we survived mat being gone for 5 days in indianapolis, now we are looking forward to our seattle trip next month. :) levi has lots of new friends to meet in seattle, and we have lots of family time to look forward to! and aunt connie is visiting between now and then! yay! i'm reading a lot in this great book called "you matter more than you think" and it's really stretching me. i'm trying to get better about doing a devotional, thoughtful, just-me reading every day, but not beating myself up when it doesn't happen every day. i want to work on being more real in this blog, putting more of myself out there and seeing what i get back. trying to be a better wife, a more diligent mom, a more thoughtful friend, a more intentional child of God, a more genuine person all around. lots of growing and tugging and work, but it'll be worth it in the end. i've also been working out more, or at least trying to....and it's an interesting parallel to my relationship with Jesus. both are hard work, but both are SO worth the hard work, one obviously more so than the other. but if i make time for the crazies on my work out dvds, who don't know me from adam......why not more so should i make time for the lover of my soul?

who wants some free stuff???

head on over to little boys are made of frogs, snails and puppy dog tails for a fun giveaway from baby lovenotes.

and if you are here because of the giveaway, say hey and let me know! :)

wordless wednesday

if you keep using that as a dinglehopper, i'm taking it away

this lovely laughable came out of my dear hubby's mouth at dinner the other night. levi's using his own fork now, mostly. but it mostly is used to comb his hair and nearly poke eyes out. it's pretty funny, really. but he's getting more independent every day. and so smart. when i ask if he wants to go outside, he goes into his room and brings me his shoes. he listens really well most of the time and is, of course, so fun. he hates flip flops and hats; he's loving my sunglasses right now, even though they don't stay on his face. he is phasing out his morning nap, which will take more adjusting for me than for him!! last week my grandparents and uncle and cousin visited for 5 days. it was so much fun. levi spent lots of time with gg pat and papa bob, as well as playing and snuggling with brittany and spent most of the trip to the zoo in uncle rob's arms. it was so fun, he really warmed up to them quickly and would readily go to them whenever they came in the door. we went to the zoo, lots of shopping, and lots of good eating. uncle rob, brittany, mat and i went to a nuggets game one night too, it was SO NICE to have a kidless night, without having to get up every thirty seconds to walk around, keeping wiggly fingers from pulling strangers hair or put his fingers in our beer. it was lovely. mat, brittany and i were supposed to run in a 7k that sunday, but i came down with a stubborn cough, cold and sore throat, so everyone decided i should just skip it and relax. which was better for me, i know. i just felt like i was whimping out. i'll make up for it, soon hopefully. it was a fantastic long weekend with family. we miss them already. mat's leaving on friday for indianapolis until wednesday, which makes me sad. i'm just hoping i feel better by then, that'll make the time much more enjoyable and easier on this mama.

clumsy

"i fell on my ear, i fell on my face
i fell on myself all over the place"

this is the story of this house lately. i broke my baby pinky toe, have an inch-long gash on my hand, and i've been struggling with this stinky cold for a week. levi is walking, spinning circles, trying to run and tumble. he's so busy that he's smacking his face and head on everything. lots of bruises and tear around here. though i'd expect nothing less with a toddler. he keeps us on our toes, that's for sure. he's awesome

decluttering

simplemom

jump on the band wagon!