*Happy 3rd Birthday Delilah*

My how you've grown! Such a beautiful, sweet little girl. A loving big sister and the happiest little sister. You make our family so special.

Lilah loved being snuggled. 8 days old being worn in a Moby wrap.

Lilah at 4 months

Lilah at 10 months

Lilah at 13 months

Lilah at 18 months

Lilah tonight. Soooooo excited to be THREE!

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY LILAH-LOO.

1.11.11

Well, there is it ---------------------------------------------}

The link to my Flickr. I'm also going to post a link to the actual 365 Project page in a bit. I'm going to add my project to the actual website.

But that will have to wait until the next naptime. Babies are up :)

Enjoy.

365 Project

Yes, I'm late to the game. But I also haven't blogged in almost a month so what do you expect? :)

Life is getting busy. Did I say busy? Sorry, I meant B.U.S.Y.

The holidays are over, life is resuming and it seems it is flashing before my eyes. The babies are *almost* walking. Madeline is in her 2nd year of college, Joseph has started a bit of college, Noah got a cell phone, Juliette decided to grow dreadlocks, Annabel will be 5 soon and Delilah is almost 3. THREE. All my babies are growing up and I don't LIKE IT AT ALL.

Hence, the 365 Project. This will, hopefully, be a way for me to look back on this year and smile instead of panic that everything is happening way.too.fast. People have been doing these for a long time, but as usual, I'm slow.

What is it? It's a commitment to you to take a picture every day. And document it. It doesn't matter what it's of. It can be anything. You, your children, the yard, your dog. Take your camera with you to Starbucks. Take a walk, take your camera. Have a Dr's appointment? Take your camera. You don't even have to record it every day, do it once or twice a week. Cant take a picture every day? How about Project 52? Once a week. That's not too hard, right?

I'm starting my Project 365 on 1.11.11. This date has significance for me in that it was my Great-Grandmas' birthday. Nanny was born on January 11th, 1911 and was the 11th child born into her family. I've always thought that was really cool. It seemed a very good day to start. I will be setting up a Flickr page to post all the pictures, so when I do, I'll link it here on my blog.

I think, I hope, it will be not only fun, but thought provoking and memorable.

Some links on information about the project:

My Inspiration

Hints and Tips

Example of a Project

Starting a 365 Project in the New Year

So, if you decide to do one, send me a link to it in the comments on this page, I would LOVE to see it!

It's Been A Long Crazy Road....

but oh so worth it. 18 years and 9 kids later, Aaron is still my best friend and the love of my life.

I think back to the day that started it all. It was Halloween. A phone call. And a first date. That night changed my entire life. I think I knew then that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Aaron. Weird right? I mean, we were only 16 years old. SIXTEEN. So young. So happy. AND WE STILL ARE. That's the crazy part. Seems we are in it for the long haul. I guess after 9 kids we better be, right? :)

I have now been married to Aaron longer than I had been on this earth when we first started dating. I have spent more than half of my life with him. I know nothing but being with him. And I can't imagine any other life. All of my dreams have come true.

Happy 18th Anniversary babe, I love you more than you will ever know ♥

Endless Love..Our Wedding Song

Thrift Store Shopping

I am an admitted 'deal seeker'. I always have been. Even before we had 9 kids, I always looked for the sales, coupons and specials. Aaron loves it but our views of the justification is a bit different. See, I figure, if I find it for half price, then I can buy 2. Aaron doesn't agree. He thinks if you find it at half price, then you saved half and it's more money for something else. We tend to agree to disagree on this one.

My favorite stores are usually consignment stores. These are stores that take in quality used (and new) clothing in exchange for a percentage of their sales in cash or store credit. I get most of the younger kids clothing at a local consignment store called Denim & Frills. I get name brand, gently used clothes for about 70% less than new. It's my treasure hunting.

My latest score at Denim & Frills was a pair of Uggs for the babies. I had 2 pair of these Uggs, but of course needed a 3rd. Found them! For $14.99. Retail price? $119.00. Just like winning the lottery for me.

Last night, I went to the Goodwill Outlet for the first time. I didn't have high hopes as I walked in and saw bins of clothing just randomly tossed in. I usually don't like to 'dig'. But, since I was there, and I saw that the clothing was sold BY THE POUND, I decided to do just that. DIG IN. And I was IN HEAVEN.

So, clothes aren't super heavy. Which means $1.59 per pound is a pretty good deal. A VERY good deal. My take in the 45 minutes that I had before they closed? (Next time I will allow ALOT more time. Plus, I have a baby scale at home so I weighed a few things just to get an idea of how much each item was)

Mens REI shirt for Aaron..$.89
Columbia Sportswear shirt for Aaron...$1.34
Tommy Hilfiger polo for Aaron...$1.98
Columbia sportswear coat for Juliette...$1.02
Naartjie outfit for Delilah...$.81
4 pairs of Carters PJ's for the babies...$1.40 TOTAL
Old Navy Henley for Joey...$1.23
Mossimo wool sweater for me...$2.02
Fleece GAP pants for Delilah...$.42
Cordurouy coat for Madeline...$2.45
Disney store PJ pants for Juliette...$.60

All of it stain and hole free!! Aaron was super impressed. He even wore the REI shirt to work today, it's THAT nice. (Of course I washed everything last night)

And that is just a FEW things. I got 17 pounds of clothes for $23.00!!! Do you know how much 17 pounds of clothing is? Considering the heaviest item was the cord coat and it weighed just 1#6oz, it's alot. Trust me.

Looks like I found a new shopping place :)

Breastfeeding Baby Jesus

A friend posted this video on Facebook and I just had to share it here too. It is so beautiful. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then these pictures may leave you speechless.

Taken From Another Blog...

but it is so perfect, I had to share. It's from this blog, Mama Birth.

Humbling Moment #547: Women With More Than One Child Are Not Actually Crazy

" Maybe you have been there. I remember having my one toddler. I was so patient. So kind. He was always breastfed to sleep. He was worn in a sling. He was loved all the time. He never cried for long periods. I was such a great mom. It was nice.

I remember seeing other women with two or more children. "Why are they so crazy?" I would ask myself. "Why are they so overwhelmed?" Or a really great one, "Why do they keep having kids when they don't seem to be handling the ones they have that well?"

Bwaaaahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahhahahah!!!!!!!

Sorry, I just needed to take a moment to laugh out loud at myself and my total arrogance and lack of understanding.

Fast forward. I now have three. There will be another one this summer. OH MY GOSH! Four kids.

I actually once saw a friend of mine take a tranquilizer because she was having such a hard time with her kids. I think I was just kind of in shock.

I get it now. I am not saying I take tranquilizers, just that I UNDERSTAND why you might want to on certain days. Just saying.

When you have more than one child you start to learn a few things:

~ You are not a perfect mom. Maybe with one you were. But not with three, and sure as heck not when you are full term and have a few others who can easily outrun you. Yelling starts to look REAL good.

~The first one (or second or third) was just easy. You were not actually doing everything right. It was actually just the child. (Oops on all the times you gave other women advice on how to get their baby to sleep through the night, huh?!) No, you don't have any special knowledge, you just got lucky.

~The other one, was just hard. You did not do anything terribly and horribly wrong. Neither did that friend you had with the "naughty" or "out of control" toddler. It was just a harder child or a difficult stage and you were just seeing them at a bad moment.

~Everybody has bad moments. You might have to have a few kids before you see yourself have a bad moment. But wait, it is coming. Sometimes you see a mom in one of her horrid moments. Don't judge her. It is just a MOMENT. She is not actually crazy and it will pass.

~Even though you appear nuts, you love your kids and want MORE. Yes, your hands are full. No you can not afford them. Yes, you sometimes mix up their names. This is not actually an indicator that you have trudged too far down the path of insanity. It is just LIFE. And life can be hard, but children are still awesome. You see the beautiful moments, where everybody gets along and where there is just a touch of the divine in your home.

~There is a reason women with more than one child say things like, "Yes, but I have 4 kids!" like it is an accomplishment. Or the other thing those mom's say, "You only have one."
They are not actually trying to insult you. They just know that with only one child there are a few things that you might not understand yet. And the whole. "I have X amount of kids comment," well, it is kind of an accomplishment. And it does explain some things in your life. Like the the messy purse/car/ or emotional state.

So, to all those mom's out there who I looked at with horror as you yelled or lost patience or cried in public. I apologize. I get it. I am getting mine. Thank you for actually making it look easier than it really is. "

The bolded is my favorite one.

FAV.OR.ITE.

I 'get' this mama on every level.