Intertwined

Please excuse the poor lighting a poor quality of the iPhone pictures. But I had to post, for my own memory if for nothing else. A moment before I snapped this picture Wyn was cuddled up in my pocket (the space behind my knees when I lay on the couch) and Pais came running up to me and said "Go!", luckily I speak Paisley so I knew she meant come. So I leaned over and and Pais brushed my hair out of my face so she could kiss me. Seconds later I melted all over the floor. Sigh.... Then she ran behind our easel and drew on the wall and I cursed under my breathe. Proof that perfect moments happen to the imperfect and that I'm living with toddlers.

As I'm approaching my last day at the hospital at the hill I'm getting more and more excited to spend my days with these tiny humans. Excited for the intimacy that comes with staying at home with kids. Knowing my girls and all their quirky, wonderful, funny, stylish and moody ways.

As I've been approaching my last day many people have been overjoyed with me but some have felt a need to put a negative spin on what I count to be joy. Telling me my mind will turn to mush or someday I'll get sick of only being known as "Wyndham and Paisley's mom". I'm not sure that I'll ever get sick of being know as their mom. In my heart I know that I am much more than 'just a mother' but at the same time I know that my identity will forever be intertwined with my role as their mother. I know that someday they will not need me. My goal is to teach them to love and respect me but not need me. To only need God and love him first and love their spouse second. To teach them to have roots and wings.

Someday they will have wings with which they will leave my nest. But for now, for now I cherish post nap snuggles, unprovoked kisses, middle of the night rocking, impromptu picnics at the park, temper tantrums and working through toddler emotions. All the ups and downs I treasure. I love ever moment of the wonderful and many times trying toddler years.

6 years ago today

6 years ago today my best friend was waiting for me on one knee, in room filled with candles and his grandmothers diamond in hand. Thank you for being the most gracious, patient, witty, funny, godly and kind man I know. You point me toward Christ everyday. You rock trophy husband.

Here are a few pictures from our engagement sesh. We are babies, wow!

Instafriday || life lately according to my iPhone

Life lately.

i’m linking up my weekly cell phone pics with jeannett {http://liferearranged.com} this week! i’m momaghan84 on instagram if you want to follow me!

valetines craft || part of a backdrop for a fellow photographer

dunkin gift cards for the girls || valentine's day gift from the grandparents for my dunut lovin monkies

best. duck. tape. ever.

turq and orange anthro knobs || part of the bedroom reno (:

wynd & paisley co. stationary set for sweet baby bennett

too much gold?  never my child. never.

bunny gloves on sissy monaghan.  thanks linds!

just a little more gold || I love gold!  {i can't say that without using the voice from goldmember... i'm strange.}

church besties.  Just playing with the PK's.

dunkin saturday kind of happy.

new shades from hubba hubba.

coffee date to discuss politics and the meaning of life.

throw back to Paisley's quick and woderful birth.  in honor of her 1/2 birthday.

wyn's 3 b-day shoot.

new wall signage

sleepyhead snuggles with pais. favorite.

snagging kisses in my hot pink ombre'  D&G glasses.

herbivore. freezing some cilantro.

my crazy ginger.  love her.

top- pinterest version. bottom one- me. nailed it!

post nap messy piggies.

doctor sis.

ready to brave the cold.  brrrr!

Mommy Tips || Edition 4

Money Saving Tips

The monthly bill you can control the most is your grocery bill. One way you can save money on food is by joining a supper swab club. I spend $100-$120 a month on 12 meals, swap with the group and come home with 12 new dishes. Not only is it a huge money saver (that is $8.33-$10 per a meal for 4 people) but it also takes a lot of stress out of getting a meal on the table quick. Set guidelines and swap with people you trust and have similar eating habits. We all use
hormone free and lean meat and accommodate to certain allergies. I will be posting a tutorial on this soon, so stay tuned :)

Coupons. Coupons. Coupons. Ladies if you want to save money, take a few minutes and get yo coups! Now a days it's easy to find coupons and codes etc. There are apps you can download, websites you can go to print them off, emails you can sign up for. No reason not to use them! Sign up on mailing lists at your local grocery, most have baby clubs or something of that nature that you can sign up for to get great deals! There are tons of great websites and apps, find your fav and utilize it!

Be active with your kids in inexpensive ways. Find out what is offered in your local community. Locally we have a story time at Starbucks put on by a local church, we have reading hour/story time at 2 local libraries. We have coffee dates at "the coffee house" - aka dunkin, aka my favorite coffee place of all time. My kids are obsessed with donuts, so although we generally are pretty granola with our eating habits, I let them indulge in that is a super special treat that they love and cost less them $3 for the 3 of us. To make that even less expensive you can
sign up for dunkin donuts mailing list and get coupons and even ask for gift cards for little holidays, ie Valentines Day :) Do a little research to see what free stuff is going down in your community, something cool going down right now is our local Theater is doing free movie Saturday for kiddos every weekend during the day for the next 2 months, this usually happens during the summer too. My girls love the movies, so this completely makes their day! Be on the lookout for freebies, they are out there!

Playdates! For stay at home moms and working moms! Parks are free peeps, so meet up with other moms at a park, pack a lunch or some snacks and meet 'em up! Do this on a Saturday or a weekday, either way it's free entertainment for the money-saver in you ;)

Shop off season: I do this for everything. For clothes, gifts, decorations, pretty much everything. Yes mom, I already bought your Christmas present for next year... I'm going into my 4th year of motherhood so I've kind of got an idea of my children's growth chart, so I shop for clothes a year ahead. i.e., winter is coming to a close so I will be looking for winter clothes for the girls for next winter and I know Wyn is small for her age and Pais is big and I have a good
idea of what brands run small and large on-- something to note if you haven't before.

Turn your hobby into a part-time job! I've always been financially minded, even as a child, so this is easy for me to say... I love making stuff and selling it, coming up with business plans, etc. But if there is something you love, figure out how you can make money doing it, you know, the whole "American Dream" type thing... Example, I LOVE photography and have a huge desire to stay home with my girls, so over the past year I have been ramping up to take the leap. And
here I go, i'm leaving my job March 1st to be a full time mommy by day and full time photographer on the weekends, it is all started with turning my hobby into a money maker ;) {more to come on this subject later...}

Diapers - I swear by Pampers. They are the most comfy, the most absorbent, and the most leak-proof; they are also the most expensive. So, I put my babies in Pampers at night time and for their naps, but use good ol' Target brand during the day when I am changing them more
often. The savings add up.

Diaper Genie - If you use one, you know the refills are expensive. So, I only put poopy diapers in the diaper genie. The whole point is to trap odor, and pee-pee diapers aren't so stinky. Pee-pee diapers = regular trash / poopy diapers = diaper genie


In interest of full disclosure I sourced some of this information from some other rock your socks off mommas. Diaper tips are from Celess. Shopping off season & controlling your grocery bill are from my amazing Mother in Law :)

Wyndham's 3rd Birthday Letter

Full of Energy. Funny & Witty. Quick. Affectionate. Passionate. Tenacious. Strong willed. Wild. You are so many things Wyndham and I'm so happy that I am your mother and I get to watch all of these parts of your fun and sweet personality develop. To say you are 3 years old sounds so strange coming out of my mouth. I remember the day I found out I was pregnant, I remember the moment you were born, I remember the sound of your first cry and the way I felt when I held you the first time.

I laugh at you every day; you are so full of life and energy and love to make people laugh. You will do just about anything to see a smile on someone's face. You are friendly and outgoing (although a new thing you've started is to pretend you are shy and tell me "mommy I'm kinda shy"). You have an impeccable memory, you can remember things from over a year ago, it amazes me and daddy. You are so strong willed and I love that about you but I must be honest with you, it is often times hard to shape/push/mold that tenacity in the right direction. You understand so much for a 3 year old so it makes compromise much easier than one year ago. You truly understand so much, nothing get past
you! You remember so many little details and how thing are to be done, where they should go and who should do what- you have a lot of my personality in you, a little bit of a type A personality, intense
some might call it. You are going to do great things Wyndham!

You love deeply. I can barely type, much less talk about the way you love your sissy without crying… Niagara falls. You protect her and are protective of her, you cry when she cries, you try to sooth her when she's upset and get mad at me when I disciple her. Every night you tell her "I love you sissy, you my best friend". I constantly tell you that you are never going to have a better friend than you sissy,
not sure how much of that you understand, but I pray that that phrase sticks with you forever. When someone watches you and Paisley they always say how you take good care of her, if you get something to eat you make sure she has one too, if you have something you do a great job sharing (most of the time…)

Life is busy. You and Paisley are busy bodies. But every day no matter what is going on we make time for snuggles, our bedtime prayers, brushing your teeth (which you LOVE), and playing with momma's hair. Milestones. Some big milestones that have taken place since last year. You are potty trained, yay!!! Your comprehension is unbelievable. You love telling stories that usually consist of 3 stories mixed together in one long run on sentence. You can count to 15 and can recognize up to number 7. We are working on your letters. This past summer you became quite the water baby and will go under
water, maybe this summer you'll be swimming! You understand dressing up for Halloween, the Easter Bunny, Christmas (baby Jesus' Birthday and Santa Claus coming to town). You love to dance and we going to start lessons now that you are 3. You have completely aborted the idea that you need sleep- every nap and bed time is a battle , a BATTLE I TELL YOU!!! You think of any excuse you can think of to get out of bed, most of the stuff you come up with is totally off the wall and completely hysterical.

Be kind, be honest and make wise choices. I love you my sweet baby. I love you to my deepest core. I would you give you my last breath.

Mommy Tips 101 || Edition 3

Because I love to watch other moms in action and love to admire their
ways and because I'm constantly amazed at how they do it all, I'd like to take a
second to highlight this sweet Momma. Miss Michelle has worn all 3
hats -- full time working mom, part-time working mom and full time stay
at home mom. She knows the pros and cons of all 3 and has taught me
plenty of mommy tricks, not to mention she works out religiously,
she's super fit, gorgeous, a great cook and has a heart of gold AND
she's one of my besties... I'm not biased LOL!

mommy tips edition 3, brought to you by Michelle (:

1) I am all about "have it where you need it." I have wipes, diapers, lysol wipes in multiple locations...car, downstairs bathroom cabinet, and of course diaper bag/changing table. I also have toothbrushes/toothpaste upstairs and down for the kiddos. Also, kids hair brushes and gel (for those cool dude boy haircuts) upstairs & down. Lysol wipes are KEY!  While kids are taking a tub I to a quick wipe down of the bathroom, time saver :)

2) Pre pack healthy snack ziplocs/containers in her bottom fridge drawer so her kiddos can help themselves anytime to healthy snacks and not run to junk food.

3) If you leave a load of laundry in the dryer forever & everything is wrinkled, just throw a wet towel in for a touch-up dry. It acts as a steamer and knocks out the wrinkles.

4) Out to eat at dinner, ask the server to divide the kids plate in 2....fries on one plate/meat & veggies on other. That way you can serve the fries after the good stuff is gone!

5) Rise before they rise. I aim to get out of bed before my boys every morning. For my sanity and their safety. Have a cup of coffee/tea, some quite time with God and a little me time, this benefits EVERYONE!

Life Lately || according to my iPhone

My life in iPhone pictures