All Grown Up

Having mixed feelings about today! All three of my boys are in school today for the first time. Not quite sure how this happened so fast...

I'm so proud that they are all so independent and excited for school. They are kind to their friends and teachers, they love learning and are excited to share what they know with whoever will listen!

Not sure what I'm going to do with my life now that they're busy with their own, but I'll keep you posted. 

Off to bake some treats for after school so they'll tell me about their day!

Raising Boys

You know you're raising boys when the punch card in your wallet is for mice.

McKinley Pride

It's official. School has started as of 9:10 this morning. It's so quiet in my car. My house. At Starbucks. You get the idea. 

Don't my boys look dapper? Maybe a little heavy on "gray" this year, but it's so cool I couldn't say no. Lincoln's sporting the skinny jeans and Chuck Taylors. Ben's more of a Hurley kind of guy. Bear's still a little less discriminating but I hooked him up all the same. 

Can't say I shed many tears this morning as I tried to not burn rubber out of the parking lot. :) I'm feeling a great school year coming on. Thank you McKinley staff. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. 

Life

(newly engaged in Baltimore, 1997)

Some of our favorite people, Jenny and Sean, came to visit this weekend. They are 20 weeks pregnant with their first baby. As we caught up on life I couldn't help but think about the first few years with John (see baby faces above!) and the first months after Lincoln was born. Such sweet times. I'm so grateful for every stage...even the current state of chaos with three little boys.What a gift to have love in my life.

Field Trip

We have the Golden Hill fire station a few blocks down our street. The boys and I were walking home from Starbucks the other day and were flagged over by a fireman. (I know, how clique that he's good looking) The boys inspected every inch of that fire truck and Lincoln asked every question know to man about fire fighting.

We had an interesting conversation about how the main tanker at their station is "grounded" because of budget cuts. A few days ago there was a fire in my neighborhood and although this station is a few blocks away, the truck had to come from several miles. A man died in the fire and there is speculation now about the time it took for that truck to arrive.

Three things on my to-do list this week.

1. New batteries for our smoke detectors

2. Plate of brownies for the firemen down the street

3. Letter to my local city council about the safety of my neighborhood

Mountain Valley Ranch

Feeding farm animals...almost took off a finger or two.
Harrison loved watching the big pig and her piglets.
I told Lincoln he could have the biggest pumpkin he could carry....that was before I knew they charged by the pound!
Our first pumpkin patch in San Diego was a grand event. A little sweaty, but much fun. Lincoln loved the corn maze...after 20 minutes I thought I might have to go in after him, but he came running out with his hands raised like Rocky Balboa. Harrison wanted to walk everywhere, including in the muddy manure, and pick up every pumpkin. Ben loved all of the animals and snacks, as usual.

boy power

my first boy

we found out at his birth

he was a lincoln, not a tess

today i got a call from my pregnant sister

first two girls

and now a boy!

i heart boys 

Fore!...little man golf

i live in a house full of boys...soccer balls, baseball, karate outfits, undies with skid marks, and so on... 

but i thought this little one might be a little more "girlish", whatever that means...

fat chance

Halloween on Dale Street

There was much Halloween fun to be had...

new neighbors to share a porch with

costumes that make you cry 

pounds of candy to collect 

bedtimes to overlook

o happy night

Mall Get-away

After the fifth poopy diaper this morning, I decided I needed to get out of the house. Never mind that it's been like 120 degrees outside, and I have a serious need for a hair washing, we hit the mall anyway to spend my Pottery Barn gift card. At least 10 people asked me about my "twins" (seriously?), and both kids were wailing at the same time in the Paradise Bakery line, but all in all a successful trip. We got a load of adorable baby & toddler clothes on the sale racks at Baby Gap & Children's Place. And the final stop landed me the best accessories to finish off my master bedroom makeover. Of course, Pottery Barn has tons of stuff in orange right now...I swear I thought of it first. Right.

Squeaky Clean

Nothing more fun than three toe-headed boys in the tub. Bubbles, a few toys and lots of water on the floor. Love these boys.

Camp Recovery Day

Today's a recovery day from Camp, so I'm going to hang out with my boys and catch up on orders...check out my Bernina, just got a tune-up and polish...she looks good, right? Ready to go...
Ben's spending the morning driving cars all over the kitchen...
Lincoln's driving cars on the Wii...and yes, my boys do own shirts.

And Harrison's recovering from his "camp cold"...he got his first two teeth at camp too, so he's not his normal happy self...poor baby. 

Check out the blog tomorrow...I'll post my orders & some new awesome fabrics I just got in. I'm developing a fabric fetish.

Have a happy day friends.

White Boys at the Splash Park

"I'm bored" is the theme for this time of the year in AZ, so in an effort to create some fun for my boys while it's HOT outside I packed all the stuff (towels, sunscreen, diapers, wipes, bottles, drinks, snacks, hats) and we headed to the Tempe Towne Lake Splash Park. After half a bottle of sunscreen, two drinks, two fruit roll ups and a bottle, they were ready to play. True to their personalities (see pictures below), Lincoln immediately recruited a team to shoot each other with the water blasters, Ben found a girlfriend that played with him the rest of the morning, and Harrison took a nap. I definitely need a third eye when we're out in public...cheers to all you moms out there looking for some summer fun for your kids today!

Waffles & Big Diet

So, ten years of marriage and three kids in five years has not been kind on my body. Not that I was ever a "bikini-friendly", but I could wear a pair of shorts and be happy about it. Ditto for the husband.

John and I have launched an all out assault on the bodies, and it's going well! We've both lost 8 pounds this week! 

I'm posting this for accountability, so help us out friends. 

Keys to the Byard weight loss dream...

1. Don't eat everything you see

2. Don't eat white things (bad carbs & refined sugar)

3. Don't sit on your butt all day

4. Go to bed when you're starving at 10 pm 

Thought you might enjoy this "8 pound lost" picture. We're going for 30-40 pounds each, so this could be an interesting picture progression! John said to say that he's hungry. duh. But your booty is looking really cute in your shorts babe. 

Ben is obviously not into the low carb thing, but he is getting better with his fork. Little boys are so adorable shirtless!