10 years

Holy crap! It has been 10 years since Shark and I said YES across the altar. Oh my goodness, I am even MORE in love with him now than I was walking out of the Salt Lake Temple doors.

I never imagined that I would still get butterflies when he smiles at me. I never imagined that I would still get giddy when he holds my hand. I never imagined that I would still melt when he kisses me. I never imagined that I would still feel this way after 10 years. And still getting butterflies, still getting giddy, and still melting, after 10 years, makes me soooooooo excited for the next 10 years, 20 years, 50 years!

So much has happened in the 10 years of our Collard Family. We've had open heart surgery, baby #1, a pacemaker, baby #2, c-section, debt, no debt, more debt, moved to CO, moved to UT, bought a house, PPD, anxiety attacks, a kindergartner, vacations, trips to WI, funerals, weddings, births, deaths, stitches, broken bones, TV show appearances, MMA fights, paragliding flights, deer hunting, blades made, blades broken, new hobbies discovered, soccer games, tball games, karate performances, tumbling performances, preschool graduations, mohawks, birthdays, and so much more!

Honestly, these 10 years have been absolutely amazing. I have fallen more in love with Shark, and adding Danger and the Colonel to our little family has just grown that love to beyond whatever imagined possible. I love my eternal family and am so very grateful for my Heavenly Father, for all He has blessed me with. I am grateful that He knows me, and loves me.

10 years down, eternity to go!

Well, hello

Hi there. Soooooo, there has been alot that has happened in the past, what, year since my last post? Yeah. Lots and lots has happened. My boys just won't STOP growing! K1 is 6 now, like seriously! Oh, and he's like a giant, he's into size 7/8 clothes. Yeah. And K2 is still my little dude, he still looks like a little guy, he'll turn 4 in March, and he is finally into his 3T clothes. They are still the sweetest, cutest, most awesome boys in the whole world. I sure do love my boys. Shark is still working in Lehi, he's still making that drive. He's still a rockstar. :) I'm back in school, online school, but hey, it's still school. I had to take a step back and drop a few classes, apparently being a mom and taking classes is something I have to learn to juggle, and figure out something that works for me. I'm still figuring it out. Danger loves kindergarten, he has started to read everything, and he is learning soooo much! The Colonel is in his first year of preschool, and he is loving it, granted it's one day a week, and he's been sick for the past month, but he still loves it when he goes. Danger lost his 2 bottom teeth right around his birthday, and he is so excited. When he put his teeth under his pillow, he came down at 5am to show me what the Tooth Fairy had brought him. He thinks the Tooth Fairy is the coolest ever. She folded the dollar bill into a ring for his first tooth, and into a sword for his second tooth. He absolutely loves it, the Tooth Fairy has mad skills, even if it's just a single dollar bill. I absolutely love this family of mine. Last week, I was sitting on the couch after dinner, I was crocheting (of course!) and the boys were just playing with cars in the living room. The TV wasn't on, there was nothing to distract me or my boys. I got to sit and just watch them play together. I got to sit and appreciate the blessings that I have in my life. I know my having these boys is an absolute miracle, and I absolutely LOVE the quiet moments when that thought really hits me. It brings such a peace to me. I am so very grateful for these sweet things and beautiful blessings in my life. I love that I recognize them as blessings. :)

I know I have been missing for a whole, but I do plan to get back into blogging more often, you know, making it a regular thing again.

Here are a bunch of pictures....

this is the life

So Danger has been just monstering around. He's always into something, either tearing it apart or putting it back together. He's always looking around, seeing what he can get his hands on and how. He's always trying to figure things out, it's pretty darn cute.

That little guy has been so much fun to have around! He's so fun to watch, and chase around. He's always exploring stuff and the gears are always working. He plays peekaboo, and he is sooo stinking fun to lay with! He's so cute when he runs away! He has his little playroom with a chalkboard and most of the noisy toys, it's so cute to hear him up there just playing.

To keep myself accountable for my projects :

!) 365 Project : So far, I've only missed 1 day! It was a Sunday, and we usually just Church and then we sleep.... so.... I missed a day...

@) Day Zero : I'm still working on my current 101 in 1001 list.... But I've got some little projects that will work towards my new 101 in 1001 list. I'm excited.

#) One Little Word : It's hard to keep my word (CHOOSE) in the forefront of my mind. It's hard to keep the "Aw, I have to..." mentality, the negative thoughts out of my head. So I have to work on that part... We'll see how the back half of the month goes...

$) 15 minutes of Cleaning : I'm trying to do this cleaning/decluttering plan where 15 minutes a day, she picks a certain specific area of the house and clean or declutter it. I've missed a few days, and there are certain areas of my home (like declutter table linens, I don't have them...) So I've been working on that as well.
I know I have to work harder. There are a few things I've been dropping the ball on lately.

So yeah, there are things I'm working on. I'm trying to take it easy and not get my hopes up too high...



AWESOME NEWS::

Shark so a promotion at work, he'll be an engineering technician and will soon be switching to a "4 months on days/4 months on nights" shift, which I will love because then Shark will be on a normal person schedule and we'll be together at night. He'll start the new job in late February. We're very happy about it! :)


Anyways, love to all - I'll try and keep up with recent posts. Sorry no pics this time, I've been taking lots with my phone but will post some with next update! <3 p="p">
(and yes, I DID know I put the symbols instead of numbers)

Trying new things

So December is the month where I figure out my plans for next year. I mean most of my Christmas presents are done so what else am I going to do? (Well, Danger is cutting front molars [eek!] and he's got a cold, so I've been a little busy...) so I'm getting plans and goals ready.

My 101 in 1001 is up in like 51 days (I'm pretty far but there some things on the list that won't be checked off.) and so I'm trying to get another list (more obtainable things but still challenges). I'm still working on it, I haven't given up yet.

One thing I want to do is get back to my pre-baby weight. Or as close to it as I can. I got a gym membership (although my gym is still being built...) and I have a plan to go 3 times a week. I've got the motivation!!! Now open my gym! I've been doing exercises every night. So I'm already working on it!!

I'm also thinking of getting a pedometer (Shark has one somewhere I think) and keeping tabs of the steps I take. And keep an average. I don't walk very much, but I want too.

I found this info : Men: The men in the survey took an average of 7192 steps per day.

Women: The women in the survey took an average of 5210 step per day. (source)

So we'll just have to see how I do.

Love to all!
(Also, one of these days I'll post lots of pictures and updates of little man!)

why hello there

Ok, so lately, things have been crazy. Not really crazy like I'm all over the place but more like going at a steady pace and lately it feels like I'm all over the place

I've started watching a nghbor girl, which is pretty fun, cuz her and Danger interact with each other so cute. I'm pretty sure most babies Danger's age would scream and cry if you took something away from him, but he just sits there like, Oh well, I wasn't really enjoying it anyways. He's pretty cute for a little guy. It's fun to see her reaction to him. Like when he takes her toys, or crawls over her toes. Plus the babysiting means a little extra income that helps us with groceries and things.

(My sister-in-law Heather, invited me over to make capes, and I made Danger's cape with her, and then I made one for the neighbor girl A. They love watching Super Why! and now they really can be super-readers!)

I am still scorekeeping at the city, and he's been pretty good so far. Yeah he crawls but he never goes very far. I'm not sure if just doesn't want to, or what. But he stays pretty close to my booth. Oh and he helps me keep the books.

So, Danger has been moving and shaking. He is ALL over the place.

(and he is apparently a wrestler, just like his dad!)

 He's crawling like a madman (who leg has fallen asleep and just drags behind him.) and he's started pulling himself up to stand on things. Yup. He's already there. He's fallen a few times but we're playing it down.

When he falls, we say BONK, and he usually smiles (sometimes after a while...). I've been playing a game with him, when he's standing on my lap and I'm holding his hands, I lightly bonk heads with him and go BONK. He giggles at that. So yeah, we're working on that.

I understand he watches everything I do. He sees me crawl around picking up toys, and he'll crawl around and push toys around. So I figure, we might as well get him in some good habits, right? Well, I bought a little pack of tooth brushes for him. When I hand it to him, I show him mine and tell him "We're going to brush our teeth now!" ((I understand he's 8 months old and probably has NO clue what I'm saying or what brushing or teeth mean, but he's doing what he sees mommy do.))

I've been trying to keep him from sucking his thumb... cuz I can take away a pacifier, but I cannot take away his thumb. The little guy sure is clever. He found a way around my "rule of thumb."

You know how if you plan to do something every day/week/month and if you forget just ONE time it kinda goes ka-put? Yeah, well, that's how it's been with the monthly photo in the laundry basket. I do have a reason why I missed his 6th month : that was the day we were leaving for Wisconsin. Yeah I know I should/coulda taken the pic the day before.... however, I did not. I am planning on taking the picture today and then I'll probably end up posting it within the next 6 months. :)

When I take pictures with my phone, the flash goes on before and stays on while the picture is being taken. When Danger sees it, he instantly turns to cheese. It's pretty cute.

So, ever since he was teeny, his hands have never been helpful. When feeding him, his hands would LOOK like they wanted to help and hold the bottle, but they would just end up pushing the bottle away and knocking it to the ground. Just recently, I've been letting/making him hold his own bottle. (Except when we are ready for bed, then I hold it, cuz his arms are tied up in the burrito.) Sometimes his hands, still aren't helpful!

So yeah, that's been our life for the last little bit here. It really has been a lot of fun watching him learn new things. Yesterday we met a horse, and he could not/would not take his off of it. He stared at the horse the whole time we were there. He's so interested in the world and everything around him. And he is so intent on things. If he sees something he wants, he just goes for it, crawls over laundry, dogs, boxes just to get it. I love this little guy!

Love to you all!

Slackin

So I've been a total complete bum. I sit on the couch all day, next to my Little Man. In fact, I'm even blogging from my couch via my iPod cuz my Internet is fixed!
I did get my Christmas tree into the living room. I never took it down last year, I just put it upstairs in Shark's Killing Room. I started to put my Christmas decor around the living room, and I put my wreath up. But there was {and still is} alot of crap in my Christmas boxes. I'm getting ready to clean out those boxes and get them organized. Soon they will be cleaned out. Soon.
Little Man has been fussy and cranky lately. We switched up his formula a few days ago, (we've switched back) and he did NOT approve. He projected his disapproval very loud, very frequently, and with very much mess. Lots of loads of laundry have been done this week. Lots.

We switched back to his preferred formula and I'm pretty sure we will never deviate again. No deviating from the plan.

So yeah I've been a complete bum lately. Just sitting on the couch, with my cranky Little Man next to me, just chilling in his boppy. It's either sitting in his boppy or having me hold him.
So now I just need to get the rest of my Christmas stuff up and my decor bins organized and cleaned out. Ooh yeah I also need to finish my Christmas presents. Yup. I got most of them done before Little Man was evicted but there is still somethings I need to finish up.

So ta ta for now. I'll post again soon with some interesting stuff, hopefully. And pictures. :)
All the love! ♥