Hello March!

Hello Blog, Hello mid-March!

I cannot tell you the number of times over the last month and a half I sat down to write only to be interrupted.  Somehow, I never made it back to the computer or when I did think about it, the tiredness took over.  However, I can tell you I am so glad the month of February is done and over with.  It was not a great month for the Boatright household.  I was surrounded by sickness.  Both Brynn and Braden were sick the entire month, one germ would move out and another moved in.  On top of being sick, Brynn's asthma decided to give us a challenge causing her to miss another three days of school.  Then Danny joined in the fun with a sinus infection.  I don't know how, but I was the only one who did not get sick.  I don't know what is worst being sick myself or dealing with all the sickness.  I am just glad it is over.

So the month of March is here and that means warmer weather, blooming trees, blowing pollen and increasing the allergy meds.  This is the time of year Danny and me talk about moving somewhere else.  I just hope this spring, we actually have a spring and it doesn't hit 90° until at least May.  (I know I am dreaming, lol!)

We started the month with getting our house ready to put on the market and successfully accomplished that last Thursday.  So far, we have only had one showing, but received positive feedback.  Putting our house on the market with two small children has been a bit of a challenge and God help me because it's only been a week and I am already wandering how I will make it an entire month, or two or three.  Actually, I don't even want to think about it.  Just keep your fingers crossed that it sells.

Brynn is on Spring Break this week and we are enjoying her time off.  We started the week off with a trip to the Austin Rodeo and Fair.  We met up with two of my close high school friends (who are married) and came through town on their way to San Antonio.  We all had a great time at the Fair, but never really made it to the Rodeo part, which bummed me out a bit, because all these years in Texas, I have actually never been to a Rodeo.  After spending six hours at the Fair with a six, five and two three year olds, the Rodeo was not happening. 

The Fair was great and the kids had so much fun.  Brynn rode several roller coasters that surprised Danny and I.  You can definitely tell by some of the pictures that she didn't enjoy all of them.  Lol!  Braden spent a good amount of time being mad because he was not able to ride most of the rides he wanted to (that boy has no fear).  He even called one of the ride operators "a mean man."  By the end of the day he I think he gained a "short complex" because he kept asking when will he grow taller.

Here's a few pictures from our day.

The Fair grounds.

Brynn's first "roller coaster" - At first she was not sure about this ride, but by the end she was all about it.  She rode it two more times.  You can see Danny (squished in the seat) and Braden towards the back.

Brynn's all smiles here, but once this one got going she was in tears.  She made it through, but didn't even hint she wanted to go again.  This was one Braden was to small for.

Danny and Shawn on this ride.

If you look closely you can see the uncertainity on Brynn's face. (BTW:  She's sitting with her friend Lexie on most of these, didn't want you to think we sat her next to a stranger!)

I love this one of Danny and Braden, they were both having so much fun!

Danny and Braden.  Braden kept yelling "higher, go higher"

This is more her style.

Me and Amber.

My crazy husband and Shawn rode this one.  They screamed the entire time.  Even the ride operator asked us if we thought the were okay.  Lol!

I told you they were screaming!

Brynn and Lexie coming down the slide!

(This was Brynn favorite ride.)

It's COLD outside!

It is the first day of February and baby its COLD outside (33° to be exact), definitely a long way from the 80° weather we experienced yesterday.  I am enjoying it though; I even made a special trip to Target this morning after the gym to pick up some hot chocolate and marshmallows to have with Brynn and Braden after school this afternoon.  The only this missing is a fireplace and maybe a little snow.

With January behind us, so is our 30 days of no eating out challenge, which I am proud to say I completed the entire month without cheating once.  I did have a rough day last week when I experienced an unbelievable craving for a Freddy's steakburger, but I resisted. 

I am glad we did this challenge, it changed many things for our family; most noticeable was in the bank account and that alone was motivation for me.  I know I will be thinking a lot more about stopping and grabbing a bite to eat.  A big thing this has forced me to do is really prepare all our meals as well as our snacks.  I find myself shopping completely different at the grocery store and the funny thing is I am using the same budget as I had for groceries before the challenge.  I am enjoying finding new recipes to try and best of all I lost four pounds this month (I know this number would have been higher if Brynn wasn't selling Girl Scout cookies). 

Another bit of exciting news is Brynn has learned to ride her bike without her training wheels.  She is SO proud of this accomplishment and we are so proud of her.  Last Tuesday she asked to take off her training wheels and by Friday, she was riding with no help at all. 

24 days and counting.....

I am 24 days into my goal of 30 days of absolutely no eating out and going strong.  The challenge began because while balancing our checking account for the month of December I was startled by the number of times we ate out and the amount of money we spent doing it.  We are not a family of frequent 'fast food' stops, but it was clear from the checking account we visit (and pick up from) many of the local 'sit down' restaurants.  Most of the damaged occurred on weekends and the slap in the face was the dollar amount of $363.27.  I know it is ridiculous and I fell like there should have been a really nice dinner in that dollar amount somewhere, but let me assure you there wasn't.

So now, you know why we are doing this and yes, this started as a family challenge. Danny fell off the wagon last Friday when he met up with some old friends.  They ended up going out to lunch and believe me he has heard tons of grief (and now I am going a step further to out him on my blog).

I was surprised he gave in and I think it's strange he made it all the way to day 21 and caved.  For me the hardest part was the beginning when I was constantly craving Asian food, Freddy's burgers and a wild berry smoothie from Jamba Juice.  After the end of the second week it became easier and easier for me.  I have already witnessed several positives on this challenge that make me want to keep going. 

I'll be back to share the rest of the journey at the end of the month.  I am really curious to find out what I will do when this is over....will I run out and grab a burger with a yummy Dr. Pepper (which I also haven't had, since we don't drink cokes at home) or will I be strong enough to continue?

How are you doing with your resolutions?

36 @ 36

Whenever I have trouble sleeping, I find myself migrating to the computer.  Although I set out to catch up on my 'blog roll' that typically never happens, because I start clicking on that persons 'blog roll' and pretty soon I find myself reading about some random persons life.  I know it's a little disturbing, but sometimes you come across something interesting like I did on this blog.  It's a 'to-do' list for the year and the number of items on the list is equal to your age.  

Since I liked the idea so much I decided to come up with my own list.  It turns out finding 36 doable items for 2011 was harder than I thought (although I did consider only doing 35, as I will be 35 until November). Anyhow, I did managed to get 36 items listed, now let's see if I can actually complete all 36.

Here's my list for 2011 (items highlighted in yellow, I started at the beginning of the year)

1. Complete the Twilight Series (I was a late starter...and when I started reading the books I started with the fourth novel since I already saw the first three movies.  Since the fourth book was so good, I decided to read one, two and three. 
2. Complete Project 365 (a daily documentation of our lives)  
3. Have a girl's weekend
4. Take a sewing class
5. Go back to school
6. Go camping with family
7. Visit my grandparents 
8. Take a trip to Canton, TX
9. Go to a museum
10. Complete four scrapbook layouts a month
11. Organize all my recipes 
12. See a musical
13. Use a film camera
14. Buy a bike
15. Transfer all my CD's to computer
16. Scan old photos
17. Try a new recipe each month
18. Redo our bedroom
19. Lose 10 lbs
20. 30 days of NO eating out
21. Go to the gym at least 3 days a week
22. Learn more about God
23. Join a women's group at church
24. Do something in Austin on a monthly basis
25. Sell items to resale shop
26. Make something old new again
27. Use my recycle bags
28. Volunteer more
29. Learn to create digital papers & elements
30. Take a class on-line for fun
31. Create a Shutterfly book of Brynn's artwork
32. Have a "girls only" outing with Brynn once a month
33. Spend Less Money
34. Go to more garage sales
35. Learn to make body scrubs & soap
36. Make Handmade gifts for Christmas 

And sticking to my list here is my second week of Project 365. (Click on photo to view larger)

Journaling reads:  [Saturday] Braden is loving his Geo Tracks he received for Christmas.  Everyday he drags them into the living room and builds a new track design.  Daddy helped him with this one and he enjoys using his remote control train on it.  [Sunday] I got the chance to finish a few scrapbook layouts for Brynn’s book.  [Monday]  Brynn in her Girl Scout uniform as we head out the door for her Girl Scout meeting.  She is having a great time being a Girl Scout.   [Tuesday]  Brynn and Braden’s Highlights magazine arrived in the mail today.  Thanks to G-ma for ordering this special monthly treat, the kids love it. [Wednesday]  Braden fighting to stay awake so we can pick Brynn up from school.  He skipped a nap today.  I love how he always has a train or two near by. [Thursday]  We had a surprise movie night for the kids, which meant homework, dinner and baths were all done by 6:30 p.m.  It is amazing what can happen, when Daddy gets out of work early!  The movie was pretty good for a bunch of talking dogs. [Friday]  Daddy sat down on the couch for some ‘web surfing’, but didn’t get very far.

Happy New Year

I hope 2011 is bringing you and your family joy and happiness. Our family is slowly getting back into our daily routine with the kids back to school and Danny back to work. The Christmas decorations packed away neatly, new toys put in place and the spring cleaning list already in progress (hopefully, I can at least make it to February before I start clean). I just love the start of a new year. It's an opportunity to reevaluate your priorities, your schedule and even yourself. It's the perfect time to reflect on things you want (or need) to change. If you have made any new years resolutions, good luck to you!

Last year I participated in the One Little Word challenge. My word was Balance (you can read about it here.) I cannot say I achieved perfect balance in all areas of my life, but I can say I learned a great deal about myself participating in this challenge. I had amazing success in some areas of my life, while others are still a work in progress. And I am okay with that.

I have chosen to participate again this year. My word for 2011 is Focus.

Focus: the concentration of attention or energy on something; maximum clarity.

Along with the One Little Word, I have decided to create a list of 36 things to do in 2011 (more on that later) and fully complete one year of Project 365 (also now known as Project Life.) This year I have decided to complete Project 365 digitally in hopes to simplify the process.

Here is the first week of Project 365. (Click to view photo larger)

Jounraling Reads:

[Saturday]  Brynn and Braden sitting on the couch watching Wow, Wow, Wubzy before bed.  Brynn’s legs are covered in bruises from learning to ride her new scooter she received from Santa.  I guess you can say she had a rough start.  [Sunday]  Backpacks are ready to go for the return to school after being on a two-week Holiday break.   [Monday]  Brynn entertained us after dinner in the living room tonight with her ballet dancing as the group Korn played in the background.  She would give us a little headbangin’ and then bounce into a ballet pose.  She’s a silly girl.  [Tuesday]  Braden showing off his Lego train he built this afternoon with the Lego's he received for Christmas from Poppe and Nana.  He’s addicted. [Wednesday & Thursday]  Brynn working on shrink-a-dinks for the first time.  She is hooked.  [Friday]  Brynn and I went to see the 7:40 showing of the movie Tangled this evening.  The movie was really good and I can see it being added to our collection when it comes out on DVD.  Note to me:  Next time go to earlier movie, Brynn fell asleep at the end.

Good-bye 2010

Tonight I will send-off the year 2010 with my family curled up on the couch watching the movie, How To Train Your Dragon and snacking on buttery popcorn mixed with peanut M&M's.  If you would have told me, ten years ago, this was my future, I would have laughed in your face, but today I cannot think of a better way to ring in 2011. 

We wish your family a safe and happy new year!

Day Twenty-five / Christmas Day

This post wraps up my Daily December project.  I must say I really enjoyed doing this project and will definitely do it again next year.  I feel like I started out strong in the beginning and then started to 'fall off the wagon' a little towards the end.  It is hard to document an entire month.  I struggled with the stories I wanted to document and what I wanted to include in the album.  I found myself wanting to include everything.  Next year I will need a bigger album or at least a very expandable one. 

Day Twenty-four

Day Twenty-three

Journaling Reads:   All is calm around here, the gifts are wrapped, the groceries are put away and the kids are awaiting Santa’s arrival.  Their excitement is priceless.  Braden has watched Polar Express for the hundredth time.  Brynn has been busy making Christmas gifts for G-ma, Grandpa and Uncle Aaron.  In fact, the only people missing are G-ma & Grandpa Jerry.  Brynn was disappointed to learn Grandpa had to work longer than planned today, so they will not be here until lunchtime tomorrow.

Day Twenty-Two