Paper Mama {Photo Challange - Black & White}

a new do for the baby boy

my little man was in desperate need of a haircut. i am lazy about giving haircuts(just ask my hubby). i basically have to forced or get inspired and then have to do it immediately before the spark passes. this morning i looked at my baby and thought, i can't let you go another day looking like a justin beiber wanna-be! i was nervous to cut his hair with no one to hold him down help me but surprise, surprise he did great!

 before...

after...

 

good job baby boy you look soooo cute!

nail polish

yesterday, i was in my room napping reading while noah napped and gracie was supposed to be having "quiet time" in her room. gracie came in my room and said, "mommy, i had an accident," and promptly showed me her finger tips and toes covered in nail polish.

me: "what happened?!?!"

gracie: " i wanted to fix this nail and i got nail polish all over my hands and feet."

me: "you know you aren't supposed to use the nail polish without mommy. why would you do that?"

{cue hand on the hip and sassy head wiggle}

gracie: "well it is your fault."

me: "excuse me?!?!"

gracie: "you shouldn't leave the nail polish down where i can reach it!"

lord help me.

new name, new post.

yay! i am so excited about my new blog name. hopefully this will get me pumped to post more since i have a more specific idea about what i am going to post. basically, this blog is going to be a baby book for my kids. i am going to try and write down the funny things they say and do and the different milestones they reach. to get me started, here is something funny sassy said today in the car...

gracie: "mommy is being a princess a job?'

me: "it can be."

gracie: "that is what i want to be when i grow up, a princess."

me: "well you have to marry a prince to be a princess and we don't have any prince's in america. you would need to go to england or something to find one."

gracie: "well, we better move!"

Something New!

I'm thinking of renaming my blog. I kinda feel like I need to shake it up. Don't get me wrong I still lead a life almost always in sweats but I am thinking about only documenting the funny things my kids say and do and the title "my life in sweats," is more about me then the kiddos. and honestly who really cares about what I think/say/do when I've got two kiddos bursting with personality! Stay tuned! Xo, Joanna

moving on

it's no secret that the past three months have been very emotional for me, to say the least. i feel like i was walking in a fog of sadness since my miscarriage and diagnosis. i wanted to feel better. i wanted to be happy and enjoy what was happening around me but honestly i just could not.

i read this quote on one of my favorite blogs last month "... there is a part of me that recognizes the importance of being broken, of never knowing too much, of being so vulnerable that the possibility for transformation is breathtakingly real."

  i am so happy to be on the other side of that season of grief. because it would be a shame to not be able to enjoy this...

xo,

joanna

K vs. Pre-K

I am stressed. I am having the hardest time deciding if we should go ahead with kindergarten or do another year of pre-k for gracie. gracie is a mid-july birthday(so is noah) so we have two choices: a.) go to kindergarten and be the absolute youngest. or b.) do another year of pre-k and be closer to the older side. she is academically ready for kindergarten. she can write her first and last name, recognize most upper and lower case letters, count to 100 etc... but i am not sure if she has the maturity to pay attention/sit in her seat quietly for long periods of time which is expected in kindergarten. i know that those skills will come and honestly if we send her to kindergarten she will be fine. however, i don't  want her to be just, fine. i want her to be excited about school and learning. i don't want her to start as the underdog. gracie is a natural leader and the odds of her being able to be the leader as the smallest and youngest, are very small. i don't like that.

the other side of the coin is, will she be challenged enough  if we do another year of pre-k? we peeked in on the pre-k class that she will join if we decide to go that route this morning and she asked if she could do the seat work with the kids. the teacher gave her the same work and she finished the work perfectly and before most of the other kids.

this is so hard. i just want to do what is best for grace. i wish i could stop going back in fourth in my head about it. some days my mommy gut says send her, then i start having anxiety about her not being ready. other days i am thinking keep her another year, then she reminds me how smart she is and i am second guessing myself again! blahhhhhhhhhhh i need a help.

please lord help corey and i make the best decision for gracie. obviously, you know what she needs best, so please, please, please tell me what that is. amen.

i am going to go pull my hair out more about this issue.

xo

joanna

stir crazy kids

the weather this past week was delightful! we spent every moment possible out in the sunshine. unfortunately, it didn't last and yesterday the cold rain rolled in and squashed my dreams of skipping winter all together and going straight to spring:(. 

anyway, we are back to finding ways to entertain ourselves inside. this is what my kiddos came up.

 

i don't care what they do as long as they aren't fighting or watching tv, obviously:).

keeping him little

i wish i could keep him little for always.

 

i don't care if he is 2 or 22 he will always be my noey baby.

run, jump & play

my girlfriend introduced me to this cool place last week and i am officially obsessed! it is called run, jump & play. basically, it is an indoor play place with swing sets gallore, trampolines, bounce houses, basketball hoops etc... it is kind of a hike from our house. but it is totally worth it to me to be able to take my crazy kids somewhere clean and safe during the long winter days to burn off some of that energy!

 

noah found this partially deflated balloon and he wouldn't put it down.

 

he is funny.

xo,

joanna

uninspired

blahhhhh the weather and the let down of the holidays being over is totally hitting me. i feel uninspired to take pictures of my kiddies and blog. i need a challenge or something to get me out of my funk. maybe i will try and post one picture a day?

in the words of barney stinson (my hubby will like that reference!), "challenge accepted!" 

i took this while i was waiting to photograph a sweet little family on saturday.  

are feeling the january blues or is it just me? 

xo, 

joanna

Noah says part 2

Noah is extremely attached to me. he doesn't like to be away from me for more then a few minutes. And when I am near him he must have my full attention. God forbid I am not completely focused on him playing cars, trains or angry birds!!

Usually within minutes of us being in separate rooms he starts to yell, " mom where are you?" Today he was extra cute......

Noah - "Mom where are you?!"
Me -" I am downstairs helping Gracie."
Noah - {walks over to me and looks me right in the eyes} "Mom you hiding me again?!"

I love his little booty butt! I hope he is always obsessed with me:).

xo
joanna

little diva & noah says!

 

i don't know any other four year old that sleeps with an eye mask. how did she become a teenager before she ever stepped foot into kindergarten? special thank you to uncle tony, aunt jenny and g for the cozy blanket and eye mask! she obviously, loves it:).

noah is growing fast too and talking like nobodys buisness.

 

 

this is a conversation we had this morning...

noah - "mommy press the button please." 

me - {{presses button to turn on toy story}} 

noah - "good job mommy! you can have a treat!" 

happy monday.

xo, 

joanna

Productivity

My kids are early risers. Think 6-6:30am every morning. Even though sometimes I grumble a bit, I don't mind too much. I like morning. I love drinking my coffee and watching Good Morning America. I love the way my kiddies are cuddly and have bed head and sleepy eyes.

I seem to get the most done before noon anyways. these are the things I accomplished this morning.

Made French toast for the babies.
Cleaned and organized my kitchen cabinets.
Steam mopped every hard surface floor in my house.
Took a shower & got dressed.
Dressed the kiddies.
Two loads of laundry.
Went to grocery store.
Cleaned the bathroom.
Ate lunch.
Made a "honey do" list for Corey:).

Not to bad for a Sunday morning.

What did you do this morning? Are you an early riser or do you like to get your day started later?

xo,
Joanna

Fail

It's been 48hrs and I already give up. Curse you Mark Zuckerberg and your highly addictive invention. I love Facebook. I can't quit Facebook and I don't care who knows it!!

ox,
Joanna


P.s. what should my new resolution be?

photo challange : paper mama {sparkle}

two years went so fast...

t

wordless{ish} wednesday - morning

 

xo,

joanna

new years resolution

i usually dont make resolutions besides the, "lose weight be healthy,"one everyone else makes. this year however i am making one and i am determind to stick with it. i am going to ease up on the facebooking.i think we can all agree facebook is extremly addicting and i dont want to be obsessed with it anymore. don't get me wrong facebook is super cool. you can find long lost friends, keep intouch with your currunt friends, network etc... but the bad things are that you can get sucked into facebook stalking and looking at some random peoples pictures for hours. i am guilty of this. i don't want to waste anymore of my time doing that. There are so many other things i could be doing! For example, spending time with my family, reading, blogging, taking pictures and so on and so forth. First things first I need to get the app off my phone. I do most of my stalking on my phone because it is so convenient. i will still keep my account but i wont be posting on it or checking it regularly.

i am still going to use one demensional social networking sites like instagram(mommypaff) and twitter(joannapaff) because lets be honest i still need a tiny fix.

this is going to be interesting.....

wish me luck!
xo,
joanna