Wow it's been like a year since I've posted! I don't have much time for blogging so I pretty much eliminated it from my life but very randomly just decided to put pics on and might as well say a few words! We have been busy but good! I lost my job, our main income, back in October (looooong story I always meant to post and never did, old news now). Anyways, we have had many struggles since then but also many blessings and are learning from our situation and have hopes it will be improving soon. We are so grateful for everyone who has been concerned for us and who have helped us in the ways they could, it has meant a lot to us! Anyways, I think I have finally found something that will work well for me to balance being a mom and working. I'm doing bookkeeping for small businesses right now from home, it's nice because I am completely in control of when and where I want to work because they just pay me as a contracted employee and don't expect me to come into their office often because my original ad states I work from home! I've recently had a few other opportunities come up as well and almost had 5 jobs at the same time but decided to simplify, I have a hard time saying no to opportunity, especially when we need the money but I have a tendency to take on too much and it isn't good for our family. I stay busy enough with Carson and the work I am doing now! Garrett got his CNA and is currently looking for a job in that. We are hoping for one at the U of U for a few different reasons... We were able to go to St. George with some friends in February this year! It was a blast and a much needed vaca! My sister owns a home there and so we were able to keep it low cost... Garrett made me creme brulee for Valentine's Day (yum!) and also again a few weeks later for me and some of my girlfriends (he's awesome!!)! Carson is saying lots of words now and running around like the crazy toddler that he is! He has a very independent personality, which I love! He can be so wild and crazy but can also be very sweet and helpful and although sometimes he is too much of a handful, I wouldn't trade it for anything! His favorite things right now are choo choo trains (obsessed), birthday cakes (blowing out the candles and singing "happy birthday to MEEE"), santa (ho-hos), ice (doesn't care how cold his hands get), snow (loves to eat it), going outside, playing with kids (he loooves other kids and is pretty good with them, sometimes he gets feisty with his cousins but usually only because he thinks he's just teasing them), drawing, pretending to be a puppy (this includes playing fetch) running around like a crazy boy as much as possible!! His most common words right now are: choo choo train, me, cookies, drink, treat, mama, dada, go, pull (pulls on our hand and says go, pull), no, baby, book, aight aight (night night), shoes, banana, show (movie), ho-ho (we watch way too many christmas movies for april. I'm sure there's more, seems like he learns a new word everyday. He is also putting together phrases, some we can understand, some we cant. We love our crazy guy and our crazy life! He's drawing on my work papers right now so gotta go!

Fun stuff we've been doing!

Memorial Day at East Canyon

Indoor Picnic

Went out of town for our 3rd anniversary to the Browns Cabin, thanks guys!

"Hike"/picnic in the mountains!

Carson turned 1!

While I'm on a roll and staying up way later than I should, I figured I'd finally post about my lil man turning 1. He turned 1 on May 7th! Yikes, he's turning into a toddler (or is one?)! I love seeing him grow but it happens too fast! I took him to the zoo with my mom and sis in law + kiddos on his bday and Garrett and I took him to Ihop that night, which he loved and devoured the majority of his kids meal (lol the only time we've bought him his own food at a restaurant).

This is what most of our pictures of him look like now, a blurr...

He got his owie on his bday, freak accident in the car with an ice scraper while I changed his bum (he didn't even fall so don't ask me how he managed it!)

Walk down memory lane (backwards apparently, someone smarter should have set up blogger easier/quicker to use)...

9 months

6 months

4 months

2 months

So fresh and so new... It's fun to see him grow but it's sad looking at his newborn pics and knowing he will never ever be that little again and everyday he changes and doesn't go back... Something every mom probably always battles with!

The next day after his birthday, he had his big birthday bash, which of course was a perfect day except for when we were rushing to set it all up and it got extremely windy and then lasted through the majority of the party before it was perfectly still. I know it could have been worse but I was about ready to kill the wind at first but luckily I had lots of help and except for 3 of his balloons escaping out of the car, it was a success! He ate his whole piece of cake and another half and loved all the attention!

I can't brag about making this awesome cake but I can brag about having awesome enough friends who made it for Carson and helping with some ideas(?)! Thanks again Angie & Kyle!

Mason left on his mission a few day after this, we'll miss you Mase! He is such a good uncle (& babysitter lol).

What a happy lil birthday boy!

Blogging Schmogging

It's been 2 months since my last post, I guess that makes me one of those inactive bloggers...

I was catching up on everyones blog tonight (it's been at least a month or so) and realized that it just makes me depressed. Everyone always has inspiring stuff to say or something cool they did or made to brag about. I feel like all I do is work and squeeze in taking care of Carson, small house stuff and family time with my boys. There's no time for projects or cooking or even extra time to seriously work on getting rid of the last few pounds of baby weight (which it seems like everyone else seems to lose in a blink of an eye). When I do have time I'm just too dang exhausted and wore out to do anything extra and usually I don't have time, it's more like I am not doing what I should be because I'm worn out. Anyways, those are my thoughts tonight, you all need to stop being so motivated. I guess I just need more time in the day so I can be a super mom like everyone else! Sigh...

It's mostly been the last few months or so, I intended to blog all about the changes at my work but... well that never happened. I used to work from home but ever since the word MERGE (gasp) was mentioned, my life has been a whirlwind of balancing work and home and going into the office against my will but liking it but wanting to be home more and feeling like a bad mom and wife because that's what gets neglected when work gets crazy. It has been one drama after another and things haven't slown down long enough for me to feel like I'm not running a marathon at work all the time. I work 2-3 days in the office and then at home some as well. I'm the office manager at Davis Security which merged with Metro Protective Agency. Eventually they would like me to be full time at the office, with my own fancy office, doing all the financials, etc. for both companies. Awesome, right?! Yes, I love my job (most the time) and feel important (most the time lol) and talking to people all day and doing what I do and my days at the office go by really quick except I'M A MOM and that changes EVERYTHING. It's so hard to balance the two, I love doing both and am having a hard time not neglecting one or the other and it really is so overwhelming sometimes! I really can't complain about it though and I'm not, its a good job and my schedule isn't too bad, I get paid well and they are being flexible by not making me work in the office every day. I know many moms have it much worse, work full time in the office or being a single mom in general so I don't know why it is so hard for me sometimes to find this balance! Part of the problem is part of me has always wanted to be a career woman, I wasn't going to get married, or at least not for a while but things changed (for the better) and I always knew that getting married and having kids was more important and its what I would eventually do (while working of course, which worked out better in my mind). Now it's hard to keep a career but still be the mom I'd like to be, I don't want to miss out on Carson's daily little things and having others take care of him all day (they do an awesome job though and are helping us tons, thanks guys!) and I don't like that it's easier to leave Carson and go to the office now then it was the first week. I don't like that somedays when I'm at home, I wish I was at the office and I don't like it that I feel like I'm only doing half a job as a mom. Don't get me wrong, I have always wanted to work while having kids and everything but I just can't find the balance I need...

Since everyone always posts their cool projects... here is what I do, so neener neener lol

Slaves

All we had to do was bribe our neighbors with some Cafe Rio and they slaved away at our WT yard all morning... Angie and Kyle are quite the lil workers, thanks guys, youre awesome!

Our little observer...

Wee lil Leprachauns

Yummy, green waffles! Unnaturally green food doesn't look very appetizing at all but it sure tasted good!

He really is Irish too, wish I was!

My lil Irish Leprachauns lol

The lil crawler aka Carszilla