Ahhh...the weekend...and a few things that made it wonderful

Well we had a fun filled weeked...full of smiles, playing, swimming, tantrums and emotional breakdowns (that was me)...but all in all it was great hanging out with the family. It always amazes me how quickly the weekend flies by!

Through all the bustling around this weekend...here are a few items that made my life a little easier/better...



Puddle Jumpers - This is an item I came across a couple of weeks ago when a friend of mine had one on her 2 year old son. I am very apprehensive around water and the kiddos, so this has helped ease that (somewhat). It is hard enough keeping up with 4 kids on land...put them in water and I can be a nervous wreck. KK is good with floaties (and supervision...obviously) but with the twins, I wasn't sure how that would work...so this helped us ALOT this weekend when we went to a pool party for a friend's birthday party. The boys still like to stay pretty close to mom...I wish I had a picture of them...needless to say I had my hands full :)



GoGo squeeZ - I am LOVING this item right now...ALL 4 of my kids (from 3 years to 9 months) ALL love it and it is a great snack that is easy to pack in their backpacks or the diaper bag. No spoon required...the boys think it is so fun! I also like that it is applesauce plus a fruit (peach, strawberry or banana for this particular brand). I happen to run across them at Target one day and they have become a staple on our grocery list.



Crock-Pot - (sorry for the BAD picture...it was before I washed it tonight) Well I pretty much ALWAYS love this...however, it was so great for us today...we ended up going to the late service for church because of Kev's schedule...so I put on one of our favorite recipes before we left and we came home to a house that smelled wonderful! It made dinner a cinch and the kiddos were happy...can't beat that!

(In case you were curious...Italian Chicken and then I cook up some brown rice when it is close to being done...so easy! Chicken breast (frozen or fresh), pack of cream cheese, can of cream of mushroom, pack of italian seasoning, 1/2 cup of milk all thrown in...it cooks down and is super creamy...yum! I even added in broccoli tonight!)

Family - Well, I don't have a picture handy...but my sweet sister-in-law that watched my kids on Friday so I could help out my dad...and took my daughter to VBS that evening...just to turn around on Saturday and drive out to my house to hang out with my boys so we could go to a surprise engagement party for a friend. (Our original babysitter fell through). She made my life SO much easier/better this weekend. (THANK YOU LINDSAY!) While mentioning sister-in-laws...I should bring up my other one...she kept me sane during mental breakdown Saturday morning with encouraging words and a big hug (THANK YOU KORREE!)

Another thing, I purchased this...



Glamourous Wash - High Maintenance....ahh, it smells amazing! We washed our sheets in it...it is a little pricey honestly...not like I would wash all my clothing in it...but it was perfect for the sheets and it made our room smell amazing!!



Church with my family...our church has started a new message BOLD. It is amazing...it is talking about the Bold actions in Acts. I am really looking foward to next week...BOLD prayer.

Last but certainly not least...was ice cream night with the boys...we headed up to our Sonic tonight to sit on the patio. We beat the heat with lots of yummy ice cream.



Ice cream makes EVERYTHING easier/better :)

Here comes Monday!

It's a beautiful (real) day....

Well, our house day has a basic schedule...of course it changes if need be...we are pretty flexible...but for the most part we are guilty of being creatures of habit...Most days I am pretty laid back...throw in a load of laundry here...play a few puzzles there...other days I go into survival mode.

A day with four kiddos is challenging...yet rewarding and at the end of the night we all say our prayers together and end it with hugs and kisses.

So I figured I would capture today...a real day in my life and my house...I know sometimes when I read blogs, I truly appreciate the posts that are "this is me...and I am ok with that"...so here goes :)

At our house...

we start the day with a blanket skirt...she got this from me. She was cold...and this keeps her hands free so she can do what she wants and stay warm...I am thinking this is better than the snuggie :) Love the hair...



We eat Cheerios...usually two bowls each...



We smile and giggle at our brothers as they eat their Cheerio's....



We have a messy house...dishes in the sink...barbie drying in the sink...clothes to be hung...bags of clothes that NEED to go to Goodwill...but of course, they all stay where they are because we have things to do...



We become doctors...we wear fairy wings and high heels (even the boys), we have campouts and eat all meals as picnics...we even hang out in our lil' brothers room so he doesn't feel left out....




On occassion, mom needs a shower...so on these days we wait until Austin is in bed napping...and then I head to the shower, with the pitter patter of 6 little feet. I normally shower with the door 1/2 open so I can keep an eye on the three munchkins...today they decided the closet would be fun...and high heels.



Since it was a super hot today, the kids took a bath....for an hour...they loved it! Afterwards...they were READY for naptime...and mom was ready to get some stuff done...



This is just a smidge of the stuff I need to tag for the upcoming JBF (Just Between Friends) sale. Is it me...or do my kids have WAY to much clothing???

After naptime...comes snacktime...which is their favorite time of the day :) We have random snacks...grapes, yogurt, pluots, fruit snacks...but today we had cheeze its...the scrabble kind...which they love to look at the letters, and say "Mommy...what's this??" It is super cute!!



After this...there is much more playtime :)Running, screaming (1/2 for fun, 1/2 because someone hit someone else...)Next thing you know it's dinnertime...Dad was in charge tonight...and it was a hit! Spaghetti night...a first for Austin! Shirts optional...of course :)




A little bit of clean up and a quick change into jammies...love those sweet kiddos!!



Whew.....now that is a packed day....add in approximately 12-15 diaper changes, at least 5-10 tantrums, countless hugs, a few boo boos and lots of sweets words...it is just another day at the Guy household. Messy house and all :) I wouldn't change it for anything...

(Sidenote...I STILL need to tag JBF stuff...I came home to clean dishes courtesy of my husband....I got 1/2 the clothes hung...and well, Barbie is still naked in my bathroom sink)

Good night!!

I have been sucked in...

dang that Pinterest....have not exactly got it all figured out but right now my fingers are itching to go check out people's boards and surfing the web for things I can pin...WATCH OUT :)

My recent interest of jumping in to figure it out is too get ideas for unique furniture pieces and a color scheme for our master bedroom. I honestly have no idea where to start, so I am just going to go through picture after picture to find things that inspire me.

I do have the idea of making it a big DIY project...I really like the idea of finding pieces that I can refinish...and wall decor that I take something old and turn it into something new. We will see...I will be spending my days off at Goodwill and local thrift stores...I will take you guys on my journey :)

Well, off I go to research beautiful bedrooms :)

Revel Photo

Well, about a week and a half ago the boys and I loaded up and headed out to meet up with Misty (Mrs. Revel Photo), a very talented, kind, patient, sweet, amazing and easy going friend (seriously...she ROCKS!)that took on the task of taking pictures of my sweet boys to capture them at 2 years old.

I will let the photos speak for themselves....I CANNOT wait to order...problem is I can't pick :)

The Twins pics

Check out her other pics too...she has such a great eye and talent for capturing feeling in a picture. I love how she captured the boys in their element...I will cherish these pictures forever.

Favorites - Weekend Edition

Well we had a great weekend...that consisted of a whole lot of nothing :)

So I figured I would just list some favorites from the weekend...

1.) Target in Moore opened...and I have been there TWICE :) They have the best and cleanest buggies...KK and I went together once and we ended up walking away with favorite #2...

2.) Finger Nail polish...as I mentioned in this post, it is my new obsession. We walked away with two new colors...Ivy League and Plum Power.

3.) My 3 year old daughter has a new word...WhatEVER...so far it is during play time talking to her brothers...hopefully, it will not be used toward me...then it will probably NOT be a favorite...until then...you can see her whatever face (as a fairy, of course)



4.) The boys got their first backpacks and they came in at the end of the week. We decided to pack them up and head down to Granny & Papa's this weekend. They are super excited about it! They love wearing them...



5.) Watching the kids wrestle with dad took up a good part of our Saturday afternoon :) I love Kevin's face...it's all fun and games until Daddy gets hurt...



6.) My family started the day at church. It was the last week of our church's series, At the Movies...it was wonderful!! Now I am relaxing with my hubs and we watched Big Brother...love Sunday!!

7.) Last but not least...




Love the weekends!!

Xtreme Color...

So in my life I do not have the opportunity to be very Xtreme...so when the opportunity presented itself....I went for it :)

As in, nail color....I had walked into Walgreens to grab something and a sign caught my eye...Sally Hansen's Xtreme nail colors were 2 for $4 and they had so many shades to choose from....and at the price, I did not mind indulging myself just a little :)

I rarely buy nail polish...but I loved all the fun colors and I have a daughter that LOVES getting her nails and toes polished. So I decided on "Pacific Blue" and "Mellow Yellow" for my first two colors....



So fun :) I love KK's sweet little hands!

I have been on Sallyhansen.com this morning looking at other fun colors...they have a great orange, "Sun-Kissed" and a teal, "The Reel Teel" that are next on my list....
Then who knows what is next...

I think I have found a new obsession :)

Happy Friday!!

A practice vacation.....

So I just downloaded 414 pictures....prepare yourself....





I kid, I kid...I wouldn't do that to you guys...I will however pick my favorites from what we referred to as our "practice" vacation this past week.

This year's annual work convention for my husband was in Dallas, TX. This is just a short 3.5 hour drive from our house...but with 4 kids we were a little nervous. Not only that, this was our first trip as a family of six without my parents nearby to help us out....so I was a little apprehensive...Kevin in meetings for a full day...me in a hotel room full of kiddos with only a handful of toys to entertain...it's not exactly an easy task to get 4 kids out and about while I am flying solo....so, all I could think, "Can I handle this!?!"....





Well, sure enough I did, well, we did :) We had a great time and it cracks me up how easily kids are truly entertained. I had such a blast seeing the kids face light up with every run down the hall to simply press the button for the elevator. Or how they couldn't wait to ride down an escalator...or hold hands to walk down a street full of tall buildings and see a crane working on a building.






Our kids also love going out to eat :) This is something we do on occassion at home, but being out of town we were in full force of high chairs, crayons and mac'n'cheese :) Honestly, the kids did great on all going out experience, minus one night that was slightly crazy...courtesy of two tired little boys LOL. However, my favorite compliment in the world??? Sitting at a table and strangers telling us how sweet our children are and how well-behaved they act...we have many evenings of screaming and crying...but they all disappear when you actually get the kind words of strangers. I truly feel that God puts these people in our life to give us the encouragement to keep going on those challenging days we have with our kiddos. Also, our kiddos say our prayers for us before meals (a sweet song they have learned at MDO) and we got lots of smiles from strangers because our kids are a little loud when singing grace :)



We were able to see friends that we work with with their kids. They were so sweet that on the day of meetings....instead of everyone heading out of the hotel...the other moms and kids came to our room to play so I wouldn't have to get out all the kids by myself.



We also took the kids to the Dallas Aquarium and the Arboretum and they loved it! We had such a great time as a family checking out new sites and laughing and enjoying nothing but time together.









I know it is funny to call this a practice vacation...because it was an actual vacation for us...but it was the first one...and we were glad it was one that we could test out on a short drive with the kiddos. We are hoping to make a little longer drive to San Antonio in October....we will see :)

So I hope you enjoyed the (very) minimal picture selection of some of my favorites :) Thank goodness for collages :)...BTW...I truly tried to get pics of all 4 kids together...however, as I have mentioned before...4 kids all looking at the camera at once....well, it's impossible...

My little Princess....

I realized as I go through my older posts...I don't dedicate alot of time to my firstborn...Miss KK. She is such a blessing and I smile everytime I see her dancing around and singing. I can't believe how quickly she is growing up...since she is the oldest of 4 kiddos, I think I sometimes believe she should act older than she actually is. Kev has to remind me that she is just 3 years old and still growing up and learning so many lessons.

Honestly, my relationship with her is what really keeps me thinking about my relationship with God. How she is my child, and she sometimes has a hard time focusing on what is important and listening to the plan I have for her day...just like I struggle with being self-reliant and getting side-tracked by things that do not need to take me off the path, the perfect plan, that God has for my life. As i learn more about my relationship with the Lord, Katelyn is learning about her relationship as well.

One of my favorite times of the day is when we sit down to read her devotional Bible.



I bought this for her because I thought it looked precious. Now as she and I work through the book, I realize it is such an amazing book of lessons that allows her and I time to have fellowship together. She really enjoys hearing the stories and the application to her life...and it is amazing how it speaks to me. I definitley recommend this book to anyone with little girls. It has verses, and then applications that a small child can understand and even parts where you can role play stories.

(For the boys I have found the following Bible that I would like to start with them soon.)


Back to my Princess....I love that she is all girl...lip gloss, bows, frills and sassiness...but I am also glad that she is learning that beauty is from within...and that I hope that as we continue our study of the Word together she will have a firm foundation of strength in God that she will face this world and be ready to love and give.

She, of course is typical 3 year old that enjoys a good dramatic fit, and a I have frustrated moments that I feel as though I don't know what to do next...but fortunately we both have HOPE in our hearts and know that we have somewhere to turn to for help...for the One that will always listen.

Happy Tuesday!!

My child is a statistic....

So, have you heard of silica gel??? You know...the little packets of "stuff" that comes in new boxes of shoes...purses...packages...all kinds of stuff...well, I randomly came across this article today...and it caught my eye...

According to this article...34,000 children under the age of six ingested this stuff...resulting in a call to poison control...guess who one of those mom's was??? That's right...me...I admit it...Katelyn ate some out of a box of new shoes I bought...

Please...don't judge me...

Have a great Monday :)

A whole lot of everything...

Well, today is a catch up day on random happenings...so forgive me for the rambling :)

First off, I hope everyone is having a wonderful Friday!! I am looking forward to a great weekend, Date night tonight with hubby, baby shower and church tomorrow and a Sunday of fun with our blow up pools!!

Here goes....

This past week my lil' man turned 8 months old...it is so crazy how fast he is growing!! He crawls everywhere, pulls up on furniture, has started eating table food (LOVES to self-feed), he is off the bottle and sleeps like a pro!

The boys have been really breaking in their new toys from their party...and one of their favorites?? Bowling (Thanks Owen!!) They love setting up the pins and Carter actually understands the concept of rolling the ball...Bryce on the other hand gets frustrated, picks up the ball and throws it at the pins to knock them over...or kicks them :) But they get so excited when they fall over...they will scream "YEAH!!!" So cute...



The kids were super excited about MDO this week...they got to go two days in a row since Monday was a holiday...so they were full of creativity (as usual!) and made lots of fun art!! I can't believe how many things I already have of the kids...I always take pictures of them because I am going to turn them into an art book on MyPublisher (eventually!) Here is a sample:



The boys are two now, so of course the first question I hear from most is, "Are you potty-training?"...and my answer, "Heck no..." LOL...honestly we don't know where to start...KK was SO EASY...so two boys seems so overwhelming...Bryce seems interested...Carter has no interest at all...So we decided we would try bribery....



Here is what we have ended up with...one bare bottomed and one fully clothed playing in the bathroom for 1/2 an hour :) Sorry if the pic is TMI...but I have to capture these moments so I am able to show them to their prom dates one day...



Last night we decided to see how I kid's measured up...so we decided to dedicate a wall in the playroom to measure the kids...and I will figure out a way to frame it out and make it cute...however, this was just a spur of the moment happening...we can't believe how big the kids are getting!!



Well, there you go...a whole lot of everything!! Sorry that was all over the place...but that is our family in a nutshell for the week!! We also had the pleasure of having dinner at my brother's house with his family and friends, my friend Shannon coming over yesterday with her sweet son Evan and a couple of fun work days with me with my favorite ladies!!

Have a great weekend and I will talk to you next week!

Let Freedom Ring

Happy 4th of July to everyone!!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day with family and more importantly I am thankful to those that have given there lives in the past, present and future that allow my freedom here in the US. I am truly amazed at those that give there time and efforts so selflessly to defend our nation. Thank you...Thank you ...Thank you!

In order to celebrate, we had a two day celebration...On Sunday, we went down to good ol' Moore, Oklahoma and headed to 12th street park where they have booths, sno cones and a HUGE sandbox :)





We had a blast...however, it was 125 degrees outside so we only lasted a little while before we headed back to AC. But the kids had a blast in the sandbox and eating sno cones...and KK of course got her face painted :)

Today we got back in our red, white and blue and celebrated in our hometown of Piedmont. We were a little disappointed at first...because ALOT of rain moved in and it looked as though the parade was going to be cancelled...since the kids were a little down at the idea of the parade not happening we decided ice cream would be a good treat :)



Our little ice cream party got messy...especially with Bryce but they really enjoyed it!

Luckily, we waited around and sure enough, the rain cleared and the sun was back out (and HOT) and we unloaded to get set up for parade time!! The kids were so excited!!





The boys were so excited to see the horses and cars...and Katelyn was pumped because of all the candy!! Although, once Bryce got the hang of the candy idea...he was all about it! Carter was so sweet...he sat next to me most of the time and just smiled and waved...I loved it...a woman in the parade noticed that he was just sitting next to me and came up to him and handed him an entire handful of candy. He was pretty excited!! We came home with alot of loot!!

At the end of the parade, the kids started to wave their flags.



We had a blast! Now the kids are sleeping like logs!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and got to spend it with loved ones!