Happy Friday Friends!

I am up way to early today... in my opinion! Acoording to Joshua we should have woken up earlier. I dislike getting out bed before 8:00 when I have nothing to be awake for. But I decided, since I am awake I might as well participate in Friday Follow this week!

My internet has been in and out the last couple days, so I might take a couple days to follow back. But rest assured I will follow back, I always do :) I hope you will take a couple minutes and look around my page and learn more about me!

This week has been so long... We have all been sick here since Sunday so it feels like this is a neverending week. I woke up Wednesday thinking it was Friday. It was bad! I am definitely looking forward to a relaxing weekend with my boys this weekend. speaking of my boys look at this cute picture I took of them the other day. So precious!



Happy following friends! I hope you all have a great Friday.

Wordless Wednesday

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I need a new outlook

I need to realize home is where my family is, not the house we live in.
I need to realize the little stuff, is just that, little. Not so important.
I must continue to tell myself, God has control over everything. So don't even try to take control.

I need a new perspective on life.

I must look at the world through my sons eyes, where everything depends on THIS moment. Not look at the future so much and just miss what's happening right here and now.
I really need to realize happiness is truly important, and try my best to be happy no matter what situation I find myself in.
I need to realize I have everything I could possibly want in life, not all the clothes and things, but a family that truly loves me and cares for me.

I need a new outlook, a new perspective on life.

I need to spend more time smiling laughing, not so much time worrying about where we will be in a month.
I need to dream, even if I feel deep down the dreams will never come true.
I really must take the time to enjoy all the little things in life, not dwell on the things I wish could be different.

I need to change the way I look at life. I need a new perspective.

To Do Tuesday

To Do Tuesday! I don't know about you, but my life revolves around lists. Every day I wake up and make a list, even though I have a permanent list on the inside of the pantry door.



Here is my list for the week!

*Walk every day, at least 2 miles
*Attempt to set a nap schedule for Josh... of course it's ultimately up to him
*Follow my meal plan for the week (NO EATING OUT)
*Purchase plants for the front yard
*Laundry every day (folded, not just washed)
*Dishes every day
*Devotinal time every day
*Print coupons for the week/& grocery shop
*keep house presentable

there is oh so much more but I know if I continue on I will justshare my incompetence with you all next week when I can't cross off anything on my list :)

Not me! Monday

Welcome to not me Monday! It is hosted by Mckmama

click here to find out more info :)



I did not start a food journal just to make sure I cook at home every night and don't get tempted to eat out. Not me! I always have a wonderful dinner on the table at 5:30 every night. That is what a good wife would do right?

I haven't been letting the house fall apart because I am fairly certain we will be moving soon. We are here now and hat is what matters so I ALWAYS make sure it is perfect. Even if we are moving in the next couple months, I live for the moment!

I definitely did not start folding laundry this morning then when the baby woke up threw it all back in the basket so I could sit on the couch and feed him. (Okay... Maybe I did do that one :)

I hope you are all having a great Monday! I just ate a yummy pot roast for dinner with the hubby while crabby little boy is FINALLY taking a nap. Time to go watch property virgins. Love this show!!

Monday Madness

I came across Monday Madness this morning and decided to give it a whirl! It is a spin off of Friday Follow :) Here are the details!



What is Monday Madness?

Monday Madness was created by us: mommy bloggers Micael and Meghan. Mommy, daddy, single, stay at home parent, working parent, blogger, non-blogger, pie lover, pie hater (who hates pie, seriously?).... it doesn't matter who you are or what you do, Monday's tend to be crazy, right? So we thought we would bring a little fun into your Monday routine. And at the same time you'll get to check out new blogs, network with others, make new friends and connections - multitasking at itsbest!
So what do I do to participate?

It's really easy to participate with us! Just follow the steps below and you'll be set!
1. Follow the hostess blogs at Saving Obsession and The Tuckers Take Tennessee for some Madness Lovin'.
2. Grab the McLinky code and make a post on your blog about Monday Madness, so more people can join in the fun! Also grab the Monday Madness button on the right.
3. Add your blog name and link to the McLinky below.
4. Check out some of the blogs on the list and follow ones you like. Leave a comment to let them know you're from Monday Madness.
5. If someone follows your blog, follow them back to keep the Madness going.

That's it! Visit and follow as few or as many blogs as you'd like!

i am in need of some advice

Lately I have really had a desire to do something. I have no clue what I want to do, I just feel the need to do something. I love baking and I really would love to start a little baking business, our kitchen here just isn't realistic to do that. Plus I would need money for supplies and we can't afford it. So I thought crafts. Maybe there is another way to get a little extra income to start savings for my baking I would love to do. Problem is, I am not creative. I would have no idea what to do.

I think the reason for all this is that I have nothing I do. Yeah I cook, I clean, I'm a mom. But I want to do something for me! I just am stuck on what to do.

Any suggestions for a stay at home mom to make some extra money? Even an online job I could use to save up for baking supplies. I just feel like I need to do something for me, something I am held accountable for and has to be done ( besides changing diapers). Every online job I find looks like a scam.

I need help! Please? Thanks in advance.

Cleaning isn't so important.

I tell myself this constantly. My little boy is being VERY clingy lately and I feel like I am constantly trying to make him happy for a few minutes so I can clean my house, I need to constantly remind myself he won't be like this forever! It is hard to not get anything done, but it's not going anywhere :)

Dishes, Laundry, and Sweeping. These are my main 3 things. As long as those are done everyday, I consider it a succesful day. The bed doesn't get made every day (so what?), the tubs don't get cleaned every day, and every little thing isn't organized. Is it the end of the world? Sometimes I act like it is, but deep down I know it't not. My baby needs me so I need to sacrifice a few things for him. When he (finally) decides to take a nap I will get stuff done... someday.

Five Question Friday

This is something that I just came across @ Simply Stacy and I thought it looked fun :)
it is hosted by: My Little Life


Here are this weeks questions!


1. What was the first car you owned?
umm a 92 Beretta :) my older sisters old car

2. What song are you embarrassed to know the lyrics to?
oh boy haha I don't even know... none! I am proud of all the songs I sing.

3. Have you ever had stitches?
Yes In my chin when I was about 7? I was in a wagon being pulled behind a bike and crashed into a mailbox... haha oops! And then when I had my baby boy!

4. What was your first job?
I would at Total Entertainment, it was a video and tanning place. It was awesome cuz I got free movies and cheap tanning!

5. Who is your favorite Sesame Street character?
Cookie Monster! I love cooookies :)

Happy Friday!

And a happy Friday indeed :) Lately my little boy has been waking up 3 or 4 times a night... not going to sleep until midnight and waking up way to early. Last night I thought it was to good to be ture when he fell asleep at 10:00, so I went to bed ASAP figuring he would wake up sooner rather than later. But He slept until 6:45!! I was so happy! Of course I woke up with a headache but that is not going to stop my happiness :)

And now on to Friday Follow! Click the icon below to learn more


Happy following friends! I look forward to meeting new people :)

I finally did it!!!

I have been needing to do this for so long!! I haven't done it since I was about 6 months pregnant... it was bad! But today I finally worked up the nerve and got it done :)

Here are the pictures:

The BEFORE:


& The AFTER:


I got 12 Inches cut off! A whole foot :) I am so proud of myself. It might not look like that much but it definitely feels like it!

What is your favorite?

What is your favorite tv show?

We go through phases... there was a couple weeks right when we got to El Paso where we watched Criminal Minds every chance we got. We knew the schedule by heart and watched every episode!

Then we watched The Office. Seasons 1-5 in about 2 weeks :) But since we have no more seasons of that we are on to the next new thing...

Home Improvement shows, and House Hunters. These are the best! Right now we are watching Renovation Reality's. This is one of my favorites. But the best house hunters show is Property Virgins. I love looking at houses and getting ideas of what I want in our house when we eventually buy one. I love houses :)

It is bed time for Joshua so I need to go feed him and get him to SLEEP. (Wish me luck)

Love to you all ♥

Super cool giveaway to check out :)

I love pop! This is an awesome opportunity to win a soda stream, make your own pop at home. How cool would that be? Stop by I'm Just Your Average Mom to enter this giveaway. Blog about it, tweet about it and you have a better chance at winning!

this is the website of Soda stream to learn more about the product ($100 value!)

make sure to head over there and enter :)

A few pictures

I realized its been a few days since I have put pictures up of my little man :) so here are a couple from the last few days.

This is just this morning. I'm suprised I actually got a smile out of him because he woke up way to early this morning and then didn't take a nap until about 10 minutes ago. I am so over this not sleeping phase...


there is that smile I love so much!


Here is his newest toy! He is getting so big :) he loves it so much!


This is one of the first times he has fallen asleep in a random place on his own. What a goof ball!


Sorry they are all a little blurry... they are from my phone :) I am in the process of looking for a new camera, so if you have one that you love please share! I don't have much experience picking out cameras so help is awesome.

Plans for tonight are to run to the store when Daddy gets home from work and get stuff for tacos and diapers. Hope you are all having a great Tuesday! Love ♥

Not me! Monday

Happy Monday bloggers! I Hope you are all having a better day than I am so far, I woke up with a massive headache and just can't seem to shake it. Here is my Not me! Monday. This is hosted by MckMama, you can click the icon on the side of my blog to visit her blog and learn more about it :)

I definitely didn't decide this morning when I woke up that I was not going to be productive today. That would not be a very good goal to set would it?

I didn't wait until 12:15 to go to bed last night, when the baby went to bed at 9:30. Not me! I know I need to take advantage of a sleeping baby. And then he definitely didn't wake up at 12:45... merely 15 minutes after I fell asleep. Not my baby boy! He ALWAYS sleeps through the night. Even when he is teething and extrememely crabby.

I have not been putting off going upstairs all day because I know there is way to much to do up there and I couldn't NOT be productive. not me :)

Hope you all have a wonderful Monday! Love to you all!

Welcome :)

Welcome to all of my new Friday Follow friends :) I hope you take a look around and ask me anything you want to know!

Only 7 more followers and I will be at 100 and then I will be doing my very first giveaway! I haven't decided what to do yet so any ideas on what you would like to see would be appreciated :)

I'm sorry this is a short little entry but I have been dealing with a crabby baby all day and he is finally sleeping so off to watch some TV with my hubs!

Hope you are all having a great sunday. Love love!

My favorite song

Do you have a song that you could listen to over and over again and never get sick of? I do! I have listened to this song so many times I don't think I could count that high even if I wanted to. This song is amazing. I love the lyrics and it is so true...



It is by Hal Ketchum, not the most popular country singer but he is awesome! My family loves him and has seen him in concert a couple times.

here are the lyrics:

Love don't hang out in a grand hotel
Got no satin sheets, got no servant's bell
Ain't in Bel Air on some big old yacht
Ain't in a beach house on Monserrat

There's a house on the edge of town
It's a little old, it's a little run down
Full of laughter and tears and toys
Crazy things only love enjoys

CHORUS
I know where love lives
I know where love lives
She's sitting on the back step in the evening air
With sea green eyes and her chesnut hair
You keep your mansions of gold, buddy,
I don't care
Cause I know where love lives

You keep all that your fortune brings
All your fancy words, all your precious things
No matter what all your money buys
It's in the arms of love
That true treasure lies

CHORUS

I know where love lives
Keep your mansions of gold
Keep your mansions of gold


Hope you are all having a great Friday!

Follow Friday

Welcome to folow friday friends!!

Hosted by the first 3 people on the blog hop below (One 2 Try, Hearts Make Families, Midday esacapades). Happy following :)

My Little man

My baby boy had a doctors appointment this morning! His 4 month check up (only 10 days late...) was this morning at 8. First of all that is WAY to early. Second of all this was my night last night:

9:00 get Josh to sleep
9:30 talk to Mom on phone eat snack :)
10:30 go to bed!
11:45 still awake... Josh woke up
12:30 got Josh back to sleep
1:45 FINALLY fell asleep
2:30 Josh woke up, got a sliver in my foot walking to get him from his room
3:00 got Josh back to sleep
300:-3:20 tried to get sliver out of my foot... NOT succesful
4:15 Josh woke up, brought him into bed
4:30-6:15 lay in bed trying to get a crabby boy to sleep
6:15 finally got Josh back to sleep
6:30 alarm went off
7:00 had to wake up Josh after trying to get him to sleep all night!

seriously... I am exhausted! What a long 5 hours. This morning my little man got his shots in his legs :( so I have a feeling tonight is gonna be more of the same thing. Not looking forward to it. He has slept maybe 45 minutes since he woke up this morning and he is a bear!

On top of him being a crab I am SUPER dizzy! Any one have any ideas to get rid of vertigo? I wake up with it once in a while but it never lasts this long. I have had in since I woke up this morning and it is no fun. Josh is in his swing content right now so perhaps I should try and lay down for a while.

His appointment went really good this morning. He is 17 lbs 3 oz. And I don't remember what is height is... he is int he 90th % for weight and 70th % for height. Much better than the 85th % and 40th% he was at his 2 months! haha he definitely got longer because none of his clothes fit him anymore. He is in 6-9 month clothes mostly, with a few 12 month outfits that fit him! What a chunker :)

Well I am going to go lay down... Ryan is at physical therapy and is stopping to get stuff for tacos on his way home. Then taco Tuesday!

Have a great Tuesday friends! Love!!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to not me Monday. Hosted by MckMama, click the icon to learn more!


I have NOT been going crazy all weekend because I have a teething and sick baby boy. I am a very patient mother and wouldn't let something like that get to me.

I definitely did not try to talk Ryan into going out to eat twice this weekend, when we decided just Wednesday we were going to see how long we could go without eating out. I always stick by what I say :)

And I did NOT fake having a headache on Friday night when Joshua woke up so that Ryan would get up and change his diaper and bring him to me in bed. Meaning all I had to do was roll over so I could feed him. I DON'T lie to my husband :) But if I did do that I would definitely tell him the next morning!

I did not try on the same pair of pants every day for the last week. Hoping, just HOPING that one of these days I will miraculously shrink and I will be able to button them! I know I need to TRY in order to lose weight, I am much smarter than thinking I will just lose it by doing nothing.

I hope you are all having a great Monday! Click Here to visit MckMama's blog and read other Not Me! Monday entries.

Everyone have a good saturday?

I hope you are all having a great weekend. Did you enjoy your saturday? I sure did! Here is Saturday at the Stricklands (In pictures).

We started off our Saturday watching The Office :) I didn't get any pictures of us being lazy.

Then we decided to wash the truck! It was much overdue... it hasn't been washed since we bought it. In November!

Josh was hanging out outside with us:

(Dad's BBQ Buddy)

While Ryan was washing the truck:


And Deuce stood guard of the water bucket! Just waiting for the hose to be turned back on:


He finally got to play for a while :)


Then he got tired and went and sat in the truck while we cleaned the inside:


By then Josh had been up way to long! So he took a little nap:


While Ryan and Deuce did some golfing in our tiny little back yard. Deuce loves golf balls:


Then we attempted (Again) To get rid of these nasty little creatures that have chosen our backyard for there home. Fire Ants. Blech!:


We ended the day with one last nap at about 8. Followed by the rest of season 5 of The Office :)


I hope you have all had as good of a weekend as I have. Today we went to church and stopped at target for some baby coat hangers on the way home. Now I am off to organize Joshua's room a little more and hang his clothes up in his closet! Wish me luck :)

Have a great Sunday Friends!

This is what I wake up to :)

I love waking up to this smiling face in the morning! This morning I woke up and he was just laying in bed next to me talking away, smiling and watching me and Daddy sleep :) He is such a good little boy! This video is from yesterday, we were out at the park and he was having so much fun watching Deuce chase his ball.



And this is his new thing :) he loves this!! He is getting so big!

Neighbors...

I am in a bit of a dilema right now. I'm not quite sure how to handle it. I don't get angry or annoyed very easily. I am a very laid back, easy going person. What has me so frustrated you ask? My neighbors! Here is the situation:

They have dogs, how many I don't know. Some days there is only one, other days there are 4. I don't know how many are there's and how many live there. Thats not the annoying part :) I love dogs! My neighbors allow said dog to wander the neighborhood. I have seen her open the front door, let the dog out, then proceed to close the door. No leash. No fence. Nothing! One of these dogs, I am really not sure what kind of dog it is. It is a little white fluff. About the size of a beagle. But it barks. And it barks, and it barks! I went over to the neighbors house at 11 pm on Tuesday night because this dog was sitting outside my door barking! Driving Deuce crazy and waking Joshua up. She just said "Oh Sorry" and let him in and closed the door. Wednesday morning at 6 am. He was right outside my door barking again!

He is out there every day, all day. Wandering the neighborhood, in the middle of the streets. One of the other dogs, a little weiner dog type thing, growls and barks at me anytime I open my door. I swear these dogs just wait for me to come out. I don't know what to do! I am gonna give her a couple more chances, tell her they need to be on a leash or in the fenced in back yard. I can't have these dogs barking all hours of the night anymore!

Well that is my frustration right now. It is literally driving me up the wall! I am off to shower, and hope the dogs don't wake Joshua up while I am in there :) Wish me luck!

I hope all of my wonderful friends are having a great Thursday!

I LOVE my new stroller!

When I decided to go home and visit I contemplated whether or not to bring a stroller. I decided to just use my sling instead, one less thing to keep track of I figured (BAD decision).

We got to the airport and Ryan carried him as long as he could then I took him, Joshua was getting fussy going through security so I didn't even try to put him in the sling. We stopped at the bathroom for a diaper change and I attempted the sling... what a bad horrible idea. He didn't want anything to do with it! So I figured oh well, I will try again in Dallas! We only had about 15 minutes until we boarded. Nor big deal!

We got to Dallas and got right to our gate, we were supposed to have a 20 minute layover. Not to long right? WRONG! We ended up having to change gates 3 times, all of them being on opposite sides of Dallas' HUGE airport. After about 3 1/2 hours (and with EXTREMELY tired dead arms ) we finally got on the plane for Minnesota.

Needless to say I decided I wasn't gonna risk that happening again on the way back. So while I was in Minnesota I bought a stroller. My Mom had this Chicco stroller for my little sister, it's like an advanced umbrella stroller. I tried out my Mom's with Joshua and he loved it! We used hers a little bit then decided to invest in one of our own! Here is Joshua in the stroller in the Dallas airport.



I love the 5 point harness becuase he is still so little and isn't very strong yet so if he fell asleep he wouldn't tip forward. I love how it reclines a little too (Normal ubmrella strollers don't) that was actually the deciding factor in this stroller. I got it from Toys R Us <-- (check out the link)

Here are a few details off of the website:
Child Weight Max: 37 lbs
Type:Light Weight
# of Children Capacity:1
Car Seat Compatible:No
Extras:Sunshade,Cargo Basket
Best Uses:City,Walking,Shopping,Travel

I HIGHLY reccomend this stroller :) Please ask me any questions you might have and I will do my best to answer them!

Wordless Wednesday

My big brother and my baby boy; Visiting home 2010

i apologize to all my followers

I am sorry I have not been in here much lately. Life has been a little crazy, my trip to Minnesota totally ruined my routine! And now that I am finally catching up on the housework joshua and I have not been feeling very well. I think we have whatever little bug Ryan had while we were gone. Hopefully it doesn't plan on staying around to long. I'm ready for it to be gone! The weather is beautiful and I want to be out there enjoying it!

Tonights taco Tuesday was a little disappointing because we had no cheese! I completely forgot :( I improvised and melted some velveeta and used that, but it wasn't nearly as tasty as shredded cheese. Oh well next week will be better!

Well I need to sleep...I'm on my phone and she's telling me to plug her in. She needs a name still :) any suggestions? I'm not to creative! Hope everyone had a great Tuesday and has a great night. Love to all my fellow Bloggers!

Josh 4 month Pictures

My Dad did some pictures of Josh when we were home. So they are technically 3 1/2 month pictures :) But here are a few of my favorites!

"Made in Japan (With American Parts)"


Stretching! He just woke up :)


What a goofy face!


Sad boy :(


Stuck in a bucket


What a big boy :)


Playing with his tractor


My precious moments doll


What are you guys doing over there?


Are you SERIOUS?


Hope you enjoyed the pictures of my big boy! So hard to believe he is 4 months old already :( he is growing up to fast!

I hope everyone had a great Monday

Saturday at the Stricklands!

I am in the proccess of uploading my pictures... it never happened last night and it is taking forever tonight! Today we went to the mall and walked around for a while. I tried shopping for some jeans but gave up after about 10 pairs were to small. Ugh. SO FRUSTRATING!! I need to lose the rest of this baby weight then hopefully I can find something that fits.

I will be back either later tonight or tomorrow sometime... depending on our schedule tomorrow. To put up a few pictures! I hope everyone is having a great Saturday evening and I hope everyone has an awesome Easter! I am planning on getting Joshua's picture with the easter bunny tomorrow :) I know thats not what Easter is about but its fun! Have a great Sunday friends!

Happy Good Friday :D

I know I am running a little behind :) Things have been a little crazy since I got home Tuesday night. Unpacking, a crabby spoiled baby, and cleaning the mess of a house my husband left me! So happy following friends! To learn more visit here



I am going to be putting all my pictures on the computer from my trip to Minnesota tonight probably... so hopefully tomorrow I will get on here to share a few with you all! I didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked to, but I know a few of my little brothers and sisters, and my Mom & Dad have cameras they took pictures with so hopefully they will share them with me! We also got Joshua's 4 month pictures done by my wonderful photographer of a father! (Visit his website by clicking here)

And remember friends I am close to 100 followers and when I reach it I will be doing my very first giveaway! So Make sure and follow and tell your friends to follow :)

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Good Friday! Don't forget to remember on this wonderful Friday that our amazing Lord sacrificed his life for you (yes YOU!) and me on Calvary. No matter how bad your day is going, no matter how little you feel like you have in life, don't ever forget our amazing Lord and what he sacrificed to give us everlasting life in Heaven, with Him! How AMAZING is he?! "God is good! All The time! All The Time! Good is Good!!"

What is one thing you are thankful for this Easter? One thing you want to share with everyone that the Lord has blessed you with? And if you have any prayer requests this holiday season feel free to share them here and know you will be prayed for.

here's mine:

*I am so beyond thankful for my wonderful husband, he is an amazing father to our baby and he is more than I could have ever imagined for a husband. I am so thankful for my baby boy, even on his fussy days I wouldn't trade him for the world! I am also thankful my husbands career in the army. No matter how frustrating and stressful it is, it has been our life since we were married and is has given us good life experience.

And a prayer request:
*Pray for wisdom and guidance as Ryan is considering ending his military career. We have so much to think about and pray about, but I feel that this is something the Lord really wants us to do. He is never happy and is having a hard time dealing with how he is treated. I don't feel like it is worth it... please pray the Lord will show us what we are meant to do with our future!

Thank you friends for taking the time to stop by and read my blog :) I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday!