{Happy Memorial Day}

It's been about a week since I have last posted. I'm not going to lie. I wasn't super busy, I wasn't running around chasing kids ... oh wait, that part is true. But really, I just needed to take a break from blogging and just have fun with my kids ... no stress, no scheduling, it was amazing. But I'm back, I missed everyone too much to stay away to too long!

I hope everyone had an amazing Memorial Weekend. We had a great time doing a lot of this ...



and a lot of this ...



and a lot of this ...



And it was wonderful! Hope everyone was relaxed as us! More to come in the following days!

{Circle Necklace}

So get this irony. I have been wanting this necklace for three years now. Every time I would turn on the TV I would see someone wearing a similar necklace, and I WANTED IT BAD. Just one problem... I couldn't find it anywhere. Seriously, for three years I was asking around, walloping in self pity, and just dying to have this VERY simple necklace.

When Mother's Day came around, I was given some money. I knew exactly what I wanted (the necklace) but had pretty much given up hope.

THAT night, I was searching and there it was, in all it's glory. MY NECKLACE! I just couldn't believe it. I felt like it had been under my nose this whole time. So what's a girl to do? DUH, I bought that thing as fast as I could.



It finally came in the mail yesterday, and I love it just as much as I thought I would. It even came in the most beautiful packaging. SO beautiful that it caught Bayler's eye as well. I was cleaning up the house and handed Bayler the thick, sharp paper like the dumb person I am, and he was just waving it back and forth. All of a sudden, right when I bent down to pick something out ... it happened. A PAPER CUT TO THE EYE. It was the worst pain I have felt in a LONG time. What the? Who gets a paper cut on their eyeball?? Luckily, it was far enough from my cornea that I didn't have to worry. I just get to live with the pain for a few more days.

Stupid packaging! The funny thing about it is the 21st century meaning of the necklace is "What goes around, comes around." Man, what did I do??

{Life in the Suburb-an}

About a month ago I traded in my beloved Escalade and got a Suburban. It was really unexpected actually. I was so happy with my car, it was beautiful, it was pretty big, but just didn't have the room in the back that I really wanted.

I was hanging out with a girlfriend of mine when Ryan called and said, "You got a new car, bring yours home now so we can trade." Umm ... ok?

Now, Ryan doesn't ever make decisions with out me, at least not decisions that big, so I knew he had found an incredible deal. He had been talking for about 6 months about wanting a Suburban, I just never thought anything of it. Actually, I really didn't want something that big.

Once I got home and saw it, I loved it. The room was incredible. It was a darker color which I liked, and it had a few perks that my other ride didn't have. The two best parts ... captain chairs and the dvd player. Talk about life savors. Did I mention the big fat MU decal on the back? Love it! This car drives just like the Escalade did, so I literally have ZERO complaints. And if I had to choose between the two ... I would definitely go with the Suburban. Even though I feel like I am driving a small bus :)

All in all, it was a great trade. I am happy and I guess that is all that matters since I am the one in the drivers seat! Now, maybe I can keep this car longer than a year?

{DIY Nailhead Corkboard}

Loving this DIY Nailhead Corkboard by Bryn Alexandra. It would be perfect for my workspace in the office. I just may have to put one of these babies together! Thanks for the inspiration!! Head on over to her blog for the tutorial!

{Bagatelles & Co.}

Remember how much I wanted that little cute coin purse from Bagatelles & Co? Happy Mother's Day! I love it ... it's so cute. It's actually pretty small, but just perfect for some lip gloss, a credit card and change!

{Easy & Cheap Topiary}

I REALLY wanted something nice out in front of our house, but I didn't want to spend the hundreds of dollars some do to make their exterior pretty. I am working with this orange brick and brown sofeting/shutters. It's not the best color scheme, but since I don't have the cash to change it, I needed to figure something out.

For the longest time I had this ugly terra cotta pot in front. It was an eye sore, but I just never took the time to move it out of the way. FINALLY, an idea was born. I was at walmart and I saw these small plants for only $4.00. I picked up two, grabbed some top soil, and headed for the spray paint aisle.



I bought American Accent Stone Spray Paint in Mineral Brown. It's a textured spraypaint that takes a couple of coats. I spent a total of $20.00 total.



Here is my end results. Nothing hard about this project. It's not a "new" idea, just something easy to spruce up your doorway for just a little bit of cash!

{Pampers Celebrate Moms}

Happy Mother's Day!

{Laundry, Laundry, Laundry}

One of the things I hate most is laundry. I don't really mind putting it in the washer and dryer ... but I HATE folding and putting it away ... it's torture to me.

I don't think I would mind it so much if I had a place on the main level that looked like these ...




I won't be doing any laundry today though ... we are loading up the kiddos and taking them to the zoo! Hope it's a beautiful day for us!

{Show Us Your Life - Baby Names}

When it came time to choose a baby names the first go around, we had very little trouuble. We wanted to incorporate a piece of Ryan and I's names as well. If it were a boy, we wanted to use Michael, Ryan's first name. We also wanted to use Michelle, my middle name, if it was a girl.

Braeden came to Ryan one night when I was in the begining of my third trimester. We must have bought tons of baby name books, but nothing "felt" right. It wasn't until we were lying in bed one night and he said "Braeden" and we just knew.

We didn't announce the name of the baby until my baby shower. Braeden Michael. To this day, I still am in love with the name. It just fits him to a T.

The second go-around was not so easy. It actually was one of the hardest parts of being pregnant. For one, we didn't know if it was a boy or a girl. We wanted a surprise. We decided to use our girl name from previously, Addison Michelle. I think I wanted a girl SO bad just so I could have an Addison. I still am totally in love with it. As for a boy, we were clueless.

EVERY night we talked about it. I was dreading the decision because I didn't want to use the wrong name. What if I hated the name of my little boy? What if I just "settled?"

With both boys I was induced. So we knew the date the babies were going to arrive ... it wasn't like I could put it off any longer. It was TWO days before he was to be born, and we had NO name. OMG. Finally, Ryan looked at me and said, "Bayler." Hrmm, we had dicussed this name the first time, like it, but didn't take it seriously. After he said Bayler ... it was a sigh of relief. YES, I loved it, it was different, and it was a name that people would remember. Bayler it was! Umm, but we just decided to wait to see if the baby was a boy or a girl to determine if we needed to go through the whole name game again for his middle name.

Sure enough, it was a boy! I was supper excited, but REALLY did not want to drain myself with names while I was at the hospital. It was a last minute decision the day before we left the hospital. Luke was a name we always liked, just wern't sure about ... thus, Bayler Luke was born.

Looking back, both names fit the boys perfectly. It's funny how after you meet them and they begin to show you their personality, just how much they resemble their name. Who has the name Bayler? Because I am pretty sure Bayler looks just like a "Bayler." So funny!

What are your baby names? or names you would use for your kiddos?

{Bayler's Second Trip to the ER}

Things are finally getting back to normal here at the Imhoff house. Bayler is still throwing up every night, so we are trying various things to get his digestive track back "on track." I am just praying he doesn't spew again ... I have GOT to get some sleep sometime soon!

I took a few pictures at the ER the other night. Thought I would show you how sick this little guy was ... you can just see it in his eyes!






If everyone feels better today, we are going to the ZOO on Friday ... cross your fingers for us!

- Oh, and happy Cinco de Mayo! I think I'll pick up some yummy mexican tonight for dinner!

{Spoke to Soon}

Looks like I spoke too soon. Today I have been tending to two boys all day long. Ryan has been extremely sick, and Bayler won't stop throwing up, crying, etc. It has been 24 hours now where he will throw a temper tantrum if I set him down, sit down with him, or barely leave his sight. If he isn't in my arms, he is not happy, and not going to let anyone get any sleep.

It's taken its toll on me. I am exhausted, and I can not WAIT until this all passes. Today was really unbearable. Bayler will not sleep in his crib, will not go to bed, and I have tried EVERYTHING. I have given him the meds that we got at the ER, I took off his clothes thinking he was too hot. I have laid with him, rocked him, read to him, walked, ugh ...everything.

FINALLY, he fell asleep in my arms. I gently placed him in his crib, and 10 mins later ... screaming! SO, here we are, on the couch, and I finally found something to keep his eyes off of me ... food ... go figure.

You should see my couch after this picture ... I have these crazy puffs EVERYWHERE, and guess what? I don't care. He can just chow down and occupy himself ... this mommy is TIRED!





Hey, if Bayler's happy ... Mommy's happy!

** Also note that after he was done eating, I picked up all of the cheese puffs off the couch, he immediatly started to cry, picked back up the can, and dumped them all out. This was followed by laughter ... hrmm.

{Feeling Better}

Thanks everyone for being patient while I took a little sick leave from the blog! Bayler came down with a terrible stomach bug on Wednesday, and by Friday and Saturday Braeden and I had come down with it. Let me just tell ya ... it was Awful!

Why is it when your kids are sick they are still moving around, talking like normal, and when you have it you can't get out of bed, light and noise bothers you ... and you swear you are more sick than anyone else? hrmm?

Well, I have to say thank you to the hubs for taking care of us all weekend up. I wasn't able to get out of bed on Saturday, and finally around 12:30 am I got out of bed to get some water and Ryan was sitting in the family room with loads of laundry around him, all folded ready to be put away. It was an amazing sight. He let me sleep all day and night, took care of the kids, cleaned up and did the laundry ... love him. Thanks honey!

We are all feeling a bit better today, so I hope to get back to my daily blogging! Hope everyone has a healthy week!