Ten on Tuesday.

1. I am not going to let The Bachelor suck me in this season. I'm not. A repeat bachelor, really? I didn't watch his first go at it and I don't even know his name. Okay, I admit I watched it tonight. It was a long, busy day, I sunk into my couch to watch How I Met Your Mother (one of the BEST shows on TV...so funny) and then there was that darn Bachelor with all its drama. So, I watched and then before I knew it I was an hour in. The older I get, the more ridiculous those rose ceremonies become and the crying is even more ridiculous (and this is coming from a big, emotional crier). Ugh, who I am kidding? I've got a long winter ahead of me so I'll probably be watching it. Darn you Bachelor with your "most dramatic rose ceremony ever".

2. Do you have any thoughts on the shift in the Zodiac Calendar? Is this for real? Apparently, I am no longer a Sagittarius as I am now the new Ophiuchus. Really, I can't switch just like that after being a Sagittarius for 32 years.

3. I would love a photography wall similar to this somewhere in my home. And I would love it to be filled with photos of the everyday moments with Pat and the boys.

Apartment Therapy

4. Our current pantry is a make-shit one. We have a coat closet right off our kitchen, we added some shelving and it became our pantry. I'm not sure if I will ever have an actual walk-in pantry and if I don't, I think something like this will do!

Beautiful.

Houzz

5. Both of these pics I have on my new Pinterest. My lengthy, unorganized, ever-growing list of bookmarks is thanking me right now for setting up this new Pinterest account. And I am giddy! I've got a lot of work to do to start filling up my boards, but it's going to be so great. Picture bookmarks...genius.

6. When do you start having your kiddos do chores? Right now, Jack helps pick up toys and he takes his breakfast/lunch/dinner plate and cup to the sink. Just the other day, on his own, he cleaned the couch for me so we gave him one dollar to put in his piggy bank. We were proud of him, he was proud of himself and he was so happy that we were proud of him. Make sense? Now, he has been asking what else he can do to get money for his piggy bank. Side note: I love the innocence in his excitement to simply put the dollar bill in his piggy bank and no concept of actually spending the dollar on buying something

So anyway, I was thinking that this might be a great time to implement a very basic chore chart (maybe 3-5 simple tasks, for example, make bed). I was also thinking that he would get a sticker for every chore that he completes and then for every so many stickers he would get money or a special activity or alone time with Mom and/or Dad. Just something I have been thinking about. If you have a good example of this that you use, please let me know! 

7. I grew up in a very male dominant family, I was born smack-dab in the middle of two brothers, I married my husband and I have two sons. You would think that I completely understand the male gender and all of their weirdness...right?! Well, it's not that easy. Now that it is my job to do the parenting, which is a learning process in itself, sometimes I catch myself thinking, "Boys, hmmm?" It is so important for me to teach, nurture and guide my sons to one day become loving, nurturing and honorable young men themselves. As my head hits my pillow at night, I ponder questions like, "Was I a good mom today?", "Was I present for my boys?", "Am I nurturing my boys the way boys need to be nurtured?", "Am I letting then have the freedom to be boys with the right amount of guidance to learn and grow?" I think I am doing a good job, but I just never know. I have added these books to my reading pile for a fresh perspective. We will see.

8. This morning, I got the boys dressed in some cute Spring clothes, I styled their hair and I may have bribed them with cookies. All of this, in an attempt to take some photos for a new blog header. Out with Christmas/winter photos and in with Spring photos (too early? yeah, kinda). Halt, Screech, not happening!!!! Owen was not having it, was not into it and actually had a small tantrum in refusal to have his picture taken. Let's just say the whole thing was a disaster, except for Jack, who willingly participated and did a great job posing for me. As a mother of two small children, you never know how things will go. Just when I think something will be a disaster, it works out perfect and just when I think something will work without a hitch, it becomes a mess. Double Argh! But, I had my mind set on changing my blog header today, so I worked with what I had and it will work for now, I guess.

9. I found this great idea that I so needed to replicate.

Red Plastic Hearts + Cute (spray painted) Cheap, White Frame + Glue Gun =

A quick, easy and cheap Valentine's Day decoration.

Cute!

 9. And speaking of Valentine's Day, this free printable is super cute!

10. We're trying something new this year and it's called The Myers 2011 Time Capsule. I saw this idea here and they found it here. I love it. It's going to be neat keeping all of our little mementos and favorites that we the boys gather throughout the year. I promise this is the last time you will have to see this Christmas card photo. I had one extra card, so I put it to use.

First Entry....a rock.