Indecisive Kitchen

Well the house is slowly coming along.  The holidays really put a hitch in our unpacking, but at least it's starting to get done.  I spent ALL night unpacking the kitchen decorations & it's finally done. Thank goodness!  It's such a relief to have my kitchen finally in order & let me tell you, it looks perfect.  I hate that it literally took me 4hrs to do it though! I'm so OCD about things being in the exact right place that it makes stuff like that almost impossible. I usually just try to picture how it should look in my head & then I go from there.  Good thing Ben was at work because he would've been going crazy about my indecisiveness. He usually just gets frustrated & tells me to do it myself or he hounds me to make up my mind.  Poor guy has to deal with my crazy too much.

I just need to get the ball rolling on the other rooms in the house now.  For the most part I know exactly what I want to do, but there is that little problem of not having the stuff (or money) to do it LoL. Luckily we have some things that we were able to get back when I was working.  I know that our house will slowly get to what I picture, but it seems like it's moving at a snail's pace.  My next goal is to at least finish painting the back hallway & our master bedroom! I've been putting it off because I despise taping things off.

On a completely different note, Barrett used his big boy potty today & I was so excited! I ran out into the living room to grab my camera to take a picture of his first pee pee in the toilet & Ben told me I was insane :) I KNOW I'm not the only mom in the world that takes a picture of her's kids first pee in the potty. I wonder what he's going to say when I take a picture of Barrett's first little poopie??

Well goodnight blog world! I am one exhausted mama... yawn!!

PS. Pictures of the house will follow one day when I get my act in order...

Home Sweet Home

Well I can't believe it, the day finally came & we got our keys! This past Thursday we signed all our closing papers, picked up fans & paint, then got our keys. We got a huge chunk of the house painted before we started moving every thing in on Sunday. Monday was our first official night in the new house & we were so dead by the time we final went to sleep!
Things are coming along & we're slowing getting settled in, luckily my mom & sister have been big helps. Barrett has been going to my parents house a lot & it makes me miss that stinker bug so bad! Thank goodness I don't have to leave him every day & it's only for a little bit while I unpack. He's not too keen on helping me unpack, he likes to put everything back in the box once I take it out. To him that's helping I guess :)
I felt like I got a ton of stuff accomplished today & even started some holiday baking this evening. Yum to chocolate chip cookies, my hubster's favorite!
I can't wait to start putting our decorations & pictures up, that might have to wait until after Christmas though. We still have a couple more trips back to the old house to get things & more unpacking too.
I keep telling Ben that maybe in 10yrs the house will be all decorated & the way we want it :) I know some of you know what it's like when you are just starting out & don't have anything. Luckily I have some awesome supportive parents & my dad is a super craftsman on top of it! I can't wait to see what the future holds for us in our new house.

Here are some pictures my sister snapped today. I was able to start putting up the Christmas tree & Barrett just loved it. He really wanted to help by putting his toy animals in it! Barrett also insisting on helping me sweep off the back patio.

Alatriste Family Photos

Yay for pictures! I got a chance to shoot some cute pictures of my close friend Patricia and her family.  Here is a little peek of our fun day.  Annelicia was such a blast & was so happy the whole time, so I got so many great shots. We also got to sneak a couple cute little maternity pictures in there too.  I hope you guys enjoy them :)

Very Merry Christmas

Tane & Emma

I got to take some more pictures for my good friend Tane this week. Emma wasn't too happy about taking family pictures in round one, so we thought we'd try a few mom & daughter shots. Emma is the cutest little snow-girl :) Hope you guys like them!

Above & Beyond

With our life moving right along as new parents & almost new homeowners, I wanted to take the time to write a special post about how grateful I am to have such wonderful parents.
I never realized what it truly meant to be a parent until I became one myself. Sadly, growing up I took for granite all the amazing things my parents did and gave up for both me & my older sister. I've now realized that growing up we never had a lot of money, because my parents made huge sacrifices for my mom to be able to stay home with us girls. I honestly never knew what it meant to give up everything just to do what's best for your family. I just assumed my mom staying home was what every mom did & was just part of life, luckily for us it was.
My parents made sure not only that we never did without the necessities but they also taught us that morals, values, education, & health are all extremely important things in life. Putting children first, loving your family, getting good grades, going to college & even making sure we had healthy homemade meals everyday were just a way of life for us. They knew that being a parent was more than just putting a roof over our heads.
When I think about all the things we did together & they did for us, I'm sad I didn't enjoy it more & wish I did not take it all for granite. We used to get so embarrassed when my mom would stop on the side of the road & pick up things like furniture that people put out by the garbage. Little did we know, that we just didn't have the money for things like a dresser or mirrors. We lived in homemade clothes, slept on homemade blankets, we played with homemade wooden toys & swung on our homemade swing set. To be honest, we didn't even know the difference (well until we got into high school) & we truly enjoyed everything we had. My parents were the original extreme couponers & pinterest crafters! Even though things were super tight, we never went without & we also never knew that we were anything but ordinary.
My mom & dad did what they had to do for us and there is no way in the world that I will ever be able to repay them or thank them for that. I instantly knew that being at home is truly the most important thing for my family & I would gladly give up anything to continue to do so. My mom & dad showed me that being a parent isn't about money or being able to buy things, but that it's about unconditionally loving your children & helping them in any possible way.
Even today, at my ripe age of 27 years old, my parents still continue to give up things just so I can have things that I want & need. They go out of their way to make sure that my family doesn't have the same struggles that they did. We would not have been able to get our home without their support, they truly leave me speechless on how above & beyond they have gone for us. They not only put my needs ahead of theirs, but they put my son's & husband's as well. I'm not saying that my parents are perfect, but they have taught me that making sacrifices for your own children is what parents should do without even second guessing it. I hope that Ben & I are able to be half the parents that they are & we can also teach Barrett the important things in life. They are not only supportive, loving, selfless parents, but they are also amazing grandparents. We are truly lucky to have you as Barrett's grandparents! Thank you for being such a huge part of Barrett's life & being there for ever milestone.

Urrea Family Photos

I had to pleasure of taking some family photos for a good friend of mine & I wanted to share a few of them with you all! I had a great time & was so happy that they gave me the chance to capture some fun memories, plus who wouldn't want to snap some pictures of adorable little Emma? I hope you guys enjoy them! This is my first attempt at taking pictures of someone besides my own family. 

Finally Inside

Today we went over to the house (like usual) & we lucked out! There was a drywall guy going over a couple spots in the bedrooms, so we were able to go inside.
We were so stoked & Barrett was too. He was literally running around like a crazy man. He thought it was pretty funny that there was plastic on the carpet & was going from room to room, stomping all over it & laughing.
It was so awesome to be able to see everything first hand & basically done! I still can't believe we get the keys in just a couple weeks.
As you can see in the pictures Barrett is just having a blast. I also snapped a picture of the amazing built in trash/recycling center... Whoo hoo! I simply love our stainless appliances against the dark cabinets, Barrett did too & was showing me how he is going to get tons of fingerprints on it all LoL These pictures definitely beat the hazy ones I took through the windows.