Happy Mothers Day Grandma Boise and Grandma 'tello!

I meant to put this up on Sunday, but I was feeling a little under the weather.
We love our moms and grandmas so much in this house. I hope you all had a nice, relaxing mothers day!
I was sick all day Saturday and Sunday. Sunday night Jason says, "I don't know how you do it! I'm exhausted!" That was like a Mothers Day gift all by itself!

I am Like a Star

Super Fast!

These are Colby's favorite shoes. He honestly believes wearing them makes him run faster that he normally can.
So a couple of weeks ago Colby and I were looking for some shoes for him to wear to church. He pulls his favorite shoes out of the closet and says, "How about my fire shoes?"
I tell him, "Those aren't appropriate for church."
To which he responds, "Oh...because we aren't supposed to run in church."
Because obviously, wearing those shoes he'll be running whether or not he means to. It's nice to know he's heard me at least once out of the hundreds of times I've told him not to run in the halls at church.

Making the most of a birthday

Aunt Melissa came over to celebrate Lilia's birthday with us on Saturday. She brought a scavenger hunt with her. The kids had a blast finding their prizes all over the yard. Later we had cake, ice cream and presents. Sunday we didn't do much but make a big deal, "IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!"
Today we're having a play group/birthday party for Lilia at a fun pizza place. More cupcakes! Why not celebrate your birthday 3 times if you can?

2, 3, 4...

I have a 2 year old, a 3 year old, and a 4 year old. I'm just hoping no one asks me my kids ages in the next 2 months.
Lilia's birthday was yesterday. She is the sweetest baby girl, although she's not a baby anymore. :( I am having such a hard time accepting that she is 2, it might because she's so tiny, or it might be that I'm used to having a newborn by the time my kids reach this age, I'm not sure. She brings so much happiness to our home. Colby and Eva love to give Lilia hugs. Lilia is so sympathetic, she hates for anyone to be sad. She is such a momma, loving baby dolls. I still say that she is my blessing for having three babies so close together. I hope the good behavior keeps up forever. (Although, yesterday at church she was showing some serious attitude. I'm crossing my fingers some "terrible twos" switch wasn't flipped on her birthday.) Lilia is so special. She is able to make life happier for anyone around her.
I love you Lilia, happy birthday baby girl!
Newborn
1 year old
2 years old

Fanatics

My obsessed-with-Star-Wars husband seems to have passed on the gene.
This week Jason and the kids have watched 5 of the 6 Star Wars movies.

This is a pretty good representation of how Jason feels about Star Wars...


...and this is a pretty good representation of how I feel about it. (Although Eva actually loves it, it was just a long day.)

Dave Ramsey is my new best friend!

We started Financial Peace University a few weeks ago. Dave Ramsey is pretty much a genius. He's got a radio talk show, people call in and tell him about their financial problems and he has the best advice. I love listening to his show. Colby brought home a flier from preschool in December for Dave Ramsey classes. It took some convincing for Jason to agree, but he's definitely on board now. There are 7 baby steps to being totally debt free. 1) Have $1000 in emergency funds. 2) Pay off all debt except mortgage. 3) Save 3-6 months of monthly income. Somewhere down the line is paying off your house early and saving for college. That's all we've learned about so far. And he has a process planned out for each step. It's incredible. The guy who leads our class (you watch a 1 hour dvd, then have discussion for an hour) started 3 1/2 years ago. Since then they have paid off $57,000 in debt, have their 6 months savings, and he will be paying off his house in 18 months. I think this should be taught in high school. How different would life be if everyone knew how to handle their money? Dave is all about saving up to make purchases--cars, couches, tvs, etc. You can't get what you want right when you want it, but isn't that how most people get into debt in the first place?
I HIGHLY recommend the class. You can find locations from that link. The one we're going to is at the church where Colby has preschool. We were able to get the supplies much cheaper through them, since they bought in bulk, and they provide free child care. For 3 kids, two hours every week for 13 weeks? It's almost like a date night, And well worth the $80. He also gives advice about how to teach toddlers to teenagers how to save and the concept of earning money.
Our budget class was Thursday, so with a new budget in place we're going to stick to it. We've tried budgeting before, but without much conviction. These classes are going to change our lives.
Example: Instead of paying for haircuts for Jason and Colby we bought some hair clippers at Costco ($20, that's probably less than the cost for both of them to get haircuts once each when you include tips) and they both had haircuts last night.
(I've been trying to grow out Colby's hair, but it's just too mangy most days. Maybe when he's a little older and will wash his hair every day.)
Before & After














So there's my blurb. I'm telling you, Dave Ramsey is my new best friend!