opposites attract

To be sisters, there are times when they couldn't be more different.

Sidney is always on the go - she'd go home with just about anyone if it meant she didn't have to come home. She's the epitome of a social butterfly! She loves school, loves being around other kids and is at "home" wherever she goes. Sidney is very go, go, go.

Rhealen, on the other hand, likes to be in familiar places. You can see the instant relief that washes over her when she realizes she's at "home" in her house or in the arms of someone she knows and trusts. She's sweet to everyone, just like Sidney, but you can feel the nervousness about her when she's around strangers. Rhealen is very no, no, no.

Sidney is so very me. Rhealen is so very Justin.

They are little mirrors of us, separate and together, made of the pieces we gave them and the little sparks within themselves.

It's amazing to look at your children and see how much they are similar to you - and just how opposite they can be. Justin has a hard time understanding why Sidney always wants to be on the move; I have a hard time understanding why Rhealen can't just fall into the crowd wherever we go. Justin understands Rhealen exactly when she falls back on the couch, completely happy to be home. I understand Sidney exactly when she jumps at the chance to run around town for the day.

How did we have such different little ladies? I guess it just goes to show you, there are a million and one combinations for genetics to work with, and sometimes two kids can get pulled from opposite ends of the gene pool.

I love them both equally, though, my mover and shaker and my little home-maker. 

new year commitments

Look at me, January is already almost half gone and I'm just now getting around to posting my non-resolutions! Typical me.

I mentioned before that I don't make New Year's resolutions, but here is a little list of things I'm committed to doing more of this year (and hopefully every year hereafter).

#1 Read more books.
Since getting my Kindle Fire for Christmas, it's so much easier to tear through books late at night when the rest of my house is sleeping. I've finished the last book in The Hunger Games series, and I'm already browsing around for more series to start thereafter. I'm going to keep track of all the books I read over on my sidebar, just to help keep myself accountable!

#2 Travel more places.
Last year, what with having a new baby and all, I didn't get out of the house that much, especially during those wonderful summer months. This year, I'm committed to packing the kids up and hitting the road - even if it's just for a drive down to the lake for the weekend. Justin, me, the girls and our little pup Beau are going to see the sights this year (and take a real family vacation for the first time ever)!

#3 Eat more food. 
I know, I know. Most people are making resolutions to drop the pounds and here I am talking about eating more! I could definitely stand to go on a diet myself, but this year I'm committed to being open to try more food - I should say more varieties of food. Growing up, I convinced myself that I didn't like certain things, and now I'm finding more often than not, I do like the things I told myself I didn't? Make sense? I had always turned my nose up at watermelon as a kid, but now I can eat half a watermelon in one sitting!

#4 Give more of myself. 
I don't always have extra money in the bank to give to others, so I'm making a commitment to give more of my time. Volunteering is a great way to give back to the community, and I want to find outlets that I can use to help out those in need. My family has always been very good about donating items we no longer need or use to our local Christian ministry, but I want to find more ways to give back to my community this year.

#5 Give more forgiveness.
This year, I'm doing my best to let go of my grudges and past transgressions. I can hold onto hate and loathing for years, letting it rot me inside. I've got to let bygones be bygones and move forward. I spend so much energy into making sure I avoid certain people and feel a certain way towards them, it's exhausting. The opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference - and I'm choosing to let go of hate and accept indifference if forgiveness can't be found.

It's a simple, little list - but I'm promising myself I'll stick to it! What about you, do you make resolutions or commitments for the new year?

12 Movies to See in 2012

In no particular order:

The Hobbit:


The Dark Knight Rises:


The Hunger Games:


Snow White and the Huntsman:


American Pie Reunion:


Men In Black 3:


The Avengers:


Wrath of the Titans:


Titanic 3D:


The Woman in Black:


21 Jump Street:


Brave:


It promises to be an epic year for movies and we're only in the midst of January! What movies did I miss? Anything you're dying to see?

 My top three have to be American Pie Reunion, The Hunger Games and The Hobbit (which I know is my husband's #1 pick, he's been counting down to this movie's release for years now)!! 

Book in Review: Mockingjay

Yay, I'm officially done with The Hunger Games series. Finally, after what feels like a really long time (but was actually record breaking time for me to finish three whole books), I can happily say, "I'm done". And what a relief it is.

I feel like I held my breath throughout the entire book; it was this building anticipation up until the last few chapters that was part-fulfilling, part-letdown. Katniss ended up where I wanted her to with the boy I wanted her to be with. She lost loved ones along the way, some very near and dear to me, so I was sad to see some characters die. I have a similar feeling towards Mockingjay that I did towards Catching Fire.

Neither of these two books has beaten the feeling reading The Hunger Games gave me; the finale of Mockingjay was satisfying and yet I wanted more. It was B-, not the greatest. I was looking for that page-turning excitement from the first book and never found it. There were parts I nearly skipped over because they felt so drug out.

Mockingjay was another "good, not great" for me. I'm glad to be done with the series and still so very excited for the movie to come out. Now it's on to more books!

Any suggestions?

Right now I'm reading Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and then it's on to Water for Elephants and Alice in Deadland. 

{7 months}

On Friday our little lady hit her 7-month mark! How time flies when you're having fun!

At seven months, Rhealen is eating like a lumberjack (even though she just recently got two little teeth) and has a passion for crackers and biscuits. She sleeps from around 9-8 every night and takes two or three naps during the day. She is absolutely in love with her big sister and will bend over backwards to watch her every move - any time Sidney leaves the room, Rhealen will crawl out of your arms to try and see where she went!

She was only 14.5 lbs at her 6-month checkup, but I'd guess she's put on another two pounds since then. She's finally starting to get a little baby fat on her, which I adore. The chubbier the baby, the more there is to love! 

Rhealen loves Beau to pieces, and the feeling is definitely mutual. She'll grab two fists full of his hair and try to eat him whole, but he just lays there licking her face. They share chew toys (gross!) and food and even take naps together - of course, I have to pry Beau off of sleeping right on top of her (not that she ever seems to notice or mind).

She's doing a lot of jibbering and jabbering, but no real words yet. She says something that sort of resembles "da-da" but hasn't quite got it down pat yet. She can giggle and laugh like no one's business, though! And she finds almost everything in life funny, which is the sweetest.

Rhealen has definitely made our lives 2000x times richer than it ever was before; there are moments when I see Rhealen and Sidney together and my heart just melts from my body. It's such a sweet little moment in time right now - both girls adore each other and love to be around one another. I know it's only a matter of time before the sister bickering begins, but I hope to hold onto these warm memories as long as I can. 

I'm the luckiest momma in all the world!