Okay, so I love peanut butter & I love peanut butter pooh balls! They aren’t a fancy dessert, but they are just sugar, corn flakes, and peanut butter… what’s not to love? We made two batches of peanut butter pooh balls for dessert on Sunday and then were going to take them to the BBQ on Monday, but we soon learned that the kids love them as much as I do… we ate them all before the BBQ.

Recipe:
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup sugar
6 cups corn flakes

Slowy heat PB, corn syrup, and sugar in a pot over stove until sugar is dissolved… DON’T LET BOIL. Then pour over corn flakes. Stir and form blobs on wax paper. Let cool and then eat!

I really can’t believe my girls are already 13 months old! I think the last month flew by in a couple of days. I put them in new outfits today, so I thought I’d attempt pictures before morning naps. Luckily, Taylor came home to trade vehicles so I took advantage of having a second person. They cried through most of these pictures (I even posted one of them crying – that’s rare for me), but I think we got a couple cute ones… so the chaos and insanity were worth it… I guess. They are growing up so fast and are doing new things everyday. I am really good at keeping a 1 year calendar up to date, but once the year is up… I don’t have a good place to document what’s new… so here’s the latest on each of them. They are both off the bottle, walking/running, climbing, starting to talk, jumping (bouncing), dancing, wearing 12-18 mo clothes, and size 4 shoes.

Brighton is so stinkin’ cute. She’s a half inch taller than Hallie 29.5 in and weights a whopping 20 lbs. She is a lightweight, you pick her up and she flies. She is a little monkey, she is really good at wrapping her long skinny legs around you when your holding her. She has 8 teeth, 4 top & 4 bottom. She is a tough little thing and learns super quick by following Cole’s lead… like pushing the bar stools around and trying to climb up them. She is a little lap lander, backing in and plopping on anything that could remotely be used as a chair. She says mom, dad, hi, blows raspberries, moo’s like a cow, makes monkey noises, horsey noises, sheep noises, and a bunch of jibber jabber. She is hilarious though when she picks up a remote, phone, or anything shaped like a phone, puts it to her ear, and says “HI” over and over again. She waves, points, and is amazing at the shape sorter & stacking blocks.

Hallie is so fun right now. She is 29″ tall and weighs 22.5 lbs. She has 10 teeth, 6 top (including 2 molars), and 4 bottom. She has cute chubby cheeks and a cute little belly that I couldn’t love more. She thinks she is so funny. She loves to sit/stand in corners and just giggles at herself like she has done something amazing. She is already starting to show her little temper with tantrums by throwing herself on the floor and kicking her legs, or punching her arms down to her sides and yelling emphatically until her face turns red when she doesn’t get what she wants. She says mom, dad, duck/dog, up, quack, barks/grunts, moo, monkey sounds, sheep sounds, chicken sounds, and a bunch of jibber jabber. She opens Cole’s car laptop and types like she’s a big girl… it’s hilarious!

Here’s the pics we had printed for mother’s day!

I was totally sick of my hair & finally came to the realization that I wasn’t going to make it to the 10″ length in order to donate… so I chopped it off! I totally love it and should have done it sooner. Here’s the before & after pics.

I’m thirty and thriving, not sure about flirty. In my mind, thirty is such a big milestone, but it wasn’t that big in reality at least with it’s effects to my daily life. I have been reviewing my life, goals, and accomplishments. Here’s just a few that I feel like sharing:
1. I had a goal to be done having kids by 30: while I decided that this probably wouldn’t be a real goal since I had Cole at age 27, I’m totally content with our 3 kids right now. I’m not completely sure we’re done, but it’s okay either way.
2. I wanted to be financially stable by age 30 (and to buy a car with cash): well I’ve been done with school for 6 years now, have a good job, Tay has a good job, we’re living on a budget, have a little bit of savings, our mortgage is our only debt, and are working on a retirement savings plan. So, while we’re not wealthy, we are on the right track. While we can’t pay cash for a vehicle, I think we are smart with our money and that’s enough for now.
3. Wisdom: I hope that because I am older, I am wiser too. I pray that I have learned from my mistakes and those who I am close to. I’m sure I still make mistakes, but hopefully I have enough wisdom to learn from them and not repeat them. I’m appreciative that I still have a desire to continue to learn, grow, and try new things everyday.
4. Self-esteem: While the Bell’s Palsy I got when I was pregnant with Cole significantly hurt my self-esteem in regards to my outward appearance, I know who I am and am comfortable with myself. I don’t really care too much about what others think of me and I’m okay with that because I am who I want to be. I’m definitely not perfect, but I’m trying to be a better Jill each day… and that’s all I can ask for.
5. Healthy: While I’m not as thin or athletic as I used to be, I’m relatively healthy. I can do what I want to do. I try to take care of my body, I have a realistic plan to lose my unwanted weight, and I am pleasantly surprised at how resilient my body is after having 3 kids.
6. Active in my kids’ lives: I can’t believe how fast they are growing up. I love being a mother and I hope I am making the best of every minute with them. I try to give them as many opportunities for learning, growth, and experiences that I can within my bounds of sanity. I’m not sure I understand my sanity boundries completely, but I feel good with my attempts.

That being said, I feel pretty good about where I’m at in my life. I am excited for the next 30 years of learning and experiences.