Things kids Say

every now an then i post funny things that the kids have said on my facebook. I'm going to start posting them here that way i can remember.

so last night we were having music class here at home. we do this thing "I do, you do" where i make a beat and then i go down the line to each kid and have them do the same beat with whatever instrument they have. at the end of class they are rewarded with "free play"

5/24/11
it started off with Jazlynn, Jayvin and Ridge
me- "as soon as we are done with our beats you all can have free play, daddy do you want to get an instrument and sit with them"
daddy- "sure"
Jazzy- "well now its Fooooouuurrrr play"
we all start laughing
daddy- "no sweetie mommy isnt saying three play shes saying FREE play"
Jazzy- "oh, well that makes sense too"

they crack us up!!!

Grandpa Marvin

Grandpa Marvin (Nathans dad) often comes over to spend time with the kids and usually brings them some sort of gift. last time he brought them a HUGE horse they can sit on. Jazlynn named the horse Muna. the horse is a big hit! this time he brought Ridge a Tricycle. he LOVES it!

We spent about 1 1/2 hours out side playing. Nathan, Grandpa and Jayvin got into a game of base ball. we knew he had a great arm but we were surprised to see him bat. he would hit it almost over the fence across the parking lot. were now looking into putting him into baseball.

Grandpa was a great pitcher but he did better as a catcher. he also gave Jayvin some pointers.

Jayvin hit this one across the parking lot. good thing its a foam ball cause he hit several cars lol

He also hit this one. you can tell how good of a batter he is. he has great form!!

we love when Grandpa comes over. he has a lot of fun with the kids. I'm glad that this time i remembered the camera! 

The Twins Learned How To Swim..... Kinda =)

Wedding Bliss *Bouquets*Boutonnieres*Kids Wedding Gear*

i decided that for our wedding and reception that I'm going to hand make absolutely everything (apart from furniture and plates etc of course but you get the point) when I'm done I'm going to put the cost of making everything and then the grand total of how much i spent total. i started with my bouquet and Nathan's boutonniere. i decided that i was going to hand make each rose from white satin ribbon. 

here is the first rose to start.

I first tried putting some sheer blue ribbon roses with it and decided that i didnt like the color blue since it didnt match the blue i was going for. (BTW i changed the wedding colors from yellow to blue but the reception colors are still the same)

so i decided to stick in some blue bead thingys that i had laying around. i like how this turned out.

Anna came to the rescue with some left over fabric that she had. it was perfect!! very country!

here's the boutonniere that i made. the fabric was just leftover, the wheat i had bought in a bundle for the arch were using so i just borrowed a piece, the feather was leftover, the pearls and button i bought. perfect!!!

the bouquet was made for less the $13 and the boutonniere for about 50 cents!

here the kids outfits i got for the wedding. I'm doing different shades of blue so i think these look great together

Jazlynn's dress is a boutique dress from JC'Penny's. it was originally $55.00 i found it on sale then used 2 $15 off coupons on it that brought it down to $4.00!

The boys 3 piece out fits i got on clearance from targets leftover easter outfits and also used coupons on them. org. they were $26.99 each. i got them for $11.00 each not to shabby if i say myself!!

THE Wedding Dress!

There has been a lot of drama surrounding this wedding and funny enough it hasn’t even been caused by Nathan and me it’s everyone else’s dissatisfaction with how we want our wedding. Mostly it’s over a lot of assumption about our wedding plans. Of course no one decided to ask us what the deal was so they have their selves in a frenzy over what they ASSUME is going on. Don’t you just hate that?? I’m so annoyed by this whole situation but I’m going to just let it go and let people think and feel what they want.  We are going to enjoy this time the way we should be!

Moving on…..

 So at my first dress appointment I thought I had found THE dress. I really wanted to try and make Nathans mom feel a part of the whole thing so since she couldn’t come to that appointment I made a whole new appointment to ensure she could come. I tried on a few of my favorites from the first appointment and of course tried on a few more. Long story short I found a completely different dress that I LOVE and it suits my personality more than the understated dress from the first batch. I was going to get two dresses one for the wedding which I wanted simple and modest to match the farm. The second dress was going to fit my personality. Then I found THE dress and it’s just perfect. I love it enough to wear it at both occasions.  I would have been happy wearing sweats at the wedding but Nathan wanted me in a wedding dress so I decided to just wear it at both occasions.  I think there were a couple dresses that the moms liked more than the one I picked but I’m not easily influenced so I went with my favorite. Of course I’m not going to post pictures but I will after the wedding. I want to add some beading and feathers to the dress to suit my personal style, so I would rather the finished product to be featured.

This week I will be getting all the supplies to make the boutonnieres, bouquet, my “bird cage” head piece and the feathered, blinged out broach that will be added to my dress. I decided to hand paint Jazlynns old dress shoes instead of buy new ones and then I still need to buy the boys shoes. Thanks to my couponing ways I was able to get Jazlynns $55 dress down to $4 and the boy’s $26 ea. Three piece outfits down to $12 ea.

Despite all the bickering it’s going along smoothly on our part. I can’t speak of everyone else their kind of making it hard on themselves!

Something I Am Thankful For #1

Today is a reminder of how blessed Nathan and I are. Nathan is at school today taking his finals. After today he will have 5 semesters to go until he is a graduate! These last several semesters have gone by so fast. Nathan (we) came to a huge fork in the road and didn’t know how things would pan out at either choice. We decided to take a leap and have Nathan go to school full time! It was a little scary to allow such a big change but we didn’t just accept it we embraced it and I think that’s what made it so effortless. We completely let go and just had faith that GOD would take care of us and he did more than that, he blessed us with a life of ease, a life that really is stress free, a life where we never worry about money and best of all a life where we spend more time with the kids then we do at work/school! Being criticized along the way has done nothing but help us. How? When you’re in constant scrutiny you sometimes forget what YOUR goals in life are and you start trying to make others happy and doing what you feel will get you the most acceptances. But when you completely let go and just start living for yourself, your goals resurface and with a new found passion. Nathan used to go on and on about all his goals and tell whoever would listen about anything new he was doing in life. I never understood it but when I asked I learned he was doing it in hopes of some sort of acknowledgment, a “good job”, “I’m proud of you”. When he realized that no matter how hard he tried he wasn’t going to get what HE needed he stopped caring (a little too much at times) and started to live for him. This is what led him to quitting work, a job that could have turned into a career and went back to school for something that not only could be a career but that he wanted as a career. I couldn’t be more proud of him. In this whole process we have kind of influenced each other. My who cares what people think and crass personality rubbed off on him while his sensitive personality rubbed off on me. It has been a blessing in disguise but we have recently realized how complete it has made us as individuals. Everything we have gone through has been proved to be a learning experience for us and in the end (even though we are still learning) we were blessed for our positive changes and rewarded for our hard work. There will always be someone out there that is against us but we have learned that’s ok. Let go and let GOD. We are fortunate to have learned such an imperative lesson

Wedding Dress Extravaganza

after we left rick and Anna's house we stopped at a bridal shop to look around. i wast planning on trying anything on i just wanted to get some ideas. i hadn't realized how late it was so when we got there we were on a 10 minute time frame. i hate being rushed so i went inside real quick to describe a dress i had seen online to see if they had anything similar. they said i could look real quick. as i rummaged through the bulky dresses i was thrilled when i found the EXACT same dress i has seen online. i went back up to the front and told them i found THE dress ive been looking for and begged for them to let me try it on. i persuaded them when i said i didn't need any help and ill do it real fast so with 3 mins to spare i rushed to get the dress on. i came out and all the ladies ooohed and awed and asked if nathan wanted to see it, i told them he was in the car with the kids but the suggested that they get him and he just come to the door. i agreed. so nathan came to the door and i walked out, the look on his face was priceless. he said how gorgeous i looked, he was kind of a loss for words. i cant really say it was THAT dress that did it for him i think it was just seeing me in a wedding dress for the first time. 

after i saw the huge selection they had i decided to make appt. for the next day. i only invited my mom and Nathan's mom because i didn't want all the commotion. unfortunately joyce was unable to make it cause she was babysitting which was a bummer but i was happy that my mom made it. it happened to be mothers day as well so it was extra special for her!

below is THE dress. it didn't end up being MY dress but i still love it! (the pictures dont do any of these justice)

you will notice that i only like the sweetheart necklines. i love how elegant and vintage they look. 

 talk about curvy lol. i was happy that most of the sample sizes fit me. 

 this is the lady asking me what i thought. i will be getting two dresses (not at the same time) the one for the wedding will be very simple, not much beading. any accents i want to come out in the dress shape. i am getting married on the farm outside so i want something fairly modest and simple. i loved this one. when i found out it had pockets i said i was sold LOL

 same dress

 loved this one to. a good mix between modern and vintage

 loved this one to but not for the wedding

 my other dress with be for the reception. the reception dress will be MY dress. the wedding dress isn't going to necessarily look like the dress i would have picked if i was having the wedding and reception together since i want it so plain to match the destination so i will definitely have a elaborate reception dress. i loved this one. me squeezing into this 3 sizes two small dress was like squeezing a sausage into its casing, it wasnt pretty lol still love the dress though. unfortunately its discontinued so i would have to buy this dress off the rack which cant happen since its way  to small to fit in it as is and to small to get it fitted to me.

my mother loved this as a reception dress. i like this dress but its just to cute for me. i prefer something more edgy to fit my personality and personal style. i'm not one to play it safe and this SREAMS safe!!

i tried on about 15 dresses but didn't take pictures of them all. i made another appointment for this thursday to go with my mom and joyce to show them my favorites and maybe try more on. i will make some  appointment else where but i really need to hurry with the decision. already i have to buy off the rack since were on such a time crunch!

Wedding Announcements and Post Wedding Invites!!

 ok so this is what we have so far (that im willing to share. cause i want you all to tell me what you think). this is the Wedding invite. its a pale yellow and will be a "card" style i want to stick a family picture in it and what not so i think thats what im doing but now that im writing this i may change the "card" style idea idk. the flower thing is made to look like cotton. its significant cause grandma and grandpas farm use to be a cotton farm and Lawton, OK (where were getting married) is HUGE on making cotton. however i have decided that the word always may or may not be left on there. we will see.

this one is the Reception invite

this one will for sure be a card style. its made to look like a cherry blossom (again signifigant and will play a role in the reception) it has a mist of glitter all over it which i love! on the inside of this will be a quote.

There is not enough time,
And there is no song I could sing
And there is no, combination of words I could say
But I will still tell you one thing
We're better together.

this is a quote from our future first dance song. any guesses at to what it is????

 i love how they came out!!!!

Whats In a Name

I've had a few people ask what I'm doing as far as my last name goes so i thought i would share. The kids last names are Brauer-Woodworth. when we found out when i was pregnant i was only 19 and nathan was 20. we had a very rocky relationship so i did not feel comfortable giving the kids his last name in case we broke up in which at the time would have been on bad terms. and i was right we did break up all of 6 months until we matured a bit and were ready to learn how to be in a stable relationship. at the time i felt it was important for Woodworth to be added since he was having a boy and i know how important that can be for a man to have someone to carry out that name. so thats how the last name Brauer-Woodworth came about. now that we are getting married (i would have done it eventually anyways) we will be changing my last name and all the kids last names. we will all be Woodoworths...watch out!!! Krystal Nicole Woodworth... its kinda catchy lol.

Wedding Plans

so i thought i would give everyone an update on the wedding plans. invites will be sent out in about 2 1/2 weeks. since its a destination wedding i dont expect anyone to really come (especially with how last minute it is) and thats ok. our ceremony is really all about nathan and i sharing our vows with each other and becoming one . were really excited to be doing this on grandma and grandpas farm since its where we got engaged so it makes it really special for us. im glad that even with how difficult it has been on some people to know that they wont be sharing this day with us, they have been able to put there feelings aside and realize it is about nathan and i (or at least put on a fake smile lol)  and its so nice that we have their support.

now back to details

were still hoping for july 7th (7-7-11). we have also picked yellow and ivory as our colors. when we get back from oklahoma we will be sending out reception invites which will not take place for 4 months after the wedding. i hope most will be able to make it to the reception to celebrate mine and nathans new life together. i know none of this is traditional, but hey...look who your talking about lol. waiting 4 months will hopefully allow enough time for planning on our part and for those who want to come if they are out of towners. i pretty much have everything planned for the reception down to the colors.(btw were excepting donations now lol j/k) below is actually my inspiration reception colors. most people probably would have done the same colors for the wedding and reception but different destinations call for different colors (and again look who your talking about)

i've also picked out my wedding dress which i will be ordering tomorrow. i will have a different dress for the reception but haven't picked that out yet. I'm making Jazlynns dress and all the boys will be semi casual in slacks, button ups and vest (ties are TBD) we are still on the hunt for a good camera to borrow (or rent) to take some pictures. so if anyone has a good cam they are willing to loan for two weeks please let me know!!

well for now i think thats it, ill keep everyone updated along the way!

Were Getting Married In 2 Months

so i wouldnt really call it eloping since were telling you all. if it was up to us we would elope lol but didnt want to hurt anyones feelings so we just wanted to tell everyone that we are planning to get married the first week of July. we will be going to Oklahoma to nathans Grandma and Grandpas farm to visit so we just decided to do it there. Grandpa isnt doing so well and its VERY important to nathan (and I) for them to be there. of course we would like everyone there but right now under the circumstances its more important for them to be there. i had the wedding planned already for 2013 down to the last detail, the budget was set and all we needed to do is start hiring the people. but life isnt guaranteed and waiting isnt a risk we were willing to take. when nathans out of school we will probably do some sort of vow renewal and have the bigger wedding then and that will be in AZ. we are really excited to share this moment and even more excited to share it with Grandma and Grandpa. we are more then happy to bring the wedding to them since they are not in a position to travel and i dont blame them for not wanting to, i wouldnt either if i was them. so were aiming for July 7th its just hard to work around grandma and grandpas schedule since they only plan doc appts a week in advanced but we will make it work!!! it will be very quaint. i will have a understated dress, the kids will be semi formal and nathan will be in slacks, dress shirt and tie. we will have a simple arch and my bouquet will be handmade. it will have a beautiful view of the farm land but ill tell you the most beautiful part, grandma and grandpa sitting behind us! i think some are going to be disappointed by our decision but when it comes down to making a decision like this you really have to weigh the options. we can have a wedding any time in the future but to picture the possibility of grandma and grandpa not being there just doesn't seem right.

Videos Of The Twins Reading A book!!!

these are videos of the twins reading. the first 2 are Jazzy and the last 4 are Jayvin. my phone only allowes a minute at a time so i had to chop it up. btw yes the kids are in their undies and i swear they really do have clothes....they just dont wear them at home lol.

The Truth

i recently went back and read several of my blogs when i was pregnant with olivia. i realized that a lot of it seemed like i was bothered by the whole situation i was in. it got me thinking. after my surrogacy experience i was left with a very rewarding feeling. i was very happy and its something i would do again in a heart beat. so why did it come off like i was miserable? and dramatic? well i came up with a conclusion. when i started my blog it was for the sole purpose of keeping rick and anna up to date but it quickly turned into my personal diary of feelings. it was my way of venting i suppose and EVERY thing that hurt me, made me uncomfortable or pissed me off i wrote it in here and afterwards it was all done and over with, i felt much better. my blog was like a punching bag for me. it helped me get all my hormonal woes out so i could tuck it away and move on from it. I'm always aware that anyone can read my blogs and there is nothing in here that I'm ashamed of or wouldn't say in person but when i have something to say and i need to get it off my chest my blog has always been my go to regardless of how it comes off. out of my 30 or so pregnancy blogs maybe 5 or so are uppers. the others i would say are downers which makes me regret not writing more about the good. but like i said, my blog was my way of venting. as i said before EVERY bad thing that i felt it that 10 months i wrote in my blog. so the other 290 days (no i didn't do the math so this probably isn't dead on) that i was pregnant was completely blissful i assure you. rick and anna were wonderful to me. if i ever needed anything they were there for me. i cant tell you how many times anna made trips to the grocery store for me to pic up my latest craving (usually mangos) or how many times they would show up with a present in hand (usually a new shirt that anna would see and think of me) we went baby shopping many times, they not only took me to the birthing classes but paid for them and sat there with me participating just as much as the rest of the parents to be) i don't know why i didn't blog about those times more. maybe because i always talked to them about those things along with other people. but when it came to the bad things i didn't mention them much out loud, not because i was scared what others thought but more so because i know what hormones can do to the brain so i felt it would be smarter to just write it, tuck it away and move on. now that I've rambled ill get to my point in all this. i am going to make it a priority to write one post a week about something that makes me happy or something that I'm grateful for. I'd like to do it as a daily thing but I'm going to be realistic, once a week is doable! this will be my constant reminder that regardless of any bad that may come our way there is always some good you can squeeze out of it.