Free Range Family

We have so much going on this week! Yay! Anna starts her dance classes at Diversity today. Unfortunately though, we all woke up super sick and sore. I think we may have finally caught what has been ailing Lon all last week. Bleh… We would have to walk to the dance studio this week, and with the way everyone is feeling, I think it would be too much. Which does suck, I really don't want Anna to miss out on her first day of dance class. :( But Alan starts preschool tomorrow and on Friday he turns five years old. Last weekend we had Aunt April's first cheer game and Aunt Natalie's in town wedding reception. It was a crazy weekend and now we are starting yet another crazy week lol. Plus, we have not found the right car for us yet so we are still a single car family. Which makes things difficult when we don't live together lol. But we are making things work! I have just two more books to review, I will post this one this week and then the next one sometime next week. I am w...

Today we have Alan's make up gymnastics class from when he had fillings last week. I got a chance to go alone with him, which meant that I was able to watch his class, rather than chase Miss Anna around the lobby lol. Thanks Lon! :) This week, he has two gymnastics classes. And tomorrow is his last class before summer break. He will start up again next September. This summer I have plans of teaching him to swim and preparing him for preschool. I plan on taking both kids swimming at least once a week and he is going to do swim lessons at the gymnastics school in July. He has swam before, but has never taken swim lessons. I remember as a child HATING them lol! Hopefully he will have a better time than me and learn lots. I also will be graduating him to wearing underwear ALL the time that he is awake this summer. Currently, he does not wear underwear at school or in public places but this will change, to prepare him for preschool. I am thinking about having him do a preschool ca...

Today was a typical Thursday. The kids and I walked down to Terry Park to meet up with DesiRae, Kelsie and her boys. We had a little picnic and then let the boys play. Afterwards, I had work and Anna had her second time at daycare too. She did very well and is a great baby they said! Everyone loves her there, and for obvious reasons. :) We had Aunt Natalie's baby shower on her birthday, last Sunday afternoon. What a different 21st birthday to be having lol! :) She sure enjoyed it though and that's what is important. We had a big barbeque in my parent's backyard. Thankfully, it was a gorgeously nice day out and it stayed that way the whole party. It was actually hot, like hot hot lol, which was weird for us since we have been so used to the winter cold. I liked it. :) Her party was dinosaur themed and we decorated the yards and living room that way. The driveway had big dino footprints walking up, courtesy of Aunt April. I could not get a photo of them where you could see...

Happy Wednesday my wonderful readers! I have quite a bit to love today! Here is this week's WILW! Enjoy and have a great day! I'm loving... that today is Alan's last gymnastics showcase before summer break. Lon has work and will not be able to make it but Grandma Melanie, Anna and I will be there! He will do awesome, I know it! Stay tuned for photos! I'm loving... the goregous summer weather we have been having this past week! We have busted out the tanktops, shorts, dresses and flipflops Mother Nature, don't you dare make it snow again! I'm loving... that Anna is having two MAJOR milestones happen this week: she turned 10 months old yesterday and is going to daycare for the first time today. My big girl! I'm loving... how well Aunt Natalie's baby shower went. Everyone had a great time, including the Guest of Honor herself. The games were a lot of fun too! Oh it was perfect! I'm loving... that we had a wonderful time with Aunt Natalie and U...

Today is Natalie's 21st birthday. I am so very proud of the grown woman my sister has developed into. I remember when we used to perform mini dance and circus inspired performances for our parents and when we used to share a bunk bed. I slept on top, only ever falling out once on accident. Its so odd to think that we are adults now! I am married with children and you have a little one on the way yourself. You have a great job at the hospital in your town and are still going to school. I know that my nephew will be very proud of his parents. We celebrated Aunt Natalie's birthday last night at Dos Machos. It is tradition in our family to have dinner there for Nat's birthday every year because its also Cinco de Mayo. Lon was not able to make it but the kids and I went. I had a chicken enchilada and chicken taco, it was so yum! I tried to get Alan to eat a taco but he decided he wanted chicken strips. Not very festive but at least he ate lol. Anna would not eat anythin...

How was your April? We had a decent April. A lot of important things were figured out and we celebrated lots of milestones for this family. Here is what I wrote about: There was a few birthdays this month and also our wedding anniversary. We were very busy with all of our celebrations! We started out the month celebrating Uncle Tyler's birthday. He turned 27 this year. We had Aunt Sam and him over for birthday dinner at our house. Then was Aunt April's 14th birthday. The kids and I took her shopping for her birthday. We had a lot of fun! Nataional Siblings Day was a few days later, I sent my awesome siblings some love. Then I celebrated my blogging friend Hollie's birthday online.  As well as my good friend Chelsey's 24th birthday. A couple of my girlfriends and I took her out for drinks that night. It was one of the first times since I got pregnant with Anna! Speaking of Miss, Anna also turned nine months old, along with that came a new desire to stand on he...

The weather has just been WILD and bipolar lately. One day its low 60s out and the next its trying to snow! How crazy! Make up your mind please, we would like to have a consistent wardrobe lol. :P Anyways, I have a lot of things to love today, so let's go ahead and get this thing started lol! I'm loving... that my wedding anniversary is in 6 days. I love you Lon! Happy anniversary! I'm loving... how well hiphop class has gone today! We are soooooo ready for this performance, I cannot even wait! They will rock it! I'm loving... that Alan is doing so well potty training again! I think that we will start wearing underwear at school and in public now. So proud of him! I'm loving... that Anna will also be going to daycare starting next month. She will be going two months earlier than planned, but this is due to my dance class schedules. I know that she will be fine, everyone loves her. I'm loving... all the acts of kindness invovled with the Bo...

Kate Middelton and I have several things very similar to each other, from our wedding dates to the due dates of our children. Lon and I were married April 23, 2011 while Kate and William were married April 29, 2011. We will both be celebrating our second wedding anniversary this month. Kate is due with her first child in the middle of July 2013, while I was due mid July last year. Our pregnancies have also been similar. We both experienced severe morning sickness that wound us up in the hospital more than once, and we both had issues gaining weight during the pregnancy. I feel very connected to her because of these reasons. I feel that I can relate better than most and most important of all, I choose to support her over judging her with her pregnancy complications. I have seen it on the newstands and have read it more than a few times on the internet, that people are judging Kate for not only hiding her belly so much but also for her lack of weight gain. I cannot imagine how that m...

Not too much has gone on here the past few days. We were going to go to a park today but the weather was not the best (where did Wednesday's spring weather go?) and Alan wasn't feeling his best. But we did get him a new pair of shoes, the first pair EVER with shoelaces. :) Alan insisted on learning how to tie them right away lol but after many attempts, our gungho guy gave in and let me help. In due time, young one! :) Started the plans for Aunt Nat's baby shower. She wants it the day after her birthday and to be dinosaur themed. I bet I can think of some cute stuff to go with that! :) My darn camera has yet to show up, ugggggh I may be the most impatient person I know lol. But I want it here nowwwwwww! Lol how juvenille can I be? Other than that, its been pretty quiet around here this week. Just catching up on EVERYTHING from last week when everyone was sick, work and housework and the like. We got my car finally fixed and are still under investigation with Lon's...

There are a few things that I am loving today and though I have yet to figure out how to link up on this app, I will still do a WILW post. Because especially right now, I need to be focusing on all the POSITIVE instead of all the crazy negative stuff that keeps happening to us. Here you go, wonderful readers! Enjoy! I'm loving... that I will be getting our family's new camera today! Its a Nikon Cool Pix (I just LOOOOOOVE Nikon) with waterproof capabilities! Very cool! I can't wait to try it out! I'm loving... all the new apps I got on my phone this week: Angry Birds, Blogger, Skype, and Instagram. I love my smart phone! I'm loving... the inspiration that has come flooding into my body after this weekend at Spotlight Dance Competition. I love watching other choreographers' work! It really gets my creative juices flowing having that connection with fellow teachers! Gah, I could go on and on about it lol! I'm loving... this new book I bought off of K...

Today is Uncle Jake's birthday. I first met Jake sometime last year, I believe. He is dating my sister Natalie, they are due with a little boy in July. Back when I first met him, I was admittedly judgemental. My sister had never really dated someone that serious, so I wanted to make sure he was good enough for her. And he definitely is! Jake is a kind- hearted, down-to-earth sorta guy. He is good with kids and is about as wild at heart as Natalie is. They are just perfect for each other! He loves dirt biking as much as my family does, which is sorta a requirement to join our family lol. :P I hope you have a great birthday Jake! I wish that we could celebrate with you guys, we will have to make up for it when you are in town! Happy birthday Uncle Jake! Here is a pic of Jake and Natalie's baby. He's so cute already lol! Love him so much!

I cannot seem to think of one for the life of me lol!  Oh well, lots of things have been going on at the Andersen household, some great so-called "life upgrades" and other cool stuff lol. Alan is still sick, he is getting over a bad cold and a double ear infection, but he is starting to eat again and beginning to act more like his old wild self. This makes me very happy! Earlier this week, Uncle Chase was over to hang out with the kids and it started to hail really hard outside. There was thunder and lightning too, and the hail eventually turned into snow. It was so crazy! It was sunny and nice outside one moment, and a snowy whiteout the next! You could not even see more than twenty feet in front of you at a certain point! Here is crazy Uncle Chase out in it lol! He and Lon insisted on going outside to collect snow for snowcones, but they were not very successful! It was too wild out there lol! You cannot see, but I am taking this picture with one hand. The other one i...

We had a pretty decent February this year, not too much snow and just enough things to keep us busy on the weekends. Not to mention that we found out some very exciting news about Aunt Natalie and Uncle Jake's baby! Check out what happened to us this month! We celebrated Valentine's Day this month at a little party for Alan and his friends at the local coffee shop. It went really well, even better than last time, especially because Alan was feeling much better! February also meant CHD Awareness Week just before Valentine's Day, I did not write my own posts for the week but I did link up with CHD parents. Here are the four posts I wrote: #1, #2, #3, and #4. Anna also turned seven months old, and discovered her voice. Needless to say, our house is NEVER quiet anymore lol. :) But I would not have it any other way! I took Alan on a Mama and Son Date to the Family Life Expo. Then we celebrated Super Bowl with both of our families, and I suceeded in not watching any of...

Currently, I am sitting here in the living room while everyone else sleeps. Pandora Radio plays quietly in the background and I am finishing the last of my Dove chocolates from Valentine's Day. Its so late, but I cannot seem to get to sleep. I figured if I am already awake, why not pump one more time for the night and finish this post?  I am so hyped today after talking to my director about my dance schedule and plans for this spring! I just thought I would share a little bit with you, my fantastic readers! We have a very busy next few months for dance. In March, we will be learning Michael Jackson's Thriller and preforming it, plus learning some break dancing. Then in April, we will be learning the showcase dance and preparing our costumes. The showcase is that last Saturday in April, a whole month earlier than I originally thought! I am super excited to start the showcase choreography! I have both the songs picked out already! For my 4-6 year olds: They will be per...

Happy Hump Day everyone! This week has been one awesome one for us and a very exciting one. We have lots of things to love! So here is this week's What I'm Loving Wednesday!!! Be sure to check out Jamie's blog This Kind of Love to see her WILW and other fun stuff! What are you loving today? I'm loving...  that my good friend Kelsie had her baby boy yesterday morning! I will get to go up and see them tomorrow! Now just to wait until then and also when they come home so that Alan and Anna can meet him. :) Congratulations Kelsie, Keith and Kelton! We love you all! I'm loving...  that my other friend Chelsey and her husband just welcomed another little boy into her family as well! This will be their fourth foster care child, they are so blessed! Next week she is on Spring Break, so we have plans to get all the kids together. Cannot wait! Congratulations Chelsey, Dan, Colton, M and Baby K! We love you all as well! I'm loving...  that we finally got our inc...

I did have a totally different title at first but I just kept adding and adding to the post as the weekend progressed. Now after rereading the whole thing, the title made no sense at all lol. It was a really cool title too. So lame that I had to switch it out for this cop out. Such is a writer's life. :) Anyways we almost broke our family's clean record this weekend. Technically Alan did lol. And by that I mean our family's clean record of having no broken bones. Yes, you heard me correctly, no one in our family has ever broken a bone . Not Lon, not I, not Alan, no one. It is quite a feat that Lon and I have lived through our whole childhood without breaking any bones, we were both wild children. This is super nerdy but I am kinda proud of it lol. I know, how ridiculous is that????? But its true. Well this weekend, we almost broke our clean record. Friday night I had to run to the store to grab a few neccesities for the house and it was almost bedtime, so I put Anna...

It took me so long to think of a good title for this post. I struggled with a good one quite a bit, which is odd because usually titles come so easily to me. But this post is different. It is very important to me, and for some reason I struggle to think of a title because of it. But in the end, the most appropriate title is the person who this post is for, I believe. My sister Natalie and her boyfriend Jake came into town this past weekend. If you remember, my sister is eighteen weeks pregnant with her first child. We are very excited for her and Uncle Jake, it fantastic being able to see them too! Natalie is just starting to show a little bit, her baby bump is soooooooooo adorable. We all had a great time together going out to eat at Texas Roadhouse and swimming at the Reef, taking some fun anniversary photos for Lon, and even taco soup night at my parent's house! I love when my sister comes to town to visit! There is always yummy food, happy children, laughing adults and a fe...

I have a lot to love today, with Valentine's Day right around the corner. Tomorrow, the kids and I have a ton of fun planned lol! Yay! I'm loving... that tomorrow is Valentine's Day and we have Alan's little party at Off the Leaf! We totally cannot wait, I have so much planned! I'm loving... all the cool Valentine's Day ideas I got from Pinterest! Yay, what did I ever do without Pinterest before. I have made my family's Valentine's Day very special and I spent almost nothing! Yes! I'm loving... that next week is Alan's gymnastics showcase! Lon and I will both be there, snapping pictures like the next gymnastics mom and dad lol! But I will be fair and not full of drama! :P I cannot wait to see his skills, he has already shown me some of the stuff he knows. I cannot believe how smart the kid is! I'm loving... these Pinterest finds from today! Idea for the kids' graduation invitations, love this one so much! Will have ...

I saw this on Pinterest and I loved it. Unfortunately, I had already missed Anna's twentieth week. I looked back into my picture files and found this picture from her twentieth week of birth. Yes, I had taken one! I was lucky that it was the Thanksgiving weekend too, or I might not have. Unlike most pregnancies, I had a second ultrasound later in my pregnancy, at 35 weeks, just to check on her size. They were worried about her being to small. So I promise to do a 35 week photo shoot for her. Its March 2, you readers cannot let me forget! For now though, here is her 20 week photos!   She is just so amazing... Just like her brother. :)      

The New Year started out right! Due to us not having our own internet access at home, I did not post too much this month. But I did my best. And we had a few parties and a birthday, even a pregnancy announcement from my sister! What a great month we have had! Let me share with you what happened to us in January. This time I will add in some pictures too! I think a Month in Review post needs some pictures too, what do you think? Let me know if you like it! Enjoy everyone! We celebrated the New Year by having a little playdate party at the local coffee shop with all of Alan and Anna's friends. Alan was still sick from Influenza A so he was not able to enjoy it as much but all the other kids had a wonderful time. The next day was Uncle Chase's birthday, so Alan and I made him a cool birthday card and then we had him over for light drinks and a movie later that evening. Anna also turned six months old, I just cannot believe how old she is now! Only six more months until she i...