Newest Member of the Family!

So yeah, I have been totally MIA lately. I thought I would be blogging all the time after I became a SAHM, yeah, not so much. Life has been busy and things are changing by the minute over here at the Doyle house. Never a dull moment.

Meet Miss Lucy Goosey... the newest member of our family!!!






She is so darn cute and sweet during the day. But, don't let her looks fool you. I have told Jesse in the middle of the night the last three nights, that's she's the spawn of satan. Lucy seriously cries, whines, and screams 80% of the night. And then that leads to me and Jesse arguing who has to get up with her for the millionth time. It's gotta be quite a humorous situation if we weren't so sleep deprived. (And I admit, I don't like to take care of puppies in the middle of the night AT ALL! So that means Jesse ends up doing it most of the time.)

Everyone keeps telling us that it will get better after a week or so. I sure hope they are right, because I am not loving this right now.

Snow Fun!

Last week, before the power outage, we had a bit of fun in the snow. Here's a bit of a photo dump :)

Winter Storm

Ugh, can I just be whiny for a bit?? Western Washington was hit by a snow and ice storm early last week, which has resulted in a power outage that began Thursday morning. Yup, two and a half days ago and we still are without power. :(

What makes it unbearable for us is that we don't have a gas range or a fireplace. So no heat source or way to heat water or food. So we evacuated. Thursday we went up north and stayed at a hotel near my sister's house. Then called the energy company and found out we would be without power for 3-5 more days!

What to do?! Well, Jesse's friend has already left Minnesota to drive out here and hunt with Jesse for the last week of the season. At some point during the week, they wanted to spend a couple days in Eastern Washington. So we figured the whole family would pack up and get a hotel out there. So yeah... I've been hanging out in a warm hotel room with Hunter, while the guys hunt for duck and geese. Kinda boring, but better than doing the same thing in my freezing house!! We've been watching cartoons and I'm on the last book of the Hunger Games series.

It's Finally Real

I AM A STAY AT HOME MOM!!! It's hit me in the last day that I really am not going back to work, that this isn't just a vacation, and guess what... it's AWESOME!

I wrote that I was a bit out of commission for a few days because I was in a lot of pain with my back, but it started feeling much better yesterday. I am feeling so much more joyful and energized. I was looking forward to Hunter's naptime and bedtime a lot while my back was hurting. Today, right now, I am totally missing my little man while he's taking his nap. I just adore that kid and I feel like the luckiest and most blessed mama ever that I get to spend everyday with such a fun and easy little guy.

He was so cute yesterday afternoon. He woke up from his nap and was on the search for his Little People "farmer" that sits in the tractor. He couldn't find it anywhere. He sadly said "Mommy, farmer gone. In car?" So I went out to the car three seperate times to find farmer. No such luck. He wasn't in the playroom, Hunter's room, or in the living room. When I told Hunter that he was really gone, he just turned around and sat in his little chair and put his head down and said "Hunter miss farmer". It was the cutest and saddest thing ever. And then I thought, let's just go find a new one!

This is when it really hit me that I am a stay at home mom. There would be no way that I would have driven to Toys R Us on a weeknight to go on a search for a toy. But now I have so much energy and am so stressfree. So, we went to the store and I quickly realized that "farmer" is part of a $40 barn set. Ugh. But then Hunter saw a Little People "cook" and exclaimed "Farmer!!" and it was only $6, perfect! We got in the car and I took farmer out of the package and into the tractor that was waiting in the car. Hunter was the happiest little boy ever when I handed it to him!

Afterwards, I took Hunter to Applebee's for a little dinner date with my favorite little guy. He sat next to me and played with his farmer and tractor with such content. Then we went home and watched Cars. My heart just about exploded with love last night in realizing that this is my new life. I love it!

Guest Blog

Hi all! I'm a day late, but I wanted to send y'all over to Nicole's blog to check out the guest post I did for her over there about being a military mom. I was so flattered when Nicole asked me to write a post for her Words of Wisdom series. So go check it out! :)

Adjusting and Weeks in iPhone Pics

I'm not sure if "adjusting" is the right title to this post. Last Thursday was my last day of work... and I feel like I haven't even gotten to enjoy it yet, five days later. That's because I started to have severe back pain starting on Friday. It's been so bad that it has even hurt to walk, until today. So yeah, I had these dreams of what staying at home with Hunter would look like: clean house, organization projects, playing on the ground with Hunter. Yeah, that has not happened in the least yet.

Oh well, I have plenty of time for all that once I get healed up a bit, right?

Well, I haven't posted many iPhone pics for awhile, so here are some from the last couple weeks!

Lots of cuddling with our favorite puppy :)



We went out to eat a few times (Adriatic Grill, Chipotle, and Snoqualmie Casino Buffet).



We were on the go!




Jesse left and then came back again!




Hunter and I hung around the house a lot together.



Hunter and I had a very low key New Years.



I took a couple photos of myself for the Instagram photo challenge



And best of all, we got to visit Henry's puppies!! We are going to get one, but we are still undecided between two of them! They are the cutest things EVER.

Happy New Year!

2011 was an amazing year for our family, full of wonderful opportunities. 2012 will be the year of change for us. It will be a year of discovering ourselves in a new environment and in new roles. 2012 will bring us across the country, away from our families. It will mean Jesse will be home 95% of the time, instead of 50%. It will be a year of me adjusting to being a stay at home mom. It will also hopefully be the year that we conceive a second child.

I'm not a huge fan of New Year's Resolutions, but hey, why not?!

Relax and let God have control over our lives.

Get involved in a MOPS group at church.

Get back to being more active.

Eat a better diet that is full of protein and veggies.

Read more and watch TV less.

Love more and judge less.


What are your resolutions for the New Year?