The 4W - Big Daddy edition

WHO: Big Daddy aka The Barbarian

WHAT: He is the king of our house, your typical man's man, tattooed country boy from Texas...He was born in Ochsenfurt, Germany and moved to Texas when he was 6 years old. He loves all things health and fitness related and loves to workout. He's a "tough" dad who served 7 years in the Air Force and who believes hard work and your family will get you far in life. All he ever says that he "wants" is for all of us to be happy.

WHEN: We met in Shreveport, Louisiana in 2004 and got married September 25, 2005 = 7 years :-)

WHERE: He works full time as a facilities technician at a major data center here in Austin. When he's not working he is playing winger for the Austin Blacks rugby club/team (the winger is like the wide receiver in football). And if he's not working or playing rugby, he's just hanging out...with me and the kids or with friends.

:-) I think I will have to create a linky for this next week.

Halloween filled weekend

Halloween is Wednesday, but we got our trick or treating on EARLY!

So on Saturday we headed out to Hill Country Galleria in Bee Cave for their annual Halloween fest. Its like an outdoor mall and they had a bouncy house, entertainment, and all the stores, well majority of the stores, were passing out candy. Safe, fun filled family event and did I mention...it was FREE!
Last year we missed the trick or treating but the kids did have fun listening to the band and running around.

Ironman and Thor :-) 

*Juju didn't want to wear his mask that stinker*

We left right after trick or treating to head to H.E.B. to pick up a pumpkin.

The victims

What a ham, right?! God this kid is awesome LOL

Why yes...we cheated and used power tools. Don't be mad because you didn't think of doing it ;-)

 *I just wanted to add that I had to gut all 4 of those pumpkins...by myself...YUCK!*

Painting the minis

Kissing the "Big Daddy pumpkin"

View from the parking lot

 We live on the 2nd floor so Big Daddy climbed on our car and took this picture

Up close

BamBam painted the one next to the big pumpkin, Juju painted the middle one, and I painted the one all the way on the right

*HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM THE BOYS' LOCKER ROOM*

Who, What, When, Where - Intro

What the?! LOL I'm creating my very own weekly "thing" here in blog land:

Who, What, When, Where

(The 4W for short)

WHO: Nicole J aka Little Mama

WHAT: Wife to a rugger, mom to 4 dudes, SAHM/W

WHEN: Started blogging back in 2008 after my 4th little barbarian was born

WHERE: I live in Austin, Texas and you can find me at any of these places:

Blogs: Life in the Boys' Locker Room and Workin It

Twitter: @nicole_johnson

FB: LifeInTheBoysLockerRoom

Instagram: @nicolemariejohnson

Pinterest: mommybeautiful

Yes I left out why. Because...well because I wanted to. So my genius plan is to post something like this every Wednesday. It could be about anything...people I blog about, another blogger, a company, a product, or it could even be a sort of open letter vent about something that's bothering me. I haven't worked out all the details but I have time...I mean there are a ton of Wednesdays. 

So for today I kept it simple :-) Mostly because I have this head cold that I just can't shake and I can't think too hard.

Happy Hump Day!

Acoustic chills

You know those songs...the ones that give you the chills: goose bumps up and down your arms, making the hair on the back of your neck stand up? Ya...those songs. Intense. Powerful. Fun. This is one of those songs...well this version is. I love when artists do acoustic music. Just the power of their voice and 1 maybe 2 choice instruments. Nothing else. No editing.
Y'all have probably heard this song..it's awesome. It was even our friends' first dance at their wedding.

Enjoy!

"Hey girl, what ya been up to?"

It's been 2 weeks since I left the 8-5 grind and became a SAHM. Everyone knows how scared I was to make this leap, but 2 weeks in and everything is A-OK. I think I like it.
I see people I haven't seen since I stopped working and the question is always the same...

"Hey girl, what ya been up to?"

The answer...not much...just life :-)

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."  ~ Ferris

Partners in crime :-)

Last month Big Daddy and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. September 25th to be exact.
He really is my everything! We've been through so much. I mean I know everyone says that but we really REALLY have. Through thick and thin, calm and chaos, we've endured. We fight hard and love hard. We have each others back no matter what.
The other night I dreamt that we were like Bonnie and Clyde...partners in crime, evading "the man." I woke up smiling the next day LOL.

My glamorous life...

...as a new SAHM...

My day usually starts...duh when I wake up...jk. But I walk mini barbarian #1 to school, and go for a quick mile run before coming home. 

I finish working out with a quick video workout of some sort...BodyRock, or BexLife, or like this morning Tone It UP

I hang out with this guy until mini barbarian #2 comes home from school. He wasn't to thrilled about me trying to "pose" him and get him to look at the camera like a good boy.

Dinner prep at 9am. P.S. I made a lamb stew and it was freaking amaze balls!!! GO ME!

I spend "down time" (which is when the child is fed and doesn't want to play with me) scrolling through my IG feed. I am soooooooo making those apples for dessert!

Same time for the past 2 days...2:50ish, he gets bored with playing by himself and comes to watch a movie with me in the living room. He picks the movie and I start straightening up and then we sit and watch. About 10 minutes into the movie I look over and this is what I see.

My baby sis is officially a college student. She is totally homesick, though I don't think she would ever admit it. But I facetime with her whenever she calls. I miss her craziness.

How's y'alls week been so far?

I'm hoping to come across a new hobby and continue my pinterest crafting. And don't forget to follow me on instagram and pinterest!!

instagram: @nicolemariejohnson
pinterest: http://pinterest.com/mommybeautiful/