No Words....

Lately, I feel as though I have no words. Okay, well, I have words, but seem to have lost the ability to put pen to paper. Or in this instance, keys to keyboard.  I don't know what it is. Maybe it's that I have SO many ideas that I have a hard time focusing in on one idea that I get overwhelmed  and instead choose to write or do nothing.

So, in an effort to get back into the swing of things and being more consistent with blogging, I am just going to start writing and whatever comes, comes.


Life has been good and full lately, but not without challenges. There have been challenges lately and some all time low moments, but still we persevere, because what else would we do?

On that note, I will leave you with some adorable pictures from a recent mini photoshoot the kiddos had done. My good friend and super talented photographer Laura took these pictures. You may know her from blogging over at Bits of Sweetness. 

I have many more where these came from, but beings that it literally took me days to get these to download I will save them for another time.

I hope to get back into blogging more regularly, again, but who knows, I seem to say that all the time! So, I hope all is well with you. I will be spending quite a bit of time hopping around to your blogs now.

Sometimes I throw tantrums.........

I interrupt your normally scheduled posts (who am I kidding? I don't have any scheduled posts) to bring you this; Sometimes I throw tantrums. Like full on little kid tantrums. Not proud of it, but hey, at least I own it.

You know, I try to be a good example for my kids and not let them see my anger get the best of me but we all know that there are days when we just can't handle it. Most of the time I try to excuse myself and take a "mommy time out" but sometimes it gets the better of me and I erupt.

There has been known to be crying, maybe some foot stomping, definitely slammed doors and once or twice rolling around on the ground (okay, I kid). Seriously, though, I would love to be calm, cool and collected all the time and the perfect example, but I can't. That is not realistic. I am a yeller. I do not like that about myself and I am working on it, but I am not there yet and honestly, who knows if I ever will be. I hate that my reaction is to yell and I hate that I feel like that is the only way I am getting people to listen to me. I sometimes feel like the invisible women until I yell to get attention.

With that said, I can not expect,nor do I, for my kiddos to be perfect little specimens. They are four and three and boy can they have a tantrum or two. I blame part of that on myself and part of it as normal behavior. What's important here is to always make sure I apoloqize after a tantrum and explain that there are better ways to handle my feelings and to try harder. Plain and simple. If they can see me own it and make and effort then maybe, just maybe, they will too.

But....sometimes everybody just has to throw a tantrum!

Viva Las Vegas (part 3)

Our first morning in Vegas was spent sleeping in, not only because we could, but because the lady next door was coughing/vomiting so hard that I could hear her through the walls ALL.NIGHT.LONG. Seriously guys, it was ridiculous!

Anyways, I sent Brandon down to Starbucks (which, sidenote here: everything is so much more expensive! Two mochas and two pastries were close to $25.00 dollars. So much for a cheap breakfast).

While Brandon was down getting breakfast my phone rang. I checked caller ID and it was my dad. Normally he doesn't call so early and never when I am on vacation. He just doesn't. So I had a bad feeling. Unfortunately after talking to my dad my bad feeling was confirmed. My grandfather had fallen from the top of a ladder when it gave way.  He was up at their property on the river and was alone. He laid there for hours before anyone found him. He was transported two hours away to a trauma hospital and was listed in critical condition.

At this point I started bawling, not knowing what to think. My dad reassured me that although he was listed as critical due to the extent of his injuries, none of them were life threatening. I could breathe a bit easier. I asked for him to call me with an update as soon as he had one and when my grandpa woke up.

Brandon came back to the room all excited to head to the pool and found me crying in bed. I knew my grandpa would be okay, but knew he probably wouldn't be the same and it wouldn't be okay for awhile. I was feeling so bad knowing he had just laid their alone in pain.

After I calmed down some we headed to the pool and soaked up the sun pretty much all day. I kept the phone at my side at all times and by mid afternoon I had an update. My grandpa had awoke and was in a lot of pain, but the morphine was helping some. The doctor had come in and said that he had a broken pelvis, cracked ribs and cracked hips, but miraculously did not need any sort of surgery. They said he was in great shape for a man his age and that would aid in his recovery.


After spending about a week there he finally made it back up here closer to home to a rehab facility. I wish I could say that he is so much better, but he isn't. He IS improving, but it is going to be a long, hard and painful recovery and he may never regain the same movement he had before. 

Needless to say, I wasn't feeling up to any crazy shenanigans and we didn't leave the pool until that evening to attend another show and that in of itself is a whole other post.

Viva Las Vegas (part 2)

After I switched off my phone the hubby and I caught a taxi to our hotel and were hoping we could check in early. We were very early and figured at the very least we could drop off our luggage and go in search of food. We had been up for 7 hours already at that point and all the stress of the morning was catching up to me.

The hotel was nice enough to check us in early and after dropping of our luggage we set out on foot to find the Hash House A Go Go. I had heard excellent things about this place from lots of people. It was quite a long walk and by the time we found it I was famished. The line was huge and they said it would be a 30 minute wait. Somehow,we got called back only about 15 minutes later. Let me tell you, this food did not disappoint! Definitely worth the walk and the wait.

This was Brandon's chicken and waffles. Don't ask. It doesn't sound appealing to me, but he said it was good.

This was an eggs benedict with a creamy red pepper sauce. The biscuits were made from scratch and the ingredients were so fresh they tasted like they were from the garden.

After breakfast we wandered around a bit waiting for the clouds to clear. It was quite overcast and we were hoping the sun would make an appearance. By two in afternoon I was tired of waiting and headed for the pool anyways. It was warm enough at this point, and we settled in our lounge chairs with a couple drinks and just relaxed. We spent most of the rest of the day at the pool and after changing we figured we would look for somewhere to eat before our show at 9:30. We found a restaurant called Twin Peaks that had an amazing view of the strip.

 

After a dinner of grilled chicken tacos and sliders we wandered around the strip some more and made our way to the MGM eventually, where we had tickets for the Beattle's Love show by cirque de Solei. I had been so excited for this because I had never seen a cirque show and heard how good they were. At this point, though we had been awake for so long and I was so exhausted. The show was so good but, I was so tired that I ended up nodding off. :( We ended up leaving a few minutes early and we crashed by 11:30. So much for a crazy first night in Vegas. ;)

Viva Las Vegas!

Now I have that song stuck in my head and I bet you do too now!

Well, last Sunday the hubby and I took off for a quick trip to Vegas. It was much needed and so fun. We flew out early on our anniversary and made it to Vegas by 9:15 am. Now, I am not a flyer and it took a lot of coaxing to get me on that plane. I knew I would have fun and knew I wanted to go, but I cried a lot. The older I have gotten the worse my fear of flying has gotten. I took a couple of children's benadryl and luckily that helped make me pretty drowsy. I *thought* about having a bloody mary on the plane, but since it was only 7 am I figured it might not be socially acceptable.

Luckily, it was a good smooth flight and an easy landing.  Upon landing and turning on my phone I did a quick check of facebook (yes, I am a social media addict) and something in my feed stopped my heart and made my stomach churn all at the same time.

There were all these posts about a 4 year old being shot and killed on our street. A 4 year old, Jaxson's age, and on our quiet little street. Our street where my babies were still supposed to be peacefully sleeping. And....the suspect was still at large; armed and dangerous. I frantically started calling my mom and step dad and got no answer. So, I sat there and continued to call over and over until someone answered. Of course my kiddos were okay, and in fact my parents had taken them to their house and were headed out of town, which meant I could breathe easier.

I then learned of who the little boy was. I didn't know this family personally but I walked by their house everyday and saw the little boy play. My heart is broken for them. The circumstances surrounding his death are still a little hazy. It was reported that it was an accidental self inflicted gun shot wound, then it was reported a homicide by the father, who fled the scene. Then, it was once again reported to be an accident and the man did eventually turn himself in.

So, after this unsettling news Brandon told me to turn my phone off and just put it away so we could enjoy ourselves. I think I will stop right here because this post is already lengthy enough as it is. We can pick up tomorrow where we left off. :)

Currently; The Jaxson Edition

Currently (Jaxson edition):


Loving: Swimming lessons. I am so happy we decided to do swimming lessons this summer. We got a great deal for starters and more importantly I have already seen such a change in the kids around the water. I hope this is something we can continue.

Eating: Anything and everything. This boy is going through a growth spurt again! He is actually starting to pass his friends in height. He has always been a little short, but now he is getting some length but he is so skinny still.

Reading: Okay, well HE isn't reading yet but we are signed up for a summer reading program through our library, and although he loves reading already, the extra incentive of crossing off minutes as he reads is great!

Looking forward to: Preschool. He talks about his class and teachers all the time. He already has planned out what he wants to bring for show and tell. He doesn't start up again until September.

Not looking forward to: Kindergarten. Only because he knows he needs more immunizations before he can go. :)

Wanting: To go to the zoo. The day we were going to go it rained so we had to postpone. That was two months ago and we still haven't made it yet.

 

Time keeps on ticking away

 In the blink of an eye another month has passed. 
I have been savoring all of this uninterrupted time with my kiddos and making the most of our summer.
Here are some photos of the things we have been up to. 

Trips to the aquarium

Swinging

 

popsicles

amazing parks!

early morning runs to the coffee stand and through town to hit up the garage sales.

lots of pool time with our makeshift waterslide

The kids' first trip to Rainforest Cafe

Splash parks

Bubble blowing

Smores

 

DIY projects like this chalkboard table

art projects at Home Depot

What have you been up to?!