My name is Kira and I have a problem........
I LOVE throwing birthday parties and I may go "slightly" overboard but in a fun way!
Dylan is currently in the middle of his 5th birthday week! He had a star wars party on Saturday. It was "awesome" or so he tells me. And honestly that and the huge grin on his face is all the motivation I need!!! Dylan has been in love with Star Wars for over a year now. So I have known for awhile that that was going to be the birthday theme. So I started looking for fun stuff last November. Oh man!!! There is a lot of fun Star Wars stuff out there! Pintrest was a huge help! (and a favorite website in general!!!) I had to narrow the list of stuff down and that proved hard because everything was sooo awesome!! But narrow I did, here are sone things we did -
~ Star Wars related food
-- Han burgers
-- Darth Maul Double Bladed Dogs
-- Thermal Detonaters
-- Yoda Guacamole
-- Ewok Edibles
-- Dessert Sand
-- Death Pops
-- C3PO Oil
-- Tauntaun Turds
It was all delicious!!! And so fun everyone had a good time reading the labels of seemingly ordinary food!
~ Star Wars blow-ups on the wall. We had all of Dylan's favorite characters and ships!
~ A life size R2D2 decoration/future toy storage made by his grandpa
~ Jedi robes and Star Wars filled goody bags for the young guests
~ CAKES!!! Dylan had his own personal Death Star cake and I made a R2D2 cake for everyone else.
Every year I stress out and every year it turns out great!! My main concern is always the cakes!! I am NOT a decorating genius but I try my hardest to pretend that I am. (one day I will take a class and get better!!) the cakes are my biggest stress and take the longest but I want them perfect! They are a main staple of a birthday party after all! And I don't like doing them until the day of, cause they need to taste good!! So in turn it is trying to achieve perfection in a small amount of time, which equals one stressed out momma! And every year I tell my husband "why do I do this to myself every time?!" He says I don't know maybe you shouldn't! Bite your tongue!!!! This is my child's birthday it must be perfect and hand made by me!!! Very important.......or so I thought. This year a new revelation dawned on me......make a mini cake for the birthday child and buy the bigger one!! Ahhhhh! It was like a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders! Glorious feeling, I could get my homemade mom vibes working and not keel over from stress and exhaustion!!! Yes!!! I could get behind that and will try it for Brady's birthday!
Another first this year is that we are having our first kid party! I am excited but another party means more planning, spending and stressing! But the time is here! We are going to have the party at Monkey Buziness this Friday with a mixture of family friends and school friends. The Star Wars theme will continue over. More about this party after it happens!
Finally we also had to do something special to celebrate Dylan's actual birthday!! So on the 27th we took him to Benihana's for dinner. We have been before and he liked it so thought it would be a fun place to eat and have good food! (ie. Not chuck e cheese's!!) he LOVED it! He enjoyed every minute if it. He liked choosing his own dinner, (steak and chicken!) he ate the onion soup, he loved watching the man cook, enjoyed his own special bowl of chicken fried rice, ate more food then I have ever seen, and was shy when the waitresses came over to sing to him! So cute and so worth the money! I am learning that everything we do has a monetary price but no matter that price it is worth it to see the HUGE smile that goes on his face and stays there!
Needless to say this feels like the longest birthday ever! (forgot to add in that we took cupcakes to school too!!) but it has been so fun to see him enjoy and appreciate every moment of it!! Makes everything I do and go through worth it! And when I see that grin I would do it all over again!! I love my 5 year old!!!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Two days of Twists and Turns
WOW!!
That is all!
OK not really but WOW! The last 2 days have been crazy!! It has been awhile since I blogged but since one kids is at Gramie's house and the other is comfortably napping on the couch I shall type!
Brady woke up yesterday OK. But by 10 am our lives turned, around and upside down! I found a mass on his neck and it hurt him to move his head! Ummmm yikes! So I ran to the phone and quickly dialed up the doctor! They didn't sound overly concerned on the phone so calm I stayed although on the inside I was FREAKING out. We had an appointment at 3:30 and tried to pass the time quickly. Brady is 2 years old and for those of us with 2 year olds or have had them they are not easily sidelined! I thought it would be very difficult to make him stay still......but his little brain figured it out that if he stayed still and laid on the couch his neck would not hurt! Glorious day!! So glad he understood that staying still was the best option. Now he is 2 so he would often forget and move a little one way or the other and it would cause a great scream to come out of him. But as soon as he settled back down he was good.
The doctor of course had nothing useful to say! He told me it was a swollen lymph node, which meant nothing to this momma. He said it occurs when a child is sick.....well he has had some sniffles lately but not sick. So confused I was! Then he says he needs some blood drawn........the color drained from my face but my voice did not waiver, I said OK. 2 nurses came in and had their pain inducing instruments. Brady had just gone through the doctor poking and prodding at him and screamed when he looked in his ears.....so I just knew this would no go good. They had me lay him on the exam table and then I got the joy of laying on top of him to keep his legs down and still as well as his middle section and I held onto his arm and chest. I was thinking grab on tight cause he will squirm and let's do this already!
First attempt was the right arm. Well that lasted about 5 minutes then they decided that nope it wasn't going to work. So out goes one nurse to get new pain instruments and I flip him around so they can attack his left arm. Brady is thinking phew I am done and then I climb back on top of him and pin him down! Oh the misery, both on his face and mine! It took every ounce of my strength not to cry and scream along with him. These people were hurting my baby and my baby was hurting and I had no other choice in how I fixed it! It was a long and terrible 15 minutes! They were able to get 4 vials of blood from him and he yelled his way through it all. You would think his biggest complaint was that they were poking him with a needle.....but it wasn't. He kept yelling "She's holding my arm! I can't move my arm!" Dang it was so cute I giggled. In the midst of all the pain and anguish I giggled. The a tear escaped and I sucked it all back in giggles and tears!
Doctor says we should know by 9am tomorrow give us a call. So 8:59 I was dialing. Receptionist gives my info to the nurse says she will call us back! 10:15 rolls around and I have heard nothing. So I call back. They will call me back. My son is still hurting and I can't do anything except make him take Tylenol I need answers people!!! Finally at 11:00 I call again, just to switch my reach me at number cause we had left the house. About 15 minutes later the nurse finally calls. Phew!!! My heart is beating a mile a minute!!!! What oh what can it be! What is wrong with my boy? She says she called the lab since she hadn't heard back and 4 of the 5 tests were back and deemed normal so those weren't causing this swelling. YES!!! Mental self high five! But wait what is causing it then?!? Then she proceeds to tell me that they didn't have enough blood for the 5th and MOST important test!! WHAT!!!! My heart dropped to my knees!! I knew it would mean I would have to take him in and have more blood drawn! Ahhhhhh!!!!! I didn't think I could take it, but darn it I wanted to know why my baby had this going on!
So I look up LabCorp on my phone and find a number for them........and find out that they are politely closed for lunch from 12:30 to 1:30! Oh crap and it is 12 and I am in downtown denver! So more waiting! We get to the office at 1:29! And as soon as we enter the building (you know a doctors office multiple floors, elevator, lots of rooms, etc) Brady starts screaming!! "No more Doctors! No more pokeys! Take Dylan to doctor!!" (Funny thing Dylan wasn't even with us! But he was more than willing to throw Dylan under the bus to save his arms from pokeys!!!) We get into the elevator and he wants to push the button, yes, good sign! Nope more yelling as we walk into the office. I sign us in and shortly after they call us back. Yea, you guessed it, as soon as I take him off the waiting room chair he yells. Much to the amusement of the 6 other people waiting in there to get their pokeys! We sit down in the chair and they take yesterdays "stickers" (band aids) off and he DID NOT like that. "My stickers! Don't take my stickers!" Silly things that little ones get attached too. I tell him don't worry they will give you new ones :) Ha ha ha! He is appeased by learning this but still know what is coming. I say quickly before they start that they had better luck with the left arm the day before. Cause lord knows I don't need them poking at both his arms again! So they take a look and say the right looks best, I am crossing my fingers that they are right! So no laying on him this time. We sit in a chair and I put his legs in between mine and squeeze them in so he doesn't kick anyone! Before he can even scream a little they already have the needle in! Thank god. And his blood was flowing generously today because Brady barely got some yelling out before they had there 2 vials and were telling him that they were all done! Phew quick and pain-less-ful. He quickly asks for his sticker before they could reach for it and we are good to go! I expressed great loads of gratitude to the nurses and thanked them for being quick and loving to my son!
So we come home, eat some Mcdonalds, and wait.......and wait...................and wait..................and wait even a little more. Finally today at 4:45 I call, cause I know they are closing very soon, and say hey I need some results please! They say we will call you back! UGH!!!!! At 5:08 as I am typing this up the doctor calls......yes you heard me right the doctor not the nurse. Yikes when the actual doctor calls it is never good. And in this case it wasn't really good and it wasn't the worst either. This last test that they ran today tested his white blood cell count. He was looking for an elevated count.......don't ask I don't know why.......and he said that Brady's count was higher but not overly so. SO he is thinking, with the count levels as they were, that Brady may have Mono......which is a virus......and all of us mommies with young uns' know what that word means.....there is nothing you can do for a virus just let it run its course. But instead of leaving me with that and with the tests not really matching up with his ideas he asked me to come in again tomorrow so he can re check Brady.
So............
To Be Continued tomorrow.........................................................................................................................
That is all!
OK not really but WOW! The last 2 days have been crazy!! It has been awhile since I blogged but since one kids is at Gramie's house and the other is comfortably napping on the couch I shall type!
Brady woke up yesterday OK. But by 10 am our lives turned, around and upside down! I found a mass on his neck and it hurt him to move his head! Ummmm yikes! So I ran to the phone and quickly dialed up the doctor! They didn't sound overly concerned on the phone so calm I stayed although on the inside I was FREAKING out. We had an appointment at 3:30 and tried to pass the time quickly. Brady is 2 years old and for those of us with 2 year olds or have had them they are not easily sidelined! I thought it would be very difficult to make him stay still......but his little brain figured it out that if he stayed still and laid on the couch his neck would not hurt! Glorious day!! So glad he understood that staying still was the best option. Now he is 2 so he would often forget and move a little one way or the other and it would cause a great scream to come out of him. But as soon as he settled back down he was good.
The doctor of course had nothing useful to say! He told me it was a swollen lymph node, which meant nothing to this momma. He said it occurs when a child is sick.....well he has had some sniffles lately but not sick. So confused I was! Then he says he needs some blood drawn........the color drained from my face but my voice did not waiver, I said OK. 2 nurses came in and had their pain inducing instruments. Brady had just gone through the doctor poking and prodding at him and screamed when he looked in his ears.....so I just knew this would no go good. They had me lay him on the exam table and then I got the joy of laying on top of him to keep his legs down and still as well as his middle section and I held onto his arm and chest. I was thinking grab on tight cause he will squirm and let's do this already!
First attempt was the right arm. Well that lasted about 5 minutes then they decided that nope it wasn't going to work. So out goes one nurse to get new pain instruments and I flip him around so they can attack his left arm. Brady is thinking phew I am done and then I climb back on top of him and pin him down! Oh the misery, both on his face and mine! It took every ounce of my strength not to cry and scream along with him. These people were hurting my baby and my baby was hurting and I had no other choice in how I fixed it! It was a long and terrible 15 minutes! They were able to get 4 vials of blood from him and he yelled his way through it all. You would think his biggest complaint was that they were poking him with a needle.....but it wasn't. He kept yelling "She's holding my arm! I can't move my arm!" Dang it was so cute I giggled. In the midst of all the pain and anguish I giggled. The a tear escaped and I sucked it all back in giggles and tears!
Doctor says we should know by 9am tomorrow give us a call. So 8:59 I was dialing. Receptionist gives my info to the nurse says she will call us back! 10:15 rolls around and I have heard nothing. So I call back. They will call me back. My son is still hurting and I can't do anything except make him take Tylenol I need answers people!!! Finally at 11:00 I call again, just to switch my reach me at number cause we had left the house. About 15 minutes later the nurse finally calls. Phew!!! My heart is beating a mile a minute!!!! What oh what can it be! What is wrong with my boy? She says she called the lab since she hadn't heard back and 4 of the 5 tests were back and deemed normal so those weren't causing this swelling. YES!!! Mental self high five! But wait what is causing it then?!? Then she proceeds to tell me that they didn't have enough blood for the 5th and MOST important test!! WHAT!!!! My heart dropped to my knees!! I knew it would mean I would have to take him in and have more blood drawn! Ahhhhhh!!!!! I didn't think I could take it, but darn it I wanted to know why my baby had this going on!
So I look up LabCorp on my phone and find a number for them........and find out that they are politely closed for lunch from 12:30 to 1:30! Oh crap and it is 12 and I am in downtown denver! So more waiting! We get to the office at 1:29! And as soon as we enter the building (you know a doctors office multiple floors, elevator, lots of rooms, etc) Brady starts screaming!! "No more Doctors! No more pokeys! Take Dylan to doctor!!" (Funny thing Dylan wasn't even with us! But he was more than willing to throw Dylan under the bus to save his arms from pokeys!!!) We get into the elevator and he wants to push the button, yes, good sign! Nope more yelling as we walk into the office. I sign us in and shortly after they call us back. Yea, you guessed it, as soon as I take him off the waiting room chair he yells. Much to the amusement of the 6 other people waiting in there to get their pokeys! We sit down in the chair and they take yesterdays "stickers" (band aids) off and he DID NOT like that. "My stickers! Don't take my stickers!" Silly things that little ones get attached too. I tell him don't worry they will give you new ones :) Ha ha ha! He is appeased by learning this but still know what is coming. I say quickly before they start that they had better luck with the left arm the day before. Cause lord knows I don't need them poking at both his arms again! So they take a look and say the right looks best, I am crossing my fingers that they are right! So no laying on him this time. We sit in a chair and I put his legs in between mine and squeeze them in so he doesn't kick anyone! Before he can even scream a little they already have the needle in! Thank god. And his blood was flowing generously today because Brady barely got some yelling out before they had there 2 vials and were telling him that they were all done! Phew quick and pain-less-ful. He quickly asks for his sticker before they could reach for it and we are good to go! I expressed great loads of gratitude to the nurses and thanked them for being quick and loving to my son!
So we come home, eat some Mcdonalds, and wait.......and wait...................and wait..................and wait even a little more. Finally today at 4:45 I call, cause I know they are closing very soon, and say hey I need some results please! They say we will call you back! UGH!!!!! At 5:08 as I am typing this up the doctor calls......yes you heard me right the doctor not the nurse. Yikes when the actual doctor calls it is never good. And in this case it wasn't really good and it wasn't the worst either. This last test that they ran today tested his white blood cell count. He was looking for an elevated count.......don't ask I don't know why.......and he said that Brady's count was higher but not overly so. SO he is thinking, with the count levels as they were, that Brady may have Mono......which is a virus......and all of us mommies with young uns' know what that word means.....there is nothing you can do for a virus just let it run its course. But instead of leaving me with that and with the tests not really matching up with his ideas he asked me to come in again tomorrow so he can re check Brady.
So............
To Be Continued tomorrow.........................................................................................................................
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Pajama Day
So I tried this new thing.....staying in pajamas all day long. The image I had of tha day in my head was not quite the image that was!
I envisioned staying in my pajamas and hanging on the couch maybe playing a little in each of the boys rooms. A relaxing naptime where both of my boys napped I had, at the most, 2 glorious hours to myself. A take-out dinner and an early bedtime! Sounds like I could die and go to heaven!
Well the actuallity of the day was very very different. Woke up and started the day in a relaxing way.Boys woke up played on the couch with cartoons for a bit and I got to facebook and blog in somewhat peace. Then the boys moved to legos while I finished blogging. They played so nice together it was a joy to be able to sit and watch them!! Once Kent got up the day went differently. (Not because he got up but probably more of then time of the day :) !!) So we came up on lunchtime and both boys were hungry so I made turkey sandwiches and they were happy. I snacked on some chips and dip and Kent was good for the time. So not bad as far as making lunches go! Pretty easy. Then as 1 o'clock neared Brady was getting tired and cranky. So by 1:30 I could take his whinyness no more so off to bed I went to read books and put him down. He fell asleep quickly! Phew the start to my relaxing naptime. At 3, aftre I picked up the kitchen from lunch, Kent says go get some lunch. Well I wasn't that hungry as I snacked on too many chips but he was, so I said you go get it! But ahhhh the Florida Gators were on TV and he was engrossed in that. So I said ok....what do you want, he tells me Qdoba. I said ummmm no! How about something that I an run and drive thru.....so Carl's Jr. was on the menu. So off I headed. And this time in the car is probably the most relaxing part of my day. I have no one to answer to and I can listen to whatever I want in the car! I love driving by myself!!!!!!! As I am sitting in the drive thru line waiting for my food, my mind is thinking of all of the things that are needing to get done.....and one glaring one pops into my mind.....Ahhh Brady is out of diapers and will need one as soon as he gets up! Yikes! So I race home wolf down my food then leave my boys again! Off to safeway....now I debated on actually getting dressed but I thought eh who cares! So off I went in my pajamas! The funniest moment of the day happened at Safeway...as I am pulling into the parking lot it is somewhat busy, as far as safeway goes, and there is an older gentleman pushing his cart back to the building after unloading his groceries into his car. So I politely wait for him to cross the street - well he makes it about 3 steps then heaves his cart to the building!! It was the funniest thing to see - and as he walked away I could tell he enjoyed doing just that!!
Back home again putting groceries away....while I was at the store I thought ohhh let's male sugar cut out cookies! The boys will have so much fun with that! Well as it was nearing 5 pm I decided to get the already made dough then we could just cut out the shapes! The boys had fun picking out their cookie cutters and we just about made one of every shape you can think of. As I was cutting out and baking cookies the boys really had a hankering for playing in the flour - at first I was like oh no!!! That is soooo not going to happen - I'll have flour everywhere!!! But as I thought about it more I decided to let them do it, what's a little cleaning when the activity brings such joy to my boys! So they sat on the counter and I dumped some flour in the middle and the playing began! The best part was them putting their hands in it and then clapping! Oh the smiles that brought out!! What a mess and what fun! Then I told them ok now you have to clean up so I pulled chairs over to the sink, filled one side with bubbles and turned on the faucet, then turned them loose on the cookie cutters and themselves!! Oh the mess!! Oh the fun!! Flour everywhere, including them, and then it was covered in water! They played in the sink I finished baking and cleaned the counter and flour. Changed them while the cookies cooled and then we were on our way to decorating!
BEST part of the day! The boys had soo much fun decorating and eating cookies!! There was frosting and sprinkles everywhere!!! Dylan took a bite of each cookie he made and Brady licked frosting from everyone he made! Brady had frosting everywhere and kept asking for more cookies! It was fun and messy! Finally we finished that and I sent the boys away so I could clean up the next mess of the day. I fed them some soup and thought ahhh now they can play with Daddy and I can sit for 5 minutes. Nope not the case at all!! The boys rooms were a mess!! And impossible to play in! So Kent was on the phone and the boys wanted to play NOW so I rushed into their rooms and started a clean up game, Both boys wanted to help but not in a good way! Everything I picked up was wanting to be played with.....so I went quickly and picked everything up! After I finished both rooms the boys no longer wanted to play and it was getting late. So I sat with Brady on the couch for a relasing wiggles show, then went to put him to bed. Some books and singing later and he was asleep! By the time I made it back to the living room Dylan had fallen asleep on the couch, so I put him to bed. Went back to the couch ready for a little me time! Kent was watching some Sport Center and it quickly out me to sleep, at 10:30! Next time I woke up it was 3:30 and Kent and I were asleep on the couch! I dragged us to bed and slept away!
The day lacked the me time I thought it was going to have but made uo for it with the fun time I had with the boys! I have also decided that with a 4 year old and a 2 year old it is impossible to have "relaxing" day. So my plans for today do not include relaxing!! Ha ha!! I have also realized that it is extremely hard for me to relax....I am person that needs to be busy! So busy I be! Ha! One day when I am old and my boys are grown I will look back fondly at these memories of being busy!
I envisioned staying in my pajamas and hanging on the couch maybe playing a little in each of the boys rooms. A relaxing naptime where both of my boys napped I had, at the most, 2 glorious hours to myself. A take-out dinner and an early bedtime! Sounds like I could die and go to heaven!
Well the actuallity of the day was very very different. Woke up and started the day in a relaxing way.Boys woke up played on the couch with cartoons for a bit and I got to facebook and blog in somewhat peace. Then the boys moved to legos while I finished blogging. They played so nice together it was a joy to be able to sit and watch them!! Once Kent got up the day went differently. (Not because he got up but probably more of then time of the day :) !!) So we came up on lunchtime and both boys were hungry so I made turkey sandwiches and they were happy. I snacked on some chips and dip and Kent was good for the time. So not bad as far as making lunches go! Pretty easy. Then as 1 o'clock neared Brady was getting tired and cranky. So by 1:30 I could take his whinyness no more so off to bed I went to read books and put him down. He fell asleep quickly! Phew the start to my relaxing naptime. At 3, aftre I picked up the kitchen from lunch, Kent says go get some lunch. Well I wasn't that hungry as I snacked on too many chips but he was, so I said you go get it! But ahhhh the Florida Gators were on TV and he was engrossed in that. So I said ok....what do you want, he tells me Qdoba. I said ummmm no! How about something that I an run and drive thru.....so Carl's Jr. was on the menu. So off I headed. And this time in the car is probably the most relaxing part of my day. I have no one to answer to and I can listen to whatever I want in the car! I love driving by myself!!!!!!! As I am sitting in the drive thru line waiting for my food, my mind is thinking of all of the things that are needing to get done.....and one glaring one pops into my mind.....Ahhh Brady is out of diapers and will need one as soon as he gets up! Yikes! So I race home wolf down my food then leave my boys again! Off to safeway....now I debated on actually getting dressed but I thought eh who cares! So off I went in my pajamas! The funniest moment of the day happened at Safeway...as I am pulling into the parking lot it is somewhat busy, as far as safeway goes, and there is an older gentleman pushing his cart back to the building after unloading his groceries into his car. So I politely wait for him to cross the street - well he makes it about 3 steps then heaves his cart to the building!! It was the funniest thing to see - and as he walked away I could tell he enjoyed doing just that!!
Back home again putting groceries away....while I was at the store I thought ohhh let's male sugar cut out cookies! The boys will have so much fun with that! Well as it was nearing 5 pm I decided to get the already made dough then we could just cut out the shapes! The boys had fun picking out their cookie cutters and we just about made one of every shape you can think of. As I was cutting out and baking cookies the boys really had a hankering for playing in the flour - at first I was like oh no!!! That is soooo not going to happen - I'll have flour everywhere!!! But as I thought about it more I decided to let them do it, what's a little cleaning when the activity brings such joy to my boys! So they sat on the counter and I dumped some flour in the middle and the playing began! The best part was them putting their hands in it and then clapping! Oh the smiles that brought out!! What a mess and what fun! Then I told them ok now you have to clean up so I pulled chairs over to the sink, filled one side with bubbles and turned on the faucet, then turned them loose on the cookie cutters and themselves!! Oh the mess!! Oh the fun!! Flour everywhere, including them, and then it was covered in water! They played in the sink I finished baking and cleaned the counter and flour. Changed them while the cookies cooled and then we were on our way to decorating!
BEST part of the day! The boys had soo much fun decorating and eating cookies!! There was frosting and sprinkles everywhere!!! Dylan took a bite of each cookie he made and Brady licked frosting from everyone he made! Brady had frosting everywhere and kept asking for more cookies! It was fun and messy! Finally we finished that and I sent the boys away so I could clean up the next mess of the day. I fed them some soup and thought ahhh now they can play with Daddy and I can sit for 5 minutes. Nope not the case at all!! The boys rooms were a mess!! And impossible to play in! So Kent was on the phone and the boys wanted to play NOW so I rushed into their rooms and started a clean up game, Both boys wanted to help but not in a good way! Everything I picked up was wanting to be played with.....so I went quickly and picked everything up! After I finished both rooms the boys no longer wanted to play and it was getting late. So I sat with Brady on the couch for a relasing wiggles show, then went to put him to bed. Some books and singing later and he was asleep! By the time I made it back to the living room Dylan had fallen asleep on the couch, so I put him to bed. Went back to the couch ready for a little me time! Kent was watching some Sport Center and it quickly out me to sleep, at 10:30! Next time I woke up it was 3:30 and Kent and I were asleep on the couch! I dragged us to bed and slept away!
The day lacked the me time I thought it was going to have but made uo for it with the fun time I had with the boys! I have also decided that with a 4 year old and a 2 year old it is impossible to have "relaxing" day. So my plans for today do not include relaxing!! Ha ha!! I have also realized that it is extremely hard for me to relax....I am person that needs to be busy! So busy I be! Ha! One day when I am old and my boys are grown I will look back fondly at these memories of being busy!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Halloween Time!
WOW What a month it has been!
I will be honest I am, excited for trick or treating with my little ones......but I am ready for November!
Part of my readiness is that I put out my decorations too early. The last weekend of September and I just couldn't wait any more!! So up went the pumpkins, ghosts and scarecrows! So as we enter the last weekend of October I am ready to stop looking at those same items in my house!!!
We have been to 2 pumpkin patches!! The first was Andersen Farms and it was soooooo fun! They had animals galore! We got to see a 2 week old goat and a couple 2 month old ones. Watch chickens and ducks squawk away. And even got to feed the goats. And that was just the beginning! There was a hale bale maze and a walled in maze, there was also a corn maze but we didn't get there! The boys played for a loooong time on a wooden train with 5 different cars. Dylan road a tricycle through a tire track. And they got to climb a tire mountain! Finally after finishing all this fun stuff we decided it was time to head to that patch! So we waited in line and jumped on the hay wagon when it arrived! The first stop the wagon made was by a group of cows. There were 4 big ones and 2 babies. The babies stayed in the shade but the big ones lumbered over to us and we got to feed them! Dylan did it once and found out that cows have very long and rough tongues! That was all he needed he was done, but did enjoy watching the cows eat. Brady liked to throw the food over the side for the cows. What a fun experience!! Then the wagon took us far away and into the patch. We jumped out and saw sooooo many pumpkins! And so many different kinds. Dark orange ones, bumpy ones, tall, short, fat, huge, red ones, etc! Brady found his pretty quickly then carried it around. I found a slightly smaller one with a long stem and tried to trade him but he told me "NO, This Brady's pumpkin!" So he was done. Soon after Dylan found his and then we were on a hunt for Mommy's!! The boys helped and we found a big tall one for Mom! Then we got back on the wagon and headed for the farm. We had to play on the wooden train one more time and then finally made it to the pay area. Both boys got to pick out 2 little ones then we left! It was a crazy place but soooo much fun! It may be the only patch we go to from now on!
The other patch we went to was with Grandma and Auntie and Uncle! This one was Rock Creek Pumpkin Patch! IT was fun they had fields and fields on pumpkins!! And they have the best mountain backdrop!! We took lots of orange pictures and picked out 2 more pumpkins! We doubled this pumpkin visit with my birthday so we didn't stay and play but instead went out to lunch and then had a great time playing at Grandma's house!!
The following week was filled with getting stuff ready for a Halloween party that I was hosting with Kendra. Along with that was Dylan's school Parade and Halloween party. He was so cute and so excited to show off his Anakin costume and see what all of his friends were. Then he shared his party experience with his brother which was so sweet! They got to decorate their own cookies and eat them! Both boys thought that was a blast! After their food the boys took the pumpkins that they brought and drew faces on them then they hammered a golf tee into the top of them to make holes. They did this all over the top then put dum dum suckers into the hole that they made. The dum dums were the pumpkins hair! It was so cute and the boys loved doing it. Once Brady's suckers were in he continued drawing his face. As he did he worked his way through tasting all of his hair suckers!! So cute!!
The following day we helped Kendra host a super fun Halloween party at her house!! There was mummy juices, Halloween shaped turkey sandwiches, eyeball taco salad, mummy cheese, hot dog worms, Halloween shaped homemade chips, cake pops, cupcakes, and more!! We also had beautiful decorations, a gross out table, pumpkin bowling, glow stick balloons, playdough, a pumpkin pinata filled with goodies, and a donut eyeball making station! It was busy with 15 little ones running around but oh so much fun!! I can't wait until next years!
This brings us to this weekend where so far we have nothing planned!! But knowing us that will soon change!!! We are all looking forward to trick or treating on Monday but first need a little R&R this weekend!!
I will be honest I am, excited for trick or treating with my little ones......but I am ready for November!
Part of my readiness is that I put out my decorations too early. The last weekend of September and I just couldn't wait any more!! So up went the pumpkins, ghosts and scarecrows! So as we enter the last weekend of October I am ready to stop looking at those same items in my house!!!
We have been to 2 pumpkin patches!! The first was Andersen Farms and it was soooooo fun! They had animals galore! We got to see a 2 week old goat and a couple 2 month old ones. Watch chickens and ducks squawk away. And even got to feed the goats. And that was just the beginning! There was a hale bale maze and a walled in maze, there was also a corn maze but we didn't get there! The boys played for a loooong time on a wooden train with 5 different cars. Dylan road a tricycle through a tire track. And they got to climb a tire mountain! Finally after finishing all this fun stuff we decided it was time to head to that patch! So we waited in line and jumped on the hay wagon when it arrived! The first stop the wagon made was by a group of cows. There were 4 big ones and 2 babies. The babies stayed in the shade but the big ones lumbered over to us and we got to feed them! Dylan did it once and found out that cows have very long and rough tongues! That was all he needed he was done, but did enjoy watching the cows eat. Brady liked to throw the food over the side for the cows. What a fun experience!! Then the wagon took us far away and into the patch. We jumped out and saw sooooo many pumpkins! And so many different kinds. Dark orange ones, bumpy ones, tall, short, fat, huge, red ones, etc! Brady found his pretty quickly then carried it around. I found a slightly smaller one with a long stem and tried to trade him but he told me "NO, This Brady's pumpkin!" So he was done. Soon after Dylan found his and then we were on a hunt for Mommy's!! The boys helped and we found a big tall one for Mom! Then we got back on the wagon and headed for the farm. We had to play on the wooden train one more time and then finally made it to the pay area. Both boys got to pick out 2 little ones then we left! It was a crazy place but soooo much fun! It may be the only patch we go to from now on!
The other patch we went to was with Grandma and Auntie and Uncle! This one was Rock Creek Pumpkin Patch! IT was fun they had fields and fields on pumpkins!! And they have the best mountain backdrop!! We took lots of orange pictures and picked out 2 more pumpkins! We doubled this pumpkin visit with my birthday so we didn't stay and play but instead went out to lunch and then had a great time playing at Grandma's house!!
The following week was filled with getting stuff ready for a Halloween party that I was hosting with Kendra. Along with that was Dylan's school Parade and Halloween party. He was so cute and so excited to show off his Anakin costume and see what all of his friends were. Then he shared his party experience with his brother which was so sweet! They got to decorate their own cookies and eat them! Both boys thought that was a blast! After their food the boys took the pumpkins that they brought and drew faces on them then they hammered a golf tee into the top of them to make holes. They did this all over the top then put dum dum suckers into the hole that they made. The dum dums were the pumpkins hair! It was so cute and the boys loved doing it. Once Brady's suckers were in he continued drawing his face. As he did he worked his way through tasting all of his hair suckers!! So cute!!
The following day we helped Kendra host a super fun Halloween party at her house!! There was mummy juices, Halloween shaped turkey sandwiches, eyeball taco salad, mummy cheese, hot dog worms, Halloween shaped homemade chips, cake pops, cupcakes, and more!! We also had beautiful decorations, a gross out table, pumpkin bowling, glow stick balloons, playdough, a pumpkin pinata filled with goodies, and a donut eyeball making station! It was busy with 15 little ones running around but oh so much fun!! I can't wait until next years!
This brings us to this weekend where so far we have nothing planned!! But knowing us that will soon change!!! We are all looking forward to trick or treating on Monday but first need a little R&R this weekend!!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Funeral and a Mini Vacation
This past weekend we went on a road trip to New Mexico. We went out to celebrate the life of my Grandpa Bernie. It was a sad reason to go but it was as fun a trip as we could make it. We caravan out with my Dad and his girlfriend Becky. We left Friday night at 7!! Yikes it was late and after packing all day I was already tired....but we pushed through and made it to Alamosa to stay the night. The boys fell asleep in the car but then had a tough time going back to sleep once we got there. We arrived in Alamosa around 11:15 and Brady finally made it back to sleep about 12:45! Dylan didn't make it back to sleep until after 2AM!!!! Mommy woke up very tired at 7:30 the next morning! But wake up I did. Dylan and I let Daddy and Brady sleep a little more and we went downstairs in search of coffee (A LARGE ONE) and some Orange Juice! We found it, quickly, and a little food too and had a breakfast date just him and I. It is so rare that I get some one on one time with Dylan, that I relished the moment and enjoyed talking and listening to him. Eventually Pa joined us and not long after that Brady joined too. After breakfast we put on our swimsuits and headed to the pool. The boys loved it and enjoyed it even more when Pa joined us and took the boys on shark rides!
At 10 on Saturday morning we headed out of Alamosa and were on our way to Los Alamos, New Mexico! We caravan again and Pa took us on the most scenic route!! It was a little longer to our destination but we were in no hurry and were all enjoying the beautiful changing aspen trees!! Such brilliant oranges, yellows, and reds!! It was so worth the side trip! Kent was also excited about this leg because he got to eat some real New Mexican mexican food. It was delicious and everyone of us enjoyed it!! Even if they didn't want our money!! (No credit, no debit and no out of state checks!!! YIKES! Thank goodness for a Pa that carries cash!) Towards the end of this leg of the trip we got to see an awesome canyon and the house where Pa used to live when he was going to high school in Los Alamos!! It was fun to see these places.
That night for dinner we met my Mom and brother Topher. It was a somewhat awkward dinner but I think ALL parties handled it well. The worst part about the night was that the food and service took FOREVER!!! I mean forever! And then to top it off forgot my mom's dinner! Oh man!! We finally all got our food and ate it and it was delicious so at least one redeeming quality! Then a funny thing happened.....Kent payed for dinner and didn't look too closely at the check just handed over the card and signed his name. Well I took the receipt to look at later...wanted to see if they charged for my mom's dinner that they said they were going to comp, and what did I see but a they had added a gratuity onto the check! *Jaw drops* I couldn't believe it - I mean how dare they after the terrible service they gave us! After thinking on it I realized that including our kids we had 8 people eating dinner and most restaurants add it for parties of 8 or more. So ok....I suppose that is ok. But in realizing this I looked at Kent...."Did you add a tip onto the bill"...."Of course I did." OOPS!!!!!!!!!!! Kent gave them $20 tip and they had added a $20 tip already on there. So we had terrible service and a dinner that lasted 2 hours and Kent gave them a $40 tip!!!! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha - NOT!!! Oh well at least the food was delicious!
Sunday morning we wake up have some breakfast at our bed and breakfast and get ready for the memorial for my Grandpa. It was held up on the Ski mountain and the view was so pretty. We ate some food and listened to some pretty awesome stories and loving memories of my Grandpa. It was a very moving time.....especially when my Dad for up to talk. I almost missed it as I was checking on the boys and Kent who were "hiking" around outside. I headed back in with Brady and saw my mom and Becky across the hall crying....then I heard my Dad talking. And I thought ok Dad is up there, and he is such a good speaker I am sure he is saying such wonderful things. But as I am listening, I hear all of that, as well as him crying. Now I don't know if you all know much about my Dad, But I have been on this earth for almost 29 years and have NEVER seen my Dad cry! I mean NEVER!!! It was all it took and I broke right down too! Brady kept asking me if I had gotten a bonky because I was crying. Such a sweety! My Dad's closing statement was "He may not have been my real father, but he will always be my father!" It was so fitting and so right and just made the tears come out more! It was interesting for me to see the emotion....I had never knew that my Dad and Grandfather were so close. It was a very nice memorial but it is always hard to say goodbye to someone that you love. If I could pass one thing on from my grandfather it would be to live everyday to its fullest and to not let a day go by with at least one I love you!
After the memorial it was time to head home. Phew!! My Dad and Becky were staying a little longer and then going a different way home so we caravan home with my Mom and Topher. We plugged HOME into the GPS and started driving. We made it to Pueblo for dinner with only 2 stops in between. Pretty good. We ate at a Cracker Barrel for dinner, YUM-O my favorite and so fun! Upon hearing where we were going for dinner Dylan says, "I like Crackers!" So cute and so funny and no he did not eat crackers! After dinner the boys got to pick out a toy for being such great boys on the trip. Then back into the car and on the way home! We made it home about 10:30 unloaded the boys into their beds clothes and all!! It was a long short trip and I am glad we made it. It was wonderful for us to be able to celebrate my Grandpa and to be there for my Dad. I hope another extended family vacation is on its way because this one was so fun! Next time a just because I hope!!
At 10 on Saturday morning we headed out of Alamosa and were on our way to Los Alamos, New Mexico! We caravan again and Pa took us on the most scenic route!! It was a little longer to our destination but we were in no hurry and were all enjoying the beautiful changing aspen trees!! Such brilliant oranges, yellows, and reds!! It was so worth the side trip! Kent was also excited about this leg because he got to eat some real New Mexican mexican food. It was delicious and everyone of us enjoyed it!! Even if they didn't want our money!! (No credit, no debit and no out of state checks!!! YIKES! Thank goodness for a Pa that carries cash!) Towards the end of this leg of the trip we got to see an awesome canyon and the house where Pa used to live when he was going to high school in Los Alamos!! It was fun to see these places.
That night for dinner we met my Mom and brother Topher. It was a somewhat awkward dinner but I think ALL parties handled it well. The worst part about the night was that the food and service took FOREVER!!! I mean forever! And then to top it off forgot my mom's dinner! Oh man!! We finally all got our food and ate it and it was delicious so at least one redeeming quality! Then a funny thing happened.....Kent payed for dinner and didn't look too closely at the check just handed over the card and signed his name. Well I took the receipt to look at later...wanted to see if they charged for my mom's dinner that they said they were going to comp, and what did I see but a they had added a gratuity onto the check! *Jaw drops* I couldn't believe it - I mean how dare they after the terrible service they gave us! After thinking on it I realized that including our kids we had 8 people eating dinner and most restaurants add it for parties of 8 or more. So ok....I suppose that is ok. But in realizing this I looked at Kent...."Did you add a tip onto the bill"...."Of course I did." OOPS!!!!!!!!!!! Kent gave them $20 tip and they had added a $20 tip already on there. So we had terrible service and a dinner that lasted 2 hours and Kent gave them a $40 tip!!!! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha - NOT!!! Oh well at least the food was delicious!
Sunday morning we wake up have some breakfast at our bed and breakfast and get ready for the memorial for my Grandpa. It was held up on the Ski mountain and the view was so pretty. We ate some food and listened to some pretty awesome stories and loving memories of my Grandpa. It was a very moving time.....especially when my Dad for up to talk. I almost missed it as I was checking on the boys and Kent who were "hiking" around outside. I headed back in with Brady and saw my mom and Becky across the hall crying....then I heard my Dad talking. And I thought ok Dad is up there, and he is such a good speaker I am sure he is saying such wonderful things. But as I am listening, I hear all of that, as well as him crying. Now I don't know if you all know much about my Dad, But I have been on this earth for almost 29 years and have NEVER seen my Dad cry! I mean NEVER!!! It was all it took and I broke right down too! Brady kept asking me if I had gotten a bonky because I was crying. Such a sweety! My Dad's closing statement was "He may not have been my real father, but he will always be my father!" It was so fitting and so right and just made the tears come out more! It was interesting for me to see the emotion....I had never knew that my Dad and Grandfather were so close. It was a very nice memorial but it is always hard to say goodbye to someone that you love. If I could pass one thing on from my grandfather it would be to live everyday to its fullest and to not let a day go by with at least one I love you!
After the memorial it was time to head home. Phew!! My Dad and Becky were staying a little longer and then going a different way home so we caravan home with my Mom and Topher. We plugged HOME into the GPS and started driving. We made it to Pueblo for dinner with only 2 stops in between. Pretty good. We ate at a Cracker Barrel for dinner, YUM-O my favorite and so fun! Upon hearing where we were going for dinner Dylan says, "I like Crackers!" So cute and so funny and no he did not eat crackers! After dinner the boys got to pick out a toy for being such great boys on the trip. Then back into the car and on the way home! We made it home about 10:30 unloaded the boys into their beds clothes and all!! It was a long short trip and I am glad we made it. It was wonderful for us to be able to celebrate my Grandpa and to be there for my Dad. I hope another extended family vacation is on its way because this one was so fun! Next time a just because I hope!!
My Boys My Life!
So.....a post about my boys......
Dylan - Very smart, handsome, beautiful blue eyes, fun, funny, loving, and fantastic!
Brady - A smart 2 year old, such a cutie, fantastic blue eyes, alays laughing, loves to scream, great smile, and funny.
I am sure there are lots and lots more things I could attribute to them but that will do for now. I love watching them, individually and together and with other people. They adapt well with everyone and everything we do. And for the most part love everything we do!! That makes life so much more easier for me! Whether we are going to school, cleaning the house, at the grocery store or on a fun adventure my boys roll with it all and it amazes me at how well they really are during all of those activities and more! I have been blessed with 2 pretty fantastic boys. Because of how wonderful they are I LOVE taking them wherever I can and showing them the world! Both their brains soak it up and talk about it for days if not weeks ahead!
Such good boys deserve the workd and I intend to give it to them!
Dylan - Very smart, handsome, beautiful blue eyes, fun, funny, loving, and fantastic!
Brady - A smart 2 year old, such a cutie, fantastic blue eyes, alays laughing, loves to scream, great smile, and funny.
I am sure there are lots and lots more things I could attribute to them but that will do for now. I love watching them, individually and together and with other people. They adapt well with everyone and everything we do. And for the most part love everything we do!! That makes life so much more easier for me! Whether we are going to school, cleaning the house, at the grocery store or on a fun adventure my boys roll with it all and it amazes me at how well they really are during all of those activities and more! I have been blessed with 2 pretty fantastic boys. Because of how wonderful they are I LOVE taking them wherever I can and showing them the world! Both their brains soak it up and talk about it for days if not weeks ahead!
Such good boys deserve the workd and I intend to give it to them!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Time is fleeting
As September hits I am reminded of all that I have and what a fun and glorious year it has been. I love having 2 boys that are starting to get along like brothers should! They are really starting to play together and it is so much fun to watch!! I love watching them when they don't know that I am and how wonderfully they can get along with each othe and how much fun they have with each other!!
In a few days Dylan will be off to school for his second and last year of preschool. He is excited and I am as well. I love watching him grow and learn and be excited about learning more! His mind is a sponge and I love watching it grow! I can not wait to see what this new school year brings him!
I am also excited to spend some time with Brady and watch him grow into himself as he goes from 2 to 3! I can only hope to encourage and inspire his learning and wild imagination and crazy energy! When fall comes I like to reflect on the times and fun that we have had and learn from them to encourage them to continue.
Time is running and I do everything in my power to slow it down occasionally and live in it! But at the same time I am always looking forward to tomorrow and what is may bring to my family and my boys!! Come on fall I am ready!!
In a few days Dylan will be off to school for his second and last year of preschool. He is excited and I am as well. I love watching him grow and learn and be excited about learning more! His mind is a sponge and I love watching it grow! I can not wait to see what this new school year brings him!
I am also excited to spend some time with Brady and watch him grow into himself as he goes from 2 to 3! I can only hope to encourage and inspire his learning and wild imagination and crazy energy! When fall comes I like to reflect on the times and fun that we have had and learn from them to encourage them to continue.
Time is running and I do everything in my power to slow it down occasionally and live in it! But at the same time I am always looking forward to tomorrow and what is may bring to my family and my boys!! Come on fall I am ready!!
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