Category: Living the Life

A Much Needed Vacation

Published by dee on June 23, 2009

So I know it’s been like two weeks since I updated this thing, but I have good reasons. I was on VACATION! A glorious, relaxing, no-internet kind of vacation. We drove down to Texas to attend Hubby’s cousin’s wedding (with no A/C in the car!) which was fabulous. Then spent the next week just chilling out at a cabin on Lake O’ The Pines with the in-laws. We had so much fun. Evie loved playing with her cousin Mikayla. Zach got to go fishing for the first time with Papa. We all went swimming in the warm lake water, rode around on a pontoon boat, relaxed, and just enjoyed each other’s company. It was just what we needed.

I took about a bazillion photos (ok, more like 500) which you can see the best of on Flickr, but here are a few of my favorites:

Jason & Chelsea saying their “I Do’s”

Evie & Daddy

Hubby with his Dad and Brother

Zach Fishing

Evie begging for “up”

My beautiful niece Mikayla

Zach on the boat

This week we’re adjusting back to our “normal” schedules, catching up on tons of laundry, and preparing for another quick trip out of town and a big birthday party this weekend. I’m hoping things will slow down soon so I can get back to regular posting here. However, it appears that while we were gone my baby girl turned 15-months-old and somehow my other baby is turning 4 years(!) old on Friday, so you can expect some mushy Mama stuff the rest of the week!

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Another Fun-Filled Weekend

Published by dee on June 1, 2009

We had another busy, busy, weekend. You would think that maybe I could just stop scheduling SO MUCH all the time, but I want to cram in all the fun stuff when we can I guess.

We started out the weekend with a date night for Hubby and I. We had dinner out then got to see Sugarland in Concert which was just awesome. Seeing them live made me love them even more than I already did.

Saturday morning we go up and took the kids to see Up which was a fantastic movie. I missed a little at the end because Evie was getting restless, but I’m sure we’ll be buying it and watching it many more times. After that we had lunch, did a little shopping, then headed back to the house. Evie got a nap, Zach and Daddy watched Kung Fu Panda while I got in a little quality time with my sewing machine. Then after dinner we watched Bedtime Stories which is sure to become another favorite.

Sunday we spent the day at my mom’s helping her set up her pool in the back yard for the kids to swim in. They were so anxious we let them get in before it was filled and they had a blast playing in the cold water. Evie had her first true pool experience. It took her a while to brave the water but after watching the other kids having so much fun she finally decided to join them.

We had a great day hanging out with my mom, sister, brother, and their families. The kids were ready to crash when we finally got home. If it hadn’t been for the laundry I had to stay up for I think I would have gone straight to bed too!

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Summer Goes Too Fast

Published by dee on May 27, 2009

What? You say it’s been a week already since I posted last? Nonsense. Oh, wait. It has. Let’s just say I’ve been a little busy. It’s not even officially summer yet and I already feel like it’s almost gone. We’re hitting that fun time of year when Hubby’s work suddenly picks up and he works late nearly every night. This leaves me to try to cook dinner by myself for two little screaming banshees who are starving when I pick them up from day care. Then they must have baths because they are filthy from playing outside in the dirt. Then they want to watch TV, read books, wrestle, hold me, play games, have a snack, and all kinds of other requests, cleverly delaying bed time because it isn’t dark yet! Therefore, bed time gets pushed back nearly every night almost an hour past when it should be which means that I lose my precious me time and by the time I do get there my brain is fried. Oh, and on top of that Evie is cutting her molars (3 in one week!) and has been more cranky and clingy than usual too.

(They’ve been very lovey with each other lately)

I have all these post ideas in my head, but I just can’t seem to find the time or the mental energy to get them out. I owe Miss Evie a 14 month letter, which I have started and can’t seem to finish. I have several one line drafts that haven’t progressed at all. Plus, I started thinking about the fact that Zachary will be 4 years old next month and I am sitting around wondering how in the heck that happened? He was just a baby, like last week right? And holy cow, I have another birthday party to plan and haven’t even started!

Regardless of how stressed out I am, we did manage to cram in some fun over Memorial Day weekend (which is the real point of this post). Thanks to Jenny over at Savvy Source, we got some free tickets to Jiggle Jam. We took the kids on Saturday, which just happened to be probably the hottest day of the year so far. Besides the fact that we spent the entire day melting in the sun, we had a lot of fun. Evie loved the music and Zach enjoyed playing in the bounce houses and fountains. We met up with Cagey and her two adorable kiddos for a while, which I really enjoyed. It was great to see them outside of the computer screen for a change! The kids’ babysitter, her sister, and nephews were there as well and we enjoyed visiting with them too.

Evie likes bellies. Anjali is not amused!

On Sunday, we headed up north to visit my dad and his wife at her parents’ home. They were staying there for the weekend and invited us up for a BBQ. My brother and sister and their families were there as well and we had a great time playing with the kids and just enjoying each other’s company.

Monday we stayed home and celebrated Memorial Day by cleaning the house. Exciting, huh? It had to be done, so it was nice that we had an extra day to fit it in.

Oh, and I should also mention that I read an entire book over the weekend. I only mention it because this is not something I normally do. It usually takes me about a month to find the time to read an entire book. This one, however, I just could not put down. Now I can’t wait to get my hands on the follow-up. I’ve been doing a lot more reading lately and I’m really enjoying it. I guess it’s the one good thing that comes from Hubby staying up late at night playing WoW.

And a few more pics for good measure…

My adorable niece, Caitlin

The girls messing up the T-ball game

A cute picture turned into an awesome picture thanks to the editing skillz of my friend Jen

P.S. If you’ve made it this far, then please go check out my latest review and giveaway! It’s a perfect gift for the little girl in your life! (Yes, family members can enter too!)

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Best. Day. Ever.

Published by dee on May 17, 2009

Yesterday I took a personal day off of work. The kids’ sitter took a vacation day so instead of stressing out trying to find someone to take her place, I just decided to ask for the day off and spend it with the kids. I wanted to do something fun, just me and them.

We slept in, had a nice slow morning, then headed off to Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead a little after 10:00. I went back and forth trying to decide what to do but finally decided on that because, well, it’s free. I figured Evie would love the animals (she’s really into our dogs and cats right now) and Zach would love the playground. I was a little nervous because I only took the single stroller, but Zach said he wanted to walk.

We had a great time walking around checking out all the animals. Zach was a little bummed that I didn’t have change to buy food to feed the goats (though we remedied that later), but instantly cheered up when he remembered the barn with the slides. I loved being able to let him play and not having to rush. While he went down the slides over and over again, Evie wandered around checking out the geese, ducks, and rabbits. She’s really starting to love being outside and it was fun watching her explore.

After that, we walked a bit more and decided to stop for some lunch. The kids played at a toddler sized playground for a bit, then we did some more walking, checked out even more animals, until finally we stopped at the BIG playground and let the kids play until they were completely worn out and it was looking like we were going to get rained on.

Just before we left, Zach yelled out, “This is the BEST. DAY. EVER!!!” I couldn’t have agreed with him more. The weather was perfect. The kids were extremely well behaved. We all had a really great time together. It was relaxing and exhausting all at the same time. It was perfect.

And, to top it all off, we stopped at Target on the way home for a few things and just happened to find a toy that Zach had been promised over a month ago (that we hadn’t been able to find in stock anywhere). He was over the moon excited.

I just wish we could have days like that every day.

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A Long Week

Published by dee on April 23, 2009

Last Tuesday, April 14, 2009, we got the call that Hubby’s grandfather had passed away. It didn’t really come as a surprise as his health had been failing for quite a while. While death is never a happy occasion, I have to say that I’m very glad that he is no longer suffering and has moved on to a better place.

I didn’t know Papop very well, but I’ll never forget the way he welcomed me with open arms when we were first introduced. He always made me feel welcome and loved both in his home and his family. Papop could build anything. He nearly doubled the size of his house with all the additions he made. He was well known in the community and even added an office onto his home (with an outdoor entrance) for his Notary services. He was also a very proud Veteran who served his country.

With heavy hearts Hubby and I loaded up the car on Wednesday for the long drive to Louisiana. The trip took a little longer than expected, but after a few hiccups, we arrived in Kaplan Thursday afternoon just in time to change clothes and head to the funeral home for visitation.

The funeral service was Friday, complete with a military salute. It was a nice service, although I missed quite a bit of it because I had to take Evie out when she started getting noisy. Tears were shed and love was shared.

The most difficult part for me was trying to explain to Zach what was going on. While he seemed to understand, he kept asking me when Papop would “get his life back”. The concept of forever is apparently still hard for him to grasp. I’m guessing it will take a while for it all to sink in.

Hubby and I decided to stay through the weekend and spend some time with the family that we rarely get to see. This was indeed the best part of the trip. We really enjoyed getting to visit with everyone and especially enjoyed getting to meet our 3-month-old niece, Maggie. Zach and Evie got to play with all of their cousins on that side of the family and they thoroughly enjoyed it.

The downside of the trip was that we discovered we were in dire need for new tires and ended up having to purchase them while we were there. We had to buy two and will have to replace the other two (along with fixing the air conditioner) before our next trip planned in June.

All in all the trip was bittersweet. We loved getting to spend time with our family, but sad that another member of it was gone.

We got home Monday night at midnight, unloaded the car and went straight to bed. There is so much to catch up on after being gone for nearly a week. I have yet to even unpack our bags. My house is a disaster. I’m behind at work. I still haven’t caught up on sleep. Oh, and Evie is suddenly super clingy which doesn’t help with the whole catching up thing.

One thing I have been reminded of this week though, is to be thankful for everything I have. I have a wonderful husband, two amazing kids, family that is always willing to help out when I need it, and loving in-laws that I wouldn’t trade for the world. In the big scheme of things, that’s all a person really needs.

p.s. I’m way behind on posting over there, but have a great giveaway going on over on my reviews page!

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I Can't Hug Them Tight Enough

Published by dee on April 13, 2009

Tonight my heart is broken. It is broken for Maddie and for Thalon. It is broken for their parents, siblings, families, friends, and everyone who knew and loved these two amazing kids. This just isn’t supposed to happen.

I cried when I read about Maddie on Twitter. It’s a nightmare, my nightmare, the worst thing I can ever imagine. No one should ever lose a child. It’s more pain than anyone should ever have to bear.

I know these things happen every day, but it isn’t every day that I read about it. It isn’t every day that I read a first-hand account of the worst thing that I can possibly imagine. That’s the amazing thing about the blogging community. Somehow it makes it all more real. I guess that’s why it hurt even more to read about Thalon today. The tears started rolling and I had an uncontrollable urge to hug my daughter tight. She’s only a few months younger than Maddie and a little less than a year older than Thalon. The reality that I could wake up someday and not have her here was just too much.

I see reports of children dying on the news, either because they are sick or some horrible tragedy happens and even though it saddens me, it has never quite hit home like the tragedies that happened this week. It hurts so bad. It makes me question so many things – like why my life is so good and why my children are so perfectly healthy. It makes me question why I take these things for granted so often.

Tonight I’m hugging my kids extra tight, kissing them, and making sure they know just how much I love them and just how grateful I am to have them in my life. If ever tomorrow doesn’t come – for me or for them – I want to make sure they know that they are my world and I would never be the same without them.

My heart is forever changed. It may not be completely broken, but it will never be the same again. It hurts for every parent who has ever lost a child…and I know there are many. They are all in my thoughts and prayers tonight.

The online community has truly amazed me over the last few days. You can’t go on Twitter without seeing the hashtags for #maddie and #thalon. These babies, these families are so loved. So many have donated to March of Dimes, donated to help cover medical and funeral expenses, donated their time and energy to help in whatever way they can. Even though I sit over here in my own little corner of the web most days, I’m proud to be part of a community that cares so much about each other. It gives me a little hope in a world filled with sadness.

There is nothing that can take away the grief that these families are surely feeling, but if you want to help relieve some of the financial burdens that these families are facing, please follow the links below and donate what you can.

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