Turning 30 is not so bad…

My 30th birthday was truly my best birthday yet!  We spent it playing on the beach, going to Schlitterbahn, camping, and eating at my favorite breakfast place Mosquito cafe.  Josh made my traditional birthday pie (chocolate pecan).  Noah was completely confused by the lack of cake:) but I was completely thrilled with my pie!  I got all kinds of fun presents and enjoyed playing on the beach more than anything!  I have TONS of photos, something like 400, but here are some of my favorites from the weekend.  I am so in love with our boys.  I fall deeper in love with them every day.  Even the days they are crazy couch jumpers!  Being their Mama is really the best birthday gift!!!

     

First Week of MDO....

Our boys have grown up so much! This week marked a big event in our house. BOTH our boys started MDO. Noah was so excited to be back with all of his friends. The summer program was only one day a week and many of his little friends were not there. Andy was starting for the very first time! I was so excited and nervous for him. It would be the longest we would be apart while he was with non-family members.

The week started off with a Meet the Teachers Open House on Monday night. We were all SO excited to find out that Noah would have Ms. Cindy again, his teacher from last year! He just adores her, so that was really fun news. All the teachers are great up there, but for some reason Noah has this huge attachment to Ms. Cindy:) We then met Andy's sweet teacher, Ms. Amanda. She is a cute young girl, who is very good with the little ones. We dropped off our supplies and went on for an ice cream treat at Maggie Moo's. Noah was so funny, he said "Ice Cream School is fun!" Noah picked half strawberry, half chocolate with rainbow sprinkles and we got Andy half vanilla, half chocolate with rainbow sprinkles. They kept trading ... it was pretty funny!

Tuesday morning was fun, packing up their backpacks and talking about school. I of course HAD to get pictures of them dressed for school., just like I did with Noah last year. Andy was SO excited about his Buzz packpack and lunchbox.

Drop-off for Noah was a breeze. He took off running to his classroom and barely looked back. Andy on the other hand was a bit more timid. He was playing with toys and fine when I left. I then ran errands, came home and made a big mistake...I started sorting through Andy's baby clothes to return the borrowed items. NEVER ever look through your childs baby clothes the first day they are at "school" without you! YIKES. I was a mess missing him. BUT, the amount I got done in that 3 1/2 hours was amazing. The boys eat lunch at school, then I pick them up right after lunchtime. Andy was so excited and did not cry, which I feared he would do! They said he spent most of his day knocking on the door though, which made me sad. They said the only time he participated was during a dance party - silly boy.

Today was their second day going and it was great! Andy fussed for a minute when I went to drop him off, but I stood around the corner and listened and he was quiet within 30 seconds, so that was good. When I went to pick them up Noah's teacher said he had a great day, because of his best buddies from last year came! Andy's teacher said he was such a helper eating his lunch unassisted, played with the other kiddos, only cried when everyone in the class was crying at once, and would not let go of her hand walking to the playground! I am so proud of my big boys! I got a lot done around the house today too, including playing with the sweetest four month old around that I watch:)

All in all, an okay week for my boys:)

Still exist...

Howdy! I promise I still exist! I have been so unbelievably busy and overwhelmed lately, but will get caught up in posts before long. We got so many cute pictures in the last couple of months, hopefully I can make some time soon to process them all!

In the last month we have had a couple of camping trips, I started watching the sweetest little baby boy, Josh's Granny got VERY sick with a staph infection in her blood, my Mom had a heart attack and ended up in the hospital for over a week total, my folks house had an A/C leak which made the ceiling in my old bedroom collapse and the same in the dining room below, the boys and I got sick twice with nasty sinus stuff and Noah dislocated his elbow (nursemaids elbow). It has been one crazy month. Josh's Granny is still fighting and has some good days and some real bad. I spent time helping my folks box up some of their things in preparation for getting their house repaired, which was inbetween my Mom's hospital stays. My Mom had two cath procedures, one which resulted in a stent being placed in her main artery which was 80% blocked. She is doing a lot better. The boys and I are still fighting the latest round of sinus and tummy junk and Noah's arm is thankfully fine. What a crazy time. I have seen blessings in all this, but have found myself overwhelmed.

The blessings....So many sweet family and friends really stepped up and showed their true sweet nature in all of this. From emotional to physical support, I know we needed each of them to lean on. Josh and his Mom got to go visit his grandparents. He so enjoyed that time with them and I know how different a visit can be with or without the kids. I am so glad he got to go without them, it makes for a much more focused visit, which I know he needed. My Mom is okay, which is amazing. I was so worried and she has many follow up appointments, but for now, all is okay. And on a personal note, I tend to be an emotional eater. This past month I was determined not to use that as an excuse and joined Weight Watchers. Not only did I not emotionally eat, I lost 7 pounds so far in my first three weeks on WW. After Noah was born I did it and lost 40 pounds...then I found out I was pregnant with Andy. I am so glad to be headed back towards my old and more comfortable size.

Well, hopefully pictures to come soon! I have a lot of catching up to do!

OH NO, the BIG 30

I think I might panic. I did not think turning 30 was going to phase me, but I guess just the thought has me a bit freaked out! Granted, Noah and I are sick, therefore have spent the WHOLE day on the couch reading and watching movies. While choosing to get lost in my thoughts rather than watch Bambi, this all went through my head.... I am starting to wish I had just watched Bambi.

Why I am freaked out about turning 30....
-it is an unknown. I like the known, not the unknown. I know 20's, 30's not so much. They are just SO close to 40's...then ya know...
-where am I going to live out my 30's? 20's I kind of knew...or at least I thought I did....30's no idea where this will take us.
-this next decade feels like it is filled with more decisions than I could ever imagine. Like....what schools will give our kids the best education, what activities should they be or not be involved in, are we happy with two kids, or not?, are we going to buy and restore an old house like we dream or literally build one ourselves (and I mean OUR selves, with just some hired out contractors) ....and the list goes on...

Why I am excited about turning 30....
-I guess it is just another number, but it is another reason to eat cake!
-I get to do so with an amazing family
-Even though the idea of death seriously scares the pants off of me, it means I am that much closer to hopefully being in God's kingdom

Things I hoped to accomplish by 30 and now hope to accomplish by 31...
-run a 5k
-get back in shape, and not a round shape, a fit shape!
-order and organize all our kids photographs
-get an etsy shop set up to sell my picture frames - make said picture frames!
-enter craft sales in the area to sell frames
-read more. I love reading, it is one of my true passions, but since having kids I have not taken the time
-learn to enjoy the gym. Not just for the uninterrupted shower time while the kids are in childcare, but enjoy actually moving around and doing something good for myself.

Things I did that were on my by 30 list...
-learn how to use photoshop elements (I still have a lot to learn, but I have come a long way!)
-have all our children (I am not sure if this is accomplished or not, we are pretty happy with two, but our not opposed to the idea of another, but for some strange reason I always wanted to be done by 30...no idea now why)
-attended Financial Peace University and got something out of it!
-go at least once a year to a bed and breakfast with my husband
-go on one big trip with my husband
-start going on individual "dates" with my two littlest loves

Well...just one month and four days to go until the big 3-0! I cannot wait to celebrate! :)

Happy Birthday, blog!

Today is my blogs second birthday!!! 

I have had so much fun over the past two years documenting our little boys and their craziness:)  I cherish my two readers and the few comments I get, thank you guys for keeping updated on our sometimes fun, sometimes hectic and sometimes boring lives!!!!  Have a super Happy and safe Fourth of July!!!!

Heard in our Car....

We are all sitting in the truck, driving down the road, headed towards home.
Noah: "Daddy, are you going to come to MY house?"
Josh: "Well, yes sweetie, I am. I live at your house too. Your house is also MY house."
Noah: "Oh Daddy, that is just silly, you live at Ralf Co*."

......

SO. Who else thinks this means Josh has been working WAY too many hours if your son now thinks you live at work and visit home. So sad. Josh and I were laughing so hard we were practically crying and Noah was so confused because he did not understand what was funny. Ooops. :)

*Changed company name for privacy reasons:)

Practice Makes Perfect

Noah has been playing pretend a lot lately….he came to me the other day with his little doggie and wanted a blanket wrapped around him (swaddling blanket) and a bottle.  At first he was calling the baby our friends little boys name and saying “I love you” and then it became “I am the Daddy, I need to take care of my baby!”  It was so cute.  He fed his baby.  He rocked his baby, he read him stories, he shook baby toys in front of him, he let him rest while ‘Daddy’ ate dinner, even checked on him in the middle of dinner, and told Allie to shush the baby was sleeping.  It was absolutely the sweetest thing to watch what he has learned from us!  THEN – Andy came wagging a blanket and blue bear at me!  I wrapped it up, Noah sweetly handed over the bottle and Andy fed his baby too!  It was so cute to see our little boys playing with their babies.  Some day I think they will be just as good with their little babies as their Daddy is with them! :)