Flights, Head Injuries, Babies and Mexican Food

If I could sum up my trip so far, these are what the highlights and low points would be. It has been a total whirlwind since I stepped foot out of my car in Nashville.

The Flight: The first flight was four hours straight, with my energetic 5 year old, it was all about distraction, snacks, story making, drawing, and teaching the importance of why not to lower his tray table with his feet. It went well and we had a good time over all.

The Head Injury: Not as bad as it sounds, but hurt terribly. I jumped out of the car to close my son's door, then jumped back in, with full body weight and slammed my head into the side of the car. (If you chuckled then, don't feel bad, so did my husband) I immediately felt like I was going to throw up, and couldn't focus my eyes for most of the car ride. I still have a dull headache, but have been taking medicine.

Babies: I spent most of the day today cuddling my friends new born baby girl, while she rested and cleaned up. It made me miss my baby boys so bad. I am already ready to be back home with them.

Mexican food: California Mexican food is the best. I don't care what anyone else says, it is sooo good. Tonight I had green enchiladas with shrimp, and I'm pretty sure it was the best thing I've had in awhile.
We finished our night with a quick round of miniature golf, and my boy cashed out in the back seat on the way back.
I'm off again first thing in the morning, and hoping to get all done and see everyone while I am here!

Here we go..

My oldest son and I are heading to CA today. My husband is staying home with my two year old and one year old. It's hard to leave my little ones, but I have full confidence in my husband, and I realize that it's not for that long of time. Stay tuned on his blog, as he will account his stay- at- home daddy adventures! I hope to bond with my oldest son, as we travel together and get to spend some time just the two of us.

Busy busy busy

~I can't ever believe how busy this time of year is. Last year I thought way ahead, probably because I was having a baby and wanted to be prepared. Last year I had all my Christmas shopping done, my Christmas cards ready, and the house ready to welcome a newborn....all by the first of November. That was last year.

~This year I have some christmas shopping done, I have no idea what I'm doing for Christmas cards, and I have trips and projects scheduled and laundry piling around me. It's a great time of year, I love these holiday seasons, I even love being busy. I can just plainly see the difference between these two years, and for me I can honestly say that it is worth it to think ahead, and have things done and ready ahead of time so that every day isn't consumed with a crazy schedule!

~Are you a plan ahead type of person, or a wait until the last minute type of person? OR do you filp flop between the two like me?

His Birthday Cake

He finally had his first birthday cake, and he loved it, as you can see.

Thanksgiving update

~We spent the weekend with our friends that we had not seen, in too long. Our boys were instant friends, and seemed to have a great time playing. They had matching shoes, which my 2 year old absolutely loved, and wanted to sit next to his "friend with the same shoes."
On Thanksgiving day, my baby woke up feeling very hot, and was not his usual happy self. I stayed in the hotel room while he slept nearly the whole day, while everyone else went out to a movie and hot coco. I was a little bored, there aren't many times you can clean up a hotel room, so I chatted with the housekeeping lady in the hallway, and watched the Thanksgiving day parade.
We went to Cracker Barrel that night for dinner, and ate dinner amongst a few couples, who kept staring at our table of 10 comprised mostly of boys. My friend and I spent the rest of the evening catching up, and hanging out with the little ones, while the big boys went on a walk through the christmas light lit up park outside our hotel.


The next day we got up and headed out to the Aquarium, which I had no idea would be so popular the day after
Thanksgiving. It seemed as if everyone in that city had the same idea as us, as we filtered through many lines and many people the whole time. Nonetheless, it was a very fun time, and a very cool aquarium.
~It was a great trip, and one that ended too quickly. There is something refreshing about being around old friends, picking back up, where we left off, yet grown and changed all the same. They are a really sweet couple, that love each other deeply, and stand beside each other. Their children are beautiful and so sweet. They are some of those friends that you completely love the priviledge of knowing them.

UnTraditional is our Tradition

~My husband and I have been married for 7 years, and every year our Thanksgiving has been different, and gotten more unique as the years have gone by.
We've had the traditional Thanksgiving dinners with family, which is a very enjoyable experience. We've gone to a resort where our friend was cooking a wonderful feast. We've eaten in a restaurant after picking up family from the airport, and we've shared Thanksgiving dessert with friends, after a quiet meal together.
This year, to continue our traditon of having an un traditional Thanksgiving, we are heading to Atlanta, GA to meet up with friends of ours who just moved to Florida. They have 3 boys as well, around the same ages as our boys, so there will be a lot of fun had by all. We are staying in the same hotel, and going to go to the fun, kid friendly attractions around the town. It will be a good time, and fun to see where we end up eating our Thanksgiving feast!

~So, what are your thanksgiving plans?

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

My weekend

~I had an amazing weekend with my husband. I had a hard time leaving my kids, my oldest son really did not want me to go. He had said he'd rather be with me than go to Toys r us, have ice cream, or sleep in the tent we had set up. That felt good to know how much he loves me, but made it a lot harder to leave.
It was a long drive to Atlanta, but I was entertained by the many phone calls from my best friend back home in CA who was in labor with her baby girl. It was hard not to be there with her, as I was with her first daughter, but was glad to stay updated throughout. My faithful, borrowed, GPS system, (whom I named Janice) kept me on track, and got me there without getting lost.
My husband had only good things to say about each of the people he'd worked with, and I quickly saw what he had meant. The atmosphere was extremely friendly and all the people were wonderful.
The show started with The Myriad who set a really good vibe, and were very entertaining to watch. Phil Whickam was up next, and he captured the audience with his powerful voice, and beautiful songs. David Crowder Band was headlining, and they put on a very entertaining, fun, worshipful, amazing show! They also did so much for the communities they were passing through, which I have talked more about on the Inspired To Action site.
We slept in until 11 am the next day, which for me is huge, since I am normally awake by 6 every morning. I felt out of it all the next day. We had a long drive home to talk, laugh, and catch up.
I found my boys completely well taken care of, and happy to see us. It was a good weekend all around. I am glad my husband does what he does, and enjoys it, I am glad that there are fun privileges I get to experience because of it, and I am glad that when he's home, he's home for a concentrated amount of time.

Check it out!

~Check out the Inspired to Action site this week, for ideas, and inspirations to make the holidays count this year! There are some great articles ranging from ideas to give to your community, to gifts that make a difference.
~Please check back daily for new posts from a wide variety of authors, and leave a comment to get involved in discussions!

Off to retreive my husband...

I'm off tomorrow, to go and pick up my husband from the last day of the tour! I'll get to spend some time alone in the car, just listening to music, (not veggie tales). Then I get to see the show with him, and go on a date afterwards. This will be the first night that we've had away sans children since before my 5 year old was born! I am grateful to family and friends for being willing to watch my kids for a couple days. I thought it would be pretty hard to leave all my kids overnight, but honestly, after having a couple months with my husband away, and shouldering all the responsibiblity I am really looking forward to being able to walk into a building without shepherding kids, and sleeping in as long as I want to. One night will be enough, usually a couple hours is enough of a break for me, before I start really missing them. We are thrilled to be getting our husband and daddy back home for awhile, it's been a long time! The boys want to wrestle with him, and do things that only daddies are really good at.
~To see what he's been up to, check out his amazing photos!
Have a good weekend everyone!

Happy 1st Birthday!

~My sweet baby Cooper turned one year old today! He had a good day playing at a science exploration place, eating his first pancake and saying, "uh oh" for the first time when he threw it on the floor.
Cooper is the most perfect surprise. He's added so much to our family, and he brings us so much joy. With all of our kids, Brody and I end up calling them by different and sometimes strange nick names. With Cooper, there's the obvious "Coop," or we call him "CT", we call him "Trey" and "Coop- pe- doop." The nick name that describes him best to me, is "My sunshine boy."

Tiny Talk Tuesday

All Aiden.
~He has been calling me "sir," lately. "Thank you sir, here you go sir..."
~We rented "Handy Manny," and he calls it "Hanny Nanny."
~While playing hide and seek, I overheard him counting, "one, two, three, cuatro, fourteen, twenty, five..."
~After I took his temperature, I said, "well It looks like you have a fever," and he says, "can't want a fever."

All Blue:
~He's been playing mountain climbing, putting on a backpack and climbing up the stairs. Yesterday we were headed out the door, and he didn't have shoes on. "You need to go get your shoes on," I said, and he replied, " I can't hike the mountain again, that takes days!"
~ We were in a store, and I couldn't find him all of a sudden, (not so funny) I wandered around, and found him taking his blood pressure at the pharmacy. I told him, "don't ever wander off by yourself, it's dangerous." He told me, "It's not dangerous, it's healthy, I was taking my pressure."

~For more Tiny Talk Tuesday, visit mary@notbefore7

Quick and Easy potatoes

~This was a yummy dinner that was quick, along with a salad, it was plenty for me and the kids!

Broccoli Cheese Soup Potatoes

~Baked Potatoes, or microwaved
~Can of cream of broccoli cheese soup
~1/2 cup of milk
~green onions, or diced onions

*Heat soup and milk over stove, stir. Pour over baked potato top with onions!

This is...

... what happened when I thought my son was sleeping.... and he wasn't....... and he found a pen.

Just Thoughts

"I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them."
Pablo Picasso

I have been thinking lately how paintings are like windows in which you can see how others view the world, not necessarily how they see it with their eyes. Which led me to realize, how different perspectives can be on a same situation. How a circumstance can hold so many different sides to it. We feel different things, we view it from different angles and perspectives. That same event can look so many different ways to so many different people. People can assume the worst in others or they can assume the best. Our assumptions bleed into our perspective and then how we treat those people, things and situations. People see and do things differently, and knowing them, gives us a privilege to see things from their perspective, putting ourselves in "their shoes," allows us to treat each other better.

Just a thought.

This is pretty funny

Tiny Talk Tuesday

A storm hit my house last night, and the house shook and the fire alarm went off. I called my neighbor asking if my house looked on fire, or if we'd been struck by lighting. We are pretty sure it got pretty close to both our houses, because when it hit her house, her coffee grinder started on it's own!
My two year old, who is very afraid of thunder, looked at me after the loud boom and fire alarm, and said through tears, "See, I told ya I was scared." While my baby stayed sound asleep through all the comotion. I think lots of noise actually comforts him, since the level of noise in my house is usually pretty loud!

Things said throughout the week:

~My 5 year old said, while wrestling with a group of boys, "Every man against himself!"
~2 year old to 5 year old, "You can't do that, it's the law."

*For more tiny talk tuesday, visit Mary@notbefore7

I'm a little jumpy

~It all started when I was sitting in church this evening with my friends, when a mouse scurried across the floor and ran under the door into the cafeteria! I slipped my feet up onto the rung of my chair, and scooted out of that room quickly at the end of the service.
After getting home, and tucking my kids into bed, I noticed that my bedroom door was shut, and I don't ever shut that door. With my heart pounding, and calling my dog up next to me, I opened the door only a few inches until it stopped and wouldn't open any more, without pushing with more effort. I freaked, and ran down the hall. When I finally convinced myself that no one could possibly be in there, not with my big scary dog in the house, I went and tried again, pushing harder. There were two big pillows behind the door, that must have fallen from the top of the laundry hamper where I'd set them.

Later, while sitting on my computer tonight, I heard what I thought was an owl, and as I investigated the rhythmic "hoo hoo," sound, I actually thought, that one might be inside my house. I followed the sound, to my baby's door, where he was simply cooing in his sleep. (it seriously sounded like an owl, not a baby...)
I guess my imagination must still be very active, if I can think these simple things are such big deals, but at least I always have a good laugh at myself at the end of the day.

God is Good

~I received an update on one of the women with cancer, who had been told that she'd only had a few months left. Now after a recent trip to the doctor, they could only find cancer in one part of her body, and told her she'd have a year! I believe that God is working, giving her more time, or even working on healing her completely. Now she will be able to spend the holidays with her family, and her spirits are lifted.