I had the best day with you today....

Sometimes being a parent is so so so so so so hard. Okay, most of the time. But sometimes........we decide to just say yes to everything. And then being a parent is so so so so SO FUN!

We've had a tough time with Tommy lately. He was having to do albuterol treatments 3 times a day for about 2 weeks because of an asthma/upper respiratory flare up. And albuterol does terrible things to our son. It makes him mean and grumpy and hyper and cuh-razy. He finally got better and we stopped giving it about one week ago. It seems like the side effects are FINALLY starting to wear off (thank you, Lord!) and he's been a little calmer. However.....Sunday night and Monday morning were a little rough on mommy's nerves. I was starting to feel like all I was doing was disciplining him every second that we were together. And while I know he needs it, it's not fun. And it makes me sad.

So Monday night rolled around and I picked them up from Brooke's. We stopped and got Gambino's for dinner (because, why not?). Then we headed home to wait for dad to get home from work. After he was home and we all ate dinner, Tommy was begging to play my "kintar" (guitar). It's a really nice Fender that my in-laws got me that I haven't made near enough use of and every time he asks, I say no. And every time I say no, I can see the light in his eyes dim a little. So last night when I said yes, he stopped in his tracks and said, "Really?!?" Like I'd just given him the best gift ever. He went and got the guitar and we all sat on the couch and took turns pretending like we knew what we were doing.

After we were done with the guitar, it was still light and and the weather was super nice. Nick asked the kids if they wanted to play outside and they screamed, "YEEEESS!!!!" Then they asked to go on four wheeler rides. And he said yes. And they were thrilled. And begged me to join them. And every bone in my body wanted to relax on the couch, but I said yes (are you seeing a theme here? Lots of yeses). So we went outside and I got on the four wheeler, Tommy got on his and Nick and Tessa got in the go-cart. And we went on a little family excursion!

He was riding in front of me the whole time and my heart was seriously bursting with how dang cute he is on that tiny four wheeler.

Nick and Tessa were quite a ways ahead of us because they have to go fast or the go-cart stops going :) So by the time we got back to the house, we found this.......

 They had some fun in the 9 million mud puddles in our yard and on the road! Tessa was LOVING it. She's all about nail polish and perfume most of the time, but that girl loves getting dirty.

Tommy got jealous and wanted to switch out, so he got in the go-cart with Nick and Tessa rode my four wheeler with me. We rode quite awhile that way and on the way back, Nick found every puddle he could and let Tommy in on the fun too.

Who's really the kid here?? I haven't seen Nick smile that big in awhile. They had so much fun! 

Once they were done mudding, mom got to clean most of it up. But it was totally worth it. Right before I made the kids strip to their skivvies outside, I snapped this gem.....

 Be still, my heart.

The kids could not stop talking about how much fun they had. And then Tommy said, "This is the best day EVER!" That's all it took--playing the kintar and driving through mud. 

The kids and Nick showered and got clean and then Nick suggested ice cream and we were all like, "Um....yeah!" Tommy kept saying, "Why do we get ice cream? Is it a special day?" It almost made me cry. My kids are not deprived in any way. They have everything they need and almost everything they want. But saying yes so many times last night made me think about how often I say no. To candy, ice cream, staying up late, watching 5 more minutes of TV, stopping at the park, stopping what I'm doing to watch them do a ridiculous amazing trick.....We say no all the time. 

But sometimes it's SO great to just say yes. We got our ice cream and snuggled up to watch TV the rest of the night. 

We had the best day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4_6eQm7RTQhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4_6eQm7RTQ

Mother's Day Tea 2016

Every year at preschool, the kids do a Mother's Day Tea. It's the cutest thing every and I get teary eyed every time.

When I first walked in, Tommy was waiting at the classroom door to escort me to our table. Then he pulled out my chair and waited until I sat down and then went and got me some fruit salad and water.  The pictures are a hot, blurry mess, but I'll remember it forever in my mind!

We took a selfie before eating our fruit salad... I had the best time just sitting and talking to him. It was so sweet! He's turning into such a genuinely funny little man.

 After we were done eating, the teacher's read these little forms that the kids provided the answers for. Some of them were HILARIOUS. I love the ones that would say something like, "When my family is all together, my mom likes to.................." and the kid would say, "Sleep on the couch!" Oh man, isn't that the truth. Luckily, Tommy's was fairly normal! It cracks me up that he says (correctly) that I'm obsessed with clothes. He knows me well--except for the whole getting me a dog thing (NEVER!).

Then they got up and sang a song for all of the mom's.....

 Clearly.....Tommy was thrilled.

The next day, I went again for Tessa's Mother's Day Tea.

She greeted me at the door to escort me and then sat me down. Then she went up to get our fruit salad. This is where Tessa Grace shines....she truly LOVES serving people. She likes to help any way she can and sometimes I have to catch myself from telling her to stop because there are some days where her "help" is not super helpful. But then I try to remind myself that it's a great quality for her to have and I don't want to discourage her from it. So she was loving serving me some fruit salad and water!

 And then she tried cantaloupe for the first time.......not a fan.

 Then the teacher read their papers to all the moms! Once again, nothing too wacky. She knows I love tacos and garage sales, so at least I know she's paying attention sometimes! Hilarious that she said I like to take care of Essie (her cousin) with my friends! Where on Earth did that come from??

After that, it was time for the song and as you can see, Tessa gets as excited about singing as her brother!

Then they brought us these cute little flowers they made with their hand prints. I LOVE that little face!

 Me and my sweet girl!

I had a great time with both of them!

Benton Days 2016

Every year, our little town has a celebration and we LOVE it. We were a little less involved this year because it was SO cold and my mom had kept the kids the night before, so we skipped all the races and tractor pull stuff. Nick and I got to sleep in a little and then somehow by the grace of God, that man volunteered to garage saleing with me.

 Bless his heart. He hated it the whole time, but was very patient with me. I totally scored on boy clothes and bought Tommy's wardrobe for the next year or so for around $40. Can't beat that! After we got done with our garage sales, we went and had lunch and then met my mom to get the kids for the parade.

I just have to say, I love living in a town where everyone still stands up and puts their hands over their hearts when the national anthem comes on.

 There were quite a few BIG trucks and Tommy was super impressed with all of them. He kept saying, "Take my picture with this one!" This is one of a hundred pictures he insisted on that day.

 Tessa had fun but was a little leery of all the noises. Some of those trucks and horns are SO loud. And then there was a train type car that looked like a jail and had a few "convicts" walking beside it. They kept squirting water on people.........and it was SO cold. SO SO cold. She wasn't super impressed with that and they both tried to hide from it!

It was a fun day.......I love small town living!

Kindergarten Round up

I can't even handle the fact that my son is now registered for kindergarten. Like.....HOW?!? But he is. And I'm learning to be okay with that.

One Thursday morning in April, they had kindergarten round up. Tommy was SO so so so so excited! I was so so so so so sad. And excited. We went to his school and checked in. He got to make a name tag and play a little with his friends that were there. The principal introduced himself and then told us he was going to take us on a tour. It was cracking me up because he kept telling us that we were going to walk as a group with our kids to the kindergarten hall and then the parents would take a HARD left while the kids went into the classroom with the teachers. He emphasized multiple times that we needed to move quickly and swiftly so there was no drama with separating from the kids. I feel as if he'd seen a few meltdowns in his day :)

So while Tommy was in the classroom reading a book and doing a craft with his teachers, we got to walk around and see the building. On the one hand, nothing had changed since I went to school there and on the other hand.....EVERYTHING was different because it was going to be my KID'S school. The whole time I was there, I had to restrain myself from asking what the safety plan was in case of a school shooting, tornado or missing child. #helicopterparent #noshame

After our tour, we got to meet back up with the kids and oh MAN, they were cute! Tommy just seemed so grown up and confident (when did this happen??). He LOVED both of the teacher (although he wants Mrs. Ryan because her classroom is bigger, he says).

I was super impressed with the school and staff and while my heart is breaking thinking about sending him to KINDERGARTEN, my mind feels a little better knowing he's in safe hands.

Great Plains Field Trip 2016

This March, I got to go on a field trip with Tommy's class and Tessa's class to the Great Plains Nature Center. It gets kind of hectic because their classes go on the same field trip but on different days, so I usually end up taking off two half days. But it's worth it to get to spend one-on-one time with each kiddo.

Both days that we went were pretty chilly. But it was nice to go and not be sweaty or hot the whole time! First, we looked around the museum. Then each class got to meet Sally the salamander (which Tommy LOVED...Tessa, not so much). Then we went on a nature walk around one of the paths.

Here's my time with Tommy's class....

And here's my time with Tessa's class....

I loved my day with each kid and really enjoyed watching them interact with their classmates. It's fun since that's not something I get to see on a regular basis. They were both still a little shier than most of the kids, but they still had fun and were able to laugh and play with everyone. I'm excited to see these groups of kids grow up together!

It's been awhile....

It's been quite awhile since I blogged last. Which I hate and love. Hate it because I completely forget all the little things that happen if I don't write them down. Love it because it means my life is busy and full!

Let's see.....since I last wrote about something other than a holiday, there hasn't been anything TOO exciting going on.

This hottie had a birthday (I won't share how old he is........but he was born in 1982, so you do the math).

 

Right before his birthday, we started turning our garage into a master bedroom. And it's finished now, but oh man, that was quite the project! We did all the finishing work ourselves (and by we, I mean mostly Nick). We laid the floors, painted the walls (FOUR COATS OF PAINT), stained the trim, hung the trim, framed out the windows, installed the lighting.........the list goes on and on. And my hubby worked his tail off several weekends in a row to get it done. 

And we LOVE IT!! It's nice to finally have a place to relax after all of that hard work! 

I still have to put the finishing decorating touches on the walls, but it feels like a mansion compared to our tiny bedroom we've been in! Our house is really old and was built over 100 years ago, so the rooms are big enough for a bed and that's pretty much it! I LOVE the character of old houses, but they aren't much for storage space. This room is a little farther away from the kiddos which is great for us, but has proven to be a little challenging for Tessa Grace. She had a ritual of getting up in the middle of the night EVERY night to go potty and to stop into our room and say "Love you mom." It was very rare that she missed a night! The 2nd night we slept in our new room, we could hear our old bedroom door open, then the bathroom door, then our bedroom door again, then the swinging baby gate we have open, then her walking down the two stairs and then our current bedroom door opening. Ha! It was pretty comical to listen to, but she didn't think it was very funny that she couldn't find mom and dad. Last night, though, she didn't come into our room at all, so hopefully she's adjusted now.

Hmmmm........what else.......

Oh, we had some INSANE drama with Thomas James at his 5 year check up. I thought he only had to have a tetanus booster at 5 years. I didn't realize there was a whole set of shots he had to get. The night before his appointment, he asked me if he'd have to get a shot and I thought I'd go with the whole, "honesty is the best policy" thing and let him know that yes, he'd have to get a shot. Well.....honesty is NOT always the best policy. He fuh-LIPPED out. Like cried off and on for 2 hours about it. He finally fell asleep, but woke up and instantly started talking about it again. I promised ice cream if he did good (like any good mother does) and he calmed down a bit. I explained it would just be one shot and it would be over super fast. We got to the doctor and got through the whole visit and then the doctor said the nurse would be in to give shots. And she walked in with a TRAY of shots. And poor Tommy........his eyes got huge and he started bawling. She wanted to do it in his legs, so I was trying to get his pants off and he kept running away from me and screaming, "MOMMY!!! Don't let them do this to me!!" I can laugh now, but oh my........I was so sad and mildly embarrassed. Then I started getting mad because he reFUSED to take his pants off so I basically had to lay on him while the nurse helped de-pants him and then gave him all of his shots. He cried the whole time and just kept screaming , "No, mommy, NOOOOO!" While I don't condone his behavior at all, I get it. I remember getting my kindergarten shots and hearing them say, "You don't have to have any more shots until you're in high school!" and then thinking every year of school that I was one year closer to having to get another shot. And for a kid, they don't have a clue WHY their mom is letting some stranger "hurt" them. It's sad to my momma-heart to think that he thinks I'm just letting someone hurt him. When it was finally over, he calmed down and I made a few jokes about him being stronger than Iron Man and he was right as rain again. And we got ice cream!

Tommy also had a dentist appointment because he's woken up crying several times lately saying that his mouth hurts really bad. I was worried about how he'd do, given the whole "shot situation" and his history or previous dentist appointments (which you can read about here). I prepped him for it (that they were just going to be looking and would probably take an x-ray). And he did GREAT! SO great.

He got to play a monster truck video game until his name was called and that made his day.

He looked so big (and so little) in the dentist chair...

I was so relieved and proud! Quite the change from our last dentist appointment. The dentist said that in the spot where he had previously had a tooth pulled, there was a nerve ending and since Tommy didn't have an adult tooth coming in yet, there really wasn't anything there to protect it, so it could be easily irritated. He also said it was swollen, so to give ibuprofen for a week to get the swelling down and then just use it as needed until a new tooth grows in. So nothing serious, but at least we know the cause of it! They dentist also said one of his bottom teeth was loose, so I'm bracing myself for the drama that comes with Tommy and blood!

That pretty much sums up the last few months. We're getting ready to sign up both kids for t-ball. Tess is close to finishing her first year of preschool. The elementary school just called me to schedule Tommy's kindergarten screening.

And you can find me in the corner, rocking and crying my eyes out because my babies aren't babies anymore. 

Easter 2016

Easter this year was super simple and low-key.....just the way I like it. I can laugh at myself now with how obsessed I used to be with making sure my kids had cute Easter outfits and that they matched and we had a picture of them smiling together. This year, I found some clothes in their closet, threw them on and was grateful we got out the door for church!

Granted, I had a few cute outfits in mind, but when we woke up and there was snow on the ground, those went out the window and it was plan B.

And these are the only pictures I got all day :)

We celebrated Easter with my family on the Saturday before. They all came over for dinner and an Easter egg hunt. The kids had a blast (as usual) and ate way too much candy and the adults ate waaaaaaay too much food. On Easter Sunday, we headed to celebrate with our church family. After church, we went to Nick's parent's house. Our Easter egg hunt that day was inside since it was so chilly and snowy! It warmed up by the end of the day, so that was nice. And the snow was a good reminder of how Jesus died on the cross for our sins so we could be made clean again!

Christ is Risen........He is Risen Indeed!