Kids choice.

Yesterday was totally devoted to the kids.
They both did EXCELLENT on their final report cards, so they earned a day to do whatever they wanted.
They decided on Toy Story 3, and lunch at Chuck E. Cheese. (Yes, I cringed at the thought. However, I popped 3 ibuprofin, and somehow survived the trip.)
The place was almost empty.
Thank you God.
The movie was awesome.
The popcorn wasn't too bad either.
But, the best part of my entire day?
Getting to spend it with the two of the COOLEST kids on this planet.

A MAJOR 'down-side' to parenting in my book.

I absolutely LOVE being a mother.
It's the greatest thing that I have ever done in my life, and these 2 kids totally hold the keys to my heart.
I love everyday that is spent with them.
The laughs, the moments that make my heart melt, all the good times, and even the times when they are driving me crazy.
All-in-all, parenthood is so rewarding.
However, there is one thing that I despise about being a parent.
All I have to say are three words and every mom out there will be able to relate instantly:
The Stomach Flu.
Oh, yes... nothing can prepare you for those nights when they wake up and barf all over themselves, and anything else within a 12 ft radius.
Poor Layton was up all night with this NASTY bug.
The poor kid. My heart hurt for him.
But, I also felt a 'little' sorry for myself.
I felt pretty un-cool wiping down every inch of his headboard and wall with clorox wipes.
Washing all his bedding at 2 in the morning, while my poor kid sat in the bath tub crying because he felt so crappy.
Finally, after 6 hours of non-stop trips to the bathroom, and many hand-washes, and teeth brushes later... he fell asleep and got some rest.
So, like I said, parenting is a pretty great experience most of the time, but defenitly not ALL of the time.

Summer bliss.

Today was spent with Grandma Karen.
The boys were working on painting our house, so we decided to take off with the kiddo's and see where we'd end up.
That was down-town, running through the fountains at the State Capitol, even Grandma got her feet wet. :)
The kids had a blast, and are already asking when we can go back.
I'm guessing... soon.

'Almost' worth it.

Ok, so I absolutely HATE bubbles.
They're messy, and they always end up ALL OVER the kids, or all over the area they were playing in.
I just don't like them. Ugh.
Every year the kids have to BEG me to buy them, and every year I try to resist.
Somehow though, they ALWAYS talk me into it.
This week they asked for days if they could play with them.
After the 20th time I finally gave in, but told them "DON'T MAKE A MESS!" as they ran out the door.
I watched from the front window for awhile and have to admit: they were rather cute chasing them around and giggling like little maniacs.
I figured I should take advantage, so I grabbed the camera.
I captured this new favorite. (Right BEFORE Layton stepped back and spilled his HUGE bottle of bubbles all over my front porch.)
So, yeah... I rest my case.

It just comes with the sunshine.

So, when summer arrives it usually means scraped knees, and extra bruises will start appearing on my kids.
Last year, Kaylee bit it HARD on her bike. This year, Layton topped it.
He has a gash in his forehead and a horrible cluster of scratches on his stomach.
All the result of running at full throttle and NOT watching where he was going.
Do I have a bright child, or what?
I must say though, I think I'm getting much better at handling these situations as they get older.
I'm normally not the 'calmest' when it comes to my kids getting hurt, but I'd say that I did pretty dang good this time, considering the amount of blood that was 'gushing' out of that kids head.
Ahh yes. Summer HAS arrived.

Toothless.

A pretty exciting thing happened at our house last night.
Layton lost his first tooth.
He's been working on that thing for over two weeks now.
So, It was a pretty BIG deal once it was out.
He woke this morning to find that the tooth fairy paid him a visit.
He's now a happy boy, with a little money in his pocket.

INK fever.

Well, it's that time of year again.
I'm 'itchin' for a new tattoo.
I've been finding myself a little 'obsessed' with the idea of new ink as of lately.
Lee rolls his eyes EVERY time I mention it.
Seriously, doesn't he know me by now?
Doesn't he know that I'm not going stop TALKING about it until I get one?
Pshhhh, silly husband.
Anyhoo, I'm thinking it will be soon.
Not sure what it will be, but I'm leaning towards another foot piece.
We shall see.

Baby love.

Proud to report that my cousin Steph gave birth to a beautiful baby girl this morning.
Little miss Kaelynn Kathleen weighed in at a healthy 6lbs & 15ozs.
Welcome to this world little lady, we can't wait to meet you.

Obsessive much?

So, while I was browsing through my Facebook page this morning, something caught my attention.
The amount of times I use a " :) " at the end of my posts, as well as almost EVERY comment that I leave on my friends' pages. Hmm. Funny.
I actually didn't realize just how MUCH I did it.
It made me wonder: does this drive people crazy?
Cause I'm kind of  'annoyed'  with myself right now.

Nice to see where his 'loyalty' lies.

We have learned rather quickly that Bentlee is a total 'daddy's' boy.
Now, I haven't yet figured out exactly why he feels this way, but it's a fact.
To me however, It's more than clear that I should be his favorite.
Afterall, I'm the one who plays with him the most.
I'm the one who takes him on more rides in the car.
I'm the one who wants to love on him all the time, and
I'm the one who 'protects' him from Lee when he does something wrong.
Which is VERY OFTEN people.
But, no. That dog loves his Lee.
He's about to drive me crazy at this very moment.
The boys left over thirty-minutes ago, and he's still sitting by the front door, whining like he's lost his best friend forever.
All, I have to say is: he's lucky he's got the 'cute' thing going for him.
Otherwise, I'd be tempted to lock him in his kennel until he zips it.

The above picture is total PROOF that he doesn't prefer to be stuck home with me. Look at that face. You can just TELL that he's totally irritated.

A taste of summer.

This weekend was perfect, besides the fact that Lee worked most of it.
However, the kids and I wasted none of the sunshine.
We cleaned house with the windows open, and the music blaring. (My favorite thing about cleaning house in the summer.)
I'm weird. I know.
We hung out with great friends, went to the pool twice, washed the car, had a water fight, took Bentlee to the park, and went to a BBQ.
It was like it was 'summer' or something.
The only down-side?
My poor burnt-to-a-crisp-shoulders.
BUT, (don't get me wrong) TOTALLY worth the break from the rain.
Which is back tomorrow.
What the ... ??

The graduate.

Well, it's official. Layton is moving on to the first grade.
He had his Kindergarten graduation this afternoon, and he was so fun to watch.
I must say, it saddens the 'mom' in me that this stage of his life is coming to a close, but I am excited for him and what's ahead.
So, here we go I guess.
On to the next chapter.

CONGRATS little man.
You did us PROUD.

Compassion.

My heart goes out to the family & friends of the missing 7 year old boy in Portland.
I heard about his disapearance over the weekend, and he's been in my thoughts & prayers every day since.

My biggest fear as a parent is the thought of my child being abducted, and taken from me.
The horror of the realization that it happens everyday haunts me.
We drop off our children at school and feel that they are 'safe' until we pick them up. Obviously, it's not the case.

That poor child is out there somewhere, and who knows what he has endured.
It breaks my heart to know that there are 'monsters among us.'
That there are people in this world that are out to harm our kids.
I hope that whoever took this sweet boy will be caught, and be punished for their actions.

I will continue to pray for his safe return, as well as healing for the many hearts that have been affected by this tragedy.

GOD be with Kyron & his loved ones.

Not a CLOUD in the sky.

A girl could get used to this.
You HEAR that Oregon?

NEW cut & color.

It has a way of bringing out the 'happy' in me. Every time.

Misery.

Having poison oak for over a week-and-a-half has a way, of not making a girl want to 'smile' for pictures.

This picture shows the area where she got it the least.
I figured that the ones of her arms and legs could very easily make someone ill, so I chose to not share those.
We are now on a regular schedule of benedryl doses, steroid cream, and oatmeal baths.
We have extra frozen corn stocked in the freezer for ice packs when needed, and we're getting major 'use' out of all of mom's t-shirts. According to miss Kaylee, they make the perfect nightgown - you know?

She's hanging in there though, and she's been 'amazing' me the whole way.
The reaction she has had to this has been so severe, that I am almost certain that she will have scarring from the ones on her feet and legs, which makes my heart ache.

It's for sure been brutal on her. Absolutely relentless.
But, another ordeal that has once again proven just how 'tough' this little girl really is.