Fun with Cousins!!

This past weekend my cousin Sheila and her family came down from Fargo to spend the weekend hanging out with me and the boys!  We didn't have much planned, just wanted to hang out and have a good time together with our boys.  I was so excited to spend a weekend with her catching up on everything going on in our lives and the boys were so excited to have cousins staying with us all weekend. I also knew it would be crazy and probably exhausting have five boys (ages 1, 3, 4, 6 and 8) in the house and I was right!  Saturday the weather was beautiful so we decided to hit the sledding hill with the boys.  Her two youngest had never been sledding so she was excited to see how they would react and like all boys they loved every minute of it (even when they flipped out of the sled and got white washed).  After sledding for over an hour we headed back to the house to build a snowman as she said they had also never done that (it's like she lives in Florida or something).  All the boys had a blast playing in the snow and I think us adults had just as much fun!  I snapped a few pictures on my phone but for the most part just enjoyed the day.  

 He was crabby because I was making him take a picture prior to going down the hill!!

  

  

 We picked up one of Colton's buddies on the way to the hill... what's one more kid, right?!

That is a pretty awesome snowman if you ask me!!

The boys snuggled up to watch some afternoon cartoons!

Mason of course was helping me prepare our big family dinner!  The kids loves to be in the kitchen, he is just like his daddy.

We ended our day with a cousin bath.  These boys were having a blast in the bath together.  It was so much fun to have them all together for the weekend and we are already talking about when we can do it again!

Good People

I am part of on online garage sale group on Facebook in which people are always posting things they are selling or items they are in search of.  Well this morning a lady posted that she was in search of a low priced winter coat size 2T for her son.  Well I have several hanging in our closets just waiting for a garage sale so I took a picture of one and posted it to her post that said I have this one for sale, $10.  She responded that is looked perfect however she was embarrassed to admit that she didn't have the money right now but could maybe have it by next week and asked if I could hold it for her.  At first my thought was annoyance, like she didn't have $10 but then I realized that maybe she really didn't have anything.  I have been very blessed with all the items we received from friends and family for our boys (we seriously have way more clothes than any one household should for only having two kids).  I decided the $10 was not going to make or break the bank for me so I private messaged her and told her that she could have it for free.  She seemed very grateful.  I said she could pick it up anytime to which she responded that she doesn't have a car right now as she lost her job last fall after breaking her ankle and not being able to work.  Ugg, was it a story or the truth (I will never know).  All I know is that I felt bad that there was a child who needed a winter coat and I had one to spare so I talked to her and found out she live right by Mason's school so I said I could drop it off to her.  I will say that she offered to meet me at Cub which would have been within walking distance to her house but I said it wasn't a big deal to bring it to her.  I then talked to her a little more and asked if she needed any clothes, she responded that he has clothes to wear right now but she hadn't started buying 2t yet and he would be in them soon.  I told her I would bring her some and she repeated said "I can't pay you" to which I would respond that is okay, just pay it forward some day.  She seemed to be extremely grateful.   I went through the several bins of boys clothes I have at my house and put together a bag full for her including jammies, sweatshirts, pants and several pairs of shorts and tank tops for when summer finally arrived.

She sent me a couple more Thank You messages and we set a time to meet.  Then she went on to say that she was trying to find the courage to ask for diapers but didn't even know how to do it.  I said to just ask, people might have some half cases sitting at their houses that their children grew out of and don't have a use for them.  She said she had never thought of it that way.  She said it is hard to ask for hand outs but for her son she is willing to put her own shame aside.  Well tonight I saw that she finally posted the request for diapers.  The response was unreal.  27 comments in about 10 minutes.  Many who had diapers available for her and others who said they did not but they had clothes if she needs them or wipes and baby shampoo.  The outpouring from strangers was just amazing.  And she continued to post that she was so Thankful.  And then an older man come on and said that he would stop by Target tomorrow after work and pick her up a couple cases and drop them of at her house.  My faith in humanity has officially been restored.  There are still so many good people in the world and so many times we only hear about the negative things that are happening but we don't hear about these kinds of stories.  I am sure it is not easy to say that you are have fallen on hard times and ask for handouts but she did it for her child and not one person commented badly or put blame on her.  They just jumped into action and helped this stranger.  So Amazing and heart warming!

Four Generations

Spent the afternoon hanging with my Grandpa today.  The boys love spending time and playing games with their Great Grandpa.  Wish we lived closer so we could do it every weekend.  Of course I couldn't not get another 4 Generations picture before we left today, I just love these kinds of pictures! Look at these four awesome guys I have in my life, love them!

Crazy..... yup!

So tonight I should be sitting on a beach in Jamaica but life through one hell of a curve ball and plans changed.  Six months ago when we booked our trip to Jamaica I said I wanted to lose some weight and be in a bikini by the time we went.  Well the last 6 months I have lost the weight I wanted to (some due to stress/depression and loss of appetite and some due to hard work) and I feel comfortable in a bikini which is something I never thought I would say again after having kids!  However with Jamaica cancelled it all seemed like a waste, yes I have been having my own pity party this last week as the date got closer and closer.  But I decided to make the most of it and not let a cancelled trip stop me from enjoying a blended drink in my bikini while soaking up some rays from the sun!  

In case you never knew before, I am crazy!  I know this so you don't have to tell me (which I know that was going to be your first line of your comment on this post).  But I also think that this side of me is what helps to keep life interesting.   I am always one to try something new, to go on a new adventure, to do something that most would say "NO WAY" to and I am working hard to accept that life may not always take the path we thought it should but in the end it might be the path that we were meant to take.  So I guess I wasn't meant to be sitting on a white sandy beach tonight with a cocktail however I do feel that there are adventures in my future that will take place because this one did not.  

* Sidenote: Photo was taken using the timer on my camera so no one else had to witness this craziness.  Although if my neighbors were home I am sure they uttered the words "WTF" when they saw me sprinting back into the house!!

A few things for 2015

I am not one to make New Years Resolutions because I know I would give up about a week in anyways.  So this year I have decided to make some 2015 goals and challenges instead.  I am hoping to revisit this post 12 months from now and be able to say that I accomplished most of these goals.  Here are few things I would like to do in 2015:

* Like everyone, I have a goal that has to do with my weight (yes I had to have one common New Years resolution I guess).   I hope to hit my goal weight of 145 (only 10 pounds to go) and finally have that washboard stomach that I have dreamed up ever since my second child made his grand exit and left me a lot of work to do.  I am back in a two piece swim suit already but still have some toning to do to really feel like I can rock it with confidence like a 33 year mama of two!!

* Staying with the being active and staying healthy goals, I have been challenged to run my first 10k race this summer, so hoping I can not only complete it but would really like to complete it in 1 hr and 10 minutes or less.  I realize that is quite a stretch for me as I can barely run a 5k in 35 minutes but I have plenty of room to improve before race day.

*  Disconnect More.  I catch myself getting wrapped up in my phone more than I should so I have made it a goal to put my phone away in the evenings when I am hanging with my boys.  Also we have decided that Wednesday nights are now game night for the the boys and I, as soon as dinner dishes are done we will pick a couple board games and spend an hour or two playing together (if they last that long which I am guessing they will as my boys love to play board games).  I know my boys will not be with me forever, they are gonna grow up faster than I want them to so I need to make the most of these years and not spend so much time in the virtual world (I can do that once they are in bed or go off to college)!

* I would like to do some camping, real camping, this summer!  I have already started researching a few Minnesota State Parks that I want to check out and I have a friend who is ready to do some tent camping, fire cooking and state park exploring with me and the boys.  My goal is to camp in at least two different State Parks this summer, I would like to see a lot more however summer fills up fast and we course plan to spend plenty of weekends at the lake with the grandparents as well (can't give up those weekend, they are way too much fun).

* Get Organized.  I was already getting a good start on this the end of 2014 but still plenty of work to do in our house.  We still have closets, drawers, cupboards and entertainment centers that need to be organized.  I plan to purge more as just have way too much "stuff" that we don't need or use anymore.  I hope to have a garage sale in the Spring to get rid of a lot of stuff and then use some of the money to organize our house and maybe even purchase a new item or two (I have my eye on an amazing entertainment unit for my living room, complete with fireplace)!  

* Update Photos!  As you all know I am obsessed with taking photos however they don't always go anywhere but my onto my computer.  Again in the end of 2014 I started to update photos in the house, we will finally have pictures of Mason hanging on our walls.  But I have plenty of work to do still, I made Colton photo books for every year of his life from Newborn to 5 years.  Mason has nothing!  My goal for 2015 is get his books caught up to his age, I cannot let him suffer from second child syndrome cause I know he will never let me forget it.

* I hope to travel a little too.  Already working on planning a girls weekend in Vegas!  Bring on sleeping in, afternoons lounging beside the pool and living the night life with the girls who have always been there for me (especially in the last couple months)!  

* Landscaping. I would like to finish the landscaping along the front of my house, we got half way but never finished it.  And my big goal for this summer is to turn my backyard into the oasis I know it has the potential to be. We built the deck just over a year ago which I love to just sit out on in the evenings but I want the rest of the yard to be just as inviting.  I want to plant some amazing perennial flower gardens along the privacy fence, I want to do some landscaping along the back of the house and I hope to put more additional bird feeders and maybe even a bird bath out there because the boys and I love to watch all the birds in our backyard.

* Lastly I plan to accept the life I have been given, it might not be perfect but it is pretty damn good!  I need to realize that I cannot control everything but I can make the most of every situation.  I hope to live more "in the moment" and not worry so much about the future.  I have bills to pay, plenty of stresses and moments that I don't know if I can do it anymore but such is life, I know I am not alone with these problems in life.  Time to just let life run its course and enjoy the ride!

Here's to an amazing 2015 with plenty of adventures, laughter, life and love with those who mean the most to me!

Happy New Year!

Well we survived another year!  2014 was a year full of travels, lots of family time, many weekends at the lake, new daycare adventures and so many other changes that we didn't really expect to come our way but none the less it was another great year.  However, we are more then ready to get 2015 started and see what this year has in store for us.  I am guessing this year will be full of changes and adjusting to new lifestyles but I also have a good feeling that we are about to head down a very exciting road which will lead us on many new adventures and bring us plenty of good times and amazing memories with friends and family!  Happy New Year Everyone, we wish you a year filled with healthy, happiness and plenty of laughs.

 The boys I rang in the New Year at my cousins house!  He hosted a kid friendly party which was awesome.  One of my best friends also joined me for the party which made the night even better. It was a potluck party with more food than anyone could eat, the best being my cousins homemade meatballs were absolutely AMAZING!!  The boys ran around playing with all their new friends while the adults enjoyed a couple drinks and played endless rounds of Catch Phrase.  Of course we all counted down at midnight, the kids blew through 70 Party Poppers (what a mess that was) and they enjoyed their noise makers (the inventor of those things should be punished) while the Adults enjoyed a Champagne Toast. Both my boys made it to midnight which I never thought they would, they thought it was so cool to be yelling the countdown with everyone else!  It was a such a fun way to send out 2014 and welcome in 2015.  Sometimes I tend to dwell on things in my life that might not be perfect or might not be everything that I had every dreamed of but then I remind myself that I am beyond blessed with these awesome kids in my life as well as so many amazing family members and friends who are always there for me no matter what I might be needing at the moment - I am one lucky girl!  

Hello 2015 - Bring on whatever adventure you have in store for me, I am ready for it (I think)!!!

One last Christmas Present

The dreaded question for me around Christmas is "What do the boys want/need for Christmas?".  My kids want everything but they need nothing.  They have more toys than they know what to do with, I honestly think they are overwhelmed by the number of toys that they don't even know what to play with some days.   Well my sister and I decided we weren't going to buy gifts for each others kids this year for the very reason that they will get plenty from others anyways.  We decided to do something fun and make memories with the kids instead and we started thinking of things to do.  We landed on a day of fun at The Waterpark of America with all the kids.  The day after Christ we piled all 6 kids (my sister brought her husbands niece with as well) in the vehicles and off we went.  The kids were so excited to be spending the day together.    It was an awesome way to wrap up the Christmas Season and the kids all had a blast playing together at the water park.  I didn't take many pictures as waters and cameras don't go well together but also because I just wanted enjoy the moments with my boys. I wanted to float around the lazy river as my three year screamed and laughed hysterically each time we went under the raging waterfall.  I wanted to go on the giant family slide with my 8 year old and my niece and nephews and watch them laugh as I ended up going backwards down the slide every time.  I wanted to just sit back, relax and enjoy and I did just that.  It was an awesome present for them and in the end it was also an awesome present for me!

 

Christmas Day

I used to think that being a kid on Christmas was the best thing every but it turns out that having kids on Christmas is even better!

The tree was twinkling, Santa had visited and it was about 7:30am when Colton came running into my room to wake me up with so much excitement that I didn't mind that I was being ripped from my nice warm bed.  He of course wanted to wake up his little brother immediately but we made him wait just a little while so he snuggled up on the couch to watch cartoons.  At 8am we gave him the go ahead and he ran into his Mason's room to wake him up.  It didn't take long for Mason to spring out of bed and for the two of them to come running down the stairs.  Frankie and I knew we couldn't hold them off any longer, it was time to open presents.  They ripped through their presents, showing so much excitement with each one they opened (except the clothes, cause really who wants clothes for Christmas).  Once the presents were all opened it was time for a delicious breakfast and then several hours of playing with our new toys.  Relaxing and not being rushed Christmas Morning, staying in our jammies until lunch and just spending time together is what it is all about if you ask me. 

 

Christmas afternoon/evening was spent at my parents house with my siblings.  We enjoyed a delicious lasagna dinner (which wasn't as amazing as my lasagna usually is because my dad thought we should try the noodles you don't have to boil first - Ha, not my specialty).  We played several rounds of my new Cards Against Humanity game that Santa brought me and we of course opened more presents!  It was a wonderful Christmas day filled with laughter, love and plenty of relaxation!  Wouldn't want it any other way.  The boys and I ended our Christmas night with a slumber party in Mommy's bed!