Where have we been?

We have been on vacation for the last several days. This year was our fifth year anniversary. We decided to take a trip, just the two of us. Our anniversary is in July, the most expensive time of year to travel, so we waited until September for cheaper rates. We booked a cruise to the Bahamas back in the spring and have been patiently waiting for it to get here.

Finally, this past Sunday it was time to go. We left Brady at my parents and he did wonderful! When we walked into their house Brady said, "Mommy, you go back outside, I on a trip." Ha Ha! No problems there.

We returned to TN about 2 pm yesterday and went straight to my parents to get Brady. From there we went to a birthday party. We finally got home and unloaded around 9 pm.

Today we are running errands, laundry, resting, and I am trying to adjust to being on land and not water. Tonight we have the first part of Caleb's 10 year reunion with the rest of it being tomorrow night. Then Sunday I have a baby shower to attend after church. We have hit the ground running since we arrived home. I plan to blog about all of these things when I get a chance, hopefully it will be before Halloween. Ha!

Today I will leave you with a few things I learned about cruising to the Bahamas...

1. Take a watch, not your phone, but an actual watch, you know one you wear on your wrist with 12 numbers in a circle that ticks and tells you the time. Take one of those. You will need it!
2. Get the motion sickness patches and wear them properly.
3. The rooms really are THAT small.
4. Go to the formal dinners at night. You eat with the same people each night and it is a great way to meet people on the boat. And it is fun.
5. Stay away from the sushi, so I heard.
6. Wear sunscreen all of the time.
7. Get out and enjoy the ports. You have to do excursions or something at the ports, not necessarily through the boat. We did our own thing and had a blast.
8. There is always something, to eat, drink, or do on the boat.
9. You can spend as little or as much money as you prefer.
10.  Taking a taxi in the Bahamas where they drive on the opposite side of the road and your husband has to sit in the front seat  and there are at least 10 people in the back is apparently not the best way to be introduced to island driving. I think Caleb saw his or a pedestrians life flash before his eyes.

More on our trip and other things to come...

Pretty in Pink

Nearly every one I know is pregnant, okay I may be exaggerating a little, but not much. With that they are pretty much all having girls this time around. When I was pregnant with Brady, every one was having boys until, well, now!



It has been so fun shopping and planning for baby girls. I love my sweet boy, but it has been fun to walk to the other side of the store and look, too. There is SO much for little girls and it is so sweet and frilly.

We had a shower at my sister's house for our friend Jessica, last night. Amy did pretty much every thing, it was also at her house. I did contributed a little by making the bow holder and cake pops.



The lighting/flash made them super bright. They weren't nearly this bright.







Jessica is expecting her second baby, but first girl. Clay, her son, is just a few months older than Brady. I have known Jessica forever, literally. We grew up in the same church, we went to college together, and were bridesmaids in each others wedding. It is fun to have our kiddos grow up together as well.

opening gifts.



 

Jessica got so much cute stuff. Every thing was so cute and fun! I can't wait to meet all these baby girls!

Life Planner

As I have mentioned before, I have struggled a little to figure out a schedule and balance my life now as a SAHM. I am enjoying it, but I often feel all over the place and that I have lost my sense of organization. As a working mom, you have to be organized and on top of things. You have to or you would go crazy. I am learning the same is for being at home.

After forgetting a couple things and not knowing the date a few days, I decided I needed something to help motivate me to stay on top of my mommy game. I found these Erin Condren life planners and decided to order one. I had a code for a huge discount or I would have never ordered it! It is kind of pricey, otherwise.

 My life planner arrived yesterday!

I am so excited!  I love it! It is so cute and fun.

It has tons of space for keeping up with everything, appts, lists, birthdays, and so much more. They even sent me some personalized gift tag stickers. There are also some that match the planner. These are perfect for gifts and/or taking food to people.

I sat down yesterday during nap time and wrote everything out. Today I feel much more on top of things. I have always been a list maker and planner and a actual planner has always been essential to my life. I actually had one from work, but it is large(fits in a brief case, not a purse), doesn't have room for notes, and doesn't really fit my needs now.

I also stumbled across an Erin Condren giveaway yesterday, so I thought since I was doing this post anyway, I would add that in. Go here to enter.

I am now a huge fan, I want to order some gift tag stickers with Brady's name for birthday parties and such. Add it to the list. Ha!

Two's aren't always Terrible

Here are a few things I have discovered from Brady over the past week or so...

• He wants a baby brother named Spider as soon as possible.
• He is not a fan of learning the ABC's. He can sing the song, but when I get out the puzzle pieces to play with or quiz him on, he pretends to be asleep. Snores and every thing!
• He wants to be Buzz Lightyear for Halloween and has requested I be Jessie and Caleb be Woody from Toy Story.
• He responds very well to punishments involving removing his movies. He has gone straight back to no accidents. Confused? See Here.
• Boy LOVES to dance. ALL. THE. TIME. (already knew this one, but has been more confirmed.)
• He is just the sweetest little big boy and I love him more and more every day!

He keeps us entertained and we are loving this stage of life. The two's have challenges, but overall I wouldn't label them terrible. Not even a little. Caleb told me the other day, he just wanted to freeze Brady right now, just like this. So sweet! We don't know what we would do with out him.

Weekend Fun

Brady had a BIG weekend, mine on the other hand, was not near as big.

Some family friends of ours asked if they could take Brady to the movie and out to lunch on Saturday. They wanted to see Lion King, but ended up seeing The Smurfs due to a time mix-up. Brady sat at the back door waiting on them to get here. So Sweet. He also had wear the shirt they got him from Alaska. I am so thankful for so many people that are so good to our boy. It means the world to us.

I was able to have an afternoon at home all by myself. It was great. I was able to clean, read, go to the bathroom, and watch what I wanted on t.v. without being interrupted for a few hours. I would have never thought that would be my idea of a perfect afternoon. How things change.

Saturday night, we attended the kid devo at my sister's  house. Brady loved it and did not want to leave. This seems to be a trend for us right now. He always volunteers to lead a prayer and a song. It is so sweet. He also adds dance moves and may have had a little dance party during the devo by himself. Not sure where he gets that from.

There are 2 little boys the same age as Brady at our church. They are best buds. I am very thankful for sweet, christian boys from sweet, christian families for Brady to be friends with.

Sunday was the usual, church and my mom's house. We get pretty lazy on Sundays.

Today we are back to our normal routine. I am trying some new recipes out this week, so I have been busy preparing them for the week. I may post them if they are any good.

Mommy Fail.

Parenthood is hard.

Like really, really hard.

To be completely responsible for some one's life is a little intimidating. o.k. a lot intimidating.


I don't think you can fully understand the overwhelming difficulty and pressure of it until you experience it. At least I didn't.


It is constant, whether they are sleeping, sitting right next to you, or a million miles away, they are your first priority. All you want is to do a good job.


They are your reason for getting up, for staying up too late, for well everything.


I, like most parents, would not take anything for my child.


Yesterday, though, was a rough one.


Brady has recently decided he wants to potty "like a boy" and stand up.


Yeah, this can't be going in a good direction.


He has been doing fine, his aim is not great, but it has been improving.


Well, yesterday twice within an hour or two he went to the bathroom, took off his clothes, and peed in the floor. DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE TOILET. not in the direction of the potty, not like poor aim, like a puddle in the floor next to the toilet.


The first time I let it slide. The second time, I began to get frustrated, asked a lot of questions, and did quite a bit of fussing. He said he did it because he wanted to and when I asked if it was an accident or on purpose. He said on purpose.


Either he really did it on purpose or he doesn't know what on purpose means.


Any who, we came up with a punishment for if it happened again. I informed him in my best calm, but stern mommy voice, if it happens again, I will take away his movies until he can pee pee in the potty.


He showed understanding and repeated the offense and consequences back to me a couple of times clearly.


Within an hour or so, Brady returned to me with a clean pair of pants, and said, I need to wear these. Of course, I asked why. He didn't have much to say. I asked if he pee peed in the floor to which he replied "yes, but don't take away my movies".


Oh really!


I lost it! Here I was feeling guilty for coming down so hard on him because he is just 2.5, and he comes to me obviously understanding what he is doing. I yelled, stomped around, snatched up movies, packed them away, fussed, and I am not completely sure what else. I was so mad at him.


 Mommy Fail.


Brady cried and repeated I sorry and Yes Ma'am after every outburst. He didn't look frightened, just like, uh oh this is serious.


I cleaned up the mess and got him situated. Then, I poured myself a Mt. Dew, it is the strongest thing we have in the house, turned on his Veggie Tales music in his room, demanded he stay in his room and play for a while, and hid in the computer room and prayed until I could get it together.


The rest of the night I felt horrible. I had completely lost control. Once Caleb got home, I had Brady explain why he was in so much trouble and what happened. He told him everything, that he pee peed in the floor 3 times and that mommy took his movies away and he should pee pee in the potty.


It took away a small fraction of the guilt, at least he understood what was going on. But still.


Before bed, I apologized to Brady for losing my temper and Caleb had him apologize to me. It was sweet and we were able to sleep well.


Today has been much better. The deal is he can earn a movie back a day by not having any accidents on himself. He seems to get it and like I said, today has been much better.


The great thing about little ones is that they don't hold grudges the way we do. Brady has more than moved on.


It is like it never happened.


I am certain their is a reason for that. 


That, my friends,  is why God is the designer and not me.


Happy Parenting!

Baby Showers, Birthday parties, and lots of Fun!

Our weekend was great, but busy like normal. Caleb had to work and I had a small baby shower to attend at Mimi's Cafe. I sent Brady with my mom, more on that in a minute, so I could enjoy the shower.

The shower was for our friend who is expecting her third child, but first girl. It was just a fun, small get together. We really had a good time and had a yummy breakfast together. She got some sweet baby girl things. I was really glad I got to go.

I left there and picked up a couple fall things for Brady I had seen earlier in the week.

I took a slight detour through Starbucks and then headed to my mom's to get Brady. I thought I should take advantage of being by myself a little bit.

They had met some friends and had breakfast at the Readyville Mill, went to a craft fair, ate Hawaiian Ice, played, and were getting ready to ride the horses. It was about 12-12:30 when I got there. They had a BUSY morning.

Brady has a sleepy stare above!

We hung out there until it was time for Caleb to be off work at 4. We met him at home and headed to our niece's first birthday party. First Birthday's are the best! We didn't get home from the party until 9 or 10. I can't remember, but it felt much later whatever time it was.

We were all so exhausted! Brady cried when it was time to leave the party. I don't think he wanted the day to end.

Labor Day Weekend Recap

 We had a great Labor Day Weekend.

Saturday:  Brady and I met my Mom, my sister, Noah, and my SIL at the Discovery Center here in town. My SIL, Lauren's sister and 2 boys also met us there. We always have a great time there and Saturday was no different.

                  We all enjoyed lunch at Chuy's, one of mine and Brady's faves!

                 Then my mom, Brady, Lauren, and myself drove over to the outlet mall to do a little shopping. It was SO HOT we had trouble focusing!!! We found a few good deals. I got a super cute outfit for our niece. She is turning 1 this month.

                  After a shopping, we stopped by our house and picked up Caleb. We spent the night at my parents house. Brady played and played. He especially loved being a super hero and playing with his "cake" or cape to the rest of us. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of this.

Sunday: We had breakfast and then we went to church. The rest of the day was spent at my parents like normal. We mostly ate, played, and just hung out.  

Monday: The three of us spent the day at home. Caleb finished up some projects from the weekend he had been working on. Then we went to a Labor Day cookout. We had fun! Brady did not want to come home. I think he would have spent the night. I thought he looked so cute and big in his fall clothes and rain boots. This was the only picture I took of him, because it was so nasty outside. I snapped it real quick in the car on the way.

Today has been another rainy, lazy day around here. It is probably good, because Brady missed several naps and got in bed a lot later than normal the entire weekend. We have taken it pretty easy today. I love that we can do this!

Rainy Day!

 

It was a yucky, rainy day today here. We really needed the rain so can't complain too much. We just enjoyed all being home today.

Brady kept wanting to run out in the rain, so I thought we should just let him. He grabbed his rain boots and ran around the deck in his pajamas for a little while this morning.  The pictures are a little blurry because I did not want to play in the rain.

There were several "Yaaahoooo's" and "Wooo Woooo's" while he played.

When he had enough, he came in, and I gave him a bath. 

It was so simple and he LOVED it!

 Sometimes I have to allow myself to let him be little, relax , and just let him have fun.

Happy Labor Day!

Rules were made to Follow...

Brady is a rule follower.

I can relate, because I am also a rule follower.

I have a friend who is not a rule follower, but a rule breaker. We joke that in Kindergarten she was the girl eating the glue and I was the one telling her no, no glue to paper, paper to paper. Every one knows you aren't supposed to eat paper.

It is funny, but it is real life.

 She embarrasses me a lot, not in a bad way. In a this is a really quite, nice restaurant and we shouldn't be laughing this loud kind of way.

Don't get me wrong, she is a good person, my friend, and I love her. We are just different when it comes to this. It was actually through this friend that I realized how much of a rule follower I am.

I like to color inside the lines of life. I like to play by the rules and win by the rules. I like to use maps and directions.

I can't help it. It is just my nature. 

It was no surprise to me that this tiny, little human that acts so much like me is also a rule follower.

We recently converted Brady's bed into a toddler bed. He transitioned really well, almost too well. Meaning, he will not get out of that bed. In fact, he will cry in the mornings until someone comes in and gives permission to get up.

It is has become comical!

We also often tell Brady to keep certain toys in his room. There are some toys we don't want on the hard wood or drug out all over the house, etc. However, Brady wants to be as close to us when he is playing.

His solution...

Move the toy as close to the door as possible. He isn't breaking the rules.

He does this all the time, but doesn't cross that line.(I see in the picture his horse has crossed onto the hardwood a little. I think he may have gotten off and moved it back to the carpet.) It is so funny!

I love my little rule follower and his creativity!

TGIF

I am happy to say that Fridays are just as exciting as a SAHM as they are as a working mom.

Having 2 very rowdy toddlers hanging out this week has worn me out. Brady and I are both tired today and happy for the weekend. (In fact, I just looked in the living room and Brady is asleep on the couch. It is 6 pm. Ha! Told ya!)We had a great week, though! It was fun having someone else around. Although the boys are wild and energetic, they are a lot of fun. Nearly every day after Ethan has gone, Brady has come to me and said, "My fwiend Ephan is gone, I miss him!"

So sweet! I love that we have so many friends with little ones close to Brady's age.

Last night, we had Caleb's parents over for dinner. Both Caleb's mom and dad have August birthdays, they are actually within about 10 days of each other. I made lasagna, salad, garlic bread, and a cake. I chose Tennessee orange for the writing on the cake, it seemed fitting since the first game is this weekend. Brady was excited to have his Gigi and Papa over.  I love having people over and so does Brady! I hope to do it more often now that I am home more.

My brother and SIL are in town this weekend and Caleb is off the ENTIRE long weekend, so we are pretty excited to spend time with family. It is rare that it works out that way. Happy Friday and stay safe during the long weekend.