Bouncin' Boys

If there's one thing I've learned in all my years of taking care of little boys & now having one of my very own, it's that boys have got energy to boot.

Boys need to run.  They need to roughhouse.  They need to wrestle.  They need to feel their heart pounding, the earth beneath their feet,  & the wind against their face.

And this isn't just a bunch of stereotypical babble I'm saying, here.  I've witnessed first hand that boys truly need an avenue to express all of the energy they have rushing through their bodies.  You take that outlet away & you're gonna have trouble, guaranteed.  All of that energy, if not released in a positive way, will bubble & brew until it finally makes an appearance--usually manifesting itself in the form of  temper tantrums, fit throwing, & I've even seen a fist fight break out a time or two.

{And while we're talking temper tantrums here...can I  just veer for a moment & tell you, we are experiencing them at their fullest these days? Our sweet little innocent Jett Jett has transformed into what I believe is called the "Terrible Two's".  Aren't we six months early for this crap?  He's screaming, throwing himself on the floor, thrusting his toys to the ground, whacking other kids upside the head...oh yah...he's got it down pat.  Shoo-wee, this boy's got a will!  Can we say hello sin nature? Good thing he's cute.}

Playing outside is usually the perfect solution for little boys.  They can sprint, sweat, get their hands & feet dirty, come inside,  rinse off, & they're good to go.  But when it's 107 degrees outside {according to my car thermostat}, you can scratch the playing outside idea.  That may make for a happy little boy, but it's guaranteed to make for a really crabby momma.

Thank goodness somebody else's thought process is jivin' with mine.  Someone else, meaning the people who created this indoor inflatable park.

This place is awesome.  My boys bounced, rolled, jumped, jiggled, catapulted, boinged, slid, tumbled, & rolled to their little hearts' delight.  {Did I mention that it was a nice, cool seventy degrees?}.

There was a release of energy, alright.  I watched those boys zip from bounce house to bounce house.  I watched them zoom down slides, creating a great big pile up at the bottom.  I watched the big boys take turns hoisting Jett into trampolines & then proceed to fight over who would get to carry him to the next  inflatable.

And one of the best perks about this little release of energy?  When we took the five of them out to lunch afterwards, they were the most calm, well behaved kids Chick Fil A has ever laid eyes on.  While all the other kids were dashing around the place like wild little indians, ours sat perfectly quiet, munching away on their lunches.  I'm sure every parent in the whole place was wondering what our little secret was.

With it not even being August yet & the forecast showing no sign of relief anytime soon, I'm thinking we'll be frequenting our newfound little cool spot a few more times before summer comes to a close.

Want a break from the heat?  Come & join us!  =)

Checking In

Hi friends!  Let me start off by saying thank you to all of you who worried, prayed, & sent sweet messages to me over the past several days.  What a whirlwind it's been, but I am happy to finally report that my world is no longer spinning.  Can I get a HALLELUJAH?!  One liter of fluids, some heavy sedation, & fifteen hours of straight sleep seemed to do the trick.  Who knew?

My parents have been in town for the past couple of days, & Meatball has been pratically gobbled up!  He is being constantly entertained, constantly doted on, & constantly spoiled up-- just as it should be when grandparents are around, right?  They've started off their days with swimming & swinging in the back yard, they've topped off dinner with not one, but two popsicles {sending our Jett man into a sugar high I've never witnessed before}, & they've completed the bedtime routine with full fledged dance parties in Jett's nursery {one in which Jett slammed the door on me, declaring it a grandparents only dance party}.  Let's just say that Jett {& the grandparents} are sleeping really well at night.

While Jett has been keeping his grandparents busy, I've been laid up on the couch doing this:
PINTEREST

Good golly, Miss Molly,  I am addicted!  Now, I've known all about Pinterest for quite some time now.  And I have purposefully NOT joined it because I was afraid it would be like facebook & become a great big time sucker.  But when I got a message from a friend saying that I should get on board, & then the next morning had a Pinterest invite waiting in my email inbox from a different friend,  I figured it was a sign {thanks Andrea & Grace}.  I jumped on the bandwagon & I haven't looked back for a second!  I'm in love.  I'm swooning & drooling & getting all giddy because all of my thoughts about everything can be in one place.  I swear, this kind of thing was made for girls like me.  Girls who have folders chocked full of birthday ideas, home decorating ideas, sewing ideas, baby room ideas {you should see the three ring binder folder I still have of all the baby ideas from when I was pregnant with Jett}.  Girls who bookmark everything on their computer or file it away somewhere in cyberspace only to not be able to find it when they need it.  Yeah, Pinterest rocks for girls like me.  And if you haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet...just wait.  You will.

Well my friends, that's it for checking in.

I've got lots of housework to catch up on, lots of un-spoiling to do, & about a weeks worth of living life to make up for.

But don't worry--I'll be checking in again real soon!

Happy Thursday--or is it Wednesday?  I am so completely off schedule.

Happy Day!  There...that covers it all.

Mr. Mom

He drives me nuts sometimes.  He loads the dishwasher to the brim, but forgets to hit the start button.  He leaves socks & underwear scattered all over the floor.  He puts food that has been left out overnight back into the fridge.  He eats all of the yummy snacks that I have in the pantry & leaves none for me--even the ones I hide in the very back.

But really, that's all I've got to complain about.  When it comes right down to it, I've got a husband that is truly one in a million & I know it.

And this past weekend, he reminded me once again just how great of a guy he is.  He reminded me of the devoted husband he is.  He reminded me of the dedicated father he is.  And he reminded me of why my love runs so deep for him.

I got sick last thursday, & in the days following, things just got progressively worse.

While I've been laid up on the couch, my husband has been left to tend to everything.  And I do mean everything.  

He's done the cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, prescription pick ups, diaper changes, bath time routine, bedtime routine, & no-notice errand running.  I've watched him schlep grocery bags into the house with a baby on one hip & sweat pouring from his brow.  I've watched him juggle preparing dinner with having an energetic toddler pulling at his leg to go outside & play. I've watched him squeeze in work emails & schedule conference calls around Jett's nap time.  And I have seen the worry in his eyes while he sat across from me in the Emergency Room, just hoping for answers that would assure I would be feeling better soon.

He has raced around this house like a chicken with its head cut off, doing anything & everything to keep our daily lives running smooth.  And while I know that he must be worn out, you wouldn't know it by his attitude.  Not one time has he complained, not one time has he gotten grumpy, not one time has he acted like there's anywhere else in the world he'd rather be.

Shoot, I'm beginning to wonder if he's better at this whole mom thing than I am!

I've said it before & I'll say it again- I don't know how I would live this life without Jared.  He's the husband of my dreams, a father that is the best I've ever seen, & a Mr. Mom that would make any housewife swoon!

I'm praying that while our Mr. Mom jets off on a business trip for the next couple of days,  that he will be able to get some much deserved rest & relaxation in the evenings--maybe order room service, rent a movie, go for a run-- just do something for himself.  In fact, I think I'll see to it that he does just that.  Momma's orders!

So, the next time I push start on the dishwasher that never got run, the next time I pick up a pair of socks that were left scattered on the floor, the next time I go for a favorite snack & it's already been devoured with not even so much as a crumb left for me, I think I'll stop & count the blessing that my husband is & all that he does for this family, rather than complaining about the few things he does that drives me crazy.

Thank you, Jared--for loving us with every bit of your being, for showering us with kisses & hugs throughout the day, & for having such a cheerful, giving heart.

Thank you for filling the shoes of Mr. Mom when I couldn't fill mine as "momma".

**I also would like to take a moment to thank some other special people in our lives who have galloped in to our rescue & helped to keep our lives up & running--


Jared's parents-- for coming to play with Jett yesterday while we could go to the hospital.  You happily dropped your plans & rushed over to save the day.  Words can't express how grateful we are to have family so close & so willing to help.


Deb-- for meeting us at the hospital & playing the role of our "honorary momma".  When we told you we were headed to the ER, it wasn't even a question in your mind that you would meet us there.  What a picture of Jesus you are.  Plus, I know those doctors & nurses babied me just a tad more because they saw a familiar face sitting there next to me *wink*. 


My mom & dad-- for swooping in to spend the next few days with me & Jett while Jared is traveling for work.  There's nobody in the world that can make you feel better like your own parents can & we are blessed that you are taking the time to help us out. ** 

sick happenings

Well, after seven days of feeling really crummy, I finally took my sorry butt to the doctor today.

Does anyone else do this--suffer through until you just can't stand it any longer & then finally decide it's time to get the problem taken care of?  I don't know what it is about me, if I'm trying to prove something to myself, if it's my stubbornness coming out, thinking I can conquer it on my own, or if it's the fact that I just really hate popping any kind of pill, but I will stew & stew & stew before I'll just take something or call the doctor.  Weird, I know.  It drives my husband absolutely batty.  He's always the first to suggest I go to the doctor the second that I tell him I'm not feeling well.  He's also the first one to pop a pill when he even thinks he might be coming down with something.  He's got a medicine cabinet stocked to the brim of decongestants, nasal sprays, ibuprofen, tylenol, throat sprays, allergy medicines- you name it, he's got it.   So my little quirk of suffering it out...he so doesn't get it.

But that didn't stop my sweetheart of a husband from rushing home to save the day when I called him this morning in a complete panic.

I get dizzy spells from time to time {I've got ear problems & what my doctor believes to be Vertigo}, but today's spell was a doozy & just about knocked me off my feet.  Literally.  The room was spinning in circles & I could barely walk without stumbling all over the place.  Beads of sweat started pouring from my face, & all of a sudden I felt nauseous {No, I am not pregnant...although it kinda felt like it this morning}.

Probably a good time to go ahead & get that doctor's appointment scheduled, dontcha think?

Being the husband that Jared is, he dropped everything, came home from work to drive me to my appointment, & never even uttered so much as an "I told ya so".

So here I sit, curled up on the couch in my favorite sweats, popping pills left & right{so much for my big plans of toughing it out, huh?}, & looking forward to days ahead when I'm not feeling {& looking} like this:

Oh, & next time I feel sick, I think I'll put my bull-headedness on hold & go ahead & listen to that hubster of mine the FIRST time he suggests that I take my butt to the doctor.  {Yes Jared, you have that in writing *wink}. No more of this toughing it out business.


Happy Thursday, friends!  Here's to hopes for a happier, healthier Friday.

Project Craftroom

Remember that amazing craft room my hubby surprised me with for my 30th?

Well, I'm quite ashamed to admit it, but the truth is, I haven't done much with it.  I mean, I've used it a few times, but nothing like I had dreamed I would.

And I think I've figured out why...

'Cause it's not beautified yet.

I haven't taken the time to make it pretty.  I haven't added punches of color & splashes of design.  I haven't spruced it up the way I have the rest of the rooms in my home.  I haven't given it the attention that it deserves.  And with the holidays just around the corner, & in six months, a big two year old birthday bash to plan {yes I'm a nut.  I plan that far in advance}, I want to have a space to craft in that I absolutely love.  A space that screams "me".  A space that I have to pry myself away from because I simply love the energy that it exudes.

A space like this:

Seriously, isn't this adorable?  It's Little Miss Momma's craftroom, & I am wiping drool off my face as I type.  It has given me a little giddy in my step & has inspired me to get busy making my own craft room a space that is nothing less than stunning.

{For more photos of Little Miss Momma's craft room, go here.  But be prepared, she is darling, her blog is darling,  & you will be sucked in for hours.  Don't say I didn't warn you.}


Well, I am pleased to say that "Project Craftroom" got rollin' yesterday evening.

I've decided that I'm going to take this room slow--small steps--one project at a time.  I tend to get ahead of myself sometimes by desiring for everything to be done all at once & it almost always leads to a complete shut down {sometimes meltdown} on my part.

So last night I started with something simple.

My craft room chair.

I dragged this old thing out of our storage space under the stairs, gave it a good look up & down & decided it's got charm.

Once it's sanded, painted {I'm thinking pale pink or aqua...what do you think?}, & dolled up with a frilly cushion or pillow, it'll be a craft room chair that's suitable to sit in!

If all goes as planned, I'll be debuting a super sweet seat here soon!  Stay tuned!


**If you have any great suggestions for paint color, frilly pillows, or just some fun craft room inspiration, send it my way!  I'd love to see what inspires you!}**

Look Who's Talking

My little Jett man has always been chatty.

He is forever babbling, squealing, singing, gabbing, jibbering & jabbering away. 

Through the grocery store, during bath time, while he's eating dinner, & all day every day. My little guy, he's got plenty to say.  

But it's only been here lately that we are starting to make out some actual words that are flying around in all that chatter.

It seems like just over the past couple of weeks, our little Jett man has really taken off in regards to his vocabulary.  

Some of the latest & greatest additions to his vocab are:

Up

More

Owww!

Cup

Banana  

Hot

Hi 

It's the cutest thing to watch how excited he gets after he successfully says a word.  He flashes that great big bashful grin & proceeds to march around like the proudest little peacock you've ever seen.  I think he knows he's pretty awesome.

This stage in his little life is so amazing to me.  He is such a little sponge, sopping up all of the many details of the great big world around him.  I could sit for hours {& many times I do} just watching him discover, seeing his little wheels turn, & witnessing his self confidence grow & blossom within him.

I realize that one of these days I will probably find myself wishing for just five minutes of  golden silence.  Days when I've answered a zillion why's & why nots & when my brain feels like it may burst if I hear one more "Are we there yet?".

But for now, the little voice I am constantly hearing in my ear just so happens to be the sweetest sound I think I've ever heard.

Fun At The Fair

I'm a small town girl.  

And come summertime, when the dog days of summer have set in, what does a small town girl do?  

She throws her hair into pigtails & heads off to the local county fair.

I have such vivid memories of going to the fair as a kid.  I remember being little & piling into my mom's  mini-van with all of her stay at home mom friends & their kids, everyone eager for a night of summer fun.  I can still see myself like it was yesterday, standing in front of that great big ride named the "Zipper".  I remember hearing the shrieks & shrills that echoed out of it, & trying so hard to muster up some courage to hop into that cage & let it spin me upside down & all around.  Year after year, there I would stand in that line, my ticket clutched in my sweaty hand, my knees knocking, & my heart racing.  I would inch my way closer & closer to the scraggly carny who stood there holding out his hand to take my ticket, & year after year, the scene ended the same exact way.  With me chickening out.  I would go home every single year & lay awake in bed that night, kicking myself in the butt for wimping out.  I would promise myself that next year would be the year that I would conquer the infamous "Zipper".

 I never did ride that darn thing.

I have vivid memories of going to the fair as a teenager, too.  Hot summer nights without a care in the world except for maybe who I had a crush on at the time & which girlfriend I would be spending the night with.  We'd all show up to the fair grounds, a Sonic drink in hand {mine always a grape slush}, & we'd spend the entire evening standing around mingling & gossiping about who was dating who & where the next field party was going to held {Yeah, I said field party.  Country kids have parties in fields. Complete with bon fires.  No banjos, though.  We weren't that hick}. I'll never forget the summer that my high school sweetheart had shattered my heart into a million little pieces.  He'd dumped me just days prior to the fair coming to town, & I was so heart sick that I decided to just forego the fair altogether that year to stay home & wallow in self pity.  But after some convincing from my friends, & a coat of concealer for my puffy eyes, I came up with a better plan.  I found me a new boy for the evening {who had no clue he was being used solely as bait. Poor guy},  strutted myself right up to the fairgrounds with new boy at my side, & gave ol' high school sweetheart a run for his money. Looking back, I can admit that it was a pretty desperate attempt to make my ex jealous.  But I can't say it didn't work.  In fact, it worked like a charm.  High school sweetheart & I were a couple again by noon the next day.  

It's been years since I've been back to a fair.  Once I graduated high school & moved on with my life, I just never had the urge to return to one.  But here lately, I've been feeling a tug.  A tug that is gently pulling me back to my small town roots.  A tug that makes me want to intertwine those roots that run deep within me & share them with the little life that has my DNA running deep within him.  I want my own little boy to experience the parts of my life that I treasure still to this day.  The parts that won't ever escape me, for the memories are so vivid.   I want him to taste a piece of my childhood & maybe one day carry that piece within him.

  

So when I heard that our neighboring town was having their annual county fair, you guessed it.  I threw my hair into pigtails, & off we went for an impromptu Tuesday evening at the fair.

It's quite different, going to the fair as an adult.  It's freaky.  Like freak show freaky.  

Kids are so funny.  They are oblivious to the hundred degree weather, the sweat dripping into all of their crevices, making their clothing stick like glue.  They don't realize that they are surrounded by people who are missing most of their teeth & haven't had a shower in God knows how long.  They don't see how rickety the rides are or how quickly they were thrown together.  They don't understand that three dollars is too much money to ride on a dirty ol' carousel & that the prizes for the lame, rigged games are just a step above garbage. 

No, kids are oblivious to all of that.  

All they see is a fairground of fun, just calling their name.

So for a few hours, I pushed my O.C.D. tendencies down, I shoved my Purell deep into the diaper bag, I ignored the droplets of sweat that ran down my cheeks,  & I gave a little grace to the lady who blew cigarette smoke into my face while hollering "Two dollars!  Just two dollars to win a rabbit!"  For just a few hours, I gave in to that force that has been tugging me back to my small town roots, & I let my kid get the real experience of what a fair is all about.

I let him eat greasy curly fries for dinner.

  

 And a sugary funnel cake for dessert.

I watched him go whizzing by on carousels that go way faster than the ones at the mall do.

And I realized what a true success my little boy's very first fair had been when I told him that it was time to go home & he absolutely melted.

There will be plenty more county fairs in our future, I'm positively sure of it.  Because this small town girl isn't all finished planting her small town roots just yet.

That, & the fact that I'm on a quest to come face to face with that mean old "Zipper" one last time.

funny happenings

Caution:  Bras left hanging on a dresser door can quickly become a strangling hazard.

Never a dull moment, I tell ya.

**Disclaimer--When I first turned around to find him tangled in my bra, he was cracking up laughing. Thought it was pretty hilarious, stretching Mom's bra to Guam.  It's when I ran off to get my camera that he realized he was stuck & proceeded with a meltdown.  I couldn't resist snapping a few photos.  He wasn't stuck for long so don't go turning me in to Child Protective Services. **

Beat The Heat

It's like a million degrees outside.

And while there is no doubt I'm a summertime girl,  these 110 heat index days with all their sticky-ness, muggy-ness,  can't-catch-my-breath-when-I-walk-oustide-of-the-air-conditioning-ness, well, they just don't do it for me.

It's days like this that I've got to get creative & whip up some summertime fun that doesn't include sweating our fannies off outside in this atrocious heat.

So today we called up Jett's god brothers & invited them over to join us in our attempt to beat the heat.

We baked up some homemade mini pizzas.

We enjoyed the heat index inside the house which pumped out a steady flow of seventy degree air.

{I love that Liam is snuggling Jett's favorite blankey here.}

And we topped our day off with a nice cold summer treat that didn't melt faster than we could shovel it in.

It turned out to be a really fun summer day.  The house was rowdy & lively & booming with energy & not once did I hear a single complaint about being stuck indoors.

The best part...

we never broke a sweat!

What are you doing to beat the heat?