There is no such thing in anyone's life as an unimportant day.

Today, I am just over it. I've been in a dark, twisty, funky place... I think it's the germs and lack of fresh air. lol. I also think it has something to do with my lack of gym time the last week or so while Kegan was sick and one of my favorite girls moving on to the next big stage of her life. [Proud of you, T! Best of luck.] Tomorrow is going to kick my behind, but I'm looking forward to it. I guess spin class will depend on what time the kids go to sleep tonight... fingers crossed for early bedtime. I need to burn those calories!!

Not much going on- planning (hopefully) our little family vacation to visit Jer and Rosi's husband, go to Sea World and the San Antonio zoo! Yes, both our families together. Psyched! Found a really cheap place to leave the dogs where they'll be safe and stay all together! Crossing my fingers Jer can get the weekend off and that everything works out the way we need it to!! The garage sale thing is on hold till we get back because it's just too much work AND it's supposed to rain this weekend. Fine by me.

Playdate today- we just went to thrift stores and then took the kiddos to play inside and mcdonalds. They had a blast, of course and were worn out enough for me to get some cleaning done when we got home! It's amazing the things you find when you spend more than 10 minutes in your basement... I'll have to post some of the old photos when I have more free time. Whoah. Obviously, this means little man is feeling much better! No more throwing up, nausea or tummy trouble for 48 hours and he's eating normally. I'm relieved- I was starting to flip out a little.

From today:

Life is good. I have a wonderful family and the greatest friends. Planning our first real family vacation since Em was an infant. Too blessed to be stressed. :)

Forget who hurt you yesterday,
But don't forget
who loves you today.

I get angry when I go without sleep. :)

I LOVE 2 hour phone conversations that make me lose track of time. I am exhausted... but I feel understood and amused and very UNstressed.


Also, I have the greatest friends in the world. 4 women who have no obligation or real reason to care... called or text me today to ask me how my son was feeling. Not because they have anything to gain, just because they're good friends and because they care. I love that.

I'm really missing my hubby... then I was reminded that it's 1 week till our garage sale, 2 weeks (give or take) till we head to TX. Still need a dog sitter and a plan.. lol. Just the idea of it is ridiculously exciting. love, love, love it. Love having something to look forward to. :)

K is doing okay, but not all the way better. Threw up once today but actually kept down food in the morning and the evening... hoping it's a sign that the end of this virus is near. I'm tired of seeing my baby so miserable. I'm tired of smelling doo-doo all day. I'm tired of feeling helpless. Playdate for Em so maybe K and I can get a nap in tomorrow without her being bored. Have I mentioned I have the best neighbor on the planet? Love her.

.... bedtime. I cannot believe I'm still awake when my kids were asleep HOURS ago. My hubby is right- I really should try to sleep when they do (newborn rule- you sleep when the baby does- how'd I forget?) I blame Grey's Anatomy. =)

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.

"At the end of the day, when it comes down to it, all we really want is to be close to somebody. So this thing where we all keep our distance and pretend not to care about each other, it's usually a load of bull. So we pick and choose who we want to remain close to, and once we've chosen those people, we tend to stick close by. No matter how much we hurt them. The people that are still with you at the end of the day, those are the ones worth keeping. And sure, sometimes close can be too close. But sometimes, that invasion of personal space, it can be exactly what you need." - Grey's Anatomy.

I'm so overwhelmed... in a good way. I forced myself to try to go to sleep by 11 last night, but I checked on K before I got into bed. He was HOT.. temperature was 101 and by the time I took it a half hour later it was 103.6. I gave him the appropriate dose of tylenol and called the ER- they suggested I give him motrin (which I was, of course, out of). I called my neighbor and she was out too.. basically, her family brought me some (I felt awful, but they were great about it). I gave him a luke warm bath and a popsicle and moved his bed into my room. I was terrified to let him sleep with me because I am already like a space heater- didn't wanna bring his temp back up. After the motrin it went back down and I just got up every hour to check on him... he was fever free till he got up at 9, and motrin took care of that. He seems to be feeling a lot better today, so we're just home (avoiding our winter storm- go awayyy!) coloring and taking it easy. I'm trying to get some cleaning done and get ready for our multi-family garage sale.

I am so grateful to have friends like that... the kind of friends who would literally go to walmart for me at midnight to bring my sick baby ibuprofen so I don't have to wake up my OTHER baby and take them out in the cold in the middle of the night. There's nothing I could ever do to deserve it- or to pay them back. I'm just blessed... I've never had a friend like that before. Or at least not one I lived close to. This past 7 or so months has been REALLY difficult at times and I'm constantly being told how well I'm handling it and how they don't know how I do it. The truth is, I can't take credit for it. I have a truly amazing support system between my family, my "people" [grey's reference!] and a husband who is there for me even when he can't be here for me. The abilities I do have- the credit goes to God, I have nothing to do with them. I'm just blessed. And thankful. I'm looking for opportunities now to pay it forward... because as people, I think that's all we can do. :)

K's feeling a lot better this afternoon... I got him to eat something and he's drinking plenty of fluids. He and Em have trains and cars all over his room and they're playing well with very little arguing. Thank goodness! I'm so ready for spring- this winter weather is beautiful, but it's time to put it away for now. I'm ready for garage sales (having one and going to), a roadtrip to texas with our other family to see my hubby and his family... spring clothes and days at the pool and park!

That's all. :)

Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know you left open.

Where to start? Ayiyi... what a last 2 weeks. Em got a cold, gave it to K which turned into an ear/upper respiratory infection. Back on anti-biotics that didn't fully kick his cough and only made it worse when he got the flu and the coughing led to more vomiting. I felt so sorry for him. Today he was running a fever and because of all the tummy trouble and vomiting, I was worried about the sudden fever, lethargy, etc. He got some good medication and was feeling much better by the time we got home- he fell right to sleep.

We had the hubby home this past weekend... it was everything we needed it to be, except long enough. Mostly we were out and about, watched a few movies at home and mostly enjoyed each other's company. Pictures are worth more than words:

Happy hearts all around. <3

Mi amor. :)

Our happy chalk family. Yes, he made us hold hands on purpose. =)

He's the best.

My hubby is a rockstar. And his wife is an awesome photographer. Yep.

Love, love, love!

Monday was dreadful... I went to the gym and my heart wasn't in it. Spent the rest of the day watching Grey's, went to dinner and a church meeting with dad... and then Em got sick that night. She went right back to sleep and was fine by the next morning. We headed to the gym and K got sick in the car.. and we've been home for 2 days. While we were at the hospital tonight, Em had a playdate with her bff.

SO grateful for our family across the street... tonight would've been awful without them.

Love these sweet girls. :)

Otherwise, nothing new. I need to start kicking butt at the gym again... as soon as the kiddos are better, that's where I'll be. Lost a pound.. blah. But, I'm toning, so that was the point. It's getting more difficult to be away from Jer, so we're trying to stay occupied. Planning a trip to TX next month- that's helping! Sea world AND we'll be roadtripping with our pseudo family.

Closing.. So extremely grateful for my amazing husband. On Monday, all my babygirl wanted to do was play with Thomas the train and Disney Cars. Tuesday, I changed her dressup clothes SIX times. haha. Seriously. Today wasn't much different (except she wore the same one for 2 1/2 hours vs changing every half hour) and then she did hair and "makeup" with her little best friend all evening.

I'm so thankful to be here... to spend enough time with them to notice such a huge change in her likes/dislikes/personality from Monday to Wednesday. I'm so blessed. :)



Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.

I just rushed from the dinner table to the computer to get this down before I forget the details or leave out any cuteness. haha.

I made chicken tonight and just seasoned it enough to give it taste, mac and cheese and a veggie. Sick children plus 2 hours on the phone with my husband (till midnight) exhausts me- so I'm not in a gourmet sort of mood. Anyway, I guess I should specify that I made -Toy Story- mac and cheese but that I didn't say anything about it to the kiddos because they could care less. (Yeah, yeah... it's MY favorite.) We're eating quietly (Kegan and I were, Em just played in it, aghhh) and I start to hear Kegan whispering "Buzz Lightyear, is that you?" and then eating him... "woody!" *chomp* Finally he notices me watching him and smiles his cheesiest smile and says "Thanks for making me this chicken, mommy. It's good!" I told him "thank you" and we went back to eating- he resumed his "woody! Buzz!" thing and when I giggled at him he gives me an amused look and says "Stop playing with your food, MOMMMM!"

Poor little man doesn't feel good at all. He's coughing, breathing heavy and has almost totally lost his voice. (though, I will be honest- his little raspy voice is adorable because he sounds like a little man). It's been an exhausting couple of days... otherwise, lots of cardio- went to and rocked my 2nd spin class, cleaning and Grey's Anatomy. haha.

Nothing else exciting besides getting to see the hubbs for 3 days... I am psyched! 6 weeks is entirely too long. A little sad that we don't have much time, but kind of tentatively planning a trip down there for his four day weekend next month if we can find dog-siters. Might as well have a small family vacation to texas while he's already down there, right? :)

Praying for an early bedtime tonight. yawwwn.

Valentine's Day:

Little diva. haha.

I took down Kegan's Thomas bed and put the toy story one together (by myself) and surprised him on Vday.

Em's Valentine's day gift from Mommy.

Believe in yourself, trust the process, change forever.

Several things... can't decide where to start. =]

Em keeps bringing me her play food on plates and in bowls and saying "Eat more, mommy, MORE!" haha. I just love her, and I love that she's actually starting to PLAY instead of just making a mess in her room. So far, a slice of pizza on a princess plate, a whole chicken in a bowl, and a cupcake.

I'm completely addicted to http://www.myfitnesspal.com/. I LOVE it. Tried a new spin class with T this morning and it was awesome!! Of course, I'm feeling it now... but it was a great workout and the stretching afterwards was relaxing. :) The tanning- eh, I may be a little burnt. ha. The end result will be worth it... even with the skin cancer lectures every other day. Ugh. I go one month (not even every day) out of a year- it will be oooookay.

It feels so good to finally be doing things for myself. January was a difficult month for me, so it's really feeling like February was my "new year" startover. I have energy, I'm happy... life is good. I really, really miss Jer... but we can't have everything, right? He'll be home next week to visit and I couldn't be MORE excited. 6 weeks is entirely too long... but I don't have a right to complain because I spoke with an army wife today who was 2 weeks from her hubby's R&R. :(

Girl's night! Got my hair trimmed and my eyebrows done... dinner and we're seeing "the roommate". It's just been me and the kids for almost 6 straight weeks 24/7 (except my gym time, but even today I had to stop my workout because Em needed to be changed). I am ready for some time away- I'll miss them. :)

There comes a time in life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh, forget the bad, and focus on the good. So, love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is a part of LIFE, getting back up is LIVING.

When writing the story of your life, don't let anyone else hold the pen.

I will never argue again when some man tells me that women are complicated. I wish I could, but I learned tonight just how young we become "complicated." I asked Emily if she was ready for bed and she said yes but asked me if she could watch a movie. Which one? Of course... the one Kegan wants to watch before he goes to sleep. Ruh-roh. His is the movie that was released by disney in 2001- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinosaur_(film. WHY she wanted to watch it, I have NO idea because to me, it's terrifying for a 2 year old... so I tried to compromise and found "The land before time". 5 minutes into it she tells me she's scared, then that she's sad, then that the baby dinosaur is sad and she doesn't want to watch it anymore. Instead she chooses Shrek 2... and I have NO idea what the appeal is for my daughter who is obsessed with disney princess and baby dolls. haha. Complicated, right? I just adore her. Kegan is easy to please.. allergy meds, popsicle, teeth brushed, Dinosaurs and bed.

Didn't bother watching the superbowl... what's the point when my hubby's not home? I don't watch commercials EVER, so I'm certainly not going to sit through a 3 hour game. lol. Especially with all these people to point out the good ones! =) The kiddos and I watched "Despicable Me" and then they had a song and dance party- got some cute pictures out of that. Flashlights for microphones and all! We had our own little anti-superbowl party... they were cranky and exhausted all day long but STILL had insane amounts of energy. Gotta get those kiddies to sleep if I'm going to make it to the gym at 0900! I am so excited to get back into my workout routine.. having multiple people to be accountable to helps a lot. Who has the greatest friends ever? I do!

I need to set aside at least one day this week to do some major deep, power cleaning! Donating to the goodwill, giving away to friends, whatever it takes. Even after down-sizing over the summer, we have too much junk. Over the garage sale thing... suggestions on places to donate that will go to people who need it?