{Weekend Recap} Family Outings

Happy Tuesday, ladies! We kept very busy over the weekend which had me dragging yesterday. Hence why the recap is getting posted on Tuesday afternoon. Sorry, a mama just can't do it all!
Friday On Friday after work. Kevin and I headed to a local park with the kids. We have some money invested with Edward Jones and our investors threw together a little cookout for their clients by the lake. It was such a nice gesture for customer appreciation. They had hot dogs with all the fixings, chips, and a handful of desserts that we may or may not have sampled each of. Which meant that when the food was gone, it was time to do a bit of wandering and working off that food. So while I caught up with my parents who were also in attendance, Kevin took Harper down to the lake to do some exploring.

We stuck around for about an hour and then we headed downtown for the Cruise In; a local event that takes place on the second Friday of each spring and summer month. We wandered the streets looking at old cars and catching up with people we ran into. And we may or may not have also grabbed some ice cream from a local sandwich shop before heading home. Whoops.

Saturday  On Saturday morning, Harper had her preschool program. She also had a blastball game but since we value the importance of education over sports, we opted for her to attend her program. & thank goodness that we did because Harper rocked her show. She led her class throughout their whole portion. She said her numbers in English and Spanish; told the commandments; sang her songs; and shared her memory verse. We couldn't have been more proud. 

To celebrate we headed to grab pizza for lunch, as was her request. While there I tried to snap a photo but as you can tell, I have a silly girl on my hands!

Following lunch, we headed to the hospital to visit Kevin's grandpa. We got a call Friday night saying he wasn't doing well but since it was so late, we opted to take the kids by on Saturday instead of dragging them to the hospital late at night. I'm so thankful we did because Papa Jimmy's mind was much sharper Saturday morning and he was able to communicate some with us. We hung around for a little while visiting then we headed to Kevin's parents' house for the remainder of the afternoon.
Around dinner time, Kevin, his brother, and I headed to Greensboro (with the kids in tow!). For Mother's Day Kevin got me an Apple watch and apparently it started a trend. Kevin and his brother both decided they too needed smart watches which led us to Best Buy where we spent two hours letting the two of them decide on what they wanted. 

But at least they left happy (:

We ended our night with dinner at Cracker Barrel and a quick trip to Target where I grabbed up this adorable elephant outfit for our little man. You know, because elephants are my thing!
Sunday Our Sunday was spent as it usually is. Kevin had to work which meant the kids and I attended church with my parents and family. Our new pastor delivered a wonderful sermon and I left feeling refreshed and prepared for a new week. 
Following the service, we headed to my parents' house for our usual Sunday lunch. We hung around for the better part of the afternoon then headed home so the kids could grab naps and I could catch up on the Hallmark movie I had recorded on dvr. Sadly, the movie didn't happen, nor did the naps. But instead we headed next door to the neighbor's so Harper could join in on their daughter's birthday party fun. Which worked out because by the time the evening came, Harper was so worn out that we all got to get in bed before 9! Whoop whoop!

A Scary Story + This Blogs Future

Good morning, ladies! I'm back today with some serious matters of the heart. If you've noticed, I've been gone for quite some time now. When Boston arrived, I decided to take a step back from blogging to adjust to being a mom of two. Trying to juggle life with a newborn and a child that was always used to being the center of attention while the husband was working night shift took quite a bit of balance so if it wasn't important, I let it go. Which means this little blog of mine got put on the back burner. 
After getting settled in as a mama of two, I had all intentions of returning back to blogging. I typed up quite a few posts that are currently sitting in my drafts folder; like the rest of Boston's birth story, his newborn pictures, the kids' new room reveals, etc. I had all intentions of sharing these all with the blogging world until one morning I woke up and read a post from one of my favorite blogging mamas and that's when it all changed. 
You see, this fellow blogger found out someone had been stealing her children's pictures and posting them on other social media accounts claiming they were her own. I wish the story ended there but it doesn't. The story gets sicker and sicker and all I can say is that her story was an instant wake up call to the fact that the world is full of very sick people. Which leaves me in a state of limbo...
I love blogging. I love all of the many people I've met through blogging. I love the opportunity it brings. & I love, love, love having all of the posts to look back on of our little family. But at what cost is this all worth? Is there some sick person out there reading my blog, doing the same thing? 
Over the last several weeks, I've considered ending this little blog of mine. I've contemplated making it private. I've contemplated just sharing random tidbits and leaving out pictures of our family. But then, that's what my blog is all about. It's an open journal for our friends and family to stay in touch. So where does that leave me?
Well, I've thought long and hard about this little space and I've even prayed about it. At this point, I've decided to keep this little blog of mine but there will be some changes. I'll be limiting the pictures I share of our little family. The pictures I do share of the kids will now be watermarked. They will also no longer be able to be copied from my blog. My social media accounts will be marked private so if I don't know you or I can't link you to a blog, I won't be accepting any new followers. Hopefully, these precautions will protect our little family but if in the future I find out they aren't, I'll be closing out this little space but I pray that it never comes to that. 
In the meantime, I'll be working on a post of our weekend (watermarks included!) to share one day this week. While I do that, if you have any tips for keeping your blog a bit more protected, please share! 

{Weekend Recap} A Weekend of Dates

Happy Tuesday, girls! I am so, so, so very happy to finally be able to sit down and get a chance to blog. This weekend was one for the books so it definitely needed to be documented. 
Harper was invited to a birthday party on Friday at our local Children's Museum. Since Kevin had to work, I decided it would be a great opportunity for Harper and I to have some one-on-one time since these days, her brother is always tagging along. So while Kevin worked, I dropped Boston off with my parents and headed to pick up Harper early from daycare. Before heading to the party, we made a Target run. I swear my child loves the place as much as I do. We perused the aisles and ended up leaving without purchasing anything; which I have to add, was probably a first. 
By the time we got to the party, I quickly realized we should have gotten there much sooner. Our local Children's Museum is located downtown and there is limited parking. Factor in a big event and needless to say, we spent thirty minutes circling the parking lot hoping for a spot. Finally coming to the conclusion that we weren't going to find one in the lot, on the street, or in the parking deck nearby, I text the party host and told her we weren't going to make it inside since we couldn't find a place to park. But just as I was fixing to leave, a man came out and told us we could make a parking spot along the curb. Hallelujah, Amen! 
The party was a huge hit in Harper's eyes. I haven't seen her quite that happy in a long time. She literally skipped around the place instead of walking. The airplane slide and train were most definitely her favorites spots in the museum. It took quite a bit of effort to get her to venture elsewhere and yet, we still ended up back in the same spot. 

When I broke the news to her that we had to go to meet the family for dinner, she cried huge crocodile tears for half of the way home. Broke this mama's heart so I vowed to her over and over that we'd go back again real soon. 
Saturday morning I woke up to find it nearly 10:00 in the morning. I never, ever sleep that late...especially not now with two kiddos. But thanks to the hubs getting the kiddos up and ready when they woke up, this mama got some extra snoozin' time and I couldn't have been more thankful in that moment for the hubs than if he'd have gotten me a maid (; Then again... j/k
Saturday morning, Kevin headed off with Harper to the Burlington City Park with some of our friends for a Daddy/daughter date while Boston and I stayed behind to get ready for a baby shower. From the looks of all of the pictures, Harper had a blast with her daddy and best buds! 

While Kevin and Harper spent the day at the park with the Loye's, Boston and I attended my friend Olivia's baby shower with my friend, Brittni. The shower was coordinated with touches of gray and navy and topped off with elephants...all of which are my favorites.

After getting home from the baby shower and doing a quick wardrobe change, Kevin and I were out the door again for our first date night since Boston got here. Kevin's work was hosting a get together at the Barn and Dinner Theater so we headed there for a delicious buffet dinner and a show entitled, Leading Ladies. The food was the best I have had there yet; the company was amazing; and the show was absolutely hilarious. Factor all of that in and you have one awesome date night!

Before returning home from our date night, we made a quick stop by Kevin's cousins' house to catch the end of the Carolina vs Syracuse game. We made it there with just six minutes left on the clock but it was still enough time to watch our boys advance to the National Championship. Whoop whoop! When the game ended, we headed back to our house, with another member of the family. Kevin's cousin, Dustin, had came up from Roanoke to watch the game for the evening and since it was late, Kevin offered for Dustin to come stay with us for the night. & thank God that he did. 
After getting back home, straightening up a bit, and preparing for bed, I started feeling nauseous. Thinking it was just from exhaustion I said my goodnights and headed to bed. However, it was short lived and at 3am, I was up sick as a dog. Poor Kevin had stayed up until 1am talking to Dustin and was set to get up at 4am to head into work, so him helping me with Boston was out of the question. But thankfully, Dustin, greatly stepped up and took care of the little guy for me with his middle of the night feedings until I could call in reinforcements...aka my parents.
My parents arrived like knights in shining armor at 6:30am. They got the kids out of bed, packed their bags, and took them back to their house so I could spend the whole day in bed. By late evening, I was feeling much better thanks to the Gatorade the in-laws had left on the front porch but I was seriously missing my babies to the point I made Kevin send me pictures of them since Kevin wasn't bringing them back home until it was time to put them in bed :( Despite how much I wanted to see them, I understood and didn't want them to catch what I had and thankfully they didn't! Two days later, everyone is still feeling good! Fingers crossed it continues... 

Confessional Thursday

I confess...

Since Boston made his debut, I just don't have time to sit down and blog like I want to. I pull out my computer each morning and as soon as I start to blog, he inevitably needs something. 

Since I haven't been able to blog, I've yet to finish his birth story even though I posted part 1 three whole weeks ago. Don't even get me started on his first month post. #momfail

This morning I woke up at 1 am and couldn't go back to sleep so I spent two hours shopping online. My bank account is telling me I should have taken some sleeping pills. 

Kevin and I ordered a car a month ago, for the second time, and when it arrived it wasn't what we ordered. Also for the second time. So Monday the dealership called saying they'd gotten Kevin what he wanted and it would arrive yesterday at lunch. Only when it arrived, it also wasn't what they had ordered. I'm starting to think Kevin's not meant to have this vehicle. 

I'm in that awkward postpartum stage where the clothes I wore during my pregnancy are too big and my pre-pregnancy clothes are too small which means I'm living in yoga pants each day and I'm not hating it. 

I'm loving the tribal print vibes and I pulled the trigger on this beauty last week. It arrives today and I can't be more excited to rock it to an upcoming baby shower. 

Two of my best friends are having babies and I think I am obsessed with buying for their little guys as I am buying for my own. Their showers better hurry up or Kevin is going to kill me. 

We went to the beach this past weekend and I refused to leave before my entire house was clean and all the laundry was done. I absolutely refuse to return from a relaxing vacation knowing I have work to do. Please tell me I'm not the only one who is OCD about this...

And with that, that's all I have today ladies! If you want to join in on the fun, pop over to Jessica's blog and link up!

Boston's Birth Story: Part I

It's hard to believe that my little guy is already three weeks old today. When Harper joined our family two and a half years ago, I felt like time started to pick up it's pace and it started to pass by quickly. Yet, since adding Boston to our mix, I'm realizing that when you have two babies, time passes at lightning speeds. In some moments, I feel like our little guy has been with us forever and in others, I feel like he just got here which happens to be what I want to talk about today. So let's start from the beginning....
When I went in for my 38 week check up on Thursday, February 18th, my doctor informed me that she wouldn't be on call the weekend before Boston's due date so she asked if I'd like to be induced the following week. The question caught me completely off guard as she's not one to just take your baby early if it's not medically necessary so coming up with a response took me a moment as I mentally weighed the pros and cons.
You see, Kevin and I had discussed induction prior to my appointment and I had told him along with my coworkers, family members, and friends that with this pregnancy, I hoped to go into labor on my own. I wanted to experience true labor...contractions, water breaking, and all as I felt like I had been gypped out of this experience when I was induced with Harper and I wasn't sure whether or not I planned to have more children so this could be my only chance. Yet, the other part of me considered the fact that Harper came late and with late pregnancies comes a variety of other complications and risks. To top it off, Kevin had been working non-stop, fifteen days in a row in fact, and the following week he was actually scheduled to have some time off making it much easier for him to be home with me and the baby. So after thinking it over for a few minutes and sending Kevin a quick text to ask him what he thought, we decided that moving forward with an induction was the way to go. I talked it over with my doctor and we had two options. I could be induced on Tuesday, February 23rd or Thursday, February 25th. Since Kevin was scheduled to be off on Tuesday, we decided that that would work best. So when I left my OB-GYN's office, our little guy had a birthday scheduled for four days later.
Heading into work the next day, I let my principal and teammates know that Monday would be my last official day of work. Many of my coworkers encouraged me to take Monday off and enjoy my last day resting and relaxing before our family was joined by another member, but I just laughed and told them I'd be there Monday because there really wasn't any point of just sitting around at home and using a vacation day when I could save it for after the baby got here. But just in case I changed my mind or Boston decided to make an early appearance, I stuck around school later than usual that Friday tying up loose ends, completing paper work for my leave, laying out everything needed for the following week, and straightening up my room before I called it a day and headed home. 
Kevin had to work that Saturday and Sunday so while he slept during the day, I soaked up my last few moments with Harper as an only child. On Saturday she and I headed to Greensboro with my sister and did some shopping as I figured that would be the last opportunity I'd have for a while...after all, the thought of shopping by myself with two babies is a bit daunting. We grabbed Starbucks, as was Harper's request, and stocked up on groceries for the coming weeks. On Sunday, Harper and I slept in, watched cartoons all morning, then whipped up some lasagna for my family to come and eat after church. It felt like a successful weekend, yet all I could think about was how good it would feel to spend the day at home tomorrow instead of going to work. So I sent one of my teammates a message and told her I was struggling with the decision to take the next day off or to "suck it up" and go in. As a mom of two kids herself, her answer came quick and with certainty... get a sub and enjoy the day at home! So with that, I reported my absence and lined up a sub....all the while feeling completely guilty. But then Monday rolled around....