Stomach Bugged!

Friday night when Ryan was in the bathtub she told me "when I throw up I will be sick huh?" and I said "yes, you throw up when you are sick". I guess that was her 3 year old way of telling me she was not feeling well. At 4:30 a.m. on Saturday I heard her crying and went to check on her and she was sick! She got sick until around 11:00 a.m. that day and then got a lot better. When my kids are sick I make them stay in their room until they are 24 hour symptom free. This just helps them from spreading it all over the house and hopefully from any of the rest of the family from getting it too. I wear a mask and gloves and scrub my hands and arms after every contact with a sick kid - just hoping to stop the virus with that kid. Ryan was not excited about being quarantined after an hour or so. I let her out to play outside while Noah and I hung Christmas lights on the house, but other than that, she stayed in her room. She got so upset she had to stay in there she did end up with a new movie, book and toy though - desperate times call for desperate measures! I did go and read her books from the hallway with my gloves and mask on so she wouldn't be so lonely or bored. We also had to miss our friend Mia's birthday party that night :(

Getting some fresh air :)

My Christmas Light Helper :)

Hanging Christmas lights before it got cold!

The next morning I let her out and washed her and disinfected her room. She was eating fine and playing like normal. We were so glad because we were hosting the November birthday parties for my family that afternoon. So, I disinfected the whole house and cooked food all day. We celebrated Nathan and my sister-in-law (to be) Jessica. It was nice to have family over and let the cousins all play together. My house is not really hosting friendly and everyone was kind of cramped for space, but I think it went well.

Monday morning I went to get Noah up for school and he had gotten sick in his sleep - and never even knew it (which is scary - so glad he didn't choke). So, I had to put the gloves and mask back on and get him set up in his room for the day. He only got sick a few times, but he is very emotional when he is sick and he doesn't like being alone so being in his room all day was tough. He also ended up with some new movies, a toy and a coloring book. That really helped him - he was so happy with his new stuff he barely asked about getting out of his room the rest of the day. I ended up keeping him home on Tuesday too since he wouldn't officially be 24 hour symptom free when school started and I wanted him to rest up since his first field trip was Wednesday and he really wanted to make that! He got to come out of his room at around 11:00 a.m. Tuesday and hit the ground running! He was so excited to play in the living room and to eat! I went to work and took Ryan with me while Nathan stayed home and worked and took care of Noah. Nathan took him to eat lunch and he did great and ate a good supper also. No issues with anything - he just bounced right back! I was so glad God healed him so quickly!

During all of this Ryan decided to start back with diarrhea on Monday, but no other symptoms and acting totally fine. She has to stay with me until she is 24 hour symptom free, so she was not able to go back to daycare until Thursday, so she spent lots of time with me at work. I am glad she is feeling good enough to go to work with me. I do not know why, but I have always gotten serious anxiety when I have to stay at home for long periods of time. It was starting to get bad Monday night - poor Nathan, I know he thinks I am crazy, but he was a trooper and stayed up and watched a movie with me :)

"Working" at Momma's desk :)

Ready to go back to school and go on his field trip!

Hanging out with mom at work, being goofy as always.

Painting Momma a picture at work :)

So, I am hoping this is our last bug for a while (forever would be nice too, just sayin'). We like our routine and have a lot of fun holiday activities coming up.

My Perfect Facebook Life

I have had some people comment to me lately about how I have the "perfect marriage" or that Nathan and I have the "perfect relationship" or that I am "such a good mom". This really flattered me. More than it should have probably. Honestly, I strive for perfection because even though I know it is impossible, I figure going for it will get me as close as possible. These comments also made me think about the few couples I see on Facebook and think to myself "they have the perfect relationship" or "there is no way they fight" or there is "no way they ever lose patience with their kids". NO WAY.  But, realizing that some people think that about me makes me realize that maybe they do - and it bursts my bubble and honestly I do not like it!

I felt compelled to throw this out there. I, by far, do not have a perfect marriage or relationship. At least not in the concept that we do not fight and every day is rainbows and sunshine. Nathan knows exactly how to push  my buttons and depending on his mood he does just that. He doesn't pick up after himself and has habits that I am not fond of. I on the other hand, am a terrible cook, rarely do anything with anyone besides my kids, and can be a nag. Do you see me complaining on Facebook about Nathan's short comings all the time? Nope. I do not see the point.  I have never understood the point of complaining to others about your spouse, especially on social media - others cannot change your spouses behavior, only your spouse can so why not complain (or nicely talk) to them about it? (I do however reserve the right to give him a hard time on social media about things, but I can guarantee you if I am putting it out there, it is not that big of a deal, I just like giving him a hard time, it is part of my charm ya know:) )

We are not perfect together:

He hates making the bed. I insist it be made as soon as we get up.
He likes total darkness and silence to go to sleep. I like the tv on.
He never closes his dresser drawers and I cannot stand for them to even be cracked open.
He loves watching history shows and westerns. Those things bore me to death.
He has a lot of friends. I have a select few friends.
He and his family do not really celebrate birthdays. Me and my family make each persons day a big deal (I mean, it is a big deal after all)
He likes camping and canoeing. I used to love these things as a child but no longer like them anymore.
He loves rap music. I love watching him sing along to rap music, but I prefer country or christian.
He loves green beans. I love black eyes peas.
He likes beer. I like being the designated driver.
He loves drag racing. I love watching him do something he is passionate about.
He loves to take naps. I cannot stand to nap.

The key to living with these things is compromise. It is really a big deal that he doesn't close the dresser drawers? No. Am I going to tell him it drives me crazy when he does it and jump on his back and tickle him? Absolutely. Some nights we have green beans, some nights black eyes peas. Some nights we watch the history channel, some nights we watch Teen Mom. It is all about balance :)

However:

We both love Jesus.
We both love shopping.
We both love to travel.
We both love pot stickers and World's Finest Chocolate almond bars.
We both love watching 48 Hours.
We both love roller coasters.
We love going to the movies.
We love playing board games.
We both love snow skiing.
We both love our life we have created.

I work full time so I try to spend lots of time with the kids when I am not with them. There are days when it seems like I have the best kids in the world. Then there is that day where I am shopping and turn around and the kids are gone and I look down the isle at JC Penny and Ryan is running screaming and laughing with one shoe on and Noah is chasing her screaming "I am telling MOOOOOOOMMMM". Or when Noah had just learned to walk and literally ran through the kitchen of a restaurant before I could catch him and I sat in the car with Noah and cried while Nathan got my food to go. It really is hit or miss. Do I have bad kids - no. I have amazing normal kids who have bad days or even just a bad few minutes. I lose my patience some days and literally cry in bed when going to sleep worried that they will not love me as much after that bad day. Then they are so happy to see me the next morning and all is forgiven. I am constantly praying for more patience.

Not to sound rude, but it is no ones business when I am upset with my husband, but his. I do not want to complain to the world about how bad my kids are. I love these people more than anything. My Facebook friends do not. I will always forgive them and move on. My Facebook friends will not - they will probably not even forget it as quickly as me.  I do have friends who ask me for advice about their spouses when they are hurt or they are concerned if they are justified in their feelings or not. I always make time to listen to them and help them see what is wrong and how to talk to their spouse about it. There is a difference in complaining and asking for advice.

So, I am not perfect. My husband it not perfect. We are perfect together. I am not the perfect mom, by far. I have so much to learn still but feel like I have also been through so much with them already. My kids are perfect for me however. They bring out the best in me and give me so much joy and hope in life.

Dog pile on Daddy!

I hope people can find hope in my happiness, not in a false reality. I drive my husband crazy daily
and he easily returns the favor. I love my kids more than anything but am constantly afraid I am screwing them up somehow. We laugh more than we cry. We smile more than we frown. We love every day.  So, the next time you see me post some cute pictures of my kids - know that there were a lot of awful, blurry pictures before that and I am usually having to bribe Ryan with gummies (which are oh so nutritional I know). The next time I put a cute quote from my oh so funny son, remember he had a meltdown earlier and said some not so cute things - but those will not be shared. The next time I profess some affection for my husband online, remember his clothes are laying in the floor approximately 2 inches from the laundry basket and I cuss him in my head as I pick them up. That is our perfect life :)

Boutique Show, Peanuts, Veterans and a Birthday!

For 4 years in a row now, my mom and I meet my sister-in-law Emily at the NWA Boutique Show to start off some Christmas shopping. It is such a fun day to meet up and shop with family and have lunch. This year I got to check a few things off my list and found a few cute things for my house and got me and Ryan something cute to wear for our upcoming Christmas parties.

Beautiful picture I got at the boutique show - I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it!
The map is from 1952 and the verse makes it perfect!

I also found this! This goes perfect in my red kitchen - right on the stove :)

I got back from the boutique show just in time to get in the school line to get Noah. Then we went home and made dinner and went on a family date night at the movies. The Peanuts Movie was very cute! Noah and Ryan laughed (loudly) throughout the whole movie. We had to go home and watch all our other Peanuts movies too :)

Saturday morning was the Veteran's Day parade. We have not been able to make it to this parade before, so I was so excited to get to take the kids and explain to them what it was for. We made signs and bought flags. It was such a good morning!

Nathan had to work after that (Noah helped him a little :) ) and then Nathan and I went to Conway to a friends birthday party. (HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRITTANY!) We met up with 20 of our friends from Russellville and had dinner and drinks - we had such a good time! Those girls are so easy to talk to and we always seem to have fun together. I was so busy talking I didn't take a single picture!

Sunday we went to church and then to Colton's for lunch. Noah wanted to try steak and he loved it. Noah is a picky eater and he usually will only eat something when he wants to - I was so proud of him for trying it! After a quick trip to Walmart we went home where we lit a pumpkin candle and played games, cleaned house, watched some movies (some Christmas movies - don't judge) and played basketball. Noah has decided he wants to play basketball this year so we have been trying to practice dribbling daily. He is doing a lot better than I thought he would since he never really attempted it before. I can't wait to watch him play!

I love catching these sweet moments between them - they really do love each other
and are sweet to each other about 90% of the  time :)

We ended the evening with sloppy joes and fries and the original Ninja Turtles on tv - the perfect ending to a perfect weekend full of memories.

Our Halloween Weekend Festivities!

We started celebrating Halloween on Friday with the kids parties at school. I was not on top of things for the parties this year. Thursday night Ryan's sitter told me they were having a party on Friday (which they usually do, but I couldn't remember for sure) so luckily I had some jack-o-lantern cookies at home already. So I sent the cookies with 6 Halloween movies! The kids had a great time and apparently my cookies and movies were a hit!

Ryan enjoying her cookies and movies at her Halloween party :)

Noah saw my shirt at the store the other day and insisted I get it and wear it
to his school to volunteer so we can match :)

I was volunteering at Noah's school Friday morning and heard some of the teachers mentioning their class parties and the girl I volunteer with  (whose son is also in Noah's  class) mentioned a party that afternoon. I had a mini internal panic attack! The other mom said she had asked about it at parent/teacher conferences and that there wasn't a note sent home or anything (so Noah didn't fail to relay the memo or anything). I did my parent/teacher conference on a different day than the other parents - mine was earlier and I didn't think to ask and the teacher forgot to mention it - so that made me feel better. I just knew I had missed some kind of announcement or something. I am new to the whole school thing so I thought maybe it was a given, but I didn't want to assume or be that mom that shows up for a party that isn't happening :) I got to talk to Noah's teacher and they needed plates and napkins and help with the party - so I was so excited to get to help out with Noah's first school party! So, after a quick trip to the store we were ready to party!

We had a mummy contest, played pin the nose on the jack-o-lantern, and the kids got to create their own jack-o-lanterns on the smart board and it would use the pumpkins they made in the 5 Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate rhyme. It was so much fun! I loved watching Noah interact with the other kids - he is growing up so fast and making so many friends. I can't wait to help with more parties and class activities - I have always wanted to be able to do that :)

Noah and his best friend Kadience :)

Saturday morning we had cinnamon rolls and watched cartoon and played games all morning. After lunch it was time to get ready to make our Halloween stops! Noah chose to be Batman and Ryan wanted to be the Ninja Turtle Donatello. I had seen a lady on Facebook made personalized tutus, so I asked if she could make Ryan a Donatello one so she could be a girly Ninja Turtle. The outfit turned out perfect! (I highly recommend her if you need any tutu dresses - a link to her Facebook is here - Cute as a Button). Noah was really into his roll has Batman - and the costume was just perfect!

We went to Nathan's parents and grandparents homes to show off our costumes first. Then it was time for grab some Happy Meals and off to my mom's house. We always have dinner at my mom's and then Trick-or-Treat her neighborhood with my Dad. (Yes, my parents are divorced but my Dad comes to all our parties at my mom's and we get to enjoy our family all together, as it should be). Once again, there were not many houses giving out candy - most people go to the local Safe Treat at our fairgrounds. My kids don't like the candy that much and certainly don't like waiting in long lines - they love getting to walk around and go to the houses and say Trick-or-Treat, so that is what we did! They had a great time! Noah's feet were tired on the way back so he got a lift from mom :) Nathan kept running ahead and jumping out and scaring the kids - they never caught on and screamed every time :)

We gained an hour of sleep that night due to daylight savings time. I personally feel we should gain the hours from daylight savings on Halloween - that is just a night that it is always nice to have an extra hour. We used our extra hour wisely on Sunday - we spent it watching new movies and making pizzas together :)

They insisted on watching their pizzas cook :)

I also threw a baby shower for Nathan's cousin Katie on Sunday. She is having twin boys so I decided to do a "Double Feature Starring Thomas and Tucker" theme and host it at the local movie theater. It all turned out so cute! I can't wait to see the boys when they are born, but hope they hold off as long as they can!

Main Attraction: Star Studded Sandwiches

Supporting Actors: Cheese Dip and Cheeseball

The Sweet Ending: Cinematic Cake and Cupcakes

Enjoy Some Audience Favorites

The beautiful mom to be!