It's been awhile!

I'm 26 weeks pregnant! Time certainly has flown! I haven't updated in such a long time and for that-I apologize. Honestly, living life is so busy. Preparing for these twins, planning a baby shower, being in a wedding, raising a toddler, being engaged, and working a demanding job is time consuming. No worries. I am happy and absolutely loving all of it. Pregnancy is insane. I can't even begin to describe the changes my body is going through carrying two babies. We are over the moon to welcome a baby boy and a baby girl in the next couple of months. I still cannot believe this is happening to us, or that this is my life!

Emerson is doing well and has absorbed all of the change phenomenally. He is absolutely in love with Tim. They are so cute together. He favors him over me at times. It's bittersweet, but also makes me feel great that he has such a good dad in his life and the bond is forever formed. Tim has blown me away. For someone who has never been a dad, he has this parenting thing down. He follows my lead, but also has the confidence to handle everything himself without doubt. He completely has my back and supports me in every way possible. There isn't a day that goes by that he doesn't remind me of what a wonderful mother that I am and how lucky he is to have us. It sounds so cheesey and fake, but I am not even making this up. It is crazy. I never knew men existed like that in this world. He doesn't miss a beat with Emerson and is so involved in his school and therapy life. Emerson is doing so well and his speech has come a really long way. He is still seeing a speech and behavioral therapist, which has really helped him develop and grow so much over the last few months. We could not be more proud of our little guy. He is extremely excited for Rowan and Reed to arrive. We have worked so hard to keep him involved, but to also let him know that he is still our special boy. We have been spending a lot of time doing family activites and excursions now before the chaos begins, or before I am too big to move, which is getting pretty close. I know when I can't manuever and do planned activities, that Tim will step in to take over for me. He already does with taking Emerson to school, or picking him up, so I can sneak in quick naps before/after work. We work so well together as a team without even discussing it. We are completely synchronized and I have no idea how the heck it happened either. I usually start a task, and he finishes it without me even asking. I get Em up in the morning and dressed. Tim gets him breakfast, then puts on his socks, and shoes, while I get ready for work. I make dinner and he cleans up all of the dishes and the kitchen, so I can sit down to relax, or spend time with Emerson. If I need a break, or a moment of peace, he takes Emerson with him to run errands. It is really nice to have a best friend that I can talk to about anything. He absolutely appreciates every piece of this pregnancy and has been so thoughtful and respectful. I can't even type this without tearing up. Gah, I am such a baby, but it is just ridiculous the lengths that this person would go to for myself, and our kiddos. I think what baffles me most is there is no shadiness, or anything at all with him. No crap, no bs. Nothing that I have had to put up with in the past. We truly are just a family and that's that. Nothing comes above our little family EVER. I have never experienced anything like this at all. It is beyond amazing and I cannot believe that I get to marry this person and have babies with him. Okay, I will stop with the mushy stuff, but I usually never express these types of things.

Lately, we have been working hard on our nursery, which is absolutely magical and beautiful. We are doing a deer/woodland theme. The decal we put up on the wall is beyond words. From the bedding, cribs, curtain, and lamps I am just amazed at what we've put together. We aren't done yet and still are in process of decorating, but what we've done so far is beautiful. On top of that, we are planning my shower, which is at the end of this month. I'm doing a unicorn theme. It is indescribable the things that we've arranged for this shower and the gorgeous decor that I've put together. Tim has helped me so much. From spray painting my centerpieces, to cutting out invitations, he has been such a big hand. Let’s not forget about the bedroom we specially redecorated for Emerson. He has a full Super hero wall, dress up caps, super hero lights, bedding, and figurines. We wanted to give him a special, big boy room, so we decorated his first. It looks like something from a magazine.

This pregnancy is completely different from my first. It is very strange to be so cared about, doted on, and downright loved every second of the way. Going to doctor appointments with someone else who is so engrossed in these babies is a dream come true. I never knew what that was like until now. The babies are doing very well an measuring perfectly. Last week, Rowan was 1lb 15oz. I'm sure she has reached that 2lb mark by now. Reed was at 1lb 12oz, so he is creeping behind his sister. Both look amazing. 58th and 48th percentile for weight, which is more than we could ask for with twins. We are hoping for nice size babes at birth. We aren't sure the delivery method yet. I would like to avoid a c-section, so we are just waiting until later to see how these babes are positioning and to ensure all is well before scheduling anything. Tim isn't sure what he supports. He goes back and forth. The c-section seems easier and safer, but the recovery is worse. For me, I want a quicker recovery. The thought of being cut scares me immensely. We just want the babies to avoid any issues and for me to be safe. It is scary!

We are having the best time playing Santa! Emerson sees toys on t.v. and he FREAKS. "Mom, I want this! I want this!" We tell him that he has to be good and write a letter to Santa asking for whatever toy he's looking at. Meanwhile, we already have it hiding out in the basement. It's so cute! This is the first year that he's really been into Christmas and totally understanding it. It makes it even more exciting. We cannot wait!

I'm not sure if i mentioned this, or not, but my sister is pregnant. She just reached 20 weeks, so she is a bit behind me. She finds out the sex of the baby next week. She is doing well though and we are really excited to have kiddos at the same time. Finally, more kids for Emerson to grow up with!! That is all I have ever wanted for him. He has been the solo kid for too long.

I have to tell you guys though...I am so appreciative of everything that has happened in our lives over the last year. It is baffling and so insane. I never knew any of this was going to transpire when I decided to finally give Tim a chance. I wish I had known. I would have done it sooner. Emerson is so happy. It is so freaking cute. Gah. Okay, my hormones can't take this anymore. I think I've avoided updating because I knew it would make me too emotional.

Some normal updates- Tonight, We're going Christmas decoration shopping. Friday, I'm having a "bad moms" night out on Friday. I'm going to dinner and to see the Bad Mom's Christmas movie with my sister and friends, while the boys hang at home. On Saturday, we're taking Emerson to Giggles and Smiles. Sunday, we visit my parents usually. They got a new puppy a month ago, so Emerson likes to go over to play with her. Our dogs aren't as fun now, so he enjoys doing that.  Last week, we took Em to see Frozen on Ice. He was mesmerized! It was so cute to see that. I love our little family!!

That's about all I got for right now. 

Our weekend update

Our weekend was really nice. Emerson, my sister, nephew, his cousin, and I all went to Idewild (amusement/water park) on saturday. The weather was pretty chilly, but that didn't stop any of the kids from swimming. The park is absolutely adorable. I hadn't been in about 15 years. This was also Em's first time visiting. He loved it. I can't wait to go back next year when the weather is a bit warmer and we can stay in the water longer. The drive up and back was pretty long- an hour each way. I would never invest in season passes because I hate driving and I wouldn't want to do that drive all of the time. We have Waterpark passes, but we live right off of the parkway, so it only takes us about 15 minutes to get there, which is no time at all. Who knows what'll happen after I have the twins though. It's a great place for smaller kids, so it might be worth that drive.

 

On Sunday, we spent about 8 hours at my parent's house. It was really nice though to just hang out, laugh, bake, and talk. Em loved it. He had his cars all over there house, on top of a pound of candy that my mom/dad gave him! We were both beat by the time we got home. We watched Frozen, ate dinner, then bedtime. It was a really nice weekend.

 

Tim and I are planning redecorating Em's room. We are actually switching his bedroom into the office, then giving the twins his room. I think both are the same size, but the wall in the office is cut out, so that's why I am switching it with the Twins. I want to put both cribs next to each other and I don't think I can do that with that room's layout. Anyway, we are doing a full on superhero room and doing a gigantic accent wall with Marvel Comic wallpaper. I can't wait! It's going to look so cool. I haven't full decided on scheme yet for the twins. I"m waiting for the gender reveal, but I do have some great ideas brewing. We want to get this all done now, so that we don't have to scramble later. TIm works a lot more in the fall and travels more frequently, so he won't be around as much to do these things. Emerson and I are constantly on the go in the fall too, so I don't want to impede our fun with painting, etc.

 

This week, we are taking Emerson to see Boss Baby at the baseball stadium. They do movies at night when the pirates are away. We'll see how this pans out. If it rains, we are going to stay home. Tim and I have a wedding to attend on Saturday, which means I have to find a dress to wear after work on Friday. EW. I'm not sure what we'll do on Sunday. I have to see what the weather is like. Maybe the waterpark if it's back open then. It's been closed due to flooding for almost two weeks.

 

Oh, and how am I feeling? A lot better. Not nearly as tired, and my heartburn is under control for now. I wish my allergeries would simmer, but I'll take that over nausea any day. I am officially in my second trimester, and I definitely feel MUCH better. I hope I get a bit of a reprieve and this good feeling lasts for a while. It's nice not feeling like death warmed over all day. We are hoping to find out the babies' gender at the end of this month. The anticipation is driving everyone insane! We just want to know, so that we can start planning my baby shower, and buying some things.

 

Alright, have a fabulous week <3

 

Pregnant with twins!!

I haven't written in a long time and I think it's mostly because I had no idea where to begin. Let me give a quick run down:

 

-I got engaged on March 31st, 2017.

-Emerson and I moved into my Fiance's home at the end of May 2017.

-I became pregnant in Early May 2017

-I found out I was actually pregnant with twins on July 27th, 2017.

 

 

Let that ALL soak in...

 

 

WOW. Talk about a comeback story! My head is still reeling with the news that I'm carrying multiples. At this point, we are not sure what the sexes are yet, but are hoping to find out in a few weeks. We do believe the twins will be fraternal as the babies are in separate amniotic sacs with individual placentas. The babies are completely healthy and on track. I am 12 weeks and 4 days along. I'm doing alright outside of extreme indigestion and heartburn. It is almost unbearable to eat because of the affect effects, but I'm on pepcid twice a day for the max dose. I still don't feel like it's working well enough, so I'll be requesting an alternative treatment at my next appointment. The fatigue I was experiencing is starting to subside a bit, which is great. The one day, I had to pull over in Kmart's parking lot to take a nap! It was unreal. Morning sickness, and sickness in general has really tapered off with the exception of feeling sick from the indigestion, or waiting too long to eat.

 

Tim are I beyond excited to be having twins! That's pretty much all we can talk about. Everything we do revolves around Emerson and the twins. We're planning on switching Emerson's room to the office, and putting the twins in his room. Both rooms are about the same size, but I like the layout of Emerson's room better for two cribs. Also, Em's room will be further away from the twins, so hopefully he won't be distrubed by too much crying. He is really excited though. We tell him daily what a great big brother he will be to not only 1, but 2 babies. He constantly asks to touch my belly and gives it kisses. It's REALLY adorable. We plan on involving him as much as possible to avoid any type of jealous issues, or him feeling left out. We have talked so much about ensuring he has one on one time with us, and that he still gets to get out of the house for a few hours each weekend even if its just to go to the movies, or run around the play place at the mall. While I'm on maternity leave, Emerson will continue to go to daycare, so that we avoid interrupting his speech therapy/preschool. I also think it'll be more beneficial to me to be home alone with the twins during that time, so I can build a schedule for them, and also sleep as much as I possibly can. That would be difficult with a toddler. I wouldn't feel safe snoozing with him running loose in the house.

 

After maternity leave, I've decided to go back to work even though I was told that I could stay at home. I told Tim that I'd like to give it a shot continuing to work. We will enroll the babies in the same daycare that Emerson attends now. They are already on the waiting list. If I find that it's too much for me to work, pump for two, and then breastfeed/caregive twins and a toddler at night, then I'll rethink being a stay at home mom. Obviously, Tim will be there helping me as well, but he can't do much in terms of pumping/breastfeeding. I did really well with Emerson and continued for 15 months. It's really important to me to do the same with the twins, so I will give it my best shot.

 

I still cannot believe that this is my life. Initially, we had decided to wait until after our wedding to have more kids. We had even put our deposit down on our venue, and were plunging into wedding planning. This caught both of us off-guard. We had no idea we were having twins either, so that was just another thing thrown into the mix to make us reconsider our wedding. We are going to push it back a bit. We decided to downsize our original plan. We will still keep our venue, but invite just immediate family to the ceremony, then have a nice dinner afterwards. I'm completely happy with this. I would rather not spend $20k+ on a wedding when we just had twins. That would be absurd. Tim is fine either way, but I just could never do that. I'm far too cheap! I don't really care about the wedding part. I just care about the marriage part and our family. We are really happy though, so I feel like we've already won. Who needs a big wedding anyway? I He knocked it out of the park with my ring, so I already feel spoiled beyond belief. I don't need anything else. I just want to have these twins and for both to be healthy. That's really where our minds are right now.

 

 

Living together is going very well. It took a bit of adjusting for me. Emerson adjusted with no issues at all. He walked in like he owned the place, so I'm glad he had no hardship. It was a bit difficult for me because I really missed my house. I gave up my entire home, plus most of our possessions. I donated a lot of items, and gave things away to people who needed it. Tim had better furniture than me, and we upgraded to a new, beautiful bedroom set, so I didn't really need to bring much with me aside from our clothes and Em's toys. I am totally adjusted now though and I feel completely comfortable. It feels like home for myself, Em, and Kodie, plus Tim, his dog (Fenway), and his cat (Boston) have seemed to adjust to us being there too.The cat is still a bit iffy, but we knew he would take awhile to warm up.

 

It is really awesome to have someone on my team and in my corner. As everyone knows, when I was pregnant with Emerson, I had very little support from his dad, then had absolutely nothing from 6 months on. He wasn't excited to have Emerson either. This is a whole new ballgame for me to have someone who is so excited and appreciative for our life. Tim is amazing with Emerson too, which has been such a blessing. I'm glad he has a father figure now, since his bio dad completely dropped the ball.

 

 

Emerson is doing so well and talking so much! His speech has really taken off. It's absolutely incredible and I couldn't be happier for him. He tested out of expressive speech, but is still seeing his therapist for articulation. She says that he was pretty close to testing out, but wanted to continue for a bit longer because she knew he'd benefit. He is pretty independent these days, though he tells us to "PWAY WITH ME" all the time when he's down on the floor with his cars, or playing with action figures. He is so obsessed with The Hulk and Iron Man. It's hilarious how into super heroes he's gotten. He is also really good at brushing his teeth alone, though I still go in for a deep scrub before he's done. He had a bit of a potty training regression, but went four times yesterday on his own, so we are getting there.

 

Alright. I am going to leave it at that, so you can digest. That was A LOT of information. <3

Much needed update!

It has been about two weeks since my last update. I can proudly say that we are healthy…for right now. This morning, Emerson started to cough again and I felt a bit down. My head felt stuffy and a bit like I was developing a head cold. If anything, I hope it’s just a normal cold for both of us and nothing that has us down and out like the last couple of months. It has been really nice feeling good this past week. I do not want to go backward!

 

Our Disney Trip is in exactly 40 days! Can you believe that?! Our magic bands are slowly making their way to my house. Shipping was a bit scattered. I can start scheduling our fast passes in about ten days. You can only do it 30 days out if you aren’t staying on a Disney resort, which we aren’t. I booked our car reservation and call to see what I needed to have handy when we actually get to the rental place. I also bought myself some Disney shirts. I’ll worry about finishing that piece up next month after I’ve slimmed down a bit. I’m going to do a bit of low-carbing in preparation. I don’t want to start too early, or I’ll be burned out before we even leave. Other than that, we are just waiting IMPATIENTLY! The kids don’t seem to really be that excited. Emerson is so small. He hardly understands. My nephew is going to be 13, but he is too cool to show his excitement. My sister and I are exploding though! We cannot wait!

 

This past weekend, Emerson, Kodie (the dog), and I had our very first sleepover at Tim’s house. It went surprisingly well. I was envisioning mass chaos. He has a dog and a cat too, so I figured my dog would act like a nut. Kodie was fine though. She peed in the yard, and was pretty calm outside of trying to get the cat a couple of times. I was extremely proud of her. I do not give her enough credit. Emerson did pretty well. He definitely tested his limits and touched any and everything. He was in cupboards, every room, the fridge, etc. Tim and I had a chat prior to us coming over. I mentioned him child-proofing, and moving things that he didn’t want touched out of Emerson’s reach. I think he underestimated Em’s impulses because he moved very little in the common areas. He did clear a room that will now be Emerson’s bedroom. It already has a bed, etc, but he moved things that Emerson would touch, or knock over. I know it’ll be a work in progress, which he already notated himself. He is working on moving some of his items out of the way, and he purchased a child-proof kit to lock up some of the cabinets, etc. That was pretty major to me. He texted me yesterday and said  something like “Ashley, I am very serious about making this work”, which was in reference to making it work with us merging lives and homes. He sent me a gigantic list of things that he needed to do around the house to accommodate the dogs, cat, and kid, which again, I thought was extremely nice. The poor cat was locked in a room from Saturday night through Sunday morning. He had his litter box, food, and toys, but we felt pretty bad. My dog is small enough to fit into the cat’s hiding spots, so we decided to put a gate up in one of the rooms, so that the cat could jump over and escape when necessary. This way, he isn’t completely isolated, but still has the freedom to roam if he feels brave enough to do so.

 

When I was pregnant with Emerson, I could barely get his “dad” to discuss moving in together, etc. He always said “we have plenty of time to figure that out”, which angered me to the point of me picking arguments with him over it. I couldn’t understand why this person that I was with and having a baby with wouldn’t discuss merging lives/homes. I guess I have difficulty with that now. It’s hard for me to understand why Tim is so willing to do any and everything for Emerson and I to move in with him. It’s beyond incredible and baffling to me, but extremely scary. We both like the idea of having sleepovers to gradually work toward the goal of fully living together. We are very open and are able to communicate about what we need/want, and things that bother us too, which I have absolutely never had in my life. It makes life a lot easier when you can discuss these things. I am not entirely used to it though, which is where the doubt and fear comes into play. That’s just something that I need to work on internally. I definitely tell him how I feel though and he does the same, so we don’t have any secrets there. It’s pretty cool to be able to talk about future plans as well. Scary, but awesome. Emerson liked being at Tim’s house though. He slept all through the night in his room. I brought his blankets, toys, bath stuff, etc. Tim actually bought him some bath stuff too, so that was nice. Less for me to have to bring back and forth. I have never met anyone like this EVER. I don’t even know how to process this all. Is this really my life?!

 

He actually came with me on Saturday to the Children’s Museum. Emerson had a blast, and Tim was such a good sport about it. Imagine not having a kid and spending your entire Saturday amongst a boatload of them at a children’s museum. We were there for 3.5 hours. Emerson had a blast playing. It was nice because while he played, Tim and I were able to sit there just talking uninterrupted, which doesn’t happen often. It was nice watching him be so interactive with Emerson as we went through the different exhibits. We all had a good time. Afterward, Em and I went home. I attempted to give him a nap, which wasn’t successful, so we headed back to Tim’s around 5pm. We hung out, watched “Sing”, and then I cooked dinner. We ate, then watched “Moanna”, then I gave Em a bath, and put him to bed. Tim and I watched “Patriot Day”, and just hung out for the rest of the night, which was so nice. What else was nice was splitting the work. I was a lot less tired. Over time, we’ll have to redirect Emerson less because he’ll be used to the house and not so curious. It was nice because he helped me make dinner, and gave a hand over checking on Emerson. Em slept until about 7am. Tim and I were already up, so that wasn’t a big deal. We are both early birds, which I love. I am such a morning person. Tim made us breakfast and coffee, while Em and I hung out, and watched cartoons. Of course, he was running around like a nut, but that’s to be expected. It was nice to just sit there, but extremely hard. I’m used to keeping busy at home. That was one of the hardest parts for me. Sitting back and just not doing anything. That would obviously change if we lived there, but it was nice to hang back a bit.

 

Emerson and I headed home around 10am. We needed to take the dog home, get ready, then head to my parent’s house. My parents watched Emerson so that my sister, our friends, Tim, and I could go see Beauty and the Beast. It was such a good movie! It was also nice for me to be able to get to do something kid-free with my sister, and my beau. We had a nice time. The movie was great. Emerson was wonderful for my parents too. This weekend, I’m supposed to meet Tim’s parents, but he has to go out of town for the entire week for work. His parents are going to watch his dog, but Em and I are going to watch the cat. His parents live 3 hours away, so they were going to come up for the weekend. I’m not sure how that’ll pan out now, but I feel bad because he didn’t think he’d be traveling. The worst part is he has to work overnight, so that’ll definitely catch up to him after a few days.

 

Alright, guys. That’s about all I have for now. I hope you all have a great week!

 

it's been forever!!

I have been the absolute worst at updating. I was sick for a few weeks and it all just snow balled from there. Now, I feel like I am back to being sick again. I ended up with a sinus and ear infection, which I had treated by antibiotics. In the midst of that, I contracted the flu. The body aches were horrendous. Then, I ended up developing an upper respiratory infection. I am just at a loss now. It has been two weeks of pure hell. My sinuses are acting up again and my ear is bugging me. Emerson also had an ear infection, then got a nasty cough, and cold. We cannot win! Prior to all of this, I ended up with some type of tummy bug that knocked me out for a few days. I can’t even begin to comprehend all of this sickness. I usually just get sick ONE time, then I’m good. It just seems that I cannot shake this at all. Hopefully, my sinuses start to calm down. The weather isn’t helping. We go from super cold, back to spring-like weather. I am at my wit’s end with this. Hopefully, today is just a fluke and I’m alright. I’m doing better with taking my allergy meds, so I can stay ahead of those issues.

 

Outside of that, we are trucking along. Our Disney trip is almost all the way planned and paid for. I just need to book a rental car purchase our magic bands, waterpark tickets, and await the last house payment to come out at the end of this month. I also need to get some Disney wear for myself. Emerson has plenty of shirts and shorts to wear, but I’m lacking majorly in that department mostly because I’m indecisive. We’ll see. I know it really isn’t that big of a deal, but wearing Disney shirts that entire week would be fun. All of Em’s clothes are now Disney including his jammies. Super cute to be in theme. We leave on April 29th. It can’t get here fast enough!

 

Tim and I are doing wonderfully. I’m sure everyone is wondering about that. I feel like I hit the boyfriend jackpot. I couldn’t be happier. He is amazing with Emerson. My family absolutely loves him. He is way too good to us and took extremely great care of us when we were sick too. I feel like he is just a really genuinely nice, and sweet person. No games. No drama. The way that it SHOULD be. I mean, I’ve waited my entire life for someone like this. It feels surreal. I can’t even describe it any more than that.  I guess when you know, you just know. If that makes sense. I keep waiting for red flags, or something to happen, but I don’t think it will. We are going to sleep at his house next weekend with the dog.  We’ve heavily discussed merging our lives together, but I suggested that we take some baby steps, and try it out over weekends to make sure that we can all handle it. I think what really makes it more solid is that we’ve known each other for a few years. It makes this not feel completely rushed, or crazy. I’m excited for all of us. I’m excited that I’ve found my best friend and someone who completely gets me. He is truly interested in me and my life, which is not what I’ve ever had. He cares about my work life, my home life, my opinions on everything. It’s pretty neat to have actual conversations and discussions. We relate on so much, but we have our differences, so it’s also fun to learn. Let’s not forget that he is athletic, healthy, and extremely handy. I couldn’t think of a better person to raise Emerson with. He has wonderful morals and ethics that I know he’ll easily pass down.  It’s pretty cool that he is so much into health and fitness too. I’ve been extremely slacking in that area because of being sick, but I went grocery shopping last night and stocked back up on healthy foods. I do feel like that is a major part of my life. Knowing that I could co-habitat with someone who fully respects that is important. I could go on forever, but I’ll stop. I’m just happy. It’s a pretty cool feeling!

 

Emerson is doing well. He is talking a lot more, which makes me happy. He still has a ways to go, but his therapists are working hard. He was bounced back to the 2 year old at daycare because the preschool transition was really bad. He was having such a difficult time and becoming so aggressive with the other kids. We’re hoping a slower transition will be better. I’m just glad that we are back to some sense of normalcy. It was rough there for a bit! This weekend, we don’t have much planned. I think it might snow, which means we’re staying in the house. This past weekend, I had a girl’s night out, then went to a hockey game with my sister. It was so nice just to be free and out and about sans kiddo. Sometimes, you just really need those mom-free moments! It’s nice to rejuvenate a bit too. If the weather isn’t crappy though, I want to take Emerson to the children’s museum. He deserves a day of fun. We will see though.

 

Alright, guys. I am glad that I finally updated. I hope everyone is doing well. We are!

It's been forever!!

Work is so busy. I can’t even tell you. Every day, I think “This is going to be the day where it goes back to a normal pace”  Daily, I’m absolutely wrong. I shatter that dream within ten minutes of arriving in the office. I’m so burnt out from work, that it’s carrying over into my personal life. I’m more agitated as a parent, a friend, girlfriend, sister, daughter, etc. I can’t help it! I use all of my energy at this place. By the time I get home, I’m done. I want nothing to do with anyone. It’s always extremely difficult the first 3-4 months of the year before it starts to level off.  We just haven’t hit that point yet. I hope we do sooner rather than later because I absolutely need a break. We all do!

 

Anyway, Emerson started preschool two weeks ago, however it isn’t going that well. He is still receiving services, but through a different organization. He has a behavioral and speech therapist like he did before. There was an incident at school the other day where he choked another child. Apparently, this sparked quite a ruckus from the other parent and the teachers were “distraught”. It is now being suggested that I reach out to an external facility to have Emerson’s behavioral health evaluated to diagnose if there is an issue like ODD, or ADD. This is all a result of ONE incident. Remember a year ago when he transitioned into the two year old room from the one year old room? He had such a hard time. That’s when talk of providing services came about. I really do think it’s all due to transitioning and him still not fully talking and being able to communicate his frustrations. I am going to ride this wave a bit before I jump to any conclusions. He is more unruly than ever though, which I’m attributing to the age.  I hope it’s just a three year old phase and it quickly dies out. We will see. I am not the type of parent who lives in denial though. I think I’ve proven that over the course of the year by continuously working with his therapists to further is development and even implementing strategies into our home life. I am all for aiding in his development, but I am not going to seek outside resources until I actually give him the chance to get used to all of this change. His therapist suggested the same.

 

The Emerson situation is stressing me out just like it did last year. I mean, I was beyond stressed that I developed that rash. Remember the burning sensation that I had all over my body? It felt like I was getting shingles, or something. Obviously, I don’t want to develop the same thing, so I’m trying to keep my cool, and to try to not stress about it, but it is HARD. I have so much weighing on me right now. It just makes it hard for me to focus on anything else. I’ve been such a crappy girlfriend for the last two weeks and I can’t help it. I’m in such a funk over being completely bogged down at home and work, that I can’t even give the extra energy to Tim. I’ve been extremely craving space too, which he’s been respectful about. Luckily, he is a very sweet and understanding person, but I wish I could just fast forward and get myself back to normal NOW. I’m just exhausted!! The thought of having to sit down and entertain someone after working all day sounds DREADFUL, even if we are just sitting on the couch watching a movie. On the weekends, I’m completely EXHAUSTED by Emerson, especially with his behavior lately. I just don’t have it in me right now. The last time we spent time together was on Sunday at my sister’s house for the super bowl. We are seeing each other tomorrow to do a Cupid Undie Run for charity. Yes, we are running in underwear. No, I am not excited about flaunting this body all over the city, but I feel bad that I’ve been so distant lately, that I couldn’t really say no. I mean, the guy endures a lot, so the least I could do was say yes to this. Hopefully, I don’t look like a fool.

 

On Sunday, my sister and I are taking the boys to Monster Trucks. God, I am dreading this. Please pray for me that my child is well-behaved and wants to sit there watching. I have fears now that we’ll end up having to leave ten minutes into it because he’s freaking out. That’s about all we have planned for the weekend though. It’s nice to have something on deck instead of sitting in the house.  Speaking of house, we finally agreed upon one for Disney. The dates that we want are actually available too, which is nice. I’ve scoured thousands upon thousands of house listings and finally found one that is suitable for all of our needs. Traveling with a 3 and 13 year old poses so many challenges. I wanted a house that had some toys for Emerson, but an Xbox or PS3 for Isaiah. Pretty  normal, right? WRONG. They either had one, or the other, never both. Yes, we will be busy bees, but the times that we are at the house, it’ll be nice for the boys to have something to do, so that the moms can try to relax. There are four bedrooms with one being a toddler room complete with a toddler bed (not that this mattered), tons of toys, and mickey décor for days. There is also a private pool, which was an absolute must have for all of us. When we’re done sight-seeing and at the parks, we can come home, relax, have dinner, and let the boys swim. We planned some down days as well, so that we can hang at the house and enjoy the pool. I’m excited. I have a lot more to plan though. We need a full park itinerary. We’re only spending one day at Magic Kingdom, so I want to make sure we make the most of our time there and get to do as much as possible. Messing around wandering aimlessly around the park will be a time waster. This way, we can plan our fast passes accordingly. The best part is it’s only going to cost me $1400 and her $1400.00 $700/ person for flight, house, rental car, tickets to Magic Kingdom, and tickets to one of the water parks. It’s so much cheaper to stay off Disney. The house is only 15 minutes away too, so it’s still close with a lower price tag! You always hear people spending $5,000 to go to Disney, but we’ve definitely found the more affordable option. My friend is going for TEN days with her two small children and husband. They are staying at a resort. I would DIE being cooped up in a tiny room for TEN days! That is going to cost a fortune!

 

Alright, guys. That’s all I have now. I will catch up next week!

Em turned three!!

Emerson’s birthday party was absolutely adorable. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. My décor was gorgeous! Young, Wild, and Three was such a fun theme. I’m so glad I decided to do a party instead of going to that indoor pool. My parents, both sisters, nephew, and boyfriend all came to the party to celebrate. Em was so overwhelmed that by the time we tried to sing “Happy Birthday” he covered his ears. He and I ended up having cake and ice cream later after singing and doing candles ourselves. The cake was half-eaten, but that’s okay. He still got to make a wish and to blow out the candles.  Now, I have a three year old! I hear three is a lot worse than two. I’m trying to mentally prepare myself. I’m not sure there is enough preparation for that though. I better hold on tight. LOL

 

This morning, Em started preschool, however he was almost immediately sent home for puking. He has no fever and is fine. He ate and kept his breakfast down, so I’ll call that a fluke. I was pretty ticked. It happened right after I got off the bus. I had to get a ride home just to pick him up from daycare because my bus stops running after a certain point. Thank God my best friend’s boyfriend was around and could pick me up. He was so nice about it too. I posted on my facebook page asking if anyone could help. She immediately came to my rescue. I have amazing friends.

 

Speaking of friends, my best friend and I made amends. We are currently still not facebook friends, but she unblocked me, so that’s progress, right?  I just explained that I didn’t want to be on friendship punishment, therefore If we had to be friends like that, then what would be the point. She understood my perspective, we hashed it out, and that was that.

 

This weekend, we have a birthday party to attend. Other than that, we don’t have much planned. We went to Jump Zone last weekend. It was AWESOME! They had all of these bounce houses and slides for the kids. My nephew and Emerson had a ball. It was a part of Em’s birthday. It felt nice to actually get out to do something. We’ve been cooped up forever.

 

Alright, that’s about all I have. Have a great week, all!

 

Hearts in my eyes

I haven’t updated in forever and I’m sorry! I’m so crazy busy though! I swear, I never have five minutes. Anyway, I didn’t get that job even though I had to interviewed THREE times for the darn thing. Unreal, but it is what it is. I wasn’t even upset when I was told. I honestly think that it might have been too much with Em still being so small. I think I would have handled it fine, but having  to seek out help would have been difficult for me. I hardly ask for help as it is and the times that I do, I HATE it. Staying put seems like a better idea for right now. When the time is appropriate, I’ll consider attempting to look elsewhere. In the meantime, I’m happy here.  What irks me most is that I wasn’t even seeking an opportunity out. They came to ME and asked ME to apply. What a waste of my time.

 

Emerson’s 3rd birthday is on Sunday. Where the heck did the time go? I decided to forgo the plans of the indoor pool and to just have a birthday party for him instead. The cost just made more sense to do a small, family party. Plus, it gives me great joy to party plan and decorate, so it was a win-win. His theme is “Young, Wild, and Three”. We’re going with black, white, and gold décor. I’m very excited about it. It’s going to be really simple, but I think once its all put together, it’ll look like I really put some time and effort into it. I have a lot to do though, so I better move my butt. I need to create/hang a background, make a couple of banners, make miniature party hats, a cake stand, and a few other odds and ends. The party is going to be extremely small. It’s just my parents, sisters, nephew, and Tim (boyfriend). I don’t think I’ve actually typed his name in my blog yet. That was strange. Anyway, it’ll be very small, but I’m holding back on inviting friends from school until at least next year. He  Why not save money while I can?

 

Other than that, things are going very well. I’m so busy at work. It’s incredible. This is our busiest time of year, so I’ve been crushed. It’s exhausting, but I know the light is at the end of the tunnel. This are going so well with Tim! It’s very refreshing and nice to have someone NORMAL in my life who is extremely supportive, patient, understanding, and absolutely amazing. I hope this never changes. I know it’ll fade eventually, but I hope that everything that I am seeing now is still there. He is so great with Em, which is extremely important to me. We will see how that relationship develops as time goes on. From my perspective though, I think he’s a really great person and I feel lucky to have stumbled upon him. This weekend will be the first time that he meets my parents. Hopefully this goes well. I mean, I want them to like him, but honestly, I’m old enough now that it isn’t that much of a factor for me. I make my own decisions and if I like him and Emerson likes him, then that’s all that matters. I feel like they are going to LOVE him though, so that’s a good thing.

 

I worked out during naptime yesterday and at 4am this morning. I’m already sore. My eating has been absolutely on point, but I haven’t been working out, so it’s time to marry the two. I feel pretty good. Once I get over this initial hump, it’ll be easier. It’s always very hard re-starting. I look forward to not feeling like crap though and looking better! It’s just a hard balance. I don’t see Tim very often. On average, probably one time during the week, and MAYBE once over the weekend. I don’t feel that he should be there nightly because Emerson still needs his mom. I hardly get to see Em during the week because of work, so when we get home at night, it’s nice to just spend time together without other distractions. I already have to divide my attention with dishes, cooking, cleaning, etc, so adding another person into the mix feels like I’m short-changing him. Trying to add in working out is an entirely new obstacle. On nights that Tim comes over, I won’t have time to work out , so working out in the morning seems like the best solution, but that means a 4am wake-up call. Em goes to bed a little bit later now, so working out after he goes to bed sucks. By the time I’m done, it’s almost 10pm. I’m trying to fit this all in and to be fair to all sides and to myself. It’s not easy, but I think I’m doing pretty good. On Saturday, Tim came over for dinner. While dinner cooked, we took a walk with Emerson. It was REALLY nice and a nice way to all spend time together without being stuck in the house. He also tried to teach Em how to ride his bike. We had no success in that department. I’m hoping he picks it up before summertime. It’s really nice though to have someone to spend time with outside of Em. I don’t mean that  in a crappy way either. Em is my entire world and no one will ever come above him, but having someone I can talk to and who supports me is so nice! This is something that I have not had…well…really ever.

 

Something strange happened last night, which I wasn’t even going to write about, but here it goes. My “best friend” blocked me on Facebook. I posted a status about fair weather Steeler fans. The Steelers played the AFC game last night and my entire newsfeed was bombarded with people acting like they had watched game after game the entire season. I mean, it was kind of unreal. The commentary during the game was even more comical. I know most of these people have not watched ANY games all season, but were throwing a fit over calls, and over them losing. Imagine if you had invested an entire season into the team and they had lost that close to being in the super bowl. I just thought it was funny that these people were acting like it was the end of the world when I know they only jumped on the bandwagon because it seemed like the “cool” thing to do. I even called my own sister out. She was prepping for the game with food, drinks, and  her Steeler shirt.  I know she hasn’t supported that team all season, but she was posting like she was some die-hard fan. She didn’t get upset about it. She laughed and said “yep, you’re right”. Let me make note that I was never implying that my friend was one of these fair weather fans. I don’t think she’s a fair weather fan at all, but she took the time to comment on MY status defending herself. If you have to defend yourself, then you are probably guilty of what I posted. Before I could even respond that my status didn’t apply to her, she blocked me. Really? Over that?! Grow up. If that’s how she wants to behave, then I don’t even need friends like that. She has been very strange since she moved away. A few months ago, she messaged MY friend and asked if her status was about me talking about her. How weird is that?! It felt very SWF. I don’t get her and I am really sick of it. She is one of those narcissistic people that anytime you post anything, she reads it with herself in mind. Not everything is about her, even though she thinks it is. We have been friends for 17 years. Maybe it’s just run its course. I can never tell her anything anyway. I can never confide in her, or really be candid with her because she is extremely judgmental. A best friend should be able to hear anything, but I’m so guarded already with her. What is the point? I wouldn’t have blocked her though. I was fine with the type of friendship we had. We catch up, we see what is going on in each other’s lives, and we saw her when she visited. We call sometimes. We text sometimes. That is normal to me. I did think it was a bit harsh to block me. She could have kept scrolling. My post was a tag of myself and Emerson watching The Secret Life of Pets. I mentioned that we weren’t watching the Steeler game and that I thought it was funny that people were coming out of the woodwork pretending to be die-hard fans. If you know that’s not you, then why are you commenting? It just seems unreal that she blocked me for THAT. I’m sorry, but that is psychotic. My feelings are definitely hurt, but what can I really do? I’m not going to message her, or even try to have a conversation about it either. She can figure it out for herself. I’m pretty much sick of it.

 

I think she thinks that we should all be kissing her butt because she moved to Arizona from Pittsburgh. Why? That was a choice she made. I am happy here. I am so sick of it being rubbed in my face that it’s warm there year round and she “got out”. Got out of what? You have no friends where you live and none of your blood relatives are there. Yes, you have your husband’s family, but you never see your sisters, nieces, or nephews.  Why would I be mad about still being in Pittsburgh where my entire world is? I love it here. I hate snow, but we only suffer a little bit. Most of the year is relatively nice. I’d rather have our weather than 109 degree temps to where you can’t even step foot outside. We make our own choices. I’m not STUCK here by any means. It’s a choice and one that I am HAPPY with. We all choose our own paths. I don’t think it makes someone better than anyone else though, especially uprooting your entire family. To be honest, this is a very livable city. There are countless things to do. Her comment yesterday, of course, stated the obvious. “I don’t post every time I watch a game, but we miss a lot of regular seasons games because we live in Arizona” Yes, again, we are all aware that you live in Arizona. I am aware that you watch the games. I wasn’t referring to you. Sit down. She will comment, or post anything just to make sure we are all aware of her geographical location.  Completely unnecessary to A. Comment B. Block me. C. #byefelicia

 

Alright, I have to let this go because it will eat at me and I don’t want that to happen. Have a great week, all!!

Update after published:I didn't get the job

Sorry! It has been so long again, but work is absolutely INSANE! I had my third interview on Friday. I feel like it went very well, however I have not heard a thing yet. Cross your fingers and toes for me. I need all of the luck that I can get!

 

Outside of that, it’s been pretty boring. Lots of home time outside of work and daycare. The weather is finally warm this week, but extremely rainy. I’m sick of being cooped up. Last weekend, we went to lunch and the mall with my sister. Em had a ball playing in the mall’s play place. It was nice to get out for a bit. We’ve been watching tons of movies too. I rented five last night. We got Home, A Bug’s Life, Up, Sherman and Peabody,  Open Season 3, and Inside out.  We still have tons of DVD’s that Tim (guy I am dating) let us borrow. We just needed to circulate some other things because I’m super bored with the same, old thing.

 

This weekend, we have nothing planned at all. It is supposed to ice, so that’ll probably ruin doing anything on Sunday like I had initially planned. We will see. Maybe we will head to the movies, or the trampoline park if it isn’t too crappy out. I am going to dinner on Saturday night, so my sister is babysitting Emerson for me. So appreciated. I hardly ever ask her, but I feel like she has done so much for me lately that I shouldn’t even ask. She won $500 at her Christmas party last weekend and showed up on Saturday with $100 to give me. Not only that, but she treated us to lunch, then paid for the random groceries and necessities I needed at Wal-mart on the way home.  I can’t even tell you how much I appreciated that. I didn’t expect it AT ALL and was caught off-guard to say the least. She is always thinking of us even when she should be thinking of herself. I can’t wait to do something nice for her to say “Thanks” for all that she constantly does for us. She picks Emerson up from daycare anytime I ask her, she babysits without question for me, and is always there to listen to my rant. I feel like she does way more for me than I do for her and that makes me feel bad. I know she doesn’t look at it that way, but I do! Her time is coming for sure!

 

Speaking of Saturday night, Tim and I are going to dinner. We haven’t really had the opportunity to actually go on a date aside from me taking a half day at work to spend time together, or him picking me up from work and getting coffee before I grab Em from daycare, or even breakfast before work one morning. Obviously, he comes over to my house to spend time with myself and Emerson, but it’s nice to actually LEAVE the house together too. I’m excited because it’s actually our first actual opportunity to hang out without needing to be somewhere afterward (work/daycare). I also haven’t posted this, or really discussed it much, but we have made it “official” as stupid as that sounds. God, why do I feel like a 7th grader typing that. Like, I am a mother. I shouldn’t be doing this, right? I don’t know. I have such a twisted perception of how I am supposed to be have now that I’m a mother. If I ever let that go, I’d be all set! LOL Anyway, I am very happy. Once I let a lot of fears go and just went with it, it definitely changed my entire perspective. I just can’t believe someone actually thinks I’m awesome enough to want to spend time with. Really? This gal?! PSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. He is so nice though and probably way more than I actually deserve. He is amazing when he’s around Emerson.

 

I am balancing fairly well though. I saw him for Breakfast last Friday after I took Em to daycare. He came over on Monday with flowers and adorable shirts that he got me, while he was in Disney for the marathon. So sweet. He didn’t stay long because I had to work that night. He came over on Tuesday night about 30 minutes before Emerson went to bed, so Em and I still got to have dinner alone, and spend some time together before I split my focus. Em and I had Wednesday, Thursday, and today together, along with all day tomorrow before my sister babysits. It’s definitely difficult balancing both on top of running this house, and be extremely busy at work. I’m pretty exhausted, but at least he understands that I still need to be a mom first. Em is my #1. He is in daycare 55 hours a week. He needs his mom and it isn’t fair that he have to share my focus and attention every single day. I think I’m allocating my time very wisely. It’s nice that he is good around Emerson and handles his craziness well. I like that I can marry the two sometimes, so that we all are getting a bit of what we want.  I am definitely not one of those women who puts a relationship ahead of her child, therefore it is extremely important that I balance it out. I think I’m rocking it J

 

I am low-carbing it. Today is my second day. The holidays completely wrecked my healthy eating. I feel so awful, fat, and disgusting. After a few days of this, I know I’ll be back to feeling better, then I can start cycling back in some fruit, and sweet potatoes. It’ll be nice to start to feel normal again. Also, I do not want to put on a swim suit for Emerson’s birthday excursion feeling this way. No joke, I will completely change our plans to avoid doing that! He is too small to even know what our plans are to realize I changed it. LOL

 

Alright, I will catch up with you all later! Have a great weekend!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

I haven’t updated since I recapped Christmas. New Year’s Resolution: Update more! Anyway, we have been doing nothing at all. It’s so boring, guys. You all know how much Em and I are always on the go doing fun, new things, but our adventures have been extremely limited since Early December. It’ll pick back up in a few months, but for right now, this is just how it is. We have decided to do the indoor pool place for his birthday, so that’s something fun to look forward to. I think he will really like that, and it’ll be something to get us out of the house. We can pick back up with birthday parties next year.

 

Our New Year’s Eve was really nice. We ended up just going to my sister’s house for dinner, noise makers, and to hang out. Here’s a shocker: I brought the guy that I had mentioned previously. Now, don’t fall out of your seats. He has really toned down and pulled back, so that has allowed me to actually sort out if I like him, and if I’d like to get to know him more. Obviously, the answer to that is yes. We have been spending more time together, and he was going to come over after Emerson went to bed anyway, so I just decided to invite him to dinner with us. It was the first time he met Emerson. It wasn’t weird, or anything like that. I think my sister was caught off guard though. I haven’t mentioned this guy AT ALL. She knows now that we are seeing each other, so I guess the cat is out of the bag. Anyway, we ended up coming back to  my house around 815pm. Em got a bath, then went to bed. We watched Pete’s Dragon because I have been dying to see it. Afterwards, we watched the remainder of Dick Clark’s Rockin New Year’s Eve (Mariah Carey though!), and smooched at midnight. It was really nice, and one of the best New Year’s Eves I’ve had in years.  Tonight, he is coming over to have dinner with us. He is running a full marathon in Disney and will be gone Friday-Monday, so we’re squeezing in some time before he leaves. It is still extremely new and I am obviously still weary, but it has been really nice. We have a very nice balance, which is really important to me. Emerson and work will always be #1 including the house/dog. He knows that, understands that, and is never pushy otherwise. We don’t see each other very often, but the time that we do is really nice, so cross your fingers!

 

Outside of that, I am back on the workout train. It was nice taking a break over the holidays, but my poor stomach is ripped to shreds from too much processed food. It’s unreal how much that stuff tears me up! I am on day three of working out and I feel incredible. I’m training to run a half marathon. I’ve always had a marathon on my bucket list, so having someone in my life who actually runs marathons is a good motivator. We will see how this turns out. I used to be able to run 3 miles with no problems. I’ve ran 1.5 miles on Monday and today and nearly died by the time I was done. I had to stop to walk a few times too. I know my lungs and endurance will build back up, but DANG! It is not easy. To think that I could run 13.1 miles in 3-4 months is bananas. I did a pretty good upper workout last night too, so I am pretty sore this morning. I feel good though, and that’s really all that matters.

 

I now have a THIRD interview on Friday. This interview is with the VP, so I’m hoping it goes well. Let’s hope making it this far is a good sign. I’m so nervous  though. I thought I was all done and just a sitting duck awaiting a decision. I received notification yesterday that I was set up for another interview. I’m going to go into it like I did the prior two and pray for the best. I really want this opportunity so much.  I feel like this year is going to be all about change. Things are already changing so much. The fact that I’m even forging ahead with a career change, and potentially a relationship?! Training for a half marathon?! What?!! All really good things though. Let’s not forget Disney! That’s major and something I cannot stop thinking about. I think we’re going to aim for April 24-April 29. Those dates are looking good to me, but we will see. I need to see if I get this job, so that I can prepare to study and get my insurance license first. I don’t want to book a trip and have that interfere at all.

 

Emerson slept all night last night. Shocker. His sleep habits have been difficult to say the least. Let’s hope we are on the upswing of this now. His behavior has been so unruly lately. Some days, I feel like I can barely handle him. I think the holidays really shook things up and we just need to level off and settle back into our routine. It’ll take a few weeks. Let’s hope that’s all it is. I tell him all of the time that we’re a team. We need to work together, then things can be fun/great all of the time. Mom doesn’t want to yell daily.

 

Alright, that’s about all I have as far as updates are concerned. I hope everyone has a great week!

 

Our Christmas.

Christmas was amazing. Seriously, amazing. When Emerson walked down the stairs and saw all of his presents, he was in awe! I pre-built the train table and the racetrack, so he immediately saw both of those. The car ramp I bought was wrapped, so after he unwrapped that, I tackled the task of building it. This thing is major. It is a huge car ramp that transforms into another ramp. I’ll put pictures below of everything, so that you guys can see. It was NOT an easy build and pretty much consumed my Christmas morning. I had fears that Em would play with his toys for two minutes, then get bored with them, but that wasn’t the case at all. It was a job in itself just to pull him out the door to head to my sister’s house for breakfast. I felt bad that he had to leave his toys after only having about an hour to play with them. Luckily, I knew my sister got him the Little People Bus, so I knew once he opened that, he’d be excited. he is obsessed with buses, so that was a sure win! She also got him a puzzle, and a stocking filled with everything you can imagine. Toys, wipes, a new cup, candy, body wash, a new tooth brush, tooth paste, etc. After exchanging gifts, we waited for my parents to get there to dig into breakfast. She made eggs, and a cinnamon roll French toast casserole. It was delicious! We hung around for a while, then went to my parent’s house.

 

My parent’s house was so overwhelming. There were so man presents all over the place. Emerson seemed very overwhelmed and even started to cry when he was opening gifts. I’m not surprised. The day was moving very quickly and anytime he opened something, he couldn’t really play with it before moving onto the next thing. Eventually, I ended up opening his stuff for him. They got him a lot of clothes, socks, underwear, and a new coat. I appreciated all of those things so much. Additionally, they bought him his own recliner, a tool bench, and a train table for their house! He also got some puzzles and balls. Plus, his stocking was filled up with little trinkets and candy.

 

My parents bought me so much stuff. I was so overwhelmed opening up gifts. They got me my fireplace/mantle. It is absolutely gorgeous! I put it together yesterday. You guys will die when you see it! Additionally, I got some gift cards, tickets to a Pen’s game with my sister in March (Mom’s night out!), a best friend necklace that goes with one my sister got, new socks, jammies, some clothes, kitchenware, and everything else under the sun. I can’t even process all of the things they got us. I still haven’t found a spot for it all in my house, but am working on putting it all away. Our house is overflowing between Em’s stuff and mine. I was exhausted after building that fireplace yesterday and cleaning. Heck, I still feel tired today!

 

Anyway, after all of the excitement wore off, Em and I headed home around noon to take a nap before we headed back over for dinner. Emerson napped until 3pm. We got dressed, then headed back for dinner. My older sister was there with some gifts for Em. She got him some puzzles, and a piano that he can actually walk on. It’s pretty cool and he seems to like it. We hung at my parent’s until about 6pm, then headed back home, so that Em could finally enjoy his new toys. It was a busy day with a lot of back and forth.

 

Yesterday, we lounged around all day. Em played with his toys, I cleaned, and we watched a lot of dvds. It was nice, but today, it’s back to the grind. He was none to pleased to go to school this morning. He wanted to play with his toys, so of course, that was a struggle this morning. His sleeping has been a lot better, but he did get up twice last night. I think we just need our schedule back. It’s been really off-track with the holidays. After New Year’s, we can get back into the swing of things.  It feels so odd that Christmas is over. All of these months of preparation, and just like that, it’s gone. At least I have his birthday to focus on, but because I am bypassing a party, there won’t be much planning involved in that. I still plan on taking him to that indoor pool to swim, and to stay the night at the end of next month.

 

Em won the school’s holiday art contest! We made an adorable Santa canvas. He was featured in the academy’s holiday card, and he won a $25 toys r us gift card. I haven’t let him use the card yet. He just got a ton of toys, so he doesn’t even need anything right now. We’ll hang onto it for a bit and use it in a few months.  I was very proud and excited though!

 

Remember the guy that I was talking about before who I felt was coming on too strong? I saw him last Thursday for a few hours. He went shopping with me for some last minute Christmas items, then we got coffee afterwards. It wasn’t weird at all, but he started to drive me BONKERS right after by continuing to ask me when we’d hang out again. I mean, jeez. Chill out. There is no reason to ask, or constantly bring it up the same day that we hung out. I did say something about it too because he ended up texting me after that saying “I have plans on December 30th just in case you were making plans for us that day” What?!!!!!!!!!!!! I feel bad when I call him out for saying weird, overbearing things, but I have to. I cannot just let that float because if I do, then it’ll just continue and get worse. So, we will see. He is off this week, but I work all week. He wants to go to lunch one day. I did say yes, so hopefully he doesn’t make it into a big thing and freak me out beforehand. He is extremely nice, but he ruins it anytime he becomes too eager. He doesn’t strike me as the type of dude who ever plays it cool though, so he definitely is missing that piece like a regular guy who acts like he gives no effs about ever seeing you again. I guess I’m not used to that. That’s about all  I have on that front though. The second I start to like him more, he has to freak me out, then I’m back to square one.

 

Alright, that’s about all I have for you guys. We had such a nice holiday. I hope you all did too.

Christmas photos

Our christmas

Christmas was amazing. Seriously, amazing. When Emerson walked down the stairs and saw all of his presents, he was in awe! I pre-built the train table and the racetrack, so he immediately saw both of those. The car ramp I bought was wrapped, so after he unwrapped that, I tackled the task of building it. This thing is major. It is a huge car ramp that transforms into another ramp. I’ll put pictures below of everything, so that you guys can see. It was NOT an easy build and pretty much consumed my Christmas morning. I had fears that Em would play with his toys for two minutes, then get bored with them, but that wasn’t the case at all. It was a job in itself just to pull him out the door to head to my sister’s house for breakfast. I felt bad that he had to leave his toys after only having about an hour to play with them. Luckily, I knew my sister got him the Little People Bus, so I knew once he opened that, he’d be excited. he is obsessed with buses, so that was a sure win! She also got him a puzzle, and a stocking filled with everything you can imagine. Toys, wipes, a new cup, candy, body wash, a new tooth brush, tooth paste, etc. After exchanging gifts, we waited for my parents to get there to dig into breakfast. She made eggs, and a cinnamon roll French toast casserole. It was delicious! We hung around for a while, then went to my parent’s house.



My parent’s house was so overwhelming. There were so man presents all over the place. Emerson seemed very overwhelmed and even started to cry when he was opening gifts. I’m not surprised. The day was moving very quickly and anytime he opened something, he couldn’t really play with it before moving onto the next thing. Eventually, I ended up opening his stuff for him. They got him a lot of clothes, socks, underwear, and a new coat. I appreciated all of those things so much. Additionally, they bought him his own recliner, a tool bench, and a train table for their house! He also got some puzzles and balls. Plus, his stocking was filled up with little trinkets and candy.



My parents bought me so much stuff. I was so overwhelmed opening up gifts. They got me my fireplace/mantle. It is absolutely gorgeous! I put it together yesterday. You guys will die when you see it! Additionally, I got some gift cards, tickets to a Pen’s game with my sister in March (Mom’s night out!), a best friend necklace that goes with one my sister got, new socks, jammies, some clothes, kitchenware, and everything else under the sun. I can’t even process all of the things they got us. I still haven’t found a spot for it all in my house, but am working on putting it all away. Our house is overflowing between Em’s stuff and mine. I was exhausted after building that fireplace yesterday and cleaning. Heck, I still feel tired today!



Anyway, after all of the excitement wore off, Em and I headed home around noon to take a nap before we headed back over for dinner. Emerson napped until 3pm. We got dressed, then headed back for dinner. My older sister was there with some gifts for Em. She got him some puzzles, and a piano that he can actually walk on. It’s pretty cool and he seems to like it. We hung at my parent’s until about 6pm, then headed back home, so that Em could finally enjoy his new toys. It was a busy day with a lot of back and forth.



Yesterday, we lounged around all day. Em played with his toys, I cleaned, and we watched a lot of dvds. It was nice, but today, it’s back to the grind. He was none to pleased to go to school this morning. He wanted to play with his toys, so of course, that was a struggle this morning. His sleeping has been a lot better, but he did get up twice last night. I think we just need our schedule back. It’s been really off-track with the holidays. After New Year’s, we can get back into the swing of things.  It feels so odd that Christmas is over. All of these months of preparation, and just like that, it’s gone. At least I have his birthday to focus on, but because I am bypassing a party, there won’t be much planning involved in that. I still plan on taking him to that indoor pool to swim, and to stay the night at the end of next month.



Em won the school’s holiday art contest! We made an adorable Santa canvas. He was featured in the academy’s holiday card, and he won a $25 toys r us gift card. I haven’t let him use the card yet. He just got a ton of toys, so he doesn’t even need anything right now. We’ll hang onto it for a bit and use it in a few months.  I was very proud and excited though!



Remember the guy that I was talking about before who I felt was coming on too strong? I saw him last Thursday for a few hours. He went shopping with me for some last minute Christmas items, then we got coffee afterwards. It wasn’t weird at all, but he started to drive me BONKERS right after by continuing to ask me when we’d hang out again. I mean, jeez. Chill out. There is no reason to ask, or constantly bring it up the same day that we hung out. I did say something about it too because he ended up texting me after that saying “I have plans on December 30th just in case you were making plans for us that day” What?!!!!!!!!!!!! I feel bad when I call him out for saying weird, overbearing things, but I have to. I cannot just let that float because if I do, then it’ll just continue and get worse. So, we will see. He is off this week, but I work all week. He wants to go to lunch one day. I did say yes, so hopefully he doesn’t make it into a big thing and freak me out beforehand. He is extremely nice, but he ruins it anytime he becomes too eager. He doesn’t strike me as the type of dude who ever plays it cool though, so he definitely is missing that piece like a regular guy who acts like he gives no effs about ever seeing you again. I guess I’m not used to that. That’s about all  I have on that front though. The second I start to like him more, he has to freak me out, then I’m back to square one.



Alright, that’s about all I have for you guys. We had such a nice holiday. I hope you all did too.

Hi there old friend lol

It’s been a week since I’ve updated. Not much has been going on. We’re just getting ready for Christmas. I built Em’s train table. Surprisingly, it wasn’t too difficult at all. I’m working my way through wrapping all of the gifts, but that’s about it. We haven’t been doing much outside of that. We do have a gingerbread train to build this week. I think we’ll do that on Christmas Eve. We’re heading to my sister’s for the evening, so maybe we can take that over there.  I wish that I could do more for Christmas, but I got slapped with my water and sewage bill, which was $215. I knew it was coming, so I planned accordingly, but any extra money that I would have had, went to that. It sucks. It would have been nice to do another Christmas activity, or to get Emerson an extra present, but I’m glad that I was able to get what I did. I know he will be overjoyed, but I feel like the small touches are definitely lacking this year. I found him jammies for Christmas Eve though, so I can at least hand him those.

 

I have a half day on Thursday, but Emerson is going to daycare. I honestly have no need for it, but it’ll be nice to get a bit of a break for myself. We’ve had every Monday off this month and have the next two Mondays off as well as a couple of random days throughout. I am just burnt out from extra mom duties on top of work. Speaking of Thursday, I am seeing the guy that I was talking about last week. I hope it isn’t weird. I had to tell him last week that he was coming on way too strong and needed to cool his jets big time. He started to say some really outlandish things to me that I wasn’t entirely comfortable with. Every time we spoke, he’d become so deep and intense. I don’t think you should be professing your love to me after barely knowing me. I also don’t think that your life is now complete that you’ve met me. It was too much. He also would text me ALL day and if I didn’t answer him, he’d just keep texting. I’d come back to my phone to 7,8,9 texts! That is NOT normal. I don’t need you to document your entire day for me. I just didn’t like the expectation that I’d carry on like that all day. I mean, I have a job and so does he. Isn’t he working?? On top of that, when I’m at home with Em, I can’t be engrossed in my cell phone all night texting. Being honest too, I hate small talk. I hate aimless conversations. I don’t even enjoy texting all like that. I’m more of a person who likes to catch up all at once at the end of the day. I don’t need to talk to someone all day long. It was just too much on top of the crazy things he was saying to me.

 

Anyway, it has been AWESOME for the last week. He has really backed off. Yesterday, he texted me in the morning to wish me good luck for my second interview (I’ll get to that in a minute), then we didn’t talk until the end of the day, which was nice. I have the space I need now and he also isn’t saying outlandish things anymore. He’s keeping himself in check and not freaking me out talking about “He can’t wait to make memories with me for the rest of my life”. UM?! CREEPER STATUS! Anyway, I had my second interview yesterday and it went VERY well. Hopefully, I hear something back soon. As nervous as I am to take a position in sales, I know it’ll be a great financial boost that Emerson will greatly benefit from. I am a nervous nelly though! I just want to make the right decisions for our little family. More money isn’t everything if it means less time to spend together. I’m trying to find the right balance though. Sometimes, I know I’ll have to compromise one for the other, but that’s where it becomes muddy waters with being a single mommy. Cross your fingers and say some prayers that this is the change we need. My manager is going crazy over me potentially leaving though and is eager for me to train someone to perform my responsibilities. It’s understandable, but they have me out the door and I haven’t even been offered the job yet.

 

This morning, I sent cards and donuts to daycare for the teachers. I wish that I could have done more, but funds just weren’t there this year. The cards I made were very nice though, so I hope that makes up for it. I know the teachers appreciate any and everything we do, but I wish that I could have done more. At this point, I’m really worried about Emerson’s 3rd birthday. This water bill always throws me completely off because I have to shift so much just to afford it. I think we’re for-going a party though and just going to this place that has an indoor swimming pool. I just worry the roads will such and we won’t be able to make it and his birthday will be ruined. I hope that isn’t the case.  I’ll see what I can do.  I made reservations already for January 28th for two rooms. There was a crazy discount through Travelocity. Each room is $56. I want to go with my sister and nephew. The indoor pool has a giant pirate ship with slides, etc. We’d sing happy birthday at my parent’s house on Sunday, which is his actual birthday.  It sounds so awesome. I just hope the weather cooperates. We will see though. It would take the stress of planning a party off the table. I know Em would love it.

 

Alright, that’s about all I have today. Have a super Christmas, all!

It's been awhile

Wow, it has been 2.5 weeks since I’ve updated. I am so sorry, guys. This time of year is so incredibly busy at work. I can’t even breathe.  I barely have time to pee when I’m here. On top of work, we’ve been pretty busy at home too preparing for the holidays. We’re still up to our usual holiday excursions. We just took the kids to this amazing Christmas light display. They loved it. They had so much set up outside. A bon fire, playground for the kids, live nativity set, snacks, Santa, train, and sleigh rides. We had a really great time doing that. We haven’t done anything since though. Funds are extremely tight, so I’m trying to pinch pennies just to be able to finish up Christmas. I just have to get my sister’s gift and some stocking stuffers for Emerson. I don’t think we’ll be doing much this weekend, or leading up to Christmas. I did have last Wednesday off though and I took Emerson to ride a Christmas train and to Giggles and Smiles, so at least that was something. We’ll just be hanging at home watching movies. Nothing wrong with that. He’s about to get a ton of toys to play with, so that’ll be awesome.

 

I had a job interview last week. I’m not sure what will transpire from there. It’s for a position within my current company. The pay is much higher than what I am making now, so it would be a great benefit to the family, but the workload is greater and the stress is a lot higher. That’s the only part that scares me. Oh, and travel. I don’t think it would be excessive travel, but I believe at times it could be more towards the higher side. I don’t want to hold myself back over that though. This would be great for myself and Emerson, so I can’t scare myself out of it. My sister already told me that she’d help me  when I have to travel. Speaking of Emerson, he is driving me nuts. He is going through a bit of a sleep regression. The last couple of nights, he’s been getting out of bed, waking in the middle of the night, and waking up early. Needless to say, I am absolutely exhausted. I hope this phase is quick. I’ve  been spoiled for two years with a great sleeping child. I am not caving though. When I say it’s bedtime, that’s it. I put the door knob cover back on his door last night. He couldn’t get out. I put him back into bed at 1am and that was it. I  just know it’ll be a nightly fight until this passes, so I’m already dreading tonight. All I can do is be tough. He is not going to break me!

 

In other news, I have been “dating” someone. I don’t even know if I like calling it that.  I don’t think it’s necessarily dating, but it’s not just being friends either. It’s that weird, gray area mixed in between the two. He is a really awesome person. Nothing like anyone I have ever met before….and that scares the heck out of me!!!!!!!!!!! I mean, to the point where I just want to tell him to never talk to me again. That is so awful. I am not used to someone being completely straight forward with me, and so extremely sweet. I just do not do well with that at all. I guess I am just programmed to people being jerks that I am not used to this. I wish that he would just tone it down a bit. It scares me so much! What’s sad is that girls always want a person like this, then when we have it, we want them to pull it back a bit. I am such a screwed up human being. I try to just roll with it in hopes that I’ll become more comfortable, but so far, that’s not happening. My heart is very icy and hasn’t entirely warmed up yet. This morning, he asked me if I needed him to come over to dig my car out of the snow, so that I could take Em up to daycare, then offered to ride me to work. I just am not used to this at all. I’m very independent and I do everything myself. I declined. He asked last night if I needed him to come shovel our steps/walk. Of course, I declined  I don’t really need anyone to do that stuff for me. I should appreciate that he even asked, or even wanted to help me. Again, I have an extremely difficult time with anything like this. I have been on my own for so long that I don’t know that I’ll ever get used to this enough to move forward. The sad thing is I constantly think that he’s being weird just for being nice to me. No! It’s me who is weird!

 

He said something yesterday about me just getting myself and Emerson home safely, then if we needed anything, he would bring it to us. Of course, I declined. He hasn’t met Emerson yet. I’m witholding that for some time. He doesn’t have any children, but he is very accepting that I have a kiddo. I don’t think that’ll ever be an issue and I think he’d accept Em as his own, which freaks me out! Again, I am trying to work through this. Obviously, that is what I’ve wanted. Someone who is amazing and would be just as amazing to myself and my kid. Now that I could potentially have that, I am absolutely freaked out. This guy is everything that I’ve been looking for. He runs marathons, is very into health/working out, and he doesn’t drink! I love all of that including the fact that he is completely independent, owns a home, has a great career, and is wonderful with his pets. He seems to come from a nice family too. He’s really funny too without trying too hard. The thoughtfulness is so offputting to me though. I think I just need to remember that he isn’t just nice to me. It isn’t an act. It is just how he is. He is just a nice person. I feel bad too because I can’t reciprocate the things that he says and does because it scares me. I don’t know why I am being such a baby. I should just go all in and see what happens. I am my own roadblock though. He has been extremely understanding and patient with me though, so I hope that continues. I just get so locked up over fear. I was never this way before. Being single for over three years has certainly done a number on me! Anyway, I will follow-up as things develop. I’m not sure what will occur from this point. I think being super scared must be a good thing though! It’s nice to have found someone who is actually a great person and not an idiot!

 

Okay, I will update later. Have a super day, all

Our holiday weekend!!

It’s been almost a week since I wrote. Wow, so much has happened. I’ll try to give you guys the short version..

 

Last Wednesday, we had a play date with my best friend and her son. They were visiting for Thanksgiving from Arizona. The kids had a good time and it was really nice to catch up. We hadn’t seen them in 14 months, which is crazy when you say it like that. It was awesome having them over.  It made me think that we need to invite other kids over for play dates. Em wasn’t into sharing his toys though. That was the only downfall, but I suppose most kids are that way when it comes to their stuff. Other than that, it was great. We had a nice visit and were extremely sad to see them go. I actually cried after they left. I’ll keep that to myself though. I’m not sure when we will see them again. I guess what I don’t understand is why they moved to be closer to her husband’s family when they can afford to fly back here 5-6 times a year. Why move closer to the people who visit frequently and can afford to visit? Her sisters can’t afford the airfare for themselves, or their children, so it just seems silly why you’d want to move across the country to be closer to people who constantly came to visit. I support whatever decision she wanted to make, but logistically, it doesn’t make sense. Maybe that is me being bitter, or something, but honestly, I have asked myself this question many times. We were chatting about airfare prices, etc, and she even said that her sister hasn’t paid her back yet for their visit earlier this year. Even for her to fly out here, it’s not that easy. The cost is insane. I just don’t get why you’d move so far away from people who literally cannot afford to come visit very often, yet his parents come out so many times a year. I guess she just wanted to be around his parents more than just a few times a year so that they could help her with her son.  We were happy to see them, but it sucks that it can’t be more often. I feel bad for her sisters though. I am sure it’s awful for them not being able to see their sister, or nephew.

 

Anyway, Thursday was the big day. We laid around most of the day watching Christmas movies, then went to my parent’s for dinner after naptime. It was nice. We weren’t there for very long. Just two hours. We had a good time though. I ate too much-shocker.  We headed home around 730pm. We took a couple of leftovers with us. Nothing major though. It was a nice holiday. My older sister ended up showing up. I was shocked. We haven’t seen her since June. Anyway, we didn’t talk, or anything, but it wasn’t hostile. It never is. I just prefer not to acknowledge her because she just isn’t a very nice person for what she has done to our family. I think it’s horrendous how she pretends Emerson doesn’t exist. She doesn’t have to like me, but to treat my child like he doesn’t exist is not right. She said “bye, be good buddy” to him on Thanksgiving. That was all she said to him. I pay close attention to her interaction with him. It’s easy to because it doesn’t exist. She apparently bought Emerson a Christmas present. Shocking. I had to ask her if she bought him a birthday present THREE months after his birthday. Funny, right? She said she did. Really? Then why didn’t you make it a point to see him for his second birthday to give it to him? That’s right, because you didn’t have a gift. She ended up bringing it to my nephew’s birthday party THREE MONTHS AFTER THE FACT. Anyway, it bothers me that she doesn’t ask me what she should get him for Christmas. She doesn’t know him, doesn’t know what we already have, etc, so why wouldn’t you ask? Apparently she bought him a piano that he can walk on. Okay, thanks, but he doesn’t really need any more toys, especially toys that are going to take up massive amounts of space because we have no room. He needs socks, underwear, warm clothes, extra hats, gloves, and a new coat. He needs fine motor toys like lacing puzzles. Yes, the thought counts, but why not ask me? She asks my sister what my nephew WANTS. I think she figures as long as she is buying him something that it doesn’t matter. Well, it does matter. What if we already owned that? I wouldn’t be surprised if she bought it from the salvation army, or got it as a hand me down from her girlfriend’s nephew. She’s really good for doing stuff like that. She isn’t financially struggling either. I think she just thinks because she doesn’t really like Emerson she can give him used crap as a Christmas present.  Thanks, but no thanks.  She’s bought him used clothing from the thrift store before that was way too big, or way too small because she never asks me sizes, or anything. The funniest is she purchases brand-new stuff for her girlfriend’s nephews. If everyone was getting used stuff, then fine, but that’s not the case. They get so much nice stuff from her. She invites them to her house and babysits them all the time. I don’t think Emerson even knows that she is his aunt. I’d rather not even see her for Christmas. Maybe she can just stay away until after we leave. That would be the best gift of all. I honestly cannot stomach how she bypasses my child like he isn’t even standing in front of her. You’d think for someone who isn’t having children, she’d actually cherish the time she has with her nephew. Nope. I think she held him a total of 3 times when he was a baby. She is just a sucky person.

 

Okay, enough of that. Friday, we ventured to the mall, so that Emerson could ride the Christmas train. We had a good time! He loved it. After the train, he threw a ton of coins into the fountain,  we walked around the mall, then had lunch. It was a pretty tame day. After nap, we just hung at home, had dinner, and watched “The Croods”. It was such a good movie! We ended up watching it a couple of more times over the weekend.

 

Saturday was Friendsgiving! My sister came over early to help me pack both of our cars with the chairs, tables, and décor. We headed to her house to set up. I cannot believe how gorgeous it all came out. I was so proud of myself! I worked so hard handmaking all of the decorations. I never get to do any kind of fancy party, so this tickled me pink! While I was hanging my handmade poms, the table collapsed underneath of me and I fell pretty hard. I was okay, but it was scary as hell! We laughed so hard afterward. Anyway, Em and I went home for lunch and nap, then got ready, and headed back to my sister’s house around 5pm. The party started at 6pm, but we had to make the mashed potatoes, and I had to get the spicy caramel appletinis ready. Everyone arrived mostly on time. I served everyone up martinis, while we waited for dinner. The kids were running around crazy! They had such a good time though. My sister did a great job on the turkey. It was so tender that it literally fell off the bone. We had plenty of seats for everyone. I was so nervous about that, but the kids migrated to the living room and put on a Christmas movie, while they ate. All of the adults sat in the dining room. Everyone had such a good time! The food was amazing. Everyone outdid themselves. We had so many leftovers. The mac and cheese was my favorite! I made sure I took leftovers home with me. Em tore that up!  It turned out so nice though and we had such a good time. We had a great group of people over. I can’t tell you enough how much we appreciated everyone coming together and contributing dishes. I can’t wait to throw another shindig!

 

Sunday was probably favorite day out of the whole holiday break. We spent the morning at my parent’s, then went home for lunch and nap. That evening, we headed to Kennywood for the lights! WOW. Absolutely magical. I can’t describe it any other way. I actually teared up a couple of times. It was so beautiful. The kids had such a great time. They had some of the rides open too, so I know they overly enjoyed that. We had hot chocolate and kettle corn too! Delicious!  It was so pretty! I hardly even felt like I was at the amusement park. We bundled up, but it really wasn’t that cold. I think we felt the most cold after we sat inside the theater for too long to watch the Polar Express in 4D. They had a mini version of the film, which lasted for about 15 minutes. We warmed up too much, so when we came back outside, we were all frozen. We ended up hanging out by one of the bon-fires that were set up and enjoying the light show. They had the lights synchronized with different Christmas songs. It was beautiful and so neat to watch! The kids were dancing and running around, while my sister and I watched in amazement. Three hours whizzed by so quickly. By the time we got home, and Em got a bath and in bed, it was nearly 9pm! That’s late for a school night.

 

Being back to work today is nice. It’s good to be back to our routine. We did enjoy our four days off. It was nice to sleep in a little. 7am is sleeping in for us. On Thanksgiving, we slept in until just after 9! That was a real treat. I have to say, Em was well-behaved our entire vacation. I didn’t have to yell too much-haha. These breaks can become rather exhausting if he’s extremely unruly. It sometimes turns into an all-day battle, but we worked together pretty well. I had enough to occupy him with activities at home, then adventures outside. On Thanksgiving, he painted a pumpkin, and colored a turkey, so that was fun. He loved it. I try to set up little activities throughout, so that he has enough structure to avoid finding trouble on his own. We have to do an art project this week to submit for the holiday contest this Wednesday. I plan on having Emerson paint a Santa canvas. Hopefully he wins! If so, he gets a $25 gift card to Toys R Us! My hope is that it doesn’t look like I helped too much. LOL.

 

This week, we have nothing planned at all. We’re just trying to get back into the swing of things.  On Friday, we’re attending the Festival of Trees. It’s a celebration of Christimas trees supplied from various schools, clubs, and organizations. It’s pretty cool, plus Santa will be there. Emerson isn’t too fond of Santa, but we’ll give it a try again. Our friend is actually playing Santa, so maybe Em will warm up to him. We’ll see! I think we’re going to see the Christmas lights on Sunday at Overly’s. I have to check with my sister. Funds are super low now that I’ve paid all the bills, friendsgiving, and Kennywood, so we’ll have to see. I’d prefer to do it when it’s still semi-warm out and this weekend is looking good, so it might be best to just do it now rather than later. It only costs $18 per car, so maybe my sister can split that with me since I paid for my nephew’s admission into the park last night, our hot chocolate, and kettle corn. On Saturday, there is a live reindeer event downtown in the strip, but I think we’re skipping that. I don’t want to use all of that gas, then have to pay to park. My  mom said she wanted to make new ornaments this weekend, so maybe we can just do that.

 

Alright, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and has a great week!

Here are some pics :)