Camp Week!

My boys are at camp this week.  It's not a spend the night camp. It's Mon-Fri during the day......which is perfect because they get to have fun but mama also gets to have them safe and snug in their beds here at home.  They went last year and LOVED it so it was a no brainer to send them back this year.  

 Last week we made some bird feeders for our backyard.  We used plain toilet paper rolls, peanut butter and bird seed.

 They had fun spreading the peanut butter...

 .......and rolling the bird seed.

 My only mistake was that we made them the day before we left town.  I think while we were gone, a bird snatched it and flew off with them.  Next time I will probably paper clip them to the branches so that the wind won't knock them off and they won't disappear.

 Every day, we have a little quiet time over here.  This keeps mama from going crazy gives each of us a little break from each other and allows the boys to learn to entertain themselves a little bit.....which is HUGE for Cooper because he needs constant interaction.

I tell them that they can rest, read, draw or whatever they want to do.  This particular day, they each wanted a big bucket of Legos to build.  Quiet time lasts at least 30 minutes each day (this week is an exception because of camp) 

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 Our caterpillars have turned into cocoons now.  The boys are patiently waiting for the butterflies!

 We moved them from the cup into their habitat.

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Have I mentioned what a sweet boy I have?  He is so thoughtful......always bringing me pretty flowers.  I'm one lucky girl!!

Father's Day

We had a good day yesterday.....we loved on Shawn and spent most of the day in Denton so that he could spend the day with his dad.  I couldn't help but feel an even bigger void as a result of it being Father's Day.  I missed Jason.

I knew that I wanted to do something to honor/remember Jason.  It's a fine line because I don't want to take away from Shawn or to hurt his feelings......but I also believe that the boys need to celebrate Jason as well.  You can probably imagine how difficult it is to love on your current family but try your best to not forget your past.  I feel so caught in the middle sometimes.

I was scrolling through the pictures in my camera this morning and I swear it felt like I was looking at pictures of 2 different families with 2 different lives.  Some pictures were filled with a mom and a dad and 2 young boys.  All happy and smiling.  Other pictures had a mom and 2 kids.....with a faint sadness in their eyes.  Yet, I am always reminded that it's us in all of those pictures.....living such a different life from what we were just 2 years ago.

Jason's birthday fell about 5-6 weeks after he passed.  We all got together and ate dinner at one of his favorite restaurants and then decided to do a balloon release. The boys thought this was really cool and I wanted to make a tradition out of it.  Unfortunately, Jason's birthday falls very close to Thanksgiving (last year it fell on the actual day) and that can be a crazy time.  Last year we were in small town Oklahoma visiting Shawn's family and everything was closed on Thanksgiving so there was no way for us to do a balloon release.  I also realized that this is somewhat of a private thing for us.......I love Shawn's family and all but the last thing I want is to meet these people for the first time and have them witness the boys and I struggling over our loss for him.

This year I thought that maybe we could switch it to Father's Day......and make that our yearly tradition.  But like I mentioned before, I don't want to take away or ever make Shawn feel that he is living in a shadow.  I guess we will see how it goes each year and maybe tweak it from time to time.

 "Thanks for being a great dad."

 "I love you dad.  You are brave."

 "We miss you Jason."

 "We love you to heaven and back."

Not sure how long the boys will enjoy this or actually believe that the balloons make it all the way to heaven......but we will do it as long as they want to.

Today my heart feels thankful.  So thankful that the boys had such an amazing daddy.  Thankful that they have an amazing man that is willing to step in some big shoes and finish the journey.  I know that I'm blessed.  But I also know that I'm sad today.  For all of us.  And that's okay!

San Antonio with Friends

On Wednesday, the boys and I headed south to Round Rock to spend some time with my college friend, Amy.  Sweet boy was in New York all week for work and her husband happened to be in Miami for work as well.......so we figured it was a perfect time to get together and play.

We took the boys to the JW Marriott in San Antonio.  So pretty!

It was a little overcast for part of Thursday but we still got to enjoy the lazy river and pools and slides.

I lived in San Antonio for a bit when I was a kid and then also again my first year of college.  Alamo Cafe was always one of my favorite places to eat.......so I was super exited to hear that there was one about 15-20 minutes from our hotel.  So yummy!

The 3 Amigos!

Enjoying dinner

Cooper being silly with his tortillas.

Okay, so you know how I've had multiple a few small incidents where I've hurt myself.....or my car?  Well this trip would be no exception.  Let me explain......

On Thursday, I was riding a slide with the boys and it required us to sit on a tube.  The slide dumped us off into the lazy river at the end so we floated for a bit.  I was ready to get out so I got off my tube.  The current was pushing me along and all of a sudden I stumped my toe on something.  I later learned that when this lazy river was built, it didn't have much of a rapid or flow.  So a company came in and put speed bump type mounds all around the river so that it would help create more of a rapid feel.  I was taken back because I couldn't figure out what I had just hit (the lazy river at our house has big step downs every so often and I was used to that) and before I could process it, the current was taking me along and I stubbed my same toe on another speed bump.  If let out a big yelp and luckily the steps were to my left so that I could get out.  Another lady standing at the steps was irritated and told me that she had just done the same thing and had also done it the last time she was at this hotel.  

The rest of the day was a good time......my foot/toe was really sore but we kept going.  By dinner though my foot was throbbing and my toe hurt so bad.  I asked Amy if she would drop me off at the hotel entrance because I wasn't sure I could park and then walk the parking lot.  We got back to the room and I elevated it and iced it and took Advil but I was in a ton of pain.  We decided to call the front desk.  They sent an EMT to our room......who barely even looked at my foot.  He asked me some questions, took some notes and then offered to call me a cab to the emergency room.  Really?  This is a super nice hotel......not cheap.......and I was a little irritated.  I was a female, in a strange town, it was night time, we had our kids with us, it was also the same night as the big San Antonio/Miami basketball game........and he wanted to ship me off in a cab?  I said thanks but no thanks.  I could envision myself sitting in an ER with tons of stab victims and my measly hurt toe would certainly get bumped down the importance chain.  

He left and about 30 minutes later we called and asked for the night manager.  A really nice man (ended up being their head of security) came to our room and I nicely shared my experience from the lazy river and how I wasn't too happy with their protocol of putting me in a cab.  I told him that for a hotel of his level, I would expect at least a courtesy car to take me their.  He completely understood and offered to take me himself.  Conveniently, he drove me in the hotel Escalade and after a few Xrays, I learned that my big toe was not broken but just a bad contusion.  So thankful for that!!

If you know me at all then you know that this was a hard thing for me to do.  I hate to make a fuss, I hate to complain, I hate to be the center of attention......but I also didn't want to not get it checked out and then later learn that is WAS broken.  So, my friend Amy encouraged me to make the hotel aware and have it looked at.  I'm glad I did.

We got back to the hotel and he asked for a wheelchair escort back to my room.  I had declined one for the way down....I didn't want to make a fuss or freak my boys out........but apparently I took way too long on the way down so he insisted that I ride one back up.  Oh, and I forgot to mention that when he told me that he would take me, he mentioned that we would be going to a newer clinic that closed at 11 and that I needed to leave right then.  Pajamas and all.  So yes, went and got full Xrays and then was wheel chaired through a fancy hotel lobby full of Spurs fans in my pajamas.  Don't think I wasn't mortified!

I'm sure you are curious about sweet boy.  Well he was in NY like I mentioned.  I texted him Thursday night at dinner and said "I think I broke my big toe."  His response:  "are you joking?"  I can only imagine the eye rolling and head shaking that took place. :)

Very tempted to wrap my fully body in bubble wrap before I leave the house again.

Summer Fun

We are full force into summer now and having a blast so far!  Our caterpillars came in the other day and we have enjoyed watching them get big and fat.  They should be spinning cocoons soon and eventually turning into butterflies.  We did this a few years ago but Cooper was really small and didn't remember it so I thought it would something fun to do again.

Our first cooking lesson was somewhat of a success!  The boys did a good job at measuring and mixing......but the recipe wasn't so great.  I found a chocolate chip muffin recipe on Pinterest but it wasn't fabulous.  Oh well.....more cooking in our future for sure. :)

Yesterday was our first of MANY trips to the water park.  The boys love it there and it's a great way to get them outside....away from TV and video games......and make sure they are nice and worn out so that bedtime is a breeze.  I love hearing the laughter and seeing all the smiles too.

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I've had several people ask me about the busy basket contents.  Like I said, I've searched for things on Pinterest and the Internet. They are pretty simple to put together and the goal is for them to be independent activities.  I'll try to post more ideas as I make them.

This is a basic "summer memory" type game.  As long as your kids have played memory before then they should understand the concept.  If not, play with them a few times.  They can play alone or with a sibling.

Play dough and cookie cutters

 Paper airplane instructions (for my oldest)

 Fruit snack math.  I put fruit snacks in a baggie and typed up a math sheet that asked them to estimate how many were in the bag, write fractions, greater than and less than, pattern, etc.  Super easy and they loved it!

 A simple game of tic tac toe

 Making structures with marshmallows.  They really liked this as well.

We also have our Summer Bucket List activities.  We came up with 20+ things to do this summer.  

Hope everyone is having a good one so far!!

Last Day and Awards

June Photo-a-Day Challenge: June 4 ......"after dark"

This is a lame attempt at creating something fun after dark.  Earlier that day, I saw a neat craft where you take glow in the dark paint and splatter it inside a clear glass jar and then at night it looks like fireflies inside your jar.  I looked for the paint but only found glow in the dark glue......which would NOT splatter.....so I let the boys drizzle some inside the glass instead.  It turned out nothing like the inspiration craft but it sure gave me a good laugh!

Today was the last day of school!  Hudson had his 4th grade awards ceremony at 9am and then they encouraged us to take them early after it was over (we had early release at noon anyways) So, I took both boys out after it was finished.  We decided to make a trip to the library and the park next door.  It's cloudy today but it felt great.

The boys have loved this tire swing ever since they were little.  It kind of made me sad when they asked me to push them on it.  They are getting so big and heavy!

We have several parks in our area so we are able to go to different ones all the time.  They enjoy this park and especially love this little "bridge" because they like to put wood chips on it and then jump real hard and make them fly off.  First......look at Cooper bending over and getting completely ambushed with wood chips.  So stinking funny!  I usually only let them do this when the park isn't too crazy crowded because I don't want other kids to get hit in the face or have too many kids on the bridge at one time.

However..........today the park was almost empty.  There were a few other moms sitting nearby (discussing their annoying birthing stories and trying to one up each other with how traumatic their deliveries were) and their kids were scattered around playing.  I didn't think it was a big deal to let them do this today and I actually sat and smiled as I watched them laugh and have such a great time.  One of the moms near me got super snotty about this and in front of me......actually in a loud and annoying tone, she told her kid "don't pick up the wood chips.....just because other kids get to do it doesn't mean you can."  Okay, I understand if my kids are throwing them (which they were not)  but they are just jumping and making them fly off the bridge.  Big deal.  She kept grunting under her breath and making sure I knew she was irritated.  I went back and forth in my head about whether I should have them stop but then I reminded myself that they were not hurting anyone and they are at the park for goodness sake.  Can't we allow our kids to just be kids?  Sheesh.  I felt sad because her son wanted to join in...my boys even invited him to.....and she wouldn't have it.  Good grief lady.

The best part was right before we left, her son walked to a large sandbox about 15 feet away and picked up a huge handful of sand and chunked it at another kid's face.  Her back was to him so she didn't see it but it just reminded me that kids are not perfect and even though she acted like hers was.....he was still being a typical kid.

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June 5 Photo-a-day was to take a picture of "environment."  I was crazy busy yesterday and didn't get to that one.  Oops.

June 6 photo challenge:  "Transport."

I transport these Indians all over the place. At a red light, I asked them to get together and smile and this is what they gave me.

So when I try to explain to sweet boy that he should really cherish his alone driving time on his daily commute....this is what I am talking about!!

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Last day of 4th grade and 1st grade

 Cooper and Mrs. S.  She has been such an amazing teacher for my monkey!

 Hudson earned some awards today.

With his fabulous teacher, Mrs. G.  What a blessing to our family this year.  Already starting to pray for teachers next year.  God knows exactly what they need and will deliver!!

Let's Party!!

 Yesterday the boys had their class parties at school.  Hudson's party theme was a Luau.

 Acting silly with his teacher

 They had an ice cream sundae station.

 Cooper's party was a beach/summertime theme.  I was room mom this year with 2 super sweet and creative moms.  I can't take credit for all this cuteness!

 Flip flop Nutter Butter and fruit kabobs

 Relay races outside.  Then the kids went on a scavenger hunt.

 Finding treasures on their hunt.

 Back inside, the kids all sat in a circle and started with their own ball.  We played some fun summertime music and the kids all passed their ball to the right.  They would sign their name on the ball and pass it to the right.  They went all the way around until they had signed every ball.  Such a cute keepsake!