Happy Mother's Day to me!

Mother's day started off with me feeling sick so I had made up my mind that I was just going to stay home and take it easy. Ishmael had to collect donations at the church for mom's in Haiti so he left early that morning. Around 9:00 I started to feel a little better and proceded to get ready for the day. Ish called me and asked me if I'd seen the porch that morning. I was assuming that the crazy wind from the day before had blown leaves and pollen all over our porch after we'd just cleaned it off. So with that said, didn't rush to go look at the porch. Well at the last minute, I decided to get the boys ready for church and was rushing out the door to get there on time. When I opened the door he had a rose bush and a gerber daisy plant w/ a card sitting on the porch. I was so suprised and it just really made my day. We had been wanting to plant a rose bush in our flower garden and so now everytime I'll look at the roses, it'll remind me of Mother's Day!
Once I got to church, the church was offering up free family pictures. So we headed over to the gym to get our picture taken. It ended up taking longer than I thought it would so by the time we were getting ready to drop off the boys in the nursery I was starving. I still wasn't feeling the best so I wasn't sure I wanted to sit through church with a hungry and queesy stomach. So we decided to just grab some lunch and head home. Ish also had to record a recital that afternoon so I wanted us to have as much time w/ him as we could. Well that afternoon consisted of the boys napping and me laying on the couch watching movies. I couldn't had asked for a more relaxing afternoon. Once Ish got home we decided to order in so I wouldn't have to cook (that's Ish's way of cooking hehe) then we loaded up the boys and headed out for some ice cream. Then we ended the evening shopping at the new Kroger lol. Overall I had a great day even though Ish had to work most of it. I'm just glad he remembered to spoil me a little.

The day that would never end

Shew! What a day! Today started off with me waking up with a scratchy throat. For some reason, when my throat hurts, my whole body hurts. Not sure why that is...Anway, Ish had to work a wedding this afternoon so he ended up leaving around 11:30 which meant I had to come up with something to keep the boys occupied. You'd think it wouldn't be such a big deal since I'm home with them everyday but for some reason the weekends are different. It's like they know that their daddy is supposed to be there and when he isn't, they go completely haywire. So, after lunch went for a walk in the neighborhood in their wagon. At the corner of our street, a church was having a mini carnival that seemed to be open to the public. I decided to take the boys and check it out. They had lots of different games for kids to play and win prizes and free snow cones, cotton candy, and popcorn. Ethan was so overwhelmed by all the other children that it was really hard to get him to focus on something. Half the time he would just stand and stare. I did manage to get him to play a few games but like I said, he just wasn't his hyper self. Meanwhile, Jayden was getting very ansy just sitting in the wagon. Right now he's at the stage that he wants to walk everywhere but has to hold on to me. This can be a little challenging when trying to get Ethan to follow me when Jayden just wants to take off. If I take control, Jayden always throws a fit. That boy loves to have his way and if he doesn't get it, then watch out.
After playing a few games and getting some prizes, I thought I'd let Ethan try some cotton candy for the 1st time. Suprisingly he wasn't a fan. I tried giving some to Jayden but he just thought it was fuzz and threw it down. So, that meant more for me! Then I thought I'd get him a snow cone to see if he'd like that but Ethan wasn't interested. While I was getting Ethan's attention to get back in the wagon, I had sat the snow cone in the cupholder. Well I shouldve known better b/c Jayden got into it. Instead of him trying to drink it, he decided to put his hands in it and throw the ice all over his pants. What a mess he was! Good thing the house was just a block down the road b/c that's where we headed after that incident. Once we got home I had to clean Jayden up so I took him inside. This is when he threw a major tantrum that I've never seen him do. It was so bad that I couldn't even hold him b/c of how he was throwing his body. So, I figured he was extremely tired and needed to go down for a nap. Once I put him down, me and Ethan got our bathing suits on and headed to the back yard.
Ethan loves to play with water and especially loves the water hose. So I got my lounge chair out and handed him the water hose and let him at it while I soaked up some rays.  This was the only relaxing part of my day and little did I know that I shouldve enjoyed it more.
Well to make a very long story a little shorter, Ethan didn't take his afternoon nap and in the midst of getting him to sleep, he woke up Jayden. Then for the past 2 hrs it's like my body just shut down. My throat started to really bother me and all I wanted to do was lay down but this wasn't going to happen. So out of frustration, I packed a diaper bag, got the boys shoes on and loaded them into the car. Went to McD's and got a frappe (which they taste just like starbucks but $2 cheaper) and we headed to the park. It was the best decision I had. All of us needed some fresh air apparently. We didn't stay very long b/c Jayden started to get cranky again b/c of his lack of a long nap. So we headed back home and I started to cook dinner. Tried laying Jayden down...not happening. The boys ate dinner, bathed them and both of them acted very sleepy. It was only 6:30 when I tried putting them to bed. I was just thinking that they would for sure go to bed, but I was wrong. So we read some books, watched some tv, played a little and tried again. Because Ethan was upset, it kept Jayden up so attempt #2 didn't work either. Brought them both down, gave them a snack and some juice and tried again. This time I put Jayden down 1st and let him get settled. Success! Then I managed to clean up the kitchen while Ethan watched a movie. When it was over...layed him down and finally at 8:30, he was asleep. A sigh of relief. There's nothing like the feeling of peace after a very long day that seemed to have one bad thing after another.

So do I miss my husband at times like these? You betcha! Thank goodness everyday isn't like this and I definitely was being tested. I'm just thankful that I have my Savior who I can go to in these stressful times and pray to get through them!
Good night everybody!

What a weekend

Thursday we left Lynchburg to go to Raleigh for a family get together. My brother Nolan was in town for the week from TX, who I haven't seen since last year! He also brought his girlfriend Jen with him for us all to meet. My mom had planned for us all to get together at our church gym where we ate some yummy food and played basketball. We brought Jayden's walker and Ethan's basketball goal so that he could join in on the fun. We all had a great time and it was so good to see everyone again.
The next day, Ish and I took the boys to Marbles Kids Museum. Apparently Friday is the day for all the schools to do their field trips! It was insane! Because there was so much to do and so many kids around, Ethan wasn't able to really focus on a whole lot. He was a little standoffish because of the older kids but he did manage to find the train table and that's where he wanted to spend all of his time. we had to pull him away just so he could enjoy some of the other things that the museum had to offer. Thankfully after we ate lunch we were able to enjoy some things a little more b/c the crowds had either left or were eating outside. Overall we had a great experience and who liked to take them there again sometime. But I think we'll try it during the week instead and hopefully it won't be so crowded.
Once we came home we "tried" to lay the boys down for a much needed nap. But b/c they aren't in their beds the naps weren't so successful. However, I did manage to run out and get a much needed new cell phone. That basically just made my day lol. That evening Ish and I met with some friends for an oyster roast and ate some yummy grilled shrimp and oysters, played some corn hole and goofed off.
Saturday morning we spent our time packing and loading up the car to head back to the Burg. The car ride was challenging at times so we were so glad to get home! Later that afternoon we went to a kids birthday party, went to friends house for dinner and then put the kids to bed. What a weekend! The boys were so exhausted and soo glad to be in their own beds.

So much to say

Today started off kindof cruddy with Ishmael getting Jayden and bringing him in the room when I just wasn't ready to get up yet. Every morning I have to grab a sweatshirt and slippers b/c it's always freezing downstairs and of course I'd like to go to the bathroom and brush my teeth, and then I go get Jayden. But not this morning. So despite my cranky mood I really wanted some muffins. I usually just make the muffins that you add milk to but didnt have any in the pantry but I remembered that I had come across a recipe of Mocha Banana Chocolate chip muffins. I managed to have all the ingredients and started baking them. I added a few healthy ingredients like applesauce, wheat flour, wheat germ and oat bran to the mix, and let me just say they were delicious! You couldn't even taste the healthy stuff! Well since thats what Ethan had for breakfast he was in a great mood. Who wouldn't be after having chocolate lol. I actually was a little hesitant to give it to him but I thought I'd live a little on the edge today :)
I also introduced to him a new activity that a good friend of mine told me she used to do w/ her preschoolers. What you do is take a paper clip and bend it to where he can hold the curled part and stick with the pointy part. Then draw out either a shape or letter on a piece of paper and place on the carpet and have him poke holes along the lines. Basically its really good for their hand and eye coordination. I also think it helps him really focus. You can also save the pictures and see how he progresses each week by following the lines. Ethan loved this activity and would get so excited if he actually poked a whole b/c he had a hard time holding the paper clip the right way. I definitely will be doing this one on a weekly basis!
Also today I have noticed how well his vocabulary is progressing. I think it's so cute how he repeats what I say. He had macaroni for lunch and I forgot to put a bib on him and I say "oh no, you made a mess!" And he just repeated, oh no, a mess. It was cute.
He is definitely a learning machine right now and I'm loving it! Now if I can just get him to take a nap today!

Jayden is ONE!

It amazes me how fast this past year has just flown by. Jayden grew up in the blink of an eye. He turned 1 on Saturday and we had his 1st birthday party on Sunday. We decided to try and keep it small and simple this time and only invited a few close friends and family. We planned everything to be outside and we couldn't have asked for better weather. I was running around like a crazy person to get everything perfect for the party and we all managed to pull it off. Everyone had a great time and more importantly Jayden had a blast. It was a little difficult to try and keep all the focus on him since Ethan wanted to open all his presents and take them. Jayden got upset when Ethan would take his toy away from him and even through a mini tantrum (it actually was kindof funny) but overall it went well. I'm just glad it's easy to distract Jayden...for now anyways.

My parents got the boys matching chairs for the living room and they both love them. Jayden likes to climb in and out of them over and over. Jayden also got a riding toy like Ethan's except it's a train. My mom didn't consider the fact that Ethan is obsessed with trains so naturally Ethan took to it. I don't think Jayden ever got to really play with it until the next morning before Ethan woke up. (poor guy) Jayden got lots of great toys and some cute clothes, which I'm excited about b/c he's been wearing hand me downs basically the whole year.

Well to wrap up just want to say all the things that I love about Jayden:

His big blue eyes, happy personality, the way he cuddles with his blanket when he's sleepy, the way he smacks his mouth before he eats, the way he rocks back and forth to music, noise and going to sleep, the way he scoots on one leg when he's keeping up with Ethan, the way he holds on to me, the way he wakes up so happy in the morning, the way he giggles to pieces at Ethan, that he gets so excited when daddy comes home, when I put veggies on his plate, he'll just flick it w/ his little finger...(how does he know it's good for him?), the way he loves to climb the stairs and would spend all day going up and down them. I'm sure there's so much more. He's such a loveable boy and is so attached to his mommy-which I love because Ethan is a daddy's boy all the way!

So looking back on this past year w/ Jayden has been such a blessing and I can't wait to have many more.

Happy Birthday Jayden!!

What I read today...

I follow the Proverbs 31 blog and today's title was "Am I messing up my kids." The key verse that was shared was John 9:3 "’Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ’but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.’" She then went on and explained how she was talking to her friend and her friend was struggling with her son. She was able to comfort her friend with that verse and let her know that what her son is going through isn't because of her mistakes or her sons, but God is helping her son work through some fears that will eventually be a display of spiritual depth in his life. This story immediately hit home for me. The past couple of weeks have been really tough with Ethan. He has been very disobedient and I'm just exhausted from disciplining him all day and feel like I'm getting no where with him. I find myself asking, "Why me? What did I do to deserve this?" So reading this devotional really helped me realize that what I'm going through with Ethan right now isn't necessarily because of my mistakes but that God is using this time to teach me and mold me into a better mother. Sometimes I have to remind myself that he's only 2 and that he has ALOT of learning to do so it's my job as his mother to hold it together! I'm not going to lie and say it's easy. I constantly have to pray for the fruits of the Spirit to shine through me. I'm so thankful that God uses these devotionals to remind me of the little things.

A new bed and new room

Ever since Jayden was born I had planned on putting him and Ethan together in the same room. Well we kept putting it off b/c of multiple issues. First it was Ethan getting used to his toddler bed, then when I did try, Ethan just continued to upset Jayden by screaming in his face, and then it was trying to get Jayden to sleep through the night. I hadn't anticipated on Jayden taking 11 months to do so! I'm sad to say that for those 11 months he has been sleeping in a pack and play. I know that it probably had something to do with his sleeping habits to but just didn't want to take the crib apart and then move it into the other room and rebuild it. So we finally decided that it was time that Jayden needed to be in his crib. The only problem was that Ethan had started to get out of his bed at night and come into our room. So we moved him back into the crib so he could get used to sleeping w/o waking up. I had relayed all this information to my mom and so she came up with the idea of maybe getting Ethan a bed that he would really like and giving me a new room. I loved the idea and since he's obsessed with trains we decided to get him a thomas the train bed.

So this past weekend my parents came up to visit and we had decided to transform our guest room into Ethan's new room. My parents took the kids out in the morning to Rompnroll and then took them to lunch. Ish and I had exactly 2 hrs to get the room painted. Suprisingly we got it done in time. After we finished, mom and I went on the hunt for curtains and bedding. No luck on bedding in Lynchburg for toddlers but we did score some great curtains at Target. They were the right color and also had a room darkening liner on the back which was perfect b/c that room gets alot of sun.

So by Sunday we were able to get the room all done minus pictures on the wall and a few other decorations. Overall it looks great and the important thing is that he loves it!