Spring is Coming

AveryAnn had a big week of riding forward facing in the car finally!  I'm kind of shocked we made it this long.  Now when we drive she's constantly yelling, "yook, mommy a ____!"  It's really cute!

Friday morning my hair straightener died.  I'd had it for 12 years.  It was the first thing I ever bought with my credit card (stupid, I know, don't be like me).  Of course this is turning out to be one of the most expensive months of the year for us so I'm going to have to strategically work a new one into the budget. 

Friday night we went to my parents house so my dad could color my hair.  AveryAnn was helping Granddaddy get some work done while I was processing.

Barrett curled up on the couch and took a little nap.  We got home late Friday night and crashed.

Saturday morning I got up and got ready for a brunch baby shower.  The kids had a fun morning at home with daddy!  That afternoon I took the kids to my parents house to spend the night because we were going bowling for my friend Anna's 30th birthday!  I also enjoyed a solo target run to get a wedding gift for a tea on Sunday.  I came home a took a little nap before getting ready for our little (group) date night.

I kind of love bowling!  I'm not great at it but I think it's so much fun!  We rode with Jeremy and Jessica and always have so much fun with them!

I love this sweet friend of mine!  I love that we've known each other forever but our babies brought us this deep, forever friendship.  We are soul sisters and almost always know what the other is thinking because we're thinking the same thing.  Also, she's so pretty both inside and out.

Love these girls!  Anna has a ton of friends and all she wanted for her 30th birthday was for them to all be together to celebrate. We were missing a few but we had the best time! 

Sunday, we got up and got ready for church.  I had to run by and get the kids dressed for church because I forgot to pack their church clothes. We went to Mass and then came back to my parents for lunch before the tea.

We went to the tea and then my sister and I ran up to go to HIIT.  Hope came to the tea and then she and John and Madelyn went back to mom and dads to hang out.  After HIIT there were more people at the tea so we stopped by in our sweaty gym clothes to visit.  After the tea was over we went back to mom and dads to visit.  Hope had taken these cute pictures of the girls while we were gone.  They are really starting to interact and play together and it is so sweet!

I took this picture of the three of them.

Then I told Barrett to kneel down so he would be the same height at the girls, but they got on their knees too and we all had a good laugh.

We finally made it home, way too late, but it was so worth it!  We don't get to see John and Hope nearly enough.  We don't live that far away but it's so hard to coordinate our lives and get together!  We're getting into a busier season at work and life.  Baseball practice starts this week and we're really excited!  This is our first year of coach pitch!  I think that's all for today!  

Weekend Review

I've listened to podcasts on and off for a while now.  I've been working by myself a lot over the last four months so I've been listening to them all the time.  I've found several that I listen to weekly and can't wait for the next one to be available.  One of my newest favorites is Arc Stories.  My sister told me about it and I was hooked after the first episode.  I listened to all 50 episodes in about a week.  It's based here in Birmingham and it's basically just people telling stories.  All the stories are told in front of a live audience and it's just super entertaining.  I've laughed and cried while listening.  They have a live event every month and this month's was Friday night at the Botanical Gardens.  I'd tentatively marked in on my calendar but wasn't sure I'd find anyone to go with me.  My sister texted me and told me they were going if I wanted to tag along.  I talked to Patrick and he said he'd go too.  He didn't really get it what it was all  about but said he'd give it a try.  It was a beautiful night to hang out in the park. 

Y'all, we were so surprised at how much fun it was. There were six storytellers.  They were all so good.  We laughed so much and just had the best time.  It was something different and fun for a little date night.  We're already planning to definitely go to the one around Christmas.  (I hope we get to one before then though.)

Saturday I picked up the kids from my parents and we hung out at home all day.  It was nice to not have to be anywhere. 

Sunday we went to church and then lunch at my parents.  Barrett begged for them to hide Easter eggs for him to hunt.  Which they of course did and he had a ball.  That afternoon we had ragball pictures.

They were running behind schedule so it took longer than we expected but Barrett did great. 

Barrett complained about his ear hurting all weekend but it didn't seem to serious.  It usually hurt the worst when it was time for him to do something he didn't want to do.  Well Monday he woke up with a fever so I decided to go ahead and take him in.  Ear infection, both ears.  Since he was running a fever I couldn't take him to the office with me and I have a lot of work to do this week.  (The next two weeks are two of the busiest weeks of the year for me.)  Thankfully my dad was working from home and said he could keep them.

If you have to go to the doctor you might as well look cute.  By that afternoon he was feeling better and Dr. Farr said he could resume normal activity as soon as he felt like it so we went to practice.  We had the best time at practice.  All the parents are really involved and it was so much fun.  I was helping get the kids to first base after they hit the ball. After practice I told Barrett how proud I was and how much fun I had with him and he said, "I'm proud of you for helping coach Mama."  I laughed so hard. 

We planted some azaleas a few months back and they bloomed this week and they were so pretty.  They're not very big but they had so many flowers.  We are loving this time in life.  Its hard and most some days I want to run away but it's also really, really sweet.  Barrett and AveryAnn really adore each other and we're just trying to soak it all up. 

Weekend Review

We had a very low key laid back weekend.

We've discovered the art of binge watching.  We started Parenthood on netflix Thursday afternoon and finished the first season this weekend.  I love the Braverman family.

Friday I went to dinner with Lorie and Kristen.  It had been almost two months since we'd been together.  I told Lorie I felt like a bad friend because Olivia is almost 2 months old and I've seen her exactly twice.  After dinner I headed to Target for a few minutes of "me time".  Truthfully I wanted to get some things to make cookies with Barrett on Saturday.  When I got home our new family photo canvas had arrived.  I was so excited.  It is my goal to have at least one family photo each year made into a canvas for this spot in our living room.  I moved the one that was here to the stairs,  Eventually I'll put together a gallery wall for that space but probably not anytime soon because I don't tend to do things in a timely manner.  Especially things involving interior decorating. Saturday, Patrick had to work so Barrett and I delivered Valentines to a few of his friends.  It was fun.  I really want to make holidays special around here.  I struggle with where the line is between making things special and going overboard/ spoiling.  I thought taking little treats to people would be a fun way to make the day special but still putting the focus on others. Of course Barrett got a little treat from us and from both sets of grandparents.  I also took Barrett to the park for a bit while the sun was out.  He decided he was a big boy and would climb the rock wall.  He did so good. When Patrick got home we decided we would get Cracker Barrel for dinner.  The sky was so pretty when we were getting in the car. This stinker has been keeping me on my toes. Sunday we went to Mass and then came home for naps.  For dinner we headed to the Horton's house to celebrate Patrick's brother's birthday. It's been cold and yucky here today.  We're looking forward to a little getaway in the mountains.  We borrowed some cold weather gear and Barrett was trying on some of the hats for us before dinner.  He was so cute! That was our weekend.  We've got a busy month at work.  I'm so thankful for all the jobs.  I really love my job and I love that this month I'm doing two big projects for friends.  Well not really for friends but for jobs they're working on.  It means a lot that they trust me with the tasks.  I've also got several little projects.  Spring is usually our busy time of year so we're looking forward to it.  

Weekend Fun! We went to the Zoo!

We had a beautiful, fun weekend!  The weather made me so ready for Spring.  Friday, Barrett and I worked half a day and then played hookie because it was way to pretty to be inside.  It was a little cool but that didn't stop us.  We met some friends at the zoo and it was perfect.

Steven made Barrett an envelope so he could keep up with his spending money.  We ate a quick lunch when we got there then we headed out to see everything!

These boys were not impressed with these fish.

Being silly in front of the mirror in the primate house.

Group shot in the primate house.  The boys once again were not impressed.

This tiger just kept pacing in front of the window.  I'm pretty sure he wanted to eat the children.  The boys just giggled every time he came by.

The giraffes.  

This ostrich kept looking at us like he was going to come out and peck us to death but the boys loved him.

We were practically the only people there.  It was so nice.  We were able to take our time and just enjoy each animal.  Half of our group left and we went to ride the train.

These two were very excited to ride!

My big boy would not sit in my lap on the train.  He sat beside me and held my hand.  Why do they have to grow up so fast? 

Barrett and I hurried home to get ready.  Barrett got to spend the night with my parents so Patrick and I could have a Date night.  First we went to look at furniture.  We're getting new bedroom furniture and I can't wait!  After that we went to see American Sniper.  It was so good.  I'm still in awe of Chris Kyle.  I want to read the book now.  Its one of those movies that I think everyone ought to see.  After the movie we went to Cheesecake Factory for appetizers and dessert.  It did not disappoint. 

We slept late Saturday.  I wanted to get a couple things done around the house before I picked Barrett up.  I finally got my closet cleaned out.  I had to run to Target to pick up some valentines for Barrett's class.  Patrick worked in the yard.  I went to get Barrett and visited with my parents for a while.  I put Barrett down for a nap and we hung out outside for a while.  It was so pretty out.

I was so excited to pick up some of these beauties at Target.  They just remind me of being a kid.

Saturday night we were on a mission to get a new battery for out laptop.  We had dinner at Chili's.  I was so disappointed the first time I ate there and they had these things on the table where you could play games.  But I have to admit I enjoyed watching these two play together while we were waiting on our food.  Every time Barrett would score he would throw his hands up and cheer. I laughed so hard.

Today we went to Mass and then came home and ate lunch.  After lunch I had to return something to Macy's so we did that and we were still on a mission to find a battery.  We finally got one. Yay!  It was a busier weekend that we'd planned but it was fun.

Weekend Review

Our weekend was a little different than we originally planned.  Barrett has had a terrible cough for a couple weeks and I didn't think anything of it.  He had no other symptoms so I was just keeping an hear on it.  Well he woke up Friday morning with a fever of 102.9 and a very snotty face.

So we headed to the doctors office.  Barrett was so pitiful.  His flu test and RSV test both came back negative so we were told just to treat the fever.  That's what we've done...all weekend long.  He was supposed to spend the night with my parents Friday night so Patrick and I could go to my friend Jessica's Surprise 30th birthday dinner.  But that didn't happen. Patrick ended up staying home with Barrett and I went with some girlfriends.  I was so sad that he didn't get to go but I guess that's just part of being a parent.  We had a fun night celebrating Jessica.
I was really looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday but that didn't happen.  My sick boy was up early.  He was super sweet all day though.  I felt so bad for him.  We watched a lot of Mickey Mouse and movies. He drug this doggy around every where Saturday.  It was pretty cute.  I went ahead and went to Mass Saturday night because Patrick had to work Sunday and I knew I didn't want to take Barrett with me.  After Mass Patrick wanted me to pick up Cracker Barrel for dinner.  I love Cracker Barrel but Patrick says he doesn't like it so we never get to eat there.  Well thankfully some guys at work told him that the chicken and dumplins were delicious (even though I'd been telling him this for years, I guess it isn't true unless the guys from work agree).  I got there and it took 10 minutes for someone to take my order and then I had to wait another 20 minutes for my food.  There was a 45 minute wait for a table...at Cracker Barrel.  I thought that was so crazy.  I had no idea they were that busy.  the good news is Patrick is a fan and when he saw how cheap it was he was sold.  I think we'll be eating there more and I'm really excited about it. He apparently wasn't interested in what we were watching on tv.  He got his iPad and watched Mickey. This was what our Sunday looked like.  Lots of cuddling and and tv.  My parents came to see him Sunday afternoon and I know he was excited to see them.  Patrick went to his parents for a birthday dinner and we hated to miss but the sick boy needed to stay home.   Barrett slept late this morning and he woke up without a fever.  So hopefully we're on the mend.  I've got to go into the office at some point today.  I'll probably wait until Patrick gets home so Barrett can have one more day to rest.  Hopefully he'll be 100% tomorrow. There's our weekend.  I hope everyone is staying well.

Last week of 2014

We've had a great week this week.  We have been kind of lazy. Barrett and I have worked but we've been slow to get there and left early.  We've eaten left overs and watched football.  It's been nice.

I tried to get a picture of Barrett with his stocking from the hospital.  This is the best I could get.

Friday we went to the park for a little while after running errands.  I'm glad we did because it was the last pretty day we've had.  Barrett has grown and changed so much.  He used to be so shy and just stick right to my side.  Now I can barely get him out of the car before he takes off running.  It really makes me happy.  I can't wait to see how he likes the splash pad this summer.

 

Saturday night we went over to Jeremy and Jessica's house so Jackson and Barrett could play.  I love watching them together.   They pulled each other around in that little wagon all night. 

  We've watched Christmas movies and football a lot.  I'm one of those people that hangs on to Christmas.  I just don't want it to be over!

 

I went to the most fun girls night Monday night.  It was kind of last minute Lindsey was in town so we got the Mexico group back together (plus a few more).  We grabbed dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings and they headed to Jessica's salon 98Degrees for spray tans.  It was so much fun doing it all together.  She's starting to offer these little parties at the salon and I just think its the best idea. 

The peer pressure got to me and I went a little darker than I did last time but after my shower I'm glad I did.  We have had a running group text laughing at ourselves.  It was a few of the girls first time to spray tan but I think they are fans now.  If you're local call Jessica to set up your girls night.  It was seriously so much fun.

This was our after.

I sent this selfie to everyone Tuesday morning to show that I didn't have to wear any makeup, just lipstick and mascara.  I didn't notice Barrett in the background photo bombing me until after I took it.  I thought his little smile was so cute.

Barrett woke up at 4:00am one morning.  He went back to sleep for a bit in our bed (which we never let him do) and by 11:00 he was out.  I'm not sure why he woke up but hopefully he gets back on schedule soon.

That is pretty much all we've been up to this week.  We're excited to kick-off the new year tonight.  2014 was a fun year.  We did a lot of fun, exciting things.  I'm looking forward to 2015.