Friday, October 19, 2012

Week in Review

I'm going to be honest.  This was a week from you know where.  I am grateful nothing serious or tragic happened but it was one of those weeks that just wouldn't go right.  Every. singe. day. was a struggle.  This was my Facebook status right after I dropped the kids off at school Monday morning:
 
Monday morning thoughts.....having to wake up your kids at 8:30 so we can be out the door for school at 8:50 is both cool and not so cool.....that feeling when you *might* be speeding on the highway so you can get your kids to school on time and you see a highway patrol SUCKS.....lastly, the look on Griffin's face and the complete meltdown that ensued is not the result of me punching him in the gut (seriously, he backed into a corner at his school, doubled over, and started screaming). Oh no....I just started taking his jacket off. Griffin will be wearing his jacket the rest of the day. Where's the rum??!!
 
And I was still smiling at that point!  I actually laughed off our crazy morning and had a pretty decent Monday.  Then I slept TERRIBLE Monday night.  I don't know what was wrong but I think I slept about 3 or 4 hours.  I really wanted to take the kids to the zoo Tuesday because it was going to be a beautiful day and we don't have many more nice days left this year considering we're nearing November.  I felt like I had been hit by a truck but since I'm a selfless, super mom (hehehe) I loaded the kids up and off we went to the zoo. 
 
If I could have turned around and went home after seeing the parking lot at the zoo, I would have.  But the kids knew we were at our destination and there was no turning back.  HUNDREDS of cars.  Bus after bus after bus of school kids were pouring into the zoo.  As a stay at home mom, this is worst case scenario.  We always go to the zoo in the middle of the week just to avoid the weekend crowds.  I pressed on.
 
Unfortunately, the kids were in rare form and not only did I fight the crowds but I fought my kids the entire time.  No one was at their best that day.  We stayed about three hours, drove home, and I threw them into bed for nap time.  And then things got better.

Have I announced on this blog we're adopting again?  Well, we are.  I'm pretty sure there's maybe two people that read my blog and I'm confident they already knew we were back in process.  Anyway....
 
I was trying to get a little nap in while the kids were sleeping and couldn't sleep so I checked my email.  Our social worker had emailed to inform me we need another document.  Two, actually and they're not easy to get.  She's had everything she needed for almost four weeks and now (a week after she said she'd have our home study done) she needs something else?!!!  At this point I kinda lost it.
 
*Highlight of my crazy Tuesday*
When Kinley woke up from her nap I laid down in her bed and told her I was sorry I had a bad day and that I would always try harder for her.  She said, "That's ok, momma.  I love you."
Tears.
 
I sleep maybe another 3 or 4 hours Tuesday night.  At this point I realize I'm not sleeping because I'm stressed.  Duh.
 
Wednesday was spent scrambling to find a fire man costume and a mermaid costume.  No luck.  I really thought I could convince both kids to be something else.  Maybe something available at one of the local costume stores.  No luck.  Apparently my kids are very passionate about their portrayal of a fire man and mermaid.

I'm sorry this is getting lengthy but it really was a crazy week.
 
So Thursday was parent/teacher conference at the kids' school and I was really looking forward to everything the teachers had to say.  Griffin's teachers had nothing but wonderful things to say about him.  He waits in line.  He stays on the rope.  He transitions from station to station with no problem.  And he's even starting to play with the other kids.  I think two-ish is when they start playing with other kids instead of playing independently.  All great!  Yay, Griffin!
 
Then we moved on to Kinley's teachers and things went downhill fast.  They didn't have anything bad to say about Kinley.  In fact, they didn't have anything to say about Kinley.  Offered no information and just asked us if we had any concerns.  I'm not going to go into detail but Blake finally saw what has been concerning me so much the past two months.  He was shocked.  I think Kinley is in good hands.  It's more a personality issue.  A few friends have told me that they've had teachers that were great with the kids but terrible with adults.  I think that's what we're dealing with.  I was very upset Thursday evening.  I don't take kindly to someone trying to make me feel dumb and freezing me out.  For my daughter's sake, I'm going to be cordial the rest of the year and just pray Kinley is being treated well.  Moving on.
 
Today was mostly fun!  I dropped Kinley off at school and went back home to get ready for a day at the pumpkin patch.  We grabbed Chick-fil-A, picked up Kinley, and headed out to the farm that we like to visit for fall fun.  Again, hundreds of cars but it actually wasn't too crowded.  The kids rode ponies, fed the goats and pigs, went on a hay ride, picked out pumpkins, and just ran and explored.  Lots of fun.  Except, of course, when one of the goats was ATTACKED by the dog.  Twice.  It was terrible and I'm seriously traumatized by it.  Screaming goat, yelling adults, scared kids.....it was bad.  The goat was actually really injured and couldn't get up.  They had to carry him away.  All while a bunch of kids looked on.  My kids were oblivious, thank goodness.  I still can't get the sound of the screaming goat out of my head....
 
On our way home we spontaneously decided to stop at Pops.  Pops is a super cool little stop on Route 66 that has hundreds of different bottled pop and a pretty great diner menu.  We'd never ate there before so we decided to grab some burgers, fries, and onion rings.  All wonderful!  And the kids had their first pops all to themselves.  It was a beautiful day and we dined outside, which was perfect because the kids were able to run and play on a big, grassy area while we waited for our food.  We did have a major meltdown but I'm going to focus on the great day we had.  Ha!
 
I'm tired and glad to be home this lovely Friday night.  I've added many personal things to my prayer list this week.  No more stress insomnia, a speedy home study completion, peace for me concerning Kinley's teacher, and I'll be keeping the two goats in my prayers, also. :)
 
I'll have some pictures in a day or two.

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Kinley Turns Four {Tear...Sniffle}

Kinley turned four today.  Seriously, where does the time go?  We had a super fun weekend celebrating my beautiful girl.  Yesterday was her birthday party.  We had lots of friend and family here to celebrate.  Burgers, chips and dip, cake and ice cream, running, screaming kids.....tons of fun!  Kinley had a blast and that's what it's all about, right?
 

 


The kids were SO excited for cake!


 
When we woke up this morning we grabbed Griffin and walked into Kinley's room singing Happy Birthday.  She was excited and was feeling pretty special.  We walked downstairs and there was her bicycle.  She was over the moon excited.  So cute.

 
 
 
We let her ride it around the house a bit then decided it was time to get ready for church.  I actually gave Kinley the choice of staying home or going to church and she chose church. :)
 
Had to take a few pics before we left.


Griffin put his arm around Kinley first.  So cute and very much out of character for him.
 
Love this one of my cheesy boy.

 
After church we let Kinley take her bike down the driveway and to the street.  She was grinning from ear to ear!  And whoops....I forgot the helmet.  Yeah, I never wore one when I was a kid....
 
 
After nap we opened her smaller gifts and she was so sweet and thankful.  She kept saying, "Thank you!  Thank you so much!"
 

She can't wait for the new Tinkerbell movie to come out.  I let her watch the trailer just about every day.  I knew these dolls would be a hit.
 
I love my Kinley Grace so much.  She is silly, beautiful, sweet, funny, kind, sensitive, and just perfect.
 
Counting my blessings.
 
 

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Let's Catch Up {Via Pics}

I'm probably jinxing myself but.....they actually play together pretty good.
 

My future's so bright.....
 

Fall flowers make me happy.
 

Thank you, Tracey.  My candy life is complete.
 

Full heart...
 

Kinley:  Wow!  Nice bones.
 

Tag team!!!
 

Why do his legs look so long?!??
 

Sweet boy.
 

Long day at school.
 

Monday, September 17, 2012

Fair Fun

Call me crazy but we just had the best day at the state fair!  I've never really been a fair girl.  I don't really get what all the excitement is about.  Everything is overpriced, dirty, and to be honest some of the people walking around there scare me.  But today I decided to change my attitude for my kids and see if we could have some fun.  We also decided we were going to eat as much "fun" fair food as possible.  I'm pretty sure we accomplished that.

 
Let's just get this craziness out of the way. Yes, I ate at least one bite of everything in this collage. The turkey leg was something I for sure wanted to try because they're so popular. It was ok. I ate about half of the chili cheese fries and all of the corn dog. The rest was just a few bites of each. It was fun just going for it and trying everything.
 
 
Funnel cake yumminess.
 
Kinley saw the ferris wheel and immediately asked to ride it.  I was a little shocked actually....considering she's a little bit of a chicken.  But she was super excited and after watching it go around and around (and way up in the sky...gulp) she was even more convinced this ride was for her.

I rode with her and she just kept smiling and saying, "Whooooooaaaa!"
 
Then we headed over to the kiddie rides and let them ride a few rides.  Lots of fun and big smiles. 

 
We were starting to tire out but decided to take a stroll through the animal barns and I'm so glad we did. 

Have you ever seen anything so cute?!!! I want one. I'm sure our homeowners association would love us.
 
The kids (human kids. haha. get it?) loved all the animals.  We saw sheep, goats, horses, pigs, cows, chicks, and even a cat and two dogs that were looking to be adopted.  My favorites were the baby goats, of course.  They even had some baby goats that were born last week!  Oh my, they were adorable!
 
Today was definitely the most fun I've ever had at the fair.  I think Kinley and Griffin had fun, too.  My kiddos are awesome and I love hanging out with them. :)
 

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Tuesday Tidbits

Griffin's big boy bed finally arrived today.  I'm really happy with it and so is Griff.



I love doing whatever I can to make Griffin feel special and independent.  He is extremely independent and demands to do things himself all the time so I know this big boy bed is important to him. 
 
I made a new recipe today.  Love it!  I kinda consider myself a taco/enchilada/Mexican soup expert.  Mexican food is my favorite and I love any type of good soup.  Give me some sweat pants, a cold day, and a bowl (or two) of yummy soup and I'm in heaven.  Bonus:  It's a crock pot recipe and it's from Skinnytaste.com!
 
Kinley can now swing herself.  She no longer needs me.  She might as well move out.
 
 
Tonight when I was tucking Kinley into bed....
Me:  Kinley, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Kinley:  Kinley!!!
Perfect.
 
Tonight when I was tucking Griffin into bed.....
Me giving him a big kiss:  I love you so much, Griff.  You're my best buddy.
Griffin:  You best momma!
Tear.
 
I've had this next topic on my Tuesday Tidbits list for several weeks now.  It's not easy for me to talk about because it's just not a fun subject.  Between January and May I worked really hard and ate really well and lost 9 pounds.  The months of May and June were insanely busy and I quit all those great habits.  And unfortunately, I've gained most of that back.  I'm so mad at myself which I think is what the last month of eating has been about.  I'm mad at myself and I'm just done.  Well, not anymore.  I'm ready to start my good habits again and I'm having a great week so far.  The kids being at school and giving me time to do things I really need to is helping.  After I dropped the kids off Monday morning I went straight to the park and ran/walked almost 4 miles.  I did a Jillian Michaels video today, and I'm heading back to the park in the morning.  I'm going to work hard and talk about it a little bit here.  This is our family blog that I will eventually turn into a book and I don't want to look back and see pages and pages of diet and workout stuff, know what I mean?  Anyway, I think getting it out there and confessing my sins to the three people that read my blog :) will help me stay accountable.  And maybe I'll share some yummy, healthy recipes.  Do those exist? ;)
 

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Successful First Day

The kids had a great first day of school.  I knew Kinley would be fine, but although Griffin was really excited about school, I thought he might cry after he realized we had actually left him there.  He cries every time we leave him in his class at church.  Nope.  No tears.  So proud of my little man.

Getting ready that morning was crazy, of course.  Both kids have been sleeping in all summer (awesome!) so I knew they would be moving slower that usual, wondering why the heck we had to be out the door before 9.  And pictures were frustrating......when will this ever get easy?!  Oh my gosh all I want is a few good pictures.  All I'm asking is they look at the camera and smile.  Ugh.  Stresses me out.  I know it shouldn't but it does.




 
Both were happy to see me when I picked them up after their half day (full days start next week. YAY!) and according to their teachers they both did great.
 
I'm so proud of Kinley and Griffin.  I have no idea why I've been so blessed but I'll take it!