Weekend Wrap-Up...Tuesday Edition

Happy Tuesday Ladies!

 

Hope you all had a great weekend.  I was so exhausted Sunday night, that I never even sat down at the computer to write a post, so today you're getting our weekend wrap-up on Tuesday this week!

 

My stepson came into town on Wednesday, and let's just say the 3 boys have been staying up super late...I came downstairs Friday night at 2:30 for some water and they were still up giggling watching You Tube videos!  It has been so great having him here and I love how they all get along so great. 

 

Friday morning I was up early to straighten up the house and then headed off for a manicure...

 

All great weekends start with a nice fresh mani!

 

After my mani, I dropped the boys off at Sports Connection for some video games, bowling and laser tag.  They all said they had a great time.  And since it is still unbearably hot here, it was nice they could do something fun indoors to beat the heat.

 

My stepson doesn't have a Chick Fill A by where he lives, so when he is here he likes going...and we sure don't mind taking him!

 

Friday afternoon it was thundering and lightning a bit so instead of going to the pool, Olivia played with our neighbors next door and they all enjoyed Emerson's baby pool!

 

Friday night I caught up on some laundry and Mark and the boys watched a movie!  A great day was had by all!

 

Saturday morning I was hoping to sleep in a bit, but no such luck.  I woke up early, enjoyed some quiet time outside with my coffee before the crazy heat started for the day!

 

Once everyone was up and fed we met Mark's sister and nephew to do some bowling!  I absolutely love bowling, and everytime I go I always tell myself I need to join a league...I think I am going to look into it for Mark and I.

 

This girl is all about the game...she was on a lane with AJ and her cousin Sean...and she won both games.  That's my girl!

 

Everytime she threw the ball she stood just like this to see how many pins were coming down.

 

This is her I am so awesome at bowling walk.  LOL

 

Sweet Sean

 

Cousins

 

My boys

 

In a very serious sniper game in the arcade.

 

After bowling we all went to Chilis for dinner.  It was so nice to spend the day with the kids and family doing something all together having a great time.  After dinner we came home and just hung out the rest of the night.  After playing the sniper video games at the arcade, AJ had to get his arsenal and become AJ the Sniper.

 

 

This kid

 

Just trying to keep us all safe.

 

Sunday morning was Father's Day, and hallelujah everyone slept in!  It was fantastic.  After everyone got up and ate we headed over to Cabela's , they just opened one not far from our house, and we wanted to check it out.  I left my phone in the car but AJ was in his glory looking at all the guns and rifles.  And Olivia had the best time trying out these camping cot bunk beds...it was a great little family day.

 

After we got home, Mark went straight into the kitchen and started working on dinner.  I know it was Father's Day and I should have cooked for him, but he really loves cooking and enjoys it so much.  We had a delicious dinner and I was so happy that Austin was here to celebrate Father's Day with him too!

 

After dinner and some presents we headed to the pool.  I have to be honest and say I have only taken the kids to the pool once so far.  I am so thankful for Brooke and her love of the pool and her siblings, she takes them every single day. 

 

This girl can swim all day everyday.

 

Nothing better than flips in the pool...AJ can do this all day if someone will give him some shoulders to stand on,

 

3 brothers making...love them all so much

 

I know I say it all the time, but the bond that Olivia and Mark have is just incredible.  She is head over heels crazy about him, and I can assure you the feeling is 100% mutual. 

 

I just love to watch them together.

 

Peace out Mom

 

LOVE

Incase you had any doubts, this girl loves her dad...we never use the term step dad here, if you were to as Olivia, she would just tell you she has two dads...I am so thankful that I have this man here by my side raising these kids. 

 

After some evening swimming it was home to get ready for bed.  It was a super great weekend, it was nice to have my hubs here all weekend and not have to be at work Saturday.  We are planning on soaking up these next 10 days with the kiddos because they will be heading to visit with their dad for 2 weeks....:(

 

Thanks for stopping by today.  Be sure to check back tomorrow, I am super excited to share some fabulous jewelry that my amazing, dear friend makes!

 

 

 

 

 

 



Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!

 

Today I am linking up with Andrea , Erika and Narci and sharing my Friday Favorites.  Be sure to grab the graphic and link up too!

 

ONE

 

I love walking into Olivia's room and seeing that she made her bed, and has her slippers lined up just perfectly by it.  Yes I realize she put the bedspread on the wrong way, but I don't even care and I didn't even fix it.  Seeing her do these things on her own, without being told is definitely a favorite of mine!

 

TWO

I was at the mall yesterday shopping for Father's Day and went into Anthropologie and snagged this

 shirt...love a great sale!  It's so super cute, and I love the store had it because I hate paying shipping.

 

THREE

I told you guys last week that I bought my very first pair of wedges , and well not only are they a favorite of mine, but Olivia is loving them too...and they are still on sale!

 

FOUR

My step-son is here visiting us from Michigan this week, and Mark and I just sat in the kitchen looking at all our boys sitting at the table together...having our kids all together is definitely a favorite!

 

FIVE

So I told you guys about two months ago that we had a pipe leak and had some major damage due to water leaking, we had walls replaced upstairs and downstairs, all new hardwood flooring put in...well Sunday night Harrison happened to get up around midnight for something to eat, and well thank God he did, because there was about an inch of water covering our kitchen floor, and water gushing, and I mean gushing from our freezer.  After disconnecting the water and cleaning up the mess, the little boys ran upstairs to let us know the water was pouring through the ceiling...yup right in the same spot that was all just fixed!  Can you even believe all this damage was caused because our ice maker broke, and got stuck in the fill position, the repair man told us, had Harrison not woken up the entire house would have been flooded by morning...holy heck!  Now obviously our kitchen torn up and holes cut in the ceiling downstairs isn't a favorite of mine, however not being able to use the kitchen this week and not having to cook in this ridiculous heat is a favorite of mine!

 

SIX

I know I say it a lot, but the bond between these two is just so incredible...these two and the love they have for each other is always a favorite of mine!

 

SEVEN

It's Father's Day on Sunday, and I am so thankful that I get to raise my children with this amazing man.  I am so beyond blessed to have him by my side!

 

This right here is proof that love, NOT blood makes a family!  Happy Father's Day to my amazing husband and all the dads out there!

 

Hope you all have a great weekend, be sure to check back Monday for our Weekend Wrap-Up!

 

 

 





Life Lately....

Happy Thursday Ladies!

 

I don't know how the weather is where you are, but here it is HOT, and I mean miserable hot!

 

YUCK YUCK YUCK!!!

 

Life lately has been crazy but good.  We are so happy to have all the backpacks and lunchboxes put away in the closets, and happy to have turned the alarm clocks off for the next few months! 

 

Life lately has included peaceful mornings outside, drinking my coffee, not worrying about getting kids out of bed and out the door for school.

 

 

And it has also included nights on the deck with a tasty beverage in hand!

 

Life lately has been super late nights for the boys, and then AJ waking up only to fall back asleep under blankets on the couch.  #welovesummer

 

 

Extremely hot afternoons have called for delicious peach green tea lemonades!

 

 

Life lately has also included ANOTHER water leak and more construction in our house....not fun!

 

 

Life lately has been eating lots of BBQ food and enjoying every bit of it!

 

 

And lots of fresh, pretty flowers to make life just better!

 

Lately we have been spending a lot of time inside, because seriously it is just too hot to even be at the pool.  I am really hoping this heat wave goes away sooner rather than later! 

 

I know life lately hasn't been too interesting, but I am really OK with that!  Be sure to check back tomorrow for Friday Favorites!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Happy Father's Day

Happy Thursday Girls!

 

 

I can't even believe we are halfway through June!  The time is just flying by!  This weekend is Father's Day, and my children are so blessed with two amazing dads!

Just a girl and her two dads!

 

As most of you know, I am divorced and my 5 kiddos are from my first marriage, Mark has 3 children from his first marriage...so yup that's 8 kids between us!  My ex-husband lives 600 miles away, and though he has a great relationship with the kids, and travels down here as often as he can to visit with them, it is primarily Mark and I who care for them day-to-day.  Getting divorced and having 5 kids is scary, thinking about trying to move on an find a man that will not only love you but be totally OK with 5 kids is even scarier!  You guys have heard me say more than once on here that I think my husband is just fabulous, and the truth is, he really really is!  It really takes a very special person to come in and be a dad to another man's children...but Mark never for a single second even thought about running for the hills...lol.  He came into our lives and from day one just treated my kids as if they were his own, now if you were to ask him, they are "our" kids....he isn't a step parent, he is just a parent.  He couldn't love these kids more if they were his own.  Olivia wasn't even 2 when Mark came into our lives, and from day one he was changing diapers, giving baths, helping with homework, you name it, he did it, and never once complained or said I'm not doing it, their "your" kids.  He is such a special man, and he has the kindest heart of anyone I have ever known. 

 

When I got a divorce I worried about raising 3 boys alone, I mean how was I supposed to teach them all the things a dad teaches his son, I panicked.  I couldn't have asked for anyone better to raise my children than Mark.  My boys adore and respect him more than I can put into words, and there is no one that could even come close to being a better role model for how to be a "good man" than my husband.  My boys, my girls, me....we are so beyond blessed that he is ours.

This just makes my heart happy...we are all so lucky! 

I have so much love and respect for Mark, he does what he does every single day for us, not because he has, to but because he wants to, and that means everything to me.  He is a hands on , totally involved dad to my kids, and every single day he makes each of us know how much he loves us.  Sometimes he will tell me I am the best thing that ever happened to him...clearly he is confused...he is the absolute greatest thing to ever happen to us. 

 

Being a parent is hard work, being a parent to someone else's children can be even harder, and I am so thankful that never once in the past 6 years have we ever encountered any of the issues that many blended families do.  My children have never once said "you can't tell me what to do, you're not my dad", we never had any issues blending together, we all just go together so seamlessly.  Now don't think our life is perfect, because oh boy it's far from that, we fight, we argue, and all the things everyone else does, but at the end of the day, both Mark and I feel so lucky to have found love again with each other, and that we were able to build a life together. 

With divorce comes a lot of guilt, I still to this day, get sad that my first marriage failed, that my kids had to go through a divorce, I hate that their dad lives far away and misses out on so much of their life.  And though there are days of major guilt, it eases a little knowing that my kids are growing up in a home surrounded with love, that they have two parents living the home who love them more than life itself.  I am thankful that both my ex-husband and Mark understand the importance of us all getting along for the greater good of the kids.  People give us crazy looks and think we are absolutely nuts when we tell them that we spend holidays together with my ex, that we have vacationed with him, that when he comes to visit he stays with us at our house...I guess it's not the NORM for most divorced couples, but for us the kids have always been the priority, and being a parent means sacrifice and doing what's best for the children, not always yourself.  It's our job to make sure our children know they are loved and have parents who are united when it comes to them. 

I am so glad my kids are able to celebrate two amazing dads on Father's Day.  I hope all the special dads in your life have a wonderful Father's Day!



Weekend Wrap-Up

Happy Monday Ladies!

 

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am that there are no alarm clocks going off this morning, no lunches to make, and no backpacks to pack this summer!  Happy first week of summer to us!

 

We had a nice low key weekend, which was just what we needed.  But good lord it has been HOT here, like upper 90's and humid hot....it sucks in my opinion...I hate it.  I was so glad to not have had to be at the ballfield all weekend in the miserable heat! 

 

Friday I was so looking forward to sleeping in, and well I was up and wide awake at 7!  I was mad I wasn't able to sleep in, however it was so nice to sit outside and drink my coffee and just have some peace while everyone was still asleep.

 

I love sitting outside in my jammies drinking my coffee in the morning!

 

After the kids woke up we did some work around the house, ran to the grocery store, and dropped Jack and some of his buddies off to the movies!  And then I had to run to Toys R Us, the Shopkins obsession is still in full force over here and Olivia just "had to have" the so cool fridge....

 

I still don't get what all the rage is over these, but I know I am spending way more money than I would like on it:)

 

After our running around we came home, we ate sloppy joes for dinner, and watched a movie...it was a great, much needed, low-key night for us!

 

Saturday morning we woke up and once again it was HOT HOT HOT!  It was our neighborhood pool party Saturday morning, and lucky for me my neighbor offered to take Olivia..I am not a huge fan of the pool when there are a gazillion people there...plus it was so hot and I was quite happy to hang in my nice cool house. 

 

Around 2, Mark and I decided to just get in the car and take a ride, no clue to where, but we just wanted to spend a little time together.  We wound up driving a little over an hour north of us, where he used to live with his dad when he first came to NC.  It was so nice for him to show me around, and then he decided to show me where all his family lives, and well they were home and we stopped in for a visit.  I said to him, we can't just show up unexpected...I mean that's rude right??  Well he assured me they wouldn't mind, and well sure enough they didn't.  It was out in the country, and his aunt/uncle and his two cousins all live on the same street, like their private little road called Atwood St....I mean it was great!  We had such a nice day visiting with his family, I enjoyed so much meeting them!  After a few hours we left and stopped and had dinner before heading home to the kiddos.  When I got home that night I had told him it was the BEST day....sometimes unexpected plans turn into the best days!

I love this man for so many reasons...and it's the little things, like making the bed together, that make every single day just that much better! 

 

Sunday we slept in, and other than a quick run to the store for a few essentials, we stayed put, in the AC all day.  It is such a nice feeling to know my Sunday nights are no longer about getting the kiddos ready for the week at school! 

 

Hope everyone else had a great weekend!  See you back here tomorrow!

 



Friday Favorites

Happy Friday Ladies!

 

As many of you are reading my blog this morning, I am very happily sleeping in on our first official day of summer!

 

Today I am linking up with Andrea , Erika , and Narci and sharing my Friday Favorites...be sure to grab the graphic and link up too!

 

ONE

We are out of school for the summer....hands down my favorite favorite!

 

TWO

There is nothing I love more than being a mom...and when I capture sweet moments like this, that happen on their own I just melt!  Being their mom....a favorite for sure!

 

THREE

I mentioned last week that I ordered my first pair of wedges last week, but they were on backorder until June 26...well I woke up Wednesday morning to an email stating they shipped and are scheduled to arrive at my doorstep today...new fabulous shoes are definitely a favorite of mine!

 

FOUR

I got this hair dryer in the mail last Friday after Andrea mentioned the price she got it for....under $60...I knew I had to have it.  I absolutely love it.  If you are looking for a great hair dryer...get this one!  I also have the BaByliss flat iron and it's worth every single penny!

 

FIVE

Mark cuts Jack and AJ's hair and well their favorite part is when Mark uses the vacuum to get all the hair off!  It's the little things in life that make my boys smile!

 

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  I am so looking forward to not spending 20 hours at the ball field this weekend, but getting in some much needed family down time!

 

 

 





AJ Is Headed To Middle School

Happy Thursday Girls!  Today is a GREAT day because....

 

Today my kiddos will put another school year in the books!  It has been a great year for them, they have all worked so hard and grown so much this year, but we are so ready for summertime fun!

 

Those of you who know me well, know I am pretty emotional, especially when it comes to my kids.  Every year on the first day of school, the last day of school, their birthdays, and sometimes just random days I look at them and just start to cry.  They are both happy and sad tears...happy because I am just so proud of all of them and the amazing people they are growing up to be, and sad because where the hell is the time going...I mean I feel as though I have literally blinked my eyes and my babies...well they just aren't babies anymore!

 

On Wednesday AJ had his 5th grade promotion ceremony, it is crazy to think that this kid is heading off to middle school, and well I woke up pretty emotional that day.  I understand completing elementary school isn't as grand as finishing high school, but it's a milestone that is celebrated and should be.  These 5th graders walked into school 6 years ago as tiny little kindergartners, and over the years have grown and learned so much, it's so amazing, and now they are ready for their next chapter. 

 

There is no one quite like AJ...he has a personality that is just bigger than life itself, he is confident, strong, smart and walks to the beat of his own drum...and I love that!  Those close to me know that we struggled for YEARS with AJ and his speech, I mean he went to kindergarten and could barely talk, and when he did, not too many people could even understand what he was saying.  As a mom this killed me.  I was so afraid to send him to school, I didn't want him to feel like he couldn't communicate, I didn't want other kids making fun of him, or him being left out because he was different, it tore me up inside.  As parents we want nothing more than for our children to fit in, and my worries about AJ quickly faded, from the second this little boy stepped foot into kindergarten he was surrounded by friends...people can't help but just like AJ.  He spoke very little, used what I called his "safe" words that he knew people would understand, and somehow made it work.  His speech disability was pretty severe in the early years, but it never once held him back socially.  He was athletic, funny, and had so many other great qualities, the speech issue just wasn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things.  Now mind you after many many years of speech therapy and hard work, we no longer deal with it, and I am so proud of how hard this boy worked at his speech.

 

AJ was asked to lead the promotion ceremony for the Pledge of Allegiance, now I am not saying this is a huge deal, but for me, seeing his name on this program, watching him stand up there and speak in front of a hundred people literally brought tears to my eyes.  There was my little boy that just a few years ago, could barely talk or be understood, standing up speaking in front of a room full of people.  This boy has grown leaps and bounds during his elementary school years and I am just proud!

 

We have been blessed to every single year have fabulous teachers, and this year was no exception...we love Ms. Parsons!

 

One last time sitting at his desk!

 

And just like that he is headed of to middle school...his final stroll down an elementary school hall.

 

As we were leaving school I looked up and saw this...totally unprompted by me...they were holding hands and just talking about school.  Talk about totally melting my mama heart.  For the past two years AJ has looked after her at school, walked her to her classroom more mornings then I can even count, when she was upset about going to school.  He is the best big brother out there!

 

And here is my boy on his first day of kindergarten and his first day of 5th grade....this boy and that sweet face has put a smile on my face everyday for the past 11 years...I am so incredibly blessed to be his mother and so proud of the little man he is growing up to be!  There is no doubt that AJ is going to OWN middle school!

 

Now the day needs to hurry up and end so I can have my other two babies home for the summer!

 

Be sure to check back tomorrow for Friday Favorites!