A Little Dose of Happiness ~ Special Smile Moments This Week

Finally back to my normal-ish schedule of weekly smile moments!!  A little snapshot into my life of what brings me joy!


My boys holding hands - melts my heart to see how much they really do love each other.

Shawnee Mission Theatre In The Park showing of Peter Pan.  It was free for employees of my work and their families!  Tyce loves "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" so it was fun to see him watch the actual Peter Pan story. 

What Tyce looked like when Chris picked him up the other day - his teacher says it is his favorite dress up costume!

My yummy meal from last week's date night at Bonefish Grill!

My amazing gas price after using my Fuel Saver rewards from Hy-Vee just for buying my normal groceries (and no, I am not being sponsored or paid by Hy-Vee....haha)

Our blueberry picking extravaganza - read about it here.

My new necklace (charm locket) from an Origami Owl party one of my friends had!  Love it!

Tyce's foot suntan from his sandals that I find hilarious!

Hope everyone enjoys their own weeks to come!

My Baby Boy is 20 months!

Silly little Willie has the cutest smile!

 

 

So, I saw this idea on another blog I follow and I thought it was a great idea.  She writes a letter to each of her kids every month as they grow up describing what they have done, how they have changed, etc.  It is very sweet and a great way to document different milestones (so I can look back whenever I decide to get my scrapbooks done).  So this is my first one but I plan on keeping it going at least every few months.

 

 

Dear Will,

 

 

You are 20 months today!  I cannot believe how time flies.  It feels like yesterday I was holding you in my arms for the first time.  Your smile makes me melt which is why I love that photo of you.  Maybe I am partial because you look so much like me, but you are a cute little stinker.

 

 

In the last few months you have been doing some really fun things.  You graduated to the Little Angels class at your school (that's what we call your daycare).  You want to be just like your big brother and do everything he does.  There is nothing that can stop you.  He even taught you to say "gooooooaaaaaalllllll (goal)" when you are playing with the soccer ball.  You have also started saying "hello" using anything as a phone - it sounds more like hell-aaa right now but we get the idea. 

 

 

You really like to hold hands with people.  You even reach out to hold hands with Tyce now.  You come and grab mine and Daddy's hands when you want to show us something you want that you can't say or sign.  Your favorite activity is sharing your food with our dog Merlin (I think it might be his favorite activity too).  Cheese sticks seem to be your snack of choice to share (maybe soon we can learn to share something cheaper....hehe).  You are also eating with a spoon very well these days.  You still manage to get food in those long flowing locks of hair of yours but we don't mind because you love the baths you get afterwards.

 

 

You have started to go to bed willingly after I sing you the lullaby from Peter Pan. We are hoping this is a good sign and we can convert your bed into the toddler bed soon.  We love you so much and are enjoying watching you become a little person!

 

 

Love,

Mommy (and Daddy)

 

~~~

Blueberry Picking Extravaganza

This was such a fun activity!  I knew that there were places you could go and pick your own berries but had no idea there were some not too far away from me!  We went to The Berry Patch just south of Kansas City.  It is a pretty large U-Pick berry farm (their website says you would walk 10 miles if you went down every row of blueberry patches).  I definitely got my exercise in from walking and squatting for 2 1/2 hours!!

We had told Tyce the night before that we were going to wake up really early and go and pick our own blueberries.  He was so excited.  He went to bed like a champ and got up super easy in the morning.  We got there before the crowd got too horrible (seeing as it was a Saturday).  It was a great learning activity for me and Tyce.  Chris had been before when he was younger.  So here is a photo recap of our blueberry picking extravaganza.

Tyce ready to go with his bucket all tied up.

The boys finding berries to pick.  The best ones were actually at their eye level so it worked out nicely.

The yummy yummy blueberries.  Not that we ate any while we were picking....hehe!

Chris showed Tyce how to know which ones to pick and he did a wonderful job.  He kept telling Will "no Willie those are red ones, we need dark blue big ones"

Will didn't really care about picking the ripe ones.  He would pick berries and just wanted to throw them in the bucket. Or he would pick them and they would go straight into his mouth.  Then he decided to just save himself some time and eat straight from the buckets from what Mommy, Daddy, and Tyce had picked.

Such a little stinker!  He was getting so hot poor guy!

Tyce did a great job and filled his bucket more than me (of course I had to keep dealing with the little blueberry thief)

After picking Tyce got to relax and go on a train ride....such a cute little train!

Our haul of blueberries.......we had almost 12 lbs when we were done!  But you can't beat the price (probably half what you would pay in the store).

We had a great time!  I can't wait to do it again sometime :)  Stay tuned as I attempt some blueberry recipes...but for now I am just going to have some blueberries and whipped cream...

 

You could check out my pancake recipe that I like to add blueberries to (scroll to bottom to find the blueberry version)

~~~

A Little Dose of Happiness ~ Special Smile Moments from the Beginning of Summer!

So since I had been slacking on the blog posts I had not been able to share my fun moments.....so here is a recap of some of the best memories from the beginning of summer...

My first nephew was born......such a cutie

My birthday.....I got a little cake from the boys and of course had a great time with the hubs.

Playing in the water and pool time.  I just love when it is hot enough to swim.

Trips to Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun like this one on the 4th of July.

Will hanging out with grandpa who he is named after and has crazy hair like.

And one of the best memories so far.....my hubby becoming a 70.3 Iron Man where his oldest son ran the last little stretch with him to bring him home!

What has made you smile this summer??


~~~

Crazy Conversations with your Kiddos

Tyce had just turned 2 in these pics and was helping to make Christmas cookies.  Above is his sassy look when you are not giving him what he wants which is always more cookies......hehe!

So, the real point of today's blog.......Has anyone seen these guys on you tube? Convos with my 2 year old?  They are hilarious!!!  Every week they put out a new video where they re-enact a conversation with a man and his 2 year old, but the 2 year old girl is played my an adult man.....brilliant!!!  Every time I see a new one I am laughing my butt off!

This one is my favorite.....I actually had this exact convo with my oldest son (who is 3 1/2) about cookies more than once (hence the picture above)......so it doesn't stop at 2...

 

As of today they have 6 different videos and put out a new one every week.  It just makes me laugh and helps me feel better that I am not the only crazy person out there dealing with irrational children...hehe.  I would love to actually video tape some of my actual conversations.


This is a new one that I saw today that I have also experienced.  I think kids think if they tell you something hurts that it is the end-all-be-all and you want make them do whatever it is.....enjoy!

 

And one more I have experienced.  Tyce makes up words like this all of the time......I'm always thinking to myself "what did he say"...

 

 

I hope this has given all of you parents out there a good laugh.  I am totally subscribing to these guys' YouTube channel.

~~~

Movies, Movies, Movies ~ My Reviews from the Beginning of Summer

So obviously I have been slacking on my reviews, but do not fret, here they are.  Most are from date nights but I did get to go see a movie with Tyce just Mommy and son, so I added that one too.  Prepare yourself, this is a long(ish) post.

Date Night Movie Review ~ Now You See Me

I really liked this movie.  I feel like if I say too much of anything about it that I will be giving something away.  It is not so much about magic as it is about staying ahead of all of the twists and turns.  I found it very interesting and overall a fun movie to go see.

Date Night Movie Review ~ Man of Steel (Superman)

Superman was super action-packed.  So I have a little confession to make.......I really didn't want to see this movie.  I'm not really sure why except that it seems like other Superman movies just have seemed so cheesy.  But I have to say that this movie was exceptional and definitely came up to the bar that was set by The Avengers and the like.

This particular movie gave a lot of the back story and didn't even really refer to him as Superman, but there was also plenty of action to go around.  It leaves the story wide open for a sequel and possibly for a Justice League franchise.  I welcome this new Superman!

Mommy/Son Movie Night ~ Monsters University

We are always timid to bring the boys to a movie b/c we have had lots of bad experiences.  Usually we venture out to the drive-in where we think we are not disturbing anyone, but most of the time the kids are so crazy that we miss half the movie.  So we put a stop to the drive-ins and this was the first time we were brave enough to do the kid movie thing again.  But we still only took Tyce.  He asked alot of questions (he is in the "why" stage) but otherwise he was pretty good.  I kept stuffing his face with popcorn which helped...hehe. 

Oh yeah, you wanted a review.  I thought it was super cute and just as good as the first one.  It was a great story that could stand on its own.  Very family friendly with the exception of a few scary parts (it is a monster movie after all).  There were also a couple of adult inuendos that I am pretty sure no kid would understand.

Tyce loved it and said it was the "best movie ever".  He calls it the monster movie.  He also proceeded to tell me that "Girls don't like monsters except mommies so they can scare them" - not really sure what that meant but he is in a phase where girls can't do the things boys can do.  When I remind him that Mommy is a girl he just changes to Mommy can do it but no other girls (he is not learning this from us so I am not sure where it is coming from).

Anyway, go see it!

Date Night Movie Review ~ The Internship

This movie was exactly what you should expect from a Vince Vaugn / Owen Wilson get together.  It was their classic witty banter combined with a pretty predictable story line.  I enjoyed it knowing exactly what I was getting into when we went.  I wasn't expecting some epic story but I definitely laughed my butt off.

I was impressed by how cool Google  though.  Especially the Harry Potter quitich field they have pictured below!!

Date Night Movie Review ~ The Heat

I couldn't wait for this movie to come out.  I have been seeing the previews for so long and I just knew it was going to hilarious.  Believe me it did not disappoint!!  They pretty much just let Melissa McCarthy improv anything she wanted I think.  It was so funny to see her and Sandra Bullock together.  And for once Bullock was not the star of the movie, they really let McCarthy shine in this one.  Again the story was not impressive but the characters and witty lines were to die for.  Loved it!

Life as a Working Mommy...

playing at the park with my boys - a fun weekend activity

I have been thinking about doing this post for a while now.  I think it is appropriate to put it in now since it is one of the main reasons I have been absent from blog-land lately.  (I know I promised you I was alive and ready for some blogging but summer might be a little sporadic)

I actually calculated that 53% of my waking hours during the 7 day week are spent working, driving to/from work, or getting ready for work (and anyone who knows me knows that I don't spend alot of time "getting ready" for work...hehe).  It comes out to 71% if you just count the 5 day work week.

Just a few days ago I actually used one of my vacation days to get stuff done around the house.  It doesn’t sound like too much fun but it made me feel a million times better.  Then I could just enjoy spending time with everyone in a (semi)clean house, it takes a load off.  For whatever reason, I need to be completely alone to do those things and focus.

Summer has been super busy with lots of fun things to with the family.  Obviously with the limited amount of time I have in a day I have been choosing to do those things instead of writing.  I may not be meeting my earlier goal of more “me” time, but I am having lots of fun.

I think there is enough mom guilt to go around.  Moms that work always wish they could spend more time with their kids and think they are missing out on so much.  We envy and respect moms who stay home.  But on the other hand, I believe that moms who stay home probably have guilt about finances even though they are doing the toughest job around.  Why as women and moms do we always feel so guilty no matter what?  In my particular situation I have no choice but to work and contribute financially to our family, and I do love my job and feel that I make a difference.  Some days I am not even sure that I would be cut out to be a stay at home mom….that job is hard!  I respect the women who are able to do it SO MUCH!  After a long weekend I am sometimes ready to pull my hair out with my 2 boys.  But I do miss them every day and wish I had more time and more freedom to do things with them.  A flexible work schedule would be amazing but my job has not caught up with the “family friendly” era of scheduling.  And since I used up so much time taking 2 maternity leaves (all which had to come from my own sick and vacation time) I don't have alot of time built up for fun stuff.  Alot of my days are used when the kids are sick and cannot go back to daycare until they are better.

I know my kids are being well cared for and I know that their teachers think of things to do with them and teach them that I would never think of.  For that I am very grateful.  My motto as a working mommy has been that if I put in quality to the time I spend with them then it can make up for the lack of quantity of time.  Here is to the moms out there both working away from home and working in the home!  I say good job to you!  And shame on you who judge a mom who chooses to do one or the other that you may not agree with.  Moms rock!