One year ago...

WOW!! How ironic is it that my last post was about staying consistent and then I don't make another post for six months? Oh well. Life has been busy! It's like we've been making up for lost time because we've been nothing but going since Donnie has been better. It's what made me want to post again. Yesterday as I was getting the kids ready for school, I looked at the date  and realized one year ago, (just a few days late), we were in the ER when they found Donnie's facial lump. I completely forgot that it had been that long. It's funny because I had this overwhelming feeling of gratefulness and happiness. Even one of the teachers at school said, "you're awfully smiley today!" And I was, I was happy. Some days it feels like all of that stuff was decades ago and other days it feels like yesterday! It's been a whole year since it felt like my whole world was caving in on us, a whole year since complete despair and uncertainty. A year ago, I could have never imagined the place we are right now. A place where our days aren't consumed with doctors appointments and pain and medication and sadness and fear of death. Instead they are filled with laughter and birthday parties and swimming and potty training and life! I couldn't be more grateful to get a second chance at living the life we want to live with our family. Trust me, there had been many times when I didn't think I'd be able to come out of it unscathed, but we did. And there will always be a part of me that will never forget the pure blessing of health and life, because I will never forget that he was almost taken away from me. Donnie and I are like every other married couple out there, we argue and we disagree and sometimes we even take each other for granted, but in the end we experienced something together that we could never forget. There are so many times that I asked myself, and I'm sure Donnie as well, why are we going through this? What did we do? And after a whole year of asking myself that, my only answer is, that's life! Life is filled with challenges and struggles that make you the person you are. I learned so much about myself and my relationship and my friendships and parenthood and strangers and patience and love through this last year, that I don't think 70 years of no struggles would have taught me! As a sit, staring at this computer, I can't help but think that everything I prayed and hoped for a year ago, is everything I am living today. Sure, my kids drive me crazy sometimes, we have medical bills coming out our ears, Donnie and I disagree about ridiculous things and just daily stay at home mommy stuff, but at the end of the day I have a husband that is alive and healthy and Cancer free. I have kids that make me laugh every single day and I have the most amazing, supportive family and friends. And a year ago, I could have never imagined this kind of happiness for myself!

Our life has been chaotic and busy and amazing these last 6 months. Brody, Mia and Donnie all celebrated birthdays in July. Donnie's brother, Micheal and Logan got married.  We found out we are going to have a new nephew and niece both due in November :) My parents got divorced. Mia started preschool for her very first year. Life is crazy and beautiful all the same time and I'm just thankful that I still have all the ones I love to share it with!

St. Patty's Day.

Yayy for Mike and Logan.

We spend St. Patty's Day weekend in Cedar. Donnie's day had bought Air Show tickets in St. George for that day. We had a really fun time with the kids. It was kinda windy but we all still enjoyed it. Brody is pretty use to jets, with growing up on base and having the dad he has but he still was totally into it. He said his favorite part was the battle scene with the tanks! Mia was pretty sleepy so she wasn't much fun but we all survived. They had jumpers too, so the kids were all about it, well, except Mia (she was tired). We also gained a new soon-to-be sister-in-law and soon-to-be Aunt and cousin, Logan and Harley. Mike (Donnie's brother) proposed to his girlfriend that morning at the Air Show. We are very excited for them to become part of the family!

We eat like Dinosaurs.

Well we've had a pretty big change in our family recently. We are now Paleo/clean eaters/healthier bodies. I don't know if I like to consider us Paleo(grain free-dairy free), we are just more like clean eaters. We eat like the dinosaurs; meats, fruits, veggies, nuts. We eat no grains, no dairy and nothing artificial. We started our new healthy lifestyle about 3 weeks ago. Brody was sick for like the 400th time in last few months and I was honestly just sick of it, it was the straw that broke the camels back. I always knew that Brody had a dairy intolerance but turned a blind eye because I never wanted to deal with cutting dairy out. And his behavior was starting to get a little out of control but I also ignored that! I have a friend that had switched her family over and I noticed such a change in their health. I was ready for that for us! The big running joke with Brody has always been, that the list of foods he likes is shorter than the list he doesn't. I mean when I say, he doesn't like much, you can literally count the only foods he would eats on two hands. He never ate meat, he didn't eat any vegetables and he would only eat about 2 kinds of fruit. On what planet is that healthy? Well, it's not. He was eating no real food. He lived on beige, processed food! And to be honest, I blame myself. I am the one that buys the food, cooks the food and gives it to him. So, I stopped cold turkey. I cleaned out our entire pantry, got rid of everything that wasn't a real food! Which pretty much left my pantry empty: if it's in a box, it's most likely not very good for you. I filled it back up with stuff they could have. I wanted to remove the temptation, I didn't want them going in there and seeing a bunch of stuff they couldn't have. I mean don't get me wrong, I love cereal and pasta and tortillas and oatmeal and girl scout cookies but it was just making us sick. We were never fueling our body, we were just filling it with crap.

 Let's fast forward to present day. No one died from starvation. Brody has tried a green bean, he eats spinach in his smoothies, he has found a new love for bacon and he eats at least 10 new fruits. It is definitely still a work in progress but we are making some serious progress. He is still not willing to try other meats but that will come with time. We still enjoy many baked treats, that are classic favorites but just tweaked a little to suit us! Brody's behavior and health, just in 3 short weeks has made a complete 180. He's not so whiny and a cry baby. He's also more interested in learning and he's more alert and focused. I feel like we all feel better too. I never really realized how much food can effect you. And this isn't for everyone, if you would have asked me to do this last year, I would have laughed at you. I had to be ready to make the change but I am super glad I did!

Sneaky Leprechaun.

I worked in Brody's class last thursday and it was such a great day to be there. It wasn't really St. Patricks Day yet but it was the day the class celebrated it. It was really a fun day, Mrs. Fitz had the moms decorate the class like a Leprechaun had sneaked in while the kids were outside. We had streamers and we topsy turvy-ed the stuff in the room.We also hung the kids snack bowls and spoons on the tree outside. There were also green footprints on the floor! The kids even made a Rainbow fruit salad and were able to have Lucky Charms for snack (Brody was allowed because it was a special occasion :) The sneaky leprechaun even made their milk green.

The kids seriously could believe that a Leprechaun came to their class room! I always love working in class but this day was the best. The excitement and pure wonderment on the kids faces made all that clean-up ;) worth it!

Weekly Chronicle...

Every time I go on here to post, I think people must think I am the most inconsistent person ever! I don't write anything for weeks and weeks and then I write 50 post about all kinds of things. Oh well. Life has been really busy and sometimes I would just rather relax on the couch with the kids and Donnie then sit on this stupid computer typing. Even though I love having this blog and being able to share a little bit of our life with every one, I feel like sometimes it's a chore. And every time I post on here, I say " I'm going to be more consistent" but then I never am. It's kinda like a new years resolution that never sticks. Where you're all gung-ho at the beginning and then it quickly fades. So, I think I decided to spend one day a week updating. That way I don't feel like I'm playing hooky everyday I don't blog. If I know that every Wednesday at noon I update then I won't feel so guilty on the other days. It probably makes more reading for you guys but I feel like this is the best solution for my inconsistency-ness (I know, that's not a word, but it pretty much sums me up). Plus, today is a better day than ever because everyone has been sick in my house. So, while they are all napping and watching TV, I am able to play catch-up { haha catch-up story of my life}

On to fun stuff...

A few posts below :)

Roos-N-More

Brody's school had a field trip to Roos-N-More last week. It's all the way in Moapa, so it took us about an hour to get there. We've never been there before but I have heard really great things about it. It's not like a regular zoo, they let you actually interact with the animals and hold them and feed them and it was so cool! They have all kinds of animals, from Toucans to Kangaroos. Brody was not very into getting close to them but Mia was all about it. She wanted to hold the monkey and feed the Camel, nothing scared her. I even really enjoyed it (and I'm not the fondest of animals) but it was a perfect day out and we couldn't have asked for a better day to have a field trip. Love our little school and the fun things our kids get to experience!

Get ready for picture overload :)

Mia loved the little monkey!

I was so happy that he finally wanted to hold it. Isn't that just so cool?!

Playing with an Anteater and some Armadillos.

Mia was so brave feeding the Camel.
She kept wanting to get another apple and feed him again :)

IHop and The Lorax.

The kids at IHop.

Brody came up to me a couple weeks ago and said "Mom, I want to go to IHop and have pancakes and get a seed to plant a million trees!" Uhh ok. Where the heck did he come up with this idea?! Well, ya see, IHop has a really great marketing group and they like to run IHop commercial's between children's shows. And they were even better this time by throwing in The Lorax, which makes it much more appealing! So, anyway, I thought sure why not! Let's go have pancakes and get a seed "to plant a million trees" We decided to go a couple Saturdays ago. Brody was so excited, he kept saying is it Saturday yet?! It was a fun little family breakfast! Brody has had a long, stressful last year, like the rest of us, so I wanna kinda make up for it. I feel like I want to be more of a "yes" mom, within reason of course! I mean for us to go to IHop was really no big deal, but it was a huge deal to him! I'm not much of a eating out type person, I'm kinda a germaphobe and also, for health reasons! But I figured I could suck it up and I'm glad I did because I honestly feel like he appreciated that we made it important! And we also got our seed :)

Brody planting his seeds.

We also went and saw The Lorax on Sunday! And it was so great, we loved it. We had been reading the book for the last few days and I definitely think that made it more enjoyable. And if I'm being honest, This was my first 3D movie. Haha that makes me sound like I'm a hundred, but going to the movie's is Donnie and Brody's thing. I'm always the one home with Mia. I really wanted to see The Lorax though, so my grandparents were kind enough to come over and watch her so we could go! It was really awesome in 3D, Brody always reaches out and tries to grab at it. Funny kid. I think it is a must see kid's movie! 

26... say whaa?!

It's official.. I am out of my early 20's. Where did the time go?! I swear, I was 18 like last month. I feel like as the years go by, birthdays are really no big deal, not that nobody makes them special for me but I just feel like it's just another day. Once you have kids you stop worry about making you life so fabulous and start focusing on making theirs wonderful! It was funny though because when I woke up that morning, The first thing Brody said to me was "Mom! It's your birthday. Happy Birthday!" It was very sweet. That made me feel special. He is such a tenderhearted kid and I was very surprised that he remembered but he did! We went to the park with my mom in the afternoon and the kids were incredibly good for me that day, best present I could have received :) Nothing like perfectly well-behaved kids for you birthday (maybe not perfectly but pretty close) 

The kids playing at the park! Cuties :)

Then, later that night all my family came to our house to celebrate. My family is loud and crazy and fun and we generally always have a good amount of laugh when everyone is around. Especially when you sit at the fun table ;)  I honestly, could not think of a better way to spend my day, then with the people I love! 

PS- I even got this little shiny :) Needed a new one badly! 
Happy Birthday to Me!!!

Weekend of Friends.

A few weeks ago my bestie came into town with her family. We had a really fun time. The kids loved having each other to play with and the adults loved having some adult time with the kids occupying each other :) 

The munchkins at lunch.

We did lots of playing, went to the park, went to the mall, had many great lunches and dinners and one of the days we even went to Shark Reef. It has been a really long time since I had been there, and they had never been so it was cool to go and check out all the animals. It was actually a lot shorter than I remembered but it was still fun and the kids really loved it! Mia kept pointing at everything and going, "ooohhh" and Brody and Jen especially loved the sting rays. I think they stayed there for at least 30 minutes. Brody seriously didn't want to leave but we bribed them with frozen yogurt afterwards so they were much more willing to move on. And then there is Max, who was perfectly content making his dad chase him all over the whole place :) All in all it was a really great day!

I think the best part of married adult life is being able to watch a second generation of friends grow up together. We really are lucky to have our kids be able to play together. Mia and Max already have their eyes on each other he he :) We had an awesome weekend with them, even though our late night board gaming caused a little trouble ;-)

Lately...

So.. I've found some stuff to talk about. Actually, I have found A LOT of stuff to talk about. I'm going to put it all into one post because well, I'm lazy! So, this is going to be looong and filled with pictures but trust me it will be so worth your time ;) haha probably not but I feel less guilty now that I'm actually writing about something. Plus Brody is a sicky today, he's made a home in my bed and has been watching movies all day and Mia is napping so I finally feel like I have time to sit in front of this computer!! Anyway... this is what we have been up to lately.

We went to Red Rock over the weekend and had a blast. It was such a beautiful day out and we were sick of being in the house, so my mom and us headed out to do some hiking. We couldn't do anything too incredibly strenuous with the kids and all but we had a good time. This particular trail we took was suppose to have water and a waterfall at the end but it was all dry when we got there, only a small like trickle from above. Brody really enjoyed himself though, and so did Mia, she gets quite the ride :) When we arrived at the end of the trail, we ate our packed lunch and explored a little bit then headed back down the trail. It was a really pretty day and I'm glad we decided to go!

(notice the ruggrats probably having more fun in the back of the car then the actual hike)

Monday, was Donnie's first day back at work. It was a very exciting day :) It's been almost 4 months since he worked. He has been very anxious to get back there and start to get back in the groove of things again. He is on light duty right now, so he is in the office and not out on the flight line, but he will be out there before he knows it. He still needs to take it easy, everything else will come with time. He is so glad to be back at work {the 5:30am alarm clock, not so much} but glad either way. I'm just overjoyed that he is healthy enough and feeling well enough to return back to work. 4 months ago, I never would have imagined that he would be feeling this well this fast. He is definitely an answered prayer! 

Brody beat Skylanders! I'm not sure if I have talked about this before but my mom bought Brody this "Skylander" game for Christmas. We really had no idea what it was when she bought it, we just thought cool, a fun game for the Wii! Boy, were we wrong. This game has these figurines that play with you on the game, so you put the certain player on this "portal" thing and then you switch out guys as you die... anyway, these figurines are like Cabbage Patch dolls in the 80's. You can't find them ANYWHERE!! Sometimes, I find myself going to 3 or 4 stores in one day just to see if they got a shipment (I know, I know, its a problem) So anyway, we have been playing this game for months and Brody finally beat the Whole game. I only let him play for a little bit each day so when he finally beat it, he was very proud of himself! The first thing he said was "Mom, can I call Dad and tell him I beat the WHOLE thing?" Haha funny boy!

We started a few weeks ago with Valentines Day stuff. Brody needed to start early making Valentines and collecting 13 hearts for his heart collection at school. Every year for Valentines Day the kids bring 13 of the same heart (can be anything that is a heart and about the size of your hand) and hand made Valentines Cards. The hearts are a really cool idea because all the kids bring home so many different hearts from each one of their classmates. Brody and I started early making Valentines cards because he has just started to really write his name, so I wanted to give him plenty of time to complete them and not feel too much pressure to get too many done at one time. I think he did the best job and we had an awesome time doing them!

The hearts on the bottom are what he brought for the heart collection.

I just love this picture of them.
Totally shows their personalities! 

Valentines Day morning, was of course on a school day and those days are always a little bit of a rush. This day in particular, Brody decided he waned to sleep in, (which is like a lunar eclipse in our house, rarely happens) and I had pink pancakes and these cute little mailboxes with some goodies shoved in them waiting for him and Mia. I finally was able to get him out of bed and he was pleasantly surprised by what he found! Mia was definitely more excited about the food but that's our Moosie :) I really wanted them to enjoy their morning, so I let the rush go and we just ate our pancakes, laughed a little, got dressed, took a few pictures and we were still able to make it to school on time. Yayy for us! I had the best morning with them. I love to make silly holidays fun for them. Most day are pretty boring, normally just filled with the everyday stuff. It was nice to take the time to make just a normal day special!

I took a few picture when Brody arrived at school. Mrs. Fitz made it a really fun day for all of them. She even had special buckets for their Valentines and their heart collection! Mia was enjoying herself too! All the little girls in Brody's class love when she comes in. I think maybe I should just start leaving her with them, no body would notice, right?!

Donnie and I decided to stay home for Valentines Day. I feel like the older I get the more I enjoy just being at home. We had no desire to pack into a restaurant just because that's what you're "suppose to do" for Valentines Day! For Christmas, Donnie's mom gave us a Lobster-Gram, so we decided to do that instead. {perfect day for it} A Lobster-Gram is like this website you go to and pick all this food and they send it to you and you cook it. And obviously, their specialty is Lobster, but unfortunately, I dislike Lobster. Lucky for me though, they have other stuff like crab and filet and scallops and stuff. We decided on the crab, which I LOVE!! It's actually a pretty cool deal, I got the crab and some other goodies I ordered at my door that day. I made some other things to go with dinner and desserts and wine of course, we had the best night. (I even got a massage for a gift! Which I enjoyed last night, while Donnie stayed home and did all the bedtime stuff, yayy for me! Thanks babe :) I'm so glad we decided to stay in with the kids. I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend Valentines night! 

{and of course heart grilled cheese for Brody, because he probably wouldn't eat Crab if it was the last food on Earth}{ also, don't mind Donnie's lack of eyebrows, all of his hair has decided not to grow back}

Told ya this was gonna be long.... almost done!

I let the kids play with the dry ice that came in the crab box. I know what you are thinking.. No, I didn't let them play with the actual ice, I put it in a large pot with water. I thought they would think that it was as cool as I think it is and they did!! I'm not quite sure how safe it is or if it's still considered ok to do but whatever we had a blast for at least 30 minutes or so and Brody even got a science lesson out of it and Mia thought it was the coolest thing ever! And nobody died ;)

I have had "clean out the toy room" on my list of to-do's for a while now and I finally just checked it off! Yesterday, the kids and I decided it was time to tackle that thing. And when I say tackle, I mean it took us 4 hours, 4 donation boxes and 3 trash bags. It also included, lots of crying, tons of "I don't want to do this anymore" and many, "are we done yets?" But in the end it is clean and organized. The kids were actually very helpful and they did an excellent job, minus the few minor meltdown. One down, 25 on the list to go :)

Disaster.

Impressive.

Last but not least....
A few days ago Brody was playing with a Dino and I could hear him talking to himself. He said to this Dino, "oh, you like to blog?" "Yeah, you blog all the time!"
Haha what the heck?! I don't even blog that much, I can barely get one post a week!
He is a funny boy, made me laugh!