COPYCAT

So I saw this on someone else's blog and thought it was kinda cool. It really makes you reflect on the things you like about yourself, the things you do not like about yourself, and just remembering who I am as a person. I am not just a mom who cleans up all day after her kids and does her "Mom Duties." I am a real person with real likes and dislikes and someday will pick up my hobbies again as my kids get older and I have more freetime. I have figured since I do not have time to write in a journal, my blog has become my journal. So here it goes. This was really kinda hard to think about.

I am ....... fun!

I know.....I am a little too blunt and open.

I want.....my kids to grow up happy and successful.

I wish.....I could live everyday guilt-free.

I had.... a bad mommy day yesterday with my daughter.

I hate.... whining.

I miss..... my family.

I fear....not being able to protect my family and friends (BEARS).

I feel....blessed with my life.

I hear....Cade talking my ear off while trying to concentrate.

I smell....my morning breath.

I crave.... cookie dough from Papa Murphys Pizza.

I search.... for birthday ideas for upcoming kids birthdays.

I wonder.... if I will ever be able to get in bed before 10:30 PM.

I regret.... the days I am too hard on my kids.

I love... being with friends and just talking and laughing.

I care....about my brother and sisters and how they are handling their trials.

I always....want my house to be picked up.

I am not....perfect.

I believe....that there is a higher being who loves me and is with me and my family everyday.

I could....sleep all day if I had a babysitter.

I dance... whenever I hear music. (So do my boys)

I sing...lullabys to my baby at night to put him to bed. (Horribly)

I don't always... listen to what my kids are saying (Just pretend) (SAD, huh?)

I write... way better with a blue pen.

I win... games with my kids, but pretend they won, just so I do not have to hear them whine.

I lose.... my patience when kids spill their drinks all over the floor at every mealtime.

I never.... want to go on a fishing trip to Alaska with Matt (BEARS)

I never listen.... to gospel music.

I can usually be found.... at OLD NAVY. (Joke with Matt) (He thinks I spend too much there)

I am scared of...... my family getting hurt or dying.

I need.... ME TIME or I go nutty. (Matt is good at letting me get that)

I am happy about.... being a stay-at-home mom.

The Little Joys of Motherhood

This last weekend we spent with Matt's side of the family. Matt's sister Mandy had her baby blessing at home, for her youngest child on Friday night. And that was fun to get together for a nice dinner and to hang out and chat and let the kids play. Then Saturday was Mandy's other little girls birthday party at Chuckee Cheese. Now, don't get me wrong, I do not think any adult can really say they enjoy Chuckee Cheese, especially on a Saturday Night, but I do love to take my kids there when I get the chance because it makes them so happy. They love it there. But it was the busiest I have ever seen it. It was so hot in there, that I was sweating just walking around keeping an eye on the kids. And it is really hard to have a birthday party there when it is so crowded. But it turned out good and the kids always love it. But the reason I decided to write this blog, was because I first of all had an ephiphany that night. There is a reason, that mothers are the ones that give birth to their children and their is a reason that mothers are the more nurturing ones. It is called PATIENCE. After about 1 hour of being there, I was just laughing because all the guys were BITCHING. Excuse my language, but there is really no other word to explain it. They all just wanted to leave so bad. They all could not believe that anyone could enjoy a place like that. It was seriously funny. Not to mention, Matt had to get back for his BBALL game. Have you ever tried to round up 6 kids and get them to leave CHUCKEE CHEESE? Near impossible. I had a few of my nieces and nephews that I brought down too with me. It took us like an hour to get them to stop playing games, get their tickets counted, get their prizes and get out to the car. It was just pure confusion and Matt was a stress case. I had no where to be, so I was relaxed and fine, and I just know what comes with the territory when you take that many kids to Chuckee Cheese on a Saturday night. Anyway, it was funny! But the best part of the night, the reason I called this entry the "Little Joys of Motherhood" was because Casen was so funny that night. You could just tell he was so excited to be somewhere he had never been before and just wanted to get down and explore. And the cutest part of the night, was when he was dancing with the FAKE CHUCKEE CHEESE CHARACTER. He was not scared; he just kept trying to touch him and dance. He also loved dancing in front of all the TV"S for kids. It is so fun as parents to see your kids growing and developing their own little personalities. One day I can see how Casen is acting just like Corey... so cautious. And other days, like at Chuckee Cheese, I can see him acting just like Cade, always dancing. Both my boys......can't stand NOT to BUST A MOVE, when they hear a good beat.... just like their mom. I love it. I wish I had a video of it. Every time a song comes on, Casen has to headbang his head and move his body. It cracks me up. I love my kids and I am really enjoying my baby, Casen. I love being a mom.

Valentines/Presidents Weekend

So I am laughing as I write this because I think a blog is suppose to be more of a journal with a few pics, but I always load mine up with TONS of pics. I love pictures and I can never decided which ones to post. I can never decided on only a few. So sorry, you will have to deal with my overload of pics.
But this weekend was fun! I was still recovering from our vacation and wanting to go somewhere for the long holiday weekend, but knew we couldn't. So we stuck around and had a fun time.
I got to go to Cade's preschool Valentine program on Friday and that was fun. We got to see them sing a few songs... they gave us a cute little braclet they made.... they showed us around their school and their activity tables .... and we got to eat sugar cookies at 9:30 in the morning. That was the most difficult part. I had to gag that down. Cookies in the morning. UGH! Even Cade, the sugar monster did not finish his. But it was sweet and you could tell how proud he was that I was there. Those are the moments that make you feel special as a parent.
Then Saturday, Matt and I took the kids up to Hardware Ranch. Corey got to go a couple weeks ago with her class and so she wanted us to go and see it. Cade had never been and really wanted to go. So it was fun to see the kids and their reactions. Casen was really impressed with the Elk and the horses pulling our wagon. Hardware Ranch never gets old. Everytime I go, I am impressed. Also Saturday night, my sister Becca came up to visit and offered to babysit while Matt and I went to dinner with Matt's family. We had a nice dinner at the Coppermill, but me and Matt were still overfed from the cruise and could not eat our $25 worth. It has tasted better in the past, because we were more hungry for it. But it was nice to see Matt's sister and husand and their in-laws. It is always good to get out of the house and have conversation with adults. I love it. Then that night Matt and I watched a movie with Becs. She asked if she was "imposing on our Valentines day?" It was cute. No, she was not. We always love to have family visit.
Then Sunday was a special family day. Just hung out and watched more movies.
Then Monday, Becca and I got to take the kids to the FUN PARK and play for a bit. We even rollar skated with them. I got taken out by a 10 year old speed skater who ran into my legs and made me fall hard to my butt. My wrist is still hurting from that fall. I wanted to ring his little neck. That night Becca and I went to a Zumba workout class together and went and saw that movie Valentines Day together. It was fun and bonding. We had some good laughs.
Then she did have to go home in the morning and the kids got to say good bye. We always miss family when they have to leave. We all wish they lived closer so we could hang out more on a day-to-day basis. I love my hubby and my kids and my sister Becca and was so glad we all got to hang out this weekend.

Trip to the Bahamas

Matt and I decided that we needed to go on a trip this winter because we want to have one more child and next winter I might possibly be prego. So we started to plan a trip for Feb and found that the cheapest trips were CRUISES. So we decided we really wanted to go to the Bahamas. And then we just invited a bunch of friends and got a trip together.

We had so much fun with the group that we went with. It was a shorter cruise, a 3 night cruise to Nasseau, Bahamas and Coco Cay, Bahamas. We left out of Ft. Canaveral, Florida.

The boat was a little bit older of a boat, but the food was great, of course, and so was the entertainment. We did go Royal Carribbean this time, but we really did not notice much of a difference between Royal and Carnival. Next time I think we will go with the same group, but pick a different route and a nicer boat.

All the girls had so much fun getting dressed up sexy, because when do we ever get to do that with all our kids at home? We loved the dinners; the formal dinners and the meals in the windjammer. Our conversation was always interesting and we were always laughing. My favorite entertainer was the Comedian. I was laughing his whole act. The guys really liked the Superbowl, even though half of it was during dinner and they had to keep leaving to go and see the score. We also had fun trying to get our husbands to dance in the dance club. They finally came and danced for a bit. We also played a way fun Scavenger Hunt game with our whole group. Don't mess with Brittany when Winning is involved. We had a blast. I think we all got to know each other so much better; maybe even a little too good..... Well at least everyone got to know Matt a little too good. Sometimes he gets a little out of control or tells too much info.

Nasseau, Bahamas was alot of fun. We did the whole shopping downtown experience. Then we went to the beach and went swimming and took pics. All the guys loved the swimming. The undertoe was crazy and all the girls got pummeled by the waves; especially our friend Kelley. She hit some rocks and got all scratched up. She was so tough. The girls were all done swimming after that and went and laid out. We also went and walked around Atlantis Hotel, as much as we could. We saw some of the hotel and the aquariums. I was way bummed that we did not get to go to the WaterPark at Atlantis, but it was $145 a person. Talk about a rip off.....

The next stop was suppose to be Royal Caribbeans' own island Coco Cay, but because of the weather, we were not allowed to go. We were so bummed. The weather was crappy and the waves were 9-12 ft. waves, so they could not tender us in. So they made it an official DAY AT SEA, but it was so windy and cold and crappy that you could not even lay out by the pool. People were in pants and sweatshirts and coats by the pool. SAD! SO we made the best of it that day and went to the COMIC and went rock climbing and hung out and ate alot.

The last day, before we traveled home, we all did decided to do a GATOR BOAT RIDE in Florida, because we did not get to do any excursions in COCO CAY. We got to go on this awesome boat ride and we saw 2 gators. A little cold and scary. That is why I was in the middle of the boat. And now my husband wants to go GATOR HUNTING. Psyco! We also got to eat gator afterwards and it was good. It was breaded, but it tasted like chicken and shrimp together. Our tour guide told us that GATOR is about $17 per pound at the grocery store in Florida. Quite expensive, but tasty! It was worth it! A neat experience!

The trip, overall was so fun. It felt longer than it was because we were in the airport alot traveling to and from Florida. But I loved the people we went with and that made it fun. The weather overall was not that great. But I was at least glad that we got to see Nasseau and the Atlantis Hotel. And we did get to sleep a little with no interruptions from kids and we got to eat alot without having to cook any of it. So it definiteley felt like a vacation, but I still have that Vacation bug in me and want to go again. I did miss my kids and so did all the other girls. We were all excited to get back and see the kids, but not so excited to get back into our ROUTINES. We are all trying to adjust. And I am sure we are all still ROCKING. The boat was so rocky this time because of the weather that I got sick to my stomach a few times and got a few headaches. So it is taking me awhile to get that rocking feeling out of my system! FRIENDS AND FAMILY are the best. We developed some great relationships on this cruise and strengthened the ones we already had!