A month in review!

Well it looks like its been about a month since I've last blogged...shocker. I'm sure no one cares or notices... except for my daddy, he tends to remind me every time we talk. HI DAD!! :)

So here' s what we've been up to!

{Randy Rogers/My Birthday}

We had an absolute BLAST celebrating mine and Cortney's birthdays and watching our favorite band play!! I still can't believe everyone made it to KC that weekend... it was SO good seeing everyone and another reunion is already on my mind... let the planning begin :)

 {LOVE my sisters.}

 {we had to send this one to my brother... all the women in his life :) He's so lucky. ha!}

{the crew... minus Michelle. Not sure where she went??!!}

 I got some sweet gifts including some fun wine :)

{Thanks Les!}

 {So obsessed with this Middle Sister wine. It says drama queen underneath, so true! Thanks Amy!}

Sunday after the concert Mike was going to take me out to lunch or dinner for my birthday. Of course I did not want to move from the couch that day so he offered to go grab take out from where ever I wanted. He was taking quite a long time and when he finally walked in the door he had a gift in his hand...

He had gone up the street to a little boutique and picked me up earrings and a new wallet. He knows me too well :)  We don't really do gifts so I was completely surprised and he did SO good. I wear the earrings every other day and have gotten so many compliments on the wallet :) He's too sweet to me... love him.

{Aiden}

Poor little Aiden has been sick for a few weeks now. Last year he was sick all.the.time. and we've been super lucky up until recently. It started with a high fever and we took him to the doctor to get checked out and he tested negative for strep and his ears and lungs were fine. So, just a virus. We stayed home from school a couple days and thought he was over it. A week later the high fever came back and instead of going straight to the doctor {like we should have} I figured it was the same thing and just gave him ibuprofen. After a few days and he still had a fever I took him in and the poor thing tested positive for strep. This is the first time he's had it and I felt horrible!! It makes sense now because he refused to eat for a few days but when I asked him if his head, tummy, mouth etc. hurt he would always say no :( And most moms know what I'm talking about when I say how annoying it is to take them to the doctor to be sent away with them saying there is nothing they can do... "its just a virus."  I hate those words. I was almost relieved that he finally had something and we could get a prescription to knock it out.  He's still not 100% and this past Friday/Saturday he was running a low fever again. So weird! It's like a vicious cycle!!

Besides being sick, he has been quite the little monster since turning 3. Everyone always warns you about the "terrible 2's" but the truth is 2 is an easy age. SO easy. I would do anything to go back to age 2. ha!

Slowly but surely we will get through this stage. He is super confused about daddy being gone so much lately and it's hard to understand at this age that it's just for a period of time. All Aiden knows is daddy's not home every night anymore and I'm sure that has an effect on him. I think he's really confused and not sure how to communicate it so he's been testing his limits big time and stressing this mommy out to the max!!   Praise the Lord Jesus Mike will be back home this Friday and we can get back to our normal routine and hopefully Aiden will start acting better. If not, at least I wont be alone anymore and Mike and I can tag team this together. ha!

It's not all bad. Somewhere in that strong willed little body, his kind heart still remains. He is still his lovey, cuddly, sweet self at times.

{Valentine's Day}

Most likely Aiden and I will be spending most Valentine's Day's without Mike. It's just a busy time of year for him but it's actually okay and I like the little traditions that Aiden and I are developing.  The Sunday before the holiday we celebrated with Mike. I made a big breakfast and we gave Aiden some treats.

Pretty simple this year. We watched Lady and The Tramp after breakfast and just spent the day as a family. Tuesday we made treats for Aiden's class and got ready for his party!

Heart shaped "krispies" as Aiden calls them... with Toy Story valentine's for his friends.

I found those adorable mugs at Target and they were fairly cheap so I grabbed a couple to give to his teachers.

They had a party in the morning and I'm pretty sure it was a sugar filled day because he was in a MOOD when I picked him up. My mom insisted she take us out to dinner and refused to take no for an answer. Although we didn't have to wait that long, Aiden was acting SO horrible and almost had me in tears at the restaurant.  Even my mom was shocked at his behavior. We made it through dinner and went home and straight to bed. I'm still glad we got to spend the holiday with my mom and it was so sweet and thoughtful of her to want to take us out. {But next year we are sticking with our Papa Murphy's heart shaped pizza and parking it at home! ha!} Love you mom!!

 {Shirt courtesy of Grandma Linda! She is the BEST!!}

Once again Mike went above and beyond for this holiday. Some might laugh at his gift for me {and trust me he's gotten made fun of for it}  but I thought it was SO sweet and thoughtful...

Window tinting for my new car :)

Ha!! I know that seems so silly but the week before Valentine's he found a good deal on it and sent me a link asking if I'd like that more than flowers :) DUH I would!!! Who doesn't like getting flowers.... but they are SO expensive.  I mentioned as soon as I got my car that eventually I wanted the windows tinted and he remembered that and made it happen. It might not be the most romantic of gifts but to me it meant the world. I still laugh out loud when I tell people, just because it sounds so funny, but I'm truly ecstatic about it!! Good job babe. 

Well that's our life lately!

Like I said we are BEYOND excited for Mike to be done with this busy season on Friday and we are celebrating by spending the weekend in Manhattan with the Stallbaumer's! They've been wanting us to come and stay with them since they purchased their new home. The plan was to all go to the K State/Iowa State game but with little miss active Ava and Mr. attitude Aiden... we will probably just all watch the game in the comfort of their house. ha! :) I cant' wait to go HOME and spend a relaxing weekend with friends!

Quick Catch Up

Hello! I've been MIA again... story of my life, so here's a quick catch up post!

:: Bowling::

We had SO much fun at the Cotton Bowl! {Except for K-State losing} We road with 2 other couples to Dallas and it was such a fun road trip!! I dont think I've ever laughed so hard in my life! :0)

Our Crew: Becky & Brett, Brooke & Jeremy, Me & Mike

Game day!!

Linda made me a cute koozie for the trip! Love her! Everyone was jealous ;)

ugh, stepped in gum right away. annoying.

Lunch before tailgating

Us girls all forgot sunglasses and it was beautiful and SUNNY on game day. Thankfully there was a Claire's right next to the restaurant we ate lunch at so we each bought a new pair of shades :) Mine lasted a whole 5 hrs before I dropped them in a mob of people walking into the game... they didn't have a chance and neither did I trying to stop and find them. boo.  

The stadium was UH-MAZING!! Our seats were great and the  atmosphere was incredible. I was a shaking, excited, nervous disaster for the whole first quarter! ha!

Unfortunately the Cats couldn't pull off a win... so after the game we headed back to the hotel, got pizza and went to bed. Pretty lame :(

We wanted to get out of town early Saturday morning to get us home at a decent time. We all have kids and we missed them!!

:: Gymnastics::

Aiden started a gymnastics class!! His sweet aunties, Amy & Sarah, got him signed up as his birthday present from them. I thought it was a fantastic idea since lord knows he doesn't need anymore toys! 

Its every Thursday for the next 6 weeks or so and he absolutely LOVES going. He is still really excited and curious so he has a hard time listening to his instructors and sitting still. He is ALL over the place and they are constantly chasing him. There is so much going on with all the different classes at the same time as his, and a ton of kids, so he is easily distracted. The parents stay in another room that has windows so we can watch. I usually just play on my phone because it stresses me out when I see him not listening and playing on equipment that he shouldn't be. I joked with the instructors after the last class that they probably wouldn't be doing a 3 yr old class anymore after this experience. ha! Also, they've nicknamed him Crazy Aiden if that tells  you anything...

 Im sure as the "newness" wears off  it will get better... hopefully :)

 Its been a fun adjustment for us to have to be somewhere right after work. Its quite chaotic getting him changed and fighting traffic to get there on time.  I feel like such a soccer mom :) I love that he is getting old enough to be involved in activities and we've already been receiving fliers for basketball and t-ball... can't wait!!

Sorry for the crappy phone pics... I have forgotten my camera both times! I WILL remember this week!

The boy second in line is Colten and Aiden is the last one. Colten and Aiden are also in the same class at school! They were pretty wild this first class and they seperated them for the second class. Ha! Boys will be boys! :)

::Busy Season::

We are full on into Mike's busiest season at work. 2 weeks down and 4 to go!!

 Aiden misses his daddy SO much and this year has been really hard on both of them. Last year Aiden was a little too young to realize how much Mike was gone but this year he knows.  I can only imagine how hard it is for Mike to listen to Aiden tell him he misses him and ask why he's never home :(  I've been trying to keep Aiden as busy as possible and his mind off of daddy not being here... and we try to send Mike pics of what we're up to. We couldn't get skype to work on our phones but yesterday we both downloaded Tango and are going to try that tonight!

This single mom business is HARD...and its only for 6 weeks!  I seriously tip my hat to all single moms and military families.

:: New car::

 Nothing too exciting but it feels good to own my own car {for the first time in my life} and take that burden off my wonderful GENEROUS daddy :) Let's just say car shopping is NOT fun when you have expensive taste and a small budget... but in the end I got an affordable and realiable car perfect for our little family :)

:: Reunion::

I can't even contain my excitement for this coming weekend... RANDY ROGERS BAND in KC with 10 of my favorite girls!!! We're celebrating mine and Cortney's birthdays!!

Casey is coming from Chicago, Les from Atchison, my sister Amy from El dorado with NO kids {this is a first!!} Brooke, Ashley and Cortney from Manhattan, Michelle from Topeka and me, Sarah, Lindsey and our future sister in law Tara from KC! Holy reunion right??!!

 I can't believe it all came together and worked out for everyone! Sarah got us a hummer limo because there are so many of us and no one wanted to drive down town, leave our cars and take taxis home. This is going to be bananas!!

2007 Randy Rogers Concert {yikes}

Relaxed and Recharged

This weekend was all about R&R! Friday night we made home made pizza and watched Kung Fu Panda 2 with Aiden. After putting him to bed Mike and I watched Water For Elephants. The movie was OKAY but that's only because I loooooved the book and the movie didn't compare :(

 I had to work for a bit Saturday morning then ran a few errands afterwards while my boys napped. Mike's brother & sister in law were having people over for NYE as well as my good friend Mandy and her husband... but we decided to fore go all the festivities and spend the evening at home as a family. Christmas was hectic and we'll be out of town next weekend so we really wanted to just relax, spend time with Aiden and catch up on sleep. We cooked dinner, had a treat afterwards and watched football.  It really didn't feel like NYE at all... we didn't get any party hats or noise makers or even have a sip of champagne but to me, it was perfect and exactly what we needed.  Honestly, we were in bed at 9:30 and I was asleep by 10 and Mike said he was asleep by 1030. Ha!

2011 was a great year... and like all of them, it went FAST! I think we are officially settled in KC and its starting to feel like home. Mike and I's jobs are going really well and we have a happy and healthy 3 yr old boy who is the absolute light of our lives.

 I can only hope that my  family and friends remain happy and healthy in 2012 and I'm anxious to see what it has in store for everyone!

I dont do resolutions or goals or anything... but I did see this on Pinterest and thought it fit me for this coming year :)

{even though I think I cook enough! ha}

I could definitely add to that list but it'd go on and on and on, so I wont. I think Kelly from Kelly's Korner summed it up best.... "just survive." Amen sister. :)

On Sunday we took down all the Christmas decorations and cleaned up the house.

{I found these adorable snowman mugs at Walgreens for 50cents... I got 2 :) Its the perfect size for Aiden and he loves it!!}

{daddy & Aiden watching "Happy New Year Charlie Brown"}

{Aiden listening to his recorded 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' book one last time before I packed it up}

 I hadn't really unpacked and organized since coming back from Christmas so there was a lot to be done!

 After lunch and naps we took Aiden to the the chipmunk movie "Chipwrecked"

He was in heaven with a slushie, skittles and popcorn! He did really good at the movie and we all had a great time!

After the movie we headed back home to get dinner ready. I had invited my mom, Sarah and Derek over for a mexican feast! Yum-o

Today was another lazy day for me and Aiden. Mike headed to Topeka to get started on some work since its a short week for us.

We CAN.NOT.WAIT to head to Dallas for the Cotton Bowl!! A 2 day work week for me then off to Dallas on Thursday morning!! Aiden will be in good hands with Grandma Linda and Grandpa Don.

Mike and I are driving down with 2 other couples and it should be a fun roadtrip! Mike and I never get to travel together... so this is going to be an extra special weekend for us and I couldn't be more excited!! The funny thing is a TON of the blogs I follow and love are girls from Fayetteville, Arkansas! They are all HUGE Razorback fans and since following them I have joked about wanting to move there. And during football season this year I would always check scores to see if the Razorbacks had won or not and would cheer for them if they were playing. Since they are in the SEC and never play kstate I didn't think it mattered! Until now... ha!  Mike thinks Im going to be cheering for them at the game...trust me I WILL NOT.

I bleed purple. period.

I have my camera charged and ready to go and hope to take pictures this trip!!

Look for us on TV!!! :)

GO CATS!



Christmas 2011 {Part 2}

I've been putting off the Christmas recap because I neglected to document the holiday with any photos :(  bad mommy!! Ill post the very few I took...

Us before Church Christmas Eve

We usually spend Christmas Eve and morning with Mike's family. It works out well because we love going to the candle light church service in Hanover as well as waking up Christmas morning with them. Mike's family has a "pickle ornament" and it has always been their Christmas morning tradition. Linda hides 2 pickle ornaments (one for the boys and one for the girls) and we have to find them. Its quite competative because the pickle prizes are always GREAT!! Sadly, Alissa won this year and I was bummed because she got a CUTE "santa's cookies" plate :(

I NEED THAT!!!

Mike won the guys' pickle prize this year which was a bunch of shoe polish's- he was pumped!

Chad, Theresa and the girls came over after church to spend Christmas Eve with us. We all ate and played games! They were so sweet and brought Aiden a gift.

A Cars 2 Memory Game!

This was Christmas morning but the best pic I have of his new snowman jammies. My family has a traditon of opening ONE present on Christmas Eve and it is always new pajamas! It's one of my favorite traditions so I have carried it on with Aiden the past few years. Mike got some new ones too! :)

Aiden had us up early Christmas morning to check out the loot santa had left him! He was absolutely THRILLED with his new toys... especially Mack. This is ALL he wanted for Christmas!!

This could have easily been his ONLY present and he would have been happy as a clam. He played with it ALLLL day long. I didn't go too overboard this year since he just had a birthday. But once everyone got him 1-2 gifts he still came home with a huge pile of new stuff.

After Aiden played with his Santa gifts for awhile, and the rest of the family woke up, we all opened gifts together. Everyone had a GREAT Christmas and got lots of fun stuff.

This year Mike's parents suprised me with a Coach purse. I cried. They are just SO generous and good to me and Im beyond grateful!  I mentioned over Thanksgiving that I had wanted a Coach slingback so I could shop hands free, without my purse falling off my shoulder....but apparently Alissa and Linda found this on black friday and couldn't pass it up. The purse is gorgeous and im obsessed with the purple inside :) I dont own nice purses... Im too cheap and have never cared for expensive purses. But I LOVE LOVE LOVE this purse and it is now my little baby. I dont even want to put in on the floor of my car or even the seat of a shopping cart. ha!

Then Mike suprised me with the sling back I had wanted!

It was a good Chrismtas had by all!!

After breakfast and presents it was time to shower and get packed up to head to my dad's for Christmas with the Long's!

Aiden took a quick snooze on the way there and was SO eager to play with his best friends Pax and Harper! My dad had an amazing dinner and my grandparents and aunts, uncles and cousins were all there. We  had a special toast to congratulate the  newly engaged couple, Tony and Tara!!After cleaning up dinner, we spent the rest of the evening opening more presents, playing, watching football and just hanging out. Us adults thought it would be a brilliant idea to play poker til 4am. ughhhh. The only good thing that came out of that was ME WINNING!! :) ha!

I didn't take a single pic of Christmas with the Long's but you can go HERE to see my sister's post! Its quite hilarious at the end :)

It was a great Christmas and we were EXHAUSTED come Monday!! Going back to work Tuesday was SOOO hard!!

Aiden was OUT by the time we hit the interstate!! :)

Hope you all had WONDERFUL Christmas's as well!!