Cam's 6th Birthday

Last Wednesday evening, we broke the news to Cam that the last part of his spring break would be spent at the beach.  Not just the last part of spring break, but his 6th birthday!  

How is this little guy SIX???

If you can figure it out, please let me know.

The grandparents & aunts left with the boys Thursday morning & Cade and I left after work.  Cade ended up having to work later than expected.   I used the time to run allllll the birthday errands + do all the birthday things + drop the pups off with their sitter for the weekend.

Side note:

Cam decided last minute he wanted a golden ninja party, so that required some creativity.

By the time we left, it was about 7:30 pm.

We hit traffic head on.  Until the sun went down, I worked on building Cam's cake topper, a golden ninja dragon kit deal.  Cade continuously taunted of how I'd lose all the pieces, & homegirl didn't lose one piece.  I put it away as soon as the sun went down & finished the next morning!

Once we got out of the traffic, we turned up the 2k hits & floored it.

 We literally made it through all the 2002-2010 Spotify playlists, yall.

Arguing all the way over the ones we wanted to listen to in true married peeps fashion.

I have an awesome playlist now thanks to that labor of love.

Cade started struggling about 3 hours away (I had drank a coffee for the first time in 3 months-so I was feeling good!).  Though I offered to drive numerous times, Cade is stubborn like that.
At our last gas stop, he downed a 5 hour energy + Red Bull, while I resorted to boiled peanuts😂 

We rolled in about 3:30 am.

Conley & Cam were in our room at like 6 Friday morning.  

YOLO!

Somehow, I got a gust of adrenaline & did not feel tired.
We lounged around the room for the morning, & Cam's table of presents were haunting him.
I'd say by 9:30 am he had opened everything.

First, he asked for a fish aquarium from us.  How random is that?
For weeks, maybe months, he told us he wanted fish.
Then, very recently he brought a fundraiser home from school that promised if you sold 45,323,424 items you would win a Nintendo (*Contendo Switch) *Cam & Con terminology.  He was "determined" to "win" it & it's so hard to explain these fundraisers AND claw machine prizes to him.🙄
Thank you evil people for making parenting even harder than it is!
Saying no is an option though, & I'm not against that.  I will say we exercise it regularly-but it is a lot easier when you have an explanation.

SO, I suggested that it may be better to ask for it for his birthday.
Well, though not as cool as "winning" it, that's just what he did.
And just like that...there went our tax money.  Lol.

Before we braved the chilly 60-70 weather for the beach & pool, we went to eat a quick lunch & popped into a touristy shark stop.  As we drove around the city, it was crazy to me to see all the damage from the hurricane that happened this past October.  So much devastation & destruction!  Not just to the buildings, but even to the pool & hot tub we usually go to.  They were still closed down d/t the sand caked in the bottom.  We had to travel a good distance for warm water!
But that didn't stop most of our crew.  They hopped in the ocean AND the cold pools.
While I trailed behind in several layers, sweatpants, and a huge sweatshirt.

Conley was in love with the sand & throwing it everywhere, while Cam was in love with trying his darn best to use his goggles in an inch of water.  I wish I could have captured their faces the entire time they swam in the pool.  I was afraid, like the past two summers, we'd have to start all over again with getting them in the water, but they popped right in.  You couldn't wipe the smile off Con's face😁
Much to my husbands excitement, it was an all you can eat crab leg buffet for supper.
We had to drag him out in time to throw Cam a mini party.

\

Call it old age or pregnancy, I just can't hang these days past 9 pm.  Cade can't either so I guess it's old age, but I'll call it the life of hard working parents🤷🏻‍♀️. What began as attempt to put Conley to sleep led to me waking up at 3 am in what I wore to dinner.
#momprobs

Saturday we went out for breakfast, my favorite time to go out for a meal 😉
Then, Cam conned all family into contributing to items for his Nintendo (*Contendo Switch) during a quick stop at Best Buy.  That six year old is set for life now.

For the next day out in the sun, I actually joined everyone & put on a bathing suit as it crept into the 70's quicker that day, & we ALL got in the heated pool & hot tub.  It wasn't terrible, and  I totally did it for the birthday boy & his baby brother side kick.  Why do days in the sun go by so quickly?  Before we knew it, it was time for dinner!  We were super excited for Captain Anderson's, my favorite PCB restaurant.

I haven't been able to eat much, but what I did eat, it was great!  And Cade even surprised me with some key lime pie to go.  Then it was off to Cam's request for bowling.  Turns out, it was a 45 minute wait to bowl, so they gladly opted to waste money at the arcades.  Perfect end to a perfect day.


Gosh, I'm getting rusty at all this storytelling!  Sorry for all the rambling with really no points...
While this mini vacay was fast & we did A LOT of driving, but I'd like to think we won't remember that, just all the fun together celebrating Cam's sixth birthday!
Cant wait to go back this summer!
Hope you all had a great weekend
XO

Surprise! Our Sweet Baby A #3!

We are over the moon excited about our new baby on the way!

I can't believe I'm only 2 weeks away from being into the second trimester-

& boy, am I EVER ready if it promises a relief from feeling so puny all the time!

It's taken me a long time to come to the keyboard to type all this out.
I just don't even know where to begin.  I want to remember it, but I'm always afraid to start because I'm afraid I'll forget something.  That has been the biggest challenge for me in blogging lately.
 I've got to do better!

In January, one little work out changed it all.  After I finished that morning, I felt so weird.  Dizzy.  Fatigued.  Heart racing.  Out of breath.  Just not normal. 

I don't know why but I just had a nudge to take a pregnancy test given how I felt.

I did a double take when I seen "PREGNANT" pop across the screen.

I took 4 more to make sure.  Yep.  All said pregnant.

I met Cade outside that evening when he got home from work & shared the news!

It took us a while to believe it, but once we did, the excitement and reality of it set in.

We kept a pretty good secret for almost 2 months.

That's record for us!

On my birthday, Cam asked me 3 times if I was "pregnant."
"Mom, your belly is fat!  Are you pregnant??"
From the mouth of a 5 year old, right?  I knew it was time to tell everybody.
That night, we told the boys.  Cam was super excited, he had to write the date on his calendar and kept saying "I wish it would come right now!"  He couldn't wait to tell his big brother news at school when they had share time.  Conley was a little confused in understanding but kissed my belly before we went upstairs for bed that night & said "der's a baby in der?".
They both want a sister, or so they've consistently said.  My mom said Conley told her he wanted a brother once.  Conley says if he has a girl he wants to name her boy.

I imagined we would schedule a photographer to catch cute announcement pictures, but given how long we had waited & the fact that it was time to tell, we ended up snapping a picture ourselves & face timing all our family to share the news (not how I planned it), Cam being the bearer of the good news.  I think we shocked a few people;)
And of course, the inevitable facebook announcement to really make it official.😋

A few things about the first trimester...

-If I forget my nausea medicine at any time, I am miserable.  

-If I crave anything, I don't know why when I get it.  Nothing is very rewarding after I eat it, but I have to eat, or I feel even worse!

-I've already been to the doctor twice, I go for the first "big appointment" this Tuesday!  Let this sweet journey begin❤️  

-Never have I ever seen my belly morph at a quicker speed...

-My best friends are lemon essential oil + B12 vitamins

-We are going to find out the gender...when?  End of April/Early May.  A blood test would cost us anywhere from 400-8000 dollars SO... we will wait.  I really wanted to announce it with the gender (but my baby bump was having no part in hiding out that long!  Especially if I am having to wait until 16 weeks)

-Starbucks Mango Dragonfruit refresher with or without lemonade...
perfect pregnancy drink.  I have craved this & it seems to settle my stomach.  Also, half and half teas with lots of lemon!

-Coffee has been an absolute NO, up until this week.  I could not even fathom the idea of a cup...and it's been that way with all three of my pregnancies.  I've been without it for almost 3 months!

-Baby A #3 wasn't planned per se...we knew we'd like to have our third in the fall/winter of 19/20 but wasn't sure how it would unfold.  I like it better when God takes control, myself!  Even though baby & Conley will have birthdays within one week of one another if it all goes as expected.

March 8th

And now, in the live story that has unfolded on this blog-I'm thirty one.

I think I started this blog when I was 24.  No babies, no idea of life as it is now.

Here we are...March 2019!

I had one of the best birthdays I've ever had yesterday.

The school system I work at randomly had the day the day off, so no school for me!

Pretty sure there isn't a better gift than a day off though, right??🙌🏻

It was definitely a mental health day.

Besides dragging the boys out of bed for a dentist appointment that ended up being a month late.

We walked in the door with Conley screaming, "I don't want to brush my teeth!" and a "Are you sure you're at the right place?" to "Ahhhh, I see what you've done, the appointment was February 8th."

Great, thanks lady.

The kids who took blood, sweat, and tears to drag, dress, & have at the dentist by 8:30 were now crying over the fact they couldn't stay and play the cool video games the spotted in the waiting area.

I could swear to y'all that I made it ON my birthday b/c I had the day off, but, I am thirty one now.👵🏻

We ran to see daddy at the job & deliver some checks, then we met C at Einsteins Bagels for some coffee (the first time I've had a sip in TWO months!🤢. More on that later)

Conley was covered in bagel smear & play doh by the time we left.

Later that day, I have promised them ever since Valentines Day we could go to Chuck E. Cheeses (b/c Aunt KK sent them gift cards-that they LOST!).  Given that I let Cam stay out for a dentist appointment, I had decided this would be a good opportunity -especially with all the rain + cabin fever.  Chuck E. Cheeses doesn't open until lunch, though.  #cryfest

I gave them the option of going home or loafing around until it opened.

They finally agreed they would go to Target for a matchbox car.  

I kid you not, they were pretty much angels & the walk through Target was not painful!

I scored a few things on clearance.  If you are looking for home things, now is the time!

By the time we were done at the "terget circles" it was time for the mouse + pizza.

Their faces tell it all.

They had a blast until it was time to leave.  Let me rephrase that.  Until it was time for Cam to leave.  He pitched a good one over not having enough tickets to get a prize off the shelf (& that I wouldn't go to Target to get him the toy he wanted).

I felt a bit hopeless in that moment.

The boys needed batteries so we made one last stop on the way home to our Target.

It was pouring the rain, so instead of wrangling the boy pack, we got slushies & my Starbucks free bday drink (I always look forward to that!) & sat at the window playing eye spy UNTIL Conley had to poop.  Every mom knows a good adventure ends in a public restroom poop.

SO we loaded up the state of Tennessee & squeezed into a tiny stall to wait.

And wait a looooonnnnngg time.

Long enough for the boys to hear two little girls in the stall beside us converse:

Girl in stall: "Im sorry, it's diarrhea!"

Girl outside stall: It's okay!

That was the WRONG thing to say, girls.

Conley's evil grin appeared as he sat there on the toilet & he shouted "DIARRHEAAAAAA!

The boys died laughing, much, I'm sure to those little girls dismay.

Are swirly's permissible from a mom?

I thought about it.  Not gonna lie.

That was the end of the Target trip.

We went home & spent the rest of the day cleaning house & doing laundry.

When Cade came home, he brought the sweetest little pile of gifts.  Not only from him and the boys, but from family.  Squall fest.  

The donuts.  There's a back story.  

He loves donuts & since we moved to Knoxville, he discovered the Krispy Kreme hot light.

I beg to try the gourmet donuts every now and then & he refuses b/c he is sold on KK price & the hot sign.😂. So selflessly, in spite of the hot light sign right beside Status Dough, he grabbed 3 boxes of specialty donuts for my birthday.  The sacrifice!

I love that boy!

To top the day off, after Cam asked me three times if I was pregnant because I am fat...

what a way with words.  I decided I wasn't going to try to hide it anymore.

By the end of the day, we called up all the fam, & eventually announced to everyone that we are expecting baby #3!!

More on that later:)