recent pictures of the kiddos.

Here are some recent pictures of the kiddos:

Harper.

Hayden.

Together.

what's going on with me lately.

• People have asked me if Harper is doing "better" or if she is still throwing fits and being feisty. The short answer is: no. The long answer is that she is still feisty and throwing fits, because that is Harper. She is a challenging, little firecracker. I am just trying to work with her and limit the outbursts as much as possible. It/She is a work in progress!
• We are going on a  family trip next week to The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia. Notice that I did NOT say "vacation," because with the kids involved it is not a vacation. I'm keeping my expectations realistic. We will have a great time and we will make wonderful memories. There will be moments of relaxation and more moments of chaos and excitement. The main thing I am dreading are the plane rides there and back. I'm not worried about Hayden. He should be fine. Harper is another story. She has never flown and with her exuberant personality, I imagine the plane rides are going to be VERY challenging. She doesn't sit. She goes. She isn't quiet. She is loud. It might be a mess. Hopefully I maintain my sanity. I am going to try and be as positive, laid-back, and accommodating as I possibly can be. Wish me luck.
• I have been working really hard lately with my volunteer roles for both the Junior League and Peace at Home. For the Junior League, I have been working on The Winter Dreams Tour of Homes (we are still contracting homes, so if anyone is interested - just let me know!). For Peace at Home, I have been working on their Dine Out for Peace event. Dine Out for Peace is an event in which local restaurants will be donating a percentage of their proceeds to Peace at Home - it is scheduled to occur Thursday, October 4th. I have been working on getting local restaurants to participate in the event.
• I have worked a break into my schedule for this evening and I am going to get about 2 hours of alone time without the kids. All by myself. I am pumped. Thanks to my mother-in-law for taking Harper for a little playdate and Randy for taking Hayden to his drum lessons. Mommy needs to chill out and relax! I plan on relaxing, eating some yummy oatmeal (I love steel cut oats oatmeal), and watching tv. Delightful!
• In addition to my mini-break tonight, I am also going to get a break this weekend! Prior to our trip, I decided that I needed to "rest" and get ready for the trip. SO, my mother-in-law and her sister will be watching the kids this weekend. Woop woop! 

weekend trip to the Lakehouse with the Nix family.

This past weekend we went to the Lakehouse with some of my most favorite people - Don, Leslie, and Jack Nix.

We had a great time - even me. Even though it wasn't a "vacation" per se, it was awesome. Seriously. I had a great time. I got to hang out with some fabulous people, rest a bit, and watch the kids have a glorious time. It really was a fun trip.

Following are the pictures from our weekend trip to the Lakehouse.

hayden hanging on the couch with his binoculars

harper feeding randy a chip

the boys eating blueberries

the boys with their cars

don fell asleep with watching tv with the boys

randy and harper are heading toward the camera

and here they are!

harper with a truck that she then threw at me

don and leslie - i'm not sure what he is doing with his hand and the cup

harper in the shower with a toothbrush

dance party!

last picture of harper before we headed home

last picture of the boys before we headed home

in a funk and it's not fun.

I am in a funk friends and like the title of this post says - it is not fun.

I am busy. Life is hectic. It's good (for the most part), but it's busy. I do keep having dreams about my friend who passed away recently. Most of the dreams are good, but it's still hard.

Hayden has been sweet, but he does have needs and he deserves to have them met. So obviously he requires love, attention, time, and energy - as does my husband.

Which I don't have much of lately because of this sweet, little thing:

Sweet Harper Grace is going through a rough phase. She is teething and she is a feisty toddler who is being very challenging. I am sure most parents can relate to this - although I will say that I think Harper is exceptionally challenging!

Also, her personality and my own are not similar. It makes it difficult for me to parent her. I try, but bless her heart, she wears me out. Seriously. 

It hurts my heart to see her sad and to hear her cry. It really does. The noise is painful to my ears.

Also, aside from when she is asleep, she is constantly on - CONSTANTLY. It is unremitting energy. And she has a lot of it. 

She is throwing fits and exerting her needs - and she is exerting them quite a lot.

I know it is normal. I know this. But it is still hard for me. 

I need breaks and I am not getting them. I am just too busy. The breaks I do get are to attend meetings or go to appointments. There have been some moments on weekends when I have gotten breaks (thanks to my MIL and my husband's aunt). I am using them mostly to work and do errands - and to relax a little. 

But during the week, it gets intense. I get so overloaded and overwhelmed with the "noise."

It all comes and goes in cycles. Some days are good. Some days are not. Some weeks are good. Some weeks are not. Right now the days are not good - and it all boils down to sweet Harper and how she is doing.

As a stay-at-home mom, my world/mood is largely contingent of the mood and behavior of my children. Is this normal? I don't know. But it does seem to be my reality lately. I am a sensitive person and I am highly influenced by my surroundings. Right now, my surroundings are a bit volatile. There are happy moments too - don't get me wrong. And I am trying really hard to focus on them - I am. But sometimes that isn't easy.

hayden, the police, and getting pulled over.

The other day, Randy got pulled over by the police for speeding. It was pretty lame. He was going 35 mph when the speed limit was 25 mph.

We were all in the car. Hayden thought it was awesome. He kept trying to chat with the policeman. 

The police officer ended up just giving Randy a warning. He also gave us some temporary tattoos for the kids.

Immediately afterwards on our way home, Hayden said, "I want to do that again. That was fun." 

Um 'no' - getting pulled over by the police is not something we want to make into a regular family activity!

I explained to Hayden that it's not good to be pulled over by the police. You only get pulled over when you do something wrong. 

He said that he liked the police though and that he wanted to get more temporary tattoos. I told him that I was glad he liked the police and that we can get some temporary tattoos through other means!

Funny boy.

harper's first masterpiece.

Today I set Harper up with crayons and paper and had her create her first drawing.

She had a fun time creating her masterpiece (and throwing the crayons on the floor) and she surprised me by actually holding the crayon correctly (for the most part). 

In all, it was a fun experience that I am glad I documented.

she looks so big and grown up to me in this picture.

the final product

lakehouse trip - not a vacation.

This past week/weekend we went to the lake and spent time at my family's Lakehouse. We had a good time. But I have to admit, that I am not "Lakehouse Friendly." I try to enjoy myself and relax, but it's not easy for me. Honestly, it's more work than fun for me. The main reasons being that I'm out of my comfort zone both in terms of my "schedule/routine" and my "comfort place" (being my home) and more importantly the existence of my young children - mainly Harper.

I can overcome the comfort zone aspects, but I can't overcome the kid part. Yes, I am a creature of habit and I prefer to stick to my routine - but, I can overcome that (even though my family members probably don't believe me when I say it). 

The kids are another story. They are work. Well, Hayden is pretty easy now. But as soon as Hayden became easy, in came Harper. Harper is not easy. She is a toddler. She is a needy, dependent being. That is just where she is in life. She is also very challenging right now. So when she is present (which she pretty much always is) then I am in mom-role and it's work. I can "let go" a little bit while others are watching her, but then I tend to feel guilty for not "working" - like I am a lazy, slacker mom and I shouldn't get a break (I know that I shouldn't feel that way and I am working on not feeling that way).

Anywho - suffice it to say that until Harper is 3 or 4-years-old, going to the Lake/Lakehouse is not going to be a relaxing vacation for me. Eventually it will be. I am convinced of that, but right now it's not. For me, travelling anywhere with young children is not a vacation. There are nice aspects of it and I do enjoy spending time with my family and making memories, but as a whole it is not relaxing.

Oh and add to the fact, that Harper HATED riding in the boat and could have died in a "stair incident" - I am serious when I note that this past lake vacation was not really a "vacation." But that's okay. I can accept that and enjoy the trip for what it is - a trip to the lake with my family.

And here are the pictures to prove it:

playing with the kiddos in the hot tub

me with my boy

still playing

the "scene"

randy with snuggled harper

me with snuggled harper

randy with snuggled hayden

randy lifting the heavy "sack of potatoes" - he really is heavy (he weighs 50 pounds now)

at dinner - harper doesn't do a great job of sitting in her high chair

the boys

on our mule adventure- i am not sure what hayden's expression is about

it was my parents' anniversary - my dad got her a lovely new ring. she is showing it off. they were being pretty silly.

harper playing peek-a-boo

hayden wanted to have his picture taken - a lot. 

hayden took this picture of himself with my phone

my dad invited lots of people over for dinner. it was a party.