SANTA!

Landon's words to Santa,

"I love you, Santa. Can you bring me a big truck now, please Santa?"

Long time, no see...

It's been a long time since I've been here...so long that when I read my last post, I laughed...dieting. Ha.

On October 21, the boys and I took off to my parents in Houston and the whole diet thing...yeeeeah...it's hard to diet at mom's house!

I have been wanting to post this blog so badly, but didn't have access to a computer while we were away and I'm not about to sit on my iPhone for 2 hours trying to type out what I need to say, so here goes...

Jason was gone for 35 days...the longest 35 days of my life. He was in Oklahoma City for radar training. I had originally gone to my mom's to visit for a week and a half...I came home, stayed for 3 days, almost lost my mind, and went back. Taking care of EVERYTHING by myself is.not.for.me. I truly felt like a single mom, I cried, I hated it. Even though we have facetime on our phones and we got to talk to Jason everyday, something was always missing... Landon was misbehaving because daddy was gone. Lane was, well, being a newborn. The house was a wreck. I didn't know how to cook dinner and balance everything. I couldn't clean up. Laundry was spilling over. The many, many complaints that I had ever voiced to Jason, I took back in those days. I missed him with my whole heart. I missed him being with us, play fighting with Landon on the floor while I cook dinner. I missed him scooping Lane up when he started to fuss and telling him "it's ok, tough guy", I missed looking forward to him walking through the door at the end of the day, I missed him sitting at the dinner table with us, I missed him going to bed with me, I missed him next to me in church, I missed him in the car, I could go on and on...I missed EVERYTHING. I realized over the last month all the little things that Jason does that help me tremendously. I realized that this is a team and without him, it doesn't work so well. I realized more than ever how deeply in love I am with him. He drives me completely insane sometimes, but still...I'll keep him. With all of that being said, I give props to all the single moms out there and all of those military spouses with their other half deployed...it's a HARD job. Jason met us in Houston the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I was beside myself when I saw his car in front of the house. We spent the rest of the week with family and even got a night out with some of our best friends...minus kids. We are back home now...a family of 4 plus our puppy, Tess, and I'm trying very hard not to complain when Jason leaves his dirty dishes in the sink and socks in the middle of the floor!

Oh, and it's beginning to looks a lot like Christmas!

The dreadful "D" word

Dieting. Yuck. Hate is a strong word, I can honestly say that I hate dieting, I despise it. I haven't seen pre pregnancy clothes since before LANDON was born...you heard that right, LANDON, not Lane. I enjoy food (obviously) and it doesn't help that Jason likes the house to be stashed with Peanut Butter ice cream and taffy cookies. Why can't it just be simple? Like movie star simple? Pop out a kid and look like a million bucks 2 weeks later? After all, I have such good genes! ha.

What is the best diet? There are only a zillion out there. What exercises are best? I need to lose weight in this target area...oh, wait...I have lots of "target areas". Do I hire a personal trainer? That's a buttload of money and where would I find the time? Ohhhhh, and the energy. I feel so tired these days. Some parts combination newborn and toddler and some parts I'm just not healthy.

So, I started last Monday. I'm using an app called myfitnesspal and it's actually working out awesome! It will find the food that you are eating if you type in a keyword or you can actually scan the bar code and it brings up the nutritional information. You input your height, weight, your goal weight, etc. and it will tell you how many calories you need to eat per day. It will also tell you how much of everything you are getting! So I cut the coke zero down to one a day (the caffeine headaches were horrendous for 2 days in), I am drinking TONS of water, I cut ALL sweets (sadface), and I'm NOT exercising. LOL. I will be mustering up the energy for that soon enough (I need a jogging stroller first! That's my excuse for now). Oh, and I am not counting calories on the weekends, but I am still sticking to VERY minimal sweets (can't I have just ONE cookie?), and if I want other food items, I will have them. Diets don't like me and I don't like them...if I try to do it 7 days a week, I will FAIL. I'm putting this public, maybe it will keep my butt in gear, I hope.

And yeah, I'm down 2 lbs (only many, many more to go)! Holla!

p.s. I will miss you, my beloved shortbread cookies.

To nap or not...

Most parents of babies and toddlers can pretty much agree that nap time is important, like one of the most important things in life. I'm not laughing, this is not a joke. ha. I find myself turning down invites to certain things because it interferes with nap time. We.do.not.miss.nap. Plain and simple...or is it? Jason and I have been struggling over the past couple of weeks on whether or not Landon really needs a nap anymore. He turned 3 in August. Before now, the bear (a.k.a. Landon) came out around 11 am, we would put him down, he would sleep until we woke him up, and bam...he would would wake up ready for round 2. Not happening like this anymore. NOW, the bear is in hibernation most days. In it's place is this sweet, lovey dovey toddler...how dare we put him down for a nap?

Yesterday was one of those days. I had to take care of some business at the doctor for myself, Jason stayed home with Landon, I took Lane. I came home to this perfect little 3 year old. "Mommy! I missed you!" followed by lots of hugs and kisses. It was after noon and Jason told me that he had been so well behaved all morning, he probably would be fine without a nap. Minutes later, Jason walked out the door for work (for those that don't know, Jason works shift work). The kids and I had a great day, a lazy one, but a great one. Landon played quietly and was very content...until...

He had been in his room for about 20 minutes playing, I called out to him...no answer. I called again, nothing. I ran in there dreading the worst...he probably choked, he probably snuck out his window (ok, not really), only to find this...



Really? He was sound asleep on his bedroom floor, surrounded by toys and books. Honestly, it melted my heart. Landon has never been the kind of kid to just climb on the couch and take a nap or get so tired, he would fall asleep on the floor...I can count on one hand how many times that has happened in his life. It did melt my heart, but then reality set in...it's only 6 pm! I woke him up quickly and told him that it was beautiful outside and we were going to the park. He was groggy, but agreed it sounded like a great idea. He put on his rainboots and we headed out immediately.

We get to the park, there were about 10 other kids playing. They shared toys with Landon, he played nicely...you would never know that he had just woke up from a 10 minute nap. I played fetch with the dog, cooed with Lane, enjoyed the breeze, and watched the sun as it set. Perfect end to a quiet day (little did I know). We pack up and leave...don't even get in the door and all hell breaks loose. Bear Landon came out in full force. I still have to give this sweaty, filthy toddler a bath, I have to get Lane situated because he's crying in the living room, I've got to get this dog outside. Arrrrgh, patience. Patience is key. I keep my calm. I tell myself this is my fault because we didn't make him go down for a nap, and really...it is. I get him bathed, he screams the whole time, Lane is still in the carrier screaming the whole time...I did manage to get the dog out. haha. He's beyond tired, he's not interested in story time, he's not interested in prayers. He's mad because he doesn't want his pajamas on, I don't fight him...I leave them off. Then he's mad because he wants the pajamas on, I ignore him. He's throwing a giant fit. I pick him up and put him in bed, he's still very angry...he doesn't want me to touch him. I lay next to him and say prayers with him. He's quiet now, Lane is still screaming. I tell Landon I love him, he grunts at me. I leave him with a movie, he falls asleep within minutes.

So after much reading, researching, whatever you want to call it, I've decided...this kid needs a nap. I don't care what the professionals think, I don't care how much they think a kid is supposed to sleep, I AM the professional here, I am his mom and this bear is getting a nap! We will continue to decline invites because we can't miss nap time. Plain and simple. We nap around these parts!



bless-ing

a blessing is a favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness.

Someone told me before Landon was born...

"Enjoy your son, he is God's greatest gift on this earth."

Through the happy times, the rough times, all the times, I always remember that a child is God's greatest gift to us. I am thankful every.single.day. that I am trusted to care for these precious boys of mine, they are the inspiration behind me starting a blog. I want to share with people the strength of my love for them, for my family, for life. This is us, this is our journey.

What if you woke up tomorrow with only the things you thanked God for today?

I will always remember to say thank you.