My Daunting Task for 2015

Ahhhhh yes. How the picture in my previous post rings so, SO, true. (You can read the previous post here) Lets just say I'm tackling a goal I had set since Talan's 1st birthday. 4-1/2 years and 2 brothers later. I figure if I not only write it down, but put it out there for the world to see, I may just accomplish it.

I used to consider myself a very organized person. I mean, I was on top of things. Organized or pack rat, same difference. I saved and filed EVERYTHING. (I just threw out pay stubs I've had since 2000 and utility bills, from I don't even know how long ago, before we moved. Travis INSISTED on me downsizing my files.) I mean, I even have all of our candid shots taken at our wedding, in photo albums. It's seriously amazing to think that I not only got CD's of our pictures from people, but I PRINTED them AND stuck them in a photo album!

Then came the year of our precious Talan David. Holy Moly first born son, you were the bees knees and we probably took 5,000 pictures...in your 1st month. How in the world would I print all these cute and adorable pictures and fit them into photo albums where his first year of books wouldn't take up a few bookshelves in itself? By month 6, I remember buying the biggest photo album I could find and filling it FULL of months 1-3. Wait, what? 3 months? I have 18 years with this kid and one photo album is only his first 3 months? That's when my obsession with pictures and the drive to stay organized with pictures came to a screeching halt.

I don't remember if it was when we graduated high school, or when it was, but I do remember my mom going through all of our pictures and dividing them out for who's picture should go to whom, and the 4 of us kids receiving all of our beloved childhood pictures, in a box...with a brand new photo album to put them into ourselves. I LOVED these types of projects, but that's also when I had in my mind, at possibly 18 years old, how organized I would keep my kids' photos and how exciting it would be to hand them over one day. Funny. And the pictures I received in a box, by the way...was about the same amount as what I took of our first born in his first 3 months of life. Oh how I have a love/hate relationship with this new digital world we're in. Do you really think our parents whipped out a camera the 1st time we ate spaghetti!? Doubtful. Do I have a picture of the first time Talan ate spaghetti? Absolutely!...along with his first rice cereal taste, first blueberries taste, first yogurt experience. I mean the list of his first foods is ridiculous, but I sure have proof that I fed him and was introducing him to new foods! Did our parents take pictures of our new shoes EVERY TIME we got a new pair? And I mean, JUST the shoes. That would be a NO! Do I have pictures of just Talan's shoes out of the box and then just his feet in his new shoes? Duh! I mean, they are so cute and little, and HELLO...stylish!

This is when I realized not only do I have a problem, but also...I am NEVER going to put all these pictures in a blessed photo album; which is when a light bulb went off. Shutterfly books! I would choose the highlights/favorites of each year and make a book for every year! (How would I choose favorites? They're ALL worth highlighting and being put in a book, right?) Well, this task has been on my list of goals at the start of every. single. year. since Talan has turned 1. And the number of books I have?...ZERO! I am now NINE years behind! How am I nine years behind you might ask? Talan is 5, Grayson is 3 and Kylan is 1. And that's not even including if my husband and I want to remember all those precious years and have books for ourselves.

So yesterday I got to work. I am officially overwhelmed. I plan to work on 1 book a month. That gives me 9 months. What will I do with the remaining 3 months? Work on their current years of course. As they will ALL  have had birthdays this year. Oy. Why can't I freeze time?...or be a night owl or a morning person so that I can accomplish this task when I have no interruptions? By the time 2016 rolls around, don't be surprised if I never take a picture. ever again.

To all you overachieving Pinterest moms, please don't judge me. I wish I were just like you :)

Flush Your Fears

It's been a while. One of my goals for 2015 is to blog more, do facebook less. Problem is, I can't force a blog. I need something to be inspired about. To make the words flow. To write something meaningful. Something that will want people to come back for more. I probably over think it, and that in itself, may be a fear. That my blog is boring and uninspiring.
As I woke up this morning to the most wonderful birthday posts on my facebook wall, I was scrolling through my news feed and one particular post caught my eye, and must have struck a chord in me that goes so deep, I was, and still am, holding back tears. It was a post by a fellow Younique presenter/leader about 'flushing your fears'.
Many of you may see my posts and think I'm the one that will post daily about funny antics my boys do or say. I laugh. A lot. I love my life with my boys, husband included. I take and post pictures. Probably post a motivational and inspiring quote here and there. Throw in some recipes and posts about my Younique business, and that's my life. All rosy. Easy peasy. Right?

I've always loved this quote. You probably see other people's posts, and have different views of others as well. Everyone creates their own "facebook image". It's easy to hide behind a computer screen and create this image of bliss. But lets be real for a moment.
We all have fears. What you may not know about me, is that I have many fears. I say silent prayers to God throughout the day. A lot. I struggle to overcome my fears daily. Fear is a powerful thing. It's what can hold us back from our full potential in life. That's why I love the New Year so much.
It's a time where I can allow myself to be fearless. I feel like I can conquer the world. I even write my goals down as if nothing will get in my way. And then...January 1st happens. Fear gets in the way. The fear of not accomplishing what I set out to do just the night before. The fear of failure. This particular post I came across on January 1st really hit home...as much as it also made me laugh.

But it also hit home in a good way. To finally put my fears aside and just go for it. So, as this picture shows, I got one SMALL task out of the way that I had put on my "goal" list since 2011. The year Grayson was born...(and no, it wasn't a fear, but more of a procrastination. Ha)

Yup, pretty silly. I finally sorted out all of the boys' Christmas ornaments and got them their own, individual box to store their very OWN ornaments or decorations in. Something they can look forward to every year, the way I remember looking forward to going and opening MY OWN box of MY ornaments. It was a magical feeling every Christmas. But even FINALLY getting around to do this one VERY small task, felt awesome. It felt like I could move on to something a little "bigger", possibly something that IS a fear. The point of showing you this, is the same point Dave Ramsey makes when you work on your Snowball debt. Paying off your smallest debt, no matter how small, gives you a feeling of accomplishment and like you can move on to something bigger. Right?...Which may in turn mean accomplishing a fear!

So my 'word' for 2015 will be 'Fearless'. We will always have fears. It's a part of life. But it's time to conquer some of those fears. My wish for each of you, is to have a fearless 2015.

We're Moving!

Wow has it been a while since my last post. Poor Grayson didn't even get a "Happy 2nd Birthday!" blog, and baby Kylan didn't get a "Welcome Kylan Jack!" blog. So...there ya have it. Grayson turned 2  (November 2nd) and 6 days later we welcomed Kylan Jack into the world (November 8th). I've been trying to think of a good descriptive word to describe the last 4 months with three little boys, 4-1/2 and under, but I can't think of just one word. A few words, however, would be 'exhaustion', 'busy', 'someone is always needing their butt wiped', 'comical', 'time management is brought to a whole new level', 'LOUD', and 'love'.

The main reason for not "blogging", is because at the end of my pregnancy I was exhausted and lazy, and after I gave birth, I've been exhausted and busy :) The boys will go to bed, and I think this is one out of a handful of nights that I didn't go to bed within 10 minutes after tucking them in. And surprisingly, it's not because it was a relaxing day and I have all this energy, I finally got a 2nd wind I've been asking to get for a long time now! (Come morning and I'll be sorry I got my 2nd wind I'm sure)

If you're friends with me on FB, you most likely hear stories that happen day to day, because...lets face it, I have 3 boys, I stay home with them, and FB ends up being my sounding board to voice what I'm thinking or funny stories that may have just happened that I just HAVE to share, because who likes to laugh alone, right? And, like I said, I've been too tired to sit down and blog after my day, so FB ends up being quick and easy. I like quick and easy these days. You may have seen my many posts about going through 33 years of my life. Cleaning out every little drawer, box, tupperware bin, folder, you name it, I'm going through it. The reason for going through everything we possibly own is not because I am doing some major Spring Cleaning, but because we will be moving to Arizona the end of May! Yes...you read it right! We. Are. Moving. So on top of taking care of 3 little boys, my other full time job is trying to DOWNSIZE. Toss, donate, sell or keep. It's a MAJOR project. If it were up to Travis, we would be moving down there with practically nothing. I'm not exaggerating.

We are VERY excited about this new adventure we're about to begin, and anxious to start a new chapter in our lives with our little family. After almost 12 years at Kids' Hair, I will say goodbye. (who would have thought what started out as a part time job to go back to school would turn into a full time job, go through the Assistant Management Training Program, become a Corporate Trainer, a Manager, and end as a Temp/Fill-In Stylist with life long friends and MANY memories!) I will be forever grateful to them for allowing me to grow and learn so much! I will also have to say goodbye to many adult clients that I wish could still come and see me every 6-8 weeks! I thank my "little" and "big" clients for their loyalty and allowing me to make them look fabulous! After almost 7 years, Travis' last day at Target will be May 9th. I am confident that everything he has learned at Target will only allow him to do great things in his new adventure! Talan turns 5...FIVE!!!...on May 21st, his last day of school is May 23rd, and we're saying "see you later" to Minnesota on May 24th! Yes, it will be sad to leave our family and friends and our home state. The only place we know. But we know our family will ALWAYS be our family and stay close to our hearts. (I'm the only sibling on my side left in MN anyways :)) We're hoping people will choose Arizona as a vacation spot every now and then too.

Once we get down to AZ, Travis will start classes to be able to get his real estate license and work with his brother. I will be getting our family settled and will start working on building my Scentsy business in a new state, which I'm very excited about and will be forced to get out of my comfort zone, while also hoping to stay connected with my most awesome customers and team here in MN.  Talan will be starting Kindergarten at ASU Prep (a charter school), where his 2 cousins also go, at the end of July already! Not sure this Mama is ready to have a KINDERGARTNER! Eeeeekkkkk!!! Once things calm down and adjustments have been made, along with getting used to new schedules, we will decide if I will get a part time job at a salon or not. We feel the sky is the limit and God will help guide us exactly where we are meant to be. I'm excited to let our talents shine through.

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Ohhhh The Many "Phases" of a Child

Imagine that, the "reason" for prompting another blog is...Grayson. Oh my sweet, dramatic, 2nd child, what ever are we going to do with you!?!

If you "follow" my facebook statuses, and even this blog, you may know that Grayson is my crazy, silly, loud, BIG personality child. Whereas Talan is my more reserved and quiet child. He likes to observe before he jumps into anything. He actually is very funny (in my opinion), but he's serious, so he doesn't WANT to be funny or for you to laugh. Everything he says or does is because he means it. Grayson LOVES getting a reaction and have you laugh at him. So funny how different they are. 

With that being said, Grayson is going though a MAJOR stranger danger phase. I don't even know if you would call it stranger danger though. It's with almost everyone except Mom, Dad and Talan! Family he may see almost daily or weekly even! Talan went through the phase of only wanting Mama, but NOT to this extent! But remember, Grayson is dramatic. Ha! He will be eating breakfast in the morning, and "Gramps" walks in and he immediately covers his face and looks down. Won't look at him, won't talk to anyone, won't eat, nothing! He has actually stayed this way with people in the room for over an hour. He does NOT give in. When someone new walks up, he turns around and runs as fast as he can to me for me to pick him up, and if I dare try to put him down, he cries/screams for what seems like forever. I don't like to call it "time out", because I don't really think it's naughty behavior, but I do set him on the couch with his "kiki" and tell him he needs to calm down. It works MOST of the time, but he still won't uncover his face. I'm seriously at a loss. It would be different if it were just for strangers or someone he doesn't see as often, but it is a little frustrating with it happening with people he sees daily!

Today was the first time I had to bring him to one of my Dr. appointments. Because of this new "phase", I wasn't worried about him being his loud, busy, silly, self. He acts like a completely different kid in a matter of a second. Not lying.                

Notice the one on the left, he's peeking a little to see if anyone can see him. Then he covered his face completely. Then we got home for lunch, "Gramps" (who he knows very well and even asked where he was) walks in and we get this...

I mean seriously. And of course, as parents, we don't see it as a "phase", but worried he's going to be like this FOREVER! LOL! I swore he was just going to crawl forever because he didn't walk until he was 13 months (Talan walked at 10.5 months), I swore he was just going to babble forever because he didn't have "20 words" at 18 months. Now he says something new every day and people can't believe how much he is actually able to say already. And now this. How long will THIS last??

As for Talan, he had his first day of Pre-K on Wednesday! And boy has he come out of his shell and become a little more confident and outgoing over the summer! It was no more needing his 3 different hugs, 3 different kisses and about 4 goodbyes when I dropped him off. He barely even said goodbye! Ha! Oh how they are always changing. Right when you think you know exactly how they'll act/behave, they have to change it up on you! 

I was so excited to go pick him up, I could hardly stand it! Yes, he went to preschool last year, but it was only 2 days a week for 2.5 hours. This year he's going 3 days a week for 6.5 hours! That's a big deal, I think! I can't wait to watch him grow throughout the year! 

It's also neat to watch the boys miss each other. Grayson was watching Elmo, after a very busy day he had with Mama and Gamma Nell, and I just said "Time to go get Talan!" He was so excited, he jumped up, said "OK!! Bye Bye Elmo!" And headed upstairs before I could even get the TV turned off! When we picked Talan up, he got in the car and right away walks to Grayson's side and says, "Hi Grayson! Remember me?! I'm your brother Talan!" It still makes me laugh a few days later. Grayson just giggled at him.

On the way home, I was asking him how his day was. Now remember, this is my serious child. He responds in a sad voice, "I didn't do good in school." I asked him why and he says, "I didn't remember everything, and I didn't do everything right." My heart sank. I told him that's why he's going to school; to learn! No one expects him to do everything right! And his teacher had just got done telling me that he had a great first day! I don't doubt what she told me was true. It's just surprising to see how kids can already be so hard on themselves at such a young age. 

If you saw a status I put up on facebook about him wanting a lunchbox with a green superhero and yellow flames, notice in the pictures...he settled for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lunchbox (green guys), and his shoes actually have yellow flames on the side! Ha! He saw them and he said "This is just what I was looking for!" Seriously. At 4yrs old, you can already be "looking" for something THAT specific?? 

I can't wait to hear how his 2nd day went in just an hour! Here are his first day of school pictures!

 

As for an update on the hubby and I. We have had a most wonderful summer, but I am glad to see summer go too. Is that a bit contradictory? Probably. We have many family members with birthdays in August (and now a wedding anniversary :)), so I don't want to take that away from them, but August is my least favorite month of the year! I LOVE Fall and getting into the Holiday season, and by August, I'm ALWAYS ready for summer to go away. This summer I went to Hawaii and Indianapolis, our family went to Chicago and up north to Duluth, Trav and I went to New York City, had our 7 year Anniversary in the beginning of September...and this weekend Travis leaves for Arizona to go visit his brothers family and meet our new nephew, Maverick! Can't wait to hear all about it!

In the midst of all the travels, we started an online course called Peace University with Dave Ramsey. (It's a financial course on dumping debt and living a debt free life, giving, saving, building wealth, etc..."living like no one else, so in the future you can live like no one else" :)) Many of you have probably heard of him before, but oh my goodness! Oh how I wish we took this YEARS ago! I'm not going to go into "preach mode" here, but no matter how young or old you are, I would HIGHLY recommend it! Anyways, today I thought I would look online for a clear "Give, Save, Spend" piggy bank for the boys that he talks about. I was expecting to be brought to Amazon or something, but I ended up finding a blog with free printables and I made my own! I had small rope that I had saved from another project, and some good 'ol mason jars, and voila! I have to give a HUGE shout out to my Grandma too! This summer, some family members (I won't say "we", because I was not able to help), cleaned out their house to get ready to sell because my Grandparent's moved into an apartment. Well, before I headed off to Hawaii, I stopped over to say hi to my aunt and cousin who were over there. They had me go through the garage to see if there was anything I wanted, and I grabbed a ton of mason jars. I always see projects on Pinterest with mason jars, and thought I would take them thinking I could find SOMETHING I'll want to do with them some day. Today was the day! I went out to the garage to see what I had even grabbed, and noticed not many of them had lids on them, but I took 3 small ones that had a different lid system, 2 big ones WITH lids, and one without a lid. I'm on the hunt now for either 1 old looking lid, or 3 new looking lids to fit on these mason jars! (Or even more lids so I can use all big jars) But THANK YOU GRANDMA!! Here's what I did with some of your mason jars :) 

                                              

 

I know my boys are only 4 and 22 months, but I can't wait to start using these with them! 

I better stop babbling and go pick up Talan from school! Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great weekend!

  

From 'Super-Mom' to 'I Need a Nap'

It has been one fun-filled and exhausting summer. But after today (it's only 2pm), I just had to finally sit down and blog. It's been another big break in between blogs. Believe it or not, I have started 2 or 3, but just never finished them, and by the time I came back to them, it was old news and the thoughts were gone. But today, I am going to start and finish the same post! I need too...

Funny how everyone always dreads Mondays. Besides the fact that we've been having awesome family fun-filled weekends and my hubby has to go back to work, I actually look forward to Mondays. The start of a new week is refreshing to me. I try not to look at what I didn't accomplish the past week that I WANTED too, but try to make up new goals to go after! And by Wednesday or Thursday, sometimes even Tuesday, I find myself needing to already re-focus and re-motivate myself. It's a constant struggle to balance going after my dreams and what I want to accomplish for myself and for my family with Scentsy, and handle 2 busy boys...soon to be 3! So yes, things tend to get neglected, and I'm STILL trying to figure out the magic potion on how to be a perfect mom, wife and business owner...without hiring a nanny that we can't afford :) Not to mention, this pregnancy has taken a MAJOR toll on my energy level and not feeling as well week to week. So...I look forward to my Mondays and a fresh start :)

This morning until about 1pm, I kind of felt like super-mom! Grayson woke up and we had breakfast together. We came downstairs and read MANY books. Everything was going fine. I had stayed up late the night before to get all my mailings ready to go to the post office, so I just needed to email a few people and start getting ready for the day. Now I don't know if this is typical for every 21 month old or typical for a child who stays home with his mom, or if my child just loves putting me through the ringer, but I seriously can't put him down or leave the room without a complete melt down. I remember Talan going through this phase, but I don't remember it being as intense. Maybe it's because Grayson is a whole 6 months younger than what Talan was when I was pregnant, so I can't reason with him as much as I remember reasoning with Talan, but YIKES! Even reading books, he HAS to sit on my lap, and he keeps backing up onto me because he just can't get close enough with this belly! He ends up sitting ON TOP of my belly, which is uncomfortable to say the least.

After I got both the boys dressed, I put him on my bed (crying) and told him he had to sit there. I quickly got dressed and threw my hair in a pony tail and loaded them up into the car. I had to get to the post office, bank and yes...attempt to go shopping for a shirt and tie for Daddy. Haha. Again, it's Monday and I feel like super women on Monday's :) Finding just the right shirt and tie isn't like picking up a gallon of milk. It is NOT an 'in and out' process! So in the parking lot, I have a talk with Talan. "Talan. listen to Mommy. If you are a good boy and don't start wrestling with your brother and make him scream in the store, I will get you a treat. Do you understand me? I WILL NOT get you a treat if you aren't a good boy!" Something about this conversation really made him know that Mommy meant business today. Lol! (Yep, feeling like super-mom at this moment) So in we went with Talan talking my ear off about the treat he wants, and Grayson already taking his shoes off in the stroller and handing them back to me saying, "here you go!" Oh thanks, buddy! I'm choosing my battles. As long as he's strapped in the stroller, not running around, I can handle him being bare foot. We get in there and started looking. I am the most indecisive person when it comes to matching a shirt and tie with just the right color scheme together. And then to do it with a 4yr old and 21 month old. I start thinking I'm crazy for even attempting this trip, but I keep looking. The boys are starting to get restless. Talan saying "Sorry, Mommy. I won't do it again." Every time he covers Grayson's face with his kiki, which then makes Grayson scream and giggle and try to get out. Wow. I actually felt like I had total control! Besides Grayson pulling things out of the cubby displays, even then I pulled out some pretzels and animal crackers and they were as good as when we first got there! I FINALLY made a decision, made the purchase, and we left. Hooray!

Then we went to go get Talan's treat and I decided we would go eat it at the park so I could let them play some too. This is when my status went from feeling like super-mom to "I need a nap!" We get to the park and within 5 minutes Talan said he had to go potty. I thought it was weird because he had to go when we were at the mall! I told him to go by a tree and he said he couldn't because he had to go poop! Are you kidding me!?! Kid, I just unloaded you and your brother, lugged our lunch and your treat down this hill, got everything opened and situated, and now you have to go poop...with no outhouse in sight!?!? So we packed everything back up and home we went. We got home and I said that I would let him in the house to go potty and I would get Grayson situated out on the picnic table to eat lunch. What next?? Oh yeah...he didn't have to go anymore! Ha, ok Mandy, breathe. So we went to go eat on the picnic table. unloaded everything again, started eating and then Talan decided he needed to go. Oy. OK, I let him in the house and stayed outside with Grayson until Talan needed my help. In the meantime, Grayson finished eating and decided he was done and got down. Well, Talan had moved the picnic table last week to a spot kind of close to the steps, but under more shade. He's like his Daddy. It has an umbrella, but he needed MORE shade. Anyway, Grayson got down took 2 steps back and rolled down 1/2 the stairs. He caught himself somehow, laying on his back on 1/2 a step, crying. I pick him up and immediately move the table back to where it was in the first place. (NOT super-mom at this point) In the midst of calming Grayson down and moving the table back, the milk and Talan's now very soupy M&M McFlurry fell off the table and made a mess all over the cement and picnic table. It's fine, Mandy. Breathe. I got the hose out and started hearing Talan yell for me. "MOM! I need some help in here!!" Quickly hosed the milk and ice cream off of everything, got Grayson inside. And boy did Talan need my help! Holy Moly! If you don't like potty talk, than stop reading...

I go in the house to see him standing in the kitchen with poop smeared all over his thighs! What the heck did he do!?!? I bring him into the bathroom and ask, "Talan! did you not wait until you're completely done?? Why is there POOP everywhere??" His response, "Sorry Mom. I didn't mean to make you mad. I'm really sorry, Mom." Now how can you be upset with a response like that, but seriously?? It was at this moment, I was ready to stop trying and I just needed to sit and do nothing. Grayson started asking for a "baba" in his whiny voice. He only still calls milk a "baba" when he's tired and ready for bed or his nap. I get him his drink of milk (yes, now he only takes 2 drinks and he's done since it's not a bottle), change his diaper and put him down for a nap. I take a deep breath and go get Talan his milk he started asking for at the same exact time as Grayson, and sat down. Without putting a load of laundry in the washer. Without picking up our bedroom. I had to sit.

Lucky for me Grayson went down easy, Talan is pretty much always fine with just hanging out (unless Daddy is home), and I was able to start and finish a blog! Success! Now I've sat long enough and I need to go get the laundry done and email more customers. We leave for New York on Thursday! We get to end the summer going to my step-sister's wedding in New York City...with no kids! Travis and I will be married 7 years in September, and I don't think we've taken a trip without kids! And we didn't travel before kids, so this is a bit exciting :) We love our kids dearly, but to experience a plane ride with no kids will be heavenly!  What an awesome way to end the summer...Can't wait to celebrate with you Kelly and Andrew!

And when we return...it better be Fall :)

Hawaii, a 65th Wedding Anniversary Party, and Another Baby BOY!

So sorry it's been a while. There have been multiple times when I've wanted to "blog" and get my thoughts or stories out there, but every time I had it at the top of my head, I would be driving, running errands, dealing with the boys, etc etc. And by the time the boys would be in bed, that's where I would be headed too!

This past Saturday I came home from the most amazing FREE incentive trip I had earned through Scentsy...HAWAII! The only thing that would have made it even better than what it already was, would be if my hubby was able to be there and experience it all with me! My new goal is going to try and earn the next incentive trip for TWO! In a week and a half I'll be heading to Indianapolis for the Scentsy Family Reunion (Convention), and that's when I will find out where the next incentive trip will be! The biggest obstacle that will be happening during the "qualifying period" will be having a baby, however. And going from 2 to 3 kids. YIKES! It was already quite the challenge this past Holiday Season to put 110% effort into my business, while not neglecting my 2 boys, we'll see how I'll be able to juggle being uber pregnant, have a baby, care for 3 boys AND work a business that I truly love! While looking at what will all be going on during the next qualifying period, I can only keep telling myself that anything is possible if you truly want it and work for it! I NEVER thought I would come close to earning a trip with Scentsy, and I did! But truly, it's all thanks to my extremely supportive husband and family members who helped watch the boys so I could go to my parties (or watch them so I could package up the crazy amounts of Scentsy that was delivered), along with my most wonderful Hostesses, Customers, Team Members, and my awesome Upline who kept pushing me to keep going! I  could never have done it without any of these people. I am forever grateful. Below are just a FEW of the pictures that I took. I didn't post any of the wonderful Scentsy Sisters (or 'cousins' as they would refer to everyone in Hawaii. Lol) I met because I wasn't sure they'd want their pictures in my blog :)

Aloha Hawaii!...Awkward picture by myself. Lol

Breakfast!

Virgin Daiquiri and a Real One :)

We ordered way too much but it was all AMAZING!

My college friend moved to Kauai a few years ago and flew over to Oahu to see me! Thanks Brooke!

Fish in a pond outside the hotel

I went Paddle Boarding!

Making a headband and bracelet at the luau

Pretty headband was NOT cute on. Lol

Hawaii tattoo painted on

All the Hawaii Incentive Trip Earners before our beach themed dinner!
Mahalo Scentsy!

When I landed, Travis and the boys picked me up and we went straight to my Grandparent's 65th Wedding Anniversary Party! My relatives (most of them) were there from Washington, which was so fun! Times are far and few between when we get to spend time with those cousins. It was fun to have all the 2nd cousins running around, playing together as well! I know my boys LOVED it! Besides seeing relatives, it was such fun to be able to celebrate the most special couple in my life. I love my Grandparents dearly, and feel blessed that they are still here with us.

              

               

All the grandchildren minus 2 were able to make it!

And on to this Monday. Monday was the dreaded ultrasound. Most people can't wait for the ultrasound and being able to see their baby. Even though both the boys we have are perfect in every way (in our eyes:)), their ultrasounds were a different story. With Talan and Grayson, they BOTH had a white spot on their heart, which is one of a million "markers" for possible down syndrome. By the time we had Grayson's ultrasound, we weren't worried at all. We had Talan's level 2 ultrasound and everything was fine, except still seeing the "white spot", therefor the news with Grayson wasn't as big of a deal. They still wanted to have us do a level 2 ultrasound to make sure everything was OK. So back we went. Yep, the "white spot" was still there and there were no other signs for downs. However, they couldn't tell if it was the shadowing of the ultrasound or if he had a cleft lip. They brought in different ultrasound techs to get opinions, along with different Dr's. As I would be laying there with tears welling in my eyes, trying to hold back from completely melting down, they couldn't give us a for sure answer. They couldn't tell us if it was a shadow, if it was a cleft, if his pallet was going to be affected, nothing. Regardless if anything was wrong with either of our babies, we knew we would love them just the same. It's just hard not hearing that everything is "perfect". For those of you that do know us, Grayson was born with the most minor incomplete cleft lip and had a repair surgery when he was 10 weeks old. He now sports a cute little scar, but honestly, if you don't know him, you would never be able to tell he had a cleft lip. His pallet wasn't involved at all either. We are truly blessed. And everything about him goes with his personality. I wouldn't trade him for anything.

Morning of Surgery

After Surgery. Poor Buba's had to wear "no-no's" so he wouldn't bump his lip

                                    

6 months and a HAM!

My handsome healed up little guy at 1year!

So back to our appointment. We waited for quite some time. We spoke with a genetic specialist, and waited some more. Travis whispers to me, "it's like they already know somethings wrong, and they're waiting to give us the news." The genetic specialist calls us back into her office before the ultrasound. She looked up Cyclic Vomiting Syndrom, which I told her I had when asked about our health history. (I had told the genetic specialist we had with Grayson as well, but they left it at that.) When she told me she found some information on genetics with CVS, I had to tell myself to keep listening. Don't cry. It's fine. (And why do they always have to give you news when your hormones are already going crazy!? I mean seriously!) As she was talking all I heard was "it can be passed down maternally". I stopped listening and broke down. No, it's not the end of the world. They can't die from it, but it is definitely life changing in many ways. The research is too new to even tell us the probability or the statistics of it being passed down. All I can do is pray. I NEVER want to watch my children go through what I went through as a child. I'm still dealing with it as an adult, but on a much different scale. And...I've learned to just "deal". I'm surrounded by a supportive family who has helped whenever they can with the boys. It has been tricky here and there to have it as a mom, since I now not only have to care for myself when episodes happen, but also care for 2 little boys. 

The ultrasound, however, came out perfect! Hooray! When the Dr. came in to give us the results and said everything is completely normal, I belted out, "there's not even a white spot on his heart!?!" I was shocked! We are having another BOY! For someone who always thought I would have all girls, this is quite hilarious. Obviously God has other plans and knows what He's doing :) I couldn't be happier!

Team BLUE

Team PINK (everyone who could be there)

Team "ALL THAT MATTERS IS THAT IT'S A HEALTHY BABY!"

*It's not uploading our balloon reveal, but it's posted on my facebook page :)