Girls Weekend!

Every guy needs his "Guy Time" just as every girl needs her "Girl Time", hence the title of this blog, Girls Weekend! I have never been away from all 3 boys, overnight and my gracious was it nice:) Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my boys more than life itself.... there is just something so wonderful about breaking away from the everyday routine and focusing strictly on oneself.

Growing up, my mom and her sisters took us kids to Salado, Texas to stay at the good ole' Stagecoach Inn- trust me, it is nothing glamorous, but as our shirts read that Salado is a "Little Slice of Heaven" and yes, I DID make us shirts for the occasion:) I guess that is the teacher/mom/nerd in me:) The Girls Weekend consisted of my cousins Genevieve and Rachael and their friend, our new Honorary Cousin, Marla. The four of us piled in my Swagger-Wagon and off we were, Salado bound- of course, right as we were past OakCliff, I run over a stupid fire hose- YES, a fire hose, right, smack in the middle lane and there was nowhere I could go, so over it I went- we thought we were home free until we arrived in Salado to find a huge bubble in my driver front tire- thank goodness the tire did not blowout and we were able to replace it, I did get ripped off by a horrible little man in Belton, Tx at the local Walmart- but, anyway, we were all safe and it was replaced:)

Back to our trip- poor little Salado is not the hopping town it once was:( Our beloved Mansion of Salado, the BEST Mexican food and Margarita ever, closed down, as well as our favorite candy store we used to ransack as children, Sweet Nut Thing. But, we sucked it up and made the most of it. We were by far the youngest of the guests at The Stagecoach, except for some of the children dragged along for a Family Reunion, which we could relate to, however, they were MUCH better behaved than I know we were at their age while staying there.


We pretty much ate our way through Salado, savoring every minute of kid free, responsibility free wonderfulness. We ate yummy Mexican food at The Patio, lounged by the pool, along with some cocktails of course, dined at the Inn's Dining Room, which was YUMMY- then we rolled ourselves back to our room to get into our swimsuits to soak in the mineral hot tub, along with a glass of wine.
Unfortunately, the hot tub was occupied by some loud, older woman boasting about their recent sky diving expedition and a young girl crying about a recent fight with her boyfriend....needless to say, although entertained, we took ourselves back to our room and went to bed shortly after, and yes, I think it was about 11:00- that is late for this Mama!

We woke up, ate a delicious breakfast at The Coffee Shoppe, another favorite at the Stagecoach and hopped in the car for our trek back to the real world:) I had so much fun with the girls and can't wait for our next trip!

I must say though, as much fun as I did have, it was so great to get home to my boys! I missed them so much! You better believe I soaked up cuddles from Michael and a great rocking session that night with James! I think Geoff and I were actually able to relax a bit on the couch before I had to start the entire routine all over again, because, the wonderful husband I have, did all the dishes and laudry before I got home so I would be able to hang out.....such a great ending to a wonderful weekend:)

Here's to Girls/ Guys Weekends of the future!

Mothers Day

I have been thinking about where I am today, May 13, 2012, Mother's Day and where I was 1 year ago- and I see so much growth, so much change. Not only in my boys- Michael is now 3 1/2, potty trained, big independent boy and James is 1 and curious and crawling, cruising, all over the place, getting into everything and SO full of life- but also in myself- I was at one point, so cautious and nervous of what kind of mom I would be, would I be too nice, too strict? Would I allow just one more show before bedtime or would I insist on just 1 more book instead? Its amazing when you seem to know what kind of mom you are going to be, then there, in the moment, sweet blue eyes staring at you, how can you say no? Michael asks to cuddle now... really? Who can say no to that- he is 3 and I know these cuddling days do not last forever. James actually lets me rock him, Michael never did! I cherish every bedtime with James because I KNOW they do not last forever- we give meds, because that is our life these days and then rock.........................................................................................................................................................
For our family and friends who do not know, we recently found out James has an Auto-Immune Deficiency Disorder, AKA, Immature Immune System- This is the reason our little man is ALWAYS sick! It seems the common cold for James can turn into full our ear and lung infection and if we are not careful, pnemonia and God knows what else, I don't like to go that far- Little man has had tubes and adenoid surgery over the past few months- it has been rough, but luckily we have one happy and responsive little boy!

Back to what I was saying, Mothers Day- WOW! What a special and wonderful day! I love my husband and boys so much- I can't get over how wonderful and blessed I am to have them! I woke up to Geoff attempting to make me breakfast in bed...James needed a breathing treatment due to bronchilitis and a nap, so once we got that covered, I got back in bed so he and Michael could give me breakfast in bed and it was UH-Mazing! Belgian Waffles, whipped cream and fresh strawberries, along with yummy coffee- I was in heaven! Then I was given sweet cards and  handmade bookmark with Michael's sweet picture from school and the most blessed gift ever! A glass locket with the boys names inside- I love, love, love the locket and it is SO special to me!






Even though we seem to be touch and go with James health, we are so fortunate our little man is SO happy and a constant reminder of what happiness is:
Happiness to James is:
Seeing mommy and daddy after a long night of sleep
Seeing Michael come down the stairs and how excited he is to see him
Seeing a cup full of milk because you are one thirsty little man
Abby( J's little lady)- even when I say her name the boy gets sooo excited!
Food- obviously the boy loves his food
People- anyone who sees James in the nursery tells me how happy he is and asks if he is always this happy- which, almost always, he is, unless he is sick:)
The best time is after school when we go get Michael from School, James is SO excited to get Michael- everyday it melts my heart how much my boys love each other!

Geoff and I are so blessed to have the most loving boys and amazing family! There is nothing in the world I could want more than I have now:)

Happy Mother's Day!

Kate

Crawfish Boil 2012

Crazy to think this was the 18th Annual Hatch Crawfish Boil, and my how times have changed! I think at one point I counted 21 kids under the age of 15. Half the yard was covered with EZ Ups and the other contained a large Bounce House- Michael had a BLAST and James was along for the ride- poor guy was trying to keep up with his big brother- I am sure next year will be more fun for James when he can run along with the big kids:)
We started off the day with Michael's 8:00 am soccer game, followed by a good nap for little man before people started to show up for the Boil. It went on from about 1- 10:00 with a steady flow of people, the last to leave around 2:00? or so I was told, I went to sleep much earlier than that:)
I love Crawfish Boil! It is a time for friends to get together and relax and let their kids, if they have any, play and have an great time! We saw friends we haven't seen in awhile and found our about new blessings that are coming soon:)

Mr. James enjoying the cups

Little Jackson Benitoa

Sweet Sydney Pope

The future Crawfish Boil Leaders

The girls!

Love this!

Sweet Michael-Man

I think my favorite part of the day was when the kids asked for popsicles, which I completely forgot I had, and they all piled on the Corn Hole game to eat their Pop Ice- I am SO glad I had my camera handy for this- so cute!