My Other Kids

These kids right there - those are the children of my Mama Tribe. And that handsome little boy standing next to Mason - that is Mason's best friend Greyson. 

These two little boys met at daycare in the Toddler 1 room when they were just 1 year old & have been together pretty much everyday since. It was during Halloween while trick-or-treating that we discovered Greyson's family lived in our subdivision around the corner about 6 houses down. I later discovered that these two boys are exactly one week apart. Greyson's Mama & I were pregnant at the exact same time. On maternity leave at the exact same time. And to think that entire time we only lived 6 houses away from each other?! Makes me sad we didn't meet sooner.

Shortly after this discovery we started having playdates together. Playdates turned into slumber parties, Mama Night Out's, couples date nights, then trips together & then these two Mom's became my Mama Tribe.

That was 3 years ago. I have watched all these littles grow, develop & take on personalities that I absolutely love.

The thing about being part of a Mama Tribe is that you get attached to children that don't belong to you. In 3 years I have fell completely in love with 3 little girls & a little boy that isn't mine. They all have two amazing parents which are now a wonderful extended family & I love them to pieces.

As a parent, I could imagine that it would be weird, maybe even slightly threatening to hear someone else say that they love your child as if they were their own. But when you spend as much time with these littles as we have & it is only natural to love them like your own.

I think allowing someone else to play a large positive & loving role in their childs life & having that person love your child the way you do is in my opinion, amazing for everyone involved. The Mama's always joke that out of us three I will be the Mom that their kids come to when they are in trouble, need to talk or need help & I SO hope that is true! To be a friend & a safe haven for them would mean the world to me!

These kiddos & their Mama's are in this friendship for life. There will be ups, downs, break ups, celebrations, graduations, engagements, weddings, grandbabies & so much more! I can hardly wait to experience all this & more with my tribe!

So don't call me crazy when I say that I'm completely in love with a child that isn't mine. These pictures are multiple reasons why I feel like I am validated.

Mason's 4th Birthday

Mason is 4 years old today!!

Another year, another birthday!! Can't believe our little man is 4 years old today!! We had a great time celebrating with a Monster Truck themed birthday party at Rainbow Play Systems.

All our close friends, my brother, sister-in-law & even my Mom made the trip from SD to help us celebrate! The kiddos spent an hour playing on all the playground equipment & then gathered in the party room for lunch & birthday cake!

 

After the birthday party, some of our friends & family came back to our house to visit & watch Mason open all of his birthday presents.

 

 

Everyone was so generous with their gifts to Mason & he had so much fun opening gifts & enjoyed playing with all the new toys he had gotten! B

Before my family left, we all took a minute to get some photos with the birthday boy...

 My brother Steve, his wife Meghan & Mase :)

 

 My Mom (Grandma Farm) & the birthday boy!

 

We had such a fun day & are so thankful for all who came to the party & back to our house to celebrate this special little 4 year old!!



Home Sweet Home

Today we packed up, said goodbye to Vegas early this morning & boarded the plane to head home. We spent the next few hours on our flight recapping the weekend & all that had occurred & before we knew it we were back in KC.

While we were heading back we all discussed how badly we needed this little break from our reality. You know it is SO important that Mama's get a break every now & then. You need it to reset. To re-energize. To miss your littles & your spouse. I used to feel a bit guilty about taking a "time-out" just for me but the older Mason gets the easier it is for me to do.

For 4 mornings I was pretty much in awe over the fact that I was able to drink HOT coffee - not lukewarm. There were times I literally laughed so hard I cried.....& peed myself. (I know you other Mama's know what I am talking about). I got to spend one-on-one time with these amazing girls who got to know me as more than just Mason's mom. I was able to get ready each day without mentally planning out what outfit to put my kid in, what is he going to eat for breakfast? were the dogs fed? was coffee made? is his T-ball shirt clean? where is his baseball glove? is today show-n-tell day at school? which hospital am I at today? am I on call tonight? do I have time to pack my lunch? Ugh - my brain never has a chance to shut off.

I was able to get dressed up to go to a dinner with friends that didn’t involve someone rubbing lotion on my legs, "helping" me blow dry my hair, asking me a 100 questions about where I'm going or with who or how many minutes until I am coming back home. I ate dinner & didn't have to worry about cutting up chicken nuggets, cleaning up spilt milk or entertaining my child with playing games on the cell phone while worrying if the food would arrive before this little 4 year old had a meltdown.

I danced to music that wasn’t Lil John or some other form of Hip-Hop & surprised myself by remembering all the lyrics to 80's & 90's songs that I had long forgotten about....or that possibly could have been the alcohol?!?

I was able to sit down & have an actual conversation with adults without being interrupted a million times by littles or having to threaten my kiddo with a time-out if they didn’t knock it off right now. I got to breathe. I got to sit in silence. I got to think.

And sadly, as quickly as it had started, the fun was over & it was time to pack up & head home. I could hardly wait to get home to my kiddo & my husband because for once I actually got a chance to miss them. I never get a chance to just miss them.

Listen up Mama's. We aren't ever given an award for being the most tired, the most stressed, the most busy, or the most likely to lose her shit because trust me - if there was an award for that I would’ve gotten it by now. SO - don't put things off. Take the vacation. Go on the girls weekend. Plan the evening date night or the weekend getaway with your husband - or for yourself! 

If the opportunity comes up for you to get out for a day either by yourself or with girlfriends for a night or even just for an hour, then run - don't walk - yourself out the door. Screw the mommy guilt that tries to consume you as you pull out of the driveway. Trust me, your kiddos will be fine. You will all survive & you will definitely all be better for it.

And do all these things knowing that if your kiddos are anything like mine, they will run to greet you when you get home, smother you in hugs and kisses, share each & every thing they did while you were away in under three minutes & be back to whining, arguing, & driving you nuts within 30 minutes which will give you all the more reason to start planning & fantasizing about your next great escape :)

 
 
 

Vegas Day 3

Day 3 in Vegas & we all woke up to a cold, rainy morning - boo :( The plan was to all meet up for breakfast so we got dressed & headed over to The Hash House A Go Go located at The LINQ.

Even at 8am this place was jam packed!! We were seated without too much of a wait & an order of coffee was in order first thing! After looking over the menu, I had decided on the biscuits & gravy & it came out to me looking like this....



HUGE servings!! We were in awe looking at everyone's plates. I can't even remember the name of the breakfast Kristi ordered but look at all that food....

Chicken & Waffles anyone????

Ugh - SO. MUCH. FOOD. We all put a pretty good dent into our breakfast while discussing what everyone was going to do for the day. Bonnie & Kristi wanted to spend the rainy day at the spa at Caesars & us three Mama's decided to take a Lyft to the outlet stores & do a little shopping.

We headed back to the hotel in the down pouring rain to get showered for the day & then made our way north of the strip to the outlet mall. We spent several hours here shopping & getting some good deals on things we didn't really need but bought anyway :)

Before we headed back, we stopped into The Cheesecake Factory & ordered some appetizers & cheesecake to take back to the hotel. It was still raining out so we Lyfted back to The Mirage, headed back to our room, opened up all the curtains so we could see the strip, curled up on the couch with our snacks & watched some play-off football on the TV the rest of the afternoon. It was such a crappy day to be outside so we opted to take in Vegas from the inside.

After vegging around the later part of the afternoon it was time to get showered. We turned on the music & all got ready for another evening out on the town. In between our sips of wine & some hilarious conversation, we all talked about if it was hard for any of us to pack our stuff & leave our kids for a weekend with their Dads.

All our answers? Um - no.

There might have even been a "hell no" by one of us - I won't say who :)

Did we miss our children? Absolutely. Our husbands? Ummmm - of course. But we were having such a good time so it was easy to be away. As I looked at the two Mama's I was with I thought about our friendship, all that we have been through these past few years together & how this weekend was SO very much needed for all of us. It had been such an amazing, unforgettable couple of days together & I hadn't even realized how badly I needed it & either did they.

So after a shower, a cocktail & a phone call home we were on our way over to Caesars to meet the other 2 Mama's for dinner at a nice restaurant for our last night in Vegas. We had decided on eating at the Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill restaurant located inside of Caesars & it didn't disappoint.

We ordered the mac-n-cheese sampler for one of our appetizers & it was the most delicious mac-n-cheese I have ever eaten...especially the jalapeno one. I ordered the scallops for my meal & that right there is what $40 in scallops look like....

Pretty expensive place for the portions we were given but it's Vegas so what do you expect?

 

After we ate, we all stopped into a near-by cocktail lounge at Caesars for after-dinner drinks & then made our way outside. We all wanted to ride The High Roller at the Linq before we left Vegas so that is where we headed.

For those of you who aren't familiar with The High Roller, it is a 550 foot tall giant Ferris wheel right on the strip. From the time you board to the time you exit the experience is about 30 minutes long. Once you reach the top the views of Vegas are pretty spectacular! Sunset views would be amazing also but we found out the times for those are pretty much sell out quickly.

Selfie :)

 



We all enjoyed the ride & loved looking out over Vegas & seeing everything all lit up! It's so crazy how different Vegas looks during the day versus the night!

Surprisingly, our last night in Vegas didn't end up being a super late one. I guess we are all just getting older & weren't feeling it like we once did in our twenties!

Dana didn't feel well so she headed back to the hotel after dinner & the other girls headed back to their hotel after riding the High Roller.

Sara & I started walking back to our hotel & ended up cutting through Harrah's. As we were walking past the Dueling Piano Bar, we saw that the place was hopping so we decided to stop & watch the dueling piano players go at it & enjoy all the drunk, crazy people-watching. We hung out there for about an hour & then headed back to our hotel to get packed up & ready for an early departure in the morning.

Goodnight Vegas - you sure have been fun!!

Vegas Day 2

Day 2 in Vegas & now that I feel a little better about how my kiddo is doing I can relax again & enjoy our little mini-vacation.

After breakfast we decided to venture out, walk the strip, see the sites & do a little shopping. It was a little chilly but definitely a beautiful, sunny day but little did we know, sadly this would be the only gorgeous day while we are here.

We stopped in front of Caesars Palace & took this picture in front of the fountain & then spent some time browsing in the Forum Shops at Caesars. We had fun looking at all the expensive shops & talking about what we would all buy if money wasn't an option.

Later in the afternoon 2 more of our girlfriends were coming from Kansas to hang with us for the weekend. After they safely arrived they got checked in to their hotel & then met up with us for a late lunch at a Mexican restaurant in front of Planet Hollywood. We sat outside enjoying the sun, the live band & the crazy people-watching. Dang are there some weirdos on the streets of Vegas!

We were there for several hours & after a few margaritas & numerous chips & salsa we all decided to head back to the hotel for a little nap & down-time before the evenings festivities got underway.

Dana, Sara & I headed back to our hotel but weren't in the mood for napping. Apparently we got a 2nd wind on our way back so we ended up going down to the casino, walked around checking out the hotel, ordered dinner from California Kitchen & played a few penny slots along the way.

Later we all got ready for the evening & headed over to Caesars Palace to meet the other 2 girls & headed out for the night.

We walked over to the Carnaval Court by Harrah's casino which is an outside bar with a stage. They had a live band playing 80's & 90's music & they were AWESOME! We grabbed a table, ordered a drink & spent the next 4 hours there dancing, hanging out & enjoying the music. We didn't plan on spending our entire evening there but it was SO much fun that we didn't need to go anywhere else.

Around midnight we had decided that we were all starving so we walked next door to Guy Fieri's restaurant & ordered some food off of the late night menu.

We all shared the Trash Can Brisket Nachos & I shared a Bacon Mac-n-Cheese Burger with fries with one of the Mama's - DEELISH!!!



From the sounds of it, you wouldn't think that a burger with mac-n-cheese on it would taste good but OH MY - this burger was amazing!!! I was kind of sad that I had to share it!

After we stuffed our tummies full we all decided to call it a night. It was almost 2am (4am back home) so these Mama's were tired & ready for bed. We walked back to our hotel & crashed. Such a fun day with these girls & looking forward to what tomorrow brings us!

Vegas - Day 1

I finally flew the coop this weekend & am headed to Vegas. No child, no husband. Just me.....and my Mama Tribe. Seriously - I have been looking SO forward to this weekend getaway ever since we started talking about it back in October. No kids, no alarm clock, no whining, no one "needing" me, going to the bathroom in peace - you know, the type of weekend dreams are made of.

We had a little issue with our flight out to Vegas being delayed so we headed to a restaurant in the airport, ordered brunch, a cocktail & made the best of our 2 hour flight delay.

We finally were able to board our flight & by then these Mama's were READY!!!

VEGAS here we come :)

 

The flight attendants are always so fun on Southwest flights to Vegas. One of the ladies asked us what we wanted to drink & of course we ordered a cocktail. Then she asked us if we were celebrating a special occasion & we said "YES - a much deserved weekend away without our children" LOL :) I guess she was super impressed we were having a Mommy Getaway because she didn't charge us for our drinks & we had even ordered 3 rounds!





Right as we were getting off the plane we thanked her for the cocktails & she told us how awesome it was that we were taking some time for ourselves & to enjoy it! So nice!!

 

We made it to Vegas without any issues & had called for a Lyft to our hotel (which is much cheaper than an Uber by the way). We stayed at The Mirage & little did the girls know that I had a little surprise for them once we got checked in.

 

I had our key cards & we headed towards the elevators. I started heading to the suite elevators & Sara informed me I was going to the wrong ones. That is when I told them we were headed the right way & that I had booked us a suite for the weekend. It was well worth the extra money just seeing the looks on their faces!

 

We got up to our room & it was amazing. It had the remote control blackout shades, a living room with a huge flat screen TV, big dining room, huge master suite & master bathroom with the other bedroom on the other side. It was beautiful & we were all so giddy as we checked it all out. The girls let me have the master suite since I was the one that had gotten it for us & they stayed on the other side. I can't tell you enough how amazing it sounded to sleep in a king size bed by myself without a foot to my stomach or an arm to my face or a husband laying next to me snoring. Pure bliss :)

 

We had tickets to see the Britney Spears concert that evening so we all got cleaned up & dressed up before we made our way out to the hotel for dinner.

 

 (A little peek of our suite - us standing in the dining room & master suite on the right)

 

We ended up going downstairs & eating at a little taco place & had a cocktail & then made our way over to Planet Hollywood for the Britney Spears concert.

We got there a little early so we just hung out in our seats talking & enjoying the music & people watching. Eventually Britney came out on stage & despite lip-syncing the entire show it ended up being really good.

Her & her dancers were awesome, the light show & effects were cool & we loved hearing all her old songs.

She sang for over 2 1/2 hours & by the time the show ended we were ready to head back to our hotel. I know - lame. But hey - we had been up early, traveling, drinking all day & it was a 2 hour time difference so even though it said 1130pm our bodies were feeling 130am. We quickly figured out that we weren't 21 years old anymore - LOL

 

After we got back to the hotel we all crashed. Unfortunately I was awoken by my cell phone ringing shortly after I had fallen asleep. Shane was calling me & knowing it was 3am back home I didn't have a good feeling about answering the phone.

Turns out Mason had a high fever, was throwing up every 30 minutes & wouldn't keep any medicine or water down & Shane was worried. I tried to reiterate that he was doing everything I would be doing & to just lay with him with a bowl & a cool cloth on his head/neck. He let me go & then of course I laid there worrying about the both of them the whole night feeling horrible mommy guilt for being in Vegas while my baby was sick & probably just wanting his Mama :( Ugh I hardly slept a wink all night.

Of course we were all awake by 6am "Vegas-time" because of the time difference so we all got up, got showered & went to have breakfast. I filled the girls in on what was going on at home & they knew I was worried. Shane let me know that Mase was finally sleeping & hadn't thrown up in a few hours so I was able to relax a little bit after hearing that. I ended up FaceTiming with him later in the morning & felt SO much better after seeing him & talking with him knowing he was ok. 

Ok - I can now relax & enjoy day 2 of our Vegas getaway!!!  Bring it on.....

Rock Chalk

It's that time of year again....

....time to spend all our hard-earned money & buy ridiculously priced tickets for KU Jayhawks basketball game outings :)

We are getting this new year started by doing something we absolutely love - watching KU basketball.

Today was the 1st of these basketball outings & we were super excited to be at the game playing one of our rivalries - Kansas State.

The energy in this place was crazy & it was SO loud with everyone cheering & yelling. It was a nail-biter the entire game as the score was constantly between 2-3 points the whole time.

With 5.6 seconds left to go it was tied 88-88. YIKES!! Shane & I could barely watch what happened next....

The ball was thrown out, the clock started counting down. Svi Mykhailiuk had possession of the ball & ran down the length of the court, went up for a layup right as the buzzer sounded & the ball went in. Just like that we won the game by 2 points.

Of course there was a lot of controversy as to if Svi had traveled on the way to his layup but the ref's didn't see it or call it which was surprising because they were making BS calls all night long that were definitely NOT in our favor so we will take the "blind eye" & the W.

Such a fun game to be at & can't wait for more of these fun outings in the next couple of months!