2017 Year in Review: July - Dec

July - December 2017

 

The month of July started with a BANG!! We celebrated the 4th of July holiday with my Mama Tribe & their families. We had a potluck supper over at Sara's house first & then the kids lit off the fireworks. Later in the evening the big kids took over lighting the fireworks & we all enjoyed the HUGE display the boys had put together! I can definitely see this group making this an annual event!

A couple weeks later Mase & I headed to Winona, MN where we spent 5 days with my family. We rented a beautiful home overlooking the river & spent our days swimming, toured the Eagle Conservatory, rented a pontoon & did some tubing & riding up & down the Mississippi River.

Sadly Shane was unable to get vacation from his job so he wasn't able to join us :(  We definitely missed his absence! Mason had so much fun playing with his cousins & us adults enjoyed hanging out together. It was the first time my entire family had been together in a long while so it was nice to all be together. Pretty sure we are going to make this an event every couple of years!!

August was a month that I felt just flew by! We continued to enjoy our weekends at the pool, spent some time at one of our favorite places Deanna Rose Farmstead, I had another birthday creep up on me on the 16th & was able to participate in the Solar Eclipse!

On my birthday, my Mama Tribe & the kiddos came over to my house for cake. The girls got me an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen that was perfect for this Mama! It said "kinda classy, kinda hood"! Anyone who knows me, knows I love my gangsta rap & hip hop music so this fit me perfectly!

Also for my birthday, my Mama Tribe surprised me with a weekend getaway at the Lake of the Ozarks. They just showed up at my door on a Friday night, told me I had 15 minutes to pack a bag for a weekend at the lake & we were off. Shane had known about it for months & they all managed to keep it a secret from me!!

We stayed at my friend Dana's parents condo on the lake & had a super fun weekend tubing, water skiing, partying at Coconuts & some much needed relaxation. It was the best surprise ever & we had SO much fun!!

The once in a lifetime Solar Eclipse happened while I was at work & our boss was nice enough to allow us to go outside & watch it happen. It was an awesome thing to be a part of & so glad I was able to experience all the hype!

This little man officially started Pre-K on the 17th! Can't believe we have one more year & he is off to Kindergarten!!!!

The Mama Tribe managed to pull off a couples date night this month also! We are all starting to do more stuff together as couples & love how the hubby's all get along just as good as us Mama's!

 

September means end of summer & fall is right around the corner! Sad to see the summer coming to a close but excited for the next few months - my favorite time of year!!

 

Labor Day weekend was spent at one of our favorite campsites - Melvern Lake. We had my friend Sara & her family spend a day with us & we had tons of fun grilling out, riding bikes & playing games with the kiddos.

Early in the month I joined my Mama Tribe for the Color Run 5K here in my hometown. It was the first one the town had put on & it turned out to be a success. It was a fun night walking through the streets in the dark with our glow sticks on & hoping they do it again next year! 

We made another trip to Table Rock Lake/Branson with our RV this month! We had amazing weather & had a ton of fun checking out some new places in the Branson area that we hadn't been to. We absolutely love coming down here to camp. There is SO much for us to do together as a family & it never gets old.

Mason started back up in fall soccer! He loves playing soccer & is quite the competitive little player! It is so much fun watching him & his friends out there learning how to play the game!

 

October was another super busy month! As I am updating this I can see why the months have just flown by! We are just way too crazy busy!! The monh brought us fall, the Down Syndrome Awareness Walk, annual school pictures, Janie Blue's 1st gig, family pictures, pumpkin carving & Halloween.

 

Mase & I made our way to WI the 1st weekend in October for the annual Down Syndrome Awareness Walk to support my niece Dana. Our team "Dana's Daisies" raised over $3400 for the cause! It of course was a cloudy, dreary day but temps were warm & there was no rain which we were all thankful for!

Mase & his cousins had a blast doing face painting, the petting zoo, rock wall climbing, jumping in the bounce houses & playing at the park. We always love making this trip every year & being able to see my sister & her family is always a fun time!

 

The day we were to leave WI we stopped at a super fun pumpkin patch where we went on a hayride, walked through the corn maze - which was a muddy mess, ate lunch & played on the fun slides! We left for the airport from there & made our way back to KC. It was a such a fun weekend but is always good to get back home!

Every year Mason gets his pictures taken at his daycare by Lil' Angels Photography & they always do such an amazing job. Going to be kind of sad this will be the last year he will be getting his photos done there :( Hard to believe how much this little guy has changed over the last few years!

This past May my husbands rockstar dreams came true when he became part of a band as the drummer. The bands name is Janie Blue & they are an alternative/blues rock kind of music. The practice every Saturday morning in our basement & had their very first gig this month at a local bar & grill! They did awesome despite some sound issues but have upcoming bookings each month for the next 6 months. They play all their own original music & are actually really, really good! You can check them out on Facebook for more info or to listen to some of their music!

 

We had our family pictures taken this month by Meghann Rebecca Photography & she did an absolutely amazing job! I just love all the fall colors & am SO happy with how the pics turned out! I can't wait to get our edited proofs so I can start making Christmas cards & update the family photos on our walls!

 

The end of October was a fun one with picking out our pumpkins, carving them, participating in a local church Trunk or Treat & then trick or treating on Halloween night with friends.

Mason wanted to be a Ninja Kid this year where his Mama wanted him to be something cuter. Gone are the days that Mama is able to pick out his costumes :( I would have to say that he still turned out to be a pretty cute Ninja!

 

November ended up being a little bit of a slower month as we celebrated Thanksgiving & decorated the house for Christmas.

 

Janie Blue had their 2nd performance at The Boobie Trap in Topeka, KS so I made my way there to support the band. They had a great show & sounded MUCH better than the last place they played. Must say it is kind of fun being a "groupie" & following the band to all their performances :)

Sadly the following week on Nov 10th, I received word from my Mom that my Grandmother had passed away. It was definitely bittersweet to hear because I was sad that my grandmother was no longer with us but yet I felt relieved that she was no longer suffering & was finally up in heaven.

I left for SD the next morning & had made the hard decision to go by myself. Shane stayed home with Mase so that I was able to go home & be with my Dad's family, help make arrangements for the funeral, spend time with cousins I haven't seen in forever & grieve for the loss of my Grandma without the distraction of a child. As much as I missed them both not being there, I was glad I had made the decision that I had.

I have SO many wonderful memories of my Grandmother from my childhood & the later years & will treasure those pictures & memories forever. She was a blessing to us all & she is going to be greatly missed by many.

We ended up celebrating Thanksgiving at home this year & I cooked the full Thanksgiving feast. We invited my friend Sara & her family over to help us eat all the food I had prepared & had a ton of fun hanging out with them eating & watching football while the kids played & watched Christmas movies.

For weeks Mason has been asking to decorate the house for Christmas & I had told him we had to wait until after Thanksgiving. So the very next day he asked again for the 100th time so we spent Black Friday digging out all the Christmas bins & decorating the house for the holidays. Jingle our Elf even made his appearance again this year.

And that leads us to December! Whew - almost done!!!

I will make separate posts for this month as not much has gone on thus far other than a work Christmas party & another Janie Blue gig!

If you have gotten this far thank you so much for reading. It has been so much fun looking back on the past year seeing what our family has all done & accomplished. I am going to really try my best to keep this blog updated & throw in some other topics other than just writing about chronicles of our life. Hope you all come back & check it out from time to time!

 





Cell Phone Dump

January Cell Phone Dump

 

Date night - KU basketball game

Mase & Greyson - future rockstars

 Millie will fall asleep anywhere.....

 

 

 "Mulch? What Mulch? I wasn't eating the mulch"!!

My Mom's 1st shopping trip to IKEA!

 The boys making brownies!

 A new haircut & ice cream!

 Fun with Snapchat!

My Mama Tribe!

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!!