MNO

Tonight is a Mama's Night Out with my Mama Tribe & I am super excited! I am going to finally be able to wear my leather leggings I got in my last Stitch Fix package - YAY!

Working those leather hot pants :)

My bestie Jilly is in town visiting from Florida so she is going to hang with all the Mama's & I am excited to be able to introduce her to all my girls.

We all met at Sullivan's in the lounge & ordered our favorite drinks - Moscow Mules. Or as my mommy friend Dana calls them -  Mouse Cow Mules. She seriously thought that this is what the drink was called :) Regardless, they are delicious & we may have had 3-4 rounds!

After much catching up, a few drinks & appetizers we all headed to our usual dance club Fuel.

My Mama bestie Jen :)

 

We had so much fun all hanging out, shaking our booty's & listening to the fun music. I always have the best time with these ladies & love our time together. Such an amazing group of Mama's & friendships I will have for life!

 



Showered

Earlier this month I attended the baby shower of one of my "game night" girls - Miss Natalie. She is due in June with her first baby - a little boy they are naming Dean & I couldn't be more excited for her!

I opted to leave my little man at home with Daddy so I could enjoy the shower & catch up with my dear friend Melissa while there without the distraction of a 3 year old toddler :)

Natalie's shower was so cute & nicely done by her girlfriends. I ended up sitting at a table with Melissa & we got a chance to catch up while we watched Natalie open up all her gifts. It was so nice to get to see the glowing Mama & celebrate such a fun milestone with her! Looking forward to hearing all about her Mommy journey once little Dean arrives!

Cell Phone Dump

Lots of pics from HT's cell phone this month.....

That right there is the most delicious cake donut EVER!!! And yes - that is Fruity Pebbles on a lemon icing - DEE-LISH! 

This little guy was so tired that he fell asleep while sitting up - zzzzzzzz!

Chewy.com - the best way to buy your dog food, have it delivered at your door every few weeks AND save money - WIN WIN!

 Fun with the Snapchat app while at work

 

This sweet old boy is under my feet always - even in the bathroom! 

 Surprise letter from my niece Joslyn in the mail! SO sweet!

 My co-worker Stetson brought his famous cheesecake to work today - um

YES please!!

Coffee treats from 2 different friends this week - I feel so loved :)

Monday & Tuesdays - hubby's night to cook! Love getting home to meals like this :)

Go Fund Me

Mason has been going to his daycare for over 3 years now. He was only 4 months old when I dropped him off for the very first time.



Ugh - feels like yesterday :( Oh how I miss that toothless grin!

 

He is presently on his 4th classroom & we have been through more "teachers" than I can remember with each & everyone leaving imprints on our heart that will last forever.

 

I have met the most amazing group of mommy friends I now refer to as my "Mama Tribe" & Mason has made friends that he will be with until the day he graduates from high school - unless of course one of the Mama Tribe members moves away :(

 

All the things Mason has learned here blows me away. The way these people love my child as if he was there own makes my heart burst & makes leaving him there everyday not quite as hard.

 

We were even introduced to our new church family through a few of the teachers at the daycare. I could go on & on praising this amazing daycare but just trust me when I say I am so thankful God brought us here & put these amazing people in our lives.

 

With that said, I want to help give back to this wonderful place for all they have done for us. Currently, Day Brook is needing funds to resurface their Toddler play area as well as replace the rubber mulch on Mason's playground. This folks is what I deal with on a daily basis after he has played outside on a hot day....

The black rubber mulch on their playground hasn't been replaced in almost 9 years. Me & all the other Mama's are really tired of our kids looking like this & ruining their clothes/shoes. Those of you who know me know that I can't even deal with my kid being this dirty. It literally makes me crazy.

The estimate to rebuild & resurface the toddler 1 & 2 playground & resurface the toddler 3-4 playground is almost $30,000. There is also other miscellaneous upkeep around the building that needs to be done such as painting, replacing carpet in the rooms, etc. In order to keep our daycare costs down & affordable for families, there is a need to fundraise to help cover these expenses!

One of the members of my Mama Tribe has set up a Go Fund Me page for our daycare & we have raised over $1500 as of today.

For those of you who read this blog, I am asking for your help. If you can donate ANY amount to help Mason's daycare update the toddler play areas it would be greatly appreciated!!! Day Brook is wanting to complete this project before next years hot summer months so the kiddos will have a safe/fun place to play! If you are willing to help just click on the link below:

https://www.gofundme.com/xeyb6hvv

 

We thank you so much in advance for your donation!!



1st Movie

Today we met up with the Mama Tribe & kiddos for Mason's 1st movie outing - The Jungle Book. He was super excited to go to the movie, sit & eat popcorn & hang with his bestie Greyson.

 

The girls were super excited to see the movie also!

We all met up front, got our tickets, snacks & made our way to the seats. I didn't realize that the seats folded up so when Mason went to sit in the seat it collapsed in on itself & Mason ended up getting swallowed up by the chair & was trapped in the fold. To say he flipped out is an understatement. He was ready to leave the movie right then & there & refused to sit back in the seat - even after we rigged it with 6 booster seats underneath so it wouldn't bend.

 

So this is how he watched the majority of the movie....sitting on the steps:

He ended up sitting there for about 30 minutes watching the movie & then he wanted to snuggle in my lap. I could tell he was getting tired & I was beginning to regret planning a 1pm movie outing. Plus I had forgotten his blanket so double Mommy "fail". He started to get really fussy & wanted to go home so we ended up leaving before the movie was over. I didn't get even 5 minutes down the road & he had fallen asleep in his car seat.

Even though we didn't see the entire movie I think he enjoyed his 1st movie with his Mama?!?

We are all looking forward to taking the kiddos to Finding Dory in a couple of months. Here's to hoping we are able to sit through the entire movie because this Mama secretly wants to see it also :)

 

Glamping

This weekend the hubby took the RV out to Hillsdale Lake to get it ready for the summer so we ended up having a little "impromptu" camping weekend.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous & Shane reserved an awesome campsite which backed up to the lake. There was a huge grassy area for Mase to play on & trees for shade.



The view out the back window of the RV

 



 Just a few short steps to the lake

 

Shane started working on the RV early this morning while Mase & I ran a couple of errands & then went to pick up Millie from the vet. Mason was SO excited to see Millie. The nurse brought her out to us & it was butt wiggles & kisses galore. The nurse went over all her post-op care & medicine she was to take with us & we were on our way!

 

We got out to the campsite around 1pm, had lunch together & spent the rest of the afternoon kicking the soccer ball, throwing rocks in the water, gathering wood for an evening campfire, supervising Daddy's work & later Mase & I laid down & took a little nap. Most relaxing & peaceful nap ever!!

World's Greatest Rock-Thrower :)

 

Mase & I left Shane at the campsite around 6pm to run home so we could feed & check on the bulldogs & get a quick bite to eat. Before we left, I packed supper & drinks for Shane & then headed back out to the campsite. We helped Shane finish up with the RV, got the lawn-chairs set out & then fired up a campfire!

 

I brought out all the items to make smores (or as Mason calls them "sa-nores" :) Ugh - that kid is too cute! We had a great time toasting marshmallows around the campfire, making & eating smores & just hanging out together as a family.

 

"Don't speak to me while I am eating sa-nores"

We ended up packing everything up around 10pm & headed home. I didn't want to leave Millie alone by herself all night long after just having surgery & Shane felt weird about sleeping in the RV all by himself so he left with us.

We had such a fun day out at Hillsdale & are looking SO forward to many more camping trips coming up this summer. Thanks to the hubby the RV is now ready to go!

Next camping trip is a weekend at Melvern Lake, KS with our friends who have a pontoon boat - going to be SO much fun!! HT is starting to really dig this camping thing :) Who knew???

Millie Milz

Our sweet bully Millie is headed into the animal hospital today for surgery to remove this fluid-filled cyst hanging from the armpit of her back leg all the way down to her knee.

I first noticed it 2 weeks ago & took her into our vet where they drained 60ml of pink-tinged serous fluid off of it. The vet told us to watch it & if it filled back up to bring her back in.

Well, within 6 days it filled back up so back to the vet we went. They drained another 60ml of fluid off & this time sent the fluid to the lab to be tested. Results came back benign serous fluid with infection probably as a result of an inflammatory response. So we were referred to the "big-wigs" at the VCA Mission Animal Referral & Emergency Center.

Bullies are so lazy they lay down to drink water :)

Millie is no stranger to the VCA facility. She has been there before for her luxating patella surgery & again for her torn ACL repair surgery. And now we are back for yet another surgery.

Can you say $$$$$$$$$$? We jokingly call Millie our $10,000 bionic dog! Not really joking :(

Chilling while waiting to go back to pre-op

 

Ugh - it was so hard saying "goodbye" to this sweet smooshie faced girl. She is going to be 10 years old this June & Bulldogs are known to have respiratory problems - especially in surgery due to their brachycephalic-shaped faces & short palettes. Being that this surgery was elective I couldn't help but feel that I was making a huge mistake putting her through this. What if she didn't make it out of surgery? I would feel horrible guilt forever. Not to mention having to explain to Mason what happened to Millie.

 

I kissed her sweet face, turned around & started to walk out. Of course I had to look back at her one last time before I went through the door & her little butt was planted firmly to the ground, not moving, just staring at me as if she was saying "don't leave me". Ugh - cue the tears :(

 

I was nervous ALL morning while I anxiously awaited that phone call from the surgeon. That call came around 1pm & thankfully he said she did great! She was in recovery, pain was under control & they were able to remove everything without complications. The cyst is being sent to pathology for further review so we will get those results at her 2 week post-op appointment. She is going to be spending the night in ICU & should be able to go home late morning tomorrow if everything looks ok.

 

I felt so much better hearing that she was doing so good & only checked on her 4 times - 5 if you count the phone call the next morning :)

 

We were amazed that evening at how quiet the house was not having her around. Even though Millie & Bentley are pretty lazy & mainly just eat, sleep, fart, slobber & hang out in every room you are in (including the bathroom) there presence is very much missed when they aren't around.

 

Can't wait to get her home in the morning & get her on the road to recovery!!

Stitch Fix #6

Came home after work & saw this waiting on the front steps :) Yay - it's Stitch Fix day!! 

 

I got it inside & quickly opened it up to check out all that my stylist Sara had picked for me!

 

I see leather leggings - woo hoo :) In this fix I had asked for sandals, a summery dress & a pair of leather leggings & guess what? I got ALL three!! I also got a pretty silky white tank top & a gray knit blazer.

I swear I have gotten a blazer in every months Fix - seriously what is with the blazers?? I'm not even really a blazer-wearing kind of gal!?

After Mase was tucked into bed I went ahead & tried everything on. So are you ready for the fashion show? First up....the gladiator sandals.

As you can see I finally got a chance to get a pedi since the "foot" incident :) I really liked these sandals....when sitting on my bed. But then I tried them on & sadly they were one size too big :( I also have an extremely high arch & with the thin sole these sandals were pretty uncomfortable for me when walking around in them. Had they fit & felt more comfortable I definitely would have kept these!

Next is the Bogota dress:

I loved the color & the style of this dress but when I put it on it was one size too small :( It was pretty tight across the chest, the elastic waistband sat up super high on my torso & it looked too short on me. I put on a belt to see if that would change the look & then a denim jacket & I just didn't "love" it so I returned it.

Then I tried on the leather leggings, the white tank top, blazer & a previous SF necklace & voila:

I LOVED the Keeley Faux Leather Legging. They were so comfortable, fit me perfect, the faux leather didn't look "cheap" & was exactly what I was looking for for an upcoming Mama's night out!

This Pinterest picture was my inspiration:

And it is even paired with a blazer :)

The Aliyah Sleeveless Shell Blouse would have been a keeper had it fit. It was really pretty, flowy, white satiny fabric but it was too big so I returned it.

I was on the fence with the Grenaa Knit Blazer. The fabric was super soft, I loved the color but I wish it had been one size bigger. I also thought it was kind of pricey for being a knit blazer so sadly I sent it back as well.

 

So the only thing I ended up keeping is the one thing that I really wanted - the faux leather legging. They were pretty pricey so I really couldn't afford to keep anything else.

 

It gets frustrating trying on stuff only to discover it is too small or too big but unfortunately that is the gamble with Stitch Fix. My checkbook probably appreciates it :)

Babies x 2

One of Mason's favorite teachers at daycare was Miss Tiffany. She took care of him in the infant room AND the Toddler 1 room. He loved her & she absolutely loved him.

Once Mason transitioned over to Toddler 2 Miss Tiffany started working over in the Toddler 3 room so we were super excited that she was going to be his teacher once again when Mase made the move.

 

Well then Miss Tiffany ended up getting pregnant. Then she shocked us all & told us she was having twins. Then at 28 weeks  she was advised to quit her job & take it easy for the rest of her pregnancy. Later she decided she wouldn't be coming back which meant she wouldn't be Mason's teacher in Toddler 3. I was super happy for her but I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit sad she wouldn't be coming back.

 

Fast forward a few weeks & Miss Tiffany ended up going into premature labor & delivered her twin boys at 32 weeks. They were in the NICU for about a month & once they got home I wanted to wait a couple of months to visit them.

 

Mase really wanted to see her & the babies & I just knew she would never forgive me if I didn't bring him along with me. So as much as it killed me, we made sure to wait until after winter so all the "bugs" that go along with it would be gone.

 

While we were waiting to go visit, Mase & I went through all his newborn - 6 mos clothing & donated a bunch of it to the babies. We also cleaned out his toy box & got rid of a lot of Mason's "baby" toys & puzzles. Mase was super excited to give all his stuff to the babies :)

 

Today was the anxiously awaited day to go visit Miss Tiffany & meet her husband Austin & the babies - Bentley & Taven!

Mase absolutely LOVED the babies. He kept patting their little heads, rubbing their bellies, giving them kisses. It was the sweetest thing ever! Then he wanted to hold the babies so Miss Tiffany helped him:

Ugh - seeing him hold Bentley makes my ovaries ache :( So very sweet!

We loved spending time with Miss Tiffany & hearing all about her delivery, life with twins, being a stay-at-home Mama & all that comes with being a Mama. I loved seeing her so happy, so at peace & in that role as a Mama.

We are looking so forward to seeing how much they have grown when we make another visit this summer!

Deanna Rose

Our favorite farmstead is back open for the season & we were SO ready to visit & enjoy a beautiful day outside with our friends!

We met our friends Leann, her daughter Olivia, Megan & her daughter Harper at Deanna Rose late morning. We started off with our usual trek around the farmstead first seeing the chickens, then the cows & calves & of course the usual picture on the cow:

 

We walked around the bend to the pygmy goats & had to buy them a bottle so Mase could feed them:

It was SO cute watching him feed the baby goats while scolding them to "be nice & share"!

In the middle of the farmstead is an amazing park with all kinds of fun equipment on it which we always stop at to play. It is awesome because it wears the littles out & burns off tons of energy! The "diggers" & sitting on the tractor are Mason's favorites:

Miss Olivia was as chill as could be...as long as she had her snacks :)

We went through the other half of Deanna Rose & by the end the littles were getting cranky. It was getting to be lunch time so we all decided to drive over to Chick-fil-A for lunch. I had called Shane & he was out running errands so I told him to come meet us which he did.

No matter what time of day it is, that place is ALWAYS packed! We eventually got our food & found a place to sit & everyone enjoyed a quick bite to eat. On our way out Mase wanted to watch Daddy drive away on the motorcycle but we had to get a quick picture first:

We were going to run to Target before we headed home but a few minutes on the road I look back & see this:

 

Ugh - I just love his little crossed hands & feet! So stinkin' sweet!

Upon seeing this little angel sound asleep we just headed home where he took a 3 hour nap! That place will wear a kiddo out!

So glad our favorite little place is back open for the season! Oh how we have missed Deanna Rose!!