Cell Phone Dump

Random pics from my cell phone for the month of March!

As I go through pics of my phone every month, I come across pics that Mase has taken & had no clue about. This is one of those pics. Clearly my floor needs swept!!!

My work bestie has struck again. Ms. Kenzie had these waiting for me at work one day to brighten my spirits since I have been so sad for my best friend. She is such a dear, sweet friend.

Birthday party fun at Ava Jean's swim party!

Twins :)

Fun with Snapchat :)

Beautiful sunrise on my way to work!!

Ms. Kenzie drew this anatomically correct heart with a charcoal pencil & had all our Interventional Cardiologist's that I work with sign it. SO cool & she is SO talented!!

Fiona above & Winston below. Love these wrinkly, smooshy faces!

Someone elses birthday is my benefit!! A co-workers wife had made these for their daughter's birthday & since he knows I absolutely LOVE his wifes Peanut Butter Balls he brought me 3 of them to work!! It was like it was Christmas time all over again!!!



Easter Eggstravaganza

Year after year after dealing with winter I always look forward to March. As past years have proven, that is when it usually starts warming up around here & things start to turn green. This March? Not so much. We have had the coldest March that I can ever remember & have set too many record lows to count. Ugh will spring ever get here?

With March comes Easter - which is one of my favorite holidays & all the fun events associated with it. One of those events is the annual Easter Egg Hunt that we partake in.

This year however I was not looking forward to being outside with my little one in freezing temps doing egg hunt festivities. Luckily for us, it was one of the warmer days in March (around 58 degrees) but oh so windy making it pretty chilly.

Conveniently, Shane had band practice this morning so he was going to miss the cold festivities. So Mase & I met one of my mama besties out there with her two littles & first on the agenda - the egg hunt.

I really like this church that puts this activity on because the egg hunts are done in age groups so there is no big kids to push the little kids out of the way. Plus there are over 10,000 eggs for everyone to hunt so all the kids go home with a good amount of candy....not that we need any candy?!

The kids had so much fun racing to pick up their eggs. They each filled their basket full & couldn't wait to open all the eggs to see what kind of candy they got.

Once we opened all the eggs we headed over to the carnival area where there were games, bounce houses, face painting, train rides, pictures with the Easter Bunny & tons more. They had live kids music going & raffles being bought & won & the kids were having a blast.

We were there for a couple of hours & while the kids were having fun the parents were freezing. We rounded up the littles - much to their dismay & headed home where we put on PJ's, made hot cocoa & warmed up.

Such a fun event & can't wait to do it again next year. Hopefully it will be a tad bit warmer!!







Grief

I have known my best friend for gosh, I don't know....something like 13 or 14 years?? A long damn time I do know that.

In that time we have gone through a lot together. I worked side by side with her at the hospital. I was at her wedding. I have been on fun trips with her. We were there for each other during our infertility journey. We were pregnant at the same time & had our "miracle" babies 6 weeks apart. We have shared play dates. I was there when sadly she got divorced. I was there when she met her now fiancé. I was there when her mom got sick. I was there when she got the diagnosis. And sadly I was there when her mom passed away. We sure have covered a lot of ups & downs in our years of knowing each other.....all moments that have made us stronger & closer as friends.

A best friend is supposed to be there to help & show support during life’s biggest moments: a wedding, the birth of a child, that child's graduation. But nothing prepared me for how I would need to be there or the support I would be giving out during the death of a parent.

My friends' mom received her Stage 4 diagnosis of lung cancer the beginning of February. Her only complaint was that she had vertigo since the new year that wasn't going away. Finally an MRI was done & that is where they found that the cancer had started in the lung & had spread to her kidney & brain. Her mom opted out of chemo & was given 4-6 months to live. Sadly she passed away 5 weeks later.

I have talked to my friend everyday on an app called Voxer for the last 2 1/2 years. The conversations we have had these past 5 weeks have been some of the most heartbreaking to listen to as well as speak myself but man am I ever thankful for that silly app. I could check in with her daily & she could check in with me daily when she was able to & provide me updates, vent about the situation, cry, laugh & ramble on about nothing. It kept me informed when I couldn't be there & kept her distracted listening to my crazy life if only for a few minutes that day.

Watching my best friend go through the last 5 weeks was by far the hardest & most helpless I have felt for someone ever. I wanted to take her pain away but couldn't. I wanted to help her mom get better because that is what I do on a day to day basis with my job but I couldn't. I wanted to be there with her everyday but I couldn't because I had my own life to live & a husband & son to take care of. I wanted to hug her the times she broke down on the phone but I couldn't because I wasn't there at the time. I wanted to be there with her as she watched her mom slowly slip away day after day but I couldn't. Ugh feeling helpless as a friend is a horrible feeling.

After her mom passed away I remember sitting there thinking now what. Now what do I say or don't say or now what do I do or don't do for her. You don't want to overstep boundaries but you also don't want them to feel like you have forgotten about them either.

I debated for a couple of weeks whether I should even blog about this subject matter.  But after much thought I have decided that maybe talking about it just might help someone else who is going through the same feelings or sadly will be in the future. I also hope that by offering some of my own thoughts & ideas of what I think you can do for a friend who is going through difficult times/grief will help you feel like you are present in their life & not helpless.

I pray you never have to experience such sadness but when your best friend experiences loss they will need you to help them grieve....even if they aren't quite sure how to do it themselves. By being present, listening & doing things that show you care, you can be a huge tower of strength & light, during a dark & confusing time.

Here are some ideas  (mostly reflections on my own experience) of things you can say or do to comfort your grieving friend:

1) Remind your friend that you’re thinking of them.
I sent daily text messages & used the app Voxer to let my friend know that I was thinking of her. I also sent her spiritual/motivational messages I had found on Pinterest which also let her know she was on my mind. Sometimes I didn't get a response back & that was ok. I just wanted her to know I was thinking of her.
2) Pray for them
Include them & their family in your prayers. Add them to a prayer list at church so others can pray for them. Ask your friends to pray for them. The power of prayer is an amazing thing & you can never ask for too many prayers.
3) Make yourself available
If you are able to be flexible with your time, be available to your friend if they need to talk. Text them back right away if they text you. If they ask to meet you for coffee or dinner try to clear your schedule & be there. There is a reason they are asking to meet you....trust me.
4) Check in regularly
Do this before, during & after things get bad. 
5) Schedule time together in the future
Your friend may not feel like wanting to hang out soon after they lose a parent but putting something like dinner or a movie or just meeting for coffee - just the two of you - on the calendar for down the road will give them something to look forward to & get them out of the house.
6) Cook for them
Having a meal prepared by friends that was ready to bake or eat was extremely helpful for my friend. To not have to think about what to cook even if it was only for one night was greatly appreciated. People love food - especially comfort food.
7) Offer to clean their house or hire someone to clean it
This may be a touchy gesture for some but for my friend it was greatly appreciated. When she wasn't working she was at the hospice house with her mom or tending to her daughter. There wasn't any time for cleaning the house so over time it just got messy. One of her friends had her housecleaner come in while she was away & thoroughly cleaned her house for her. When she came home not only was she shocked but a huge sense of relief came over her & of course tears just to walk in to a clean house.
8) Make a basket
I had put together a huge basket of water, snacks, fruit, things to do for the kiddos, etc & delivered it to the hospital while her mom was there. I knew the family as well as friends would be there for awhile & thought it would be nice to have a basket of snacks available so they didn't need to leave the room.

Little did I know how much use this basket would get or how comforting it would be for the family. As the snacks dwindled, my friend & her family would restock it. When her mom moved to the hospice house the basket of snacks came with & was replenished weekly. When her mom passed away they used the basket to help bring her things home in. They later used that basket to take pictures & things to the funeral home. I'm not sure what ever happened to the basket but I do know that my friend said that basket meant more to them than I will ever know. It was at that moment that I didn't feel helpless as a friend anymore. Who knew such a simple gesture as a basket would mean so much to a family or mean so much to me for being the one who put it together.

So bottom line - if you are feeling helpless & have no idea what to do for your friend.....make a basket. Whether it be filled with snacks & food, or filled with "relaxing" things, or things to do, or even filled with gift cards to restaurants - make a basket. Every time they go to it or look at it they will think of you & will forever love you for it.

Grief is such a hard subject matter to talk about & deal with. I pray that none of you experience this kind of loss with a best friend anytime soon but hopefully after reading this you will be better prepared on how to be there for your friend when it does.

Build A Bear Experience

I'm not quite sure how we managed to escape the Build-A-Bear experience for 5 years but we have....until today. It was a cold Sunday afternoon & thought why not get out of the house for a bit & head to the mall?! And so we did.

We started out with having lunch at Mason's favorite place to eat - Panda Express & then made our way through the mall hitting up Mason's favorite places like the Disney store & the LEGO store. 

We then had to ride the carousel not once but twice....

After that we walked past the Build-A-Bear store & I thought it would be fun to go in & check it out since we had never been there before. It took only 10.4 seconds until Mase had a "bear" picked out & was ready to go.

I had never been in Build-A-Bear before so I had no idea what it all entailed. I assumed that from the name of it you pick out a bear, get it stuffed & take it home. Boy was I wrong. It is quite the process & as I found out can get expensive with all the "accessories" when it is all said & done.

So how does this process work?

First, you pick out your "shell" of the character you want. This shell ranges from Paw Patrol, Star Wars, My Little Pony, Pokémon, Peter Rabbit & all kinds of other characters as well as the usual bears.

Mason chose the character "Squirtle" from the Pokémon cartoon.

Next, once you have selected the shell you want, you take it over to the stuffing machine to be stuffed.

Once it is stuffed you pick out a heart to put inside your stuffed character. There is a little routine that is done before the heart is put inside. You put the heart on your arm to make your bear "nice & strong". You put it on your chest to make your bear "kind & full of love" & you put it up to your head to "promise to always watch over & take care of your bear" & then the heart goes inside.





Once the heart is "blessed" you can then pick out a smelly disc in the scent of your choice to put in him as well (cue accessory #1) to make him smell yummy. Mason chose the cotton candy scent....probably because it was blue - his favorite color & the disc was put inside. Now Squirtle smells like cotton candy.

Next you can walk over to the station where you can officially give your bear a name & you will get a printed certificate of adoption with your name & your bears official name on it (accessory #2). Since Mason chose a character from a cartoon he already had a name & Mase didn't want to change it so he opted out of the naming ceremony.

We spent a good bit of time looking at all the accessories you can buy for your bear from shirts, outfits, PJ's, shoes, coats, - you name it, you could buy it. Thank goodness my kid is pretty plain & didn't need all the bells & whistles. He was pretty content with Squirtle just as he was & ended up being more excited that he had a backpack he could carry him around in.

After we checked out & were on our way out the door, out came the Build-A-Bear mascot. Mase immediately ran over to her, gave her a big hug & asked for a picture with her. So cute!

On a scale of 1-10 I would have to say our Build-A-Bear experience was a 10! Mason absolutely loved it & it really wasn't that expensive. For the bear & the experience we spent around $40. You can definitely make it as cheap or expensive as you want. Even though it was our first time visiting, I can honestly say that it won't be our last time we visit this place.

Little does Mason know, they gave me a $10 off coupon to be used next month :)

Pawhuska, OK

Pawhuska, OK is a tiny, historic town with a population of 3600 people. Located 57 miles NW of Tulsa it is surrounded by cattle ranchers. Not much to see in this small town EXCEPT.....

This little town is home of Ree Drummond & her family. AKA the Pioneer Woman! She has a cooking show that I love to watch on Food Network where she cooks for her family & friends primarily at her lodge/ranch. She also has a blog that I follow which you can check out HERE & a vintage kitchen/dishes line that is sold at her mercantile store & at Walmart. I might just be a little bit obsessed with her.

 

My friend Kenzie & I picked a day this past winter to make the 3 hour drive to have lunch at her café, shop in her store & tour the lodge where she films her Food Network show. Today was that day & we couldn't have been more excited!

 

We woke up early & were on the road by 7am...can you tell we are excited??



It was a super fun drive down to OK with lots of girl talk, Kenzie being our DJ & a couple of pit stops along the way. We arrived in Pawhuska around 1030, found a place to park & got in line at the Mercantile to have lunch.

When we arrived there was a line out the door & around the block which I am told is the norm for this place ALL day long. However we didn't care how long the wait was...we just drove 3 hours to get here so we were happy little clams to sit & wait. Actually we only waited for 45 minutes until we were seated which wasn't too bad.

Once inside we were giddy taking it all in & then had the hard decision to pick something to eat off of the amazing menu.

We opted for the spinach/artichoke dip with pita bread as an appetizer which was dee-lish! It was a difficult decision but I ended up ordering the Marlboro Man sandwich & it didn't disappoint. Kenzie ordered the White Chicken Lasagna & she said it was pretty much the best thing she had ever eaten.

After an amazing lunch, we went over to her general store where there was fabric, linens, dishes, kitchen utensils, children's books, cookware, soaps, clothes....you name it she sold it.

 

Pretty much in love with her dishes!!

After shopping in her general store we made our way upstairs to the bakery.The whole upstairs was an awesome sitting area where you could enjoy a treat from the bakery while sipping on coffee all while admiring the view of downtown Pawhuska out the windows.

Next we made our way 25 minutes down the road to tour the Pioneer Woman's lodge where her Food Network show is filmed. While making our way we passed the Drummond Ranch where Ree's husband, brother-in-law, father-in-law & sons work the cattle on their 433,000 acre ranch.

Nothing but brown fields for miles & miles! Once you get off of the asphalt road you drive on gravel for several miles & I'm not going to lie - it is a rough ride! The whole time we were worried we would pop a tire & unfortunately there was a car on the side of the road who had developed a flat tire. We decided that this route to the lodge was probably not ever used by the Drummond family!!

 

We finally made it to the lodge & the view was breathtaking...even with the grass in it's dormant state.

The lodge sits up on a hilltop so it was pretty breezy but still beautiful nonetheless. Also, you can see a gravel road in the middle of the pic. We later found out this is the road that the family takes back & forth to their home. Of course - we figured they didn't travel that horrible, rough gravel road everyday.





After looking through my pics I realized I didn't get a pic of the actual lodge so here is one I took off the internet so you have an idea what it looks like as you pull up to it.

Once inside it looked just like it does on her Food Network show. It was so cool to be there seeing everything. I was in awe of her kitchen, all her dishes, her pantry!! SOOO cool!

 

We had so much fun touring the Pioneer Woman's lodge, ranch & store but sadly it was time to head back home. We made one last pit stop before leaving Pawhuska & were on our way back to Kansas. Of course no trip to OK is complete without a stop into Braum's ice cream.

Mmmmm the best mint chip ice cream out there!

What a fun day trip with my work bestie Kenzie! Looking forward to being able to take my mom here this summer. This little day trip to see the Pioneer Woman's mercantile & ranch is right up her alley!!!



 

Winter Blues / Cell Phone Dump

The month of February has been a pretty blah, uneventful month with not much happening. It has been SO cold here so we haven't been getting out of the house much. Plus I feel like everyone around us has been sick with Influenza hunkered down in their homes so we have been trying to avoid being out & about.

Luckily, our household hasn't encountered Influenza A or B but Mason did have strep right before his birthday :( We caught it pretty early so he was only down & out for a day & acting like himself within 24 hours. So thoughtful that Shane & I managed to escape getting it!

Earlier in the month on the 4th we had fun celebrating Mason's best friend Greyson's birthday at Chuck-E-Cheese. For a Sunday I was surprised that place wasn't crazy busy! Note to self - book a birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese on a Sunday afternoon!

All the kiddos had a ton of fun playing games, eating pizza/cake & turning in all their game tickets in exchange for a toy - so crazy how many tickets it takes for a cheap, plastic toy or a piece of candy there!

Shane had another gig this month at The Mini-Bar in downtown KC. There were 2 other bands playing after them so they ended up having a pretty good turnout of people. They are working on several new songs right now at band practice so looking forward to hearing the new songs in the upcoming months.

That pretty much sums up our month. We went to a birthday party last weekend for one of Mason's little classmates, I have been taking lots of extra call when I am able, lots of trips to Redbox for movies & trying to stay warm. Spring is right around the corner & I am looking SO forward to some warmer temps & some green grass!!!!

Cell Phone pics from the month.....

My friend Kenzie is always surprising me with thoughtful treats & gifts when I come to work. Today it is a coffee mug just because. Love this girl!

Pizza party!! Mason & one of his besties Jarin :) Love these two!! 

Benefit of having to be at work early....watching the sun come up in the East! 

 Valentine gifts for Mason's teachers....hand sanitizer & a Walmart gift card!

School is cancelled & daycare is closed. What to do? Take little man to the movies! Peter Rabbitt = CUTE movie!

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Benefit to getting home late...watching the Kansas sunset - Beautiful!!