Thursday's Thoughts/Mom Confessions

***First of all, I want to pat myself on the back for posting THREE times in one week! ;) ***

As a mom, I am all about keepin' it real. It is so easy to read someones blog/facebook or look at their pictures and think "wow, they have it together" or "their kids are perfect". I am about to show you some wonderful examples of both. Ha!

I don't think Tristan got enough sleep last night...he was just a tad bit grumpy this morning, totally NOT in the mood for a "before school" picture.

This may explain why when I picked him up and asked his teachers "how was Tristan's day", they both responded with a "well....". Ha! They said he had a hard time focusing and going with the flow today. This is definitely a first! I had to tell myself as we were walking out to the car "he's only four...".

You would never know by this sweet little pic I posted on instagram this morning that he had a major fit just minutes before, see?!? =)

I got this calender out in class the other night and one of my good friends said, "don't you have an i-phone?". I know its dorky, but I really find enjoyment in marking through each day. Especially with Dwight being gone, it makes each day more bearable.

My mom took Tristan outside to play today and he kept coming to the door. After about the 5th time I told him "Tristan, no more...either come in or OUT." Little did I know that he was holding a little yellow flower for me. I felt so bad! He definitely redeemed himself. Ha!

Oh he gives me a run for my money, but how can I resist this sweet little face?!?

I feel like just yesterday he was 9 months old...couldn't talk back, protest or make me grow gray hairs.

Which leads me to my next confession, I found a GRAY hair. I'm only 24, that is NOT okay with me. I cut it out and told it not to come back, in Jesus' name!! Ha! ;)

I told Tristan it was time to take a bath and get ready for bed. He looked at me and said "Whattttt, I don't get dinner?!?!" How's that for a mom confession, I forgot to feed my child dinner tonight. Now granted, he did have a late afternoon snack and we all ate something he would never eat so it just slipped my mind...mom fail! Of course I fixed him something special and he loved it!

And for my last mom confession...

Tristan is possibly the world's worst sleeper. He loves to be rocked, co-slept with or patted to sleep. All of these are sweet in theory but when I need to maximize my time, it is not the best solution. I have started a sticker chart where Tristan gets to put a sticker on it each morning if he goes to sleep by himself. And when I say by himself, I mean with me sitting in his pottery barn chair next to his bed. This is still progress because I am not IN the bed or patting his back. Basically I am sleep training my 4 year old.

As easy as it would be to get stressed about these things, feel guilty or like a complete failure...I just choose to laugh because I know its all apart of the journey of motherhood. Plus, nothing beats the time that I wore two different pairs of shoes to school when T was 4 months old. I had literally gotten ready in the dark and walked out the door (completely unaware) that I had one brown leather flat with a bow on top, and one black flat with a flower on the side. I had no idea till I got home that evening. Ha!!

Oh the sweet joys of motherhood...

I would love to hear some of y'alls "mom confessions" in the comments section so I don't feel totally alone! ;)



Two Worded Wednesday

Bedtime story!

Growing up... :(

In class!

GRADUATION 2013!!! :) :) :)

Church "school"

Tired boy!

Occupational Therapy.

Happy Wednesday!

Talk about Tuesday

1. My instagram/facebook fast is over. After 21 days of no posting on either sites, I've discovered a new found freedom. :) I was able to see that both take up way too much time in my daily life. Although my fast is over, I will continue to have a healthy disconnect with both. So, if it takes me a little longer to reply to your text/call/comment etc., it is because my phone is probably on silent in the other room! ;)



2. Tonight is my second week of class. Last week started FULL force. The professor handed out our study guides to take the National Counselor's Exam (NCE) and it weighs about 6 pounds. GULP! I have a lot of studying to do so that I can ace that test after graduation.



3. As Tristan gets older, I enjoy holidays more and more! I am so excited for his school Valentine's day party. I have a few crafts I need to get started on for it. In the meantime he has gotten his V-day shirt, cards to hand out to his classmates and a special Veggietales dvd about love!

4. I am beyond thankful to be apart of the young wives/moms bible study group I am in at my church. I am so excited for the friendships that have already started to form and will continue to. Tristan just inherited about 15 new little friends. Ha!

5. Krystle owns her own franchise of stroller strides and has also started a play group for mothers in the Trophy Club/Southlake/Keller area. Starting this Friday, Tristan and I will be joining her on these play dates. I LOVE meeting/socializing with other moms in similar walks of life. Plus, I know Tristan enjoys the friendships.





6. I can't believe it is almost February!!! Spring is approaching and it is my FAVORITE time of year!!

7. Dwight is doing well/playing well, but ready to come home. We are ready for him to come home, too! However, I think Tristan will miss his special morning time with Mimi.

8. I'm almost 25 years old and have NEVER colored my hair. Well, change is coming! I am going to get some light brown highlights at my next hair appointment in a couple of weeks. I promised Dwight I would NOT cut my hair, he likes it long (so do I). Ha!

9. I can't believe it is almost February!! I have started the process of looking for our new home. Dwight gets multiple emails a day from me asking if he likes certain ones I find. Dwight will be home in mid-April, I keep debating if I want to move in before he comes home and have everything nice and homey for him...or wait for him so he can do all the packing and lifting. I'm thinking I'll probably just wait! It's the thought that counts, right?!? ;)

10. I am going to do better at blogging this week!! Promise. =)

What's up Wednesday

What a beautiful day it was...70ish degrees in January, perfection!

Tristan and I started our day off at church. Tuesdays (while T is in school) I am in an amazing bible study group with some very fabulous women from church. I am loving it!! Wednesdays I get to work in the church nursery for a few hours while other women go to their Bible study. Tristan comes along and goes to his class. He thinks it is the absolute best to get to go to church AND take a lunch. ;) 

Wednesday afternoons are also Tristan's occupational therapy days. However, the weather was too beautiful to pass up a trip at the park before his appointment. So, off we went!

Tristan played his heart out!! I did too... Ha! 

He had me playing chase, climbing, sliding and more. :)

Look at the smile on his face!

I had to take this picture to show his OT.

She has been working diligently with T on gaining confidence in areas where his balance/equilibrium is challenged. There is a huge rock wall that she has been trying to get him to climb during his sessions, he is not fond of it! You can imagine the praise he received for running over to this one and mastering it. Making excellent progress!

Yay, Tristan!!!!

Sliding is another area that we have had to work on. Some kids are all over the place and lack fear of anything (Amari. Ha!). But, Tristan is extremely cautious, a rule follower, a thinker. I have learned SO much during this process, stuff I can use as I go on to practice therapy with my own clients. It is exciting to see different exercises, techniques and theories that are used and working on him!

After playing for an hour or so, we strolled around the hiking trail.

Tristan kept saying "mommy, lets look at this water (disgusting pond), it's beautiful! I thought it was so precious. This is also where we had a "race"...hence him running in the picture!

It was only fitting to cap off our wonderful afternoon with some delicious ice cream. A trip to Braums was a must! I told Tristan that since he did so good with his OT exercises (he thought he was just playing ;) that he could get whatever he wanted. Chocolate shake it was! I enjoyed a scoop of cookies n cream on a waffle cone. Yum!! 

Church, check. Park, check. Braums, check! Next up we went to OT. 

As you can see we had a busy day, but it was oh so FUN.

I told Tristan "you are my best friend!" He responded "No one has ever told me that before...they just say I am their best buddy." Ha! He kept telling me how much fun he had and thanking me for it all. It is days like these that God reminds me, it does not matter how many degrees I have, where we live, how many loads of laundry are completed or what I cooked for dinner. What matters is spending time with the ones you love and cherishing the little, precious things in life. 

I have to end this post with a sweet video of Tristan on the swing.

 The motion of swinging has never been enjoyable to T, but through desensitization, he has learned that it can be fun! After his session today his therapist said that we would re-evaluate and talk about termination of treatment. Our goals for T have been getting checked off left and right. I think come summer, we will be officially done with all kinds of therapy. Woohooo! ;)

Life Lately!

I haven't been the best at weekly blog post updates, but that's okay because I have been enjoying life lately!

Get ready for the longest blog post/picture overload, AND the cutest video of Tristan from today. :)

Tristan and I have been having weekly dates with Krystle and Ty.
We love spending time with them! Krys needed to run some errands, so she asked if I could watch Ty for a little bit. Of course I agreed! I got good practice handling a preschooler and infant at the same time. It wasn't bad at all, I think I'm ready for the real deal! ;)

Tristan watched a movie on the bed while Ty "helped" me get ready.

I mean seriously, could he be any cuter? I can't believe that this sweet, chunky boy use to be 4lbs and teeny tiny! 

At one point I had fed Ty, rocked him to sleep and we were all 3 on the couch. Whenever we are around a baby Tristan stays VERY close to me. I'm not sure he is ready to share me just yet...!

When Krystle got home we did another Valentines day craft. The boys loved it!

I love that Ty is looking straight at the camera. :)

Tristan painted something special to send daddy, we are preparing a special package to send him for v-day/1 year anniversary. Can't wait!!

This is the sweetest picture. Ty tried so hard to join in on the fun!

I love that every time I come over, Krystle asks me if she can take a shower (notice her wet hair). I can SO remember those days, when a shower is a luxury!

After fun time with the Fullers, I took my little guy to get a hair cut.

He said good bye to his mohawk (on his own accord) and welcomed in a fresh, sharp cut.

I think he is cute either way, but I do love his hair short!

Later that night, T and I met Jill at BJ's for dinner! It was SO delicious. I think I ate enough for 4 people, the pazookie for dessert sealed the deal. Ha!

Tristan truly loves my friends, and they love him!

He was excited to see "aunt Jill". On the way there, I looked in the backseat and he was sitting so seriously with his legs crossed. I was at a red light so I had to take a quick pic! ;)

After 3 hours of amazing food, conversation, laughing till we nearly cried, we headed back home.

My grandparents came in town from Corpus Christi and Tristan was THRILLED to see them!

Growing up, I had the best grandparents. They would do anything for us, and loved us so.very.much. Even though they have moved 12 hours away, they are still the same with Tristan. I am so thankful that my son has not only gotten to meet his great-grandparents, but develop a relationship with them since he was born.

Our very long day concluded with an episode of "Beggie" Tales (T's favorite show)!

Earlier in the week, Tristan had his weekly OT. The only bad part about it is that we get out of his appointments just in time for downtown Fort Worth rush hour traffic...

(Dwight if you see this picture and how filthy my car windshield is, don't worry...I'm taking it to get washed tomorrow. Haha!)

For this little boy, it's worth the pain! ;)

Only in Texas can it snow one week and be 70 degrees the next!

However, I can't complain because the weather was optimal for outdoor play.

Only real boys can pull off a pink bike... =)

He is definitely becoming a little boy!

SO proud of T! Sliding and climbing have not been his favorite things in the past...but  his OT, Ms. Mary has worked hard to get him to this point.

Sweet boy!

My great uncle passed away last week, Saturday was his funeral.

It is sad because death leaves us without someone we love. It is joyous because we know he is in heaven with our Savior. :) Krystle and Jake were kind enough to keep Tristan from 9:45am till 4:30pm  while we went to the service. They said he was very good! When I picked him up, T said Krystle and he baked cookies, and then he and Jake played outside. Lucky boy!

My great uncle Richard was my Nanny's big brother.  

It was good to see family that we don't usually get a chance to see often.

I sure was ready to pick up my boy and give him hugs and kisses, though.

The remainder of our day was spent playing hard!!
Notice the holes in my son's jeans?!? ALL of his jeans, except one pair look like this. I should add that he has 8 pairs, all of them bought in the past 4 months, some more expensive than others. Moral of the story? Little boys wear their close OUT. I am learning quickly that this boy child must have play clothes that I don't care what happens to, in addition to my "must have" finds for him. So, I am keeping all of his "holy jeans" for days just like this. I do plan on doing a major spring wardrobe shopping trip for us, I better add jeans to that list. Boys! ;)

When did he get SO big??!!

You can imagine that after ALL that playing, he was in need of a major scrub down. 

T has definitely reached the stage of boyhood where he is stinky, sweaty, dirty most of the time. This is very difficult for his A-type, clean, "loves cute clothes on her kids" mom. Ha!

I have been on a super strict diet. NOT to lose weight, but to be healthier and decrease my hospital visits. 3 times in 4 months is TOO much for me!! I have been staying away from dairy, soy, wheat and the worst... caffeine. It has not been easy at times but I have felt SO much better. I am learning a lot about my body and that I can reduce pain/sickness purely by the foods I eat. With all that said,  I did treat myself to a nice, ice cold, delicious dr. pepper last night. It was heavenly!! I hadn't consumed an ounce of caffeine in almost 3 weeks. It tasted good, so good...but I immediately felt the reaction my body had to it. It'll be a while before I have another, and I am just fine with that!

This is a horrible picture but I love it! I worked in the church nursery this morning and T went to class. He absolutely adores going to church, reading the bible, memorizing scriptures and worshiping God. It delights my heart in ways I can't even explain. I KNOW he is going to do BIG things for the Kingdom of God one day!!

Pre-church photo shoot with Tristan!

I have to end this post with the sweetest video of my son.

I will be the first one to admit that he is not perfect, he has his moments, and sometimes he gives me a run for my money...but he is such a joy to parent. Tristan is one of the kindest, well-behaved (I can't take all the credit for that), easy-going, funniest kids. I think this video captures who he is, perfectly. Enjoy! 

This week will start full speed and stay that way, I'm sure. Winter break is officially over for me! I am so excited/nervous/eager/happy to start my last semester in grad school and get ready to welcome my man back home in 2.5 months!!!