What a day....Whew

So today I hurried up and cleaned the house, worked out and then me and the boys headed outside to enjoy some of that 77 degree's...YUP 77 degrees in Michigan IN MARCH!! Woo Hoo! Sam kept saying "Mamma its summer isn't it" I didn't have the heart to tell him that who knows what the weather is going to be next week and that it could possible be like 30 and snowing next week for all we know:)

Sam LOVES to take pictures right now so him and I were having a blast taking our pictures and then he would look them over and tell me if he thought they were good ones or not. Parker even got in on the action which is UNHEARD of.

Sam's favorite thing to do outside these days is ride his Diego Big Wheel up and down the drive-way and pretend that he is heading off to work like Daddy. Park's favorite thing is to find bugs. He has these bug pincher things that he got a while back and he catches them and then stares at them for FOREVER and names them and talks to them. Very funny! Anyways enjoy all our crazy pictures.....

Waiting.....

It's been almost a week and I'm......

I love my boys more than anything in the world but there have been times this week where I have felt like this.....

I just talked to Nate and he is probably going to arrive in GR around midnight, I swear he NEVER is on a flight that is on time. He left Portland this morning at like 8AM so its been a long day for him. But before ya'll go feeling too sorry for him don't worry he doesn't sit in coach like the rest of us losers so he has spent a majority of his day here........

Not feeling sorry for him anymore are ya? :)

I'm looking forward to having the next couple of days with us all together again......until he starts annoying me and then I'll send him away.....ha ha ha I'm totally joking......Maybe:)

Spring Flowers

After school I took the boys to the library and then we went to McDonalds for lunch. Its kind of funny because not only are their personalities totally different but so are their eating habbits. Parker wants Chicken Nuggets, French Fries and Sprite. Sam wants a Cheeseburger Apples and Milk. For some reason it always seems funny to me when I'm ordering it. Anyways I broke down and brought them in to get hair cuts. I have been attempting to do it myself for a couple of months and its just such a struggle. And both them and I end up really frustrated by the end. So I brought them to the salon they used to go to. I was going to take them to the salon I work at now but I didn't want them running around acting all crazy, don't want to scare anyone! Ha! However I was so surprised because they were SOOOO good. Both of them sat still and behaved better than they ever did before while getting it cut. Shocking!

After that we went to the flower shop. Remember Andicott? They closed down a while back and I was so bummed. They sell beautiful CHEAP fresh cut flowers that you can buy by the stem so you aren't stuck with a bunch of crappy flowers you don't want. Anyways there is a new florist that opened up in the same building as the old Andicott and we have been stopping in and buying flowers for the house. Sam and Parks LOVE it there! This week I let them each pick out a flower to put in our "bunch" . Parker picked white Daisies and Sam picked out an Iris. So I picked out a few other things and we came home and put it in the vase. They have been admiring them all day. I keep stressing to them that women LOVE flowers and that some day when they have girlfriends and wives that they need to know how to pick out nice flowers for them. Some day I hope my daughter in laws will appreciate all this "training" I have done! He he he

Single Mom for a bit!

Guess who flew off for the week?

Certainly not me Ha!! Nate left EARLY Tuesday morning on a flight to Portland OR for the week. He actually won't be home until late Saturday night, BOO! I know its part of his job but some times its harder than others. His normal business trips are only 1-2 nights to visit accounts but this trip is for a trade show so he is gone longer. I also realize this is no picnic for him either because he has to be on his feet all day talking to people and with the time change it can be a killer. I had a rough night getting the boys to take their baths tonight and get into bed because they were all riled up. They realize their Dad is gone and seem to think they can get away with being a little naughtier. I give single Moms all the credit in the world to be able to manage everything on their own. What a job that must be!!!

So guess where I went tonight to de-stress??

Yup thats right, The Spa!!!! Keri (sister in law) and I were treated to massages tonight and then Chinese for dinner from my Mom! Isn't she the BEST!!!!

Wish me luck this week, its only Wednesday and I still have 3 more full days of being the one woman entertainment committee around here! Ha!

13 years ago today.....

13 years ago today, March 21st 1997 (wow I'm old) I went on my first date with my husband.

People always ask married couples "when did you know that you wanted to spend the rest of your life together". Did I know that day that we would be where we are now? NOPE! However, I knew that there was something about him that I really liked and I needed to get to know him better. I think of all the reasons why it may not have worked out. I remember thinking "Am I a little too wild for him" Ha!!! Just being honest. Like ya'll didn't ever think that too!!! He was so straight laced and conservative.....It was a struggle in the beginning, him living in Kalamazoo, working full time and going to school full time. We were so young, I still lived with my parents and just started a fun job and was traveling all the time.

It's hard to remember the people we were back then because we have basically spent most of our "adult" life together. I have toned down SOME Of the wildness, Nate has become a very confident businessman. ( he is so going to kill me for typing that, but its true) I wonder some times if we met today if we would still "choose" eachother. I like to think that we would. I think its just so different meeting your spouse and getting married at a young age because you pretty much grow up together. We still sometimes look at eachother and laugh and say "Can you believe WE are parents and have two kids".

I think having kids has changed our relationship so much more than I ever imagined. Some good, some bad. I do some days wish that we were still young, having our whole life ahead of us. It was a lot easier back then, we spent so much more time together, laughing, talking, gosh we would talk for HOURS and HOURS about anything and everything. But then I look at the boys, I think of all the things we have accomplished, all the experiences we have had together, All the history.......

I will never forget that first date, the butterflies and the nerves. Wish I could travel back and eavesdrop on the conversations we had, now that would be hilarious!!!

The date March 21st will always be a special date for Nate and I. It was the beginning of our journey to becoming an "us". A day worth remembering!!!

Bike

I want This

Nate and I have been going back and forth on if we are going to get bikes this year. The boys are FINALLY old enough to get their big boy bikes so we will be getting those for sure this spring. I like picture us all biking as a family, just peddling along some beautiful bike path, laughing and enjoy the sunshine. Ahhhhh Summer!!!!

Someone needs to send me......

Anyone want to sign me up for the show???

I think we may need her after the day we have had!!!

A little conversation with my husband...

So yesterday afternoon Nate and I were going over our budget and trying to figure out where we could back to save some $$. This was our conversations:

Me: "This budget is going to suck when it comes time to buy my PRODUCTS"

Nate: "Well You know you are going to have to make some cut backs"

Me: " Yes, BUT there are some things that I just cannot possibly LIVE without"

Nate: "Well I had to make some sacrifices, like I didn't order my NFL ticket this year for the football season"

Me: "I'm sorry WHAT? Do you wear your NFL ticket around all day every day?"

Nate: (Rolls his eyes)

Me: "Seriously Nate, if I don't purchase my fancy face creams I'll be a big ole wrinkled mess"

Nate" (Actually Laughs At Me)

Me: "Whatever dude, we will see who is laughing when I have all those wrinkles"

I bet Nate will be lining up at Sephora to score me some of the good stuff after I look like...

THIS!!!

Happy Time Change Day!

I love the time change for many reasons:

1. Summer is getting closer and closer by the second

2. I love that extra hour of daylight

3. It just seems like you do so much more when it doesn't get dark at like 5pm

4. NORMALLY the kids sleep in later for at least a little while

HOWEVER this year has already started off rough. Yesterday Parker was acting sooooo tired. He was in a terrible mood and just REALLY hard to be around. I think he is having a growth spurt because every once in a while this seems to happen. Anywho we were out running errands and I ran into Meijer to get a few things while Nate stayed in the car with the kids. When I came out he was SOUND asleep. This was at 5pm. So when we got home we tried to wake him up. No such luck so we just put him to bed. I thought that maybe he would get up early like say around 6ish. OH NOOOOOOO he was up at like 3AM and WIDE awake. So Nate got up with him and then at around 6:30 he woke me up and then went back to sleep for a few hours. He has once again been in a terrible mood. Well heck the kids has been up for twelve hours already so he just went down for a little nap. Not too long but he is just NOT going to make it through the day. UGH! So much for a happy Time change day for us!!!!

Oh How I Love Nature!

Taking a picture at the entrance

Not sure whats up with the belly shots???

Parker Doodle

Sammer Bammer

I told Sam it was fake but I'm not sure he believes me!

Checking out the turtles

Me and my boys!!!

Funny little guys!

Sam being silly

Sam peaking out of the Sugar House

Sam

Just checking things out!

Bird Watchin

More Turtles

Going in to buy some Maple Syrup

No Pictures Puleezzzeee

A rare quiet moment with Parks!!!

I took the boys to the nature center the other day. I did NOT want to go because well I pretty much hate Nature! Ha! It was a 55 degree day and the snow was almost gone so I felt like we needed to get out and enjoy some of the warmer temps. My problem is that somedays I'm just feeling lazy and not in the mood to go get dirty. But I sucked it up and brought them and it turned out to be lots of fun. We had fun "exploring as the boys put it. Then it started to rain on us and again I was reminded that I'm not a "nature" girl!!! Ha! However I got some cute shots of my little nature lovers!!!

Zoo with Kali

Kali and Parks

Lion

Kali showing the boys how to compare their hands to the Chimpanzee

I think I see the resemblance

Watch Out Kali, that Lion is going to get ya!!!

Look at how close that lion is to me!!! Good Thing For The Glass!

Hanging out in the Aquarium building

Parker

Crazy Looking Octopus!!!

The Boys thought that was pretty cool!

Kali came to visit us again while she was on spring break last week. We decided to head to the zoo because it was a sunny "warmer" day. Even though they didn't have a lot of the animals out yet we had fun just walking around and soaking up the sun.