{ Relish the Present }

This weekend is going to be packed full of things to do, but i am still working hard at living in the present. I have actually done really well doing this for the past few days and it actually feels really good. I am not saying that every day is going to be easy because i know that it is not. My mind has a tendency to jump ahead ALWAYS and i have still allowed that to happen when i am at work. However, once i get home in the afternoon, my focus is totally on my kids and their activities/sports, homework and then cuddle time. I am going to try to pencil in some ME time somewhere but i haven't quite figured out when that is going to happen just yet. I have things that i need to do for me and books that i would like to finish and others that i would like to read, along with the exercise program that i am wanting to fit in. I keep telling myself...IN DUE TIME, it will all work out. Here was another reminder that i ran across today and it is just perfect also...

HAPPY FRIDAY Y'ALL!!

:: Rained Out ::

Yesterday was Jackson's first Fall baseball game of the season and he was pretty excited about it. And his little brother was even MORE excited about "going to Jack Jack's baseball game!" Believe me...we definitely heard about it too. The whole way to Bolton Park. You would have thought that we were taking Chayton to Disney World. It was adorable, very sweet and pretty funny too. However, the game was not played! The weather looked like it was going to storm but we still had to get everything done and head to the fields. When we were leaving home, it was not raining but had started lightening. Lightening, in itself, will delay/call off a game but there was no cancellation at the time. JJ and i both knew exactly what was going to happen. It was going to start pouring down rain and the game would get cancelled as we got there. WE CALLED IT!! Just as we were about to pull in, we got the text that the game was cancelled. So, we turned around and headed home. Chayton did not understand what was happening and why he was not going to a baseball game. Jackson never really commented on what his thoughts were about it being cancelled. JJ was sad because he will not be able to go to the next few because he has his own games to go to. I was determined to make the best of a game with some rain (if the lightening was absent). This pretty summed up my feeling for the evening...

And i was ready to do just that!!

~ Life in the Fast Lane ~

I stumbled upon this saying the other day, and really have not stopped thinking about it...

Last night, while the kids were watching movies and i was sitting on the couch alone...it hit me like a ton of bricks...I am ALWAYS thinking way too far ahead and worrying about things that have not even happened yet and may not even be an issue. I am missing out on things that are currently happening because i look right past them. As i was sitting there, worrying about how things would get done the rest of the week, my boys were both alone in their rooms watching things that they wanted to watch and i was not in there with either one of them. I was off somewhere in another day and i could have easily been present in today. At that moment, i stopped and got up and read books with Chayton. Jackson had finished his movie and was reading for homework so i decided when he was done, Chayton and I would go in his room and do what Jackson wanted to do. The rest of the night we all layed in bed together watching shows that they wanted to watch. This morning i have questioned whether or not i am a good mother to my boys. But once i realized that i was being a little too irrational and hard on myself, i just decided that i am going to work REALLY hard at living for today and enjoying the things that are going on today!! You only live once and your kids are only small for a short amount of time. 

~ Way Far Behind ~

I know, I know, I know...i have NOT been doing a good job of keeping up my blog. I have slacked on posting birthdays, fun things, illnesses, etc on here lately. I just cannot keep up. I have had SO many things that i have needed to do at home and it has not really happened either. We have just been trying to get back in the swing of school starting, homework, trying to fit work outs in, JJ has had football games to go to, Jackson had baseball tryouts 2 weekends in a row and so on. I have barely had time to keep my house picked up much less de-clutter things that i want to!! I am hoping to get things back on track after this weekend. And then will come Labor Day weekend- when things will get back off schedule! But, oh well, memories are still being made!! IT IS FRIDAY and the WEEKEND IS HERE and that is all that matters right now.

This is SO true...

P.S.   I sure do wish that we were going to Sugarland tonight...but JJ's football games get in the way of everything! HA! Have a great weekend!

. . . HERE GOES EVERYTHING . . .

Well, guess what folks?? I am back on the healthy wagon. I started yesterday and i have to keep with it. I am not going to say that i am on a diet because really- i am not. I have been working on changing the way that i was eating and introducing new things and it has actually worked out. I have been trying to make healthier purchases (for the most part) at the grocery store and have been working on decreasing the amount of sugar that i (and my kids) get on a daily basis. I have done really well in this area with the boys, but JJ however, has not done so hot. (He takes them and gets SUGAR LOADED snacks after school...we are working on this.) I have started back on all of my vitamins that i was previously taking and have added 2 weight loss supplements that are made with vitamins/minerals. Here is the hard part...i have 21 {yes, that would be twenty-one} pills to take a day! I gag with just about every one. But the first 3 days of taking one of the supplements, i have to take 5 pills before breakfast and 5 before lunch. After 3 days, i do not have to take those again for 30 days. WOO HOO! I am only doing that supplement and the weight loss supplement for 3 months. I have gotten my health & fitness level all out of whack and it does not make you feel very good. After just the first day back on track, i already feel better today. Each day will be better and hopefully in a few months, i will be back where i want to be. Running and exercise videos are beginning today!!

* Happy Birthday to Me *

Well, Saturday was my birthday! We always go eat with my sister and her family and my mom on each of our  birthdays...so this time, it was my turn. Jackson picked Salsa as the restaurant and it was fun. The 5 boys always have a great time together no matter where we choose to go. And this time was no different!

 Chayton & Jackson

 My 3 boys!

 Me and my babies!!

 Sweet cousins... minus Camden. He wasn't feeling too well.

After lunch...it is very difficult to have everyone sitting and looking at the camera with these wild boys!

~ Chayton the Trooper ~

My sweet 2 year old boy is such a trooper!! This little guy has been through so much and has had so many things at this age that Jackson never had. We had a scare with an anaphylactic reaction to eating boiled eggs on a salad... VERY SCARY!! He has previously had a reaction to milk after the age of 1. So, now it was time to have him allergy tested. I have been very nervous about this appointment but the testing went better than i expected. Jackson and I took him and it was a little wild at times. He did not cry at all and was very still while they were marking and applying the tests to his back. But waiting the 15-20 minutes for the results were not so calm. The testing did confirm that he was allergic to eggs so we have to avoid EGGS by themselves (scrambled, boiled, etc) and he can have things like cookies, brownies, etc that he has had before without an issue. But anything that contains eggs that he has not had (mayonaise, etc), he cannot have since we do not know if he will react or not. I DO NOT want to re-live friday night almost 2 weeks ago EVER. That was literally one of the scariest nights of my life.

Sweet Chayton playing while waiting to be called back

Chayton and Jackson "hiding" waiting on the doctor

This was what his back looked like as soon as she put all of the tests on there

This was 15 minutes in to the test...it is hard to tell but #1 was eggs and it was the only one that had redness around the initial red dot...which indicates a + reaction. The other red dots look like the control (the O at the top right) and did not produce redness around the test.

And he was a HAPPY boy when we were home and it was all over!