Author: mommyinthemidwest

catch the moment: wk 26|halfway point

Gallery posted on by mommyinthemidwest

It’s official – 2015 is halfway over. Hard to believe.

This week has, if I’m being honest, sucked. It’s had some positive moments that you will see below but for the most part, it’s been stressful and sad. I lost my Aunt Sandy to cancer. She had been receiving treatments for a few months but suddenly took a turn for the worst and passed away Tuesday. Additionally, Dexter has a new skin rash. He is on a strong antibiotic that isn’t working, which tells me he probably shouldn’t be on it. But here it is, the holiday weekend, and I feel stuck. I want to stop giving it to him but don’t want to compromise his healing if it is actually doing something. I’m frustrated with Dexter’s skin for giving him so much trouble. I’m frustrated with doctors for not trying harder to figure out what’s going on. I’m tired of worrying about him all the time. I was able to spend the day with my mom and grandma today, which was greatly needed and appreciated. This weekend will be hard as we say our final goodbyes to Aunt Sandy. Death is never easy, but this solemn reminder of how short life is has hit me hard. I shared some of our visits with her and her alpacas in previous posts like THIS ONE.

Linking up with Mindi,Stephanie, and Carrie for week 26 of Catch the Moment 365.

176/365: Thursday, June 25th. Ryan’s beard sure was getting long. And I didn’t love it. So scratchy. The boys didn’t seem to mind.06-25-2015

177/365: Friday, June 26th. All that growing out for this….he agreed to do this along with another Tough Mudder teammate of his. He completed the course the next day and shaved his face on Sunday! Win – win. This is his “you’re not gonna put this on your blog, are you?” face. YEP!06-26-2015

178/365: Saturday, June 27th. We went to this little cutie’s 2nd birthday party while daddy was in Kentucky getting all muddy. I’ll take treats and sparkles over getting electrocuted (on purpose…what?) any day. 06-27-2015

179/365: Sunday, June 28th. We’d had nothing but rain, rain, rain for what felt like all summer but the sun finally came out and Sunday was a perfect day to take the boys to a baseball game with some friends. 06-28-2015

180/365: Monday, June 29th. Dexter at the doctor after I picked him up from camp and noticed the new rash on his arms and legs.06-29-2015

181/365: Tuesday, June 30th. After receiving the news that my aunt had taken her final breaths, I just wanted to be alone. I’d felt irritable and sad all week and needed some time to walk and think and just be. 06-30-2015

182/365: Wednesday, July 1st. The buddies whispering about the Lego creations they dream of building while looking through a Lego ideas book they picked out at the library. These two. 07-01-2015I hope you have a good 4th.

xo,

~C~

 

 

Catch the Moment:wk 25

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

Summer is in full swing and I’m loving it! I love the heat, the long nights, being outside, and grilling everything. At the same time though, knowing how quick we got here from last Christmas makes me gag. I don’t want it to be winter again in the same tiny blink of an eye. We had so many goals for this year and here we are, with only 26 weekends to catch up on those home renovations and de-cluttering/organization projects. Aaah! It’s just so hard to say “no” to fun when you just don’t get that many days off work to relax and enjoy. But let me NOT moan and groan summer away, because it’s here now and it’s happening all around me and we are making the most of it by staying busy with tons of fun.

I’m linking up with Mindi,Stephanie, and Carrie for week 24 of Catch the Moment.

169/365: Thursday, June 18th. I hadn’t seen this little lady in over a week and I couldn’t take it anymore so the boys and I stopped by to see Kennedy on our way home from camp Thursday night. Still as precious as ever! Gah, I just LOVE her.06-18-2015

170/365: Friday, June 19th. I tried a new Pinterest recipe: Stuffed French Bread. Theo came down with a fever at camp around 11am Friday so I knew we’d be staying in for the night. I wanted something comforting and quick and this hit on all points. Before we’d finished eating, my wheels were spinning with ideas for similar sandwiches…taco theme, pizza theme, chicken cordon bleu…on and on and on. So yummy and versatile, yet simple. It was awesome with ground beef, cream of mushroom soup, celery, cheddar cheese, and a few spices for max flavor. 06-19-2015

171/365: Saturday, June 20th. YAY, Theo woke up feeling fantastic so we were able to proceed with our fun summer plan for the day. I dedicated an entire post to this awesome inflatable water slide, which we broke out for the first time this weekend. The boys had a wonderful time climbing and sliding down countless times for about 3 hours nonstop. 06-20-2015

172/365: Sunday, June 21st: Father’s Day. I didn’t take any pictures until evening, but Ryan had a great day. We saw Inside Out and went to lunch. Did some yardwork and played around the house. I had plans for a big dinner but we were too full from the restaurant so we had grilled cheese and soup. Ryan cut down some overgrown bushes that completely blocked the view of our porch from the street. I ran outside before it got dark to get a better view of the new look. Now to work on our weeds and landscaping…baby steps. 06-21-2015

173/365: Monday, June 22nd. They DO love each other. They don’t always show it but it’s true. They are the very best of friends.06-22-2015

174/365: Tuesday, June 23rd. Ryan is doing a Tough Mudder on Saturday so he’s been growing out his beard for about a week. All the guys on the team will have a fu manchu. I can’t wait for him to go back to his normal 5 o’clock shadow stubble-face!06-23-2015

175/365: Wednesday, June 24th. It was a perfect night for a picnic and playing at the park, so that’s just what we did. PB&Js and smiles all the way around!06-24-2015I hope you’re enjoying your summer – we sure are!

xo,

~C~

 

slip, slide, splash – father’s day weekend fun!

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

After much sale-watching, review-reading, and over-analyzing, I broke down and said “yes” to an inflatable water slide for the boys. Ryan and I had been talking about it for more than a month. I anxiously watched the price yo-yo on Kohls.com while waiting for a big discount code. Last week, a huge, heavy box finally arrived on our front porch and the weekend couldn’t get here fast enough. But then Theo developed a fever and was vomiting on Friday. The forecast said 40% chance of rain for the next million years.

But THEN, by some miracle, Theo woke up feeling fine on Saturday and the radar was perfectly clear. Ryan had a million other things to do, gave me the “REALLY?” face, and seemed annoyed with me for inviting a friend over to play with the boys and their new toy.  I assured Ryan he could continue doing his yard work while I watched the boys and chatted with our company. No problem. This was right around the time our neighbor walked by with his push mower, pointed and laughed, and said “suckers!”

The dang thing took an hour to set up and longer (much, much) to fully take down. But he did it, and he rolled his eyes a lot but he didn’t complain (much) and I knew it would be that way and THAT’S just one reason why I love him so much. Because he puts up with me, even when I create a bunch of extra work for him. That’s one of the many reasons we celebrate him on Father’s Day.

The boys had so much fun (after we explained to them that this was a special thing, and not an every day or even every weekend thing). Theo woke up today saying “today’s a special day because it’s Father’s Day, and yesterday was a special day because we got our slide out!” I can’t wait to set it up and let them play again. Or to let Ryan set it up again. IMG_3810 IMG_3830 IMG_3840 IMG_3844 IMG_3847 IMG_3857 IMG_3858 IMG_3868 IMG_3875 IMG_3876 IMG_3891 IMG_3897 IMG_3903Their little faces are so worth it. I’m almost sure of it.

xo,

~C~