Getting Out

Oye! Has it been over a week since my last blog? Although I think about it a lot, I don't blog because of inconvenience. Our computer's battery doesn't last so the only way to do anything at the computer is at the table. That works fine in theory but when you have a crawling baby that's more into trying to walk, getting a chance to do things where you can't see him makes tasks impossible. But enough about that.
After 3 1/2 months here I feel like we're starting to get into a groove. I'm branching out and trying various Mommy groups/Bible Studies. I went to one last week and knew immediately that I wouldn't be going back. There wasn't a thing wrong with the ladies but I knew I just didn't click with the group. This week I went to a Bible study that I enjoyed, despite not being able to talk to anyone very much (My GPS took me on a wild goose chase and we were super late getting there). The speaker was way more charismatic than I'm used to but overall I liked the message and the group of ladies were nice. P had fun playing with kids his own age so I'm excited about going back twice a month. Another group we tried took place the next day. It was not what I'm used to for a play date. We played Limbo with the largest spider/spider web I've ever seen and we had a ribbon snake slither across our path. I was in fear the entire time but tried not to let P see it. That being said, we both liked the people. He was the oldest kid there as most kids his age are already in preschool. But he had fun and I enjoyed the women I talked to. It was nice for both of us to interact with people our own age. This week has been the best week that we've been here because of the outings and because I was able to fill up a lot of October on the calendar. I have a feeling that October will be a hard month for me so I'm thankful that we have a lot of fun play dates/outings planned. It's nice that we're getting out and meeting people finally. This coming week I'm looking forward to a Womens' Night at the church and a quick trip to Texas. I'll try to blog about that or whatever else strikes my fancy here in the near future. Until then.....

West Coast Getaway

The boys and I went to visit our family and friends out West for a couple weeks. Although the best part was seeing my parents, I also enjoyed many other aspects of the trip. Some of my favorite things were: lots of laughter, having a social life, playdates, everything about Reno (well, except for the smoke and Easton being sick), not feeling deprived of adult interaction, eating lots of GOOD Mexican food, being outside without sweating, going for runs/several walks and, of course, getting spoiled. I can't cram 2 1/2 weeks worth of fun into this blog so here are a few of my favorite pics to give you a taste of it......

Not As Easy

Rob and I were talking last night about me being homesick. I told him that I thought coming for a visit would make me even more homesick than I already am. But I'm learning it's Facebook that makes me miss so much. I thought once we got past P's birthday and the 4th of July that all the fun my West Coast friends were having would come to an end and that would be that. But every month it seems something is posted on FB that makes me miss home all over again. August wasn't so bad because the only thing I really missed was not being able to go on our annual elk hunt in beautiful Ely. That's always been a fun time away for us despite never harvesting an elk. This month I've really missed Reno because September has always been my favorite month there. From the Rib Cook Off to the Hot Air Balloon Races to the Camel Races, there's something fun to do every weekend. Next month I'll miss the trunk or treats at various churches, Halloween with the Archery family and a week long celebration of my birthday. December I'll miss the DU Christmas parade, driving around to see the lights, Christmas parties, etc.
I guess what I miss most is not being able to wear more than one hat. I'm MOM 24/7. It's the most important job I've ever been blessed with but it gets rough sometimes only being 'Mom'. I'm not friend (to more than 2 people) or co-worker or teacher. With all the hours Rob works I'm not even photographer or really a wife at this moment in time. Rob and I haven't been able to go on a date or get away for a night like we like to (Getting away for a night has to do with Easton more than Rob's work schedule). If I can't be home (Reno) making memories and wearing many different hats then it's time for me to do it in the South. I'm hoping that sooner rather than later I'm the one of FB, posting pictures of fun times with new friends, posting new activities to take over the ones I miss so much. Hopefully it's just a matter of time.....

Grandparents Day

I'm not into Hallmark holidays. Maybe because I worked at a flower shop for so many years. I just don't buy into the commercialism. BUT, there is one Hallmark holiday that I began celebrating while my grandparents were still alive and that's today, Grandparents Day. I think that so often grandparents are 'forgotten'. They're not thanked for constantly spoiling their grand kids, their unconditional love, their patience, their hours of prayer (for their grand kids and own kids). So today I'd like to give a heart felt thank you to all the grandparents that give so much. My boys are blessed with such thoughtful, caring, generous grandparents and I'm so thankful for the role each one plays in their lives. Having grandparents is one of the best things a child can enjoy in life so if you are a grandparent my hat's off to you~ not just today but every day. Happy Grandparents Day!!

8 mos!

Yes, I'm slacking on keeping our family blog up to date but for good reason. A week ago the boys and I flew back to our old stomping grounds to visit my parents and friends. The night before we flew out, Easton had me up all night. The flight here ended up being the 2nd worst one I've experienced (The absolute worst was my flight to Israel). Easton wouldn't sleep. He screamed off and on for most of the first leg (causing passengers to glare at me). He projectile vomited on the flight attendant. Then P had the worst nose bleed he's had while I was changing Easton's blow out diaper. Utter chaos!! I was absolutely exhausted by the time my feet stepped onto West Coast soil. The next day we took off for Reno to visit friends. After Easton had 3 sleepless nights in a row, I decided to have him checked out. Our old pediatrician, and family friend, came to the rescue! He told me that Easton had an ear infection in both ears and sent me to the pharmacy for antibiotics.
I think his ears are getting better but he has now acquired a cough and runny nose. Thankfully he's sleeping at night and taking long naps during the day to help aide in making him feel better. BUT, now P is sick. He has a horrible, croupy cough and is hardly sleeping. It's times like these that I'm thankful for my strong immune system. I haven't had a lot of sleep over the past week but I'm going strong, able to help my lil guys as needed.
Despite being sick, we've really been enjoying our time here! We did our annual RibFest with our Reno friends, finally got to see the inside of Bowers mansion, had a play date with one of P's Reno friends, rode the Scheels Ferris wheel (This was a big deal because P was always scared of it and then decided to overcome his fear.).We've shopped, played at the park, taken walks and I've been able to read, meet up with friends and relax a little. In the midst of all the illness and fun times, our lil guy celebrated 8 mos on this Earth! He is growing like a weed and I can already tell that I'm in for a world of hurt when he gets more mobile (which will be VERY soon!). He brightens our lives so much with his smiles, his laughter, his silly faces and so much more. I can't imagine my life without our two lil guys!!

 

This picture illustrates him at this age perfectly but since it's blurry I added a clearer picture as well.

Another Fun One

We've been having a lot of fun weekends recently and this last one was no exception. Friday my MIL came to town to watch the boys while I ran tedious, non-kid friendly errands and then went to a choir dinner that night. It was nice going to the dinner and talking to various people that are in our SS class. Saturday we were out and about in between naps. Then Saturday night Rob and I took P to watch the Chris Shivers Invitational, a bull riding event. We had a lot of fun despite it being such a late night for P. The highlights of the event for me were the mutton bustin', the jr bull riding and an impromptu dance off with 3 different people in the audience. I laughed so hard watching the 3 guys dance! Yesterday morning we went to church then grabbed a bite to eat on the way home. After changing clothes we went to Lowes, where they were having a "Build and Grow" workshop. Rob helped P make El Chupacabra, one of the airplanes from the movie "Planes". P had a blast and was so proud of their hard work (Easton and I were the cheerleaders.). All the hard work made us all tired so we came home for naps but Easton decided he wasn't so tired after all, leaving Rob to hang out with him while I tried to get a little shut eye. We ended the weekend with playing outside with the neighbors and some ice cream from the Ice Cream Man. All in all, it was another fun weekend in the books!

On My Toes

Rob's call out nights are one of the things I don't like about his new job. It's usually those days that the boys (mainly the older one) test me. Tonight it was the little guy that kept me on my toes. I had to wake him up from his nap because of a prior obligation so I figured he'd take a nap on our way to pick up dinner (a perk when Rob works late....I don't cook.). I was wrong. When he's overly tired the only 2 places he's happy is in his walker or in the bath tub. So I figured I'd put him in his walker while P and I ate our sushi. First he tried to pull P's art off the art table, which of course got P riled up. As I was cleaning that up the lil guy took off the other direction. Before I knew it he was pulling things off the fridge and trying to get a magnet in his mouth. While I rushed over there to avoid a dangerous situation he back tracked to the garbage can, where he managed to lift the lid and try to grab the chop sticks I had just thrown away from dinner. When he headed for the electric outlet I pulled the plug (get it??) on letting him stay in his walker. I figured I'd rather avoid a trip to the ER and just listen to him fuss instead. I dread the day that he becomes more mobile because I have a feeling that we'll be on our toes 24/7 with him!