Jansen's 9th birthday prep

Saturday is my youngest son's birthday. He is going to be 9, and it completely blows my mind. This child is so sweet, caring, responsible, helpful, and full of brightness that it is almost too much for my heart sometimes!

This year, he chose to have a Pokemon party and we booked a local play place, Cre8tive Play, as a venue. 

This place has so much bright decor that I don't really think I am going to decorate much. The plan is to provide pizza, drinks, and cake for Jansen's friends and family. A few balloons on the table and that's about it. This should be a pretty easy party. 

Today, I am finishing up the goody bags that will go on the table next to the cake. I think they turned out cute. 

They are filled with Pokemon stickers, Pokemon rings, glow bracelets, candy, and clackers. Easy, peasy. 

I can't wait to party with my new 9 year old. 

Summer vacay planning

After discussing what the heck we wanted to do for a vacation before nursing school starts, we finally made a decision. 

We are cruising again!

Carnival is having an amazing summer promotion and kids sail free. That's right, folks. KIDS SAIL FREE! 

Our time window for vacation is quite small, so we had some very tight parameters.

Kids get out of school June 6th. I start school July 10th (and I still have no idea what we have to do before then). We had to do something that incorporated time to take a trip to Bandera to visit the hub's parents. The hubs was already scheduled to be on his 7 days off between June 13 and June 19. 

We really wanted to go on a cruise to somewhere we haven't been. There were two we were seriously looking at..one went to the Florida Keys and then two stops in the Bahamas, and the other went to Honduras, Belize, and Cozumel. If we did those, we wouldn't be able to see his parents, so that didn't work. We looked into another cruise line, and they were a bit too expensive. So we found a quick 4 day cruise to Cozumel, at the beginning of the hub's week off, that we could come back from and go straight to Bandera for a few days and still be back in time for the hubs to start graveyards the following day. It was in the right price range for us, and we have some VIP points from previous cruises, so we booked it. 

That means we cruise in 17 days! Holy cow!!!! 

The kids are so excited...and with this being their third cruise, we are going to give them a bit more freedom. We are going to let them check themselves in and out of the Kid's Club, they must stay together, and we are going to see how it goes. They are excited to have more responsibility. 

Then we had to think excursions. What have done many things already, and some of them are a little inappropriate for kids our age. Our first cruise, when I was pregnant with Caleb, we went snorkeling. The second cruise, with the hub's parents, we did a dune buggy experience with a lighthouse and snorkeling experience. The third cruise, with our friends, we went parasailing and jet skiing. The fourth cruise, with the kids on the Disney Cruise, we did a downtown shopping experience as well as a turtle experience. The fifth cruise, with the kids over the Christmas holidays, we did a walking tour of Jamaica, a submarine trip in the Cayman Islands, and a snorkeling beach trip with a dolphin experience in Cozumel. 

This time we knew we just wanted a fun beach day. We booked an all inclusive day at Mr. Sancho's that I am really excited about. 

At this resort, they have shops for me, massages, pools, a beautiful private beach with a water park, and water sports options. The kids have tons to do, and the parents do as well, so it is a great option for us. 

Now, I must lose weight. I have lost a bit, but I would really like to lose about 10 more pounds before we leave. Tall order right?!

Summer hair cut

Yesterday I took the plunge and cut my hair. It is so liberating. It feels good to have all that weight lifted from my head, to have a shorter do for the summer, and to have a speedier hair style. 

Yay!

Jansen's Fun Run

Jansen is lazy. It's not a put down, it's just a fact. It takes so much to get him motivated to do just about anything. 

He hates to do anything physical. BUT, his school had a Fun Run, and while he told me all week that he was not going to run, the child actually ran. 

In order to say you completed the whole race, the kids would have to run 36 laps. Last year he ran 4 laps. He ran two on his own, and 2 more with me holding his hand and dragging him with me. Like I said....lazy. 

Anyway, this year, the child ran. The child ran 28 laps. TWENTY EIGHT LAPS. I mean, what?!

YES!!!!!!

I can't complain. He got his little/big body moving! I am really proud of him. Sometimes, I guess, peer pressure is a good thing!

I GOT INTO NURSING SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!

Today's post is just a shout out to me because I got into Nursing school!!! Two years down and two years to go!!!

I am so thankful and excited to be able to share the good news. We actually found out Monday, but were asked to postpone publicly sharing the news for a few days out of respect to all other applicants. We have until tomorrow to accept or decline, and you better believe that I responded with a big old ACCEPT immediately. 

I am honestly thinking about starting another blog to chronicle the journey as a diary for me and maybe as a resource for others. That way I can update here on occasion but still keep this one the family and activity blog. 

Nursing boot camp starts in July, so at least now I can plan out the next two months with my family. Things are less up in the air. I hate that. I am not a balloon!

So yipee!!! I am super excited to start this new journey in my life!

Happy birthday to me!

Today is my birthday!

I have to say, it's been a really great few days. Not only is it my birthday, but tomorrow is Mother's Day, and next week is our anniversary. It's a full month. 

My husband took me on an overnight trip to Houston last night to celebrate. We stayed in a suite at the Crowne Plaza hotel in River Oaks and then went to dinner at The Palm. 

The Palm is the bomb. That place is just delicious. 

After that, we went to Neiman Marcus and my husband bought me two pairs of shoes!!! What?! I couldn't even believe it!!

The first is a pair of hot pink Valentino sandals with studs...

and the second is my very first ever encounter with a pair of Louboutin pumps!!!! 

After that, we went to McGonigal's to listen to some live music, and then came back to the hotel, and slept until 10:00 this morning. Heaven!

We came home to my mom bringing me the gift my parents bought me

and the gifts the boys bought me. 

AND, as if that wasn't enough, we just got back from having dinner with our friends, and they got me a Maurices gift card and this birthday cake...

I am so far beyond blessed and thankful for each person in my life. It's just amazing!

Cleared for action!

My 6 week post-op visit after my hysterectomy was this morning and it was a success!

I am now officially cleared to go back to anything I want. I can take a bath, lift things, exercise, everything. 

I feel really good, my energy has returned, and I just have the occasional pain here and there for just a short amount of time. It's all good. 

It's great to have all that behind me!!! Yay to a new phase in my life. :) Thank you uterus for carrying two precious boys for me, and then for turning against me and creating years of chaos. You will not be missed. 

Sometimes you just need a bit of time away...

In the midst of chaos of being mommies, my friends and I decided to get together for pedicures and dinner. 

We had a great time. 

It makes a huge difference in the life of a woman to have some time to enjoy the company of friends and just laugh.