Much Needed

We are back from our weekend getway, and it was much needed. The week before we left, David put in 74 hours at work, which means I put in 74 hours of single parenting. We needed a break and it was perfect timing, although not perfect weather.

Thursday night we left the boys at Davids mom and dads, picked up Corey and Keri and hit the road at 8:00pm. On Friday, after sleeping in until 9:30, we headed to Hilltop for the best omlets ever and then went shoe shopping and food shopping in Gaylord. It was time for tennis when we got back. We had great weather and had a great time playing tennis and horse at the basketball court. Then it was rest time, so the guys fished off the dock and Keri did her homework while I slept in a lounge chair after reading my juicy People magazine. Keri and I decided to highlight my hair, so we played hairstylist before dinner. Next time we are going to leave it on longer, it didn't "highlight" much.

We did burgers on the grill and then set off to do some off-roading in the mini-van, with the side doors open, (you get better views). Then it was time for games- Corey and Keri beat us 2 times at Sequence, and it was their first time playing. I blame it on all the plowing I did with the Boones Farm.

We started the day off Saturday with rain. After sleeping in again, we skipped breakfast and went to Gaylord for more shopping and then headed to Boyne City to a fun bar we like a lot. Keri and I got martinis and they were yummy! After brunch, I wanted to scope out Boyne Mountain, because I've been thinking it would be fun to rent a condo with friends this winter, for another getaway. We got keys to 3 different condos, and we had a lot of fun checking them out. The one we really liked sleeps 12, has a indoor/outdoor fireplace and of course, a outdoor hot tub. I'm hoping to get some people around to rent it out this winter. Between 5 couples, it shouldn't be too expensive. We headed back to the cabin, and it was still raining. We ate a late dinner of taco salad, and watched Stepbrothers. We also did a lot of eating. It was gross how much junk I ate. I kept telling myself, I'm on vacation, as I stuffed the Twinkie, Double-Stuff Oreo, Cheez-It Party Mix, Schulers bar cheese, or [insert junk food here] into my mouth.

Notice the junk food in the background. We spent 98.00 dollars on junk and beer at WalMart.Again, more sleeping in on Sunday. Nice sunny day, but cold. We picked up the cabin, the guys played some tennis, and we closed the cabin for the winter. We left by three, and picked the boys up at 7:00pm.

The boys had a great time at grandma's and grandpa's. They went camping at Swains lake and made a trip to the Toy House. I didn't worry about them at all, which was nice. To be honest, I missed them- but it was nice to miss them. We all needed a break. David and I worried they would be bored, so the weekend before we left, David made a tire swing for the boys at grandma's and grandpa's. I didn't know it would end up being a $75.00 dollar tire swing after all the parts were purchased, but it was worth it. The boys love it, and played on it all weekend. It gets some good air, I even had fun on it-David too.

It's been a long time since I haven't had to worry about breakfast, snack, potty breaks, lunch, naps, dinner, bedtimes, ect. It was so freeing to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted to. If I felt like taking a nap, I did. If I felt like going shopping in town, I did it. On Saturday, we ate lunch at 2:00 and dinner at 8:00, and that to me, was so freeing. I also enjoyed my dinner. I didn't worry about how many bites Tyler took, or if Jake ate his meat. I also didn't get interrupted during dinner to wipe faces, or get more milk. You take these simple things for granted when you don't have kids.

It's back to mommy mode now. I'm waaaay behing on this blogging business. I'm going to try and catch-up, but everything seems so old now, I'm not sure if it is worth it, but I will try. We are playing "Let's Try and Get Out of the Door by 7:45" this week. It should be fun. I'm gearing up for Jake to start school, and I will try to have a back to school post later this week. We are going to practice this week, getting up and around, just like a school day. I haven't had to be out the door at any certain time as a stay at home mom in the last 5 years. Besides spending time with your kids, this is the only benefit of being a stay at home mom. It should be interesting.

I knew it wouldn't be long...

before this would happen.

My poor little guy fell off his bike. He must of hit his mouth on the handle bar. I heard him crying outside and thought oh, this isn't going to be good. When David brought him in he was covered with blood. I fear those first few moments of "check over" when you have to see if he still has teeth or is in need of stitches.

Tyler is sucky-free now and it wasn't bad at all. I was dreading it, but now I wished I'd done it sooner! But, he hasn't had a nap since the sucky, which sucks. I can't believe he is done with naps, but for the most part he isn't cranky in the afternoon and he falls asleep faster at night. When he was napping he would still be up at 10:00pm. Maybe he will go back to napping when Jake starts school. Let's hope.

We had a lot of fun spending time with my mom and Bob this summer, but after 3 months of being up north in the cold and rain they were ready to head back to Colorado. We spent the day at Lake Michigan before they left last week. My sister and her kids joined us.

It was fun, but it makes me frustrated because Jake doesn't go near the water. He is so scared of it and I don't know why. I tried the swimming lessons, and I feel like it is going to cost me hundreds of dollars before I will get him in the water and comfortable with it. Tyler is following by example so there is another set of swimming lessons and fear to get passed. I tried to take Jake out in the water while we were there, and he was SCREAMING the whole time. I'm sure everyone was watching/staring. I know that most kids have things they are fearful of, but come on, he is 5 years old. Time to suck it up and get over it.

I've been trying to get to garage sales here and there to find furniture to paint and have had no luck. I went to Jonesville, Quincy, Allen, and Coldwater last weekend because they have a annual garage sale on US-12 that was in noted Midwest Living magazine. I didn't find or buy a single thing. I dragged the kids along and we were gone for 5 hours. Talk about disappointed! I did finally paint a piece that I found in some more of my dad's junk. I think it is the cutest little dresser.

We've got some fun things left to look foward to as summer starts winding down. We took the kids to the fair today to ride rides and are going again on Thursday for the Kung Fu Diesel concert. We have to show our support for our soon-to-be brother in law, he is the lead singer. And then on Saturday, David is planning on taking the boys to see the monster trucks. That's 3 days of fair and Jacksons finest. I should be a Carnie. When we were there today, I couldn't help but think-some these people should not be allowed to have kids. They can barely take care of themselves, let alone a kid. It's just like going to Wal-Mart.