Our Secret Getaway

Yesterday was a great day. We decided to take the kids to the beach. AJ has been asking me to go lately so he can "play in the sand". My husband took me to a secluded beach that he used to go snorkel at. The kids had so much fun. AJ has always loved the beach since he was a baby. Ronde has been to beaches before but he was always too young to play in the sand and water. This was his first time getting to sit along the shore and splash in the ocean. How lucky my kids are to get to have Hawaii's beautiful beaches as their first.

There are cabins along this beach that we can rent for a night. I really really really want to do that before we move in November. It just sounds so romantic :)

So precious...

Feeding Ronde a banana.. My sand turtle..

Isn't this beautiful?!

Just a few pictures of the week

I haven't had anything interesting to blog about this week. AJ is sick AGAIN. He had a fever last night. I was actually really proud of him last night because he got up 3 times to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. I don't know how long that will last though. I think he was having a hard time sleeping last night so he was already awake when he realized he had to go to the potty.

Ronde has learned how to climb to the top of the playground set and go down the slide by himself. I've noticed this yesterday and told Andre. Andre said he already knew that and that he has been doing that for a while. I didn't know! I think it's because every time he gets close to the slide, I run over to help him because I'm scared he will fall down the slide. He is growing so fast!

Work and Wii

AJ got into my foundation last night. I'm definitely white compared to him..lol.

Andre went back to work today after taken a 16 day leave. So my life will get back to washing the massive amount of laundry I've been putting off, cleaning my house, figuring out weekly dinner menus, taking the kids to the playground and entertaining them at home. Importantly, no more sleeping in. I like having my kids on a schedule and we have become very relaxed with the schedule since Andre has been off work.

I bought Andre the Wii for Father's Day and that has been a lot of fun. He bought me "My Fitness Coach" game. (He already owns 3 games himself including Tiger Woods, Tennis, and The House of The Dead) This morning we were able to workout together in our living room and I was out of breath quick. Last night we were playing tennis and this morning I woke up and I felt like my arm was broken because of how sore I was. The Wii is a really great workout. I'm glad I bought it.

Father's Day

The day began with breakfast. I cooked pancakes, eggs, and bacon. After breakfast, Andre played Wii (his Father's Day present) and we got ready to go to the 50th State Fair.

This is the HUGE Father's Day card the kids made for daddy. We finally arrived at the fair. The first ride was the big slide. At first I was going to go down the big slide with AJ but he was really scared. So, I swapped kids and took Ronde. He laughed the whole way down the slide.

Next we ate lunch and then went to the Ferris Wheel. Again, AJ was terrified but we managed to get him on the ride.

AJ made that face the whole time we were on the ride..lol.

Ronde smiled the whole time. (They are complete opposites) It began to rain so we ended our day at the fair at the petting zoo.

And now we are home and I didn't plan a dinner for tonight! I'm such a horrible wife ;)

Happy Father's Day Andre

Being a Father, I know it's hard. You've embraced the title along with the responsibilities it entails. You've made it through 2 deployments without seeing your babies. I can't imagine how that would feel like. You are a STRONG dad and husband and I'm so thankful for everything you do for our kids and I. I'm so lucky to have married the man I did. It has been amazing to watch you become a father. I love you!!
These were the last pictures taken before he deployed to Iraq.

I will post another Father's day blog later tonight with pictures from today. We are going to the 50th State Fair!

A Week Of Being Sick

I haven't posted a blog in a while because I've been horribly sick with a fever, headache, and sore throat. I feel much better today although I did not go see a doctor. It's crazy when I think about if my kids are slightly sick, I rush them to the doctors and never do the same for myself.

AJ doesn't have pink eye anymore. A couple days ago he broke out in hives after eating dinner. I think it may have been the pesto sauce over noodles that did it. He's never eaten that before and that's the only thing I can think of. I took him to the doctors and they listened to his heart beat. The doctor proceeds to tell me that AJ has a heart murmur. She said that she will need to keep an eye on it. I didn't think much of it when I was at the doctors office but when I got home I had a million questions. Hopefully I will learn more about it at the next doctors appointment.

Ronde is sick now as well. He has been extra cranky and I'm now exhausted from it. He is definitely my "baby" of my 2 sons. Besides all of us being sick, nothing has been going on around here. I'm completely bored and am now looking forward, more than ever, to moving back to Florida in November. Andre has been on leave for 2 weeks and goes back to work on Monday. We haven't done anything exciting as a family this whole time off so I'm a little disappointed.

This is the only picture I've taken this week. Ronde had a chicken nugget hanging out of his mouth. I thought it was cute but I am his mommy.

Another Goodbye

The 3 Musketeers

Junior giving AJ and goodbye hug. AJ was off the ground..lol

Junior saying bye to Ronde..Aww.

Buddies forever. AJ has know Junior and Keith since he was 4 months old. When they are together, they act like brothers. They never fight and just have a great time. AJ is really going to miss them. Today we all said our goodbyes and I had to say bye to my good friend Joy as well. The hardest thing about the military is having to say goodbye so often.

Pink eye

This ....

Resulted in this...

PINK EYE! Yesterday we had a water play date with the neighborhood kids. I baked a cake, and made pasta salad, ranch chicken ball dip and crackers, bbq beans, and pigs in a blanket. The kids got to run around in the sprinkler and pool. I wanted AJ to play with his good friends Junior and Kieth before the move on Saturday. Maybe that wasn't the best idea since they just got over pink eye themselves. I had a hard time going to sleep last night because I felt so itchy! I hope I don't get pink eye. Andre made a deal, I take care of AJ and he'll take care of Ronde..lol. I scheduled an emergency doctors visit for 12:20pm. Hopefully we can get rid of it quickly. Poor AJ! He keeps giving me hugs and I just don't have the heart to tell him no in possibility that I could catch it myself.

A Trip To The ZOO!

I really wanted to take AJ and Ronde to the zoo. They have a petting area that has a lot of farm animals. I wanted to take pictures of AJ with the farm animals so I could print them and hang them in his "Farm/Barn/Tractor" themed room. I ended up getting a lot of pictures of the back of AJ and Ronde's head. I took a few pictures of just the animals alone that came out great that I will go ahead and frame. This is my 6th trip to Honolulu Zoo since AJ was born. He really enjoys it and I was so proud of him because for the first time he was able to say all the animals names. He even knew what a Llama was!!

As soon as we arrived, we were hungry. We went and got lunch first and then headed to the Keiki Zoo. (Keiki is Hawaiian for kids). AJ and Ronde got to pet goats and pigs. AJ got really excited to see some interesting fish. He yelled"Mommy, mommy! Fish! Gecko!" There was a fish that had legs and really did look like a gecko. There were cows, chickens, camel, and a llama that I thought was going to spit on me so I didn't get a picture of him.

After the Keiki zoo, we moved on to look at the rest of the animals. We got to see 3 tigers playing together. That was a real treat because usually the tigers are pretty hidden. The zoo was very tiring and hot after a while. We stopped to buy Italian Ice for the kids and then we headed home. Here are some pictures of the boys with the animals.

Below are the pictures of the animals that I will crop, print, and frame for AJ's bedroom along with a few from above...

Our New Furniture

We finally bought new furniture! I love it. We got a new sectional couch, bedroom set, and mattress. The only thing is that one of the movers broke our chaise to our sectional and we have to wait another week for that piece. Our mattress is really soft and we were really looking forward to our first night in that bed. The next morning we woke up achy and sore..lol. I guess we are used to our old firm mattress. We had a better nights sleep last night. I think we are slowly getting used to it.

This is a picture of our sectional. (not my actual living room)..

This is our new bedroom set. (not an actual photo of my room)...

I absolutely love my new dresser on the right. It has lots of neat small drawers and a cabinet. It has a lot of character and I like the country style.

This is what having 2 boys is like..

Today I laid Ronde down for his first nap. When he woke up, I sent AJ into Ronde's room to entertain him so I could finish getting myself ready for the day. I went into Ronde's room to check on the kids and this is what I found...

I was upset but I then laughed and I had to take a picture. I want to be able to show the kids when they are older how crazy they were as toddlers. Ronde was a good sport. AJ will normally put a couple toys into the crib for Ronde to play with in the mornings after he wakes up. He has never put this many toys though!

Project #2

I just finished my 2nd project. Going along with the "Barn" theme, I painted this night stand to look like a cow. AJ really likes cars and trucks so I've decided to incorporate tractors and old fashioned trucks into the theme. I've been looking on Etsy.com to find handmade items to put in his room. I will have to take my time purchasing these items since decorating can be very pricey. I forgot to take a before picture of the night stand. It used to be just plain unfinished wood. Now here is the final result.