It's His Party...

I am not going to lie; I am struggling with the ability to blog these days. But you knew that didn't you?

There is a ton going on with us right now, and I feel like there is a ton that I have to talk about... And yet, at the same time, there are just certain things that have to take a backseat in my life right now. Cleaning my house, extra play dates, folding laundry, and blogging (to name a few).

But I will not let that stop me from posting some pictures from Liam's 3rd birthday party! We celebrated on his actual birthday of course, but didn't have his party until this weekend. The plan for the party was exciting. We rented the Children's Museum after hours on Friday and invited friends from school and our neighborhood, plus family, to join us for chicken nuggets, cake, and plenty of time to play! Both Liam and Noah were very excited about it, which made what happened Friday afternoon so sad. Noah came home from school with a 102 degree fever and sore throat. (It had been going around his school and I was just praying he wouldn't get it!) I went back and forth for a while, but all along I knew what the answer was. He was going to have to miss the party. Once he realized that, he started crying, and then I started crying, and poor Wes was left trying to calm everybody down. (Well, not everybody. Liam was perfectly happy running around the house yelling, "I got an Angry Birds cake! For my party!!") We ended up leaving Noah at the house (with my father-in-law who offered to stay and play video games with him) which was very hard. It was so difficult to have one child so excited for something while knowing that my other one was so disappointed. Such is the life a mom I guess. I pulled up my big girl panties and put on a smile for Liam. And, once we got there my fake smile turned into a real smile. I knew that Noah would be OK eventually, and that this was special for Liam and I would enjoy it for that!

And it was special. Having the whole place to ourselves was amazing, especially for Liam who always seems intimidated by the crowds when we usually go. He was beyond exciting to hit up the boat/water room when we got there!

And once his friends starting arriving the excitement was amped up even more.

He was having such a fun time playing that he wasn't all that thrilled when it was time to have his birthday parade (complete with musical instruments) back to the party room for cake. How dare we suggest he stop playing?!

However, once he saw the cake, and realized he could keep the figures on the top, he snapped out of it.

And then of course, he spied the gift pile, and the present opening frenzy begun. All his friends were so sweet, giving him all his favorite things, and he was very excited to open each one.

I tend to get very overwhelmed amidst that kind of chaos. I felt like he ripped into them all, paper flying everywhere, in a manner of seconds with barely enough time to hear me encourage him to thank everybody. So, if you were there and you are reading this: Thank You. Thanks for coming to his party and celebrating with him. Thanks for the thoughtful presents. And thanks for making his night special!

And now... Well, its the calm before another crazy week. Not to mention we are starting it off with a sick child and all that that entails. My prayer if for patience and a calm attitude over the next several weeks before school ends. You may not hear much from me between now and then. Hopefully when it all calms down I will be able to sit down in this space once again and share my crazy ramblings again!

Happy BirthdayLiam

We interrupt the craziness of life right now to bring you this very important announcement....

Today Liam is 3!!

Our littlest man was quite full of himself today, starting from the moment he woke up. This is the first birthday that has meant something to him and he is milking it for all it is worth! He especially loved that Wes took the whole day off from work and was able to bring cupcakes to his class to celebrate.

There are two things worth mentioning.... 1.) Liam is 3 going on 16. I was laughing to myself as I shopped for his birthday presents because if you looked at my cart you would have thought the stuff was for a much older child. When Noah turned 3 all he wanted were Thomas trains. Liam? Well, he wants Nerf guns, and light sabers, and Beyblades. (If you have to ask what those are you clearly don't have a 7 year old boy!) Guess we skipped right over all that toddler stuff.

And, 2.) We skipped right over all that toddler stuff!! While I love that Liam wants to be just like Noah, it does mean that he grows up a bit faster. Last night I realized, We are done with toddler hood in this house. That was it - the last night. I now have full fledged little boys on my hands. CRAZY! In the blink of an eye Liam went from this,

                                                                            To this,

Liam. We love you so much. You're smile lights up a room, and you make our family more fun then it could ever have been without you. I can't wait to see what this year holds for you! Happy Birthday to my favorite little man :)

Easter Weekend

I am sitting on my couch at 10:30 in the morning. The house is empty and quiet.... Ahhhhh.

It is spring break (woohoo) AND both boys are at my in-laws house for a few days so I am footloose and fancy free. Which, I have to admit, isn't sitting well with me. I feel a bit unnerved by the thought of having no schedule, no pressing matters to take care of, no one screaming "Mama I need you!" Not that I am complaining or anything, it just feels weird. I am trying to think of it as the calm before the storm. The storm of the next 8 weeks that is - when I will be teaching a four year old class 5 days a week. When we start having soccer practice and games every week. When there are a million end of the year parties and performances to attend. Yes, for now I will sit back and enjoy my calm. And blog.

Our Easter was a good one. We headed up to see Wes' parents at the lake on Saturday. The boys love to be up there, so much so that Noah was pretty bummed about it being too cold to swim. (Seriously, he wanted to.) We went to church with them on Sunday morning where Liam promptly fell asleep in Nana's lap for the whole service - Praise God! (I had been worried about how he would do sitting through an hour+ service. Turns out my worrying was for nothing!)

After church the boys played with some of their Easter basket goodies.

Star Wars themed of course. We also got to have a really fun egg hunt outside in the pretty weather. Pops, Wes and I hid eggs and then the boys were off! They were running all over the place - back and forth - with huge grins, so excited about gathering eggs. It was hilarious to watch Liam's little legs try so hard to keep up with his big brother.

They each found lots of candy filled eggs and one of the special Darth Vader eggs that was filled with money. Noah really liked that one - he has grand plans for how to spend his $2 at the school store!

After that, Wes and I came home - childless! It was perfect timing, as I got to spend all of yesterday with my sister celebrating her 26th birthday. We were able to shop and eat in a leisurely fashion. My Mom treated us all to lunch at Fuji in Mt Pleasant. I really enjoyed my little Bento Box meal - the perfect amount of food.

I crack up every time I look at this pic of me and Jess. I look like such a shorty! Now I know why the sales lady at Saks was dumbfounded when we said we were sisters. (She seriously came out from behind the counter to stare at what shoes my sister was wearing. "Sisters?! Really? Well, you have on tall shoes I guess...")

The birthday celebrating continued that night. Wes and Brett joined the fun for dinner at EVO and a movie afterward.

And... that's about it I guess. That brings you up to date on what's been happening around here. I won't really have the boys back until Thursday evening. (They are going from my MIL's to my Mom's house. Yes, I am very lucky to have grandparents around who love my boys so much.) Until then I plan on doing some cleaning, some reading, some working out, and getting a haircut - not necessarily in that order.

Here's to a relaxing spring break!