A Decade

A decade. 10 years. 3,648 days. This is what I am celebrating today- 10 years ago was my first date with Steve and it was a date that changed both our lives forever! It is so hard to believe that it has been 10 years already, but on the other hand it doesn't feel like it has been that long at all!

When we met I was just a 21 year old college kid and he was a recent college graduate, trying to get his new career up and running. He took one look at me, with my tattoos and short shorts, and said no way will I date her, she is a party girl! Now true, I was still partying quite a bit, but isn't that what you are suppose to do at that age? We hung out in several group settings over the next few months and finally turned up the flirtatious chat during several bonfires with our friends in the month of October. At the prodding of our close friends' Manny & Cassie, who were newly engaged, we had a dinner with just the four of us and that is when the official date was made! Steve approached me on the way to my car and asked if I would like to try this on our own, the whole date thing. We made plans for the next night and I was beyond excited!

We had an amazing first date, the best I had ever experienced. Steve was very prepared for the evening and had our date all planned out, however, he had wanted to go to PF Chang's, which at that time was brand new and did not accept reservations. When we arrived there was a 3 hour wait and we both said no way. After several different stops we settled on the revolving restaurant at the top of the Ramada Inn and enjoyed a wonderful dinner overlooking the lights of downtown Cincinnati. The conversation never had an awkward lull and hours had passed before we were ready to leave. We then followed our dinner up with a stroll through Sawyer Point, and even though it was chilly, it was a perfect end to an already incredible night!

By our second date we knew that we had met our soulmate, the one that God had made for each of us. The love that we share is one with God at the foundation and built on trust and honesty. Steve is truly the other half of my heart and soul, as well as my best friend and I am blessed to have shared the past 10 years with him. 10 years ago today I had no idea how much that one date would change the course of my life and from it my dreams came true. I married a wonderful man that loves me deeply and unconditionally, and he made me a mother to 3 beautiful children and he works hard so that I get the privilege of staying at home with them to watch them grow. I can only look forward to another amazing 10 years!

Halloween Fun!

What a fun Halloween weekend! As the kids get older, it seems like the holidays just get better & better! We were able to take the kids out on Saturday night to the annual Jack-O-Lantern Walk at Central Park with some friends & their 3 kiddos. We bundled the kids all up and enjoyed an evening of walking through the park admiring all the carved jack-o-lanterns. Although it was crowded and a bit of a walk, the kids loved the sights & sounds around them and especially the popcorn at the end!

After the Jack-O-Lantern Walk

Sunday evening was the big trick-or-treat night and Abigail & Mitchell could not wait to get their costumes on and hit the sidewalks through our neighborhood. This year we walked the streets with Sleeping Beauty, Woody from Toy Story and the Pokey Little Puppy! And I think they were the cutest trick-or-treaters out there! Abigail & Mitchell were very eager to say their practiced line and they also wanted to do it all on their own. They marched right up the sidewalk to each house & not only said their line, but also used such good manners! I was so proud of the "please" & "thank you's" that I heard come from my 2 big kids'! And Hayden, he was content to ride in his wagon, pulled by Nana, and just take in all the sights around him, and every once in a while we even got a "woof" out of him, his 1 practiced line!

Woody, Pokey Puppy, & Sleeping Beauty

Hayden's 1st Trick-Or-Treat!

I love experiencing the holidays with my kids and seeing it brand new through their eyes! One of the best parts about being a parent is this experience and getting to be a kid all over again through them!

What a day, What an accomplishment!

Amazing! Steve & I accomplished something today that not many people take on...we ran & completed our first every half marathon! We both participated in the 1st Annual Cincinnati Half Marathon in downtown Cincinnati this morning and it was quite the experience!

We both began training in the spring, Steve on his own & with a friend & myself with a running group & a friend. I have to admit, I didn't train near as much as I should have, but with my 3-4 weekly workouts at the YMCA & the running I was able to do, I feel I did fairly well. Up until this point, I had only run as a form of training for upcoming basketball seasons, when I played, so I had never run for the purpose of only running. It was such an adjustment, but one that Steve & I both felt we wanted to take on, if for nothing else to say that we did it!

The experience of the actual race was something I will never forget. The crowd of runners & spectators, the closed off streets through the city, and having my husband right there beside me, were all memories that I will remember for years to come. I have to say, I could not have made it without Steve and his encouragement. This was by far one of the most challenging goals I have ever taken on, but with Steve at my side, it was something that we were both able to conquer and something that we can say we did together!

And a camping we did go!

So, this weekend we did something very unlike us and on a whim decided to load the kids up & go camping! We had been toying with the idea for months, but due to the extreme heat this summer had never gotten a chance to actually go. We bought a pop-camper from my uncle last August, but had yet to be able to take it out & hit a campground. This weekend was our time!

We tried calling to reserve a campsite on Friday, but found out that you have to give at least 48 hours notice, if not then it is first come, first serve. We made a few calls on Saturday morning and found that our best bet would be to head back to my hometown, about 50 miles south of us, to good ole' General Butler State Resort Park. I was not very keen on the idea, having lived 18 years just miles from that park, but I had actually never camped there, so I was up for it. We very quickly and crazily loaded up our gear, some food, the kids and took off. Abigail & Mitchell were so excited, plus we were all riding in Daddy's new SUV for the first time, so that just added to their happiness.

When we arrived at the park, Steve started getting the camper set up, while I tried to unload our supplies & occupy 3 kids. The spot we were in was perfect, just a stone's throw to the playground and a very short walk to the bath house. Abigail & Mitchell scurried off to the playground & Hayden was content to sit in his cozy coupe car & play with leaves he was finding all around him. In no time, Steve had our home away from home all set up & ready for our adventure. We took off with the kids for a walk that led us to a cute train that we could all ride on and then some more playground fun for everyone. When we returned from our walk, Steve set to work on building our fire so that we could start preparing our dinner. Abigail & Mitchell were very anxious to help, so their job was to collect the kinlin to help Daddy in building a super fire!

The evening ended with everyone filling their bellies with campfire hotdogs & beans and then after a very interesting bathtime for Hayden & bed, the four of us made wonderful s'mores before we retreated for the night. Although I wouldn't say that Steve & I got the best sleep that night, we all woke up in good spirits and sat around the fire again, eating our pancakes and just enjoying God's beauty all around.

Steve & I both grew up camping with our families and I remember very early in our relationship we both shared that those were some of our favorite & best memories as kids. When the opportunity came for us to purchase the camper, we jumped on it because we knew that we wanted to create those same memories with our own children. There was something very special & magical this weekend, as I watched my husband & children around the campfire, that I knew right then & there we were building memories that our children would cherish as we have. And to know that trip was just the first of many was just icing on the cake!

The Vacuum Cleaner

Boys do some of the funniest things and it never ceases to amaze me what Mitchell will come up with. He is so different from Abigail in so many ways. Abigail has always, from a very young age, thought things through and weighed out risk vs. reward. Mitchell, on the other hand, just acts and thinks about the consequences later. This way of thinking came in to play over the past few days.

Rewind to Monday at naptime or what was suppose to be naptime. He was up after his regular amount of rest, so I went in to get him. To my surprise, I find that he has been up for a while just playing in his room, but doing so quietly. I turn the light on and see a rather large red mark on his forehead. I thought that it was a sleep mark, from lying on the same spot for a long period of time, but when I touched it I saw that it was kind of raw. I asked him what had happened and he said he didn't know. The next day the place looked much worse and I could tell that it was a rug burn of some kind. Tuesday night while Steve was getting Mitchell ready for bed, he asked him again what happened to his forehead. Mitchell, very matter of fact, told him that he was pretending to be a vacuum cleaner and cleaned his entire room during his nap the day before. My son had put his forehead to the carpet and preceded to scoot around the entire room, so much that he made a large rug burn on himself! Never once did he cry out or make any indication that it was painful during his "cleaning" of the carpet. Only afterwards, when I touched it, did he say "Ow, that hurts a little." And to make this whole event even more hilarious, he had his 3 year old Preschool pictures take at school on Thursday, with a very scabbed & red forehead!

Oh, my Mitchell...never a dull moment and I am sure there are many more of these incidents to come in our life! One thing is for sure, he will always be able to keep us guessing about what he will do next and hopefully, we will always be able to laugh about it afterwards! And having another little boy behind him, that already thinks he is the coolest, means double the fun down the road!

And we partied!

Today was Hayden's 1st Birthday & his party day and we all had such a good time! We did the party different this time, having it at in our backyard and from 10a-12p, and it all worked out really well! The theme of his birthday party was 1st birthday baby dinosaurs and we had brunch foods for everyone. We set up a bounce house for the kids to play in and had all the fun balloons and cupcakes. Hayden did so good, considering he was woken up from his nap early and was surrounded by a bunch of people that he knows, but is not around all the time. He loved opening his presents and eating his pancakes and then digging into his very own cake. It was such a fun time visiting with family & friends and celebrating our baby boy's big day. So hard to believe that he is 1 already and it makes me sad to think that my baby is growing up so fast, but I am also looking forward to watching him develop and his personality coming out more. We are starting a new chapter in our life and there are many fun times ahead for our little family!

How quickly a year goes by...

Tonight is the eve of my last baby's 1st birthday and it is so hard to believe that a year ago today I was trying to make myself get a little sleep, but was too excited to know that I would be meeting my baby very soon. I was induced at 7am on the 25th, so the night before was impossible for me to get any sleep at all! I was much to anxious to get to the hospital and get the show on the road. After a long (or long to me) and hard labor, Hayden Thomas made his arrival at 4:40pm on Friday, September 25, 2009. It was so fun not finding out the gender and having that anticipation and surprise at the end of a long, hard day. It was so fun for Steve to look at me, with tears in his eyes, and proudly announce that it was a boy, much to our surprise because for whatever reason we both thought it was going to be a girl. It was so fun getting to pick out a name right then & there because we weren't sure about a boy's name until that very moment when we first saw him. It was so special to me to get to give my baby boy his middle name after his great-grandfather, my Pop, whom he hasn't met on this earth, but I know that he met in heaven before he was here. And to top it all off, was seeing the look of awe & amazement on Abigail & Mitchell's faces' when they walked into the hospital room to meet their new brother. They were the first ones we had back into the room and Abigail knew before we even told her that it was a brother, she just sensed it and knew she had another little brother. They loved him from the second they saw him, all wrapped up in his blankie and taking in his new world. What a beautiful and wonderful day that was!

Tomorrow we will celebrate Hayden's big first birthday with our friends and family at our house in the backyard. Finally, we have a child with a birthday in the warm weather months so that we can have an outdoor party! I know he won't understand what all the commotion and craziness is about, but we will and we will celebrate all day long. He is such a character and is really getting his own personality, which I hate to admit is actually a lot like mine, impatient and has a little temper! But I love watching him develop and finding his own way and place in our family. What a perfect and amazing blessing he has been in our life!