Husband, Father, Gentleman and Scholar

I honestly can't believe that Satch had his VERY LAST graduate school class today.

This has been the slowest and fastest 19 months of our lives.

Satch and I discussed the idea of him going back to get his MBA over the course of a couple of years.

One day he came home very convicted that now was the time.

His explanation was quite simple.

At the time we had a 6 month old baby and 2 1/2 year old toddler.

We were home anyway so it was now or never.

If he waited any longer he would miss out on too much.

Watching his boys play sports, school activities, etc.

Missing out on their lives was not something that he was willing to do.

I supported him 100% in his decision.

Oh my goodness.....

I was so naive. 

In my opinion he is a very smart man and he would just breeze through school.

He would walk in flash his brilliant smile and dazzle them with his intelligence.

I knew that he was committing to class every other Saturday.

How bad could that really be?  

Right?

Needless to say it was a tad bit more than I anticipated.

He had been out of college for 20 years.

The shock of getting back into the school routine was a bit startling at first.

Yes, he had class every other Saturday.

BUT.... he also had homework 

every. single. day.

He hung in there and never once complained.
Not even once.

I believe I did enough of that for the both of us. :)

He was first and foremost committed 110% to his family.

100% to his full time job.

100% to his school and studies.

Do the math.

That adds up to quite a load for anyone to carry.

The program started out with a brutal accounting slap in the face.

The program was designed for each student to be placed in a group of 3
to work together on assignments and projects.

A few classes in one of his partners resigned.

Now he and his other partner divided the heavy work load of 3 between only 2.

He and his partner, Luci, complimented each other very well.

She is a trained technical writer and he has a business back ground.

Thank God he was blessed with such a great partner.

They both gave it their all.
From start to finish.

I could not be more proud of my husband.

I admire his hard work and discipline.

I am so proud to be his wife.

I am so proud that he is the father of our children.

He is such a fine study of leading by example.

Dream BIG my love...

me

Jesus Follower

WIFE

MOMMY

Daughter

sister

FRIEND

part-time professional

blogger

PICTURE TAKER

cupcake maker

up all night maker of "things"

party girl (of the children's variety)

non-technical tech junkie that uses words like "thing-a-ma-jig"

LISTENER

serial dieter who has even tried the cereal diet

REALISTIC DREAMER

NIGHT OWL

BARGAIN SHOPPER

thrifty

SENSITIVE
CheerLeader

over thinker

EVER EVOLVING

reformed perfectionist

just me...

She's back.....

Hello "Self" welcome back...

I can honestly say that for the first time since being pregnant for Roman that I am beginning to feel like myself again.  Geesh.... gestating and rearing children sure has a way of taking "you" out of "you."  It was truly a struggle between the lack of sleep, round the clock nursing, nurturing a baby, raising a toddler, being wife to a husband AND a part time career.  Lately I feel better.  I am able to focus more on my mental, spiritual, and physical self.

My husband and little nuggets will always hold center stage, but over the past few months I have been feeling a tug to expand myself outside of the four walls of our home.  I know that sharing my talents and passions with others will help to balance me more as a wife and mother.  Isn't it crazy how that works...

Here is my current list of favorite things to do:

• Listen to Pandora radio while creating things in my kitchen.  (blogging, baking, crafting)  I turned on music and turned off the television set in November. I was tired of the constant "noise."    
• I signed up for a photography class.  This is something that I have wanted to do for quite some time.
• Go to dinner once a month with some of my college girlfriends
• MOPS
• I was recently asked to sit on an associate board for a missionary organization.  I am still wondering... me?  This one is  defiantly shaking me out of my comfort zone.  Last night we met for the first time.  I was fortunate enough to share a meal with a group of selfless individuals who serve a purpose much greater than ourselves.

Fun Valentine kitchen project.
Love bugs and

What can I say, but life is good...

hearts...

 

Reasons that I smile... sunshine

you are my sunshine

my only sunshine

you make me happy

when skies are grey

you'll never know dear

how much I love you

please don't take my sunshine away

i'm so in love with two little boys...

'Stachin.... it's in the blood

'Stachin.... it's in our blood. My boys come from a long line of 'staches. Grandpa Jim and Big Poppa rocked the 'staches in the 80's. Satch has been know to 'stache on occasion and Tio John 'staches every chance that he gets. I mean who doesn't love an awesome mustache? Mustaches are cool because:

*they look AWESOME

*they make people smile

*they are lighthearted FUN!

I am just previewing things to come in 2011. I don't want to let the cat out of the bag so stay tuned...

Satch 'stachin on our wedding day.

Mario and Luigi~ wedding crashers?
Tio John never misses an opportunity to 'stache.

I'm trying out a few looks on the boys. Griff as the angry viking? Or...

The Chaplin?
Roman testing out "Chef" or
The Reynolds?

Griff 'stachin with the Master 'Stacher~ Tio John. Griff rocking the pencil thin while Tio goes with the Frenchie.
There are so many directions that you can go with a 'stache. Be creative and change it up. Nothing like re-inventing yourself with a little facial hair! 'Stachin one smile at a time.

Camera Rx

My "Precious" has been feeling a little under the weather. She is being shipped back tomorrow for a check up. Please hurry home and get well soon. I'll miss you...

2010 in the rearview mirror...

I have been reflecting over this past year and I am about to make a very bold statement. 2010 was my favorite year~ EVER. Yes, my very favorite of the 34 years that I have been on this earth. I am in a happy place right now and I seem to be catching my stride.

Just because it is my favorite year doesn't mean that it was easy. Juggling life between a husband, newborn, two year old, running a household, and a part-time career comes with its fair amount of pressure and stress. I am defiantly running low on sleep and lose my temper quicker than I would like to admit. Funny thing about it~ when I think back on the year that doesn't matter. What does matter is love and joy that I give and receive from my precious family. 2010 was a year of working on relationship and healing some past wounds. God has been so good to me and I would like to acknowledge a few special blessings that made 2010 stand out above the rest. Here are my favorite memories of 2010~

~The sweetest words that we waited 9 months to hear. "It's a boy!!" The birth of Roman Wade. It was love at first sight. I remember looking at my baby and thinking, "he is just perfect." ~About a month ago Griffin said for the first time, "I love you Momma." Sure he has said it in the past, but this time was different. It was the first time that he said it out of the blue and I know that it came from the bottom of his giant heart!
~I took a little time this year for myself. I joined a MOPS group (mothers of preschoolers) and have made some lasting bonds with some awesome Mommas.
~ We celebrated Satch's 40 birthday. His celebration lasted an entire weekend. It was the least that I could do for the most incredible husband/father!
It was not by design that each memory spotlighted each of us individually. It just kind of worked out that way. I pray that the momentum of last year carries into this! 2011~ ready or not here we come!!

Girls Christmas Get Together

"Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold." The other night I hung out with some of my favorite high school girlfriends for our not-always-annual Christmas get together. A few of us started this tradition about 5 years ago. Thanks to Naomi for keeping it up! It is such a treat to catch up with some of my favorite gals. We chat about times old and new, nibble on goodies, drink a little wine, and celebrate our long lasting friendships!

Here we are together again 15+ years later.

Pixie, Germaine, and Aimee as beautiful as ever.
The stories go on for hours...
Here I am with Naomi~ the maid of honor in my wedding.
Gathered around the kitchen table. The place where friends meet.
It was great seeing all of you! I look forward to sitting around the table with all of you in 2011!

He said She said...

Okay so here is the real story regarding "Dudes Day Out!" Earlier in the week Satch told me that he was thinking about taking the boys out Saturday morning for a bit. Of course I asked for a little more information. He said that it would be a surprise. Here is a little excerpt from our conversation:



Satch- "You know kinda like in that movie."

Me- "Which movie."

Satch-"You know the movie when they just looked at the pictures after the event and tried to piece the night back together?"

Me- "THE HANGOVER?!?"



Okay, it is not that I don't like surprise I was just a little curious due to his reference of the Hangover. What did he mean? Would he stick Roman in a closet and Griffin would come back minus a tooth? Was he planning to hang out with Mike Tyson, a tiger, and a kung fu guy?



Considering that Roman and Griffin are 1.5 his children I figured that he would at some point make it back home safe and sound with both of them in tow. As a matter of fact once they returned home I sort of wished they would have stayed out a bit longer. ;)



That my friends is the rest of the story.

The end!

:)

Reasons that I smile~ Saturday morning dance party

This morning I had the house speakers on when we sat down for lunch~ homemade pizza. All of a sudden our pizza party became a dance party. The train song came over the speakers and it took a hold of all of us. Gotta LOVE a beat that you just can't resist! Momma, Daddy, and Griffin were jamming. (in a white family sort of way ;) ) We did the train three laps around the house and were belly laughing. You know the kind of laugh that you may pee on yourself and it doesn't even matter? Yeah, it was that kind of belly laugh!

Griffin picking the moves for Daddy to follow. Griff has always been a fan of "getting low."

Daddy leading the party train.
I love to see my baby having fun...

Through the eyes of a child~ Santa

As you may have noticed I am ALL about enjoying the Christmas activities this year. Tonight I found something really fun for us to do. A local plant gallery hosted a great event open and free to the public which included food from local vendors, SNOW and pictures with Santa. They had me at pictures with Santa. I know that EVERY child must have a picture with Santa, but SERIOUSLY $20 at the mall for a 5x7 is NOT the way that this Momma rolls! I am so glad that we ventured out. We had a fun time and met up with some friends from my MOPS group.

Someone looks like he is having fun!

Running through the Christmas trees.
Momma and her Romeo.
Gotta love Santa pictures. I actually find them wildly amusing. What is it about this guy that kids seem to despise? Could it be the beard or the groovy red suit? Maybe if Santa updated his wardrobe, lost a few lbs and shaved for once kids would not find him so scary. ;)
Here we are again! Griffin and Roman refused to hang out mono-y-mono with the guy in the red suit so Momma and Daddy jumped in. Typical.... Daddy giving the look of are you serious, Momma smiling for the camera, Roman checking out his Momma, and Griffin screaming bloody murder!

Griffin LOVING the "snowman." Why did he call the snow snowman? (yes, snow here in southern Louisiana would actually be a bubble machine)

We had no idea he:

(a) had a clue what snow was or

(b) would know to call it a snowman

He loved the snowman so much that he was carried out kicking and screaming and wanting more snowman.

Looking forward to our next Christmas adventure!

Through the eyes of a child~ Lefty the Elf

Ralphie Elfus or "Lefty" for short finally made it to our house last night. He said that with the economy in the tank Santa couldn't afford a direct flight for him from the North Pole. He told us that he really had a time making it to southern Louisiana this year. Something to do with his layover in Detroit I believe? Anyway.... we asked him how he ended up with the nickname Lefty? He said that as we all know that behind every man is a strong woman. Mrs. Clause is Santa's right hand "man" so that puts Santa's favorite Elf to the left! (hence the name Lefty) So the story begins....

We were really excited to introduce the boys to Lefty our Elf on the shelf. We pulled out the book and Kenton read it to them. We had their attention for a minute or two. They are both a little young to fully understand Lefty's purpose, but like it or not Lefty has a job to do! He watches over the boys and reports back to Santa daily whether they have been good or bad.

Can you spy Lefty hiding out in this picture?

Thankful bucket

Today I started a new tradition called the "Thankful Bucket." I set out a jar with index cards so everyone could write down a blessing to share with the family. I love the idea for many reasons. I want my precious boys to be thankful and acknowledge the MANY blessings that are bestowed upon us.

I am thankful for my 2 special blessings who are now my addictions. - MiMi Kat

I am thankful for God sending me my Prince Charming. Thank you Satch for your love and guidance of our family. -Andrea

I am thankful for God's grace and forgiveness. -Andrea

I am thankful for my family. - Kenton

I am thankful for the morning time with my grandsons while everyone else is still asleep. Health, family, and friends. -Big Poppa

I am thankful for my brother John and the creativeness, talent and flavor that he brings to our family. -Andrea

I am thankful for the health and happiness of my family. Without their love and support, I would not be the person who I am today. -Kenton

I am thankful for a good husband who takes care of me, our children, and grandchildren. -MiMi

I am thankful for my 2 precious little boys. Thank you God for their good health. - Andrea

I am thankful for our adventurous son, John, that God watches over and takes care of while he travels the world. -MiMi

I am thankful for asdlkaslekjasldkfjl;kdfjasd;lfja;slk. -Griffin

I am thankful that God blessed me with a daughter who is also my best friend. -MiMi

I am thankful for my striking good looks and charm. -Andrea :)

I am thankful for a forgiving heart and the peace that only God can provide. -MiMi

I am thankful for a wonderful son-in-law who is a great husband and father. -MiMi

I am thankful for the freedom of choice in this wonderful country. -Andrea

I am thankful for the unconditional love and support of my parents. -Andrea

I am thankful for a beautiful and healthy family and a wonderful church family. -MiMi

7 minutes

The time was here again for Griffin to get a scalping... I mean haircut yesterday. We have been taking him to the same unnamed place since his first haircut. The place is a really cute children's salon with great airplane and taxi cab salon chairs. The only downfall is that the stylist can be a bit "snarly" at times. You are probably asking, "well why in the world do you continue to take your child to a snarly hairdresser." The answer is quite simple. Because she is FAST. The entire experience from the time that we get out of the car to the time that we get back into the car takes approximately 7 minutes. I can endure just about anything for 7 minutes right?!? Every time I go in I tell her the same basic instructions.

1. Not too short. I really like the length.

2. Just a basic clean up around his ears.

3. NO bowl cuts! Go "whispy" on the bangs.

Next time I think that I will just omit #1. She doesn't seem to listen to step one, but nevertheless. He sure looks cute!

Before

After
What is the best part of a haircut? The "if you behave and sit still you will get a SUCKER at the end" part!
Never fails. After each haircut Griffin goes instantly from baby to boy in a matter of 7 minutes..... When did he get so big? Sniff. Sniff...

To Be Continued...

The other night I had a "get real" session in my closet. I came to 2 realizations.

(1) I am now a mother of 2

(2) Some things just don't fit anymore!

I was able to get rid of BOXES of clothing, but I could not bring myself to donate my maternity clothes. I am just not ready to close this chapter in my life. Actually, the thought of child #3 has been consuming me since the birth of Roman. After Griffin was born I just knew for certain that we would have another child. After the birth of Roman I could not say the same. It is not something that I can explain, it is just a very strong feeling that I have. These feelings that I have are also accompanied with what feels like an emotional roller coaster. My life is so rich with the love and blessing of my two precious children. I am so blessed to be the mother of 2 healthy and thriving boys, but I am not ready to let go the hopes for another addition.

At this point we have a full plate juggling between a VERY active toddler, a newly curious infant, my part time job, Kenton's full time job, and the demands of Kenton's master's program. I was thinking (obsessing) on child #3 while driving yesterday and have decided to give my brain a rest. My prayer on the subject is "Thy will be done." In the future if the good Lord blesses us with another child then we will GLADLY welcome the addition, but until then we will cherish every moment that we have with #1, and #2.

Now hiring: Night time manager

Kenton fell asleep with Griff while watching football. I took this picture before carting him off to bed. As I took this picture I thought this is really sweet.... Little did I know it was only a preview of the events to follow!

Kenton and I made a rule early on in our marriage. I believe this was before we even had children. The rule read as follows: NO kids sleeping in our bed. To date this has worked out very well for us. We love our children to pieces, but love them even more while they sleep in their own beds. I believe that this has not been an issue because we still have Griffin in his cage, I mean baby bed. To our delight and disbelief he has never taken the plunge overboard. Actually, he really likes his bed. It is the only place that he has ever really slept.... until last night.

Here is a basic break down of the events of last night.

1:09am: I heard something in the baby monitor. The monitor is in Roman's room. I heard, "Da-yee.....Daaaaaa-yeeeeeeee......DAAAAAA-YEEEEEEEE.......DIAPER. This child has learned that anytime he says the word diaper or poo-poo it sets us off in a sprint! I rushed over to his room to find Griffin in his baby bed with his jammies around his ankles with his diaper in his hand. Luckily it did not have poo-poo. I believe he just threw "diaper" in for dramatic effect. Side note~Griffin NEVER wakes up in the middle of the night. He woke up once last week because of a dream, but otherwise I can not remember the last time he woke up before that. So it is 1am and I have a naked kid what should I do? I picked him up and dropped him in our bed and ran to get a diaper. I returned to bed, changed his diaper, and realized that he was WIDE AWAKE. Okay, now what do I do? Out of pure laziness I let him stay in our bed. Don't judge~ I knew that I would be waking up again soon enough! It probably took him about an hour to get back to sleep.

2:30am: Roman wakes up to eat. Typically I take Roman back to our bed to feed him then return him to his bed once he is finished. Problem! Griffin is already in our bed. Solution~ feed Roman in the rocker and return him to his bed around 3am.

4:00am: Griff starts thrashing in his sleep and kicking the covers off of me and Kenton. As I am laying there with not much room to spare I then realize that we were onto something with that "NO kids in the bed rule."

5:00am: Kenton wakes up and is startled by the shape of another person in our bed. This was even funny to me as I was 1/2 sleeping. Serious question. How on earth did he sleep through the commotion of the night up to this point?

5:30am: Kenton brings over Roman so I could feed him. I had to get out of the bed and get in on Kenton's side because Griffin was hogging my space.

5:45am: As quietly as humanly possible I returned Roman to his bedroom.

6:00am: Griff jolts himself out of his sleep and jumps up on all fours. He has no idea where he is and tries to jump out of the bed. I quietly said his name and calmed him. I was able to get him to lay with me for 20 minutes.

6:20am: Griff is now ready to start the day all bright eyed and bushy tailed! Me.... not so much! He sat up and said, "Mommy, up?" I said, "Go find your daddy."

Thanks to MiMi Kat and Big Pop I was able to sleep a bit longer before heading out to work.

Good Morning!

Do these 2 look like partners in crime?

We had more excitement this morning before 7am than we have had in quite some time. Apparently Big Poppa needed a Diet Coke from the fridge in the garage. He opened the door and forgot to turn off the alarm. As soon as the alarm went off he immediately punched in his code. Sure enough the house phone rang about 1 second later. The alarm company was calling for our code word to make sure that it was an accident and in fact not a robbery. Big Poppa came into our room and handed the phone to Kenton. I was still half asleep and not thinking as quickly as usual. Mind you I was jolted out of sleep by the sound of an alarm. Kenton could not think of the code word and asked me what it was. My mind went blank. I had no idea what the word was. Kenton got a little hyped up and was asking me (with the operator on the phone) "what is the word?!?" I was just sitting there totally clueless. He then looked at me like I was the wise one that held all of the answers and said, "just give me a word... any word?" I had nothing for him. I was just sitting there staring at him. A few minutes later we noticed from our bedroom window a police man in the back yard with his gun drawn. Kenton went outside with his dog and 2 year old son to explain to the nice man with the gun that it was all an accident and we are just idiots. Seriously, if you were to break into someones house would you bring along a 2 year old and a dog? We have been laughing about "give me a word" all day. Good times...

A Note to my Unborn Child

Peanut,

In just a few more weeks we will finally meet face to face for the very first time. To be so loved before even laying eyes on you is truly an amazing thing! I enjoy the quiet time that I am able to spend with you. There is nothing greater than talking to you, and to know that you are right there with me listening. I love to feel you squirming around in my tummy. It lets me know that you are safe and warm with me. Someone once told me that it is much easier to take care of a baby while they are still on the inside and I would have to agree.

Daddy and I have been very busy getting everything ready for you. The only thing that I ask of you is to continue to grow big and strong! I love listening to your heartbeat at Dr. appointments. Your heart rate has stayed pretty consistent at 135 bpm. I had an appointment yesterday with an ultrasound. We were all a little shocked at how much you have already grown. At 34 weeks you are measuring 7.8 lbs and approximately 38 weeks. All I can say is WOW! In the ultrasound you sure looked pretty content in Mommy's tummy. You are moving all around and sucking your toes. You even had the hiccups while the camera was on you~ such a precious sight to see! You are already such a beautiful baby! Many people think that we are crazy for waiting to find out your sex, but we would not have it any other way. That makes our first meeting even more special!

Life is about to change for all of us. We are all eagerly anticipating your upcoming arrival. Just know that we already love you very much and can't wait to see you for the first time...

All my love,
Mommy
and Daddy and Griff too!

A Note to my First Born Son

Dearest Griffin,

I can not begin to describe the joy that you have brought to all of our lives over the past two years. In the next few weeks you will have a new brother or sister. Even though you will no longer be the only child, you will always be our first born. Thank you for allowing us to grow with you and learn many new lessons along the way. I am sure the road is about to get bumpy with the many changes that we are all about to face, but I just know with all of my heart that you will be the best big brother. You already have a little practice with Al-Dog. It didn't take you long to figure out the chain of command around here! I truly believe you are much more resilient than we realize. We are always very gentle when introducing change to your life and you always take it in stride. You are a very special little boy.

I love to watch you learn and grow everyday. You have such a cute little personality. You have a very strong will and spirit. Your sense of adventure is amazing to watch. You are often a bit of a challenge for all of us, but I would not trade this for the world. That is what makes You.... You! Everyday you do something that makes us wonder, how does he know that? You are so loved and I always want for you to know that! Thank you for breaking us in gently to parenthood. We had a pretty smooth first 2 years with you. I know that we have made a few mistakes and are certain to make many more. Just know that all that we want is for you to be safe and happy. I cherish all of the special moments that you and I have shared and look forward to a lifetime more of those individual moments with you. I will enjoy every second of the time that I have left with you as my only child. Always remember, "you are a good boy, you will do great things in this world. One day you will be a great husband and father." Keep those tight hugs and sweet kisses coming my way....

All my love,
Mommy

Mysterious "illness" strong enough to take down a small army?

I honestly had the worst week that I can remember in a VERY long time. Last Saturday Kenton came down with "something" and just didn't feel well. This mysterious illness took him down for a week and also took down the entire house! Kenton went to the Dr. and tested negative for the flu, bronchitis, and pneumonia. I just know that he had the flu and the test didn't catch it. He went to work one day this week and the rest of the week was spent in bed. That seems a little extreme for a little cold, not to mention he had all of the symptoms of the flu.

Griffin also stayed out of school all but one day. The one day that he went to school I talked to the director during the day and she said that he was just fine. When I went to pick him up that day he was crying at the gate calling for "Mommy." Truly, that was the most heart wrenching moment that I have experienced as a parent. On Friday morning when he woke up MiMi went to get him out of bed he told her "no, no, no" and went back to bed. We brought him into the Dr. and he tested POSITIVE for the flu. He started taking Tami-flu and things seem to be looking up!

I have also been down since Tuesday. I started with major congestion in my head. I was having trouble breathing. Nothing was passing through my nose and I was using my inhaler because of wheezing in my lungs. I did not have the luxury of using my sick days because I am saving them to have a baby in a few months, so....... I had to work through this beast. Like I said it was a really bad week. Luckily MiMi was staying with us so she was able to man the ship. I honestly do not know we would have survived otherwise. I would go to work and come home to sleep. Considering my precious state I was very limited on what I could take, but I was willing to do anything to feel better. I was able to take Tylenol cold, vicks vapor rub in the nose and under the feet for the cough, gargled with warm water and salt, and I even tried a Netti Pot. I was desperate! As of today I feel much better and praying for a week better than last.

MiMi felt a little under the weather all week, but nothing too serious. Well, no one is safe in this house! This morning she woke up and has whatever it is 100%. She has been in bed all day. Big Pop came home from a trip today and was sent away. We don't need to infect anyone else with these evil germs. Hopefully after another round of disinfecting we will be on the mend.

Because we are still in quarantine we are home during one of the most exciting weekends EVERY to hit NOLA. Not only is it the kick off of Mardi Gras, but the Saints are playing in the Superbowl. This is never how I imagined that we would spend Superbowl Sunday with our beloved Saints in that number, but what are you going to do? Who Dat!

PS~ this is the first post that is not accompanied by pics, but I feel that pics are not necessary!