Allen nuggets

2018 In Summary

lallen28821 Comment

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Well here we are again.  Another year in the books.  When I think about life now it’s almost everything before the boys entered into our world and everything since.  Recently, I went to dinner with several of my college besties and we started talking about college days (which feels like a lifetime ago) and memories were dredged up from a corner of my brain I didn’t realize was there.  I also realized without those valuable and long lasting friendships, memories that would probably have been forgotten.

Life is a funny thing.  It makes me think about individuals like my grandparents that are 92/93 years young, who survived immigration, famine, wars and raising ELEVEN children.  Can you even imagine the number of life’s moments that are tucked away in their memories?  I feel lucky that in this day and age the ability to take pictures and videos is literally in my pocket at all times.  I’m also so curious to see what develops in the next 30 years.  Flying cars?

2018 has been an eventful year and that has been partially contributed to returning to the workforce full time.  Its afforded us things we have talked and dreamt about for a while now.  

We bought a travel trailer.  Technically, that was at the very end of 2017 but this past year is when we began to really use it.  We’ve taken it to a few near by state parks in TX and OK.  We even tested out the ability to camp with others, all squished into just our camper.  We have definitely used it as a “guest house” when we go visit Kemp and my brother’s family stayed in it when the house overflowed during the boys’ birthday celebrations.  In true cousin Eddy style, we actually plan to take it as our home away from home for the out of town holiday festivities this year! She’s a beaut Clark!

In January, our family grew!  My younger brother and his wife had a baby!  He is such a chunky monkey and watching him (via photos) grow this year is the best. Early this year we also went to Monster Jam (total disaster), took a spring break staycation in Fort Worth and Josh completed his RCIA journey.

Josh and I also took our first adult only vacation away from the boys to Puerto Adventures in March.  I felt a bit of guilt but my parents were here to love on them and I also really tried to prioritize my marriage. I am fully and completely obsessed with my children but before them I was equally as obsessed with The Hubs.  I don’t think I am any less obsessed but our attention to each other is obviously split now.  So we spent an entire 5 days solely focused on each other.  It was awesome.  There were somethings about the resort and the location I wasn’t super pleased with but overall, it was a much needed time together.

I wrote a post about what we did mostly this summer and how Corbin’s surgery recovery actually took a large chunk of time but we did have lots of fun too!  Corbin and Weston fine tuned their swimming skills, lots of backyard fun, went on several camp trips and plenty of gatherings with friends.  We also finally made our first trip to Destin, FL and I’m quite sure we’re never going to any other beach.  SO beautiful and now we know why Texans flock there in the summer time.  The AirBnB we stayed in was THE perfect location and the trip was just relaxing and enjoyable.  We also have a list of things we plan to do next year!

The fall always means lots of birthday celebrations and parties for our crew. We took a trip to Broken Bow and had  blast with a big group of friends and followed closely by the holidays.  Thanksgiving blends right into Christmas and here we are…the year’s end.  

It’s not over yet!  In the homestretch of the year, we decided to do some much needed renovations on the outside of our home.  We’ve been slowly updating and beautifying the inside but the outside was looking rough.  Painters are working as we speak!  I’m terrified I didn’t pick the right colors (happens to me every time) but once everything is all said and done….I’ll post pictures of the finished product.

Christmas is next week (eek!) and I feel pretty ready.  I’ve been thoroughly enjoying all the get togethers and Christmas cheer.  We are headed south and I’m excited to get to snuggle nieces and nephews, eat and drink too much and enjoy the merriment.  

XOXO

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    F i v e

    lallen2882Leave a comment

    My babies are not babies anymore.  They’re little boys.

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    They’ve obviously been headed in this direction for some time now and many might argue they haven’t been babies in a long while.

    But before I could still scoop them up, squeeze em and love all over them.  I could still hold them in my arms.  They both gave kisses willingly and snuggles were never enough.  Mommy could always “fix” the problem.  Both always looked to me (or The Hubs) for guidance and assurance.

    Now they’re just so darn independent.  An opinionated.  And goofy.  They still love me.  Its just differently.  I know it will change again as they continue to get older, more mature, and “grown up”.

    I also realize these are signs that we are doing something right.  Asserting their ability to do things on their own, make their own decisions and learn from it.  It still means they need me less and that’s a hard pill to swallow.

    Corbin

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    Corbin is 42′ tall and (has thankfully gained a few pounds since the tonsillectomy) weighs in at 36.4 lbs.  He still has his stunning blue eyes and sweet smirk.  Corbin still wakes up first, and entirely too early, but gives the reason that he needs to snuggle.  Sometimes it means he gets up more than once during the night.  He has agreed to “give up” sucking his thumb now that he is a big 5 year old but still loves his blankie fiercely.  He has a very outgoing personality and is always pretending he is something or somewhere but he has to get permission first – Mommy, can I pretend I am ________?

    Corbin is not shy.   He will let you know how he feels, who pushed/stepped on his foot/didn’t play with him, who he doesn’t like, all usually within earshot of the other kid’s mom at after school pickup.  Sheesh.  I try to embrace it.  Kids are honest and Corbin is going to deliver you the truth.

     

    Since starting at a montessori school Corbin has drifted towards math and enjoys those lessons.  Montessori schools use a lot of hands on objects to learn (i.e. counting beads, stacking blocks) and that is right up his alley.  Corbin is the pickiest eater.  He will like something one day and not the next, he love all typical kid food but he does like more meat options then average.  The only veggie that gets past his lips are corn and carrots – occasionally.

    Weston

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    Since day one, Weston has always been just a hair bigger than his brother.  Weston weighs in at 38 lbs and is 43.5″ tall.  Occasionally, I think my boys are tall (both are greater than the 75%) but then I see them next to a really tall kid!  Weston has the biggest smile and loves to laugh at Corbin (who loves to make him laugh). Weston has a mixed personality.  He can be very bossy and assertive at home but in social setting, he really needs Corbin to give him confidence.  We were camping a few months back and he was desperate to go play with the kids across the campground but would not go without Corbin.  Once he feels Corbin’s support and gets the courage up to go introduce himself, he’s off.  Sometimes to Corbin’s displeasure because he gets left behind.

    Weston likes to please us more than not, especially when I’m on my last bit of patience.  Or when Corbin has made me cry (true story).  Weston is a pretty good eater but is not a fan of most meat choices.  He will eat an occasional meatball or piece of lunch meat and much prefers carbs (like his momma). Weston will still come to to mommy to “fix it”, whatever it is and I hope that doesn’t stop too soon.

    Corbin and Weston filled our lives in a way I never knew they could.  The Hubs and I both badly wanted kids but there really is no way to understand how fulfilling children make life until you have them (whether it’s the old fashioned way or adoption or even gaining kids through a marriage).  It’s not always easy but the hard times are totally worth it.

    We are an infertility “success” story.  What’s compelling is we were never really diagnosed with anything to make us infertile so it was an “unexplained infertility” which was heart wrenching.  It’s easy for me to look back and say, God planned it this way.  It was impossibly difficult to endure but it did work out perfect, according to His plan.

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY WESTON AND CORBIN!

    XOXO

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    This Week

    lallen2882Leave a comment

    I had big plans for our summer and it is already August(!!!!) and I don’t feel like I’ve check off any items on the wish list.  Granted, some of our (outdoor) plans were postponed due to 21 days of 100º+ days!  It’s been a HOT June/July for summer 2018.

    What has occupied us lately: It’s been eight days since Corbin had a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy.  It is every bit as brutal as you hear about.  My little guy is a tough kid.  This surgery has taken a toll on his body and spirit.

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    We told Corbin he was having his tonsils “fixed”.  They were blocking 75% of his throat.  He was rated a 4 out of a 4 rating for enlarged tonsils.  He wasn’t eating well at all, he stopped liking foods he has always liked and his obstructed sleep apnea was shocking.  We knew he snored (like a grown man!) but I finally witnessed how severe his OSA was one morning.  My poor boy lay there with his chest rapidly rising and falling but no air was going in until eventually he gasped and rolled over.  That is how my child was sleeping.  No wonder he was tired all of the time.  I think even he was ready.

    We told Cor he would go to sleep at the doctor’s and would wake up with a sore throat.  Obviously, we couldn’t tell him he would be in severe pain but even The Hubs and I were not prepared for how rough the recovery would be.  Corbin just knew he was going to get his throat “fixed” and be able to eat allll the ice cream.

    Surgery day he was prepared.  They wheeled him back and away he went, no tears.  He was probably gone 35-45 minute and they called us to recovery. I had been warned that he might wake up from anesthesia angry and so we were “ready”.  We did not experience anger or confusion, Corbin just rolled around A LOT and itched/rubbed his face (tangled himself in every cord) but slowly, he came around.  Again NO tears.

    After about an hour and a popsicle, we were headed home.  He took a short cat nap on the car ride home but for the rest of the day Corbin watched movies and ate ice cream.  Overall he seemed really good.

    Days 1-4 post op weren’t good but they weren’t bad.  He was prescribed hydrocodone/acetaminophen combo and was supposed to take it every 5-6 hours.  Corbin was barely making it to five hours without being in quite a bit of pain and started to really resist the medications around day four/five.  Since he didn’t want to take the pain medications, he said they were “spicy”, Corbin started to really slow down on eating or drinking.  By the evening of day seven, he was refusing everything.  I slept with him that evening and he tossed and turned until we we woke him up in the middle of the night to give him a dose and about an hour later, he vomited.  His stomach was very irritated due to the pain meds and no food.  He continued to toss and turn all night.

    The following morning, Corbin still refused anything to eat, drink and his pain meds and he hadn’t gone to the restroom in almost 24 hours.  He wouldn’t talk to me, he would hold his ears and cry.  After multiple calls to his surgeon, we decided to go to the ER.

    He received pain meds, nausea meds, and two bags of fluids. And two popsicles.  As an example as to how tough Corbin really is, he didn’t flinch or cry when they put the IV in his hand.  The extra nurse that was there to hold him down assist, even commented that he did amazing.  Yet this recovery has literally brought him to his knees crying. After his ER treatment, Corbin really perked up.  When we got home he was asking for more to eat and consumed two large servings of chicken noodle soup!

    What a bummer.  The doctor told us it would be a rough two weeks but we were NOT prepared for this.

    Today is day nine post op and Corbin slept well last night.  He woke up still holding his ears.  NOTE: you’re wondering why his ears hurt so much when the surgery was in his throat….it’s referred pain.  There is a nerve that runs through all of those areas, that are affected by the swelling.  The ER doctor said, think about a scab and how, as it heals, it pulls on the skin in the surrounding area.  OUCH.

    Every child is different, so each healing journey is not the same. Corbin was also on an antibiotic for a sinus infection prior to his surgery.  I put this out on my blog/the web so if your child is needing these surgeries, I want you to know how our recovery has been so far.  The Hubs felt the doctor could have prepared us better, essentially, scare us. I’m not sure how effective that would be either. 🙂

    We are really hoping and praying that Corbin has turned the corner and is on the upside of recovery.  Weston has acted out a little bit.  I hoped he would be understanding and empathetic but he’s a four year old boy.  Not so much.  Weston has been going to school and field trip without his bro and doesn’t really like all the extra attention Corbin is getting.  The Hubs and I keep trying to do one on one things with Weston but I think he is also ready for everything to go back to “normal”.

    June and July just zoomed by and we’re on the tail end of summer.  (Although in the South, warm swimming weather sticks around until forever September.) We have a family/friend swim day on the calendar for next weekend, a camping/fishing trip with more friends in a few more weeks and counting down (44 days) until our B E A C H vacation to Destin!

    XOXO

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    Hiatus 2017

    lallen2882Leave a comment

    I’m am 100% confident I have another blog post titled “Hiatus’.

    Hi! Remember us?

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    But for real.  I left this little slice of web alone for well over a year. I was feeling a bit of a struggle between documenting life and living life.  I LOVE my mom blogs (absolute fav) and I felt a desire to have everything so well documented, something that I could reference until the inter-webs crash (…probably reading too many dystopia novels).

    Problem is, I just don’t spend that much time on a device.  Honestly, even without blogging, I think I spend a little bit too much time surfing Insta and FB and I’m still usually the last one to see a post or hear the news.   There must be a trick to being a mom of one, two or five kiddos and still finding time to blog/Instagram/Facebook but I just don’t know that secret.  I’m thinking those mommies must not sleep and that is something I’m NOT willing to give up.  (hahahaha..sleep.)

    Moving into 2018, I’ve decided I want to write again.  When I can.  I want to update and track and document and share. When I can.  My family is number one and everything else comes after that.  Well, God is numero uno actually but you get what I mean. He comes before all else.

    So here’s the update:

    I went back to work.  Gasp.  And I LOVE it. Cough.  Like really love it.  Choke.

    If you know me, you know my background is HR.  When we became a single family income, I tried think of all kinds of SAHM ideas to bring in extra money AND to give me something to do.  I wanted to be a photographer (like Brittany).  I wanted to own a small online shop of cute tees.  I wanted to do alllll the things I saw other SAHMs creating and working and balancing a family.

    What ended up actually occurring was I realized those are all super HARD work also.  I had zero knowledge of photography and although I learned a LOT online, I really needed hands on guidance.  Editing also took up SO MUCH time.  I would get faster the more I worked with it but watching You tube videos and reading tutorials, while working on a photo was time consuming.

    I also failed miserably at sewing.  I tried but probably not nearly hard enough.  I also really wanted hands on learning.  I want to ask a question, “what did I do wrong here?”  You Tube didn’t help much with that either.  Afterwards, I learned that I was actually starting out with a pretty difficult fabric to work with for a beginner.

    That is my learning style though.  I’m a very visual and interactive student.  If I had more patience and time, maybe I could have excelled at both.  Now that the boys are FOUR, maybe I’ll try again.  Or maybe I’ll wait a little longer.

    In the meantime, an opportunity presented itself in my “corporate world”.  It was going to be a 3 month contract position and my mom volunteered to live with us (eek!) and watch the boys while I tried this whole working-outside-the-home thing again.  A few things lead me to take this opportunity.

    1. It was temporary.  If I didn’t like it, I’d quit.
    2. It was exactly what I was looking to do (in HR) before I had the opportunity to be a SAHM.
    3. It would be an easy transition for the Nugs because they’d be with their Momo.  Their schedule and school days would stay the same and everything.
    4. The role was for four months and I was guaranteed flexibility

    I started in October 2017 and I’m actually waiting to hopefully be hired on full-time.  That’s what they keep telling me at least.  Its an outstanding locally headquartered company and my boss is the best part.  She was a SAHM for almost 20 years and she has made the transition so great.  I know my experience could have been much different so I’m very grateful.

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    The Nuggets.  They’ve have had a harder time transitioning.  They most definitely do NOT like going to school every day.  We put them in a Primrose school and they go from 7:30a-4/4:30p and even after two months it’s still a little challenging.

    Once they get to school it’s fine.  Most of the time they do not want to go home when we pick them up.  But the battles of getting out of bed, dressed and out the door are tough.  It’s super tough on me because I feel like I’m making the wrong decision but let me tell you how it was before I went back to work.

    Corbin and Weston were SICK and tired of me.  And to be honest, I was a bit worn out with them too.  Maybe more then “just a bit”.  Both boys were always SO excited to see Daddy when he came home from work and I was pretty much always chopped liver.  I was constantly desperate to get out of the house and would dump the boys on the Hubs far too often because I needed a break. They went to school Tues/Thurs from 9a-2:30p which was great but  I dealt with the guilt of doing “nothing” while they were in school and I didn’t want to spend money either.  So I started working with a friend, helping with her business, credit card sales (not my dream job) and I was feeling a bit more fulfilled.

    Then I received an email from a friend/old coworker and she told me about this opportunity. After some discussion with the Hubs, and the commitment from my mom, I decided to go for it.  Since they’ve extended my contract, I’ve been happily growing relationships with adults and learning so much.

    So that’s where we’re at right now.  I’m not sure the boys are in the best school for what works for us but that’s another story and decision for another time.  There is no way I can catch everything up that has happened for the last 16 months so we’ll just move forward.

    XOXO

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    Three Year Olds

    lallen28821 Comment

    Our boys turned three years old.  Three years have gone by since those teeny tiny little nuggets entered our world and changed everything.  I could cry.  As ALL parents say, it really does go by fast.  The days of newborns are the longest and the shortest days in the weirdest way possible.  After that, it just picks up pace.  I never wished to “rush” through any phase (even potty training) because I knew once it was over, that was it.

     

     

    This just doesn’t seem like that long ago to me.

    Weston

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    My West.  He is exactly that, a momma’s boy.  The world ends if Daddy attempts to dry Weston off after the bath tub.  I use that to my advantage and he hops out of the bath super fast.  Weston is a ball of emotion on most days and can swing from being the sweetest, loving, giggly boy to incredibly frustrated and upset with anyone and everyone.  He is a lot like me in that sense…every feeling is full of emotion.  He looks out for Corbin and loves to introduce them to other people, first saying his name and then pointing out Corbin.

    At their three year check up,  Weston weighed in at 33 lbs and 38.5″ tall.  He is slightly above the fiftieth percentile for weight and right at the seventy fifth percentile for height. Weston still naps on occasion and when he does, he naps hard.  He sleeps through the night like a champ, rarely getting up and on most days I can hardly get him out of bed in the morning (again, similar to mom).

    Things I don’t want to forget: Every morning, Weston runs into my arms and tucks his head into my neck so his eyes can get used to the light.  When I go to pick him up from school, he grins and squeezes me so tight and says, “I’m so glad you’re here”.   When he laughs at his brother, its a full belly laugh if Cor does something silly and the way he says big words like, “incredible and amazing” when we go new places.  How Weston always wants to help me with chores.

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    Corbin

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    Corbin is still more of a Daddy’s boy.  He wakes up early on most days to make sure he sees  Daddy before he leaves for work. Daddy always says goodbye but Corbin will look for him half of the morning, asking where he went.  Corbin is my snuggle bug though and will lay with me for a few minutes before he fully wake up and always wants to play what I call Marco Mommy with me.  If I am in another room he will call, “mommy” and I respond and this continues until he locates me.  Corbin is more independent then his brother though and likes to entertain himself, but he also really loves to aggravate Weston.  He will take a toy he knows Weston wants and then run away and make Weston chase him. It usually ends with Corbin throwing it behind the couch/table/tub and Weston in tears.  I can only image how these “fights” will progress.

    Corbin weighed in at 30.2 pounds and 38 inches tall.  His weight falls just below the fiftieth percentile and his hight was at the seventy fifth.  Tall and lean as he has always been.  Corbin sleeps through the night about 60% of the time.  He sometimes wakes up to go potty or needs reassurance after a bad dream.  Sometimes he just comes in to snuggle (to which we send him back to bed).  It’s a small prayer every night that he (we) make it through.

    Things I don’t want to forget:  Corbin with his blanket and sucking his thumb (I know).  How he will share with his brother and, if Weston is upset, he tries to fix it.  Corbin will thank you for doing something for him (like Daddy built the playground for them and a month later, he’s still saying thank you). How he has the goofiest grin when someone tells him to smile for a picture.  How much he loves to build parking lots (cars lined up), when he tells me “follow me Mommy” and pulls my hand.  How animated and excited he is when he talks about everything.

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    The nuggets are total boys.  They love trains trucks, cars, dirt and messes.  They’re not so much into bugs…yet.  In the love of all trucks, we had a Fire Truck themed birthday party.

    I found Fire Truck 2 You with Fireman Scott, that brings a real fire truck right to your party. It was so outstanding, I couldn’t recommend a more fun event.  I actually attended a community event last night and discovered we are kinda infamous in the neighborhood from this party since the mayor’s daughter in law stopped to inquire about it.  Whoa, right?

    The boys were in love with every aspect, except honking the horn.  Corbin did that once and scared more than half the party’s attendants, including himself and that was that.  No more honking.  But each child had the opportunity to climb in and out of the truck, turn on the lights, push buttons, etc.  They had fireman outfits to put on and Fireman Scott even talked about firemen and how they are there to help and not to be scared.  It was truly a unique and exciting party for the boys.  My next door neighbor (who brought his grand daughter) was my favorite, as he was as interested in participating as the three year olds.

    I couldn’t recommend Fire Truck 2 You and Scott to more people then I have, i.e., everyone.  If you have a kiddo between the ages of three to ten, it is a GREAT party idea.  I mom failed on the pictures and relied on everyone else to capture the day.  Luckily, I have great friends.

    Our babies are three but they will always be my babies.  I can’t even read that book

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    XOXO

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    Pictures 

    lallen28822 Comments

    In a world saturated with cameras and pictures E V E R Y W H E R E  I still value taking time aside to have a profession take our pictures.

    I hoped to be that professional but, along with master seamstress and crafty girl extraordinar, I’ve fallen short. Not to say I can’t still accomplish it, it just seems I lack the time (wonder why) to devote becoming really great at any of them.

    Fortunately, right before the boys were born I came across a picture on a twin mama blog that I about died over. It was sooo precious. Lucky for me, that twin mama is DFW based! What are the odds?! So I sought out the photographer and she’s taken our pictures since.

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    I cannot express how much I appreciate pictures to document this time in life that is flying by but there’s something to be said about “special” time set aside to have your picture taken.

    Oh how I love these two and what they have done to fill a huge void in our lives.

    XOXO

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    Choked Up

    lallen28821 Comment

    We took a trip last week to Wisconsin because one of my cousin’s got married. My family is incredibly special and we have so much fun when we get together. Which, since we’re in Texas, isn’t enough for me.

    My grandparents are 90 years young and I don’t see them nearly enough so I soaked up the 5 days we were there.

    The trip included a LOT of visiting with family members because it seemed like each day more people arrived into town. So most of our time in WI we just drifted from one family member’s house to the next to see who was there.


    Saturday morning we loaded up the boys and got out of the house first thing, so I could take The Hubs and the boys to a park/swimming hole that I went to as a kid. In order to do this quickly, we kind of just bolted after breakfast before the day got away from us.

    Iverson Park was exactly as I remembered it and, even though it was only 71° out side and the water was freezing, we were holding the boys back from wading into the water. We hit up the playground and the swings and then we decided to grab lunch, so I could get my hands on some fried cheese curds.


    We went to another place I hold dear in my memory from my childhood visits to WI and ordered up lunch.

    Halfway through our lunch, Corbin turned to Josh and opened his mouth. He looked like he was in pain. I said to The Hubs, something is wrong with him. Initially, we both thought he had something in his teeth, so Josh reached in and pulled out a half chewed piece of cantaloupe. Then I heard Corbin make a gargle noise and I realized he was choking.

    I said that to Josh and he grabbed him and turned him over on his leg and started to pat him hard on the back. Just as we were told to do when we had our class before the boys were released from the NICU. I sat across from him in the booth and saw Corbin going blue. I stood up and started to panic. I jumped up and went to turn and run into the main part of the restaurant for help but I just yelled, “he’s not breathing“!! Then I remembered I recently read that after they’re over a year old you are supposed to perform abdominal thrusts/the Heimlich. So in my freak out, I snatched Corbin and did about three abdominal thrusts (if you want to call it that …I didn’t take the time to make sure my hand placement was correct) but he made a noise like he was trying to cry, so Josh told me to put him down. He reached into his mouth and pulled out a slightly rounded piece of cantaloupe. Corbin began to really cry at that point. Then he stopped and asked if he could eat a hotdog. He was totally fine.

    We were not. I couldn’t stop shaking. Fire and EMT arrived because (Thank GOD) the restaurant employees called 911 immediately. They told me we did everything correctly and checked out Corbin’s lungs and oxygen saturation. He was chatting it up with them like nothing had happened.

    We were still physically shaking.

    I cut up the Nuggets’ food religiously. We cut their grapes in half and quarter their hot dogs. I’m diligent about the size of toys they play with to ensure they cant get anything into their mouths. I discourage giving them popcorn. Yet here we are on vacation and, although I had cut up the cheese curds, the mini corn dogs and French fries, I failed to cut up his fruit. I cut up Weston’s because he was sitting right next to me. I just thought that The Hubs or I would get to it before he started eating it.

    I got to experience the scariest thing I’ve ever been through, in my life. And I don’t want to ever have to go through that EVER again. 

    I balled my eyes out the second we left the restaurant. It’s still hard to shake. The Hubs and I both have had several break downs and I had to tell myself to stop thinking about the worst case senario we could have faced.  Because we had the best case senario. He’s completely fine.

    Afterwards I thought, I have four aunts, six cousins and a future SIL that are all nurses, and another cousin in med school and none of them were with us. *#&((&%$)(

    Thank the good Lord that we had a happy ending. The wedding proceeded beautifully and although I wasn’t quite in the mood to celebrate, we enjoyed ourselves.

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    After a pretty long day of travel we arrived home with two incredibly tired kiddos and one I’m pretty sure is getting a cold.  Happens every. single. time. we travel.

    The other interesting thing about this trip is I have been giving myself a hard time about being a “helicopter mom”.  You know, reading Scary Mommy blog (there is more than one) about ruining it for other moms or some bullshit.  It’s my kids and I’m going to be the BEST mom I know how to be and that means keeping my kids healthy, safe and alive.

    Please remember all those educational messages to parents about chocking and water safety and all other “warnings” are taken seriously and educate yourself!

    First Aid for Choking and CPR for Children over 12 YO

    XOXO5E1F90B120FB20C197CC10E4FF74EF96

    December 2015

    lallen28821 Comment

    December was a busy and exciting month this year and when it came to a close I was kinda sad.  I’ll get to that later.  Quick recap….just a couple of weeks late.

    This year we bought tickets for the North Pole Express in Grapevine and it was magical.  In all actuality, we could have waited another year for the boys to fully understand the whole concept.  As an adult though, it was so sweet to see all the other children who were SO excited.  Gramma Dee and Scott joined us on the adventure.

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    The North Pole Express starts at the Vintage Grapevine Railroad.  There were concessions (corn dogs, hot chocolate, steak on a stake (har-har)) to snack on before loading as you need to be there 45-50 minutes prior to your boarding time.  You can also pop into the Vetro Glass Blowing studio and watch them make really gorgeous pieces.  They’ll even allow you to make your own glass ornament.  Maybe we will do that in future years when the $30 ornament won’t be broken by one of the Nuggets about 4 seconds after hanging it on the tree.

    We waited in line for about 15 minutes before they loaded us onto the train.  The boys were interested in the actual “choo-choo” but once we were on the train, it wasn’t quite as interesting.  This is why I think it’ll have more of a statement next year.  The train moves east at a pretty slow pace for about 10-12 minutes and everyone is encouraged to sing Christmas carols with the friendly elves.

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    Mrs. Clause makes and appearance and hands out the silver bells for Christmas spirit.

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    After the train ride we walked through a beautiful forrest of Christmas trees while SNOW was pumped though the area.  I didn’t get a picture because, although we were supposed to be walking, everyone else was stopping to get pictures and the bottleneck was throwing my anxiety into overdrive.  We proceeded into a large tent with colorful lights and patiently waited for Santa.  We were entertained with singing and dancing elves and finally Santa arrived.  The overall excitement level rose 100% with all of the children (except mine) and it was very sweet.  Afterwards everyone was given chocolate milk from Santa.

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    Although the boys weren’t totally understanding it all, it was worth it.  I enjoyed myself (and the much needed margarita afterwards) and as usual, look forward to how the boys will grow each year.

    Christmas Eve service was crowded (as always) but luckily The Hubs got us great seats and the boys could see the entire re-enactment that the children put on of Christmas night and the birth of Jesus.  I teared up thinking of the Nuggets participating in the future.

    Somehow, I managed to not take a single picture of us, or the boys in our Christmas best… #momfail.  Afterwards, we joined good friends, who were in from out of town, for a tradition of making egg rolls.  We went two years ago with the boys and they were only a couple of months old and everyone was just in awe as to much they’ve grown.

    Christmas morning was abundant with blessings and waaaay too many toys (thanks Hubs).

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    Once we had all the present opening completed and cleaned up, we had a quick breakfast and loaded up to go to Gramma’s house.  Again, minimal pictures (some photographer I am). A day filled with lots of family, more presents and tons of food was outstanding.

    Christmas (actually the entire holiday season of 2015) seemed to fly by this year, faster than years in the past.  I wasn’t ready to take down the decor (maybe because it took almost the whole month to get my house decorated in the first place). I wasn’t ready to pack up the Christmas attire or get rid of the tree.  Alas, time keeps moving even if I’m not ready for it.

    We enjoyed The Hubs being home from work for a solid week and we rang in the new year with great friends in their gorgeous new home.

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    2015 was a bit sad for me because I was hoping to get another Nugget in the oven and it didn’t happen.  Infertility stands strong in this family and although we were hopeful that the first IVF process would “get things moving”, as Dr. Le put it, no such luck for us.  God has a plan.  God has a plan.  God has a plan.  It’s my manta.  2015 was an incredible year.  We’ve slowly started to complete home improvement projects that we’ve been dreaming about for 2.5 years.  I get to stay home with my Nuggets as a stay at home mama bear, something I never thought we would be able to do and our whole family is healthy.  God is good.

    XOXO

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    For The Record

    lallen2882Leave a comment

    While talking with my bestie yesterday she asked a few questions about how/what we did with the boys at “X” age.  I couldn’t remember specifically and I thought I could go back through the blog to figure out when we did something.  I had a similar conversation with myself here.

    Well I’m at it again.  I’m not posting/documenting enough these days.

    So my babies are little toddlers.  Like, real little toddlers.  When Erin was over with Vivienne, who is two months, the Nuggets were S O big.  I had to go back and look at videos from when they were that age and it seriously made me cry.

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    Awwwwww.  Alas, there is no going backwards. But real quick…2014

    Christmas 2014

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    So my Nuggets are two years and two months old and Christmas is going to RULE this year.

    They love to destroy mess with our tree.  In all fairness of “toddlerhood” they aren’t all that bad with the tree.  Weston likes to pull the ornaments off (and throw it back at the tree to see if it’ll stick) and touch the lights.  We’ve had several time-out sessions about trying to unplug/plug the lights in though.  Corbin just touches for the most part.  There are no presents under the tree because neither will leave them alone.  #Understandable.

    We visited Santa at the Parks of Arlington Mall and it was fantastic!  Well I thought it was.  The boys were kind of terrified of the sleigh ride experience.  Yep, this little trip was totally worth it because we got to talk to Shrek and Donkey on the Skype -phone, take an interactive flight school, “fly a sleigh”, build a ginger bread cookie and THEN we met Santa.  Totally worth the $11 for the picture.

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    At least they’re not sobbing.

    Developmentally

    They are finally talking! Like putting-multiple-words-together-in-a-sentence kind of talking.  Weston hears everything we say and, like a little echo, says it back to us.  They both try to say anything we ask them to repeat, although it doesn’t always sound like the words.  They are trying though and that’s what is important.  The refer to both of themselves and each other as Wey-wey and Cor-cor.  Not always accurately.

    Weston

    After Thanksgiving, both boys came home with a cold.  Weston’s turned into a sinus infection so we were at the doctor.  He weighs 29 lbs and is 35.5″ tall.  He wears a 2T/3T, depending on the store.  West knows all of his colors and can almost count to five.  He is developing his independence daily.  Code for: he is in time out more often these days for not listening, hitting or throwing things.  Weston eats okay.  He isn’t into meat much unless it is ground (turkey/beef/chicken) and even then, it’s hit or miss.  He love broccoli with cheese which is a win in my book.  I still sneak veggies were ever I can and they both like almost all fruit.  He loooooooooves snacks.

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    Weston is still sleeping well (except when sick) but is having a harder time falling asleep before nap/bedtime.  He’s not crying or getting upset but he takes anywhere for 40 minutes to an hour.  We’ve tried pushing bedtime back but he continues to need that wind down time.  It’s been this way, on and off, for a while now.  I’m not sure but I’m beginning to think that the (sacred) nap time might be too long.

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    We also cut the tail off Weston’s monkey last month.  Have I already mentioned that?  What does that mean exactly….?  A friend of mine gave both boys a little monkey that holds on/attached to a lovey (tiny blanket).  Corbin found his thumb early on but Weston discovered the monkey.  He didn’t love on the lovey part but instead would suck on the tail.  He’s done this since we stopped swaddling them.  We would rotate the two monkeys and wash them as much as possible but it was still gross.  Daddy decided it was time to cut it off and I was terrified we’d have a very upset boy.  The Hubs told Weston that he bit it off.  He was slightly confused and would still search for it but he held up pretty well.  I also wonder if this is why he takes so much longer to go to sleep as we took away the way he soothes himself.

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    Corbin

    Corbin did not have to go to the doctor so the scale at home says he weighs 27.8 pounds and he is approximately the same height as West, so I’m going with about 35″ tall.  He could be the exact same height but it’s like herding cats to get them to stand still and/or next to one another so I don’t know for sure. Corbin is an even picker eater then I thought he could be.  He has pretty much a total aversion to meat unless it’s a hot dog (ugh).  He loves to dip things, is totally into snacks and is crazy about refried beans.  He also looooooves carrots. So thats a plus.

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    Corbin is not quite as assertive as Weston but he still lets me know his dissatisfaction.  Usually by sobbing his eyes out, whereas his brother hits/throws/screams.  I have to tell myself constantly to be consistent because it’s SO much harder not to cave when he is SO sad.  The Hubs can barely take it.  He loses his mind a little bit when they get upset.

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    Corbin is obsessed with his blankie and sucks his thumb.  I am starting to see the thumb taking a toll on his teeth.  He sucks his left thumb, off to the side of his mouth and the left front too is starting to stick out.  I also sucked my thumb as a kid and my teeth were terrible (I wore braces for 7 years).  I have no idea how we would start to break him of this habit anytime soon.  I think he’s still too little.  He sleeps awesome, with the exception of the occasional bad dream.  He will wake up crying but as soon as you go in, pat him on the back and reassure him that you are there, he goes right back to sleep.

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    This weekend we have tickets to ride the North Pole Express in Grapevine and I am beyond excited.  The tickets go on sale in October and they are a hot commodity.  You have to buy them EARLY.  I barely got enough for all of us (Gramma Dee & Scott will be participating in the fun too).  I think I should actually watch the Polar Express movie to know what the whole thing is based around but I know the Nuggets are going to be absolutely delighted that they get to ride a choo-choo. 

    This Christmas season we have already had so much fun crafting ornaments, attempts making a gingerbread house, destroying decorating the Christmas tree and shopping.  Let’s not talk about how that last one goes.

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    We are truly blessed beyond measure and look forward to teaching the boys more about the reason for the season.

    XOXO

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    2.1

    lallen2882Leave a comment

    I just realized that I’m quite behind. Shocking.

    Halloween was SO much fun!  Totally different then years in the past because the boys were so much more interactive.

    Every year I say we’re going to be one of those cool families that has a group coordinated costume and every year (for the past two) I’ve failed on a grand scheme.  NEXT YEAR!  Anyways, soak up this cuteness.    

    I didn’t take great pictures but it was mostly because we waited too long to get them ready to go. Tots are supposed to be out first and all of a sudden, we had trick or treaters at our door and we weren’t ready to go yet.  Enter me running around like a nut.  And I tried to throw together a “costume” at the last second. So it was kind of a rush to get out the door.

    The Nuggets really liked going to each door and knocking. That was their favorite. Weston would walk up the path to the door saying, “knack knack“. Soooooo cute!  Several of our neighbors made the mistake of offering the bowl to the boys to pick which candy they wanted…they might be young but the desire for sweets must be ingrained at birth because the boys tried to take twenty pieces of candy off each person.

    //

    Someone once told me that after their child turned two, everything (developmentally) seems to really speed up. I’m not sure that is correct because SO much changes every day when they are in the “infant” category but I think I now understand what they meant.

    The boys have been two years of age for a month. In that month, they’re blossoming.  They are saying so much more than before. Echoing everything we say, even though their version is not comprehensible. Corbin is always copying our mannerisms (time to start watching ourselves). Also trying to help me with everything; laundry, cleaning (which ends up the opposite of cleaning), emptying the dishwasher, anything really.

    Weston is getting closer to saying both of their names. He calls Corbin, Cor-cor…which is a nickname I call him on occasion. He also says Weston as Waa-waa. Pretty much anything with a W is pronounced like that, but he’s really trying.  

    Corbin William has the flirting down. When he wants something, he nods his head and makes this little smirk and then says “pleeeeeeease”. Annnnd then you melt and give him exactly what he wants.  

    We also went to Broken Bow, OK last weekend with some dear friends. The Hubs’ family grew up going to Beavers Bend S.P. and told me about it, often. When we lived in San Antonio, traveling to OK would have taken almost nine hours, so it was out of the question. When we moved to Houston, it was still about a seven hour journey, which wasn’t something we wanted to do for just a weekend. Now that we finally moved back to the Dallas area, we went for the first time about four years ago. And now I get it.

    We initially stayed in the state park but shortly thereafter, we discovered these beautiful log cabins in the direct vicinity. The following year we got a group of friends together and rented one of the cabins, I prefer the luxury glamping to the state park cabins. What girl wouldn’t?

    The summer time was gorgeous as Broken Bow Lake is like nothing you can get in Texas, but it’s R E A L L Y hard to beat the fall leaves and cool temperatures.  With the boys being born in the fall, and then being pretty little still the following year, this is the first time we’ve been back. They loved it! 

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    Just a bonus that the cabin had a playground!  And several of the Beavers Bend Adventures cabin rentals are pet friendly.

      

        

      
      
    I look forward to making the same memories with our boys, that The Hubs made with his family.   I know that trips in the future will include more family and more friends!!

    XOXO,

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