My Do-Over Mother's Day

I'm not gonna lie... I did not have the best Mother's Day ever yesterday, or at least it didn't start out that way.   I won't bore you with all the details but early wake-ups, curdled milk in my coffee, crabby boys, and a meltdown at the store were just some of the wonderful things that greeted me on Mother's Day.  I did find this fabulous deal at Target though...

...and I heard a wonderful message a church which should have helped to put things into perspective a bit.  I'm human!  I wanted yesterday to be better than any other ordinary Sunday.  Time to learn to lower my expectations so I can be pleasantly surprised I guess.

Because things went so horribly in the morning, I decided to give myself a Mother's Day do-over.  It kicked off at 5:00 last night when I dropped the boys off my WONDERFUL friend's house so I could go see BILL COSBY in Fort Lauderdale with this lovely lady!

She even got me that stylish shirt to wear...I'll let you see it again...

We had a fabulous night out, even getting to enjoy some yummy food after the show at the swanky Tatu restaurant in Hard Rock's Seminole Paradise.  I'd definitely like to go back and hang out there again sometime soon...and get a room to avoid the drive there and back all in one day.

Maura is truly a saint for giving me a break on a day that was supposed to be all about pampering for her as well.  I owe her and her family BIG TIME!

It was a late night which made morning come WAY too soon, but at least the boys had their play group to go to so I could continue you Mother's Day celebration in the form of a break.  I ran a couple of errands, and stopped to pick up this necessity...

...before hitting the road for a solo run with the music of MY choosing :-)

It was a scorcher but I got it done and tried to enjoy every second of the solitude.  

I even had time to spare afterwards so I planted the boys seedlings quickly.  I'm hoping those sunflowers really take off.  I need to get them a little watering can so they can help me take care of them.

I had a little surprise for the boys when I picked them up. I always manage to make at least one impulsive purchase when I shop...I really need to work on that.  However, 2 pairs of Foster Grants (with Jolly Rogers on the side) for $8 was hard to pass up as I was stocking up on diapers at BJs...a purchase I hope to be putting an end to in the near future.  I need to work on that too.  Anyways, now we have extra shades to keep in the car since I always manage to forget them. They LOVE them!

We swung by the gym for a quick weights session on our way home.  I threw some dumbbells around with my upper body for half an hour before calling it good.  I did learn some new tweaks for my shoulder workouts that had me feeling the burn...gotta love that.  

I've spent nap time trying to relax a bit but, as we all know, I'm not too good at that.  I did check off a bunch of things on my to-do list, and many of them involved at least sitting at the computer or the desk. I'm hoping to call it an early night tonight.  

It has officially be 24 hours since my Do-Over Mother's Day began.  I have to say it went much better the second time around.  Time to head back to reality.  Like clockwork, I hear the boys waking up from their late nap.  They must know they've got me back at their beck and call now...haha!  Love them!  

A Fun Start To the Weekend

Apparently yesterday was spouse appreciation day.  Who knew?  I got this lovely message in an e-mail and I was quite moved by it...

The military spouse is a unique being - it's independent, able to act as both mom and dad while the other is away, has a kiss that cures everything from a child's torn teddy bear to a Soldier's weary day, and has the patience of a saint. The military spouse has a heart that swells with pride, can sustain the ache of separation, says "I understand" even when it doesn't and says "I love you" regardless.

SO true!!  And I wouldn't have it any other way.  I am SO incredibly proud of my soldier.  What an awesome role model for our boys, too!

They've changed SOOOO much since that photo was taken.  

We kicked off our day with a chat with our superhero before heading to the gym.  The boys now say "mommy needs her exercise" when we pull into the parking lot.  They get it!!  I kicked my own butt with some full body weights and some intervals on the elliptical.  It felt GREAT!

After that we headed off to meet up with a friend for a play date to Chick-Fil-A.  Would you believe it was our first visit to that place?  An air-conditioned play area was the selling point for me.  I tried to convince the boys to just eat some fruit, but when they saw their buddy eating those delicious waffle fries, I caved and ordered some for them to share as well before they tried to eat all of his.  The boys were happy to trade fruit for fries...worse things have happened.

I was glad I remembered to pack a protein bar...

This one wasn't too bad.  It got the approval of all the boys too since of course they have to have a bite of anything I'm eating.  Less calories for me, right?  Haha!

We played outside for a bit when we got home.  The boys did an excellent job of hunting down the stray coconuts with me so we could put them on the yard waste pile...

The heat got the best of us all though and we had to call it a day.  Gotta get out there earlier next time...summertime takes it toll fast on my little guys.

I'm gonna have to find some good shade to plant our little seedlings so they don't melt from the summer heat as well.  Aren't they cute??

The boys have been having fun watching them grow.

We hit up the park in the early evening...

We're getting better at the "big boy" swings but can go SOO much higher in the little ones.  Both have their perks and are equally enjoyed by the boys.

Colton was taking climbing tips from the big kids too...

This was waiting on the porch for me when we got home.  I have some pretty amazing, thoughtful friends.

I don't know what I'd do without them.  It seriously brought tears to my eyes.  So did this video another good friend posted on my facebook page...

We ate a late but delicious dinner, including the boys favorite food, roast chicken, and some overcooked broccoli they let me have all to myself...love them!

This one might have been one of the best I've made yet.  It was a hit!

I have to agree with them that it's pretty darn good.

I called it a night right after I put the boys to bed since I knew I had plans to get in a run this morning.  It was HOT out there so I changed my plans a bit and made a detour to the gym after the first two miles...

I quickly got bored with the treadmill...

...so I hopped on the elliptical for a couple of miles...

(The clock is a countdown from an hour, not how long it took me...lol.)  Then we headed home, braving the heat one last time...

...for a total of only 3.5 miles outside.  I guess I did cover about 8 miles total, though.  It felt good to get it out of the way.  I gotta get started earlier if I want to keep up my running this summer.  Now I just have to get the boys on board with that plan...wish me luck!!  

After we cleaned up at home, we headed downtown for the Family Fun Fest.  I'm so glad we went.  It really was a fun events.  The boys got to paint flower pots wearing cool Home Depot aprons...

Once they were painted, they got to put a flower in them.  Look how cute they are in our yard now...

They also made butterflies at the Macaroni Kid table...

They were a little nervous about the fire truck and wouldn't even go near the ponies, which surprised me...oh well.  As usual they wanted nothing to do with the bounce houses either.  Saved me $2...thanks boys!

Of course we couldn't leave without some balloons...

We parked ourselves in the shade for a bit while we enjoyed this view and I sipped on an iced coffee while the boys ate bagels from Osceola Street Cafe using the money I saved from the bounce houses, haha...

It was a FABULOUS morning.  

We came home to a package waiting on our porch.  The boys' backpacks arrived and they're even cuter than I hoped...

They are perfect for the boys to carry some snacks, books, toys, etc. on the plane.  They wore them around the house saying "these are for the airplane."   We're getting excited for our little trip.  

With dinner already made, my new nap time ritual I'm totally digging, I can now kick back and relax for the rest of the boys nap.  Afterwards, we're hoping to have some poolside fun for the rest of the day.  

Happy Mother's Day weekend!!!!!!!