Whoa lookout!

A post on the weekend? Yeah that's right.
First, I wanted to give you a link to a website I talked about once before called Wonderdads. If you click on Wonderdads, it will take you to an article they just posted about Mom Blogs. Guess who is there? Among the featured MomBlogs! Me! Yep. Go to Wonderdads and scroll down and you will see Keeping it Simple!

*Ok...edited to say that apparently they want you to give your email to see the website. You don't have to do that if you don't want to. It's nothing too exciting. You aren't missing anything by not seeing the site. *

Today has been kind of a lazy day. I should have taken the opportunity to get a few things done around here, but I didn't. Mom came over this morning, pretty early I might add, and picked Dylan. She will bring him back in the morning. He was thrilled. Excited. As always. He loves spending time with all of his Mamaws and Papaws. Ryan had to work today. That left Ethan and I. At one point this morning, Ethan got cranky and I told him that is why no one ever takes him. He didn't care. He was off and on cranky as usual. He took a decent nap at least. After a quick dinner, he and I went outside to walk around a bit. That sun was hot. The poor kid was sweating like crazy.
Tomorrow, Mom will bring Dylan back in the morning before she goes to work and then we have a birthday party to go to in the afternoon. It starts as Ethan's nap time starts. So that should be interesting. I have no idea how it will work out. Or if it will. We all know how Ethan can be.
Here are a few pictures that I snapped with my cell phone during our walk this evening with Ethan. I took them from a different perspective than I normally do. Normally I get down in their level to see their faces.

Friday Fotos! Yay

I am using a photo from earlier in the week for the link up:

And here are 2 taken with my cell phone. Look at her feet! Thats why I took the picture!



And I'm not sure why I took the pic of the cat bathing, but I did and now I am sharing it.

Check out the 2 blogs that host these link ups each week. They are pretty dang talented, and there are some other wonderful shots that others have shared in the link up too.


http://mcdougallphotography.blogspot.com/http://www.andthen-shesnapped.com/

My Psoriasis Post

I have mentioned it a couple of times here and there about having scalp psoriasis. I let it go for a long time before seeking help from the doctor. I knew I had dry scalp, but wasn't sure what it was. Doc took one look at my scalp and said it was psoriasis. So he gave me a steroid cream to apply twice a day for 2 weeks, with an off week before starting another 2 weeks. He said if it controls it, that I can use it indefinitely. Boy that sounds like a lot of fun. Anyway. I have been doing some internet searching here and there about psoriasis. Ways to get rid of it or manage it. Without the steroid cream. I really don't want that stuff forever. If I have to, then fine, I will, but I'd rather not. The flaking is embarrassing, the itching is beyond annoying. The cream helps. But it doesn't fix it.
So anyway, back to the internet. There are a number of suggestions for helping to control the symptoms of psoriasis. One of those is to use a sulfate free shampoo. So that is where I am at now. I am on day 2 of the shampoo. I don't know if its working yet. I need to give it a couple of weeks. I mean, it surely isn't hurting me to use it. Its actually better for you in general. In the normal stores it doesn't seem like there are many sulfate free hair products. Some are pretty dang expensive too. Walmart has a brand that I got today to try out that wasn't too pricey. So we will see how it goes. With something like this, if it is going to help, it will probably take time. It won't be an overnight fix. What has me worried is that the psoriasis seems to be spreading slowly. Its starting to appear on my ears. I know that there are other people who have awful cases of psoriasis all over their bodies. And I really feel for those people. It has to be awful. Just having it on my scalp is bad enough. I couldn't imagine living with it all over.
Here is a site called National Psoriasis Foundation to check out if you don't know what it is. It is not contagious. Its likely some what inherited as well as a disorder of the immune system. Like so many other things, what causes psoriasis isn't completely understood. Stress is likely an additional factor. I get stressed at times! Thanks to the boys, haha! So can I blame the kids? Oh ok, I won't blame them for it. So I worry about it spreading, and I worry about one of the boys developing it. Especially Dylan. He had eczema so bad as a baby, I worry that he will develop it. He has some irritation in his armpits that I am watching right now. I am probably over reacting about it a little, but still. I pray that he doesn't develop this. I will feel so awful if he does.

Random Wednesday Thoughts

We don't have much going on. No surprise there.

We got our computer fixed today. So no more leftover issues from the storms. For now.

The horse flies are back. In full force. I hear them hit the windows all day. Trust me, there are a lot of them. And they are huge.

Just within the last 2 weeks the locusts have come out. Its kind of nice hearing them. Its just a sign of summer. Yes, I know that is has been summer for a while, but still.

Just 2 weeks and some odd days until our vacation! I can't wait. I dread the drive down and back with these 2 little boys though.

I am trying my best to track my calorie intake online to hold myself accountable and be aware of what I am eating. I am on day 3. Knowing me, after a week, I won't be able to keep up with it.

Even though I am "aware" of what I am eating, I still want to snack and eat all sort of delicious fried foods. Fast food. And chocolate. the cravings won't go away.

The boys are doing well. They make me want to bang my head against the wall. Daily. But they are well.

I haven't slept well in the last 2 nights. No special reason. Just haven't. I'm tired.

In the last week, I have wanted a personal cook so bad! I feel lazy. Lazy, but hungry. So yeah, someone to cook dinner for all of us each night (other than me) would be fantastic.

I can dream can't I?

Oh, you know what sounds good right now? Pizza. From Papa John's. Pepperoni only please.

I'm tired.

Tuesday Tidbits

A couple of black and white shots.

A couple of shots from my cell phone that have been edited...heavily.

Few and far between

That's been my posting style this past week or so. Last week it was because we didn't have internet access. Now that we got it back (on the laptop at least), I am just having...writer's block? I guess you could call it. I just don't have much to say. We didn't do much over the weekend. Did a bit of shopping for Ryan, without Ryan this weekend. He worked. We sat here at home. So yeah, we just didn't do anything interesting. I have had a headache off and on for 3 days now. I can get it to dull enough to live with it, and then other times it comes on and hits me hard and all I can do is lay down. Nothing with me has changed. The only thing changing is the weather. So I'm guessing it's due to sinuses and all I can do is manage it and wait it out. I am forcing myself to drink lots and lots of water today to see if it helps.
Today was Dylan's last day at his current "school." I don't think he really understood, but I tried to tell him. No big deal really though. It was only 1 day a week. So we have 2.5 weeks until vacation (I think). And then 2 weeks after that he starts the new, more formal preschool. August will be an exciting month. Hopefully I will get past this headache and writer's block. See you all later!

Hi! I'm back. Mostly.

We kind of got our internet back. We did get the modem late Friday. Ryan installed it after a very long time on 'hold' with the stupid phone company. But while he was doing that, he realized that via the modem, the desktop computer was zapped too. Just part of it. It is something that is fixable. He got a hold of Dell and luckily we still have a warranty on the hardware! WooHoo! So they are sending someone to fix it. For free. But the laptop is usable. So we do have Internet again. Ya know, we have lived here for 6 years now. I think. And we have had this type of zap twice now. Comes through the phone line, gets the modem, and then something inside the computer. Both times (although 2 different computers) we have been under warranty, so I am glad we haven't had to pay for it, but still. I don't know, to me that seems a bit ridiculous. 2 times in 6 years. I don't understand why it keeps happening out here. Is the equipment the phone company has out here that old and outdated? Or is there some other reason? And of course we seem to lose electricity a lot as well. I just don't get it.
So we haven't been up to a lot. It is so stinking hot. But it seems most of the country is, so we aren't alone. We don't have any plans this weekend. I ran up to the Outlet Mall this morning to get Ryan shorts and swimming trunks for August. He needed another pair of shorts and trunks, and I needed to get out for a bit. We weren't gone long. It got busy fast up there and like I said, its hot. Ryan has to work tomorrow. Yesterday was long. Ethan decided not to nap, instead to spend that time crying. Yeah. Fun. He barely ate dinner. He ate coleslaw. Thats it. Then, he didn't go to bed until after 9! I tried putting him to bed at 8. He whined, threw his stuff out of his crib and whined, and then cried. I went in, Ryan went in. Ethan came out. He was wired. Hyper. So whatever, we let him play. I tried again at 9. He whined a short bit,  but was out of it. No sleep until 9 pm that day. Wow. No peace and quiet for me that day until 9pm. Geez. I don't know if he wasn't feeling good from his shot at the doctor on Wednesday or what. I know it can take time for the kids to feel a reaction to those shots. Who knows really. All I know was that I was a worn out (physically and mentally) mommy. Today he went for his nap just fine. Relief.
I don't remember if I mentioned it on here or not. If I did, sorry. Dylan got his paperwork for preschool. It starts August 29th! We have an orientation the week before. Its kind of a meet and greet for the kids and parents. I haven't figured out what we are doing with Ethan. I really don't want to take him in there. We will be there for over and hour, and we need to be focused on Dylan. If I have questions, I don't want to forget, because I have to chase Ethan around. And I seriously doubt that other parents will bring their non-preschool kids. I just don't want to bring Ethan. I want to focus on Dylan. I don't know. We will figure something out. So while we were in at the doctors office, I had them fill out the paperwork for Dylan that the school needed. Just a physical form. I got most of the paperwork filled out. I am ready to send him. He has his last Monday where he is now, in a couple of days. So after Monday, he is done until the end of August.
Also, as of now, Dylan has plans Labor Day weekend. Do you know what Labor Day weekend is for us personally? The 4th of September will be our 7th Anniversary! Ryan and I will have been married for 7 years! So while Dylan is at my Grandparents', hopefully Ryan and I can get away for a whole day together to do something. But I'd be fine with just dinner. We haven't really talked about it much, but I imagine we will do something. I hope we can pawn Ethan off on someone then also. I kind of sound like an awful person...I have mentioned leaving Ethan twice in this one post....Bad mommy. Now wait, to be fair, I am with them every.single.day.24 hours a day. So there.

A Brief Update

I am using my phone to type this so I am going to make it quick. Yesterday was Ethan's check up. He would not sit still at all. It was kind of a nightmare. It took the nurses forever to come in and give him his shot. We were both ready to leave. The room had no air cirrculation either. Not fun. Anyway, he is doing well. He weights 24 pounds, up 3 from last time and is 33 inches tall, up 2 from last time. Tall and skinny basically. 

Still no internet. I doubt we will have it back by the weekend. That means no "Foto Friday" here. Oh well. Next week. Both boys woke up in bad moods today. So yeah. Fun. Have a nice week!

Storms!

Again! This time instead of the electric being out, it zapped our modem. No Internet! Ryan has an app on his phone that allows us to pull from the network for Internet. So while he is home, I can have free run of the net. Blah! So 3-5 business day until we get our new modem. No fun! But at least we kept our power this time! Ethan has his appointment tomorrow, so I will post his stats tomorrow if I can. Ryan's mom has Dylan tonight! He was so excited. So was I!
Stupid lightning...Internet withdraw...

Another weekend gone

Again, I am not a good weekend blogger! I can't believe we are another week closer to August. This month is flying by. Friday for some reason, we ended up going out to eat. I really didn't feel like cooking, but lately that's been the normal. So anyway, we went to a local Mexican restaurant. I have been craving Mexican food for a while now. And still want more, haha! I was a little worried how Ethan was going to act. Last time we went out to eat, he was horrible. The high chair strap was broken, and wouldn't latch. He quickly figured out that he could stand up and get out if he wanted to. And of course, he wanted to. We asked for a new one and it too was broke. Anyway, it was a bad experience. So I had no idea what we were going to get from him this time, but I was a little worried. I was a little prepared for this one though. I grabbed an extra strap that we had here and took it with us. Sure enough the high chair we got had a broken clip, so it wouldn't latch. So I quickly pulled out the strap I brought and strapped him down. So I guess now, I have to provide my own safety strap when we go out to eat. Has anyone else noticed a problem with high chairs in restaurants? Why is there an issue? The meal was good, Ethan was good. It was a decent experience. We had a nice waitress. She was so good. Very friendly and kept my drink refilled. It was such a nice change from other service we've seemed to get recently.
Saturday we stayed around here. I got a few things done in the morning and in the evening we had a bunch of friends over for dinner. Ryan put a whole bunch of chicken legs in the smoker along with 2 racks of baby back ribs. Dinner was a big success, everyone enjoyed themselves and the kids played well together. I tried putting Ethan to bed at his normal time, but he wouldn't give in. He stood back there in his crib just whining. We finally got tired of it and just brought him back out here. I think he knew that everyone was still here and didn't want to miss anything. So he stayed up way past bedtime. But he was good. Thankfully. We were so exhausted that night.
Sunday Ryan had somethings to do in the morning, and I had to get the house back to normal and cleaned up. Once he got home and I got everyone fed, I went shopping for shorts. Did you know that until now, I haven't had any? Yeah. So now maybe I can get a tan on my legs and not be so hot when I am outside. It was nice being out by myself too. I don't always enjoy being out by myself, but this time I did. I think it is just what I needed. I felt so refreshed when I got back! We don't have any big plans for the week. Ethan has his check-up on Wednesday. Other than that, nothing going on. I don't think we have any plans for the weekend either. It is just supposed to be very very hot out this week. It was nasty this morning that's for sure. Its an oven out there. And supposed to get worse mid week. Yuck.

A Review or 2!

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by someone from DeltaLabs and was offered the chance to check out some of their products. I first chose their Soothage Gel Calmant from the TonicCare website. Soothage is an organic moisturizer that nourishes and hydrates the skin.

I really like this stuff. First off its a gel. It soaks in fast so it doesn't leave me with that greasy feeling. I can put it on and get dressed with out things sticking to me or wiping it all off on my clothes. I have such dry skin, I couldn't wait to try this stuff. I am so glad I did. It smells so good. I don't really know how to describe to you the smell, but it is light and fresh. It leaves my skin very soft afterwards. I enjoy putting it on. Oh, and one of the best parts about it is that a little goes a long way. I don't need a big glob to get it where I need it. I have been using it for a week now, and I don't think I made much of a dent in the amount. Its fantastic. Check out thier website for more wonderful products or for this great product!

The other product I chose to review came from DeltaLabs. A green tea supplement. Green tea is said to help with many things. Boost energy, aid in weight loss, helps to lower blood pressure, and may prevent the build up of LDL Cholesterol. A good thing about this supplement is that you can pronounce every single ingredient that is in there. I haven't had any additional weight loss since taking it, but I have noticed increase in my energy. Some days the mornings are hard. But it has helped to get me going. I am not jittery or anything on it. Like the lotion, I have only been using it for a week. So it may take more time if I am to notice much else. I am just pleased with the increase in energy though. Its just enough to help me get going. They make other supplements as well.

Visit DeltaLabs and TonicCare for more information and to view other products!

*Disclaimer-I was provided these items at no cost to me for review.  I was not paid for doing the review. All opinions are my own and true.

Friday Fotos:Sun and Moon

I took a picture of the moon one day. Midday I think. Here are 2 edits from that photo. The first one is going to be the photo for the link up this week!

Here are some edits of the photos I posted the other day. 

And remember the photo a while back of the Hens and Chickens?

Here it is now. I think those things are referred to as "Roosters"? Correct me if I'm wrong.

It was a quick snap photo. Sorry its so bad!

Playing with the sun

Out the other day I decided to play around with the sun. So I increased the aperature setting on my camera and did my best not to blind myself in the mean time. I am glad the camera has 'live view.'

...ok, nothing special, I know. But it was a result of boredum. And so is this post. Actually this post is due to a lack of nothing else to talk about.

I've been complaining alot

...and you're about to hear more. So it you don't want to hear it, then I understand and you better leave now.

Monday night, grocery day eve, we got some rough weather. The lightning was crazy. It was pretty much constant! The clouds were so scary. It was almost dark outside, but still enough light you could make out the shapes of the clouds. But then with the lightning, it made them look even scarier. I wanted to take pictures of them, but knew the picture probably wouldn't turn out. So anyway, storms in the area, meant that our electric went out. It didn't go out right away though. It went off and on with the lighting strikes for about 1-2 minutes. Not good on the circuits in the house. Finally it just went out. And didn't come back on. We missed the worst of the storm. We didn't get much rain out of it all either. I think the power company needs to get some better equipment down in this area, instead of having to run down here to fix it every month.
We went to sleep that night with no power. Thankfully the house stayed cool. We slept in the living room because upstairs would have been to hot. Ryan and I didn't sleep well at all. I don't think the boys knew anything was going on.  So we both woke up pretty tired. Ryan was out the door about 5am that morning. The day started cloudy which helped the house stay cool. With it being so miserably hot outside again, I was worried about how fast it would heat up in here. But it wasn't really that bad. Ryan borrowed a generator from a friend to get the fridge going again. Like I said, Monday was grocery day, so once again the storms pick a bad day to show up. The fridge was off overnight, so I ended up losing some milk, but everything else seems to be good to go. We made it through the day. It would have been easier, if Ethan wasn't so grumpy that day. He was grumpy from the start and it didn't get any better. He picked a bad day to have a bad day.
About 4pm Tuesday the electric came back on. 18 hours without power. That sucks. And I know I have said it before on here, but when we don't have power, we don't have running water. So we took showers right away. I was so happy to have the water back on. It felt so nice to have a cool shower. We had a nice easy dinner and relaxed a bit.
So after I get this written out, once my coffee is gone, (I didn't get any coffee yesterday..it would have helped.) I need to get a few things done around here. Thursday the boys and I are going to a friends place for a play date for the kids. Last time she came up here, so this time we are going down to her place. Its not too far away, about 30 minutes. I think if she had more time off of work, we'd get together more during the week. Right now though, Thursdays are it. Then this weekend, probably Saturday, we are having another family over for dinner. Just because. Ryan is going to put some ribs and chicken legs in the smoker. Its been a while since we have done that so we can't wait. It it supposed to be back up in the 90s again this weekend though. Yuck. At least we can all eat inside. The bugs seem to be pretty bad around here this year. Gnats and mosquitoes. And I don't know if they are gnats or what they are but when I was mowing the yard last weekend, it was just constant bugs in my face. Blech. Ok, anyway, power is back on, and today should be a decent day.

Feels like a wasted day

It is so stinking hot outside. The air conditioning in the house was running before 9 am. And has been ever since. The air temp is 94 and 'they' say it feels like something over 100 outside. I believe them. It was already in the mid 70's when we left the house at 7:30. Yuck. It was a very heavy and sticky mid 70's. Tomorrow is supposed to be a repeat. Dylan went to school. They had the kids out for a bit, but they didn't stay out long. Ethan was grumpy from the start. He woke up awfully freakin early this morning. Which means I woke up really freakin early. Did I mention that I hate waking up early? I'm sure that I have. After we got groceries we came home and unloaded them and then did nothing. I left the house a little early when I went to get Dylan to vacuum out the car and wash it. Yeah I know I could vacuum the car here, but those car wash vacuum things are much more powerful than my home vacuum. Speaking of that, I need to vacuum. I forgot this morning.

After lunch I sent both boys to their rooms a little early. Ethan fell right to sleep. I came out and laid down on the couch hoping to get rid of a headache that snuck up on me. I wasn't laying there long before I fell asleep. I was just out of it. I didn't mean to fall asleep. I just did. The headache isn't gone, but its not too bad right now. I think it is this stupid weather. Shortly after I woke up, so did Ethan. He didn't sleep near long enough this afternoon, so this evening could be fun. By fun I mean craptastic.

So yeah. Another day gone that I didn't do what I should have done. Oh, remember my rant about extreme couponers? Here it is if you'd like to read it. Well someone posted a short article on facebook about retailers changing their policies because of "those people." Here is the article if you'd like to read it too. Like I said earlier, "those people" are going to ruin it for the average shopper. Policies at our local chain have been changing as well over the last few months. But I honestly can't blame these stores. People are greedy. This is just one example of that.

You know, over the past 2 weeks or so, I get these odd, but short lived episodes of itching on my forearms and the tops of my hands. There doesn't seem to be a pattern to them, and they don't last long. I at first thought that it may be my psoriasis showing up elsewhere, but the skin appearance hasn't changed at all since the episodes started, so I don't think that is what it is. And for that I am thankful. I have tried different types of itch medicines and lotions on the area when it flares up and nothing helps it. Nothing has changed environmentally either. No new lotions or creams or detergents when these episodes started. So I know its not because of something that I am doing or using. So yeah that is kind of a mystery. I just have to do my best not to scratch the skin off of my arm or hand when these episodes start. I know that they don't last, so I do my best to just wait it out. Who knows!

Sunday

Ryan had some things he needed to do today. He has been gone all weekend. So really there has been no weekend for us. But today he took Dylan with him. Good for Dylan and good for mommy. Ethan and I have been doing a few things around here this morning. I have barely sat down all morning. But to tell you the truth, just by looking at the house, you'd never know that. The living room is a disaster zone. I am on my second load of laundry for the day too. There was more that I wanted to get done this morning with only 1 kid, but it just didn't happen.
I don't have many exciting things to say. But do I ever?! Haha! We don't have any big plans for the week. The beginning of this week is just going to be unbelievably hot. It is pretty bad today. There is no breeze to speak of. And not a cloud in the sky. Just hot. Very hot. Dylan goes to school tomorrow, so he will be excited. He didn't go last week due to the holiday.
In about a month we will be going on our vacation! Sad to think that vacation will only last a week though...
How was that for a boring post?

Friday Fotos

Happy Friday everyone. Here are a few pictures that I edited quite a bit.

Pictures from the weekend!

Ok, here are the pictures from Sunday. After you look at them, scroll down and read if you have a minute. I kept the pictures small since there are so many of them.

Dylan on the slip n slide!

The pyromaniacs (haha) setting up the fireworks for later!

Ideally I would have taken these firework pictures with a long exposure. But I didn't have a tripod or anything to rest the camera on. So...yeah. This is as good as they got.

So after Ethan's meltdown on Sunday, Ryan and I had a conversation about it. The boys have a set bedtime each night. 8 pm. Ethan basically has a set nap time. 1 or 1:30 pm. So they are basically on a schedule. It works. Most of the time. Some nights, I can't get Ethan to 8pm without him getting upset. So I put him in his crib and he happily talks to himself until he falls asleep. If he doesn't get some sort of afternoon nap, he is a total mess. I mean he is only 18 months (almost). So yeah, he does need that nap. I get that. Like I said, most of the time the schedule works. But in cases like Sunday where we were out late, it completely backfired on us. Other kids, even one close to his age, were fine. When they got tired, they sat on their parent's laps and watched things. Ethan, was total opposite. Wild and out of control. Am I doing something wrong, that my kid is the one who throws a massive fit? My kid is the one who won't sit down and just be? Honestly. Plenty of other kids can go somewhere and be calm and happy. I am the parent who worries about their kid making a scene. I stress over it. Sunday was just one example. I mean, I don't know what I could do to change any of it. Please though, don't get me wrong. Ethan isn't a terror everyday and every time we go somewhere. There are just times, where I really do worry about it and stress over it. I don't know. I just get more frustrated when other kid's his age can manage to be calm but he can't. I had his pacifier with us so that when he got sleepy, he could use it. He only takes it when he sleeps, so I thought that the paci might help. But he refused it everytime I tried handing it to him. Blah! I know it won't be like this forever, but I'd still like to know what I am doing wrong.

What a weekend!

A hot weekend. A long weekend. An exhausting weekend. A nice weekend. We had a few late nights and long days. I can't believe that the weather cooperated the entire weekend. We had a bit of rain very early on Saturday and early on Monday, but it never messed with any plans.

Saturday we had a family reunion. It was a lunch deal. There was way too much food! Not really complaining about that though. I ate too much of course. The boys did well. Dylan got out of range a few times. We had told him to stay away from the pond that was near by, but as the older kids went to the edge, he attempted to as well. He finally decided to listen and things were fine. Ethan sat in the sandbox and played most of the time. I was so surprised that he was ok with all of that sand because of the way he is with grass. It was so nice that he just sat there. Ethan never just sits anywhere. Ever. So that bit of time was like heaven! Haha! We left and made a quick run to Lowe's and then headed home. We got everyone cleaned and rested. Late that night, just up the road was supposed to be a firework show, so I put the boys to bed at their normal time and then woke them to go watch the fireworks. It wasn't all that great though. Probably not worth waking them! Oh well, now we know. They both went right back to sleep once we got home.

Sunday we had an evening cookout to go to. More good food. Dylan got to play with other kids and played in a kids pool most of the evening. We had Ethan in the pool for few minutes but he got cold and was not happy about it. So that didn't last long. It was barely worth changing him twice. Ethan got to the point where he was getting tired. The whole time we were there, he was non stop. It was actually very annoying. He kept grabbing at everything. People's plates that were sitting around, cups that were sitting around, I mean anything. I was so tired of chasing him around telling him 'no' or 'stop.' The later it got the more tired he became and the more wild he became. I took him in the house hoping to at least get him to rest on me, but with people in and out of the house, he wouldn't relax. Around dark he had a total meltdown. Screaming, crying meltdown. Ryan took him away from everyone and got him to calm down after a while. As I am typing this, it kind of sounds like it was a quick meltdown and ended shortly. It wasn't. At least it didn't feel that way. We wanted to stick around and see the backyard firework show. Our friends put a lot of work and money into their cookout each year. I wanted to stick around and enjoy it. Maybe we should have sent Ethan to stay with someone instead of taking him out there. I don't know.

We didn't get home until after 11pm that night. Dylan passed out in the car almost immediately. Ethan on the other hand was awake the whole ride home. When I got Dylan out of the car I told him to 'go up the stairs and go to the door' while I got Ethan out of the car. Instead, Dylan followed me to Ethan's side of the car. I got Ethan out and told Dylan to go inside. Instead he starts to climb inside the car...again. I stopped him and asked him what he was doing. He told me 'getting in the car, we need to go home.' I told him that we were home and that he needed to turn around and walk up the steps. Only then did it finally sink in. The kid was so tired he didn't know what was happening. He played hard Sunday. Very hard. Both boys were out of it in no time that night. We didn't get out of bed until 9 am Monday morning.

So on Monday we had a lunch thing with my family. When we got up that morning, you could tell Ethan was still tired. He was a bit wild and all over the place. He wasn't listening well and was getting into everything. Again. I hoped he'd nap in the car on the way there, but he didn't. He was good most of the time on Monday. He dumped his first plate of food on the ground. I didn't see it happen, so I don't know exactly what happened. So Ryan went and got him another plate while he sat there and cried. I am so glad we were outside. Dylan was good most of the time too. But he did get in trouble. I left with mom to go look at a house that my cousin just got. I guess that while I was gone, he decided to throw a bunch of sand in another boy's face. Why he did that is beyond me. I don't understand what would go through his head when he did that. Ryan made him sit until we left. When I got back with mom, we got our things and left. Ethan was tired and I wanted him to take a nap. He slept for about 10 minutes on the way home, but as soon as we got home, I put him to bed for a nap. He was out like a light. We all had a long weekend and we are all tired. Dylan went to bed with out a problem. Ethan fought his bedtime a little bit. It took him an hour to finally go to sleep! What is with that kid!

It's Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day! Let's all be thankful for what we have, and what we have been given. Yes, things may be pretty dang hard for us right now, but we have a lot of good going on too. U.S.A!! U.S.A!!
Here are a few interesting facts about the day. Please let's all be safe and have a wonderful holiday.

Click the image to enlarge. I know its hard to read, but its interesting.

Via: www.vahomeloans.net

Something to check out! WonderDads!

There is a website out there called WonderDads. It is a pretty interesting site. You certainly don't have to be a dad to benefit from the site either. The site was started by a dad who wanted an easy way to find things to do with his kids. WonderDads is basically an informational site for 37 cities throughout our Fifty Nifty. They list different activities that Dads can do with their little ones in each of the 37 cities. It is broken down by types of activities, and even neighborhoods in each city, making it very easy for you to find something for you and your kids to do. They don't just give you the names of places. They give you a brief description, along with a phone number and website (if there is one). Along with the website they offer books as well. Of course you can get the actual guide books for your city or any city you may be visiting, but they also offer a few more. They offer board books for kids under 4, and coaching books for 4-14 years of age! Go over to WonderDads and check them out and see what you think.
Towards the end of July, this blog will be featured on their website in an article they are working on called "Favorite Blogs to Tell Your Wife About." Pretty cool huh?