75 Degrees In February!

The weather we had this past Wednesday was absolutely gorgeous, and too good to be true especially in our neck of the woods. It's very rare to have warm weather in February. The last time I remember having a warm day in February was four years ago. 

Bike Riding in Autumn.

Autumn feels like the perfect time to learn how to ride a bike without breaking into a massive sweat and so yesterday we took advantage of the autumn weather, and decided to go to the park to take Noah on a test drive in riding his bike.

a good brisk walk.

Be prepared because you might be seeing a lot of outdoor posts with this little guy. Life Lately with Noah has been too much fun. He's so petite for his age, innocent, and although I wish he would stay at this age forever...it's inevitable. He has to grow up. If only I can bottle up his sweet voice forever. Luckily I have voice mail recordings of his voice that I've saved on my computer. The things he has been saying lately have been corny, funny, and sometimes unbelievable. I call them Noah's euphemisms. He's so sweet, and never has anything bad to say about anyone. If he does he'll say it in a pleasant form. The other day I woke woke up with my hair looking like Tina Turner, and he said, "Mommy, your hair looks backwards." I couldn't help but to laugh. There are days when Chelsea will be playing with my hair, and he'll say to her, "Stop playing with mommy's hair...it's not a toy." 

Sometimes I wonder where he picks up these things, but then again those sayings are his words. Having two older sisters in the home who are too smart for their own good does help him mature faster, and then there's a thing called television. 

I have been very careful as to which PG movies he should watch. Sometimes they may be a little to mature for him. Exposing him to Polar Express, and Lion King at age two wasn't too bad, but now that he's four he seems to be getting the meaning behind the plot of certain Disney movies. It makes me happy that he does because we can both watch them together, and have a discussion afterwards. Sometimes we'll even sing along, and dance to them. Besides Frozen, & Dispicable Me 2 his favorite as of late has been Mary Poppins. He loves dancing like Dick Van Dyke especially when he starts singing "Let's go fly a Kite." The first time Noah watched that he said, "I can't...I don't have a kite." Made me feel a bit guilty because we don't own any kites. He's so animated when he sings along with it, and I'm so glad that he watches that more than Frozen. Frozen is such a girl movie (although he does like Olaf.) 

Luckily we don't watch too much television, and on sunny days like this he prefers to go to the park instead. Oh my gosh...we could have been there for hours and hours yesterday. He doesn't care how nippy this spring weather may be. I know being cooped up in the house during a long winter accumulated a ton of wiggles, and now that the weather is better it was time to get them all out...and he did just that.

Being that we went after school Chelsea came along too. Sometimes I wonder if the five year gap helped these two in age, but i know in the end it will. It sure does when they're outdoors. They may bicker, tease, provoke, and push each other around, but at the end of the day they love each other. Hugs are reciprocated, and apologies are taken place in hopes that it will never happen again. Yeah right. I just hope that the older they get the better their patience gets. I love them both, and lucky for me I get to play the referee for these two.

Memories of the girls being toddler age are pretty vivid, but there are moments when I feel I have "forgotten" certain events that have taken place in their life. Luckily I have their moments scrapbooked and journaled, but the fact that I have ONE boy especially at my age (not that I'm old) makes me appreciate every single second of his life. I never want to take any of our days for granted, and am treasuring every moment, every euphemism that comes out of his mouth, and every thing that happens in between. 

Life is wonderful! 

a colorful autumn november day.

With Noah turning four soon I'm beginning to see the signs of independency....and it's inevitable. I want him to know that I still need his hugs and kisses, and cuddles while watching cartoons for an hour (or two) on the couch. There's no excuse for him to ever sever the ties of a very compassionate mother until he's a married man (or ever!) 

We're in the here & now and instant gratification with this boy is my happiness during the day when I have him all to myself.

Except for this week. 

The girls (excluding Sierra) have the rest of the week off of school due to teacher in service, and next week they only go to school for two days, and then have half days for the rest of the week due to parent/teachers conferences. Lucky them. 

November...

It is the shortest month for school days. Now I know why it is Lexie's favorite time out of the entire school year. She's never mentioned it before until now. i was like... is this you talking Lexie?" The one who loves school, and is a big time voracious reader! It's okay that she says that as long as she keeps bringing home them A's. Just kidding. She's a great kid who loves school, but sometimes they need that break you know. I know I did while I was in school! 

I'm kind of glad that they have the rest of the week off so that they can help me prepare for Noah turning the big four on Saturday! He's so cute, and is constantly saying, "I'm going to be four this Saturday." Of course he says that because we keep telling him that. Since it's his "birthday week" we've been asking him what he'd like to do. 

We decided to go to the library & rented Reel Steel with Hugh Jackman, and it was a really cool robot movie. Y'all got to watch it. The little kid who plays his son in the movie is soooooooo cute. Reminds me of what Noah might look like in a few years!! I hope he has his dance moves too! 

The weather was too perfect to spend it indoors, and as soon as the movie was over Noah wanted to go to the park. We headed out to the same park where we took these gorgeous photos of Noah. This park is absolutely breathtaking around this time of year because you can see the true colors of fall. 

As usual all the kids took over the swings, and Noah pretended to be the king of this castle. He's so friendly with other kids even though there are some that aren't. He is just a happy little boy in his own bubble who makes up his own kind of fun. 

^^ i'm the king of the world!"

This week is already flying by, and then before we know it Noah will be celebrating another year of living. I'm excited to celebrate, but don't want to imagine him getting older. 

There were a few moments today where he didn't want me to hold him too much, but then I grabbed him, and without forcing him, he gave me a big hug. It doesn't take much to capture a smile or get a laugh out of him by tickling him. 

My sweet boy...please stop growing.

No seriously...stop it already.

And as the colors of fall become more vibrant in color, especially in November is how I know this boy is changing & growing up with the season way too fast.  

And after his birthday, Thanksgiving will be here, and then it'll be winter. 

ready for autumn.

You'd think that these kids were at an amusement park or something the way they were riding the rides on the playground, and by the looks on their faces I'd say they were having a really good time.

Even though Lexie is 13, and in eighth grade she still has the heart of a six year old and loves to include herself in playing with her younger sibs.

First of all can I just mention how perfect the weather was this past Saturday. It was ten degrees cooler than it has been since the week started. I think September is having a slight heart attack with this heat we've been having. Luckily today is the last day, and hopefully the temps should be in the 70's by tomorrow! Yay...I am so ready for autumn!

The kids had a blast at the park and were there for about an hour (or more.) I'm not sure...I actually took a little nap underneath some shade on a blanket while Jon took over the reigns for a while.

Lexie took a little break from playing with all the little kids, and grabbed her most current read and found some shade underneath a tree. I love this pic...it looks like something you see out of a Norman Rockwell painting. 

Noah decided to take his monster truck with him, and give it a test drive on the grass. He loves taking his truck everywhere he goes, as well as wearing his green boots. I'd say he's ready for autumn, and some rain!

He then noticed I was laying down, and decided to run over to me to give me a hug in which I've been desperately needing these days. 

Since Lexie was done with her book she decided to capture the moment (with my not so cute face!)Thanks Lexie. 

September days have been pretty cool except for this heat that we've been having. Not that I loathe the heat, and sometimes I wish we could go back to summer, but it is September and I am ready for a change. 

I am ready for the leaves to change, go pumpkin picking, and have my house smelling like autumn spice. Drink apple cider without my stomach hurting from drinking too much, and go apple picking. Have picnics on a flannel blanket in an area where we are surrounded by fall foliage. I love taking Noah to the park in cooler weather so our time there can last longer. 

Autumn brings so much joy just like summer does when it first begins, and now I'm ready for it.

I am ready for autumn. 

**How is the weather in your neck of the woods? I heard it's been raining in Texas....

a picnic, frisbee, & mr. softee.

The weather this past weekend was unbelievably beautiful, and this whole day was picture perfect. While my two teenage girls were at church prepping for the girls camp kick off, I had a blast spending most of the day with my two youngest.

My energy seems to increase when the weather is good, and as always we wanted to go to a park. Chelsea had the idea of having a picnic, and we were debating on which park to go to. 

We packed up some sandwiches, went to dollar tree to pick up some chips, drinks, and kosher pickles and headed out to a place where it was once a lake. 

When I blogged the other day about cherry blossoms, and mentioned how as we walked around the park & saw signs that read par 3 tee 13, well it is actually for disc Frisbee golf. 

The history of this park is very interesting, and I can't believe that every single photo on this post was once surrounded by water. 

Hard to believe right? 

*****
I hardly ever had picnics, or played frisbee as a youngster. Seriously I didn't. I only remember small moments in my youth in which my mother would take my sister and I to the park. It would usually be in the evenings when it was nice and cool, and the only thing they had were swings. Those hot Texas summers would really kick her butt, so she would mostly take us out in the evening (plus she worked most days). Back then we could stay in the park until 10 pm. Now most parks have curfews. 

I am so happy that I am doing things that keep me physically active with my kids, and that being a 'stay at home playground mom' is my role at this moment. Focusing on my kids totally helps me forget about the stresses of life, and any burden I may be carrying on my shoulders. And then there's ice cream! Mister Softee totally brightened our day, and it put a huge smile on the kids faces as they were eating their treats!

Unfortunately there are days where I may not be as motivated, but luckily I wake up with a prayer asking the Lord to help me be a good example to Noah and to give me the strength in doing this thing called motherhood. I want my kids to be happy, and when I see them laughing, and smiling I know that I'm doing something right. 

Especially when your kids see you "trying" to do the zipline (it's not for adults) & watching your eight year old grabbing your iPhone to take a quick picture of you while laughing at the same time. You know that you're day is pretty much complete, and that your "aha moment" passed & that is proof that their life as a child is pretty darn good. 

My days...I choose to make the best of everyday. No matter how gloomy the weather may be, no matter if it's that time of the month, no matter if I'm going through a trial, I always want to make the days for my children more meaningful, creative & fun. One that will go out of their way to do what they love. I'm young at heart, and if I have to cross those monkey bars next time with Chelsea so be it. Who cares if I get blisters. That's what a parent does, and that's what I'm trying to be great at. 

It's days like this in which I'm so thankful to God for helping me be the mother that I am today.

And this day was one of those days. 

Happy Monday! 

it was a beautiful day.

So we were supposed to get rain this whole week, but so far it's not happening so don't wish for it! We have been enjoying this glorious weather, and I cannot help but to go outdoors with our little guy. I sure am going to miss these days when Noah gets older. Hopefully he'll always want to venture outdoors until he's old enough to go on his own with good friends, but for now he has his old man, and mua!

April is the month for grilled cheese sandwiches at this wonderful family friendly restaurant, and I am so glad we waited until the last day of the month to go.

The Pop shop is my friend on Facebook, and I saw a post on their wall that it was superhero week, and that Jack the balloon man was going to be there making light sabers, & super heroes. How cool is that! They also had The Fantastic Four playing on the big TV, and super hero coloring sheets. It was a fun filled day with my favorite boy, and one big kid (a.k.a. my husband Jon)!

Can you believe he requested for Jack the balloon man to make him a red light saber? Such a man-child!

I'll tell you everything on this menu is delicious! If we could eat here everyday we would! The grilled cheese sandwiches, onion rings, lemon coke, everything here is just awesome! I remember the first time we came, and once I had awesome service I knew I was going to return.

This is one place where one go for any occasion whether it's a birthday, Valentine's day, or just for fun! Oh...did I mention they also have breakfast? We came here during Dr. Seuss week this past March, and the pancakes were huge! This place sure makes it fun for kids (and big kids) of all ages! We love it here so much!

******
We couldn't waste this beautiful day going straight home so we had an hour to kill before Lexie, & Chelsea came home from school. We went to a nearby park and once again I made two new friends, and Noah had a ball playing with their kids. The sun shined so bright, and Jon really needed to relax. He loves this time with Noah. I know he wishes he could have more days like this.

Look at these two with their life sabers and all.

This day was too perfect, and I'm so glad that Jon was with us to live in the moment. He really needed this, and even though Noah had a blast today being surrounded by "superheroes", he only has one in real life...his daddy. 

Until next time!