My sweet baby is 11!  I can’t believe it.  I literally can remember going into labor with him.  He is such a sweet and gentle soul and I love him dearly.  Geesh…I love both of my boys.  I can’t imagine my life without them.  Today we are taking the boys to Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, Texas.  If you haven’t heard of this place, it basically has a huge indoor and outdoor waterpark which is just what you need is this hot state!!  So I better go pack and get ready.

*also I want to wish Michael Kane a very happy birthday too who happens to share my son’s birthday today!*

I think I just may go nuts. So as you can imagine my life has been somewhat crazy in the last few months. I sometimes wonder if I can stop and breathe. We even took a “vacation” in March but during that time it was cold and 1 kiddo was sick. We got home and for the last 3 weeks we have been to a doctor 4 times and called once over the weekend. I just got back from taking the little one for an xray of his knee b/c he fell and landed horribly. Luckily there isn’t anything broken but he had to wrap it up due to some swelling. UGH!! I am literally 3 weeks delayed with projects.

So yes…I’m venting - I feel like a crazy mom at the moment!!

So my husband and I were up but the morning was so quiet and peaceful.  The boys were still sleeping at 8:30am!  Of course I just *HAD* to check on them.  So I went through my office into the little one’s room to see the sleeping quiet boys.  On my way back, I knocked into a large picture that was waiting for us to hang up.  CRASH!!  Yep, it fell down and broke.  The pieces were fairly large and easy to pick up.  We picked them all up and put them in my office trash can.  So as my husband is vacuuming, I am standing next to the trash can.  I go to scratch my head and as I bring my hand down, BAM - I put my hand directly into a large piece of glass.  DARN - I wake up the kids and now I have to stop the darn bleeding.  So husband and kiddos in pajamas have to take mom to the urgent care clinic up the road (did I mention the dense fog) to get her hand glued.  I was happy to avoid stitches but I learned some things:

• Don’t bother sleeping kids
• Let husband pick up all of the broken glass and go far, far away.

Geesh…what would I do without my fantastic husband?!  So today I wake up with my usual morning kiss and a card.  Once I open this beautiful sweet card, 2 homemade pictures fall out.  At first I thought they were crosses but I am told they were lamps made by my son.  So my husband then tells me that for a week he has been searching for bedside lamps (something I have mentioned that I wanted for quite some time.)  He said he was at Target looking at all of the lamps and was amazed at how many choices he had and that you had to match the shades with a lamp.  As he is looking through this array of choices, some nice lady tries to help him.  After realizing he really had no clue what to buy, she politely asks “Have you every thought about a gift certificate?”  I LOVE IT!  He giggles and says, “Well that is probably a really good idea considering I usually have to ask her if my clothes match.”

Hence, today he is taking off 1/2 day to take me to lunch and to go find some lamps.  Happy Birthday to me!  How lucky I am!!

So on one of my favorite forums, V7n I stated that my mood was “Tired and Overwhelmed.”  I’m sure most of you can relate around the holidays.  I was trying to complete a pretty big project, get all of my holiday shopping done, and get ready for my oldest son’s Winter Party (as I’m room parent for his class).  Well in response to my post, I received a great message from one of my online v7n friends.  He stated when he becomes overwhelmed and tired, his wonderful wife makes him hot chocolate with a melted peppermint stick. And, he gave me a big hint to use the big fat sugar peppermint sticks…not the thin ones.

The next day my husband and I were on a little day trip with the kiddos.  We made our regular stop at the Cracker Barrel in Tyler, Texas.  The kids love to choose a candy (this is their reward for being good in the car).  Guess what!!  There on the counter was a big bag of those peppermint sticks! 

Fast forward a few hours…I came home and immediately popped in my mug of water in the microwave.  I added the cocoa and stirred in 1 big fat peppermint stick.  YUMMMMMYYY!  Thank you Chris! 

I highly recommend this little treat for the tired and overwhelmed body and soul!