1st Ever Childless Weekend

For the 1st time since Noah was born, almost 4 years ago, Jared and I went away for the weekend. We had a great time. My parents and grandmother came down to watch the kids for us while we enjoyed a weekend in Chattanooga, TN. While I did miss them very much, it was great to get away for a couple of days. We woke up when we wanted to, did what we wanted to, ate what we wanted to, it was fantastic. We hit the hot spots, such as Rock City, Ruby Falls, the Incline Railway, and Lookout Mountain, and then spent the rest of the time downtown. We walked for miles and did not have to push a stroller or carry anyone for 2 entire days.

I'm happy to say that we are back now and I have more patience and energy now that I have had a couple of days off. I don't want to do that very often, but a couple of times a year will be a great way to recharge and appreciate my kids all the more. It is also a great time for Jared and myself to reconnect and to have conversations that are not all centered around the kids, it was great to spend some quality uninterrupted time with my best friend.


I'll post some pictures once Jared downloads them from his camera.

Harris Teeter

Last Thursday night after working at the Y, I ventured to my first Harris Teeter triple coupon event. It was fantastic. While some of the items were sold out already, I did get some great deals. When my shopping trip was done, I had managed to save a little bit more than I spent. All told I got $90 worth of groceries for $42.54, a pretty good savings if you ask me. This also helps in groceries for the weeks to come, since several of the items were stock-up items for later use.

I can't wait for the next triple coupon event. Hopefully, I will know at least a couple of weeks ahead and can plan to be there when it starts with even more coupons ready to go.

Mary,Mary...How does your garden grow?

We have planted the garden for this year, and assuming the rabbits don't eat the tomato plants before they bloom, we will be overflowing with some vegetables. Jared and his planting helpers got a bit enthusiastic about their tomatoes and planted 20 plants. I will be giving away tomatoes for anyone who is interested. Along with tomatoes we also have squash, zucchini, corn, peppers, and watermelon. The watermelon was especially for Noah, if you know his love of watermelon you will understand why.

Noah and Seth started out helping Jared, but soon abandoned the garden for more fun activities, such as "driving" the lawnmower. As you can see, Riley stuck with him to the end and enjoyed helping Daddy dig.

Mother's Day

I had a great Mother's Day this year. We went to Ft. Thomas to spend some time with my mother and grandmother, since they have been gone for a month. While it did take us longer than usual to get there on Friday afternoon due to several wrecks and delayed traffic, the rest of the weekend was fun.

On Saturday, we ventured over to Eden Park in Cincinnati to spend some time at the Conservatory. The kids loved the waterfall and the goldfish in the ponds. After lunch the rest of the day was spent taking a nap and riding "bicycles" in the driveway.

Sunday dawned cold and rainy and two kids with a fever. Riley slept until 10am and had to be woken up to make it to church on time, she then proceeded to sleep through church. Seth also acted like he did not feel good and he also slept through church. All in all, the weekend was fun and we enjoyed spending time with everyone and we can't wait to see them again very soon.

Mother's Day is a special day, at least to us mothers. I look forward to the day when I get all of those "unusual" kid gifts, because at least they will have picked them out themselves. I love being a mother, and while it is without a doubt the hardest most mentally and physically draining job I have ever had, I would not change it for the world. After marrying Jared, having our 3 kids was the best decisions I ever made and life would not be as bright,or loud, without those 3 angels.

Picture problems

I tried to download some pictures from the lake, but I am having some problems I will keep working on it and post some pictures as soon as I can figure out what is wrong.

Catch-Up

Two weeks ago we went to visit Jared's brother, Jason, and his family in Dadeville, AL. We had a great time and the kids loved seeing their cousin Grace. They fed the horse and rode the golf cart. I must say the golf cart was the highlight of the weekend for the boys. They even walked into the lake and played in the freezing water. We had a great time even if it did rain on us the majority of the weekend.

Since then I have been playing catch-up on everything, laundry, grocery shopping, ironing, projects around the house, to name but a few. There never seems to be enough time in the day to get everything done. Of course, there are those days in which I get nothing accomplished except dinner because the kids and I are out enjoying this fantastic weather. The way I see it, I will never get this time of our lives back and I do not want to miss a single minute of it.

Precious things they say: (Noah 2 weeks ago)
Mommy: Noah, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Noah: Hmmm.........Mommy, I do not want to grow up.

Seth last week
Mommy: Seth, are you going to be a good boy for Daddy while I'm at the Y tonight?
Seth: Nope, but I'm working on it!

These are the moments you never want to forget.

Doctors!!!!

A little venting today, sorry Chris. I was diagnosed with an enlarged thyroid when I was 5 months pregnant with Riley, everything was tested and thankfully came back negative. However, it does affect my thyroid levels, you know the ones that affect your metabolism and energy level. The problem is that my levels are borderline, hypothyroidism, but not within the levels where medication is prescribed. What is a person to do? While I normally shy away from taking any medication that I might not need, this problem is driving me crazy. The endocrinologist has not given me any suggestions on ways to increase my energy level, not feel perpetually tired, or lose weight, nor will he give me medication to help with any of these things. So while we wait for my thyroid to shrink back down to normal size and,hopefully, function, I am stuck with limited energy to play with my kids, constant exhaustion, and working hard and eating right, while the scales stay the same.

If anyone has a suggestion on a way to solve this problem, I would love to hear from you. If you want to vent about your own medical situation, please leave a comment. I know how you feel.