Perfect Timing

Ayden broke his leg.

He jumped from our tree.

which he has done a million times before...

but this time his foot got caught on a rope,

while he was wearing his boot,

and he landed wrong.

I heard his scream from inside the house.

******

He broke his leg in 2 places.

and is quite miserable.

Brandon said he wished it was him, not his brother.

true.love.

*******

Tomorrow he finds out if he needs a cast

or if he needs surgery.

I'm really hoping it's a cast.

It's so sad to see him in so much pain.

He's already asked for a new body,

and asks his dad twenty times a day if he can see his bones.

oh & for me to stop cleaning the floors & feed him his cereal.

poor poor boy.

username

A few months back Brandon sent away to become part of the Lego Club.

And he has checked the mailbox everyday waiting patiently for his first magazine.

Yesterday it came.

In the magazine was a website that you could visit,

where you could crack secret Lego codes to enter

secret Lego worlds.

Pretty captivating for a 8 year old, let me tell you.

I told him he could go on the computer after dinner- 

(we aren't big on the kids being on the computer here...I'm afraid some frightening pop up ad will appear and scar my child for life)

...so needless to say, he ate his dinner REALLY fast.

He sat at the computer.

Typed in the web address.

And in order to enter the website you needed a 

user name & password.

He thought this was the secret code he had to break.

He entered every combination imaginable of his first and last name...

only to get a message saying:

"User name does not exist."

After patiently working on this for an hour,

he finally asks his dad 

(who let me tell you knows nothing about computers)...

"Dad, tell me something that EXISTS?"

Kyle replies, "I don't know, a TV?"

Luckily, I walked in the room and told him he had to create an account in order for his username to exist! 

Sounds like a good joke...

"how many people does it take to enter a username..." 

Summer Camp

This morning I signed up for summer camp!
I really can't wait.


You should join it too!
Then we can post our crafts & progress.
Think about it?

Palm Springs & a sicko

Our good friends invited us to Palm Springs for the weekend,

and we took them up on the offer because we needed a quick getaway.

Life has been busy over here.

And they watched our boys for 2 hours so Kyle & I could go out to dinner for our anniversary.
They are good friends.


We went to Roy's.
It was seriously some of the best food we've ever had.
You need to go there on a date.
We held hands while we sat next to each other and talked.
It felt like it was just me & him in the room.
I love those moments.


We get home.
Go to sleep.
And wake up to Ayden coughing & stirring.
Another asthma attack is approaching.
Luckily, I packed the inhaler.
He finally fell asleep at 4:00 am.


We wake up & swim.
The weather was perfect.

Ayden decided that this was his time to swim without floaties.
And he did it!
No fear at all.

Another asthma attack approaches.

Over exertion, I'm sure.

He falls asleep, after our friend gave him some oxygen.

Then wakes up with a fever.

And we pack up & leave to take him to the hospital.

We know this routine all to well, and I don't want to take any chances.

Since Saturday, we've been to the doctors twice.

Co-pays aren't fun back to back when they are $30.

And all his medication, added up real fast.

But I'll spend my last penny to make sure my boys are healthy.

Right now,
He's on breathing treatments every 4 hours.
And on 3 different medications twice a day for 10 days. 


The doctor tells us his inner ears are small, 
which cause the frequent ear infections.
(Tubes are sure to come).
Environmental allergies,
and
chronic asthma.
We got really lucky this time around with some really knowledgeable doctors who have set him up on an breathing treatment plan. 
I'm so thankful for good doctors.




For now, he's in good spirits.
Kids are so resilient.


xo

He was giving me some good face today...

This morning Ayden woke me up & told me we needed to go on a walk.
So after we dropped off Brandon at school.
We went to Prospect Park. 


There is something so refreshing & beautiful about being out in nature early in the morning.
I sound like a hippy, I know.
But it's so true.
And people are so nice in the morning.
I never realized how much I enjoy hearing, "Good Morning," 
from a stranger. 


The husband gets home today.
And tomorrow is our 5th wedding anniversary.
Perfect timing.

our gift

"Sensing the ground shifting beneath my feet, 
I resisted the new, unknown territory, 
already nostalgic for what I'd so recently taken for granted.
I missed my old world and it's funny little inhabitants,
those great big personalities still housed in small, 
sweet bodies.
I missed my sons' kissable cheeks and round bodies,
their unanswerable questions,
their innocent faith,
their sudden tears and wild infectious giggles,
even the smell of morning breath,
when they would leap, upon waking, from their own warm beds directly into ours.
I missed the person I had been for them,
too-
the younger, more capable mother who read aloud for hours,
stuck raisin eyes into bear shaped pancakes,
created knights armor from cardboard and duct tape.
Certainly my talents didn't seem quite as impressive anymore,
my company not as desirable as it once had been."

(excerpt from The Gift of an Ordinary Life)

I read this and instantly started to cry.

For me, now, it seems as though raising my lil' ones will last forever.

I just can't imagine my life any other way.

And you get so consumed in the day to day.

You forget that life is to be enjoyed,

cherished...

rather than rushed thru.

Trying to do it all,

have it all,

and give it all to my children

leaves us all sometimes scattered and exhausted.

Sometimes we need to be reminded to 

enjoy these fleeting years.

To savor the quiet pleasures in life,

to pay more attention to the people we love than 

to things,

and to allow my boys the time and space to play,

& daydream.

The Simple Life

It was a lovely weekend.

Here are some of the upsides:


Husband came home from Egg-i-zona!
Breakfast at Martha Green's.
BBQ with friends.
Seeing the boys ride a zipline.
Church.
Raspberry Lemon bread from Starbucks (It is so good). 
Eating burritos the size of a small baby with friends.




The downsides:
Husband left again for Egg-i-zona. (seeing him drive off is so sad)
Ayden riding the zipline & smashing into a tree leaving some serious damage on the backsides of his legs. 
(They just weren't prepared for the Woodruff Compound adventures!)
Working out, and after entering it into my Lose it App seeing I only burned a whopping 29 calories. (really, what's the point?)


I hope you all had a great weekend!

We miss you

I'm glad that when I open my eyes tomorrow it will be Friday.

A Wednesday letter

Dear husband,

Today I am really tired. I think it's because I've been staying up way too late, past my geriatric hour of 9:00.

I figure the longer I stay up, the faster I will fall asleep and I won't imagine that there is a boogie man climbing out of our closet (yes, I am still afraid of the dark). 

Today I took Ayden to see the movie "Oceans" while our car was getting an oil change and after 30 minutes we had to leave the movie because Ayden had to poop and refused to use the movie theater bathroom. 

He is so much like you. 

Oh and Brandon can play 3 guitar notes in a row. He's getting so good. 

Friday can't come soon enough.

ps- our wedding song played on KROQ today. And my eyes got watery. I miss you. 

love. your. wife.

Ghost Town

Saturday Kyle played a show in Calico with the Mill Creek Boys.

Which is really grown men & a lady, but that just doesn't sound as good. haha!

The day was beautiful, windy and hot.

With zero shade.

Not good for those of the albino persuasion. 

We did all we could to escape the blistering heat.
I left with a serious sunburn.
Really not looking forward to peeling.
Looking like a lizard isn't pretty people.

The stand up bass is such an awesome looking instrument.
Not to mention my good looking husband.

We had fun.
And were so tired.
And so dirty.
It makes me glad I wasn't born in the 1880's.
I couldn't take the constant dirt film on my body.

Lucky me

Friday Kyle said we could go pick out my mothers day present from anywhere I wanted...


well he said "anywhere..."


So to Anthropolgie we went.


And I came home with these.


Oh and a dress too.


(Which I think I might return...because I look pregnant in it. And I'm not anymore...so that stinks. dang it)




I hope you all had a great mothers' day.

From Brandon,

One of the best parts about your kids getting older is that you get awesome handmade treasures.
Mothers Day this year: a key wind chime.




I loved it so much, that we decided to make our own versions for the grandmas' this year.
Except without keys (they don't sell them in bulk?)... I used metal washers instead.
I'm pretty sure the grandmas' loved them.

The Best Nest

This is why we need a tree house. Brandon climbs to the top of the tree and shouts:
"I'm on top of the world!"
(It's still okay for an 8 year old to say it)

I realized I never showed a picture of my garden after everything was planted.

I only planted what I knew we'd use this time around.

Heirloom tomatoes, herbs, jalapeños, watermelon, zucchini & Japanese cucumber.

I can't wait to make homemade salsa!

Kyle bought some ceramic bull horns to mount above the back door.

They are pretty darn fantastic if I do say so myself.

I told him he should get another pair and put them on the grill of his dodge.

Seems fitting. 

Oh & Lucas had some apples.

It took him a second,

but he LOVES them.

I have no picture, but tonight during dinner Ayden tooted
& his response was:
"Who was that screaming in my butt?"


I thought that would be a good way to end this post.
Have a great weekend friends!

6 months

Happy half year birthday Lucas!

I can't believe it!

You're growing so fast my dear sweet boy.

Please slow down. 

Trees

Ayden decided today that he didn't wanna live at home anymore.

"I live with the monkey's in the tree...mom."

Oh yeah?

I kinda wish I could live in a tree too.

Which got me thinking???

These boys of ours really need a tree house.

So I am going to get with Google & figure it out.

The husband won't let me near a power saw, he tells me I can't even paint a straight line so I'll probably need his help...

I'm hoping he'll be on board.

a letter

Dear Husband,

Today you were so good.

You surprised us with taking a day off.

We could not have been more excited.

And Ayden, he followed you around all day while you put up the fencing. How sweet was that?

He didn't even have his clothes on yet.

Just comfy pants & boots.

I love that we are getting older together.

And the excitement we feel when we work in the yard all day.

Or go hunting for new furniture. 

Or how my heart overflows when you make Ayden laugh so hard it comes from deep down in his belly and his eyes get all watery.

I try to tell you each day how thankful we are that you work so hard for our family.

I know it's hard sometimes. 

But man, today you made my heart jump out of my body.  

I love you husband. When I was little I made a list of what I wanted my husband to be, and you are that.

Know this!

Love,

your wife