Getting older!

Hey y'all!  I guess I'm living up to my older years now.  I have completely let time go by without telling you about my birthday.  Well, I guess I am getting older!  YUCK!  It's really just a number, right and of course, you are only as old as you feel.  Not sure I want to think about that either!  HA!  

I had a fabulous birthday day and weekend!  We spent the part of the day at Pullen Park.  A super nice park near us that has recently been renovated and updated with lots of new features. 
 

The weather couldn't have been more perfect!  We had a great time riding the carousel, the train, and Mason rode the boats.
 

After a fun time at the park, we went to the State Farmers Market Restaurant. If you live in the area or are just passing through, you must have lunch here!  YUMM-O!  Country style!  

 
I even had a little girls night out and went to a jewelry party.  Something about women getting together, laughing and eating.  We had a good ole' time!  They were so thoughtful too!  Had a little cookie cake that was yummy!

With my birthday money (thanks Nina and Papa), I ordered myself a watch! 

 

Super cute watches (and jewelry) and super affordable too!  I'm excited to see the watch in person.  I ordered the 'Time To Go' watch, but I really like all of them!   If you are interested in more information or just want to look through the catalog, you can contact Kristin here.

I also got money for new walking/running shoes (more like walking for me) HA!  Grammy and PawPaw gave me new jammies and a monogrammed laptop sleeve.  

My wonderful and talented husband (along with my baby boy), made me some shelves that I have been admiring from Pottery Barn.  He did a great job imitating their work and of course, for a ton cheaper!

Here are pottery barn's shelves:

And here are the ones Kevin made:

I am very pleased with the way they turned out.  He did a great job!  Thanks Babe!  

On Sunday, Grammy, PawPaw, Uncle James, and Lori came over to our house and brought a spaghetti dinner!  Mom (Grammy) also made me a delicious carrot cake, at my request.  So good!  We had a great time eating, talking, and riding Mason's bike.  Yep! For some reason, we all felt it necessary to ride his bike.  I was laughing so hard.  The things we get into are hilarious sometimes! 

Uncle James and Kevin's faces were priceless!  I couldn't stop laughing!  
 

Lori, of course, fit on his bike perfectly!

Thanks to all of my friends and family who made my birthday a little extra special!  I had a great one and hope to have many, many more! Thank You!

I'm here!

Hey y'all!  Yep!  I'm still here.  Just kind of taking one day at a time.  Trying not to stress out over the little things, you know?!  I'm sorry I haven't been keep up with the blog world.  I felt like I needed to focus on my health and family.  Health being number one right now.  I really don't want to get into a ton of TMI (too much info), just want to keep my privacy a little.  I'm sure you understand. 

I would like to update you on my health.  Mainly my blood pressure has been a bit out of sorts (high).  There is really nothing to blame for this happening, but that is not to say I haven't tried.  I did get the results of all of my blood work.  I was scared to death.  They would not give the results over the phone, so I had to make the 40 minute trip to the office the next day.  Needless to say, I didn't sleep well that night! Relax?! Yeah! Right!  Anyways, due to my test results, I'm now taking all new meds and in the process of a lifestyle change. It's ok.  I can do this.  So far I am feeling a little better.  Still struggling with some headaches and fatigue, but hanging in there.  

Enough about me.  We've had a couple of changes in our house.  You know, Ty was given back to his foster mom.  She was very excited to keep him.  I'm glad it all worked out in the end.  

Kevin got a new car.  Well, new to us.  

 

 

Yep!  Another Caddy!  We just love Cadillacs.  Kevin has such a long commute, hopefully this will help make it a bit more comfortable.  

Mason and I were very busy last week.  He was student of the week so he was the line leader and was responsible for bringing in snack for the class.  He was so excited to share 'his' snacks.  He made banana muffins and sugar cookies.  He just loves to help out in the kitchen.

We also went to the pumpkin patch with our group.  This place was more than a pumpkin patch, it was a farm.  We loved it.  We walked around, fed the goats, donkey, chickens, and catfish.  Mason ran through the hay maze and of course we walked through the pumpkin patch. 

 

I was very surprised by Mason.  He made it out of the hay maze in the first try.  Also, he was not at all scared of the animals.  At first he just kept looking at the chickens trying to take it all in.  He had never seen a chicken in real life before.  

 

Mason and Jack are so funny together.  They always stick together when we are with our group.  They do most of the activities together.  They fed the chickens, pulled the wagon and sat on the pumpkin for a picture.  They are both little hams!  HA!

 

Mason was amazed by this pumpkin!  It's a white pumpkin Mommy and it's HUGE!

This picture is definitely worthy of a frame!  So cute!
 

We are definitely going back to this farm.  Kevin will love it!  They also have a wagon full of hay and pumpkins set up for picture taking.  I wasn't able to get Mason in the wagon, so we'll have to try again!  We love Fall!

Weekend Wrap up & Updates

Kind of a wet weekend, huh?  Yep.  We spent a lot of time inside or in the garage.  

Friday I went to the doctor for an annual check up.  Just the basics, blood work and making sure there are no major issues to be addressed.  I walked in thinking everything is fine.  Let's get this done and I can go home.  Oh Boy!  Not the case.   I had not had a tetanus shot in like forever, so that was the first order of business.  Only now the shot also contains the pertussis vaccine.  Didn't really think much of it until Saturday evening.  I started getting the chills and got very tired.  Sunday morning worse.  I just wanted to go right back to bed.  Apparently I was experiencing some of the side effects of the pertussis vaccine.  Fever and fatigue.  I felt like I was coming down with the flu.  I stayed in bed for most of Sunday.  I do feel a bit better today, but still tired.  Well, then after checking my blood pressure, I ended up getting an EKG.  The EKG came back normal, thank goodness, but my blood pressure, not so good.  I will have to start taking my readings at home and keeping a diary.  I'll go back to the Dr. in a couple of months for another check up.  A few other things I'll need to do is pay more attention to my diet (especially salt intake), exercise, and avoid stressful situations (no problem, right?).  I guess I'm getting old!  UGH! 

Saturday afternoon we went to a birthday party for our friend Jake.  He turned 3 and had an adorable Mickey Mouse party.  For some reason, it always rains for his party.  We ended up having most of the party in their garage.  The kids didn't care.  They had fun running around, eating cupcakes, and jumping in Jake's new jumping house.   

Jake and his sister Savannah just love Mason.  They all play really well together.  

 
You remember a few weeks ago we were cleaning up our backyard from a storm.  We had 5 trees that had been uprooted from our yard.  Kevin was able to cut up all of the trees into logs.  We posted free firewood online and had no trouble getting rid of it.  Last weekend a nice young couple came out and was able to get 2 truck loads.  They were very grateful to get the wood since they have a real wood burning fireplace in their house.  I'm glad we were able to help them out and I'm glad they came out to get all of the wood.  

I was very impressed with my husband.  He did all of this work by himself.  I helped one day and I thought I would die.  It was so hot and so much work.  I thought my husband was crazy when he said he was going to take care of all of it himself, but he did.  I shouldn't be surprised.  He is very handy! 

One more update from the Kranz family.  We are very sad to report, we will not be keeping Ty.  We feel absolutely terrible.  We kept going back and forth and honestly after the first week, we kind of felt that it wouldn't work out.  There are several reasons why, but most importantly, Mason hasn't warmed up to Ty at all.  He pretty much ignores him or tells him NO or GO AWAY!  That is not fair to Ty and he deserves to be in a family with children who want him there.  He is a very sweet, loving, and affectionate dog.  We have no doubt he will find his forever home and any family would be lucky to have him.  He will make an awesome companion.  We are going to do everything we can to help find a home for him, but in the meantime, he'll have to go back to his foster home.  We'll try our best to keep you updated.  

  

So much to say!

Hey y'all!  Well, I have failed you again.  Gosh!  How does so much time go by so fast, and yet sometimes, 5 minutes feels like 5 hours.  

Mason and I went to a playdate today and enjoyed the company of our long lost friends.  Since Mason has started school, we only see them once a week and sometimes only once every two weeks.  Oh how I long for the company of these women!  We share our 'kid stories', eat, and laugh! 

Anyway, bear with me, as this post may be a bit long or may seem like I'm rambling.  Which I do in real life conversation, so it's not out of the ordinary.  I tend to share too much information.  Oh well, it's in my nature.  I'm a very open and honest person.  If you ask me... "how are you doing"?  I'm going to tell you the truth.   I find it annoying when the response is always, "I'm fine.  How are you"?  Really?!  No one is ALWAYS fine.  It's ok to say otherwise.  HA!

So, I last left you with our trial adoption of Titan, which going forward we will call Ty.  As of now, we have had Ty in our home for 8 days and he is doing well.  He adapted almost immediately.  Honestly, it's us that has had to adjust.  Mainly me!  We haven't had a pet in our home for over 2 years and it takes some getting used to, you know?  Ty is a very relaxed, loving, patient, and gentle puppy.  He is only 8 months old, but we have since said he has an old soul.  He doesn't act like a puppy at all.  Since he has been in our home, he hasn't touched any of our belongings.  Nothing.  He is completely house trained.  Sleeps all night.  

So, what's the problem, you ask?  I don't know.  I didn't realize how OCD I am and I'm struggling.  We had a dog in our home for 10 years prior to Ty, so I don't know why now is different.  Some will say, it's good for you, you need this right now.  I'm really trying, but here is where the honesty is going to come in.  I find myself more concerned with cleaning.  I've always been bad about things being in order in my home, but since my 'nesting' phase during my pregnancy, I seemed to have gotten worse.  I don't know why and I do try to relax, but here is what happens.

Picture this.....  I'm sitting on the couch or at the kitchen table like I am now typing this post.  I look around and see (or know) things that need to be done.  For example, right now, I know I have at least 2 loads of laundry that needs washed.  There are 2 flies in my kitchen that are driving me nuts and need to go, but I'm still typing.  The kitchen floor needs to be mopped.  The pillows from the couch and chair are on the floor and need to be picked up.  There are 2 cups in the sink that need to be in the dishwasher.  I could go on, and on, but I think you get the point.  

I can't relax and I can't help myself.  These are feelings I have everyday and now with Ty in the picture, it has only added to my OCD.  Yes, Ty is a great dog and companion, but he's messy!  The worst is when he drinks his water.  As he lifts his head and walks away, the water/slime is dripping all over the kitchen floor.  The even worst part is when I step in it.  EWW!  Drives me crazy!  The other messy part is when he shakes his head, slobber flies all over the place.  The other day, I found some on our dresser.  Yes, really!  Honestly those are the only two issues. He does shed, but not terrible.  I don't notice the hair much until I vacuum and then I see the hair in the canister.  YUCK!

Well, this is not just about me.  There are 2 other people in this house.  Kevin seems to enjoy having Ty around.  He likes the company, especially when he is outside working in the yard.  Mason, at this point, is indifferent.  He says he likes his new doggy and seems to enjoy having Ty around.  Although, there are  days where Mason doesn't want Ty in his face.  He says, "no doggy".  Since Ty is such a great dog, he just walks away.  Ty is a very lovable dog and because of that, he demands love in return.  He wants to be in the same room with you at all times.  Sometimes even being in the same room is not enough, he has to be touching you or so close that you almost step on him.  Being a stay at home mom, this can become very annoying.  I feel bad for saying that, but it's true.

The jury is still out on whether we keep Ty.  I hate saying that because I really can't see us giving him back.  I know.  I'm running around in circles.  I need to get over myself and realize there is more to life than having a perfectly clean/organized home.  I'm going to continue to try and relax and enjoy life.  I think! HA!  

Thanks for hearing me out and please don't judge me because of my cleaning obsessions.  It's actually kind of embarrassing.  I hope that people are comfortable around me and that I don't make them feel uncomfortable.  Does that make sense?  Put it this way, I'm not going into your home and thinking, wow, how do people live like this!  (unless I'm watching Hoarders)  I honestly, wish I were not so obsessed.