Cousin Catch Up

Well I have alot of blogging to catch up on since somehow the month of June got away from me. I will blame part of the reason on the fact that I actually took a little vaca in the middle (another blog), and the other part is just laziness. So, prepare for some catch up, some throw backs and some really great pics over the next week.
Starting with the most recent and working backwards...kinda...we have got in some good cousin time. This past weekend my little sis came down with my two nieces and we got to enjoy some girl time (+Lucas) which was really nice. I was actually up at their place the weekend before at the end of my "vaca", so two cousin weekends in a row had the kids pretty excited! Here are some pictures from our trips;

We did get to help Allie celebrate her 2nd birthday while she was here. Happy Birthday Allie!
I do wish I lived closer to my sisters so we could see eachother more often, the kids have such a great time together when we do see them. One night up North, Lilly, Allie and Hannah were all belting out songs and dancing while Lucas kept the beat on some bongos. It was oh too cute. Here are the naked (potty training) back up singers.

Then, this past weekend we really got the party started with a pancake breakfast and sprinkler park morning. The kids were sitting at the "bar" at the window so Tiff got some cute pics. cheese! I think this pic is funny bc Hannah is so adorable and Lucas is so Lucas. Bring on the pancakes!

Then we headed to the sprinkler park (my new favorite place so far this summer). Gotta love free hours of entertainment!

And then later we headed to Nana and Papaws for a little birthday celebration and grub. The kids has a blast on the swings that hang from their pergola. It was the joy of the evening! the two year olds and the four year olds (that suprisingly still fit in the baby swings) And nothing like a giant cookie and some icecream to end a great day. I guess the celebratory birthday month of June is officially over. Anybody still wanna party?

Happy Birthday to Me!

I celebrated my 31st birthday this past week, I know I know I TOTALLY don't look 31, but it is true. Haha. Here is a great pic of me in my younger days...(in homemade matching outfits of course!- you rock mom!)

This pic totallys shows off my personality...hehehe.

So my day started out with Tim bringing over my presents from the kids early so the kids and I could play for the day. Lucas picked out a pirate ship for me, and Lilly picked out a princess castle (they know just what I love).

we had alot of fun putting them all together...

the finished products!

(I also got some 3d sidewalk chalk, which we will have to check that out later today). The rest of the day was great. The weather was hot so we hit the sprinkler park with my friend Jamie and her kids combined with a picnic lunch (my fav), headed home for naps, joined Tim for dinner and then drinks with my favorite work girls. And then I even crashed a boys night out. All in all a perfect day. I think it will make my top 10 birthday list! Thanks for all the love via fb, calls, cards and support. I have the best family and friends ever!

Wordless Wednesday- Lucas: "MOM!! What is that?? Are those GIANT marshmellows??

Throwback Thursday- Some things don't change and some things do

So we live out in the country a bit and really don't have too many neighbors, one immediately to our north, one across the street that you really can't see due to trees and the neighbors to the south are quite a ways back off the road. Our closest neighbors own the 14acres that run behind our 1 acre and are nice enough to let us venture out on it. There is a mowed path that winds through them and if you take the path straight back from our house you will find 2 gorgeous horses that belong to our neighbors on the other side. We have already walked back there many times this year, even before the grass was green, but I found these pics from last summer and they are just too cute not to share.

Ahhh the days where children were content to sit in the wagon for more than 5 minutes...and Lucas wanted to "help" mommy pull. They seem so little in this picture.

The rest of these pictures below are infamous "Lucas portraits" if you could not tell....

Hmmm...could you tell he was sitting next to her in the wagon at this point?
EXTREME close up...I LOVE these self portraits!

There were about 20 of these shots at all different angles...but I thought one would be enough to share with you.

And here are our horses (ok, not ours but the closest we will come to calling any ours). Everytime we actually take something back for them to eat like an apple or carrot they are in the barn and everytime we don't they run up to the fence...maybe this summer we will be able to coordinate the two.

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Since I have had a little more time to myself than normal the last few months I have been venturing back in the trails just me and Wrigley for a little jog every now and then. Not exactly even jogging terrain but it is fun winding in and out of wide and narrow trails and trying to see the horses too. Last week just the white horse was out (without those blinder things on) and it was a very sunny day, so his bright white coat was just beaming in the sun. An absolutley GORGEOUS horse and I just couldn't help but stop and stare at him for awhile and for some reason he was staring back at me. I think God surrounds us with so much beauty each and everyday. I have been trying to stop and recoginize and appreciate the little things more often while at the same time giving credit to the one who created them. God is so good, even in the moments when we don't recognize it.

Wordless Wednesday- Such a Good Dog

No Modesty

So I will just start the preface of the story; we got back from Loews tonight with new sand for the sandbox/water table (which I got free on the side of the road end of last week *bonus*). The kids played in the driveway a bit and then we headed for the deck to pour in the sand and water the plants etc. By the time I got the plants watered the kids had managed to cover themselves (and by cover themselves I mean within 10 minutes they had poured sand on eachothers heads) so in we went for bath time. Lucas was about to get in the bath and remembered that his Batman was still in his purse, (yes I said purse)...let's call it a man bag for now. I thought he had just left it in the car. So when he ran off to grab it, already naked and ready for bathtime I didn't think too much of it. But as he ran out of the bathroom he is mumbling about his motorcyle...and then it starts to click in my head.......oh no! I get up and start yelling after him to stop but he is in this "Don't worry mom I can get it myself!" mode where he is not listening to anything I say while making a mad dash outside...So I would like to apologize for those of you who may have been driving through the Burg this evening and all the sudden got quick view of a naked butt running out of the house and onto the driveway to grab his "man-bag" which he had NOT left in the car but on the handle bars of his "batman motorcycle" (bigwheel) out in the driveway. So needless to say by the time I caught up with him it was too late, naked as can be with no shame out in the driveway. When I started to explain that he shouldn't go outside naked and he just asked "Why mommy?"
This was after the event that happened the week before last...I put the kids in the car for school but forgot their bookbags inside and ran in to grab them and ran to Lilly's room to grab her blanket. When I get back to the garage Lucas' car door is open and he is not in the car anymore. I called for him and he yells from the side yard outside the garage..."I'm out here mom! I needed to go pee!" "WHAT?!*!?" ...And yep, as I step around the garage opening there he is pants down to his ankles peeing in the grass...niiiice. So again, for all of those during rush hour on their way to work that morning, I apologize. No modesty what so ever. I will add this to the list of things we are working on!

The past week...

So, this might just be a rambling on type of blog but if I don't do it this way it probably just won't happen and I know you miss me. :) First of all, apologies if you can't see the previous post pics. I thought maybe bc it says "share these photos with people not on facebook"...I kinda assumed it meant that people not on facebook would actually be able to see them...hmmm. Whatever, it was kind of a cop out lazy blog anyway, hehe.

I hope everyone had a great mothers day. Mine was fabulous. The kids didn't sleep in for me, but they were in good moods. The weather was decent, a little windy but if you were in the sun all was good. We packed a picnic and Tim joined us for a trip to the park. We hit a new park just north of us which my friend Meghan told me about and it was fun. It should be really cool this summer bc it had a really great new spashpad there. So, if you live in indy or come to visit let's definitely plan some splash park playdates. Free wet fun is always good!!

We also celebrated Tim's birthday last week. I got some cute pics of him with the kids which I will post later. The kids did alot of the planning, Lucas kept letting Tim know that his birthday was coming soon and he informed me that Tim really wanted a Scooby Doo cake. (Not really sure that idea really came from Tim, but I was willing to go with it). I was trying to tell Lucas that daddy likes icecream cake from DQ in lieu of regular cake, and maybe DQ would have a scooby doo option. They didn't, so Lucas wanted to try and make daddy a Scooby Doo cake in addittion to the ice cream cake bc "Mommy, you have to have a cake and that is only icecream". So we looked for something ScoobyDoo to put on a cake but no luck there either. Lucas did spot some Robot/Monster sprinkles though and thought those would do...bc Scooby Doo and Shaggy chase monsters and robots. And to be honest, the "robot sprinkles" were essentially black, green and blue sprinkles which for some reason they sell better when having a robot on the outside...of course! The kids also picked out there own presents for daddy which is kinda a tradition that we started a few years ago. I got the idea from my friend Steph and it is alot of fun to see what the kids actually pick out for "mommy and daddy"...(which is essentially stuff they think is cool and that they would think we think is cool too...or just stuff they want and might be willing to share with us at times). So needless to say Tim got Legos, special pink playdoh and bubbles for his birthday. He loved it! He also got a couple movies and a book that I had actually bought him for Christmas but that I had hid in a "secret spot" (that even I could not find until last month when cleaning out the closet). So wahla! Birthday presents! Does anyone else ever do secret hiding spot thing or is it just me??

In regards to everything else to ramble about I will save it for another day. Excited for this coming weekend, traveling to kokotown and then my old HS stomping grounds. Should catch up with alot of different people (and being kidless will make it a nice quiet car ride as well).

Throwback Friday?

Or maybe I should call it forgetful Thursday? Yesterday, I meant to post some funny throwback links to some old albums I put on facebook over the last month or so. Thought those of you not on facebook would get a kick out of these. And really even if you have seen them, they are just still funny.
Here are some from Highschool.
And here are some from Middle School.
And this would be a great opportunity for all of those out there who read this and NEVER comment....to leave me a comment and at least tell me which pic you thought was the best!! Or to just tell me how much you love me and miss me and enjoy reading my blog. :)

summer here we come!

Well, the deck is ready and so are we. The sunshine felt so great today. I was actually cold sitting inside and got up to let the dog out and just laid on the hammock for a few minutes and warmed right up! (and almost fell asleep). It felt sooo good!

I have a couple of pics and stories I wanted to share but they are on my phone and I can't figure out how to get them off yet...one day.

So, what have I been up to you ask?? Enjoying the weather, dealing with tendonitis in my foot and keeping up with the kids...oh yeah and a RACE! No pictures to share, but it was really fun catching up with my girlfriends before and after the race, and then I just tried to keep up with them during the race. We did the 5K that goes at the same time as the Mini Marathon downtown. Our college friends started this 3 years ago. The guys do the Mini (13K) and the girls do the 5k...maybe one day we will switch (yeah right). I didn't do as well as I wanted, I did beat the pregnant one...but if I didn't do that it would be pretty sad. 3.2 miles in 42:51. I sped walked/jogged the entire way but I think bc I was essentially not joggging for two weeks before bc of my foot is what put me under. Just couldn't keep up my stamina! Next year will be better.

I started physical therapy today for my tendonitis...he scraped my calf and foot. MAN! I just wanted to scream curse words during the calf one...and then I was expecting him to do the other side and he didn't. Which my brain was thankful for but now my other calf feels so tight. Seriously, getting old kinda sucks.

Tubey Thursday

Well, Miss Lilly had her first surgery this morning. She got tubes put in both ears. She was only out of our hands for about 25 minutes, and the staff at the hospital was great, but it is still kinda hard just thinking of your baby going through that. She has essentially had an ear infection since December and the doc said they were puss filled today. It was kinda a rough morning, but by tonight she was back to her normal self. I have heard these work miracles, so we are excited to see a big change. Hopefully once her ears heal up we can stop doing these breathing treatments. We are excited for the warm weather to actually stick around and are hoping to stay out of the doctor's office for awhile. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

Wordless Wednesday- Most people usually Eat the Ears first...

Simple Smiles

The simple joy of coloring eggs brings so many smiles. It was really fun to watch with the kids last weekend. They really enjoyed coloring "monsters" on their eggs and then make them mostly pink and green (their favorite colors). Not sure where monsters come into play on Easter, but once Lucas does something Lilly wants to follow suit.

And here is whole bunch once we were done!

How many eggs did you color this year??

All dressed up for Easter

We had a great Easter morning as a family. It was still pretty chilly that morning so I hid the easter eggs inside, but they still had fun. They opened presents and then we had an omelet and easter sprinkled pancake breakfast together and then Tim and the kids headed North to his grandmas for Easter with his family. (I did taxes that afternoon...but they did get done on time with a refund! bonus!)

Lilly really liked her new knot dress. My friend Julie made it and makes a ton of other clothes too that she sells on Etsy- check it out!! She LOVES doing customs and her fabrics are amazing!

WOW. Are the kids looking grown up in this picture or what??

(I will share some more pics this weekend of coloring eggs! So check back!)

bloggy world

Sorry world if you have missed me...guessing not too much since I haven't received any threatening comments. I think this is seriously the longest I have gone without blogging. This is due to many reason (or excuses depending on how you think abou it).

1. no new pictures.

2. no halarious stories to tell

3. working too much (but not complaining)

4. haven't finished my taxes...or even started them really....hmmm

5. kinda tired of the "glow" of the computer (see #3)

6. everyone is sick (again)

I will elaborate on the last one. Tim is sick and needs to get healthy soon so he can run the mini. Lilly has another ear infection and we are headed to the ENT tomorrow to talk about tubes. Lucas is basically caughing horribly if he does anything like run or jump or those typical things that boys do about every 5 minutes. So needless to say my last week and a 1/2 has been filled with work, stress about taxes not being done, caughing, breathing treatment, whining, caughing, breathing treatment, couple nights off filled with work and then back to tired kids, caughing, breathing treatment and now I am getting sick too.

Soooo....thought maybe I would post some pics of happier and warmer times. Summer....we cannot wait until you get here!!

Sprinkler parks are the bestFuture model perhaps....hmmmm

Well at least they have some character!

A few weeks ago Knoll (a great furniture company who has a dealership here in town) hosted a free photo shoot with some of their "classic" pieces of furniture. It was fun, but the kids had had no nap and were really not in the mood to sit still for a photo shoot. There are a couple of good ones, but I guess these at least show some of their character! They do always keep me laughing!

What would I do without those funny faces?!

Fried Friday

Well, blog followers...I feel kinda fried today. I am mentally drained. I have a project that is consuming my world which is good in the financial aspect of life, but not so good in the mental aspect. I am tired of working too late, I am tired of trying to keep everything straight, organized and done well. I am mentally and physically exhausted but I am still trying to maintain some health and some sort of balance in my life...which can be hard to do at times.
Here is the truth though, there are alot of other things going on that are contributing to the mental overload. Some of you already know this, some may have an idea, and some this may come as a complete and utter shock...but Tim and I are separated. For some reason that is actually really hard to type out. He got an apartment two weeks ago and I can't say that I have completely and utterly broken down yet, but I am sure it is to come. I have probably been too busy with work and typical things to dwell on it, which maybe is a good thing.
I have been dreading to post this, but at the same time I don't want to live in a fantasy world that all is perfect at the Hess household. I am not sure that any household is, but when you think that yours will be able to stand the test of time and then that becomes a question it can be hard to swallow.
It was a mutual decision, to take a break, step back and figure out what it is we truly want and hopefully regain the visual of how much the other person truly means to us and be able to make a decision how to move forward. Tim and I have been traveling on a road together for quite awhile, we met almost 13 years ago at Purdue and started dating shortly afterward. The road was amazing, adventurous, fun and so different from any other road. I think we traveled lots of different places, up mountains and down and were able to stay so close. But a few years ago we started hitting pot holes and those pot holes would get patched and then new ones seemed to appear or ones came back and seemed even larger. Eventually we got stuck. Stuck in a big hole that nobody could seem to get us out of. We tried lots of different ways but nothing seemed to work. Sometimes I felt like I was just digging the pothole deeper instead of helping us out.
So we decided that maybe some space would be good. Maybe we had been stuck in that pothole for too long together and maybe if we helped the other person out then maybe we could see the situation better than looking at it from inside the hole.
So that is where we are at, at least as simply stated as it can get. I ask for your support of both of us, your prayers that our hearts can be healed and that we take this time to focus on ourselves, heal ourselves, draw closer to God and then let Him lead us in the direction that we are meant to go. I want to say thanks for all of those who are already doing those things. Keep it up! Prayer is a powerful thing.

Wordless Wednesday- Just Like Mommy (except I tend to wear pants)

Interview with Lucas

Saw this on facebook and also on my cousins blog, thought it was cute. So I "interviewed" Lucas and wrote down the exact words he said.

All About Mommy
By Lucas (Age 4)

1. What is something mommy always says to you?
Don't call names.

2. What makes mommy happy?
love.

3. What makes mommy sad?
when I don't listen to you.

4. How does your mommy make you laugh?
by playing jokes, hehehe.

5. What was your mommy like as a child?
a baby.

6. How old is your mommy?
4.

7. How tall is your mommy?
umm...all the way to the top.

8. What is your mommy's favorite thing to do?
to work.

9. What does your mommy do when you're not around?
be scared.

10. If your mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
fighting bad guys.

11. What is your mommy really good at?
reading a book.

12. What is your mommy not very good at?
putting me in timeout.

13. What does your mommy do for her job?
work on computer.

14. What is your mommy's favorite food?
slimedogs.

15. What makes you proud of your mommy?
when I call you beautiful.

16. If your mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
a cartoon.

17. What do you and your mommy do together?
clean up.

18. How are you and your mommy the same?
we both have green shirts.

19. How are you and your mama different?
i dont' know, you're a girl.

20. How do you know your mommy loves you?
like being friends.

21. Where is your mommy's favorite place to go?
to stores.

Thankful Tuesday

My children are amazing. I seriously cannot get enough squeezes from them. I am definitely not a perfect mom by any means, and I am sure some days I rank lower on the scale than others. Having a two and four year can be interesting with just the amount of things they say and how they say them. Sometimes you are suprised, sometimes you are bewildered and sometimes you just have to smile...or even cry. Lucas was so sweet today, and I would have add it to my top 10 favorites. Random out of the blue he comes up and gives me a hug and says:

"Mom, I love you"

So I picked him up and squeezed him and told him that I loved him too. Then he says,

"Mom, you are the most beatuifulestest girl in the whole world".

And admist the tears that started to roll, I whispered, "Thanks buddy...you have no idea how much that means to me".

Cousin Fun

Well after the water park adventure we headed over to the in-laws and got to see my new nephew again and the kids got in some more good cousin time.

Baby James is getting big (and cute) pretty quick!
Lilly wanted to hold him, but also kept chomping on her carrot...already a multi-tasker.

And this is Lilly and Noah chilling out watching a movie. Too cute. I guess I would have to say it was definitely a cousin filled weekend...but can't beat that! I am glad they are all close in age, can't wait to see what it is like when they get older!