Thomas' Visit Lake George

 We have a new "toy" at the lake and Tyson couldn't be more excited! Our new Sea Doo arrived on Friday afternoon and Tyson had to test it out right away. He returned from it's maiden voyage and announced that he had gotten it up to 65mph! Let the FUN begin!

Blake (one of Tyson's BFF from DePauw), his wife Sarah, their basset son Floyd, and Aaron (Tyson's BFF since grade school) all came to the lake for the weekend! Jack spent the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Becker in Fort Wayne.

The above picture is THREE grown men on the jet ski. At exactly 10:00am - when boating hours start - these "three grown men" took off going 60+mph across the lake.  Sarah and I stood on the pier shaking our heads. We could hear their hoots, hollers, and laughs clear across the lake.

 The fun continued when we parked the boat in the middle of the lake. Sarah and I lounged on rafts while the boys continued to "play."  Here you see Aaron and Tyson pulling Blake on the tube. I am happy to report that aside from some sore muscles - no one required medical attention.

A rebel without a cause...Blake looked like he was robbing banks while driving around the lake. He claims the bandana was to prevent wind burn, but I'm pretty sure it was just sun burn.

My family refers to the above picture as "hound face." We usually see this with Hank - but as you can see, Floyd has "hound face" too!

It was SUCH a fun weekend. Tyson and I could relax, nap, sleep in, and act like child-less adults for 48hrs. We obviously missed Jack (Nancy & Denny will confirm, they had the phone calls and texts to prove it). But we also enjoyed the weekend with our friends!

Hey, Greta...

See my new "baby lacrosse stick?" I heard you have a thing for Lacrosse players. 

Call me.

Flashback Friday

A blog I follow does Flashback Fridays and I thought it was a fun idea.

For my first flashback - I went WAY back. This is a picture of the three Clevenger kids! Please note how CUTE Joey is...how much Jack looks like his Uncle Jonny...and how pointy my chin was...(this was obviously before some serious orthodontic work). And on that note - I'd like to thank my parents for footing the bill and Dr. Moryl for fixing the problem. Yikes.

Guilty.

Someone enjoyed a few bites of Mommy's Knock You Naked brownie...  I don't want to point fingers or name names, but the evidence was all over his face. Guilty.

A Mother's Worry

My mom's words ring in my ear - "A mother NEVER stops worrying about her children." At 29, I now know this is the truth. I'm a mom myself, a grown woman, yet any "after dark" run to Target or the grocery store is met with absolute panic from my mother. "What if someone grabs you? There are sick people in this world, Kady." Sadly, she's right.

I was absolutely sick when I read about the young boy in Brooklyn, NY. If you haven't heard about it, you can find the story on any news website. But fair warning, it will make you doubt that there are any good people left in the world. And then, I read about a 3 month old in Bloomington who is at Riley's because his father was "frustrated" with him and dropped him into a bouncy chair. His own father.

As a parent, I am responsible for the well-being of my children. It was kind of an unspoken promise I made when I decided to become a parent. Aside from accidents, that are beyond my control - I worry every single day about the world my children will grow up in.

Last night I had a bad dream. There wasn't a villain in the dream, but it was so bad that I wasn't able to go back to sleep.

{DREAM}
We were packing up our things in a nice, multi-story hotel. Our room door was open, as we were bringing bags out into the hallway. And then I realized that Jack was running toward the open elevator at the end of the hallway. He ran into it and the doors closed JUST before I could get there. 


When I awoke from this dream I replayed it over and over in my head. What would I do? Could I put my faith in people and trust that someone (like myself, like all of you) would do the right thing and help my child? I want to believe that I could.

I know I can't keep Jack little forever. Eventually he won't fit in the front of the grocery cart or use the women's restroom with me... Eventually he'll be the one making after-dark trips to Target or the grocery store. And, while I won't be able to stop him, I'll still be the mother waiting at home for the phone call letting me know he's alright.

Guilt Ridden

Jack sobbed when I dropped him off at "school." He's cried every single time and it breaks my heart! His huge alligator tears, arms stretched out to me, and yelling "mama" with his bottom lip sticking out. It's enough to break my heart! And I feel guilty because I look forward to school days...

The good news is - he is always SO happy to see me at pick-up time and his daily report card always says he was "happy" (other options: sad, cranky, tired, angry, mellow).  For the record - I would bet $100 my son will never be described as "mellow" - unless he's sick.

I've resisted the temptation to call and check on him. I guess five O'clock will come soon enough.

Watermelon

 This child can eat his weight in watermelon.

Knock-You-Naked Brownies

I have been craving some chocolate (nothing new there) and came across a recipe for "Knock-You-Naked Brownies". The recipe happened to be on the Pioneer Woman's website. If you aren't familiar with her...she's pretty amazing and I suggest checking her out.

The brownies turned out great. Tyson agrees. And I'd be lying if I didn't admit...they almost knocked me naked. Almost.

You can see the recipe HERE and Pioneer Woman's site HERE.

Wear Jack Out Wednesday

Jack and I spent the morning at a new park in Birmingham. It was really nice, but when your 18mth old prefers to play with 7 year olds - things can get dangerous. Jack did enjoy running into the misting Old Mill area of the playground. Perfect place to cool off!

 Taking a break on a rock chair. What you don't see in this picture are his two new bff's - Dillon (8) and Jack (6). My Jack thought he could hang with the big boys...and they were more than willing to welcome him into their posse.

 I managed to catch a picture of Jack's one minute spent in the sandbox. Listen, if it doesn't involve running, climbing, or rolling - he's not that interested.

 A shot of the "baby" side of the playground. Guess who refused to play on this side? Jack. He about scared the living daylights out of me when he attempted to go down a "big kid" slide by himself, got stuck, and then tried to stand up on the slide. I had a vision of a ER visit and quickly sprang into action. Pregnant Mom to the rescue!

What happens when Jack naps for 2 . 5 hours and Mommy naps for 1 . 5 hours? We look like this...

Happy Birthday, Gramps!

Happy birthday to Jack's Gramps and my Dad! We were able to celebrate his birthday with him this past weekend...and even if there wasn't a cake (ahhhmm, Karley!), there was still lots of birthday love. Hope you have a wonderful day, Yed!