It has been quite a while since I have regularly written on my blog. Then again, my writings have never been that regular. However, after these most recent events I feel compelled to write something and to share, and plead with my friends and family, strangers, co-workers... about something that is super heavy on my heart.

Yesterday, yet another one of my musical icons - Chester Bennington - took his own life. He was 41 years old. He leaves behind a wife of 11 years and six children. It seems "he had it all" - fame, fortune, a band that was consistent and still had all original members (basically no known chaos), loving wife, loving children, home in California... Linkin Park had just ended one tour and was about to embark on a new US tour for their new album "One More Light" that had dropped in May. It is not as if they were on any hiatus, they had literally just released a new record. They were going to be in Florida in a month or two, and I was debating the drive to Tampa to see them again.

However, that won't be the case. Depression doesn't care who you are. It can affect anyone.

Chester Bennington hit my life shortly after I lost my father - to suicide - in the early 2000's. Hybrid Theory was the soundtrack of my middle and high school years, followed by Meteora. "One Step Closer" was like nothing else I had ever heard and remarkably expressed the angst and pain I was going through that I did not know how to express on my own. Later, "In The End" was a paradigm shift from the heavy rap-rock and added more synth and less anger/screaming. The message was still undeniably strong with lyrics like "I've tried so hard and come so far, but in the end, it doesn't even matter"... and "I kept everything inside and even though I tried, it all fell apart. What it meant to me will eventually be a memory." Those are just a few. I have been a fan since they hit mainstream radio and MTV that year.

I was lucky and was able to catch Chester with Stone Temple Pilots in 2013 in Jacksonville, FL. We bought VIP tickets, which was a fancy term for "covered seating" instead of the bleacher seats in the heat or the general admission area - private bathroom - and table/chairs by where the artists go onstage. Others had official "meet and greet" passes and we got to see them come and go, which was cool. This was one of the first shows we ever took Jacob to, since we did have seating in a more quiet location.

Imagine my surprise when Chester walks by and we were hanging out by the barricade area near the meet & greet, on "our side" where we weren't the ones paying to meet him. He came right up to us and started talking. I am not going to lie, I was starstruck. Here he was, in person, and God was he kind. He leaned down to Jacob's level (who was 5-years-old at the time) and asked him his name, and told him "Wow, your name is cool, I have a nephew named Jacob!". He shook his little hand and high fived him. He embraced my 13-year-old Brad and as Brad confessed he was a fan, he was just in awe and humble, saying "Thanks, man!". He was more than happy to take photos with each of us.

We then got the opportunity to see Chester with Linkin Park on August 9, 2014 in Tampa. It was quite easily the best concert of my life, and I have been to a lot. This more for the music than the theatrics. It was raw and emotional and overwhelming. I sang every lyric to every song and had Brad staring at me (either in awe or in embarrassment that his mom was shouting rap/rock at the top of her lungs, not sure). Every member was on point. Joe Hahn had many solos that were mesmerizing with the display of talent and visuals to accompany them on the LED screens. Having been a fan so long, it was worth the wait and I was not disappointed.

Prior to losing Chester, two months prior Chris Cornell from Soundgarden and Audioslave took his life in the same manner. He leaves behind a wife and children also. He had just played a show and took his life in his hotel room. That one stung as well.

My Story...

I am a child that lost her father to suicide. My father was 41-years-old when he shot himself at home. Thankfully, we were not home, and he called the police before he did what he decided to do. We did come home to the aftermath of police cars and I saw my mom try to run in the house before an officer stopped her and she fell to her knees, wailing. I have two friends who were in the car with my brother and I that day who will forever be close to me. It was and still can be really, really hard for me. I hear a song and it reminds me of him (especially Pink Floyd).

Life became to much to bear for him. My father was Chester's age. My father was not an addict or alcoholic or had anything crazy that we knew about. He was a normal suburban dad with a wife and two small kids (we were 11 and 9), and worked on systems for Tampa Electric. He worked his 40 hours a week and came home to have dinner with us. He loved MASH and the news. He drank two cups of coffee before work. He was a member of the Brandon Amateur Ham Radio Society. He loved all things "tech". Life I said previously - depression doesn't care who you are.

He died on August 7, 1995 - and boy if he could see how technology is now. I miss him.

The reason for this post?

I also suffer from depression. It can be the most crippling as it is a constant battle against myself and my mind. I have never been to the point of any suicidal thoughts, I think mainly because of the experience first hand I had with my dad's suicide and the impact that had on me. However, every single day is a fight. It is hard as hell, especially when you think that no one understands. There is still such an immense stigma toward mental illness. If you have depression, you are "just weak" or you "need to get over it and move on". I've literally heard that told to me in my life. I have been told that "it's all in my head" - ironically, duh - but that I should just be able to get past it.

I can't.

I can only treat it. I tried for several years to do it on my own. Then I sought help and have been on antidepressants since 2010. I've started off on Zoloft, then moved to Lexapro when that didn't work and made me feel worse. I was on Lexapro successfully until last year, when it began to dissipate and stopped working as well. We increased dosages. We then changed to other medicine: Wellbutrin (made me too hyper and couldn't sleep), Trintellix (saw no difference plus $300 a month, no thanks), and finally Prozac. We just got the dosage "right" on that and now it is getting easier.

Although - it is still a daily struggle.

I am almost always tired. I drink coffee it seems more and more each day. I am mean and irritable for no reason sometimes, just because of my illness. I recognize that and I can't help it, although I really do try. I cry over the most random things on occasion when I have a "bad day". I sleep until noon on a bad day, then am sometimes so overwhelmed and exhausted I'll take a 2-hour nap. The medicines keep my stomach almost constantly in knots. I can't remember a day where I have not had some sort of a headache.

With all that said - I still fight. I still love my family more than anything, and they are my world. My mom, brother, husband, sons... in laws and extended... they are amazing people.

My point...

Why am I sharing this? Why dive into all this? I am sick and tired of the negativity and the stigma surrounding mental illness. I am seeing too many great people die because of depression. Not just celebrities - I mean I lost my dad. My freaking father. Don't make a permanent decision when you don't know what tomorrow will bring.

If you are hurting, suicidal, cutting, depressed, anxious... GET HELP. You are loved and your life is worth it. I promise you - life is hard but there are people out there that will not judge you and will come to your side to help pick you up. There are text lines like the Crisis Text Line where you don't even have to call and speak to someone, you can text a live person who can walk you through your thoughts. If you do want to call, there is the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. There are sites where you can find free or reduced cost therapists in your area. There are resources. Hell, talk to me. Anyone who knows me knows that I am always around to listen, no matter what time of day. I may not have all the answers, but I will search until I find them.

Please, I beg all of you - get help if you even passingly think you may need it.

Life is precious.

-Kim

Home Chef Trial!

Recently, I was able to take advantage of a trial for Home Chef. I usually cook meals at home from my own recipes (or ones that I have found online), however often times it is the "same old stuff" and has gotten repetitive. Spaghetti, pork chops, chicken breasts, etc... all usually seasoned the same way because I have memorized the recipes and - honestly - it's easy to just throw something together! I love to cook - like really, really love to cook, but the depression I have has made me almost always exhausted and so cooking things from scratch or more complex takes a seat on "the back burner" *yes, pun intended*. 

So, when I got the offer to try Home Chef, I was really interested. I had seen ads ever for the "Fresh Dinner Delivery Services" but had not wanted to try them because I didn't see the value in them. I mean, I knew how to cook. I could look up a recipe and I could make it. What I was lacking was inspiration and the drive to want to make something "new". Not to mention, some of the recipes I have seen on services like Blue Apron, Plated, etc - they seemed intimidating, and although the recipes were there, if I wanted to just try a complex recipe with my own store bought ingredients, I would have to buy all the ingredients in FULL, not just the 2oz of whatever I need, and there goes the price $$$.

Here are the basic run-downs for Home Chef, thanks to A Common Connoisseur blog:

Price

• All Home Chef meals are priced at $9.95 per serving, however I have seen that every so often they offer a "premium" meal (for example, Filet Mignon) for $19.95 if you so choose. 
• Delivery is free for orders over $40, and they don’t charge sales tax. Shipping is $10 for orders less than $40.
• Select any number of dinner meals for 2, 4, or 6 people.
• They have no less than ten (yes, ten) different meal choices each week.
• Additional offers, if you choose: one breakfast ($9.95/serving), one smoothie ($4.95/serving) or one fruit basket ($4.95/serving)
• They offer many promotions in magazines, on Facebook or search “Home Chef” promo codes online.
• Active subscribers have access to a referral program, where you can earn credit for every referral that signs up with Home Chef. Both you and your reference will receive a $30 credit.

Delivery

• Can send weekly deliveries Tuesday through Friday.
• You can select the day of week that’s most convenient for you.
• You can skip weeks according to your availability or interest in the menu.
• Cancellation is easy, there is no committment whatsoever.

Menu

• You can choose any meals that you want, they are not automatically pre-selected and set in stone.
• They will offer suggestions based on your preferences but you can remove those from your cart very easily.
• Create a Diet Profile: Omnivore, Meat, Seafood, Pescatarian, Vegetarian and Vegan.
• Identify dietary preferences: ingredients to avoid, low-calorie or low-carb meals
• Offers subscriptions for gluten-free and dairy-free also.

The two meals I selected for the week were Parmesan Crusted Salmon with a Arugula and Tomato salad, and Pork Shumai Meatballs with Sugar Snap Peas. I have never made either at home, and the only time I have ever cooked salmon has been from a "ready made" recipe or bag from Publix. 

The box arrived (per FexEx) at 11:30am on a Friday. I was at work until 4pm and was slightly concerned, but I had read previous reviews that they pack everything very well with many ice packs and lots of insulation, so I was not terribly worried. I arrived home at 4:15pm and opened the box, and as I was told to expect everything was still very cold. 

Each meal had it's separate bag with all the ingredients needed, and the meat was vacuum packed for each meal. The vegetables were bright and fresh, from the arugula to the tomatoes, the single scallion and the two garlic cloves. Each was perfectly portioned for each meal, down to the 2oz of sesame oil and the 4oz of Ponzu sauce for the meatballs. Each bag and container was clearly labeled so I can grab each one very quickly during cooking. 

I am so happy to say, both dishes came out AMAZING. The instructions were extremely easy to follow and provided a much needed boost in ideas for cooking in my household. My husband and I loved each dish. The only modification I made was I added a pinch of Parmesan cheese to the Arugula and Tomato salad with the salmon, as I thought my husband may like it. Other than that one minor addition, I stuck strictly to each instruction for each recipe. 

Parmesan Crusted Salmon with Arugula and Tomato Salad

Pork Shumai Meatballs with Sugar Snap Peas

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone in a "cooking funk", or a couple who wants to add some different meals to their home menus. You can even do this for families, however our son is a very picky eater and refuses to eat anything that isn't bacon, toast, chicken nuggets, or other form of bland food. The portions are plentiful and it is easy to add a third piece of protein (or split the protein you have) to accommodate a third person, such as our teenager. 

By the way - the teenager was very excited! :)

If you would like to try it yourself, you can do so with a coupon for $30 off your first box at this link: Try Home Chef!

Happy cooking!

-Kim

WGU Calculator Policy

I am currently taking College Algebra in college at Western Governor's University - and just spent the past hour looking for their "acceptable" calculator's list! For those of you also looking for it, here it is as of TODAY, 7/8/2015!

The guidelines below are for internal WGU assessments.
 
Permitted Calculators
You may use one basic, scientific, business/financial, or graphing calculator, unless it has a built in computer algebra system (CAS). Some examples of acceptable calculators include: TI-30, TI-34, TI-36, Casio FX300, TI-82, TI-83, TI-83+, TI-84, TI-84+, TI-85, TI-86, and TI-Nspire (non-CAS), TI BA II Plus (NOT the Professional series), HP 10bII, HP 12c, HP 12cPlatinum, Sharp EL-738C, and Casio FC-200V. Calculators with paper tape are allowed if the tape is removed and they are not prohibited for other reasons.

Prohibited Calculators
The following types of calculators are prohibited:

• Calculators that include a computer algebra system (CAS) are not allowed. For example, the TI-89, TI-92, and TI-Nspire CAS, HP 48GII and other model numbers that begin with HP. 40G, HP 49G, or HP 50G are not allowed.
• Computers and PDAs are not allowed.
• Calculators with an electronic writing pad, pen-input device, or QWERTY (typewriter) keyboards are not allowed.
• Calculators that are part of electronic communication devices are not allowed. For example, cell phone calculators are not allowed.

Good luck! :)

-Kim

Pink Hair - Don't Care

I turned 31 on March 10th, and what better way to celebrate this month by going from this (dark brown hair):

Then to this... 

...and now to THIS!

Yes, I am 31 and added pink streaks to the underside of my hair. Yes, I am 31 and added bright, vibrant, magenta colored "peek a boo" highlights. Yes, I am 31, I am a mom, and I did something bold and colorful and crazy with my hair. 

If you don't like it, that's not my problem and frankly I don't really care, because I love it! <3 

-Kim

Another day, another story.

Well here I am again, Internet world/friends/family! It has been almost a year. I say everytime I update after a long period of time that "I hope to blog more" and "I will post more often". I cannot make that promise this time but I will try. Here is a summary in photos of what we have been up to.

We have spent time with the kids doing lots of small, quality time activities.

Weekly lunches with mommy at school

Bowling fun

Spring break 2015 at New Smyrna Beach

More bowling

Playing Mario Party 10 together

Universal Studios

We went on a cruise in November 2014 to the Eastern Caribbean

Saint Thomas (from the ship)

My boys in Puerto Rico

The bead king, Jacob with his brother Brad!

We listen to a lot of music and go to a lot of concerts

Vinyl records = the best

Brad met Keegan from Vinyl Theatre!

Twenty One Pilots are allllllways the best |-/

Fall Out Boy and Paramore

Hans and I are still very much in love and celebrated 8 years married

Hanging out in South Florida

Hot air balloon ride at Downtown Disney

Bradley is making great grades in high school this year and is officially in the Pre-IB program in 9th grade. He is so smart and is taking Pre-IB classes along with Honors and Gifted! He loves Twenty One Pilots, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and other rock bands. Basically he is a mini-me when it comes to music (see my shirt in the above photo? yep |-/). His room is covered in posters and string lights. He saved up his money for almost 18 months and paid for his own gaming desktop computer. He loves watching @carbonstealer do "speedruns" of Super Monkey Ball Deluxe on Twitch as do the rest of us. He wakes up at 4:50am each morning to shower, do his hair (he has longer hair now) and get ready for school. I still text him at 6:00am from my room to wish him a good day and tell him I love him. He is our goofy, funny, kind soul and he will be fifteen in 37 days. My gosh he will be old enough for his permit.

Jacob academically is doing fantastic in first grade. Behaviorally he is getting better. He is spunky and does what he wants to do when he wants to do it. He eats what he wants (unless we put our foot down) when he wants (unless we put our foot down). This means at school if he doesn't like the lunch, he buys a cookie and Cheez Its. If he is bored in class, he talks. Some days when he gets a "straight face" in class (the teacher grades behavior daily by smiley face, straight face, or sad face), I ask him why and I get this response: "Well I was talking and the teacher said to stop talking but I didn't hear her because well I was talking" - all in one breath. Then he smiles and shrugs. Most days we fight with him to do his homework but when he is done with it he is happy. He hates going to bed at night to this day and makes excuses to get up - "I want water", "I want a hug", "I am hungry" are all common excuses we hear. Ever since was old enough to get the world around him, he has not wanted to go to sleep because 1) he is afraid he will miss something and 2) he wants to be just like his big brother Bradley. Which brings me to that: my kids adore eachother. Even with the 8 year separation of age. Jacob copies Brad's likes and dislikes most often, and he wants to always do what Brad's doing. If Brad likes a song, Jake memorizes it and sings it with him. If Brad doesn't like a TV show, Jake doesn't either. It is frustratingly adorable at time - but most often more adorable than frustrating. Jake loves to go to the park, and play video games. He and I eat lunch together in the cafeteria of his school weekly on my day off. He loves swimming and he LOVES his "baby girl" Clara who sleeps with him every night. He is my sweetheart and as I tell him - my "favorite first grader in the whole world". 

Hans is still with his company and for the most part enjoys what he does. He is a part of the Tuesday softball league and the Thursday bowling league. He has recently decided to go back to college with me at Western Governor's University. I work evenings right now and he works his shift during the day, comes home, cooks/cleans/entertains the kids, and then spends time with me when I get home. He helps with homework and does laundry. He deals with meltdowns from the kids when Jake and his friends don't get along, and is still there to help his friend Bret take apart a car something-or-another when he needs it. He is the most genuine, humble, laid back man I know. And he chose me. How lucky am I? He seriously completes me. I am the planner, the A-type organizer, the goal setter, the "5-year-achievement" person. He is the sporadic, WhoNeedsACalendar, go with the flow man. I would not have it any other way.

We are all happy and (for me, mostly) healthy and thriving. The past year has been memorable and in a good way. 

As for me, my depression is mostly 99% in check, my anxiety is all but gone, and my migraines - well they are still there most months at least once. I have worked for a company since September that is incredibly pleasing, and the best part rarely if ever stressful. I am now on the Activities Committee and help with planning the celebrations and events in the center. I help write articles for the company informational emails. I have great perks, one of them being a great amount of vacation/sick time. I was able to take the week of Spring Break 2015 off and spend real quality time with the kids and with my husband. We had fun and no schedule to follow. I still love to cook and bake. I am a co-admin of a Facebook group where kindness is encouraged and vibrant - RAOK Angels. Those ladies are wonderful human beings and so bright and cheerful when I need it, and I am there when they need it. I am passing my classes in college and am taking extra classes to try to graduate sooner. Oh, and I recently went from a brunette to a blonde...

...and yes I can say blondes do have more fun. JK. :) 

We are all doing really, really well. Really well. We are just moving forward, enjoying life as it comes with it's ups and downs, highs and lows, twists and turns. We are doing it all together, as it should be. We are a solid family unit and we love eachother more than anything else in the world. 

-K

What Have I Been Up To?

Well let's see - so much has happened since my last post! No, I am not pregnant... (I'll just get that out of the way right now since that is the conclusion most people jump to) LOL.

The first thing that has happened is I have enrolled back in college. This is something that I have personally wanted to do for quite a while and it was just exacerbated when I turned "30" back in March. It is as if something clicked and I knew it was now or never. I had to finish and wanted to finish. After much discussion with my husband and research on schools, I have enrolled in Western Governor's University which is based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

They are not-for-profit which is very important to me (having worked in Financial Aid for a "for-profit" school in the past - no bueno), they are Regionally accredited (again, working for a Nationally accredited school and seeing the difference in how those types of degrees are perceived makes a difference), and they offer support and mentoring weekly or bi-weekly throughout the entire process. It's like having my own cheerleader and assistant all in one. My mentor calls each week and we talk and she asks how I am, and what my plans are for my studies for the week. Additionally, it is a competency based university. This means if I learn a topic sooner than the term end date, I can test out of it when I want to. If I take the pre-assessment at the beginning of a course and pass, and I know the material, I can schedule my final assessment right there and test out of the class. This will help me graduate much sooner than anticipated. I am already about to test out of my first class, Organizational Behavior and Leadership. I have been in it for three weeks but with my industry knowledge and consistent studying - I know the material. I have setup my own office in the guest room. I have my goals printed out in front of me on the wall and also a dry erase board with my goal dates and study schedule for my classes (those were added after the photo below).

I have the full support of not just my husband but my kids! Bradley loves that I am back in college and wants to help me in every way he can with the "difficult math" part (I really don't like algebra - at all). Jacob recognizes when I am in the office studying and only comes to get me if he really needs something (for the most part - sometimes he just needs a hug, which is fine with me)! It has been great so far and I am enjoying being back in school and working towards my degree.

The second thing that has happened is that I finally, reluctantly had to get all my wisdom teeth extracted on May 17th. It was expected but unexpected at the same time. I am in my fourth day of recovery and so far it hasn't been too horribly bad. Is there pain? Yes. I am not going to lie and say it is all rainbows and unicorns! For years (yes, years) I realized now in hindsight that I had been in constant pain every day with headaches that I just attributed to life and stress. With the two wisdom teeth now gone (I only had two that ever developed on my upper jaw, my lower ones never developed - yay) I realized that the pain may have been caused by them and the below cartoon illustrates perfectly why:

That's my wisdom teeth on both sides. They came in fine but they wanted to push into the second molars I had on BOTH sides. This was causing pain not so much in the tooth at first but in my upper jaw which I thought was - my head. I can't express the pressure that was removed from my sinus/ear/head area when the teeth were removed. It was strange but I guess I never thought that my wisdom teeth could have been causing so many issues when I had thought they grew in fine. 

The reason they had to be extracted all of a sudden was because my left upper wisdom did begin hurting last week - a lot. I made a dentist appointment for today actually, but by Saturday I woke up with a throbbing pain in my tooth and a severe headache. The pain was so bad all my anxiety and fear of the dentist went out the window! Hans had taken the kids to McDonald's for breakfast and I called him and told him I was taking his car and going to a dentist I had found in Altamonte Springs, FL to check me out and if necessary pull the tooth. I had called several Lake Mary dentists and none had any availability at that moment. I then called Dr. David Hazan, DMD and his secretary said he could see me right then. So, in the car I went for the 25 minute drive. When I got there, I was checked in and Dr. Hazan took a set of X-Rays which confirmed that I had a nice size chip in my top left wisdom tooth that had happened and that is what was causing the issue. On top of that, both wisdom teeth had to be pulled because of the above "illustration": Where I thought they came in fine, they only partially came in and part was still pushing against my other molars and (he said) was a great deal of the cause of my daily pain. Without hesitation, I called Hans and told him I was getting those teeth pulled. He was so worried and wanted to see if I needed him there but I was composed and told him I would be okay. 

(Don't worry this did not happen, LOL)

I laid back in the dentist chair and the honest to God worst part was the shot of Novocain. That needle hurt so bad and he jammed it right up against my jaw bone on both sides. After that kicked in I was okay other than well, the fear. I was composed until he announced it was time to remove them. I felt a lot of pressure but zero pain. Before I knew it he had the right one out. Then he went onto the left and again, a lot of pressure and before I knew it he was done. The whole process from Novocain to the second extraction took maybe 10 minutes. He then put a bunch of gauze on the areas and gave me some prescriptions for pain and antibiotics and sent me home. I rested a lot on Saturday and Sunday, and was back at work yesterday (and in a little pain). Today I woke up with a headache and facial/jaw pain but nothing that two Advil couldn't cure. I am still having to eat soft foods and soup which is the most annoying part! Other than that - I am so happy they're gone.

What else has happened? Oh! Bradley had Strabismus Eye Surgery on April 24th. The surgery took just under an hour and corrected an "eye crossing" problem with his left eye that he has had since he was 5. He always wore glasses since then and they had been working, but with his age and hormones and growing up so fast his eye muscles couldn't keep up anymore. Thus, the glasses stopped working and surgery was the only real option. The surgery was a huge success and the eyeglass prescription he has now is almost nonexistent. In fact, he can see almost perfect without glasses and when he has them off, his eye no longer turns at all. Praise the Lord. 

(Brad on his way to his 8th Grade Dance)

Also, speaking of my oldest - Bradley turned 14 on May 3rd! He has become such an amazing young man and is so smart. Recently at school he received the Silver Medal award for holding a consistent 3.50-3.74 GPA in his Pre-IB and Gifted program classes for his entire 8th grade year. We are so incredibly proud of him, how he is growing up, and all that he continues to accomplish. He loves his family, he cherishes his friends, and loves the Lord and our church we have been attending. He has a servant's heart and I know he will do great things in his life. I just have that "mommy instinct". It is also so hard to believe that he is starting high school in the Fall. Time flies...!

(Brad walking away after receiving his award)

That is all the updates I have for now. I will be posting more later! 

-Kim

Making a Living vs. Making a Life

This was on my Facebook feed posted by someone else this this morning - and I also have a piece of art with this saying in our home hanging above family photos. This couldn't be more true.

Money comes and goes. Sometimes you have a lot of it (or if you are really fortunate, you *always* have a ton of it), sometimes you are at the bottom of the barrel like I was at times growing up in my teens. Regardless of your situation, don't let work or a job rule over you and the time you spend with your spouse and/or kids. Don't let work take all your time away from family dinners, vacations, reading bedtime stories, helping with homework, talking, etc. These moments go all too soon.

In four short years Bradley will be 18 and off to college somewhere. It could be in Florida or it could be across the US for all we know. Jacob is already six years old and is getting out of the stage of wanting to be held and cuddled.

This quote is something very important to me.

We try to do things and communicate with Brad no matter the topic. We hold Jacob and watch kid movies with him. We try to do family dinners as often as we can. We do mini weekend trips. We go to free festivals and farmer's markets. Hans and I still have date nights and time together as a married couple and not just as "parents", whether it is out at a restaurant or at home after the kid are asleep. These are just some ideas and not all have to cost money.

If you take anything away from my little "soapbox" moment - take this: Love your spouse and your children. Spend time with them. Don't put every waking moment into something else and ignore the family you have. Before you know it, children are grown and moved out of the house and those moments you may have had with them young won't come again.

Magic Kingdom with Jacob (when I was a blonde!)

Riding the Peoplemover with Brad

Home Depot building workshops with Jake + Hans

You're never too old to take out Zurg on Buzz Lightyear

Teaching Brad how to make Jambalaya

Date night with Hans at Willow Tree Cafe in Sanford, FL

Jake loving on Mommy for a "selfie"