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
