Typical Morning.....

This is just a glimpse into a typical morning in the Hougham household. Lately, since I've been so busy with work, I head out the door before anybody else in the house is up. (Chase has become pretty attached lately and will at times have a meltdown for 10 min after I leave. So for the sake of all parties involved, I head off to work before he wakes.) Jordan usually doesn't have to be at work til 9 or 10, so he gets morning duty. :)

Daddy runs the show in the morning since I'm gone. Wait......what I meant to say was that the BOYS run the show, as evidenced by this picture:

•  Chase is enjoying: french toast sticks, blueberry muffins, Go-gurt, and Cheezits
•  Each kid gets their own iPad to watch their selected cartoons on
•  Chase, being the big independent boy lately, has dragged his chair from the playroom into the 
   kitchen so that he can climb up into a chair.
  
•  Moments after this picture, Austin went to school with rain boots on, despite the bright sunny 
   day in TX.
  

Needless to say, once you have kids, you learn to pick your battles and let the little things slide. :)



Speaking of mornings, I started bootcamp this week. That means that I drag my tired butt out of bed at 4:45 for an hour tortuous workout MWF. I looked pretty silly walking around the office this week, as my entire body ached and muscles I didn't even remember I had were sore. I definitely got my ass handed to me these first few sessions. It's definitely been too long since this body was pushed! But I'm sticking with it, even though I curse myself when the alarm goes off wondering why I ever thought it was a good idea to sign up for a workout at 5am. We're less than 3 months away from vacation, so desperate times call for desperate measures!

Quick Weekend Getaway!

With all the craziness with both mine and Jordan's jobs lately, we were long overdue for some downtime with the family. On a rare occasion, he was slotted for a 3-day weekend, which never ever happens. So we knew we had to take advantage of it. We talked about doing something with our great friends/neighbors, the Maples, for a few weeks, and ultimately decided to spend the weekend with them at their family's lakehouse. It's only a little over an hour away, so it was still close but far enough for some peace and quiet. 

I had planned to work from home til lunch on Friday, so that we could head out shortly after that. Unfortunately, something for work came up late Thursday night that required me to go into the office Friday morning. Needless to say, this did not make me a happy camper. It was nearly 2pm before I was able to tear myself away from the office. Luckily, by the time I got home, Jordan had already gone to the grocery store, packed up the boys stuff, and required very little minimal effort on my part.  But let's be honest, packing up for two boys, even for a weekend, is quite a chore. After getting the truck loaded down, we picked up the boys from school on the way out of town. The boys were so excited, yelling about going to the lakehouse.  Where we were going, there was basically no signal at all, which meant no cell phone and no email access. Uh oh. There were a couple fire drills happening at work on Friday, and here I was heading down to the lake with no access to the outside world. Fortunately, I was able to find one corner of the loft where I could get one bar and get my email to sync up every now and then.

The three amigos feeding bread to the ducks off the dock

Laying down watching the fishies

We had a great time relaxing, feeding the ducks, feeding the fish, and just running around outside. All the fun definitely wore the kiddos out.  We also found out that my former H.S. accounting teacher (and now 'life mentor') was staying just around the corner with her family at her lakehouse as well. So we ventured out and got to visit with them on Saturday afternoon. Once again, the boys had a blast and even got to go for a boat ride.  (Of course, I didn't have my camera. Holding onto two boys near water had my heart racing all weekend.) Austin even got to drive the boat; and may have started calling one of the girls (well woman, since she just graduated college!) his girlfriend! Oh, my little lover boy! Though, for some reason, I don't think her fiance feels threatened at all.

The boys playing cars up on the deck 

Chase Chase being a ham

Austin looking like such a big boy

 

Chase playing with our St. Patty's Day beads the morning after

On Saturday night, our friend's grandparents offered to watch all four of the kids for us, so that the adults could venture out to grab a bite to eat and a few drinks. Such a brave woman she was! We were so thankful for the 'adults-only dinnertime', and quickly put all of them to bed when we got back to the house. Then it was time to continue our celebration and relaxation with some more drinking out on the deck. Christy and I knocked out a couple batches of some delicious rum punch, while the boys stuck to beer and whiskey.  Needless to say, we were all a giggling mess out on the deck before midnight. (We had brought our video monitor, so we were able to keep an eye on the kiddos sleeping while we had some fun.)

I don't know why we both always end up in blue Under Armour shirts!

Me and my cup of delicious rum punch!

We definitely had a great time on our little weekend getaway. The time definitely flew by and it was time to load up and head back before we knew it. We're hoping our kids weren't too crazy and that we get invited back again. ;)

Now, back to reality tomorrow. :(

Spring Update

Work has nearly been consuming me lately and I absolutely hate that. Needless to say, I've been busier than I had ever expected, given that I left the audit world behind! But we're dealing with it the best we can, and I'm trying my hardest to spend as much time with the boys as I can. And there is very little time for blogging these days. :(

Chase trying to distract me in the office on a Sunday afternoon :)

I went back to the endocrinologist this week and got excellent news. My levels are finally where they need to be, after trying different dosages of my meds the past few months. And my scar from the surgery has healed up quite nicely. It still tingles a little, so I try not to touch it. I'm hoping once I get a tan, it will hide it a little more. :) Anyways, no more monthly trips back to the doc; I don't have to report back for 6 months, unless I start feeling 'off'. Let's hope that doesn't happen again!

Sooooo, my sweet Chase Chase. This kid has gone from a toddler to a little boy in about two days!  He refuses to use his booster seat at the kitchen table now. Instead, he proudly drags a stool in the kitchen, and uses it to climb into his big boy chair. So, we've packed up the booster! The other night Jordan and I were trying to put him to bed, and he just hiked his leg over his crib and started climbing out! And then did it again. It's been about a year since we took a 2am trip to the ER when he climbed out in the middle of the night and got a pretty good bump on his head. He's over 2 now, so we resigned to the fact that it was probably time to upgrade to a big boy bed finally. His crib converts to a full-size bed (using the front/back as a headboard/footboard), so Jordan and I bought him a mattress Friday afternoon and started the transformation. Bye-bye crib, glider/ottoman, and changing table! I ordered him some new bedding this week and it should be here in a day or so. I'll post some pics when the room and everything is all complete. We're sticking with the planes, trains, automobiles theme, and I've added a few new things to his room, including hanging some airplanes from his ceiling. :)

 He looks so grown-up in his bed!

Friday night was his first night in his bed. He seemed so confused when we left him in there! We watched him on the video monitor for a few minutes as he wandered around his room crying (I guess he didn't think he could open the door to escape!). So, I laid down in his bed with him and he went right to sleep! I had only intended to stay for a few minutes, but before I knew it, it was 8am! (Jordan and I had gone to dinner and had a few drinks, and it was the perfect amount to make me sleepy.) Yesterday at nap time, he insisted I lay with him again. He was facing me and I was so sure he had finally drifted off, when I whispered 'Love, Love' to him (that's our family's twist on I love you). He popped his eyes open and whispered back to me 'Wuv, Wuv Mommy'. I got teary-eyed and snuggled with him for a few more minutes. Anyways, he seems to love that dang bed and all the 'air-panes' I hug from his ceiling. Getting so big!!

We tied Chase's wagon to Austin's Jeep so he could be pulled around, and LOVED it!

He's also chatting up a storm these days and picking up new words left and right. Some of my favorite things out of his mouth:  If I ask a question to the boys (i.e. Who wants a juice box?), Chase excitedly raises his hand and yells 'Me, Me, Me!'. And lately he thinks it's funny to call me 'Mom' (instead of Mommy). His personality is definitely in full force! If we could just get him potty-trained, we would be awesome! :)

As for Austin, he's as crazy as ever. This kid has bundles of energy and is constantly running laps around the house. We'll be signing up for spring t-ball again, so that will be an adventure coming up soon!

Austin sporting Daddy's football helmet from high school

Jordan and I finally booked everything for our anniversary trip! We've kinda changed our plan a little bit. We're now spending two days in Miami, before heading out on a 5-day cruise to the Bahamas and Turks & Caicos. We've been on five cruises together (including our honeymoon), and we love them. Everything's all packaged up for us, lots of choices of activities, and we get to visit multiple locations. We're excited and the next 3 months will fly by (hopefully!). And I think we've got childcare all squared away while we're gone. I'm super-excited about our trip, but nervous about being away from my boys for so long. :(