Hippity Hop!

Ok, so I'm only a week past Easter, so I'm not too far behind on blogging. :)  Easter kinda snuck up on us this year, along with everything else these days. There are seriously not enough hours in the day lately!

Unfortunately, I had to work on Good Friday; although I was able to sneak away early so that we could go watch the boys' egg hunts at school. After each of them had their fun, we ventured home to enjoy the beautiful weather outside. There's no doubt that these kids love to play outside, so we took full advantage of it.

We were supposed to go to a going away get-together for one of Jordan's co-workers on Saturday night, so MawMaw and PawPaw kept the boys overnight for us. Our kids can get pretty rowdy and rambunctious at times, so I always get nervous when I have to unleash their terror on others. But as they always seem to do, they were on their best behavior for them. Sunday morning we headed out to Jordan's parents for his side of the family's gathering. The boys were excited to see us, too! After stuffing our bellies, the boys and their three cousins got to hunt eggs in the backyard and then proceeded to eat their weight in jelly beans and M&Ms.

As we approached nap time, we rounded up the boys, said our goodbyes, and headed back home. After getting a quick power nap in on the drive home, the boys raced inside to see what the Easter Bunny had left them. My side of the family then gathered at our house for some festivities. We colored eggs in the driveway, had an egg-hunt, played baseball, and then grilled out. It was a crazy afternoon, but full of fun for sure!

Here's some pics from our Easter celebrations!

The boys with MawMaw and PawPaw

Our attempt at a family pic

Love him!

Austin on the hunt!

Chase showing off his finds!

Coloring eggs

A little batting practice with Daddy

High fives!

Meow Meow & LoLo trying to get the boys to pose

The boys were excited about their own table for dinner (Chase even decided to ditch his pants!)

Austin enjoying a banana split for dessert!

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. :(

Gender Reveal: IT'S A........

The time finally came yesterday for the gender reveal for Baby Harrington. I've been excited all week; I even left my laptop at home yesterday morning because I was distracted remembering my camera for the big reveal dinner. Whoopsie. Anyways, I wore my pink cardigan in support of my Team Pink choice. Don't get me wrong; I'd be happy with either a niece or nephew, but we need to bring some girls into this mix! I've got two boys and Jordan's sister has three boys, so I was hoping my sister could bring some estrogen to the mix.  

Kat & Lo brought cupcakes to dinner, topped with both pink and blue frosting. But the secret was in the filling!  We all anxiously peeled back the cupcake wrapper and bit into it to reveal the gender.Well, the verdict is in...........

IT'S A BOY!!!!!

Crap! I was wrong! But I'm super-excited about my new little nephew! And I love the name they picked out for him! (I don't know if I'm authorized to release it yet, so you won't hear it from me!)  Needless to say, I'll be cleaning out the attic and handing over boxes of little boy clothes, blankets, and toys to my sister. Eeeeeek! I can't wait! Aunt Jen Jen and Uncle JoJo are so excited, as are cousins Austin and Chase! I'm sure my boys will show Baby Boy Harrington the ropes! Now time to get going on throwing a super-fabulous baby shower. You know how much I like to throw a good party/shower. ;)

**UPDATE-----I can share.......his name will be Connor William! Love it! He already sounds like an all-American baseball player; just what Logan has wanted! :)

Catch Up Time

Geez, time has really gotten away from me lately and I've been falling behind on my blogging duties. So forgive my rambling as I provide an overall update on our crazy life.

Work has still been pretty hectic, but I'm hanging in there. I've still been able to from home about 2 days a week, so that's been pretty sweet. However, staring at my computer screens at eAudIT for 12 hours a day has started taking a toll on my eyesight. Finally broke down and went to the eye doctor last week and got me some new specs; it's amazing what I can see now!  I made some goodies (red velvet whoopie pies) the other night and went out to visit my old audit team after work. It was great to see them and fill their bellies with some sweets to keep them working.  I miss them and my duties as 'homeroom mom'!

The boys are getting crazier by the day.  Chase is starting to talk alot more and is such a giggle monster. Although, his favorite word.......No!! And he's still a big ol' Momma's Boy and latches onto me like a little monkey at any chance he can get. We're going to be looking to move Chase out of his crib here pretty soon and upgrading him to a big boy bed. I'm sure he'll love that new freedom, and I'll hate the fact that he can get out of his bed anytime he wants!  Austin is 4, acting like he's 10 years old lately. He's so independent, that it's frustrating at times. He called me 'Jennifer' the other day, that little turkey! And boy, can he be cranky in the mornings; but I think he gets that from me! But overall, they are both the sweetest boys.....my boys. Last Sunday I had sat them down at the kitchen table to eat lunch, while I went to put some laundry in the wash. When I walked back through, they were holding hands at the table saying their prayer. It melted my heart and I just had to stop and stare. I can't even hardly remember what life was like before they were in it. 

Things with Jordan and I are great. We try to sneak in some alone time whenever we can. If he has a day off, I try to work from home if possible, so that we can go to lunch or something. I still can't believe that in a few months we will have been married for TEN YEARS! That is freakin' crazy! Not many people get married at the age of 21 and remain together for this long. The divorce rate in this country is out of control. But here we are, still together. We were different people back then when we got married and we've both done some growing up, learned more about each other, give each other what we need, and love unconditionally. It hasn't always been smiling faces and roses, but we're in a better place right now than we have been in a long time. And I'm thankful for that.  (Eeeek, we were so young here!)

We're two weeks away from finding out the gender of my future niece/nephew and I can barely contain my excitement. I've got my money on a girl; maybe I'm just secretly hoping for some estrogen to try to even out all these boys in my life! Needless to say, once the gender is revealed, I'll be shopping to spoil this little one in no time. My sister definitely set a precedent with my boys, so now it's my turn! So stay tuned for the big announcement (once she gives me the green light). ;)  The boys spent the night with MeowMeow and LoLo last weekend and had a BLAST! They did so much in 24 hours and were completely pooped. I have to get every minute of babysitting out of them before they have their own kid!

My thyroid (or lack thereof, I guess now) is still causing me some problems. Since having surgery back in November, my body is still out of whack. I can't get my body temperature regulated and am constantly freezing cold. I walk around the house in a hoodie all the time and crank up the heat until Jordan yells at me.  And my sleep patterns are thrown off; it's usually one extreme or the other. I'm either completely exhausted and can barely keep my eyes open, or I'm exhausted but my mind won't shut off and I'm up til 2am. So it's definitely a vicious cycle and hard to catch up. I've been going back to the endocrinologist every 4 weeks for updated bloodwork to try to get my dosage right on my meds. Hopefully it will happen soon! My incision is still pretty tender and still feels a little weird if I touch it (or if one of the boys throw me an elbow!). I've also joined the weightloss challenge at work. And let me tell you how not-excited I was when I found out that it was a male HR employee that weighed us in; I was completely expecting a woman. So now it's go-time. Time to start eating better again and making time to work out. To help motivate me with the workouts, I signed up to start another boot camp in two weeks.......at 5am. Ugh, oh how I am dreading getting up that early again! But I need a group atmosphere to get me going. The bootcamps I did last spring really helped me slim down for Kat's wedding, so it's time to do it again and stick to it this time!

On a happier note, we're trying to finalize our vacation plans for June. But we're rethinking Hawaii and considering going on another cruise instead. We've been on five together and really liked the idea that everything is all organized for us and we can get to visit multiple destinations. We've been to Grand Cayman, Puerto Rico, Belize, Cabo, Puerto Vallarta, Cozumel, St. Thomas, etc.  So many awesome places!  We know we like cruises, so we may just do that again and renew our vows on a beach at one of the destinations. And let's face it, a beach is a beach. And Hawaii is expensive as hell. And I want my new Tahoe this summer! :)

That's it for now; off to finish my glass of wine and then heading to bed (hopefully)!

It's a Love Fest!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Are we really in mid-February already?! Goodness, it seems like Christmas was just last week. I sent the boys off to school this morning with Avengers valentines for Austin and Mickey valentines for Chase, complete with M&Ms. As I was writing out the valentines, Austin and I had a very interesting conversation about all of the girls in his class that he was going to kiss. What?! He was giggling when he was telling me about the each of the little girls. He can't be girl crazy yet, right? I don't even have to ask about Chase, because he's such a little cuddle bear, I have no doubt that he's passing out hugs and kisses left and right.  Those boys are crazy and are sure to be heartbreakers.

Jordan came downtown to my office to take me to lunch today.  He even wore a shirt and tie on his day off for me! I also had some amazing tulips (my fave!) and a card waiting for me this morning before I went to work.  As you can imagine, finding time for a meal alone can be challenging with two rascals running around. Tomorrow we've both got the day off and are going to have a date-day. Yay! I think I've got Jordan talked into going to see the new movie based on a Nicholas Sparks book (I'm a sucker for a love story!) The last movie we saw was Zero Dark Thirty, so it's my pick this time!

Alright, back to work! I'll give more of an update on what's been going on in our lives soon!