Celebrating the Mommas!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Today is the day we celebrate all the Mommas! Including me! Hopefully by the time this posts, the boys will have treated me to breakfast in bed (or at least let me sleep in on Sunday).  Jordan said he was going to put a big bow on my Tahoe and call it a day. That's fine, as long as he's got a card to go with it! :)

I have been a mother for 4 1/2 years now. It's the most exhausting, yet rewarding job ever.  These boys are so incredible and they brighten my day, no matter what. The moment I first held Austin in my arms, it was the  most amazing feeling I have ever experienced. And it got even better when Chase came along. Both of the boys are 100% Momma's Boys and I love every minute of it! (Okay, well there are a few times where Chase tries my patience when I'm trying to get ready in the morning and he only wants Mommy to get him ready.) But they give the best hugs and kisses! I cannot imagine my life without those kiddos in it.

And Happy Mother's Day to my mom. Geez, we've had a rough time over the past couple years. But I think things are finally turning around for us and we're going to be able to move forward and continue to build our relationship back to where it should be. But I'm thankful that you raised me right, teaching me to work hard and stand up for whatever I believe in.

And I have to let Jordan give a shout-out to his Momma, too!  He's the man I love and an incredible father to our boys, so she must have done something right! ;)

And finally, to the soon-to-be-momma, my sister! She's been such an incredible aunt to our boys, and I know she's going to be an amazing mom to sweet little Connor!

Friday Surprises!

Last Friday, I had the most AMAZING day! Typical of my usual Fridays, Jordan was off and I was working from home. For some reason we got to talking that morning, and he agreed that we could go 'look' at some Tahoes that afternoon at a dealership. Mind you, I've been talking about that damn Tahoe for months, and I had finally agreed to wait until June. I don't know if I just caught him in a generous mood, but he agreed and I ran with it! But I knew if I went to 'look', I wouldn't want to just walk away and go home in my old ride. Anyways, Jordan had errands to run, so I continued to work. (Well, as best I could, despite my giddiness over possibly getting a new vehicle.)

Jordan came home from getting his haircut and doing whatever else, and brought brisket tacos home for us for lunch. After my little lunch break, we continued to discuss my Tahoe possibilities. I thought I might up my game and do some additional 'persuasion' (wink, wink!). Getting ready to work my magic in the bedroom and then all of a sudden Jordan drops to his knee and whips out a ring box! What the hell?! I'm ready to get frisky on a Friday afternoon and he's pulling a diamond ring out of his pocket. So of course tears start flowing down my cheeks as I check out my early-anniversary bling. Wow, I really have my work cut out for me now, showing appreciation for diamonds and the possibility of a Tahoe. :)

Fast forward a bit later, and I'm tearing apart the house trying to find the title to my CR-V, 'just in case' we find something we like today. I knew I had just seen the title somewhere, but then I couldn't find it, ugh! After a 45 minute search, we located it. I IM'd my staff telling them I was checking out early that day, and headed to the closest Chevrolet dealership. Holy crap, we're really doing this! Three hours later we were signing papers! Eeeeeeek! However, I would have to wait a few days while they located my black on black Chevy Tahoe Texas Edition. Then they would need some additional time to put on some different wheels, install headrest monitors in the back for the boys, and turn my Chevrolet bowties black. Which brings me to today, when I finally got to pick up my sweet ride! Needless to say, I am one happy momma!

I don't know how I'm ever going to be able to top the Friday I had last week! Definitely feeling a little spoiled! :)

Check out my sweeeet ride!!

I'm in love!!!

It was a tight fit and took some rearranging, but we managed to fit them both in! Definitely glad we paid the extra money to extend the garage when we had the house built! Mr. & Mrs. Black.....

Road Show!

With this new position I'm in at work, part of my job is to help assemble training materials for the firm. (Yeah, who would have thought 8 years ago that this would be ME?!) My group is putting on about 70 workshops across the U.S. this Spring.

Last week, I got to travel to my first workshop in Raleigh, NC. My trip was booked at the last minute, so the only flight available was first-class. Why, YES, I would love to fly first class when I don't have to pay for it! And wow, what an experience. Is this how the rich people travel? I could get used to this!  My flight was delayed going out, so Jordan and I stopped at a Chili's on the way to the airport to kill some time and have a few drinks. Once I was seated in my roomy seat (of which my 5'1" frame didn't know what to do with), I enjoyed a three-course meal and more free alcohol. Let's just say by the time my plane landed at 11pm in a new city, I was glad I had a car service already lined up that knew where to take me. After just 8 hrs at the hotel, I headed to the Raleigh KPMG office at 7:30am to start prepping for my workshop. And my head may have been pounding just a little bit by now. After instructing for 4 1/2 hours, I was headed back to the airport to catch a flight back home. I was literally gone for less than 24 hours! But I was thankful to see some cute guy waiting for me at baggage claim to whisk me away back home!

Over the next month, I'll also get to travel to OKC, Kansas City, Houston, and Shreveport. All short trips, but those are the ones that seem to tire me the most because I'm on the go so much. But I literally hate public speaking, and it was in my goals this year to do some instructing to help me get over it. So it's good for me, I guess.

Then before I  know it, Jordan and I will  be headed to Miami to begin our anniversary trip and jump on the cruise ship. Can't believe we're less than two months away from vacation. And my new Tahoe. Man, it's going to be a fabulous summer! :)

(I wish I had a picture of me enjoying first class, but I guess I was too busy taking advantage of the free booze!)

Brotherly Love

Chase has been in his big-boy bed for nearly a month now. He's done pretty good. Although, there have been a few times where we've been woken up at 3am as snack bags of Cheezits and Oreos were being flung at us. Apparently the little guy has gotten the munchies a few times in the middle of the night, gone to the pantry, and brought snacks to us. Crazy kid!

This past weekend, I went to go tuck in the boys and check on them around midnight before heading to bed myself. I opened Chase's door, only to find that he wasn't in his bed. Not hiding in the closet, or even in the laundry hamper (despite the fact that he had completely emptied it all out). I started to panic a little bit. But then I peeked into Austin's room, and there he was. He had snuck out of his room (blankie and all) and climbed up into his bubba's bed. It was seriously the sweetest thing. Now the past few nights all he's been talking about is sleeping in bubba's bed!

Play Ball!!

Since work has been ridiculous lately, I was finally able to get a few days off this past week. Jordan and I had been planning to go to the Texas Rangers home opener for a few weeks. He's been the past few years, but I decided I wanted to attend the fun this year. Logan also joined us, along with one of his friends, so we would have an even 4. We got to the ballpark at around 9am to start our celebrations in the parking lot. I don't usually tailgate very often, so this was a little new for me. And being there with three guys, lets just say that I got to listen to some interesting conversations. We grilled out and enjoyed some beers, enjoying the perfect weather for some baseball. For some reason I thought it was a good idea to bring a bottle of vodka to enjoy as well. I obviously didn't realize how much I had drank (or the effects) until it was time to jump off the tailgate and head into the ballpark for the 1pm game. We had a great time, and somehow I was magically transported from the game back home by my wonderful husband. :)

Definitely something I will make sure I get to attend again next year!

Beers for breakfast!

The boys

Vodka Jen = kissy Jen

And more beers in the Ballpark

 

The four of us!

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!