Out of our hands

A lot of people woke up this morning very angry and upset...me included. I didn't and still don't understand why America voted the way they did. I went in to work and everyone had the same attitude. We all know the President isn't in control, God is but that is hard to remember sometimes. God knows why this happened and he has a reason for it. Like always we don't know why but one day we will.

It all goes back to my motto of the year..everything happens for a reason. Over the past few weeks a lot has happened in our lives.

 -We found out our daycare that Kelsey started at when she was 1 an Hayden has always been at is closing. After getting over the initial shock I am heartbroken. Me and everyone who went there. Today was Hayden's last day there and it kills me to think he doesn't understand what is happening. Tomorrow his little world is going to turn upside down. I know it is happening for a reason, but why?
- Travis got laid off the day after I found out about the daycare. This is the 2nd time from this company..we are done. We kinda knew to expect it but at the same time it is always hard to accept. He is working a part time job when the guy needs him and collecting unemployment when he can. Another thing that we don't understand why it happened, but in the back of my mind I know there is a reason.
-I found out I have to go to court for the ticket I got from my accident in August. I am terrified. So totally scared. I am praying it all works out and I will just pay my fine and be on my way, but the thought of standing in a court room with the man I hit gives me nightmares...again it is happening for a reason.

 I guess the whole theme of this post is most things is our lives are out of our control. I think that is one of the hardest things about trusting in God completely is letting him be in control. He wants us to trust in him and know that everything will work out and be ok, but we (i) want to keep fighting for control. I hate not knowing what is going to happen or why something is happening. Sometimes it might be better not to know, and I believe if we are meant to know we will find out when the time is right.
I just keep telling myself over and over...everything happens for a reason. God has a plan and I think a big part of that plan is to get us to give control to him and trust in him completely.

I hope everyone has a good night.

I will be back with a update on how Hayden did at his new school and a update on Kelsey soon!

Bubble Boy!

Here is a picture of Hayden in the tub tonight....

Before he went to bed he decided to tell me over and over again that he is a boy..a boy not a girl. I am so glad he knows the difference :)


I hope everyone has a great Friday!

Boots

Hayden has decided to start picking out his clothes...or just shoes. My child has been obessed with shoes for some time now, he likes to show everyone he meets his shoes..even if you have already seen them 100+ times. When I used to drop him off at daycare in the mornings when Shari was there he would stick his foot out every morning to show her his shoes. Apparently he did it multiple times a day...haha funny boy.

Now he has found rain boots in his closet. He is OBSESSED with these boots. You may laugh and by all means laugh...he loves them! Since Sunday afternoon I have had to tear these boots out of his death grip to pry them off his little sweaty feet.

I have composed some pictures to prove it....please note the pictures of him sleeping with them on :)

Weekend Rewind :)

I suppose I will make this a weekly thing.

Friday- After work and dinner we headed to the mall to take Hayden to make his paci bear. I saw online that build a bear had a cow and since he loves them I figured we would leave with that one, but I was wrong. He picked a camo bear instead. He wasn't interested at all in making it though. He did put the heart in and the paci in but wouldn't do anything else. As the weekend went on he started to become more interested in it, he gets so excited when he sees it and shows us where the paci is...cute stuff!

Saturday- I got up early to head to the barn to help with some lessons and help evaluate a pony for therapy lessons and summer camp. Lessons went great, I always have so much fun. The eval went wonderful to...anyone looking for a awesome pony let me know! She is here on lease for the summer but is also up for sale! "Jasmine" came from a owner who has CP so she knows the therapy part, but she is also a western pleasure and hunter/jumper trained...wow. Lets just say she will clean up at a WP show. Her little pony trot is wonderful when she frames up. I got the chance to hop on her for a little bit...it was a funny site I might add but it was fun :)

Travis left to go camping soon after I got home, and the kids were taking a nap. I cleaned up a little and when they woke up we headed over to Shari neighborhood pool. Kelsey is a fish and Hayden has always been timid near a pool, but not anymore! I have never heard a kid laugh so much! He loved it. Thank you Mrs. Shari for such a fun time :) After we swam we went to visit my parents for a few minutes and then headed home. I caught up on a few things off the DVR but was so tired I went to bed pretty early.

Sunday- of course my children woke up before it was even light outside! We just hung around the house and Travis came home around 9, then the kids took a early nap and I did some more cleaning/laundry/DVR catch up. When they woke up Travis played with them why I went a took a nap. When I got up we went grocery shopping, came home, had baths, went to bed and here we are....

Just in case you all are wondering...my garden is doing ok! Everything looks like it will survive. Our cucumbers aren't standing anymore, but I think that is the way they are supposed to be. There are tons of buds and blooms on everything, so maybe this week we will have little veggies popping up!.

I hope everyone has a great week :)

Finally Friday

I am pretty glad it is Friday! This is the first weekend in a long time that we don't have plans every minute and I might even get some time to clean :) As I said earlier this week, Travis is going camping tomorrow night. He is ultra excited and I feel like a horrible wife because I am not excited at all. We don't spend a lot of time together during the week, so I want him all weekend, but I will live. Doesn't mean I will be happy about it though.

Tomorrow morning I am going to head to help out with some Therapeutic riding lessons and I think in the afternoon I am going to take the kids swimming at "Mrs" Shari's pool. I am going to try to keep it a secret because I know Kelsey will be SO excited... and Hayden to. I think our plans for Sat. night are going to be the following...get really tired at the pool and pass out early :) the kids at least then I can enjoy my glass of wine and DVR. We have almost no room to record new shows since I haven't been able to watch anything lately. I need some serious DVR clean up time and of course it is supposed to be beautiful this weekend, so I can't justify laying on the couch inside.

So you know how I blogged yesterday about how proud I was of my garden..yea. We had this huge storm last night and when we got home from Dahlonegha, everything in our garden was flat on the ground. I am hoping and praying that as the day goes on they get happy and stand back up.

Last night we went to a photo gallery, showing type thing at North GA college for Mrs. Shari. We are so proud of her for completing her course and she is now a certified photographer!!!! Anyway this picture I am putting on here is of Hayden at the college.

He always cracks me up...but everytime we are out and I see flowers we stop and smell them, so this is Hayden stopping to smell the flowers. I think everyone should stop and smell the flowers every once in a while.

Happy Birthday Hayden!

His birthday was on Monday the 7th. We ended up having a little party for him at the lake on Sunday afternoon. It was a perfect day and the party turned out to be wonderful. We are so thankful for the friends and family that made it!

We went shopping on Friday night looking for b-day gifts for the little guy. When we were are our local Academy sports I saw they had marked down a few power wheels on clearance...we talked about getting one but I cringed at the $300+ price tag. They had 3 marked down for lower than $160. We still were unsure and passed and went home. Then on Saturday afternoon Travis went back to take another look at them. Well they marked them down again, and I took it as a sign. We got a jeep...originally about $375-399 dollars for $130! SCORE! Needless to say we had one VERY happy little boy.

When Travis brought it out to him, he just giggled and giggled and then just walked around it,sat in it, then examined very part of it. It was so funny to watch. He also got a lawnmower that blows bubbles when it is pushed...loves it also! The lawnmower has been going everywhere with us this week..in the car, in bed, on walks, to dinner...if you get my drift. He also got some awesome water guns and sand toys and some clothes and books.

I took Hayden to his 2 year old well check on Tuesday, we got good news...no shots!! The doctor also agreed with me and decided it was time to take him off of dairy milk and switch him to almond milk full time. Something in the milk doesn't sit well with his stomach, and since we went on it a year ago he constantly has a snotty nose and bad diapers on and off. We have been doing half milk half almond milk lately, but now we will see if the full almond milk helps to see if we need to rule anything else out.

but he weighs 29lbs and is 35 1/2 inches tall! He is growing like a weed and she said he looks wonderful :)

Here are a few pictures of his cake and jeep... I didn't get any pictures at all barely...bad mom!

Tractor Cake

Birthday boy and his cake :)



Checking out his jeep...excuse the no pants :)



Hayden taking a ride...he likes his sister to drive him around!

Catch up with the Carrig's

I know I know...I have been a horrible blogger lately!

We have just been so busy these days with life in general. I am going to do a quick run down of the family and how everyone is doing... and there will be pictures :)

Travis and Brittany:
-We planted our first garden together this year... so excited. Everyday when I get home seeing my little plants growing makes me so excited. We planted about 30 corn plants and each seed we planted sprouted, that makes me very very happy. We also have cucumbers, squash, zucchini, all kinds of peppers, tomatoes, and strawberries. Here is our little garden earlier this week. Excuse the weeds and the timbers.... I rolled out the right side timber bc it was to close to my tomato plants, so now it looks really redneck :)

Kelsey:

-She has had a LOT going on these days. Her ballet recital was on Tuesday at her pre-k, way to cute! I love watching little kids dance. I decided when I was watching her that she is a natural and we are signing her up to continue dance next year.

- I go help out at a barn now on the weekends and Kelsey has gone with me a few times...now she thinks she gets to go every time. But last weekend she got to ride for a minute and seeing her that excited just made me want a horse now so I can start teaching her.



Hayden:

-He is going to be 2 in a few days! I am in total denial on my baby getting so big. He is such a little man these days.

- His speech is improving everyday and his little personality comes out a little more everyday. He is all boy all the time, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

Tonka:

-He turned 4 months on the 23rd, and he living his puppy dreams. This dog can be so sneaky! He is def going to be a big boy! When I took him to the vet a few weeks ago he was 35lbs and I can say he has probably gained 10 more pounds since then.

-We were really blessed to be able to get him because he is a pretty boy---and he knows it to!

For now I think that is it.... Hopefully I will get some more blogging time soon! We have tons coming up in the next few weeks.

Take care Yall!



Easter Recap..family updates!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! Ours was a great day :) We went to Mass early with my parents and then headed to my Grandparents house to have a family brunch. I think the priests all got together and decided that this year was going to be very serious in terms of homily's go. Fr. Frank did an amazing job and said everything that needed to be said in a way where everyone sitting there could understand it. It was very eye opening, even Travis whispered in my ear..wow this guy is awesome!

The Easter bunny visited the kids, but not the extent of some pictures I have seen. They both go bubble guns and a chocolate bunny...along with a HUGE container of refill bubbles to share. I don't like that some people treat Easter like Christmas. It has turned into such a Hallmark holiday...not right at all. I do love eating jellybeans and Reece's eggs, but lets not forget why we are celebrating in the first place.

We got the coveted letter this past weekend with the decision for Kelsey's school. She is accepted!!! I am thrilled and feel very blessed to have this opportunity for her. She is over the moon excited and thinks that she should start now :)

I have some pictures from Easter to share...

Tye Dye Cake

I am addicted to Pintrest. end of story.

I "pinned" this cake a while ago and thought, that would be cute, but it looks difficult. I saw some tye-dye cupcakes online this past week for St. Pattys day and decided to try to cake. I read on a blog (not sure which one) that I shoudl use 2 cake mixes to make the cake fuller, if you will.  This cake wasn't my idea, and I am not trying to steal the idea from anyone.

I had no motiviation on Saturday and really didn't want to make the cake but I wanted to at the same time. While Hayden was napping I decided what the heck, just do it.

I mixed the cake following the directions on the back of the box, I did each cake seperate so I it was easier to measure. I started off my measuring out 1 1/2 cups into individual bowls, but in the end I think it was closer to 2- 2 1/2 cups in each bowl. It wasn't perfectly measured out either, but it was ok. Then you put the batter in your cake pans. I was making 2 round cakes. The first pan I started with red and worked through my colors ending with purple. Then the next I started with purple and ended with red. I scooped about 1 cup of each color into the first pan...if i knew there was more batter of that color I added a little more. With the second pan I just used what I had left. One cake was fuller than the other, but that didnt matter to much. I wasn't sure on the baking time so I put them in for 30 mins and one cake was done the other wasn't. I put in back in for about 10 mins and it was fine. I let them cool put them on plates and frosted them later in the evening.

Here are the pictures of the cake before and after!

Batter all colored. I used: Red, yellow, green, blue and purple. The blue and purple were neon food coloring and they are very bright in the mix.

In the pans all ready to go!



Frosted Cake :O



Inside

Inside a little closer

Hayden loving his cake!

I am no chef or baker, but I have to give myself credit and say I did a really good job!

Picture Update :)

This is what we have been up to lately:





Hayden got a new haircut, and I say this every time but he looks so old now! His personality is coming out so much these days. When I am with him all I can do it laugh and I always tell people he cracks me up all the time :)



Hayden swinging



Last weekend we went down to the lake at a park by our house, and Hayden watched Travis skip a rock. He thought it would be fun to just throw them in. Most of the time they didn't even hit the water, but he loved it. Kelsey spent the time eating a snack on a big rock or digging in the dirt :)

Hanging out throwing rocks in the lake

So my puppy grew up over night. He is HUGE now. I can't imagine what he will look like in 2 more months. Tonka and Jinx get along great. As you can see below they like to cuddle together. Jinx has made herself right at home also, as soon as we get in bed at night she is right there laying on you.


Best Buddies



Tonka- 13 weeks!

  Kelsey is ready for summer! She got in the car the other day and told me she needed to wear shorts to school because it was hot out and she didn't like sweating...such a girl! We are still waiting to hear if she got into the private school, we should know something in about a month. She is getting ready for her ballet recital at school!





Kelsey and Tonka

 It seems like everyone is finally feeling better at our house!!!! The weather here has been wonderful the past 2 weeks or so. It is already so warm out that I am scared what summer is going to bring..or if we will get another cold snap. As I am writing this a thunder storm just rolled in...I hope it is gone quick!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Getting a little dusty around here...

I have been MIA lately... I am blaming every bit of it on my son. His sickness is still lingering around. I am crossing my fingers to say that I "think" it is finally gone, but I won't be surprised if I get a phone call saying he is sick again. I think my work just laughs when I call and say ummm Hayden threw up again. The doctor did a stool culture last Thursday, so we hopefully better know something today.

I wanted to go help out with weekend with the therapy lessons, but I felt bad leaving Hayden with someone esp since we have no idea what it going on.

So this weekend consisted of cleaning, organizing and more cleaning. I am the type of person that the little things matter most. So I cleaned my hall closet and laundry room. I don't do well with clutter and my husband doesn't understand that at all. I am in the process of redecorating Hayden's room, it's going to be a cowboy theme :) I decided I am obsessed with western decor... our hallway/kids bathroom is cowboy theme and his bedroom is going to be also..a little much? no I don't think so!

We went to the lake yesterday to walk around since it was so nice outside. One of our photographer friends came along, so if I get some pictures I will def. share! We took Tonka with us and I guess I am not used to a dog getting attention. When we took Rocko with us, everyone always said what a pretty dog. end of story. With Tonka people swoon all over him....what a pretty boy, omg he is huge, look at those paws.... and I have to give them a warning that he has no manners yet.

So this post is really random...if you got this far I am proud :)

Have a Happy Monday!

Vrooommm...

Hayden is a boy...well his anatomy says so...and so does his attitude! He is a funny little man. He acts just like most boys do though, like to play in the dirt, throw rocks (or sticks), loves animals, loves trucks or tractors and cars!

My dad is in the process of building a 55 Chevy...a long process. Well things are coming together but not without Hayden's help. He recently figured out he can get inside the car, it doesn't have seats in there yet but that didn't stop him from trying to drive.

Here are some pictures my mom took while they were working :)





Updates

I have been out of work a LOT the past week so I haven't had time to even think about blogging.

- Hayden has been a sick little boy.. started off as a stomach bug...fast forward a week..and yesterday after him throwing up all over me I took him to the doctor. He has a double ear infection... We were lucky enough to get in with the ENT the same day and he is scheduled to have tubes put in on Monday. I am so ready for him to feel better and not have to live on antibiotics.

- We got Kelsey's test scores back from her assessment. Her overall score is a 98 out of a possible 99! I am thrilled and so proud of her. She is such a smart little girl!

- Last week, since I was out with Hayden and then off on Friday (for Hayden and Kelsey was out of school) we headed down to spend the night with Travis at his dads. It was nice to spend some time with him :) The kids loved spending time with their grandparents.

Friday afternoon, I went to get a haircut and took Hayden with me...It was somewhat surreal for me to drive down the roads I used to drive everyday. It felt like I was dreaming. I don't know why I go over there all the time. I think it has finally hit me that we have moved on with our lives and grown up..

- I am on a puppy potty training war path! This little dog needs to figure it out now. I think I am getting annoying to him because I demand he goes outside every 20 mins when we are home. Hopefully something will click in his head really soon or I might go crazy.

I hope everyone is having a great week! The weather here in GA is crazy this year...its like 74 and sunny today!

9 Loves

 9 Loves:

1. My husband

2. My kids

3. Spring/ Fall Days

4. UGA Football

5. Warm Sheets

6. Horses

7. Getting sweet pictures from daycare while I work

8. Sweet tea



9. Rocko

What a week

and it is only Tuesday!

My week has already been crazy. This weekend was pretty busy though. It was Travis birthday and we had our first date night in over a year without the kids! I was one happy girl :) We got given tickets to the braves game, so it was a first for both of us going to the game and we had so much fun just being together. It was def. needed. Then Sunday, being the awesome wife that I am I planned a semi- surprise party for Travis. It was just family over but we had homemade sandwich ring and homemade Oreo ice cream cake :)

Zeus got a new home :( I was so sad. Our landlord advised us to keep looking for a home for him, so I took that as get him a home quick! I don't want to jeopardize were I am living. I believe I found a great home and he is going to be so happy!

Sunday night Hayden started feeling pretty crummy, so yesterday it was off to the doctor we went and they told us he has a double ear infection...he was one crabby man this morning. I hope he starts feeling better soon.

Then last night I am sitting on the couch and I got this awful electrical current type feeling in my tooth, I started freaking out because this hasn't ever happened before. I have self-diagnosed myself and decided that one of the wisdom teeth have hit a nerve in my mouth, so about every 20 mins or so I get this lovely feeling. I was seeing stars last night and crying in bed until my wonderful husband gave me some pain medicine. I was our within 30 minutes or so and had no pain until I woke up this morning. I am making an appointment with the dentist to get these lovely teeth out asap! I don't want to pay the money for them but I guess for my sanity and my husbands sleep I need to.

Well that is my weekend/week so far. I will be back in a little while to get some ideas from yall!

Cowboy Cookout!

Hayden man is 1! I can't believe it! Travis asked me how it was possible the other night, he said where has this year gone?

For his party we ended up doing a cowboy cookout at our house. We tried to keep it as simple as possible to save money and just make it easy for us. The pictures pretty much tell everything so I will just overload you now.



Kelsey and my nephew Koltyn swinging



Kelsey on her horse swing





What do i do?



Love this picture!



My serious boy



Playing sticks with his friend Carson

Riding his 4-wheeler!



This is the cake and cupcakes my friend and I made. I have to say I am pretty proud !