Denver Fun

Despite the lack of sleep, we still went to Denver and had a great time. We picked a hotel outside of the city, closer to the Springs, and that had a swimming pool. Plus it's in a safe area, and right next to a huge mall, Ikea and a bunch of other stuff including restaurants. 

The first night we went to eat at Perkin's then the boys went swimming. Thursday we got up and had breakfast and went to the Denver Nature and Science Museum.

We got there about 20 minutes before it opened. There were some people waiting inside, some schools showing up. But nothing too crazy. Admission was affordable. Sometimes you go to these places and it's an arm and a leg. Greg was free for being Military, Owen was free, so it was $21 for Landon and I. You can pay extra to see the special part, it was the Mayan. We opted not too. You can also pay extra to see IMAX shoes and go to the Planetarium. As tempting and fun it sounded, having Owen made me realize there was no way it would happen. 

This place was super cool. Very hands on, very kid friendly. SO much to see. 

First stop was the Space area. Super cool place. All kinds of demonstrations going on. Owen wanted to run free. SO I chased him while Greg and Landon checked it all out. 

Owen did well in the places. Any time it was time to go somewhere else is when it would start. At first I was able to keep him happy with snacks and juice. But once that was over. It got a little harder. Next stop was the Rocks and Gems. There was a little old guy with a bunch of rocks to touch and explained about them. SO interesting. Landon LOVED it. Owen lost interest, so I took him to wander around. 

We got stuck behind a group of moms. Loud ones. We quickly tried to avert them and press on. Next was the animals. Owen loved it. SO much to look at. SO many buttons to press.....

Landon with his deer ears. After alllllllll these animals we went and looked at the Indian Exhibit. Then it was on to the dinsosaurs. This is where things went sour, and quickly went down hill.

Right after the above picture I had to walk out with Owen. He was wanting to go the opposite way, get in peoples way, and not stay with us. We would try to distract, try to get him to look on. But, he wanted what he wanted, and didn't want to leave. By now this place was PACKED. Oh my goodness. School after school after school showed up, and all the families on Spring Break. 

By this point no more pictures were taken. I was about to have a heart attack or something. Or rip out every strand of my hair. The tantrums, the screaming, the arched back. On and on and on. Poor Landon. He did have a great time. We tried to tag team with Owen and enjoy the stuff with Landon. I know when we left, Greg and I felt like we just went to war. I was totally and completely DONE. We did a quick McDonald's stop and went to the hotel to put the grouch down for a nap.

The rest of Thursday was spent at the mall, going to Target, Cheesecake Factory for dinner (amazing) and swimming til bed time. 

Owen sure is busy. He was all about ripping the newspapers up in the room, getting on the phone, playing with the coffee maker and opening the door. Goodness.

Friday we picked up Sabrina and went on a candy tour.  

Owen is OBSESSED with Jelly Beans right now. It's one of the few things he can have. He was asking for 'beans' the whole time we were there. 

Luckily the boys were really good here. We dropped Sabrina off and went to lunch then headed home. It was a fun time. Busy. Tiring. But fun. No one ever told me being a mom is so tiring. My goodness. 

Oh, and today is Landon's doctor's appointment with the Pediatric Neurologist. We've been waiting like 6 weeks for this appointment. Prayers that everything looks good, and that Greg can get off to watch Owen for me.

Questioning Myself

These past few months have flown by. I don't even remember where the time has gone, or what has even happened. Several things have contributed to that...

First off, this past week was Landon's Spring Break. We've been busy trying to stay busy and have fun. I think we accomplished that. I think.

Monday Landon, Owen and myself went to the mall to walk around and go to the pet store. It's been a while, and it's always fun to look at the puppies. Tuesday we had our friends over for a play date, the kids spent the morning playing, and I got to chit chat with a grown up! Then we went to Denver Wed night- Friday. We went to the Denver Nature and Science Museum, Hammond Candy Factory, the mall and swimming. Yesterday we were busy around the house, taking care of things and running errands. Landon also got a very handsome hair cut. Today we are supposed to go hike or somewhere, the weather is supposed to be nice. 

So on top of Spring Break, we moved. Of course. I am doing Insanity, which is a good workout and tiring. Owen is not sleeping and up all hours of the night. Owen is also not really eating any more. We went to the doctors twice, once before we moved, and once after because I thought something was wrong. I figured his ears, nope. 

Terrible two's are in full force. FULL FORCE. Everything ends in screaming, or crying. Or better yet, both. These past few months, probably 4 months, the sleeping has been terrible. We have good spurts, but they only last a week or so, then it's back, and worse. Owen seems to be up 4 times a night. We tried the crying it out, the shrieking scream like he is being murdered is not cool. It's hard when your 7 year old is crying because he can't sleep. It's hard when you and your husband aren't really on the same page about it. Or one night you are, the next you are not. 

It's pretty much all my fault he doesn't sleep. The rocking him to sleep, singing to him, holding him, and the pure exhaustion nights, bringing him in the bed til he falls asleep and transferring him. 

Being exhausted sucks. Having a toddler who is very busy is exhausting. I often question everything I do. Why? Why me? Why won't my children sleep? 

Owen's eating is terrible. Getting him to eat anything new doesn't happen. He won't eat rice any more, none of the yummy flavored ones, or plain. He won't eat yogurt. Any kinds of meats, he won't touch. Won't touch a vegetable. I've tried to many different things. I've tried it all. Buying these foods that are healthy and non allergen are expensive, and most of the time it gets thrown away. But I keep trying. I keep questioning myself. 

I do know this big boy is SO handsome. 

We went through Pinterest and looked at hairstyles and came across one Landon liked. It was actually David Beckham's son. Landon is SUPER happy with it, and so are we. Whew! Finally. He kept telling us to stop looking at him, stop smiling at me, stop touching my hair. Haha! Landon amazes me every day with how smart he is. Reading, math, science, his love for it all. It's hard to think he is growing up. Sometimes hearing the stuff he says reminds me he isn't a 'baby' any more.

So yeah, things have been tiring, things have been rough. But things have been good. I question myself and everything all the time. Everything I do pretty much. When I am up for hours at night my mind is just racing. 

I think I just need some sleep.

Hair Cut

Owen's hair was OUT of control. It was everywhere, frizzy, sticking up, always had food in it. Washing it made it worse, I couldn't even comb it down, and spray and stuff was not happening. It was SO fine.

We took him to the barber for his first hair cut on base. They did a good job, and were quick, so we decided to go back. They were quick alright, And pretty much trimmed all his hair off.....

You would think I would learn my lesson on going to a Military Barber shop. They like the high and tight, And will do the high and tight. 

I think it looks cute, I like it now, but at first we were kinda shocked, and I was sad. But now that it's been a few weeks it's coming in thicker and looks a tad darker. 

And Landon's hair. It's a mess. He wants it long. Its getting too long. I don't like it long. He doesn't want it done or anything. I took him to my hair dresser and got a trim. It looked good. But it's shaggy again. I wish he'd go for a high and tight. 

Well Hello There!

Sorry for the unintentional blog break! 

So much has happened and gone on since the last time I blogged. 

First things first, We moved! I think I was talking about the possibility of moving. Greg came back from his TDY, we went and checked out a house we'd been looking at online, and really liked it. We signed a contract, and 30 days later, we moved in! It all happened so quick. I didn't want to live on base when we first got here, then I got used to being on base and enjoyed it. After seeing so many nice, and big houses off base, I was a little more open to the possibility of moving. My friend Amanda and her husband are building a home, so I was going to look at the models with her, and was listening to them talk about it. I was now even more open to it. Our neighbors on base were getting louder and louder it seemed. They were burning food, and cooking weird smelling things, the other neighbors dog was yipping a lot. I realized it was time.

The house we got is really close to base. Greg will still get to come home for lunch, after PT and it's just a short drive away. Plus, it's in the same neighborhood where our friends are building their house! It's a new neighborhood, our house was built in 2010. They are still building houses all around and are zoned to build even more. That is what was appealing to us. The newness of it all, the closeness to base. We got the house for $1,400 a month, and we were paying $1,557 to live on base. The new house is almost 2800 square feet. 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a loft, formal living and dinning, living room, eat in kitchen. SO SO much space. It's great. 

I packed my butt off. But I didn't pack enough. I'm not sure if that makes sense. 

I packed a lot of stuff, but I had to leave stuff to use. It seemed like it wasn't a lot, but it was. We got all the big stuff, boxes and totes it the Uhaul. It only took 2 trips. We left all our clothes in the closet, Owen's clothes, and toys, the linen closet, the cleaning stuff, dishes and stuff like that. It didn't seem like much, but it was. It took us several trips with the cars. SEVERAL. 

The boys were great with it all. Owen is having his melt downs....... 

And as the house got more and more bare, they tolerated it well.

Packing, moving and unpacking with an almost 21 month old was challenging. Tiring. 

Every day Landon would come home from school and ask if I'd packed him room yet. He was ready to go! 

We had three guys from Greg's work come help move. They were great. Hard workers and lots of help. 

It was bittersweet for me. I get attached. I get emotional about things. As soon as we moved our stuff, I was questioning if we made the right choice. What were we doing? I'm not sure why I did this to myself. I think the thing that made me question it, is Landon's friends. The park. Being so close to everything we do on base. Knowing the people around us. 

But, now that we are done with our house on base, and everything is at the new house, I am happy. It's nice to have the space. It's SO nice to be off base and be close to everything. To me this house feels homey. It's comfortable. I like it. 

I'm going to miss the 7am reveille, 5pm National Anthem and 10pm Taps. But, the planes fly right over our house, we get the noise and jet fuel smell, so I'm happy. 

We got to enjoy our big back yard, and warm afternoon sun on Sunday afternoon. We got shade in the evening at our old house in the back. It was so nice. Owen and Landon were super happy. 

So now I am reorganizing, getting things put in their prospective places, and starting to slowly decorate. We need a new dining room table and stuff for the loft, but that will come. It's nice to be in a stand alone house. I sure hope we don't have to move for a while!

I am going to try to blog again. Now that we are here in the house, and my mind is not racing 500 mph, I should be able to focus and have time to sit and do it!