Our Every Day

It's been over two months now, and Grayson is back to going to bed with very little issues. I am so thankful as I am sure those days I spent sitting outside his closed door as he threw his body against it took many years off of my life and added to the rapidly multiplying gray hairs I am accruing! He doesn't always sleep in his bed, but I don't push the issue. He isn't always asleep when I check on him, but I don't give him a hard time about that. I can't MAKE him sleep. He tends to be a night owl, then he wants to sleep in. (Who am I to complain?) And sometimes he wakes up at 3 or 4 in the morning and jumps around his bedroom, screeching happily. His therapists tell me as long as I am not in there encouraging that behavior to just leave him alone. But let's get real here..it was not a good summer.  Now that we are into fall, I am praying that it is a better season for us. Because I desperately need it.

Last week my brother, his wife and two kids were in town. On Mike's days off, we went as the entire clan to Amish country (hopefully another post about that coming soon) and then to the pumpkin patch. Since we have moved back to town, there is always an excuse not to go to the pumpkin patch which is just down the road from our house ...Grayson's too young, Easton's too young...but this year it worked out for us to go. We had a great time, and I think our boys seem to really enjoy it. Especially Easton. I have so many pictures of him, but not many pictures of Grayson. I know this will be hard to believe but Grayson ran the entire time - twice heading towards the busy road and giving me a slight panic attack. And now...pictures! My Easton should be a straw-model. He is making that straw look good. :) He loved this tunnel and went through it several times with our encouragement. He is so fearless! Just like his brother, he wants to throw EVER...

I am not your normal person. Somewhere my husband is reading this and nodding in complete agreement. I have a love affair with Fiestaware. Our romance began about ten years ago when I first laid eyes on a set of Fiestaware at Elder Beerman. It was love at first sight. Truthfully I had been eyeing vintage Fiestaware at antique stores for years but couldn't get behind purchasing any because of the lead paint concerns. So when I purchased my first four sets of lovely lead-free Fiestaware, it was like I had been bitten by a bug and...sixteen settings later, I am still crazy about my Fiestaware. My mother-in-law Beth knows this and often indulges me in my love of Fiestaware by purchasing me sets and other specialty items for Christmas. (She feeds the addiction so to speak! Haha!) So we have talked for a long time about going to an outlet store for Fiestaware that she knows of in Southern Ohio but we could never get a date settled between the two of us. And when I read about Home...

Mike and I have been planning a getaway for a couple of months. We thought it would be fun to just go away for one night but we couldn't decide where we wanted to go. Mike said that he didn't care as long as he could read his Guns and Ammo magazine completely uninterrupted. ;) We finally decided on the destination of our wedding - Lakeside on Lake Erie. I was pretty excited because I haven't been to visit Lakeside in many years. When my friend got married last year up at the lake, we drove through Lakeside but it was early spring and looking pretty sad. But this year? Oh my word. It was even more beautiful than I had remembered it. It literally took my breath away, and it gave me peace that only a little time spent at Lakeside can. It was a peace I craved throughout high school and then into college when my visits there grew further and further apart. After Mike and I were married up here and had a less than awesome experience with the Lakeside staff, and then my pare...

...When you are at the park, and your dad and mom MAKE you stay in the stroller even though you get to watch your dad lap you like four times during his run because your mom is so so slow when she walks... ...so as your reward for somewhat good behavior, they let you out of the stroller and you get to RUN!                                        And you cannot contain your pure joy because OH MY GOSH FREEDOM!!!! Happiness is RUNNING. And then they let you run for as long and as far as you would like. So you sprint for about a half a mile but take two short breaks to lay down on the pathway because you just need a minute. We might have a future track star on our hands. Also? Throwing sticks in the river is a lot of fun too.

The dog days of August arrived the first week of September here in Ohio, which means we got to swim at Mark and Vicki's another time! Grayson was so excited that all we had to do was pull into their driveway and he was trying to get out of his car seat. And this time, I got in the pool too! I had to wear a tank top and a pair of Mike's shorts over my bathing suit, but so be it. The water was PERFECT! The weather was gorgeous. And despite applications of 55 SPF sunscreen I still got some sun on my shoulders. Thankfully the boys didn't have any problems in the sun - thank heaven for rash guards. This time Vicki had added to her pool floats this adorable covered float for Easton - it fit him great and he kicked his little legs in the water. He squealed and giggled the entire time - until he fell asleep. In the water. I had to keep waking him up but I ended up losing that battle. Thankfully Grandma Carol was there to hold him. Grayson had so much fun...