What's New?

The Cummings house has been super busy these last few weeks. Where do I begin? 

Lets start with Caiden turning 5! The weekend of his actual birthday we had family in town for one of Jay's cousin's weddings. We got up that morning and opened presents then took him to his favorite place to eat breakfast- Neighborhood Cafe. We came back and let him play his Star Wars Lego game on the XBox then headed over to Mema and Poppies to open more presents and visit with family. Overall, I think he had a really great day.

The next weekend we had his birthday party at a place called the Flip Zone and It.Was.Awesome! We had about 15 kids at his Star Wars themed party and man was it exciting. The first 45 minutes the kids run around and have open gym time, play hide and seek, use the parachute and they even get to do the inflatable obstacle course- yes! Next they invited Caiden to sit up on the mats and open his presents. Each kid got a turn sitting up there with him when he opened their gift. Next we moved into the eating area and sang happy birthday then ate some yummy cake. In lieu of plastic toys that usually break on the way home, I made his party favors again this year. It was a Star Wars themed Candy Bar with everything you can think of. We had Wookie Cookies which (sugar cookies made with Star Wars shaped cookie stamps), Peppermint Padme's (thin mint cookies), Jar Jar Mints (spearmint disks), Ewok food (gummy worms), Captain Rex Mix (chex mix), Light Sabers (white chocolate covered pretzels with red, green or blue sprinkles). Last but not least we had Darth Vaderade (gatorade) and Yoda Soda (sprite) for the kids to drink. It really was a blast. Caiden had so much fun and I think even got a little overwhelmed at all the attention he got that day. After the party we took him out to eat. He told me his favorite place to eat was Neighborhood cafe but he had never eaten dinner there before. Man was he super happy when he realized they serve cinnamon rolls at dinner time too! Yum!

The last two weekends he has had friends come over and play at the house. I realized this was the best way for me to get stuff done on the weekends. If Caiden has someone over to play with, Jay and Lincoln can hang out and I get to catch up on laundry and dishes! I was really surprised by how well Lincoln did both times when Caiden had friends over. He didn't bother them and wasn't even trying to play with them. He was happy just hanging out and watching basketball with Daddy. 

Jay has been picking the boys up 3 nights a week now so I can work late. I picked up two different tutoring jobs so I work 3- 10 hour days a week. It is good money but it makes for an exhausting week. One company said we should be done sometime in February and the other company is going to have us work all the way until the MAP testing window so the end of March. There is a light at the end of my tunnel and I have named it May 18th- ha! (Although it might be May 21st now since we aren't in school today due to an outbreak of the flu in Raytown. One school had 150 kids and half the staff gone on Friday- yikes!)

Lincoln is still so stinking cute. He has such a personality and is so happy most of the time it really just makes you want to be happy too. He has more and more words every day. He is running, jumping and climbing everywhere! One of his favorite things to do is imitate people. He loves making the same sounds as his brother and doing things that make him feel grown up. He helps me do things around the house and loves to snuggle. What more could a mama ask for?!

I feel like the next few weeks are going to get crazy- that is usually what happens when February gets here. I hope I can find time to blog about more of our time together! It is amazing how time flies....where does it go?!

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

1.) Where did you ring in 2011?
At our friend Amy and Tim's house in their newly remodeled basement. Just a couple families and our kids hanging out. 

2.) What was your status by Valentine’s Day?
Still happily married!

3.) Were you in school (anytime this year)?
Only for work! I finished my Masters in December of 2010 so I am done with school!

4.) How did you earn your keep?
I worked as an elementary art teacher in Raytown, MO.

5.) Did you have to go to the hospital?
I took both of my sons to the ER this year. Lincoln in February when I burned his face..it's STILL hard to believe that happened. Caiden in September (I think) when he got clocked in the head with a block. 

6.) Did you have any encounters with the police?
Nope- thank goodness but we did witness a drunk driver plowing into the house across the street from us when he failed to notice the road ended. Scary! It was so loud it woke us from our sleep.

7.) Did you know anybody who got married?
Yes, two of my cousins and two good friends got married.

8.) Did you know anybody who passed away?
Sadly, yes. My beloved Grandfather and my cat Melvin died this summer. 

9.) Have you run into anybody you graduated high school with?
I always run into my high school peeps and I love it! It shows it is such a small world.

10.) Did you move anywhere?
Sore subject--NO! But I want to sooooo bad. The day will come, I just need to be patient. 

11.) What sporting events did you go to?
My son started Itty Bitty T Ball this summer and we had so much fun watching him play. We also hit a few Royals games this summer.

12.) What concerts/shows did you go to?
For my birthday we went to see Rev Theory. It was quite an adventure getting there but once we did we had fun. Can you say blizzard??

13.) Are you registered to vote?
Yes.

14.) If so, did you do your patriotic duty on [last time you were supposed to vote]?
Yikes! I always vote for our President but I rarely make it during the local elections.

15.) Where do you live now?
Lee's Summit, MO

16.) Describe your birthday.
Very nice. Jay surprised me with tickets to see Rev Theory with some good friends of ours. We also had a group of people come to LS to hang out.

17.) What’s the one thing you thought you would never do but did in 2011? Start running. This didn't happen until December but I am still chugging right along. I have always hated running. I think it is because when I played soccer in high school, running was a punishment.

18.) What is one thing you regret from this year?
No regrets, just lessons learned.

19.) What did you want for Christmas? A new computer. Ours is from 2002!! We didn't get one for Christmas but we are hoping in a month or two we will be ready to purchase a new one with our Points. (We never run our bank card as a debit, we always run it as credit. Since we only use one card for everything, it is amazing how fast you can earn points!)

20.) Any new additions to your family?
Not this year but we are anxiously awaiting a new addition in 2012 from my sister and brother in law. They are adopting so really, any day!!

21.) What was your best month?
Ooh, tough one. I would say July because we went on our first family vacation to the beach. The boys LOVED it. Caiden still talks about our trip to "Alabamya".

22.) What from pop culture will you remember that happened in 2011.
Hmm, the Royal wedding, not that I watched it but it was kind of a big deal. Most definitely Osama bin Laden dying though. That was a big surprise. 

23.) How did you ring in 2012?
At our friend's Dave and Rebecca's house. It was a blast!

24.) What has been your favorite moment?
Soo many but most of them have to do with my children. Their smiles, accomplishments, when they play nice together. I am constantly learning from them and they make me so happy, even when I am a total grouch to them. 

25.) What’s something you learned about yourself?
I get stressed out when my house is messy. I often feel like I can get more done when I have a clean house. I know that sounds silly but when my house is a total mess, I kind of get lazy and don't want to deal with anything!

26.) Who has been your best drinking buddy?
Weird question, Jay I guess. We like to sit back and sip on some wine while catching up on our shows. After the kids are in bed of course. 

27.) Made new friends?
Always, I tend to do that. I also feel like I got closer to some of the friends I have this year. That always feels nice. 

28.) New best friend?
Nope, just new ones.

29.) Favorite Night Out?
New Years Eve is still pretty fresh in my mind. I'm gonna go with that one even though I was blessed with many wonderful nights this year.