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. 

2011 Recap

Again, I know I missed the 3rd quarter recap- whoops! So here it is, better late than never!




Caiden- 4 years (although according to his "back when I was 4 stories" he is already 5.)

LOVE-ING SCHOOL. Last year was an okay year but I think it was hard for him when he only went M and F. This year he goes 5 days a week and absolutely loves it. His teacher, Ms Jane, is amazing. She is so good with him and patient. We love her too.

Counting to 30, counting by 10's, knows all his letters and can write them as well.

Starting to read words- short 3-4 letter words mostly.

Is a Star Wars fanatic!! Seriously, I have no idea where it came from....he hasn't really seen the movies OR watched the Clone Wars cartoon. It started this summer before we went on our vacation and it has grown since then.

Is soooo imaginative. Really, both boys are. They would rather be in the living room making up some game rather than playing with toys in their playroom.

Lincoln- 18+

talking, Talking, TALKLING! My how this kid communicates! He has too many words to count and is using them a lot! His initial form of communication....screaming, is still being used most days. We are working with him to "use his words" and he is coming along.

Cars and Elmo- this kid likes toys after all! Lincoln has always really liked hanging out with people. He is so social and mostly just wants to play with you. It wasn't until a few months ago that he started showing any interest in his toys.  For now, Hot Wheels and Elmo make him pretty happy. Needless to say, it will be a very Elmo/Hot Wheels/Star Wars Christmas at the Cummings house.


Enjoys music, helping mama clean and anything his brother is doing. Seriously, he wants to be just like Caiden when he grows up ;)

Not only has he been walking since this summer but he is now running and kicking! It is too cute to watch. He gets really excited and I'm pretty sure thinks he is running MUCH faster than he really is.


He likes to tell me when things are hot but he puts the wrong emPHAsis on the wrong syLAble so it comes out HOT MAMA! Yes, of course I tell this story to everyone who will listen- it's incredible.






A recent funny Lincoln Story:

I was awakened at 3:00 in the morning to; "mom....mom...mama.....mama.....".  Not in a scared, worried or hurt way. Just very casual. I went into his bedroom and found him sitting up in bed reading books. He had on his Batman pjs with the cape that Velcros to the back. When he saw me, he said, "Mama, help" and held up his cape for me to stick back on his pjs. Basically, he woke up and decided to read books and everything was fine until he realized his cape fell off!

Lesson learned- ALL super heroes still need their moms to get them out of a bind from time to time.

No Time...

No time to upload pictures or post these days. It's just not my priority right now. Boo, what a grump I sound like!

Remember back when Lincoln still wasn't walking and we were working with him every night so he would start?

Did you notice about the time he started walking was about the time my blogging slowed down? He is a WILD little boy. Thank goodness he is cute!

Anyway,

Originally I started this blog as a creative outlet. Then, it became more about my experiences as a mom and my children. Lately, it has all fallen by the wayside and become my long lost love.

I truly enjoy blogging.
I could spend hours on Google Reader reading other people's blogs.
The truth is, I've had to make some choices lately about how I spend my time and blogging just didn't make it to the top.

It's nice having a way to record memories and experiences with my boys but it is also nice just spending quality time with them too. Those are the things they are going to take with them when they get older. I want them feel how much I love them, not read about it in a blog post.

I'm not saying this is the end of my blog, I just felt like I needed to give an explanation of why I have about half the amount of posts this year compared to last year. I dumped a bunch of pictures on my computer tonight while I made homemade mac and cheese for our school holiday party tomorrow. Can you believe we are already this far into the season!?

Some things that I HOPE to blog about:

~The activity advent calendar I made for the boys this year. It has a different activity to do with them every day.

~Craft Weekend- it was WAY back in October but better late than never.

~Playing in the leaves.

~Playing at the park.

I will be posting soon with a 3rd and 4th quarter recap. It looks like I missed the last one so I am going to do them both at the same time. Better late than never I guess!

Until then....

My New Love....

is Pinterest.

If you haven't checked it out yet, you must! I haven't really been up to blogging much lately but one thing I do love to do is browse Pinterest. I have several different boards ranging anywhere from My Style Pinboard to Project Ideas for my kids at school. I have even started Christmas lists for the boys with notes on what has been bought. Nice eh?

Other fun ideas I have found: this superhero stuff that made me think of Caiden.

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And this stuff made me think of Lincoln

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And this stuff is totally me.

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It is a wonderful way to keep all of your lists/hobbies/interests in one spot. Whether it is a recipe you've been wanting to try, crafts you want to make or ideas for your dream house, it is all here!

Go check it out if you haven't!

And....happy pinning!

Hello Fall!

So what's new? Well, not much and yet we have been so busy! How is that possible? I have a ton of pictures on my camera that I haven't uploaded yet. That is definitely on my list of things to do. I'm sure I will get it done today because we are going to the pumpkin patch today!

I wanted to head out there around 8:00 this morning to tailgate. Caiden was on board and I think I could have convinced Jay it was a good idea. I mean, he did grow up in Kansas City which is the tailgating capitol of the world. I just can't help it, I totally geek out over fall, pumpkin anything and Halloween. Just picture it, sitting on a bail of hay, camera in one hand, pumpkin spiced latte in the other. The kids running around and getting into, well anything. Inside our picnic basket is chocolate chip pumpkin bread and honey crisp apples and NOTHING ELSE. Yum!

I guess I grew up in a very fall friendly house because pretty much my whole family is this way. To me, it is the start of things to look forward to. Summer sometimes drags on because it can get long and hot. Fall is that season that jump starts exciting weekend after exciting weekend. Seriously, does anyone have a free weekend in October with NOTHING planned? I didn't think so.

It is our opportunity to enjoy the weather before it gets too cold to be outside. Aside from actually raking the leaves, I love everything about them. Their change in color, the crunchy sound they make when you walk over them, watching the kids play in them and of course all the photo opportunities. It just puts a smile on my face.

Once Halloween has passed, we start looking forward to Thanksgiving and then of course, Christmas. In my family, we have sort of a 5th season which is the birthday season. After Christmas we have 10 out of 13 people in my immediate family's birthday. Really, it is about a 10 week span starting with the end of December and going all the way to the first week of March. The busiest part of the season starts February 18th with 6 birthdays in 18 days. My poor parents!

Anyway, back to fall.

Get out.

Enjoy the weather.

Make memories.

Play hard with your kids.

Eat something pumpkin.

End each day with a smile because there are so many reasons too!

Finding the Balance

Balance.....

It is something everyone struggles with.

I've heard it from working moms.

Stay at home moms.

Moms who don't even have kids :)

It's really, really hard.

I've recently taken on a lot of extra duties at work and have struggled more than ever to create a healthy balance of work and family. For the last three weeks I have put in at least two days a week where I worked 12 hours straight.

Even with all the extra hours, I am still behind at work and even more so at home. My house is a mess! And to top it off, I woke up this morning to fleas! Not on me of course but on my cat who sleeps with us. Before I could get to any of the usual Saturday morning chores, I had to brush him, strip the bed, toss out pillows, spray the bed with lysol (not even sure if that was necessary but I am being overly cautious.), give him a dose of tick and flea repellent, and start a load of laundry. All before 8 am- boo!

There just never seems to be enough time to complete a full task. I feel like I take two steps back for every one step forward. I have a running list of to-do's that never seems to get smaller. I usually start crossing things off that I know I'll have to revisit later. This of course is followed by a smug smile because I am so proud of myself for cheating the system. Never mind the fact I will just have to do it later.

Between work and home I just don't feel like I am quite whole in anything I do. I know I'm not the only one who struggles so my question is this:

How do you find a healthy balance in your life?

What do you do to make sure you aren't just being a mom/wife, you are being a good mom/wife?

How do you find the time to clean your house and not live like a total slob?

Because I feel like I haven't had the happiest posts lately, here is something sweet to end with.

My favorite quote is "Happiness is a choice, make it". I'm not sure who originally said it but this is definitely something to live by.

I make a choice every day to be happy and here is some PROOF!