Well, I feel like the past couple weeks of my life have been a blur! We’ve been so crazy; having lots of fun, but just busy, busy, busy!
First off, we celebrated Kev’s birthday! He’s now the big 4-5. That is insane to me!
It really is crazy how quickly time flies. I still feel like we’re both about 25 or so.
We also celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary!! Seriously, woah! That just boggles my mind! How can it possibly be 20 years!??!
Here we are as baby newlyweds…
That was such a fun day!
Sadly, we didn’t do a whole lot to celebrate our 20th. We figured that the stage of life we’re in right now is just too hectic, so we’ll plan something cool for our 25th! I honestly just feel grateful and blessed to spend each day with this man of mine. It sounds cheesy, but it’s true!
Actually we were in Moab, Utah over our anniversary! My little sis, who lives in Connecticut, has been visiting the past couple weeks and my cute big bro, who lives in Georgia came to visit too (he went home yesterday though, sniff, sniff.) Anyway, we all decided to make a fun trip to Moab together. One of my other big brothers and his family came as well. We had a great time!
We stopped by Dead Horse Point State Park and took some pics.
Me and the sibs…
We also snagged a pic with some of the kiddos. My daughter was in the van with the baby, who was sleeping…
We also went on a cool hike to Corona Arch and loved it! We’d never done that hike before and now it’s one of my favs. What an absolutely gorgeous place!
It was a very rewarding hike and it wasn’t too strenuous. We all loved it and I’d highly recommend it to anyone!
The next morning we hiked up to Delicate Arch…
This was my third time doing that hike and I have to say, it’s not my favorite hike! It’s usually very hot, the trail is quite boring and it’s pretty steep, HOWEVER, the destination is worth it! That arch is so majestic! I love it.
Sadly, Kev wasn’t able to go on most of these hikes with us because he tore his ACL playing basketball when he was in Fiji! 🙁 It was a bummer, but he was a champ and stayed in the hotel with the little kiddos while we went on this Delicate Arch hike. I was grateful for that!
While we were in Moab, we did go out for a nice dinner on our Anniversary night….with the fam! It was a lot of fun…
We went to the Sunset Grill, which is a fabulous place! We enjoyed good food and laughed and laughed and laughed all night long!
We had a great night and it was a great trip!
When we got home, Kev had surgery on his ACL.
That’s been a little bit crazy! He’s so glad to have the surgery behind him though and he’s doing great! I was surprised that they told him he could put his full weight on his leg immediately after surgery. That pic of him standing was taken right after surgery. He’d just gotten dressed and we were getting ready to take him home!
I also think it’s insane that they took a piece of his hamstring and used it to create a new ACL for him! Woah. It is amazing to me what doctors can do these days!
It’s been sad that Kev blew out his knee because I’ve wanted him to come to the gym with me!!! I’ve told y’all how much I’ve enjoyed my new gym, F45 and I can’t wait for Kev to come with me. I’m afraid it might be a while until he can come though. 🙁 They told him it will take about a year for him to make a full recovery. Waaaah!
Oh, we also celebrated my sweet baby’s 2 year old birthday this week! I can’t believe he’s TWO!
He has been such a joy to our family! We had a bunch of my family come out to our house a couple nights ago. They actually came over to visit with my brother and sister who were visiting, but I decided we needed to sing to the baby too!
It was a fun night!
Oh, and I just have to share these darling pictures too…
Here’s my baby at his 2 year old check up! He thought that gown was pretty darn cool and I just thought he looked adorable in it! He had to get a couple shots, but I’m glad those are his last shots until Kindergarten! Yay! However, the thought of him going to Kindergarten makes me want to cry. I wish I could just keep this sweet little 2 year old forever!
Well folks, that pretty much sums up my life the past week and a half or so….birthdays, Anniversary, trip to Moab, time with family, ACL surgery…craziness!
The blog has just not been happening! However, school starts this Monday and Tuesday for my kiddos and I think I’m ready for it to start! A couple of weeks ago I was actually a little sad for summer to end, BUT now….it is time.
The kids would never admit it, but I think they’re ready for school to start as well! It seems like every year at the end of summer, the kids start to get stir crazy, bored and just drive each other crazy. I know we all do much better with a schedule, earlier bedtimes and a little structure ’round here! I’m also a little tired of the house being constantly trashed. At least when the kids are in school, I can clean the house and it actually stays clean for a few hours. Ha ha. Seriously tho. 🙂
I also have high hopes about actually getting a few projects done around here! I absolutely love productivity, goal setting, organization, cleanliness and schedules! Well, when you have 6 kids (including a 2 year old) kickin’ around all summer long….all of that goes out the window. It seriously kills me. BUT, I know that’s the life I’m livin’ and the life I chose, so I just accept the fact the constant chaos is a part of life right now. However, with school starting, I have a small glimmer of hope that I might actually make some headway on the zillion projects I’ve had to put off the past couple years!
Yahoo!
Well, as far as my healthy living is going…I’ve done a’ight. I was actually doing pretty darn awesome and stuck to my guns even throughout our trip to Moab, but I’ve struggled just a bit the past few days. I must say that when life gets hectic (as you can see, my life HAS been hectic!) and I get run down and worn out, it’s just a matter of time until some crappy food creeps in.
I’ve also been struggling to get my workouts in and it’s made me very sad. I went over a month with only missing one or two workouts and I’ve only been able to get to my gym TWICE this week. This next week is going to be a little crazy too, but I’m going to do my best to fit in my workouts!
I also need to vent just a bit. I absolutely LOVE my life and am so very grateful for the people, things and blessing in my life, however, I am so freaking maxed right now and it is very, very hard! It is tough to have a very busy baby PLUS a bunch of busy teenagers! If the baby wakes up in the night or wakes up early…I’m up with him. If the teenagers are up or out late, I stay up late with them!
I’m not kidding at all when I say that I am going going going all day long. I rarely rest and relax. I never watch TV. I never read and I miss it. If I do happen to find any free time for myself, I quickly fill it up with blogging, working out or preparing healthy food. I really go go go go go from the minute I wake up until I fall into bed at night. AND, even though I’m busy and productive all day long, I still have a never ending to-do list that just gets longer every day!
I’m not really proud of this. In fact, I don’t think it’s particularly healthy, but I’ve pretty much cut out everything I can cut from my life…now it’s just a matter of juggling what’s left! My body, stamina and health suffer because of my heavy load as well. I’ve never had a strong immune system my entire life, so when life gets extra hectic, my body goes with it!
I’ve felt severely run down and like I’m coming down with the cold the past couple weeks. This is not a new thing for me. I feel like it’s my body’s way of telling me to chill. I’ve learned to listen to my body…mostly. Sooo, that is why the blog hasn’t been updated and the workouts just haven’t been happenin’. Something’s gotta give.
I do feel like this is the busiest my life will be though (fingers crossed!) The baby is only going to get older (that actually tears my heart out a little bit) and the other kids are going to get older and more independent (hopefully, ha ha!) So, I do think the physical demands on my body will lessen. I know the emotional demands of a mother never end though and I’m okay with that. It’s just part of the job!
Anyway, I’ve been a little bit frustrated that my life can’t just run smoothly all the time and I can’t get all the things done that I want to. Dang it! For now, I’m just trying to be patient, do the best that I can and enjoy this stage of life! If that means that my house is a wreck, the workout gets skipped, the to-do list just keeps getting longer, then I guess that’s just the way it is!
I have to share a picture that my brother took of me the other day. He stayed at my house a couple days and he was so sweet. He was constantly commenting on all the many things I was doing; doing dishes all the time, changing the laundry, picking up messes constantly, chasing the baby, etc. etc. etc. One morning as I was making Chocolate Protein Pancakes with the baby hanging on my leg (very typical), he said he just had to take a pic…
I told him I was actually glad he took that picture! I would have never thought to take a pic like that because it just was so typical to me, but I think this picture perfectly sums up my life! Constant multi-tasking!
I imagine a lot of you mothers out there can relate. This whole “mom thing” is a tough gig! That’s why I’m hopeful with school starting again. I hope I can chip away at my to-dos and my stress load.
End of rant.
On a positive note, I thought I’d share an awesome Green Smoothie I’ve been enjoying lately!
I call it my Detox Green Smoothie because all of the ingredients are great at detoxing the body. I’ve been enjoying this smoothie any time of day. It’s really refreshing!
Ingredients:
**I really don’t measure my ingredients, but these are aproximate measurements**
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 heaping cup cubed pineapple
- 1/3 of a cucumber; cut into chunks
- 1/4 of an avocado; cut into chunks
- juice of half of a lemon (I actually just throw in the whole half lemon, rind and all!)
- a generous sprinkle of chia seeds (probably 1/2 Tablespoon)
- 2 big handfuls of spinach (or greens of your choice)
- Ice (probably 8-10 cubes)
- single serving packet of Elev8 Boost, Crystal Light or a pinch of stevia (optional for more sweetness)
Here are some of the ingredients I used. The bag is full of avocado chunks that I froze.
You just throw everything except the ice in the blender in the order listed and mix it up! After it’s mixed well, add the ice and mix again! Enjoy.
This green smoothie seriously helps my body to feel better! It just makes me feel clean and rejuvenated. I love it.
Well, I think I’ll end this post here. Hopefully my next post will be more uplifting!! I sincerely love you all and I thank you for reading my little blog and the pieces of my life that I share. I hope you all enjoy your weekend!! xoxo
Dear Melanie!
Your blog is amazing and so are you!! I love reading your blog and sometimes peruse your older posts. They somehow put me in a better mood! I’m glad your hubby is doing great. Wishing you and your family a world of happiness!!!
Oh thank you so much Pooja! I soooo appreciate your kind words. 🙂 I wish you all the best as well! <3 <3
You’re supermama!! Seriously, I don’t know how you do it with all those kiddos. Your trip to Utah was amazing, and those photos are breathtaking.
Ha ha, thanks Brittany! There are days when I seriously don’t know how I do it with all my kiddos either, lol! We’re pretty much pure chaos most days. Strangely, I love it though. We had so much fun hiking around Arches National Park too!!
Glad you enjoyed your anniversary. Utah looks so breath-taking. I can’t believe the little one is two!
I seriously can’t believe he is TWO either. It kills me. 🙁
We’ve really enjoyed hiking around Utah! I grew up here, but my family wasn’t very outdoorsy or adventurous while I was growing up, ha ha. It’s been a lot of fun to experience all the beauty with my own little family!
What a great family you have. And I think what you are going through is completely normal ! I delegate to my kids… litter box, washing their bathroom, folding & taking care of their clothes, making their beds, taking out the garbage and recyclables, dishwasher. It may not be done perfectly like I like it, but its good enough, and it definitely relieves stress and makes them more responsible!. Delegate delegate delegate.
You are so right about delegating! Sometimes I’m good at it and it really does help. However, sometimes it’s just easier for me to do IT ALL myself and that just makes me worn out and doesn’t teach my kids to work!!!