Ya Think?

Today on my lunch break I was walking through Home Goods and found this horse. 

This is how the conversation went down in the car when I picked Aidan up from camp this afternoon:

Me: Look babe, I bought us a horse today.

Aidan: He's kind of small but I still think I can ride him.

What My Life is All About...

I have a ton of random photos of Aidan on my camera.  I try to carry my camera with me everywhere but I have become terrible at taking pics at significant times.  I still love any photo of him. Such a sweetheart. And so BIG!

He was talking to us the other night and I thought the way he was standing was hilarious.

Crashed after a day at the pool. 

Saturdays with Ryland in Waxhaw.

Panther Paw from Fan Fest with Nana and Grandpa

Attitude. 

I SPY books with Mommy. 

He LOVES for Adam to snuggle with him at bedtime and they always fall asleep.  (and I always take pictures)

Seriously cannot believe how big Aidan is getting. Time is truly flying by.

The Road To Here

Isn't it funny how a song can bring you back to a time in your life?

The other day I was alone in the car ( a very rare occasion) and I was trying to find something, ANYTHING to listen to on the radio.  Mostly to take my mind of this heat!  I stopped when I heard a familiar song "When You Say Nothing At All" by Allison Krauss.

I don't know what it is about that song but I was instantly daydreaming about the April I was 6 years ago. 8 years ago.  I was a part time Interior Design student and a full time girlfriend in a supremely immature, selfish relationship.  I was more worried about what I was doing that weekend than I was about anything else.  My priorities were all over the place.  I was young, and they are memories I will cherish forever.  I met some of my closest girlfriends during that time.  But I spent a lot of time in denial that I was in all the wrong places in my life.  I was spending a lot of time being the April I thought everyone else wanted me to be.  I had lost myself. 

The song ended and just as life would have it, "Hey Soul Sister" by Train came on the radio.  I lifted my head off of my fist, leaning up against the window and started to sing along. I was brought right back and suddenly smiling so hard it hurt thinking about all the times Adam has sung this song to me in the kitchen while we danced around Aidan at our feet.  So much has changed in those short years. Everything is so different now then it was then.  The people, the places, the feelings.  I grew up.  I met Adam, I bought a house.  I started to feel like me again.  Aidan came along.  I had evolved in to the girl I always wanted to be. 

It's all so much different.  Luckily, this different is perfect.  8 years ago I didn't know I was on the road to here. But this is where I was always going to end up.  Right here where I was always meant to be.  It just took a hot afternoon, and one old cheesy country song to make me realize it.

via

Last Post about Schedules

Just when I thought I was done posting about boring schedules around here, I figured I should probably jot down what life it like these days for memory.  Here's the breakdown.

6:45am: Alarm goes off, I'm up. Barely.  Teeth, hair, clothes.  Lay out something for Aidan to wear.  Kiss the boys in bed. Out the door.

8:00am: Work! Yippee!!!

8:30am: Adam wakes Aidan, dresses him, feeds them breakfast and takes Aidan to school.  Adam is off Mondays and Tuesdays. 

12:45:Adam picks Aidan up from school. 

1:00pm: Lunch time.  When I am super duper lucky, Adam will come meet me for lunch.  Otherwise it's a Lean Cuisine or take out.  Yum.

5:00pm-Out the door. Race home to see the boys. They are usually napping.

5:15:Discussion about dinner plans. Usually decide on restaurant. No one feels like cooking.

6:30-7:30: Dinner.

7:30: A lot of nights we stop by to see my Mom and Dad.  We go for a walk or out for dessert. Or we shop or watch TV as a family. 

8:15: Bath time, book, TV time.

9:00: Bedtime for Aidan.

9:30: Showers for us, clean  up the house, TV time. This is where I blog.

1am-3am: We go to bed sometime in there.  1am on a good night.  3am on the nights we watch a late movie and have a snuggle fest.

6:45am: I'm back at it.

The weekends are a little bit different because we all sleep in to close to 10am.  And we just let the day unfold. We don't have a schedule on the weekends.  We always try to do something fun and make the most out of the two days we have together.

Crazy fun life, isn't it? I think so.

Birthday Weekend Re Cap

I am seriously, ridiculously spoiled by my husband and all of my friends.  I can't say it enough, I. AM. SO. BLESSED. 

Every Wednesday night we have dinner with our dear friend Julie and she knew I had been having a tough week so she showed up for dinner on Wednesday with a birthday balloon, a trash mag and cupcakes.  The girl knows how to get to my heart.  And why not start celebrating day early?? 

Thursday I was up early and headed to work. I was greeted by donut holes and sweet card from my receptionist in crime Monica.  She is the sweetest.  It was the perfect way to start my day.  All of my co workers made their way to my desk and wished me a happy year.  After lunch I came back to not one BUT two floral arrangements.  A large arrangement of roses from Adam and a smaller arrangement from Aidan.   The roses meant so much but I could not stop smiling at that little bunch of flowers.  Adam and Aidan called the office and Aidan sang the best version of  "Happy Birthday" my ears have ever heard.   Adam said he had taken Aidan to the florist that morning and he hand picked the flowers in his arrangement. I guess that's why I kept smiling at them, I knew how much love was packed in that vase. 

{Birthday Flowers}

After work I rushed over to pick Aidan up from camp. It was so funny how badly I just wanted to spend my day with him. I had high hopes he would be in the mood to sing "Happy Birthday" once more for me and he did not disappoint.  

We met Adam at home and he surprised me with a gorgeous new stainless steel watch and a dozen of my favorite cupcakes. I'm torn between wearing it and my ceramic watch he bought me for Christmas, everyday.  Serious issues to have huh?   Julie showed up moments later to spend some time with Aidan so Adam and I could go out to eat.  I was in the mood for Firebirds.  We had intentions of heading to a movie afterwards but I was dying to get home to Aidan so we could share a cupcake.  We had that cupcake and I was exhausted.   I was in bed super early and another year older. 

{Birthday Watch}

My phone was ringing off the hook weeks prior to my birthday. Friends and family wondering how and where I wanted to celebrate. In typical fashion these days, I couldn't commit to anything until the last minute and decided on a quiet dinner Friday night with those closest to me at a trendy restaurant in town. My brother Bobby offered to sit Aidan while we went out.  It was just what I needed and I loved the time I got to spend with my hubby and those friends. It was perfect for saying goodbye to 27.

{Birthday Shirt}

Saturday we spent some time at the mall so I could get a link taken out of my watch and it was then I realized I was not feeling well. Lately it seems a migraine finds it way in to at least one day of my weekend.  I came home and crashed. My parents swung by and took Aidan to Fan Fest at the Panther stadium.  We met them at their house early in the evening for more cupcakes and they surprised me with concert tickets for Adam and I this Friday night. 

Today I capped off the weekend with a mid-day pedicure with one of my best friends Amanda and a late lunch and some furniture shopping with my boys.  We had dinner with my parents and enjoyed the last of the birthday cupcakes.  At this point, the nickname "Cupcake" would probably be very fitting.  I won't need to eat another one until next week year.

As the years have gone on, the way I celebrate has changed a little bit. There is a lot less partying and a whole lot more reflection on the year past and all the amazing things that the year ahead holds. I worry less about what I am going to do and more about who I am going to celebrate with.  27 was great, 28 will be even better. 





It's My 28th Year

Happy Birthday to me! I'm 28 today. 

It's amazing what a difference a year makes.  27 had it's ups and downs.  We endured some heart ache and a lot of things didn't go as planned.  I found endless joy and peace in watching my son grow and my marriage prosper.  I fell in love with my boys over and over.  I got to witness two of my best friends become moms and I started a new job.  I became another year wiser and spent a lot of time daydreaming about our future.   28 is going to be a good one! I can feel it. 

A Few
Birthdays Past

26

Last years bday post 27

27

I have been so bad about taking pictures recently! I promise to take some this weekend!

P.S.   We did reach 100 followers {Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!} so I am gearing up for a big giveaway.  If anyone has an Etsy shop or something they want to contribute, email me at april@youmeandthekid.com. 

The Not Schedule-Part Three

I promised this last week and I a just now getting around to posting it. Whoops. 

When Aidan got a little bit older and he was eating real food, we had more of a schedule because we ate real meals together. Adam started working days so he would get up with him, feed him breakfast and then I would get up and we would start our day together. Adam would leave for work. Aidan and I spent a lot of time playing, meeting family or friends for shopping, lunch or whatever we had going on that day. Lunch was almost always eaten out. Mid afternoon we would wonder back to the house, most likely try to decide what I was going to make for dinner or where I was going to order dinner from. I would make Aidan's dinner, feed him. Adam would come home, we would sit down to eat, Aidan sits in high chair, plays with toys or we spend our entire meal trying to entertain him. This is actually enjoyable. That boys laugh will light up your life. We occasionally would fight over who could hold him during dinner. Many a night was spent doing all of these things with my parents at their house.
Aidan really never spent much time in his high chair.  He did however spend a lot time sitting on phone books at the table with us. That's where he was happy.

Every night after we eat, we try to go for a walk or run over to the park for a bit to burn some energy.  The worst parts of my day used to be the time before dinner and after.  Then it was home for a bath for all of us and a book or some TV time. Yup, our kid watches TV.   Judge me.

For the most part Aidan is always in bed by 9.  We are serious night owls so this is reasonable for us.  Adam and I are typically not asleep before 2am.  We've always been lucky because if we have a few nights where Aidan needs to be up past bedtime, he can get right back on track.  He sleeps now from around 9pm to 9am.  I'm not going to pretend like that's not pretty awesome. On the weekends Adam and I lay in bed waiting for him to come snuggle. 

We are lucky that our schedule works.  Like I said, it's not for everyone and honestly it's a loose schedule if one at all. But we do what works for us. Knowing what we know now about raising a child, it should be interesting to throw a new baby in to the mix.  I can imagine the only thing we will do differently is wake up a little more in the beginning? We'll see when that time comes.  In the meantime, we're just doing what works for us and that's exactly what I think you should do.