Xavier's 6th Birthday Party!!

Took me a while to get back to updating my blog due to life happening!! Well a couple weeks ago we celebrated Xavier's 6th birthday. Due to having rain for the 2 months before, we were worried that we would not get a nice enough day to do anything, but we were wrong. The sun came out, it was 80 degrees, and we could not have asked for a better day to celebrate his birthday. The day started off rocky, with Xavier not wanting to eat breakfast and put up a fight. We were worried that he was going to put up a fight all day. Well when we got to the house and he saw the water slide, everything got better.

The kids played outside most of the day, up and down the water slide, playing soccer, then even riding bikes. Well it was only the 3rd time Xavier has taken out his bike and he proved to be very good at riding. We are working on getting his balance so that he can go without training wheels!! For lunch we had hamburgers, hot dogs, and about 300 pounds of ribs!! After lunch and cake we did presents. Xavier got clothes, pool items, video games, and much more. Grandma and Papa came, which was nice, because Papa needed a break from work.

On the way home Xavier wanted to play his game, but as soon as we got inside, Xavier crawled onto the couch and went right to sleep. I would say it was a great day. Good food, great family, and beautiful weather!! Happy Birthday Xavier!!!!

What to do!?

So I'm not sure what to do. Every time I pick up my son he smells like smoke! We ask him about it and he says that he does not like the smell of smoke, but he is only 6 and does not feel like he can say anything. We have tried time and time again to tell him to ask the people to stop, but it continues to be a problem. It's so frustrating having to make him take a bath when I pick him up and having to wash all his clothes, sometimes twice to get the smell out. I just don't understand how you can do that to kids and not care one bit about what it is doing to them. My father has smoked his whole life. The thing is, I can't tell you one time that I was a kid where he smoked in the house, or smoked in the car, or anywhere else that would keep us closed in with the smoke. Just don't understand how hard it is to go outside for 5 min and let the kids have clean air to breath inside!!

As Simple As a Smile

At times our lives seem to get moving so fast, you forget a lot of things! Where you put your keys, how to do something at work, forgot to get the milk on the way home.....the list is endless. We take for granted the little things that only take a second to take in and enjoy......our kids smile.

When your day seems endless and you don't know what to do....its as simple as a smile....

When your mad and aggravated and want to calm down....its as simple as a smile....

When they fight about dinner, or games, or playing outside....its as simple as a smile....

When you spend the best day with your family and its time for bed...its as simple as a smile....

When you think you are not being the best parent you can be...its as simple as a smile....

When you want someone to talk to but you know they wont understand...its as simple as a smile....

So what I am trying to say is, no matter what is going on, or how you feel, if you take a second to think about how they feel with you, you know it.....its as simple as a smile!!!

THE LOOK

I didn't realize how many times you get "THE LOOK" when you are out in public alone with a baby. I spent the day with my daughter yesterday, due to having the day off and also that Sam had wisdom teeth removed. Well there are a lot of things I did not realize happen when your out in public.
1. Baby cries....now this is normally OK, except when you are trying to get something done and she starts screaming like you just pinched her leg. Now most people will just walk by and not say anything, then others will stop and say how cute it is. Now you always have the people that walk by like they are going to call 911 because they think child abuse is anything from the baby not smiling to a tear in there eye from a long yawn they just had. I didn't realize how many people don't like you when the baby cries.
2. The helper....now I know that I am not a baby expert, but do you really feel the need to come over and ask if I need you to take my daughter. Yeah, I got that yesterday. A nice grandma came right over, told me how cute Avery was, and then asked if I wanted her to take her and make her stop crying. Well grandma did not realize that we had been driving around all day, were really tired of the car seat, and were ready to go home and have a bath! So of course my answer was no thank you, but thanks for the offer. Well not even a second after I said no, SHE GAVE ME THE LOOK!
3. The noises.....not that it is a bad thing, but I caught myself singing, laughing, talking, googoogaagaaing, and anything else you can think of to keep Avery quit. I realized that everyone could hear me later in the day, but I must have been doing some funny things because Avery was laughing at me, and so was anyone else walking by. All is well with the noises because kids give you the right and permission to make yourself look completely ridiculous any time of the day, any day of the week, and again, I don't know how I found this person. While I am making baby noises to keep her quit, a lady comes up to me, tells me it is not good for her speech if I continue to make the noises and not talk to her normally, and gives me "THE LOOK" as she walks away! What, you really took 2 minuets out of your day to come and tell me that. I will now never make gaga noises to my daughter again! Just kidding, I think it is OK for a 2 month old because I still make the same noises to my 5 year old son to get him to quiet down!
So I think I am going to try and do something new, I am going to start giving THE LOOK to people. I don't know what look to give, and I think it will take practice and advice. When I see someone coming over with the eyes like they want to talk, I will just throw it out, BAM...THE LOOK.

Diaper Chump

So we have a diaper pail, its called the Diaper Champ. Its a great concept, hold the diapers in a contained area, where the smell won't drive you insane and you done have to see how much she really cost you in diapers. It works OK, you put the used diaper in the top, grab the handle and spin the top. There is a sliding part that pushes the diaper into the bottom holding area that is lined with a trash bag. Do not forget the bag because if you do, you will have a bit time mess on the floor.

Well, Sam got this at a major discount at the store!! We thought it was a good deal, but it really has not been the dream diaper pail. First thing we noticed was that it was hard to rotate the top all the way if there is any part of the diaper that sticks to the side. Well that's OK, just make the diaper into the smallest ball that you can and it works OK!! Well next, it doesn't always keep the diaper in the bottom. The diaper would get caught and when you tried to put another one in, it would bring back the diaper like magic, and you spend a little more time flipping back and forth! No biggie right, well, until it gets full. At 3 am when you have one eye open and just want to get the diaper to its resting point and the pail is full and it will not turn at all, the last thing you want to do is open it to push on the diapers to make more room. MMMMM, and that's a great smell!!

I know it seems like a little thing, but the smell is not as contained as advertised. So Sam and I are not completely in love with the Diaper Champ, so we are looking for a different diaper pail because lets face it......Avery is not going to slow down on the amount of diapers that shes going to produce!! Not sure what anyone else uses, but we are looking for something new.