Thursday, May 30, 2013

Dear Tooth Fairy...

6:17 PM
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Yesterday at work I get an unexpected text from my Mother in Law that says:
"Drew wants you to know he has a loose tooth."

Really? That sucker came out of no where! But I knew he would be so excited. He has been so eager to loose a tooth. Lots of his friends at school had already lost up to six teeth. But we kept telling him it would happen soon. Justin and I neither one lost our first tooth until we were in 1st grade. And secretly I was not ready for the toothless look. ESPECIALLY the top teeth.



I came home from work and he was working so hard on wiggling the little guy. I felt it myself and jumped with excitement telling Justin that thing was coming out tonight. It was so loose.

Drew wanted to try eating an apple to see if that would get it. He would take a bite then ask me if it was out. Ha.


 (And Dylan thought he needed to have a loose tooth too...)


He tried that for about 10 minutes then it began to really hurt him so he stopped. As I was in my closet getting things ready for the next day, he was in there with me wiggling it in the mirror. I told him to grab the top of it and pull. He did and it CAME RIGHT OUT!

We both screamed in excitement!!



Seriously though?! How can one itty bitty little missing tooth all of a sudden make him look two years older. Really? How? 

This child is a night owl, however, he was so excited to go to sleep so the tooth fairy would visit.




All of this came so unexpected that I totally forgot I wanted to get him a tooth fairy pillow. My boss had been making them and showing them to me, so I immediately text her to see if she had some.

Dyl and I headed over to her house and she whipped this cuteness right up for me...


Drew also wrote a note to the tooth fairy that stated:

Dear Tooth Fairy,

 I want a 100 dollar bill, 2 pennies, and 3 quarters.

 Love, 

 Drew

I told him to definitely not expect that much. Ha.





 

 Gosh darn, he looks so big. I am surprised I didn't cry. I think I just get so excited because he gets so excited. 

He later walked up to me in a dead serious voice. "Mommy, I think I have another loose tooth." Sure enough it was. I think the second one will be out in just a few days.




I had to get the going rate for a tooth these days. Justin and I decided $5 and some gold fairy dust (my idea, obviously not his :) ) would do.




He wanted to check to see if the tooth fairy came first thing when he woke up. 
And somehow photofanatic Mommy forgot to get a picture...:(

What a great night!!!
So much fun playing the tooth fairy!
 I thought all the amazing, exciting milestones were pretty much a goner after they are not babies anymore, but I forget about these special moments I still have to come!








Brista Barrington
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Monday, May 27, 2013

Kicking off the Summer...

6:54 PM
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Summer time is finally here!!

Drew had his last day of Kindergarten the other day. Tear. So bittersweet. Don't you remember the basket case I was at the beginning of the year? My goodness. I'm over the top sometimes, but hey, it's laughable. Or annoying. Whichever. It's me. 

So crazy to see how much he has grown up and learned since the first day of school. Just looking through his journal was so sweet. He really thinks about his family often. And oddly enough sometimes we had an extra family member. Psychic? Maybe? I think not.


Mama headed out to the first concert of the Summer season. TIM MCGRAW. If you are my Facebook friend, you knew I was there. I was blowin up the feed like no other. This man is gorgeous. He is so awesome. Love me some country music.

I'm like a little kid in a candy store. Seriously, I got some major goosey's whenever he appeared on stage.EEEEKKKK!!!


We have a lot planned for this summer.

Next week it is a Mommy and kid overnight trip to Holiday World.

A few more weeks after that we are headed to St. Louis for a day at the Cardinal Stadium. I was misinformed by the husband we would no longer have season tickets, so for his birthday I got him some Cardinal tickets and tickets to tour the stadium. Yeh, we still have the season tickets. Oh well, it will be fun to sit elsewhere. And the tour of the stadium should be fun too. We have never done that.

Oh yes, and another concert with the girls...KENNY CHESNEY!

Then, a few more weeks after that we are headed to Chicago for a basketball tournament. I, however, am on the fence about going. I do not want to spend my time in a sweaty basketball gym while I have Michigan Avenue and the chance to see Giuliana and Bill out my window. So I have decide if I want to rascal the kids myself in a big city. My mind says Yes. My body says No. We shall see.

 The husband should treat me to some RPM if I decide to go. Ahem.

I think we have about 2-3 weddings to attend including my sisters and all her bridal festivities.

Then BAHAMAS BABAY!!!

I am finally doing it. I am leaving my boys for more than 2 days. (Which I have only done once.)

I am turning 30 this year. Gag. So it's time I do it. My kids are old enough. Drew is 6 and Dylan will be just shy of turning 4. So...it's time. They will be just fine and Mommy and Daddy need this time to ourselves.

Ya see, I kinda canceled our honeymoon because I was scared to fly. This time, I plan on getting Dramamine/Xanax drunk. I just might turn into the lady off of Bridesmaids. No joke.


I feel like I totes got off track here.

I started off this weekend with the concert, spent lots of time outside with slip n slides and water fun, cookout with friends, and more swimming with friends.

 I think this is going to be an amazing summer!!!!
Brista Barrington
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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Drew's 6th WIPEOUT Birthday Bash

9:52 AM
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I decided this year for Drew I was not going to go all out like I did for his DrewMania Party or Dylan's to THREEinity and Beyond.
I thought all that hard work and money I put into the party and it's over in two hours?!?!
I am proud to say that I saved lots of moolah by not going all out this year. Holla.
 
When Drew told me he wanted a WIPEOUT birthday party, I immediately thought OBSTACLE COURSE!
Then I thought...ooohhh..MUDPIT!!!
 
Then I thought...oh, the Mom's are going to hate me! Ha.
 
My mother has an inflatable business, so this was going to be a piece of cake. I would create a WIPEOUT Course in our backyard, have cake and ice cream, and let the kids play!
 
Instead, the weather decided to play tricks on me.
6 days before the party I checked the forecast and it was set to rain 2 days before and the day of the party. I was stumped. I called a local place that I had previously booked Drew's party through and they never even canceled my reservation that I made months ago, so Drew's party was still down. They told me I had to make a decision by the next day (5 days out) whether to keep my reservation.
5 days!!! ...the weather changes hourly where we live.
But, I played it safe and decided to just have it elsewhere.
It was all about the WIPEOUT course and if I could not have that then I would have felt like I let Drew down.
 
It all worked out wonderfully though! Drew had a great great time and I think the adults even had a great time as well!

 
As for decor, I kept it simple.
 
 
I had Lauren Haddox Designs create some Wipeout printables for me. She worked with me before on Dylan's Oh TWOdles Party. I did not feel like really lifting a finger for this party, so I decided not to make my own this time.
She did a fantastic job and is so great to work with!
 
 
By keeping things simple we simply just had cake, cookies, and ice cream. Who says when you have a party you need to feed everyone a full blown meal?! That's not written in a book anywhere, is it??
 
I had one table of decor. Well, okay. Maybe a few more. I threw on tablecloths on the picnic tables for the kids and threw a simple centerpiece on that I literally made from foam coffee cups, a rock, tissue paper, and a printable. Ha. I also found blue and white chevron scrapbook paper at Hobby Lobby that I used as a placemat for the kids tables.
 
 
My mother in law once again made the cookies and cupcakes for the party. Everyone always asks me if she is making the cake, so how could I ever let anyone else do this job??
 
The cookies were shaped in just a plain circle with red icing to look like the WIPEOUT balls.
 
I did not use the original printable cupcake toppers. Instead, I went to Hobby Lobby in search of something with a red ball on it. This party decor was all focused around the four red balls. I could not find a package of just red balls, so I decided to just use multi-colors. They turned out very cute.
 
 
I also re-used some yellow chalkboards that we just recently used for family pictures to leave some messages on the table.
 
 
 
Favors for the kids I wanted to keep simple as well. I just simply bought a package of red gumballs. I put four (of course) in plastic baggies and tied it up with the printables Lauren made for me.
 

 
I had had had to get the four big red balloons to put above the table. They were my favorite part. To add more than just a simple string, I clothespinned some streamers to the balloon to give it a little more decor.
 
That's a wrap on decor. I succeeded in keeping it simple and not spending a lot of money. Go ME!
 
 
The highlight of the party was of course the obstacle course. I ordered four red yoga balls off of Amazon and my mother brought four tires to set them in for the infamous WIPEOUT balls.
 
The course started out as the kids going down a slide, jumping on the red balls, onto a trampoline, and landing in a foam pit. They all had a blast. I tried to corral all the big kids together to time them in hopes they would win a prize. Yeh, that just did not work out. Ha.
 
 
 
 
Even the big big kids joined in on the fun. I think that our wipeouts were the best!
 
 

 
Overall the obstacle course was a success!!!
 
I heard Drew talking to one of his friend's at the party saying "This was the BEST birthday EVER!"
 
That comment made me soooo happy!!
 
 
I am so glad everyone had a good time! That was exactly what I wanted, everyone to have FUN!
 
I am really bad about forgetting to sing Happy Birthday at the parties. This time I remembered, but I think I was so concentrated on everything being in four's I only put four candles on his cake instead of six. Ha. Oopsie...
 
And I guess I bought trick candles too...Oopsie again! :)
 
It made for a good laugh and maybe some additional spit on the cake...
 
 
Thank you to everyone who came! We hope y'all had just as much fun as we did!
 
 
 
Sources:
 
Wipeout Printables: Lauren Haddox Designs
Red Balloons/Cupcake Liners/Red Chevron Straws: Shop Sweet Lulu
Happy Birthday Sign/Cake Bunting: BooBahBlue Shop
Red Yoga Balls: Amazon
Yellow Chalkboards: Hobby Lobby (Painted Yellow)
Cupcake Topper Balls: Hobby Lobby

 
 
 
 
 

Brista Barrington
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Monday, May 13, 2013

Mother's Day Recap

6:16 PM
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So, for the first time I won't be all sappy sappy on being a Mommy.

We all know by now how I feel about that. Ha.

Instead, I am just simply going to share some pictures that the husband took of the boys and I for Mother's Day.

I am a photo fanatic. I love it. I want pictures of everything, everyday, all the time.
It drives Justin crazy, so Justin of course was not too excited about my idea of him taking pictures for me. But I used the excuse "This is all I want for Mother's Day." It worked. :)

Then I had to work on the little guys. See, we had family pictures the other day and I left feeling like we got nothing. This was the night I was so upset with the boys (including husband).

So, I bribed them with Duke...

 
.

Best. Idea.Eva.





Justin got so many good pictures. His good picture to bad picture ratio was about...

ohhhhhh..... 1/3 turned out or were not blurry.

 Ha. Oh well, he is not the photographer in the fam.

He had specific instructions to just keep shooting...in return I got this precious moment.


I love pure honest precious moments.

And my all time favorite of the day is the following...





Eeeeeeeeekkkkk!!!!

This one is definitely a framer or a canvaser!

The kids were cracking up because Duke is scared to be outside so as Justin was leaning down on the ground to take pictures he hopped on his knee and crawled all the way up to his shoulder's for safety. Big shout out to Duke for helping capture this awesome photo!

I do love Mother's Day though. I used the excuse : "It's Mother's Day" a good 34 times Sunday. Including dragging all the boys to Antique Stores. Bahahahaha.

But the BEST thing is getting these little drawings from the boys...Oh.MY. Melt.My.Heart.


 After getting this sweet card from Drew above, I get this interview from Dylan...



He just does not know...

After this weekend...

The Baby Fever is back ON!

I'm sure it will be off again Thursday night once I am not watching Drew's ballgame because I am playing musical seats on the benches with Dylan.



Brista Barrington
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Thursday, May 9, 2013

Happy 6th Birthday, Drew!

10:04 PM
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The fact that I am even saying Drew is turning SIX today just seems so surreal.
You hear Moms say that time flies, but you never understand that until you have a child of your own.
Wow!! Six!!!
Drew is 6!

Six Years Ago...

I had a pretty easy pregnancy with Drew up til the last few months. I developed high blood pressure and was in and out of the hospital.
One night I remember working on getting things ready for Drew's arrival talking to Mom on the phone saying I felt awful. Like I knew something was not right.
This was after a stay in the hospital for high blood pressure once before.

I refused to go to the hospital. I did not want to be back in that hospital bed for days. So my Mother decides it would be a great idea to call the hospital and have a nurse call me.
So they did.
Her name was Stephanie and her and I became quiet the buddies once she convinced me to get to the hospital. This time they didn't release me. They kept me for what seemed like forever.
Stephanie was so great. She was so concerned about me and took great care.

I was there for about a week before they decided they needed to induce me. My blood pressure was out of control. I remember the numbers being in the 200's as I was just laying in bed doing nothing. I had no control of the sickness. Nothing I could do would make it better.

Our wonderful Doctor came in and explained to us that he needed to induce and that "I could die from a seizure caused by the blood pressure during labor."
I remember that moment oh so well. Justin was so freaked out he hopped up and literally left me. He did not know what to think.

I remember too my Aunt Donna bringing me something to eat and she literally threw my food down and left because apparently I looked so bad. I gained 10 pounds over one night from swelling.

Finally it was time for induction. I do not remember much of it honestly. I was so medicated and drugged up with blood pressure meds, nausea meds, etc. I was puking so much because my blood pressure was so high. I remember puking the whole time I was getting my epidural apologizing to the nurse for being so gross. Ha.

During labor my Mother was so worried about me and had to leave the room to get a drink while I was pushing because my numbers were so high that she missed Drew being born. The Dr. literally suctioned him out because my BP was skyrocketing. I do not think I even pushed very much at all. If I did, I do not have a clue how I had any energy to do so.

After all that excitement this little guy was here...

Born: May 10, 2007
at 3:09 a.m.
Weighing 5 pounds 11 ounces


Is that not the best screaming crying baby face EVER?

I do not really remember much of the rest of the night.

The nurses took him away and I slept for a couple of hours. We stayed I think 2-3 extra days because my BP was STILL not low.

Despite all the craziness I had to go through to get him here, he was seriously the LOVE OF MY LIFE and I would go through all that sickness again just for him.

I had never loved someone so much with knowing them such a short period of time. Indescribable feeling. I had never been happier.

He easily became the light of our lives. Everything we did we did for him. He was our motivation. He was what we worked so hard for. He was our everything.



His first year was amazing. Watching him do new things. Watch him roll over for the first time. Watching him smile for the first time. Watching him crawl for the first time. Ahhh..everything. Still a perfect memory in my head.



Drew at his 1st Birthday Party...



Who knew that it got even better and better?

By the time he was two we were used to chasing him around everywhere!!!


When he turned three his obsession with the WWE started...



He grew up so so so much before he turned four. I was so amazed by him.




I feel like this fifth year was a big year. His personality really began to develop.


He started Kindergarten. He started making life long friends.



He is seriously the sweetest kid you will ever meet. I love hearing his teachers at school talk about how kind he is and how sweet he is. He is always happy. He loves sports. He is just an amazing kid. 

I could not be any more proud of the boy he has became. His is my baby. He is my heart. He is one of the loves of my life. I could never imagine my life without him. We have had so many great memories. We have so many great things we do just him and I. He loves his family so much. He loves his brother so much. He takes care of his Mommy when she does not feel good. He is compassionate. He is my rock. He is just absolutely wonderful.

Now that I have crocodile tears running down my face...

I seriously can not wait to see what more is to come of this little man. I can not wait (well, yes I can) to six years from now to see how much he has grown and to see what kind of little man he becomes.

Can you imagine what I am going to be like when he turns sixteen when I am taking him turning six hard?!?! My gosh. Pray for the husband.

The other day Drew was talking about going away to College and I was sick to my stomach. Ha.

I feel like I could go on and on about this angel in my life that I just love so much.

Here's to an awesome birthday Drew!!!!

I love you a million 69, 567, 100 thousand, to the left, to the right, to the moon, to the ground, to infinity and beyond, times a hundred.

And I will never ever stop...

***********************************************************************************

I wrote this post last night.
Today, why is Drew turning six hitting me so hard. Geez, this totally snuck up on me. Thank goodness one of my friends is Drew's school nurse, so I could get hugs from her!

I was singing Happy Birthday in the car to him on the way to school and I lost it.
He says "Don't worry Mom. Those are happy tears."
Seriously? Stop being so dang cute and sweet, it's making it worse!!!
Hahaha.
 
















Brista Barrington
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