Amazing Adventures

Is there anything more refreshing than an ice-cold lemonade on a hot summer day?  I don’t think so! We were gifted the sweetest lemonade stand by our neighbors next door that they had used fifteen years ago with their daughters in our same neighborhood.  I was so excited and grateful for this gift, since I knew it would be a great opportunity to spread some cheer in our neighborhood, and also be a way to teach Pax a little bit about entrepreneurship.  He was thrilled about serving lemonade and getting the stand ready for business.  We had four different beverage options to serve, and in compliance with precautionary health and safety measures, each item for sale was freshly prepackaged.  Unfortunately, our stand signage was a little misleading since nothing was freshly squeezed…maybe next year?  I think that Pax may be quite the businessman as he literally chased people walking down the sidewalk to offer them lemonade, and made sure everyone got a straw with their purchase, and of course Pepper followed his every move.  Pax had his piggy bank ready, and told everyone he was saving up for Magnatiles.  At one point I got pretty thirsty out in the heat and decided I could go for a lemonade myself. I told Pax that I didn’t have any money expecting him to be his sweet usual self and just give me one anyway, but instead he stepped back and said, “Ohhhh, I’m going to leave your drink right here until you go get your money, Mom.”  So basically, he learned how it all worked very quickly.  It was a big hit and we hope to do it again soon!            

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We love the sand and the sun, so as soon as my husband suggested last minute that we go south for a week, I was totally on board.  We honestly didn’t think we would be able to take a family vacation anytime soon, since Sayla’s spinal surgery was scheduled for early summer.  When we found out her surgery was cancelled, I was very upset about it, so I think Patrick knew I needed some beach in my life.  It was the perfect way to end the quarantine! 

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I have taken a short break from blogging the past 2 weeks.  Some of my faithful followers may have noticed (my mother and mother-in-law), and some of you may be saying, “You have a blog?” Either way, I’m back boo, and the last 2 weeks have been filled with lots of ups and downs.  In most cases, I tend to laugh to avoid crying (obnoxious laugh as seen in photo above), but some of the life events that have occurred only brought tears.  I wanted to share with you four things I have learned during my blogging hiatus.  Most of you have already experienced some of these lessons, but there may be a an experience you will never encounter.  So, here goes:

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“Girl you my Hunny, cause you’re busy as a bee.” – P Diddy (the hubs)

January has been packed full of both exciting and scary stuff. This mama has been running nonstop.  We finished off this month strong though with a day full of procedures for Sayla at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC).

Sayla had three procedures done under anesthesia.  We are so thankful the physicians worked together and that the scheduling department was able to organize it all on one day!  Below is a lost of her procedures and outcomes:

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For the last 6 years, I have been a part-time stay at home mom (SAHM) and a part-time nurse. I feel very fortunate that my employer has been so understanding of Sayla’s needs and the intermittent medical leave I was able to take when necessary. After eight weeks of maternity leave at the beginning of this year when Pax was born, I returned to my job. Pax attended daycare a few days a week while our LPN, Peggy, continued to watch Sayla while I was at work. It has been very difficult maintaining a job, being a mother of a special needs child, and an infant, wife, caretaker of the home, and managing Sayla’s healthcare, even though I really want to do it all! I was also accepted into a part time Nurse Practitioner online program starting this fall. This is hard to admit, but I’m choosing to be real with y’all right now…one of my biggest struggles is taking on too much, and not being able to commit myself 100% to any one role, so not giving each one my best. (Another struggle is my habitual run on sentences) The stress I have put on myself to try and do many things, is just not fair to anyone, so I have decided to stop being a “part-timer” with many roles, and focus on being a “full-timer” at home. No more work, and no school. My children (and the hubs) are my priority and they need 100% of me right now. Sayla has her upcoming surgeries with many pre-op appointments, and I am excited to stay at home with Pax, just as I did with Sayla the first years of her life. I am blessed to have this option, and thankful for a husband who supports my new full-time gig. This will not be for forever, but for right now, it’s the best choice. To celebrate the first week of my new full timin’ mom status, baby Pax and I decided to road trip it with my sister in law and niece to Charleston, SC, to see my brother and other sister in law. Sayla was with her dad and is not stable enough to travel right now, but she would have loved the ocean breeze as much as we did!

I look forward to many more adventures with my babies. Out of all the part time commitments I had, I chose the hardest role to commit to full time, but I know it will be the most rewarding. Any SAHM sanity tips would be appreciated, so leave a comment!