I have a new love

 I have a new love. I cannot stop thinking about this new love. I hope I can stop because it could have devastating effects on my future as a person. What is this new love? It is Le pops. Wow is all I can say. It was love at first lick. Le pops is this amazing gourmet iced lollies (that’s how they describe themselves) shop located in one of my favorite places in Little Rock, Kavanaugh Street. It is too conveniently located to my house which is not helping my addiction.

 I had heard great things about this place but have avoided it until almost two weeks ago. I picked up princess from orientation and wanted to treat her and me for making it past the unofficial first day of high school. It was a stressful day for both of us, so we needed a reward. We are both adventurous and like to try new things, so we caved. We went in Lepops and I loved it from the start. It is simple, yet fun on the inside. There are places to sit inside and benches on the outside when it gets cool enough to sit outside. The beautiful, yummy iced lollies were right there displayed in all their yumminess. They have fruit flavors, like Lavender and Lemon, traditional flavors, waffle cones and chocolates and accessories you can dip your iced lolly in, and you know how much I love my accessories. The iced lollies are handmade using locally grown produce and herbs. The coffee is Rozark coffee in Rosebud, Arkansas, Callebaut Belgian chocolates and pure cane sugar. I love a store that uses local when possible. Princess chose vanilla dipped in milk chocolate. Yes, it is drool worthy. I chose Mocha Madness, in its pureness without any dips or accessories. The first lick/bite to the last lick/bite was beautiful. The flavors are ridiculous. Unlike I have ever tasted. It was so fresh and pure.  I had to grab a bite of the vanilla dipped in chocolate and I enjoyed it so much I went back two days later and got the exact same thing. I did not go back the next day because I could not fit it in! I introduced hubby to them a few days later (he had an orange lolly dipped in dark chocolate) and then we went back again last Friday before heading out of town. So if you are keeping track that is 4 times in two weeks. Told you I loved them. They are reasonably priced. It is $7.10 (yes, it’s memorized) for two iced lollies. What a bargain! They even have a punch card! And I love a punch card. Oh! I forgot to tell you how they are served! With a smile, efficiency and with a cute little cupcake wrapper on the bottom to catch your drips! How great is that!  Am I going today? That would be yes. It is has been a whole 3 days since I have been and I am sure they miss me. Go visit Le pops (www.lepops.com) on 5501 Kavanaugh in Little Rock. You will not be disappointed.

Long time, no read

 Good early Wednesday morning! Or as I like to call it, hump day. Yes, long time no read from me. You thought I was missing? Me too. Life has turned upside down for me these last few months. Ever since graduation any plans made have basically gone out the window. As a planner, this has thrown me for a loop but it has also taught me adaptability. Yes, in my mid 40’s I am finally grasping this concept. So, let’s catch up!

  Let’s talk about the kids first, of course, because at the moment they are the focus of all my attention. Oldest stepson: still working at Cheers trying to find his way in the world. It’s hard for kids to figure out what they want to do especially if they have not found their passion in life yet. He is working hard and trying to move out on his own, so I am proud of him for that. Oldest son: had surgery this summer, recovered nicely and is all settled in his new home at the University of Arkansas. Yes, it was hard dropping him off, but he loves it and that makes it easier. Although little sis and I are ready to go snatch him up and bring him back home. Don’t worry, we won’t. We would just like to. Youngest stepson: had a great summer. Started off with a trip to Europe and basically working like a dog for the rest of the summer. He had to say farewell to a good friend who was a foreign exchange student last year. They had a good bye bash at our house and it was wonderful. Hubby and I love having a house full of kids. Keeps us young, I think. He took in a few college tours and is now faced with the daunting class of trying to figure out where to land next year. He seems to be putting all his eggs in one basket and this makes me nervous. You always need a backup plan, but hey, what do I know. Youngest daughter: had a great summer as well. Got to spend some quality time with her bestie from Nashville and do some much needed relaxing. She started high school this year and broke her elbow the first day of school at cheer practice. The good news is that surgery is not needed and hopefully 3 weeks in a sling and some PT will be all that is needed. We have a doctor’s appointment today so wish us luck.

  As for hubby and I? We are doing awesome. I absolutely love being married to this man. He is my true soul mate. He brings me happiness like I have never experienced. He has been my rock this past year as I have gone through some things health wise and other wise that I do not know if I could have made it through without him. So super shout out to my Mark. I love you, sweetheart. Kisses always.  We are celebrating 5 years as a couple in September. We always celebrate our first date as this marked the true beginning of our new lives together. We have a lot to celebrate this year and some fun and exciting things to come in our future.

 Fitness wise has basically been nonexistent. I am getting back into it this week. I have a pair of tennis shoes on for the first time in months. Yippeee!!! I am walking to the Capital this year in a fundraiser for Cystic Fibrosis. I work for an awesome company who is very involved in community service and encourages their employees to get involved as well. The walk will be a couple of miles and I am super excited about it. For more details about this event: #elemonateCF

  Have a brilliant hump day and I am glad to be back!

Hugs!!!

#100 days of happiness

  #100 days of happiness. I have seen this all over social media the past year or so and kept thinking how fun it would be to do this. So four days ago I plunged in. Now, I am a planner. I go with the flow some of the time, but most of the time, I have a plan. I decided on this challenge to just go with it. Whatever made me happy on that day made the cut. Now, I could post very easily 100 days of happiness with hubby and kids alone, but I promise not to saturate the facebook world with happy pics of my hubby and kids. I mean if I did that, according to facebook rules that would mean I am not really happy with my hubby and kids. I know, right? Try to wrap your head around that logic. Okay, I am squirelling.  So yesterday was day 4 of my happy days and I used a pic hubby took of youngest stepson in the airport after landing from his European vacation. I was so glad to see that face in person. I know he is not my by blood kid, but it does not mean I love or miss him any less than my by blood kids. I did not run and jump in his arms and give him a big squeeze like I wanted to. I stepped back and let hubby have first hugs and words. I did manage to get my hug in after what seemed like forever. We then sent him on to his momma as I know she was just as excited to get her hugs in. While we were waiting for his luggage to come in, I again, stepped back. This was momma and dad’s moment of reunion. That is when being a stepmom is so very hard. You love that kid with all your heart, but know that your feelings take a back seat, especially when all parties do not get along. So I stepped back and took it all in. Saw the exchange of inside jokes that were created among travelling friends, last minute pictures with friends, lots of hugs and hair tousling as momma and dad sorted out their youngest son’s arrival. He went home with his momma last night, because mommas and sons have a special relationship and we understand it. Does it hurt any less? Not at all. We would have loved to hear all about his trip right then and there, but hopefully soon we will become privy to all the European adventure tales. So as we gave stepson one last squeeze before he went with his momma, I realized this really was my day of happiness. My youngest stepson made it home safe and with lots of fabulous memories.

 

Hugs!

Helicopter parenting at it's finest

 Yesterday, I was the helicopter parent, I mean helicopter step parent because good gravy we must get my title right, and I am not ashamed to admit it. Hubby and I sent youngest stepson off to Europe for 10 days with his high school. We met him at the airport and decided to stick around until he was safely up the escalators and through security. We hung out in the background visiting with other parents and not hovering too much unless it was needed. I normally am not a helicopter parent especially when I am in the role as step parent.  I try to stay in the background when his mom is around, but she was nowhere to be seen, so hover I did. I was sending my stepson overseas for 10 days! I wanted to make sure everything was covered.  I noticed he did not have a luggage tag on his backpack so hubby went over there to help him take care of it. We went over when Ms. Bonner was helping him check in. Hubby went up to the luggage check in to make sure he was not over the limit. We double checked with him to make sure he had his passport and Euro’s. We took pictures of all said events hugged him good bye and sent him up the escalator.  Could he have done all this stuff by himself? Sure. Do I trust the people he is going with to take care of him? Of course.  Am I going to apologize for my hovering? Not one little bit. Does he care that we were there? Probably not and I am sure he complained about it the whole time, but honestly that is not why I hovered yesterday. I hovered because I needed to for my piece of mind. I am not going to drop him off at the curb and say see ya in ten days! If that is your style, sleep well.  I would do this for any of my other kids and probably my hubby, cousins, friends and parents as well.  I will admit, stepson is not a good communicator when it comes to hubby. He tells him mom everything, but dad, not so much. When hubby and I were sitting on the front porch yesterday he downloaded the flight tracker so we could track stepson’s flight. We noticed that around 7:00 his flight still had not taken off even though it was supposed to leave at 5:18. Hubby texted stepson’s mom and she said of course she knew it was late, stepson had texted and told her. Sigh. Communication is so nice. Even if you think the other may know, it is better to get more information than none at all. At that point I went into “mom” mode. I contacted my sweet friend whose son is also on the same trip and asked her to communicate with me about the flight. Thankfully, she is awesome and let me know anything she heard and I did vice versa for her.  Her daughter just returned from Europe so she set me at ease with some other things as well. Thank goodness for friends! I am now in the know and feel much better for it. By the way, the flight tracking app is fabulous. We knew when he landed in Atlanta, when he flew over Ireland and when he landed in Paris. Awesome! So, I am excited to hear all about his trip when he returns in 10 days. I will be wondering, as I am now, what he is doing. Visiting the Eifel Tower? Eating his weight in Gelato? Making new friends?  So, if you need me, I will over here hovering from afar and not apologizing one little bit.

Hugs!

One more day

  It is only one more day until graduation. It seems like life is full of “one more days”. One more day until the baby comes, one more day until school starts, one more day until Christmas break, one more day until vacation, one more day until summer, one more day of winter, one more day until marriage, one more day with the person you love. Do we view these “one more days” as an ending or a new beginning? I would like to think this “one more day” is just the beginning. It is the beginning of a new adventure for my son.

 Oldest son has reached another milestone in his life. There have been so many: sleeping through the night, walking, starting preschool, starting kindergarten, first lost tooth, reaching the teen years, and driving are among the few. They have all brought their own unique challenges and joy, but the emotions remain the same. Happy because they are growing up, but sad because your baby is not a baby anymore. So as we prepare this summer to send oldest son off to college, be patient with me. I am so happy he has worked hard to be able to achieve this goal, but sad because my baby is leaving the nest.

 

Hugs!

Life advice for the graduate

  We are down to two more days until graduation for oldest son. He has had two days of graduation practice and survived. Remember graduation practice? Boring!!!  Today’s blog is dedicated to the things I would like my son to know about the future. Do I know it all? Absolutely not, but I have lived a little and feel I can share some words of wisdom with my son as he ventures out beyond the walls of high school.

1.  Get a college degree or some sort of skill. It does not matter if it is a bachelor’s degree, certification in something or an associate degree. Your opportunities will be greater for employment with these skills.

2.  Live within your means. You know how to budget. Keep that knowledge with you as your income grows larger. You want your money to be yours and not anyone else’s.

3.  Take advantage of travel opportunities. You have lived in 4 different states and have seen things beyond your four walls. Keep it up! Look into international study opportunities while you are in college. The world is amazing beyond the US, go explore!

4.  Keep your faith. “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength” Philippians 4:13. Always put God in the center of your life.  You will be faced with tough situations in life. Remember what you have learned. It will make things easier. Prayer is a powerful thing.

5.  Find the joy in all things. Focus on the good in your life and not the bad. It is way too easy to stay down. Keep up your positive attitude.

6.  Dress for success. Take pride in your appearance. Keep your hair nice, your clothes pressed, and yourself clean. You will feel better about yourself if you take care of yourself.

7. Keep exercising. Do not get out of this habit. Eat well. Take care of your inside as well as your outside.

8. Give. Give your time, give your money, and give yourself. Life is not about handing you things.  Go out and do something for someone for absolutely nothing. Give someone some financial help without expecting anything in return. Volunteer for an organization you feel passionate about.

9.  Take time to smell the flowers. Do not get so busy in your life that it passes you by. Take time to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor. It is okay to be lazy everyone once in a while.

10.  And saving the best for last, CALL YOUR MOM! Not every day, but every once in a while so she knows you are okay.

Hugs!

Thanks for the memories!

 Happy Tuesday! It is only 3 more days until oldest son graduates from high school. Sigh. Today’s blog will be dedicated to some of my favorite memories from oldest son’s high school career. There are so many, that honestly, it was hard to choose. I did find a recurring theme in my trip down memory lane and that is the first day of school photos and how I felt as each year was starting. We have a tradition that, we, like many others, always take a picture on the first day of school before they start off on their new adventure. So here are my memories:

Freshman year:  Wow! My baby is going to high school. Am I that old? Is he that old? Is he ready? Am I ready? He looks so handsome in his khaki shorts, knit polo and sperry’s. When did he grow up? Will he make friends? He was very excited to start his new high school and I was a nervous wreck. I drove him to school and I kissed him on the top of his head before he got out of the car. I was afraid I had made a social error in doing this, but he looked at me and told me it was fine. He still allows me to do this. Even in front of his friends.

Sophomore year:  Hubby and I were married at this point and youngest stepson was starting his freshman year at Catholic. It was awesome to see the older brother looking out for the younger one. They are both independent persons, but this year started out what was to be many times of laughter as they recounted their days at the dinner table regarding the shenanigans (as hubby says) at school. I will miss this next year. This was also the year oldest son was diagnosed with hypercalcemia/hypoparathyroidism. We spent many hours seeing at what turned out to be 7 different doctors and finally ended up at the UAMS cancer institute. This is the year I saw my son turn into a man. He had too many medical tests to count, too many blood draws and too many unanswered questions. He is known as “Patient X” at UAMS and the Mayo Clinic as they still do not have a confirmed diagnosis for him other that what was stated above. He wears this title proudly.  He is loved by all of his doctors and nurses and took all of it in stride. He hardly ever complained and did not let his mystery illness define who he was or affect him as a person. Even when we had to wait an awful 4 weeks for a cancer test to come back negative he kept a positive attitude. He will for the rest of his life go to twice a year doctor appointments at UAMS and have multiple tests ran every year, but as he always says to me, “I got this, mom”.

Junior year:  I was told this was the hardest year at Catholic. I was nervous about this year and what it would bring academically. He did amazing, by the way.  This was the year we started our college tours. I loved these trips. I remember our trip to Ole Miss and his first experience with a real college campus. He was overwhelmed and thrilled all at the same time. This was also the year that it hit me that he would be headed off to college soon. Yikes! Our biggest challenge of this year was curfew. I abided by city curfew and apparently I am the only one in Little Rock who “makes” their kid do this. I told him when he was 18; I did not care anymore as he was not breaking any laws, but until then, city curfew. Believe it or not, I stuck to it and he did survive.

Senior year:  This has been my favorite year. All the traditions I mentioned yesterday are worth the wait. Ring Mass started us off and it was amazing. I told Mr. Straessle afterwards, you better have something amazing planned for graduation because it is going to be hard to top this! This was also the year that everyone started hanging out at our house. It is rare to have a Friday or Saturday night alone at our house and I love it. Jake’s friends make me laugh and I love being a tiny part of this part of his life. We made the college decision, finally! This was very stressful. He was accepted to all 8 schools he applied for. In the end, he chose University of Arkansas. Once a Razorback, always a Razorback. I am just thankful that process is over.

 So, thanks for the memories, my son. I am excited to see what memories college will bring you over the next four years. I know I will not be a part of most of it and I am okay with that. You are an amazing son and I am so very proud of you!

Hugs!