Back to the Grind!!!!

After being gone for 2 weeks, spending every day of those 2 weeks w/ our boys, it did my heart good to drop them off at the sitter this morning and be able to leave w/o 1 cry or scream, but rather a "bye mommy"!!!!  I love that our boys feel 100% comfortable w/ our sitter and I love, even more, that our sitter loves our boys so much.  I don't know who was more excited to see who, actually?!?! ☺ That was a big decision for us and had a few great candidates, but when it came down to it, we made the best decision and this morning proved that yet again......As I sit here at work , I'm missing my boys immensely and thinking back on the past 2 weeks, however, I'm sure I'm the only one that it's bothering at this given moment and for that I'm grateful!!!  ☺

Santa's Little Helper

Our boys get so excited over this little visitor...we started this tradition last year and they were excited to see "Brutus the Elf" made his way back this year =)

Vacation 2011 Album

click here to view album

No Place Like Home

Our boys, every year, surprise the crap out of us when we travel home from Florida and this year, is no exception......I decided last night at 9:00 pm we should try to make the trek home!  The boys were wound up, I wasn't tired, but Brenton wasn't sure about it?  After a little coaxing and a nice, warm shower for him, we hit the interstate at 10:30 pm.....what we found, is we will do it that way every year now! There was no hustle and bustle w/ traffic, just a nice leisurely ride home.....Brenton and I took turns driving and the boys slept, practically, the whole way home!!  We didn't even have to stop and get them out of the car, I mean we stopped at gas stations and stuff, but they didn't want to get out and run or anything, so we used that time to let Ethan drive, potty breaks, and change Colin's diapers.  We made a quick drive-thru stop into McD's for breakfast and then snacked the rest of the way home.....16 hrs later, we are home safe and sound!!!!  What a wonderful week we had, but there is no place like home and our own things..... ☺

On our way back to OH

being a good lil boy

thumbs up for the ride home

driving home ☺

Thanksgiving Day @ the beach!!!!

Happy "Turkey" Day!!!

Hard to believe it's Thanksgiving Day already and vacation is just about over!  I swear we wait 11 months for this week and it seems to always go by so quickly.....what a great week its been though!  The boys have absolutely loved the ocean and having their cousins here w/ them to enjoy it, has been a fun time to watch.  Family, is a great thing and yesterday brought a smile to my face....I watched my husband w/ his brother sitting in beach chairs, talking, and watching their son's in the ocean playing ☺.  Every time I see them together, hear them talk on the phone, or just simply laugh together I think of our boys and pray that one day, they too will be great friends?!?!  Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

his own book!!!

So, yesterday, did my heart good.....as some of you might know, our little Colin, gave us a scare (I say that lightly) over a month ago, but today a moment I'll never, ever forget......This week actually, thus far, this little guy has moved mountains.....yesterday morning, I was in the kitchen of the condo and he came over to me, grabbed my hand and said (yes, spoke it to me) "be side" meaning "be outside"!  I about lost it, for Brenton and I, it was a moment of per gratitude and a moment that gave us a huge sigh!  His vocabulary, is slowly getting bigger and his communication skills are bigger then we thought they were ☺ Last night, while we were watching sunset, he found a little girl (I like to call this the Shroyer charm in action), but he played his little heart out w/ her.....As we watched our little man (realizing the moment a month ago when we thought "autism") it was reassuring to us that there's absolutely nothing wrong, but that he's just the author of his own book!!!!  I thank God everyday for our little men, and what blessings they are to us, b/c they sure are showing us the true meaning of life.....

 Colin playing in the sand w/ his new 'girl'friend

he would grab her hand and say "Come" and lead her to the water (haha)

Finally....the ocean!!!!

up bright and early, for some reason, this morning???  So, thought I'd take a moment to share a few pics from our day yesterday....Our plan (haha) was to bypass the long wait for the condo this year, but Brenton gets so excited about getting here, we found ourselves waiting, yet again ;)  No big deal though, where else would you rather wait? I mean really, we were surrounded by white sandy beaches..LOL The boys didn't mind either...they loved the ocean (couldn't get Colin out of it, to be quite honest ☺), had PB&J on the beach, enjoyed the sun, and finally when it was time to get the key they were ready to get into the "new house" as Ethan calls it.  A little longer of a wait this year, but Colin got a quick nap under the cabana w/ Papa and Ethan got some time in the pool, too....Overall, a great arrival.....after a quick stop at the grocery store, we are ready for the upcoming week!!!! Supposed to be beautiful here, so we are going to soak up as much sun as we can...... ☺

Colin loving the ocean

 Ethan and TRex loving the ocean, too

cousinly fun at the beach

our little fish

I'll be posting a full album of pics when I get back home, but thought I'd try to share some highlights, if I can in the evening's, from our day.....Anyway, today was a fun day.....we spent the morning at Dinosaur World and then went to St. Petersburg for the afternoon.....enjoyed the day, but the boys are exhausted and ready for bed :)

 Ethan loved the waterfront restaurant in St. Pete

while we were waiting we saw a real, live jellyfish....too cool!!!

what a nice surprise!!!!

today was a pretty uneventful day on our trip....didn't do much, but travel from Kingsland, GA to Plant City, FL.....tomorrow is the big day, Dinosaur World!  For our boys, that means heaven is almost among us...haha!  Ethan absolutely loves dino's and Colin, is starting to love them more and more, b/c of his brother....When I was planning this part of the trip, Brenton wanted me to find a "cheap" hotel, but something told me to spend a little more for the one the fine folks of Dinosaur World suggested and when we pulled in, it was money well spent before even getting into the room.....look what we found :)  Sure wish you could've heard the screams from the car when we spotted these dino's in the little wooded area next to our hotel.....we spent a good bit of time out there this afternoon and were calling for TRex, too ;)

Ethan and "Stegs"

Colin on his dino....he loved climbing on it

Our Travel Troopers :)

Sitting here in the hotel listening to the boys play, yell, and run around letting off some steam.....what little travel troopers we have.  They did so good and finally started to meltdown 30 miles from Kingsland, GA.  We are all pretty tired from the first leg of the trip and pretty excited to see some dinosaurs.....Anyway, thought I'd share some pics from today w/ you all.....

our little bookworm....gave him a book and didn't hear a peep from him

Ethan the Travel Agent had fun planning our trip today

just disgusting!!!

You know, it's funny to see our youngest son and some of his idiosyncrasies that he has, just like his Daddy!!!! I never would've thought some of them would be inherited though, LOL!!  Here's the story......Over the weekend I was reminded, first hand, how tender Colin's gag reflex is, literally!!!  We thought we'd grab a quick bite to eat, after getting the boys back and Ethan requested "chickie nuggets" PERFECT!!!  So, we get home, pop in a movie, and all is well!!!  I decided to start a load of laundry and then hear Brenton yelling for me...well, wouldn't you know, Colin started gagging and that means 1 thing....vomit!!!!  I quickly grab him and usually I can get him to the sink, get water in his mouth, and all is well.....not so much this time around!  As I turned my head, there's my lil guy puking right in my face and yes, I mean it was right in my face!!!! My natural reaction was a surprised look and that meant my mouth was partially open and yep, you guessed it.....right in my mouth was vomit, DISGUSTING!!!!  I held my own though, got my face wiped up, my little guy cleaned up and ready for a bath.  Needless to say, the vomit was still on the floor, and wouldn't you know Ethan is taking his turn at vomiting.  All Brenton and I could do was look at each other and smile!  Thank the good Lord for my husband, b/c I don't do well w/ vomit......I took the boys to the bath, he cleaned up the vomit (thank heavens for a carpet scrubber), and then finally I was able to clean myself up.  Wow, what a gross mess and all over McD's french fries!!! See Colin, Mr. Picky, doesn't like the "ends" of the fries and he got a fry when we weren't looking, then quickly reminded us how much he hates them....LOL  Anyway, after it was all said and done.....a good laugh happened!  Never a dull moment at the Shroyer house and another reminder "don't sweat the small stuff"   :)

Choo-Choo fun!!

Today Brenton and I got alot accomplished....the boys went to spend time at their Papa and Grandma's house (they get another day w/ my parents, so we can get even more stuff done tomorrow.....(love having our parents close enough to take them when we need them to ♥) This evening, when they came home, we finally were able to get out the "choo-choo"!!!! A time our boys love and we love watching their excitement!!!!  Colin picked the movie tonight and his favorite right now is UP, so that's the movie we are enjoying, should hear the giggles (LOL)!!!!  Here's a few pics of our fun tonight!!!

(I think you can click on collage to view it larger)

Had to share a few recent pics of the boys :)

this is his new favorite spot to read or play :)

They were so excited I found their dinosaur books :)

Seriously, did I just hear that right???

Ever have those moments, as a parent, when your child surprises you and all you can do is laugh???  OMG, this morning was one of those moments at our house and it began w/ me yelling down the stairs at Ethan to "wake up" (he fell asleep w/ Brenton down there last night)...Well, he wasn't coming, so finally on like the 3rd call of me yelling "Ethan, time to wake up, it's time to go to school" I get this response and I quote (LOL) "if you want me to wake up, then you better come down and get me, b/c I'm not ready to get up" I mean seriously did I hear him right??  My immediate response was laughter, b/c I sure as heck wasn't expecting it and for that to come out of his mouth, totally caught me off guard. hahaha This kid, I know is going to give me a run for my money and I pray everyday that I handle these types of situations the best way I can.....LOL

just tinkering.... :)

can't give up "all" technology!!!! LOL

So, I got the question today, after what 3 weeks....."are you missing FB and ready to come back to the social network of today" and I was able to answer proudly "No, don't miss it a bit" :)  To see the look on the guys face was hysterical, b/c he was a friend of mine and saw just how much I enjoyed FB that I think he was quite surprised.....So, as I was talking to him about my decision, why I gave it up, and how not having it has helped my daily distractions and stress level diminish very quickly.....I got a smile on my face!  Now, this blog, sure helps with keeping in touch (so to speak) and all you friends that I've allowed into share our "private" little world (well, for the most part...how private is anything on the computer these days, LOL) but overall, I do feel great and feel better not knowing so much that goes on in people's lives.  It was interesting in the grocery store when I ran into a friend and actually had a conversation about things and not "oh I see you on FB and glad things are going well" and honestly, I'm glad I'm not sharing so much about our life anymore, either.  As easy as it is to share stuff, I never realized how much people took that, ran with it, and never forgot it.  I still have people that I see, saw things on FB, and think "wow, why would you have shared that"!  So, truly, I don't miss being "connected in" if you will w/ the world and having the world not "connected in" with me, feels so refreshing everyday!!! Don't get me wrong folks, not dogging on those of you that have a FB account still and I give you kudos for not having the same feelings I found myself having w/ it, b/c towards the end I was getting so angry w/ people that would post stuff....so, for all of you able to keep it humorous, I'm glad!!!  Anyway, enough about that, I just found it funny from my conversation this afternoon not being on FB and the fact that I don't miss it, hysterical is all......Now, the smart phone that I was so ready to give up, as well...that's a different story and thanks to my brother-in-law his salesmen pitch is working, I'm probably going to be upgrading....LOL  So, I guess at the end of all of this, I'm not so ready to give up on all the technological advances these days, and keeping my phone will be the 1 way I can stay on top of things....LOL

gotta love a spreadsheet!!!!

So, the weekend is coming to an end and a busy week is ahead of all of us here......I'm working a full week this week to cover my vacation time (since I haven't earned paid vacation time, yet), but my boss was nice enough to let me work to make up those days I'll be missing.....so, we are slowly getting things accomplished around here, since I won't be able to do it during the day.....After church we got all the Christmas decorations up, the house is cleaned and Brenton is sweeping as I type this, the boys have everything ready for the sitters, and I'm slowly getting the laundry accomplished!!! I've decided to not freak out this week, but take each evening and work on something....I've made a complete spreadsheet and w/ that nothing will be missed for the trip (LOL), so by the time the 16th gets here, we will all be ready to hit the road..... :) Anyway, time to close the computer and enjoy the Disney movies on ABC Family w/ the boys, well in between, folding clothes..... ;)   

O Christmas Tree!!!!

 such a helper

 surrounded by branches :)

 we're getting it!!!

 time to "fluff"

 going to make it bright

Colin loving all the lights

the final product.....our OSU tree

Happy Saturday!!!

Saturday morning's have to be the best......this time of year our lives are slowing down, Brenton is almost done w/ his golf course season, the weather is getting colder, and the smell of fall in the air......this is our time of year and we love it!!!!!  The boys and I are enjoying the Disney channel and waiting on Brenton to get home, so we can get Christmas stuff out and up......Yes, you heard me, we are decorating today and we do it this way every year.......See, we leave for vacation in little over a week and we like to have the house ready for "Ho-Ho" when we return, that way there's no rush and we can enjoy the month of December and all the Christmas hype......So, after my brunch date, we'll be doing that and I'll post some pics :)  Anyway, we are so ready for the beach, but getting ready for the trip is always an event....making sure the boys have everything, getting Katee taken care of and all of her needs, and ofcourse Brenton and I, too!!!! We are so looking forward to our road trip, as many people think we are nuts, we honestly enjoy every ounce of it.  We love all the laughs, naps, movies, scenery, Mommy I have to pee moments (which having boys, makes that easy..LOL), all the gas stations, the rest areas, and most of all the memories that we make....Ethan is getting to the point where he is remembering the year before and asking all sorts of questions, so that is fun....we were looking at his scrapbook and that sparks interest, too.  Our boys, absolutely love the beach, water, sand, and sun....all of it!  This year we are taking them to Dinosaur World first, before our week at the beach, and I can't wait to see their faces....OMG, they are going to absolutely love it!  :)

Happy Saturday :)

It only takes "scrubs"

So, today was hearing test day for Colin and wow, was that terrible!!!!  Dr. Hartman and his staff were wonderful and tried so hard to get everything they needed, but didn't push the issue, b/c Colin was just beside himself and didn't want anything to do with the full procedure.  He was pushing, screaming, and pulling so much that honestly, I felt like a sweaty mess trying to keep him still enough for them by the time we left.  What a poor little guy, he knows anyone in scrubs means business and he knew just seeing the nurse, that he didn't want to be in that building. LOL  Needless to say, they were pleased with what they saw and don't "think" anything is wrong, especially since he passed his newborn testing, but obviously this test will prove 100% that he's hearing just fine.  I'm hoping he'll cooperate during nap time sometime, so we can get the results and then once we have those, we can then check out speech classes.....Having children, has to be the best test for patience and understanding  :) hahaha  Anyway, we'll try again soon!!!
On another note, I found a way to have this blog printed in a hardcover book and I'm really excited about that.  So, not only will the boys have their scrapbooks, but they'll have this blog and our thoughts at different moments in our lives and for a scrapbooker like me, I'm loving the idea of that :)  Anyway, so I might be posting more along the way :)

one upset little boy after his hearing test  ;)