My Once Upon a Time...

And just like that, he's closer to two than he is to one! Someone hand me the tissues! Everybody knows how much I love babies, but I can't keep having babies because mine are growing up...can I? Ha! He really turned into a little boy lately. He has a big attitude, throws tantrums like no other, pouts and does a lot of things he knows he's not supposed to do, just to get a reaction. But he is still sweet as can be and such a cuddler. Sometimes he hits me and immediately apologizes by giving me a kiss (well, his version of a kiss, which is a head bump). He's learning so many words and is communicating really well with us, both in german and in english. His favorite words are Mama, ball, "NO" and brother.  Stay little my love!

This is a real life post. Christmas was hard. Leading up to Christmas was hard. And for the first time ever I was glad when it was over.  There are many things that are heartbreaking about the process of divorce, but not being able to spend all of the holidays with my kids was probably the worst one yet.  Although truthfully, this past Christmas was probably a cake walk compared to what is coming this year, because I didn't have them for Christmas Eve until 8pm, but I got them at 8 and had them all of Christmas Day. This year it will be flipped and I'm getting sick just thinking about it.  Christmas Eve Day was actually much easier than anticipated. I stayed on the couch pretty much all day, watched TV, worked and relaxed. I went to church all by myself and it felt good.  The thing is, we always had Christmas Eve at Katie's mom's house and this year was no difference. I loved being there and celebrating with everyone. And yes, I was inv...

For years I wanted to decorate a Gingerbread house with Fox during the Christmas season. But truth to be told, Katie didn't allow it, because she was worried about his allergies, even though there are Gingerbread House kits out there that would be safe for him. And not to get off topic on this post, but one of the most freeing things about divorce was and is still to this day, to make my own fucking decisions. Hallelujah! So obviously we needed to celebrate our first Gingerbread House Experience, so we invited some friends over to join in on the fun! It was nothing but lovely and Fox had such an amazing time. The kids were more interested in eating the candy, but that's okay. I'm pretty sure they were all on a sugar high, based on how they ran around the house. Look at his poor face! After our Jingle Hike, he fell down one step, right into the dirt and busted his face up. All of the finished houses! And of course, he couldn...

Sometimes I come across some of my old pictures and they fill my heart with so much joy, simply because I remember the awesome day we had and who we shared it with. These pictures will definitely be part of that. A few months ago, my friend Becky asked us if she should register us for the Jingle hike. I had never done it before, but one of my other friends had and said it was awesome. This actually took place at the beginning of December...obviously I'm still trying to play catch up! Before the hike: Fox got his face painted by Santa's elf! All the big kids were ready to go! I was a little nervous about hiking with both boys, I had never done it before and didn't know if Finn would stay in his carrier and if Fox would be responsible enough to stay away from the edges. But since two of my friends and their families were there, I had nothing to worry about, because they kept Fox safe while I lugged that 21lbs baby up the hill...it was definitely a workout! ...