from grumpy grouches to goofballs!

Well, today was better than yesterday by a mile! I decided last night that I needed to change a few things. The first being more time in the morning. I woke up 30 minutes earlier than usual, and instantly felt like I've been a horrible mother when I got a HUGE smile when I woke him up nicely instead of the usual, "WAKE UP, hurry ... we're gonna be late!" Ok, I get it! After school, we had an hour to waste before dinner with our Auntie, so we went to Purple Glaze. Braden found their only whale, of course ..... and a shark. I actually think they're going to turn out really good. I'll post pictures of them when we pick them up. Braden says they have to dry them in the freezer for 2 days .... haha. We had PF Chang's with Auntie, and she even sent us home with my favorite - the Great Wall of Chocolate for a late night treat! (It was great, by the way!) I can't tell you how drastic the difference in my child yesterday and my child today. I'm going to really try (now that I have no TMJ pain! wooooooo!) to spend more time in the floor with Braden. He just loves to be goofy, and one day I'm going to wish I had a reason to make faces like this! (see below!)

A Non-Kitchen post

Well, I just wanted to break the trend here and get back to why this blog was created ...... BRADEN! I am feeling pretty rotten tonight because my baby is having a really hard week. He started his new class on Monday. Even though he has a teacher that he is familiar with and many of the same friends in his class, I think he is a little stressed out .... as much stress as a 3 year old can really have! He has had an accident every day this week, and he hasn't done that in months. He even tried to clean up his accident yesterday without me finding out. He cried from the second I picked him up today, had an unbelievable attitude with me all evening, and was so worked up when I finally shut him in his room to go to bed that he was gagging. When Jeeps made a surprise visit, we went in to calm him down. He was still crying and almost hyperventilating to catch his breath. I laid in his bed with him after Jeeps left and he had a death grip on my arm. I went from feeling frustrated to feeling a little responsible. After talking to a good friend, Sarah, on the phone - I came to the conclusion that he really needs me. I feel like we are together alot and spend quality time together, but we really don't. I wake up later and later every morning and practically wisk him out the door in a hurry every day. Bedtime is always a fight, and we stay so busy after work and on the weekends, that I can't tell you the last time I sat in the floor and played with him. *sigh* So keep us in your thoughts and prayers this weekend. We will return to normal soon! I had signed up to train to run a 15K (the Tulsa Run) in October, and I've decided to quit that and sign Braden up for swim class instead! I'll still try to keep in shape enough to run the Race for the Cure and some other 5K's, but I want to make Braden a priority over everything else for now. I'll just get fat and have fun with my baby! Ha! Kidding - I think I can do both without overdoing it! Also, I don't know if I've mentioned the TMJ update .... I spend a ton of money on new TMJ treatment with a specialist here in Tulsa. I'm off ALL MY MEDICATIONS!!!! Day 5 of my splints and besides having a hard time falling asleep with my night appliance, I am symptom free! No jaw pain, no headaches! WOOOO! I'll be paying for this for a while, but I'm already thinking it's worth it! If you've made it this far in the blog, thanks for caring enough to listen to me ramble! We love you all ....

Starting to see progress!

Ok so I have to admit ... I've literally done nothing but keep myself and Braden out of their way. My parents are really going out of their way to make this happen for us, and we could not be more happy! Mom came over today and got the cabinets crackled .... I saw this at a friends house last weekend, and she thought it sounded like a good idea .... so here's how it turned out! We have to let them cure for 3 days, and then the clear coat will seal it and I'll have cabinets again! Wooo! Here's also a sneak peak at the new counters.

random photo shoot

So I had a friend take some great photos of Braden for his 2 year old photos out at her parents house .... they have a beautiful place. This is one of the great photos she took. So I have a really small house with few places for more frames .... so who wants some pictures??? I need to at least let Shea make the money she deserves for dealing with Braden's foul mood that night, so let me know who needs some pictures!!!! Grandma?? Aunt Judy??? Tell me what you have a frame for!Ugh .... and yes, we caught another flipping mole! Icky!
Update on our crazy lives for August:

Braden starts his new class next week ... he's getting so big. He use to have this same teacher in the afternoons, so he's familiar with her and loves her! So I'm not at all anxious about the move. He is getting so big! He has adult conversations, and a big adult attitude! He has really taken to Lucy, and the two are becoming inseparable. He abuses her, she takes it, and then she comes back for more ... so I don't feel sorry for her anymore. As I type right now, he is playing on my iPhone and she is pawing at his back for him to play with her. I had my doubts at first about her ... but I'm really really happy to have her here (muddy feet, holes in the backyard, hair everywhere, chewing ......) What's not to love?!

(prepare for rambling)

As I am getting older ... and my baby is now 3!!!! .... God is really working on my attitude about being a single mom. Besides my dating anxiety, I've been pretty mentally sound! Ha! With close friends having fertility issues, patients at work losing their babies, and even silly things like Jon and Kate getting a divorce, I have really realized that I have a lot to be thankful for in my dysfunctional little family. I think for the last 3 years, I've put so much weight on NOT being a single mom, NOT living in Claremore forever, and NOT being single that I forgot to focus on what is right in front of my face ... the sweetest blessing I'll ever receive. I'm going on a dating strike! I'm going to focus on Braden and stop letting silly boys distract me! Ha! Seriously .... they are wearing me out. Leave me alone! Ok, I feel better

The only other thing on my mind is my headaches .... they are starting to really cripple me. Long story short .... I have a TMJ disorder that gives me terrible tension headaches. I have clicking, popping, locking, aching, tightness .... I take Lexapro for the tension, and it helps a little. I have an appointment with a TMJ specialist that an oral surgeon referred me to. He says he will help me in ways my dentists in the past couldn't. I'm really excited, because I had given up on my treatment and kinda accepted that I would have to live like this. Just to give you an idea how it affects me .... when I try to go off my Lexapro, I have headaches 4-5 mornings a week. I started the med and started working out 4 times a week. Currently, I have one at least 2 days a week, and tension daily. My jaw gets tight and really tender, and I also have trouble falling asleep and sometimes even staying asleep because of the discomfort in my face. Exercising REALLY helps, but I can't do it every day! Anyway, that's enough .... just wanted to get some stuff out of my head .... headache is improving already! HA!

Hope everyone is having a good week. I'll update again this weekend with painting progress hopefully! YAY!

PS - Mom and Dad ... we really do appreciate all that you are doing for us! We wouldn't get very far without you guys! I love you!

Progress

Just thought I'd let you see what Jeeps did to our kitchen this weekend ...
After I moved everything out of our kitchen into the playroom (sigh) Jeeps sanded down all of our cabinets. Our kitchen is a mess!

surprise! fire damage behind the ugly wood panel

sideways, but you get the idea ..... stay tuned ...

Braden's first baseball game

I know it's probably a little sad that I've never taken him, but we finally went and he had a blast! We went with our friends Ryan and Heather and their little girl, Madison. Braden and I tried just about everything in the concession stand, and Ryan even caught a souvenir ball that they threw in the crowd!

Braden told Ryan that he wanted to trade hats because the red team was winning and he wanted to win ...

Kitchen work begins!

Well I was going to wait until it was done to post before and after photos, but since this is going to take several weekends, I thought I'd let you in on what's going on. The old sliding door that didn't really slide is GONE! Woooo!

Bye bye kitchen carpet!

New counter tops will sure look nice. This retro stuff is about to be a thing of our past! Finally.

This was under the carpet .... My dad's tempted to leave it!
On second thought, we already purchased tile!


Braden's even helping!
cabinet doors are leaving to be sanded and painted. We aren't really sure what color yet! The hardware, my mom thinks, will be pretty when it's cleaned because it's copper. We'll see. I can't wait to see what they look like because they're pretty awful right now!

On the to-do list:

1. paint walls, ceiling, cabinets, and appliances (they're brown)

2. attempt to help my dad lay the tile (porcelain tile on clearance woooo!)

3. new countertops and backsplash (it's a really retro design that's been used as a cutting board for years!!!) I'll post more pictures later.

4. maybe paint baseboards

5. some kind of floor repair in the bathroom (rotting out under toilet) We'll leave that one to dad.