Pretzel M&M Blondies

Have you tried these yet? 

The new pretzel m&ms.  Sweet and salty in every bite!

Today, with the help of my lil' assistant, I made some treats with these new m&ms - pretzel m&m blondies.

My other lil' assistant was making something of his own, a big ol' mess!

I got the recipe here.

Aren't they pretty?

A colorful bite every time.

Makes you want to keep eating and eating, huh?

Everyone seemed to enjoy them.....

You should try them too!

Rockin'

Can he rock pink or what?!

Happy

Happy Friday and Happy Brithday, Uncle Caid!

Relief

I've been dealing with some health issues for the past week and a half.  I'll spare you all the details, but let me just say it's been awful!  Painful.  The worst thing ever.....that's pretty bad given my medical history.

I had a small out patient procedure today, which I was dreading, but at the same time looking forward to - a little light at the end of the tunnel.  Holy moly!  No one could have prepared me for what went down.  Once again, I'll spare details, but 5 needle pokes and 1 excruciating slice later, I had relief.  Sent me through the roof, but relief.  It's over, hopefully.  I'm praying (and praying and praying) it doesn't come back.

I just want to thank my family and Chet's family for all the help they've given over the past couple days.  I truly, truly appreciate it.  As much as the day-to-day nuisances can drive a mom crazy, it really does kinda suck when you physically can't stand up long enough to do a load of laundry or walk 10 steps to get your kids a snack, but it's a relief knowing loved ones are so willing to help.  Thank you.

And Chet, I'm so sorry for what I've put you through during this time - whining, complaining, moodiness (your list probably goes on and on).  Thanks for being so understanding and for stepping up like you always do.  Thanks for being by my side today (probably a good thing you didn't give me your hand to squeeze though).  You've showed me from very early into our relationship, especially with medical issues, that I can always count on you.  Hopefully, I'm on my way to my old self again, kinda ;)

Catch up (aka - long post with lots of pics)

Where to start???

This holiday weekend was fabulous (wet, but fabulous). Besides the 4th, we've had a lot of other stuff going on, but instead of breaking it all up into individual posts, I thought I'd just put together one big ol' catch up post.....so bare with me.

Thursday evening we celebrated Grandpa Rod's "29th" birthday.

Party started getting crazy when the hooters came out.

Owls, that is! Five of them live in Grandma and Grandpa's back yard.

Saturday, Reese went fishing for the first time.

Chet's been wanting to take her for a while now, so as another celebration of Grandpa's birthday, everyone (Chet, Reese, Grandpa, Grandma, Cheyna, and Casyn) went!

Two minutes after they headed out of town, it started pouring. No turning back though!

I sent my little point and shoot with Chet, and thanks to Grandma and Cheyna we can all share in Reese's great first fishing memories.

Apparently, the worms were her favorite part. No fear what so ever.

She was also pretty good with the net.

I guess when Cheyna and Casyn took their shirts off, Reese insisted she take hers off too, except she had no suit underneath.

Grandpa had been enjoying some peaceful time alone until you know who joined him.

At the end of the trip, look who caught one!

Meanwhile, back at home, I was spending some quality time with my little man.

We played catch (a lot!), read books, and he even did a little showing off for me....where's your nose???

He's just the cutest thing I ever did see.

McPherson had their fireworks show that night (Saturday), so once the fishing crew was back home, my parents joined the party, and we enjoyed a fun evening.

Cru was literally in awe, but loved the noise and the sparkle.

Happy 4th from the diva herself!

Our neighbors do a BIG hoop-la for this holiday and usually shoot firecrackers all night long, but the rain put a damper on things, which really didn't bother me because our kids got a peaceful nights sleep. We did enjoy a little sparkle in between the showers though.

It rained all day on the actual 4th, so we just took it easy. It was nice.

By evening time, the rain had finally let up some, so we headed out for our annual tradition of celebrating at the pond.

The pond's beauty and peacefulness never gets old.

Daddy found peacefulness for himself.

Didn't last long though.

Once again, Cru was in awe and just took it all in.

Reese took a break from poppers to go on a paddle boat ride.

Some were really feelin' the festivities....

Last year, we bought a few firecrackers for Reese, however she showed no interest in setting them off, so this year I just picked up a few that we didn't have to light just pull strings. But go figure, she only wanted fire!



These hot air balloon thingys were her absolute favorite. No noise, just light them on fire and watch them float away. They were really cool.





Once it was dark, everyone was ready for some light-up-the-sky sparkle.



There's no need to go into town for the big show, my cousins do a great job of blowing their money for our entertainment entertaining us!



Happy 4th of July from the Buchmans! Hope everyone had a safe and happy weekend!



Whew, if you made it till the end, way to go! If not, I don't blame you. Maybe I should have split it all up. Oh well. Have a great week!

Emotional

I am so emotional right now. Don't know what the deal is. Maybe I'm just overly tired. The construction workers started hammering and sawing a little after 7 this morning. My kids slept until 8:45 though :)

Maybe I'm overcome with excitement after watching Eclipse last night. It was fantastic despite me being the oldest person in the theater. I totally should have rocked a Team Edward shirt!

I've been telling Reese I'm going to make her special hair bows for this weekend, but I can't seem to get motivated. They are just staring at me.





Maybe this afternoon.

Reese and I had such a fantastic morning yesterday! My mom took Cru to one-year-old library time, which I heard was fantastic (what's up with me and using the word fantastic in this post?). Anyways, Reese and I hit up Mc-a-dee's for breakfast. She requested hot cakes. Ate almost all three of them herself.



Then she played for about a half hour. It was great, just her and I. Hope we can continue to do that.

I miss my bestie, Leann :(

Should I be worried???





He's only 16 months, he doesn't know any better, right?

Yesterday, Reese and I had great bathroom conversation (she likes to talk to me while she does her business). Pre-school was a hot topic. She's so excited. We talked about all her friends that will be in her class, then she asked if I was going to be there. I told her that she gets to go all by herself. She was ecstatic! And said, "I get to drive to pre-school all by myself!" Lord help me!

Maybe pre-school will teach her to share because I'm sure as heck striking out.



Cru only wants to bat left handed. He is listening, Grandpa.





And every time Reese gets ready to swing, she says, "Keep your eye on the ball."



There ya go.



Big gulp, huh? Don't worry, it's just water. Although, if it was pop, I'm sure he'd chug it just the same. Reese, on the other hand, knows pop is bad for you and refuses to drink it. 'Atta girl!



Today is Grandpa Rod's birthday! I think we are doing some celebrating tonight!

OK, so I think my emotions have calmed down a bit. Still feel a bit on edge and still tired, but not as close to crying so that's good. Guess I just needed a little flashback of reality.