Summer Is Here! Update and Florida Recap (Warning: it is long!!!)

A lot has been going on in the past couple months.  We have officially entered the months of summer and have already gone on our family vacation.  The end of May was the perfect time to visit Florida because there weren't too many tourists, the beach wasn't too crowded and the weather was perfect.  Plus we beat the tropical storm that Florida is still dealing with... I'm so thankful we missed all of that rain!  We ate a lot of yummy food, spent some time in the gulf and pool, and played lots of cards.  It was a great trip and I'm thankful for the memories we made.

Work continues to be the same for Michael and I.  Things are good but there are definitely days when we feel like we have had enough. I suppose that is normal... no job is perfect.

We FINALLY got some patio furniture for our deck a few weeks ago!!!!  I can't even express how excited I am about this.  Michael bought this house after we had been dating for about a year... so that means he has lived there for six years.  Every single year we agreed we would wait until the end of the summer season and try to find some really good deals on furniture for the deck and every single year we found other things to be more important.  I still have a lot of things on the list I feel like we need... okay, not need.... want.  Our deck has direct sunlight so I really would love a large canopy so we have some shade and Brianna can play out there without having to wear six layers of sunscreen.  Brianna has a Little Tikes slide and picnic table and a huge water table from her Aunt TT and I'm obsessed with being able to chill out there with my legs up reading a book while she plays.  Of course that is only when she allows me to read... girlfriend is bossy.

That leads me right into my bossy toddler update.  Brianna is growing into such a beautiful little person.  She is definitely in the middle of those "terrible twos" but they haven't been too terrible.  For the most part she is kind, caring, obedient, affectionate and HILARIOUS. Then all of a sudden if she isn't feeling well, is tired or hungry she can turn into a little monster.  She is definitely testing her boundaries and we have to have a talk about who is the boss and how important it is to follow direction and listen when an adult asks for her to do something or simply behave.

We have introduced timeouts which for the most part work pretty well.  Sometimes it backfires though because I will threaten timeout and she will look up at me and say "I want to go to timeout, Mommy".  Ummmm... what the heck.  How are you supposed to deal with that???  I've considered moving her timeout "spot" to a different location that takes her further away from me and all of her toys.  Hopefully that will help.

Another thing we've been dealing with is some mystery rash.  After Mother's Day I had to go out of town for work for four days.  When I got home Brianna had this insane rash all over her body and I was furious that Michael hadn't taken her to the doctor.  That meant I had one day to do all of our laundry, pack for Florida, and clean up the house before leaving that night for vacation... all while watching Graham (who I adore)... and then had to figure out how in the world to fit a doctor's appointment for Brianna into that madness.  We made it to the doctor and he was positive it was poison ivy.  We play outside a lot... especially when visiting family... so I was trying to figure where the heck it possibly could have come from.  Then I freaked out because she had been around Graham all day.  Thankfully, apparently poison ivy is not contagious from person to person.  SO I followed the doctor's instructions of Claritin by mouth and Hydrocortisone cream on the rash and he assured me that our trip to Florida would clear it up quickly.

We got to Florida on Saturday, spent Sunday and Monday at the beach and taking a boat ride and then Kim, Michael and I took Brianna to Disney World (Magic Kingdom) on Tuesday.  Her rash was sooooo bad by the time we were leaving Disney World that she was bleeding from scratching so much.  And every time I put sunscreen on her she would SCREAM.  We still had a lot of fun on a lot of rides and meeting some characters.  I'm so upset though that I didn't get a picture of Brianna in front of the castle.  In all of the chaos and stressing about the stupid rash we just missed that milestone.  So sad.

So Michael and I spent Wednesday morning going to six different Urgent Cares before finding on that didn't have a two hour wait and accepted my insurance.  Michael loved the doctor we saw and I didn't.  He didn't explain the cause of the rash (by this point I knew it was never poison ivy to begin with) and he expected Brianna to "lay around and watch movies for the remainder of our time in Florida".  Bri is obsessed with swimming and LOVED the beach and the warm ocean water.  How do you keep a child on vacation out of the heat and water.  He gave her an antibiotic and had us switch her from Claritin to Benadryl.  The Benadryl made her cranky and tired and my little girl isn't one to just sit and watch a movie.  We did our best and would let her go swimming in the pool as the sun was setting at night.  We still had a lot of fun but I hated that she felt so bad.

The rash is still hanging on.  The antibiotics have been gone for a while and I've been giving her Benadryl at night because that seems to be when her scratching is the worst.  If I forget to give her medicine before bed the rash is crazy the next day.  I need to get her back into the doctor but I'm so frustrated that I have to take time off work for something that they should have FIXED THE FIRST TIME!

This past weekend was a perfect one for me.  I always try to be thankful for what I have and appreciate the little things in life but this weekend really made me feel so happy and grateful.  Friday I got to hang out with Graham and he is at such a cute stage.  He is four and a half months old and such a sweet happy boy.  I LOVED playing with him and getting him to giggle. He rolling over and it cracks me up and terrifies me at the same time.  He loves his milkies and gets mad when you take it away to burp him.  He makes my heart so happy.  Brianna adores Graham as well but was cranky on Friday.  Graham doesn't take his eyes off Brianna when she is in the room.  And if she looks at him he breaks into the BIGGEST smile.  I could watch their interactions all day.  But when Miss Cranky Pants started getting tired she would get upset when he smiled at her.  What a stinker.  I begged Tara to take Brianna for the night and leave Graham with me :)

Saturday morning Michael took Brianna to visit his Dad and Grandma and to pick up his four wheeler. He was going to spend the day riding with at a friends farm and I was going to have a GIRLS DAY!!!!  While they were gone I took the longest shower and took my sweet time getting all girly for my date with Tara.  I'm pretty sure we were both so excited for this time together... we see each other a lot but its almost always with our babies.  Who we are obsessed with... so it takes a LOT for us both to have sitters and take time for ourselves.  I can't even tell you how happy I was to have this time. Brianna had a slumber party with my Mom and Dad and she was so happy about it.  When I dropped her off she was just like "see ya, Mom".

Tara and I started with Starbucks and pedicures.  Then we stopped at Kroger for supplies... you know... snacks and drinks :) Then we convinced Michael that he needed to go be our driver for the night.  We ended up going to Cabana on the River .  It was our first time and we had SO MUCH FUN!  It is absolutely gorgeous there.  I truly felt like I was in a tropical place.  The river was gorgeous and there was so much greenery (and palm trees).  We watched the sunset and listened to the live band.  And we drank and ate and drank some more.  Michael's friends Doug and Karen joined us and we spent the entire evening laughing and having fun.  It was such a great night and I can't wait to do it again.

Sunday we spent some time with my parents when picking Brianna up and then went to visit Grandma Peggy.  My house never got cleaned and I have a lot of laundry waiting for me but it is totally worth it for a weekend of fun.  This summer is going to be fantastic.  Between Brianna being at an age that she can do more and I feel more comfortable with her being with a babysitter, I'm starting to feel like my old self.  I can't wait for the rest of the summer and to continue making fun memories! I'm so thankful for Brianna and Michael and our friends and family that surround us making life so. much. fun.  I'm so happy that we are providing such a fun childhood for Brianna.  I'm so far from perfect in so many areas but I know she feels loved every single day.  I look at her and feel joy because joy is just radiating from her.

Now if we could just get rid of this stupid rash... any suggestions, friends?

*Sorry there are no pictures in this post.  Blogger is hating me.  I'll try to do a picture post soon!