Violated...

Friday was our first date night in a while.  My parents had the kids, and we were off to see Jason Aldean and Jake Owen... GREAT CONCERT!  We had a lot of fun, and it kind of brought us back to that feeling of "before kids"  we used to go to concerts all the time, and now, not so much... but for good reasons :)

After the concert, we were walking to my car *side-note... we decided to take my car because it was easier to park.  Kyle's big truck doesn't always fin in spaces or the garages* and we notice all these people upset, and I see that their car was broken into.  I stopped and asked the girl if she was okay because she was parked right next to us.  She said that she was and that they had already called the police.  Kyle had already unlocked our car and got in while I was talking to the girl, and I hear him say " Oh $*#@, they got our car too"  I ran over to the passenger door, looked in the glove-box, and my wallet was gone, and then I looked behind the seat where I stashed my purse, and that was gone too... I was really angry... then I saw it... my anger quickly turned into hurt.  I got this ball in my throat, and my eyes welled up with tears.

As I looked at the back seat of my SUV, I saw that they had broken the window on Luke's side of the car inwards; they had crawled all over the back two car seats, breaking them, and digging shards of broken glass into them.  They were destroyed.  They somehow, in their frenzy, stepped or knelt on Luke's favorite book and broke the spine and tore the pages out. - Let the tears start rolling- I went over to Kyle, and he was trying to comfort me as much as he could, but I just had to cry.  You mess with my things, and I can handle that.  You mess with my kids, and you just broke my heart.

The cops came, and we got the police report taken care of.  It was a busy night for them... at that time, I was 1 of 40 reported car break ins in the surrounding parking lots.

Mitch called to see how the concert was and I told him what had happened.  He was there in 15 minutes.  He took pictures for us because our phones were dead, he brought leather work gloves and garbage bags, and cleaned the big pieces of glass out of my car, and put some plastic over my seat so I didn't get poked with any little pieces on the way home, and he even cleaned the glass out of the other peoples cars.  I called Tammy while I was carying... doing that is almost like drunk dialing, and they cant even understand you HAHA, But she was there to listen and help calm me down.  I sure have a great family :)

I called the insurance companies.  Mitch cleaned out the cars, Tammy gave me another mom to cry to about my babies car seats, and Kyle reassured me that it would all be okay while he called to cancel all our cards.  What a night.. I went from complete excitement to complete heartache in about 30 seconds - talk about a whirlwind!  We didn't get home until 1am - completely exhausted.

Saturday, bright and early I was up.  I went out to see the damage in the light and it just upset me all over again.  We got the shop vac out and cleaned out all the glass... It completely covered the car from front to back.  I was amazed at how far that stuff flew.  I got the car-seats out, cleaned up the kids' stuff that was scattered everywhere and wiped everything down.  The glass is like little barbed slivers and I vacuumed for about an hour and I think that some is still in there.  Maybe I will have to have it detailed.  We ate some eggs and then we were off to target... new car-seat time.  We had a total of 3 car-seats.  We had one in the truck, so we just bought 1 new one.  It will be a little less convenient now if we need to change them from one car to another, but oh well,  its cheaper then buying two.  Then, off to the bank to get some cash because all our cards were stolen and we ordered new cards.  Kyle's stuff was even canceled because we are joint on everything, and all our card numbers are the same.

So, they took:
Coach wallet
Coach purse
Broke the Car-seats
broke the window

They did not grab:
My Northface Jacket that was on the seat
My GPS
Best Buy gift cards

They made a huge mess for us, ruined our night, and emotionally really hurt me.  Someone came into MY car and took MY things and violated MY space.  I am, however, thankful that I gave Kyle my drivers license to take into the concert so that we could buy beer (haha) and that I didn't have any cash in there.  They will probably sell my purse and wallet for 20 bucks on the street and use it to buy drugs.  They didn't get anything off my cards, and they don't have anything with my address on it.  With the amount of cars that were hit, they were just looking for cash.  I think that all in all, I lost WAY more then they gained...

Happy Birthday Blake!!

Oh my goodness, where has the time gone?!?  This little courageous boy went from being born with a large amount of challenges to a thriving big boy.  Blake has not skipped a beat... not one!  He is happy, healthy and full of energy.  My little "Honey Bee" as I like to call him, is the most caring child I know.  He has a heart of gold, a sharp mind and a deep sense of feeling.  We are so excited to spend an entire day celebrating Blake with the people that love him the most!

Happy 4th Birthday to our amazing boy!

Blake says "Lets talk about..... Aunt Dawn"

Every night when I put him to bed, he always wants to talk about something.  I don't know if its just to push out bedtime or not, but some of our conversations get really funny.  I remember one when he said " let's talk about why dad has little boobs and yours are big". Haha, yes, my child is the one that asks those questions, and I assure you, I answer them as technically as I can.

Tonight, Blake said " let's talk about Aunt Dawn". My heart sank... Was I going to answer this right? Oh, lord give me the words... I said " what about her? ". Blake said " do you miss her"  "yes" I said, "I miss her everyday.  She was a very special person".  Get ready for this... Blake looks at me, puts his hand on my face and says " she thinks you are special too, and she says not to cry".  My heart stopped, my mouth was wide open, I had a lump in my throat, and tears came running down my face.  Blake then yelled at me "STOP CRYING, she doesn't like seeing you do that".  I realized that I couldn't keep my composure anymore, so I hugged him very tightly, told him that I cry because I miss her, but I will try to remember her with a smile instead, gave him a kiss, and I left his room.  It was just too much for me.  I was shaking, and just stood in silence for a few minutes right outside his door.

Where is Kyle when you need him... At a HOCKEY GAME for goodness sakes! (Emotional wreck right here) Oh my goodness... You know, I don't really know if I believe in spirits (never seen one), and Blake might have just been on story mode and I am seeing something that isn't there, but it gave me chills.  I still have goosebumps and tears thinking... What if?  What if she was there, talking to Blake?  I don't want to sound hokey, but maybe, just maybe, it was her?  I didn't ask Blake any questions, I could hardly speak, but maybe I will ask him tomorrow after I have some time to pull myself together.

I miss her everyday, she is irreplaceable.  Forever in my heart... To be remembered with a smile, and a glass of wine... Which I am going to go pour right now.  I need one after that conversation!

Tears of Joy

We were all excited as we left the house, Luke was even clapping in the car.  We sang wheels on the bus the whole way to preschool, and when we got there, Blake yelled " LOOK, MY SCHOOL, HURRY!"  

Blake said goodbye to Luke, and I walked him into his class... there was his teacher, Mrs. Barb, and a bunch of other kids... Blake looked at me and smiled.  We hung up his coat, and walked over to his teacher.  She welcomed him with open arms, and gave him a big hug.  He looked back at me as he ran to play with the other kids... " bye Mom, I love you" I smiled as big as I could to keep the tears inside, and waved goodbye.  I started to walk out, and Mrs Barb came over and handed me a little note with a tissue.  I got in the car, started to cry and called Kyle...  I just cant believe how big he is, and how grown up he acts sometimes.  

Luke and I went home, and played, did some laundry and vacuumed... I kept noticing myself looking at the clock in anticipation of when we could leave to go and pick him up.  Luke even noticed his brothers absence... he kept going into his brother room and looking for him... kind of sad, but also sweet.

11:40 rolls around and we head out to get him!  I walk into the classroom, and find a smiling boy with a TON of artwork that he did that day!  He comes running over to me with a big smile and the first thing he said..." I did it, I stayed all day and didn't even cry"  By this time, I am an emotional wreck, and tears start welling up in my eyes AGAIN!  I got a big hug and a kiss from my biggest little man, and a good report from the teacher.  I couldn't have asked for a better first day, and I am so proud of him! Then, we were off the Wally's to celebrate with an ice cream cone!  We all deserved some sweets after such an emotional day... maybe the ice cream was more for my emotional satisfaction, but it was also to celebrate a great start the our very first school year!!

Big Changes Make a Weary Mama

I have not been sleeping well lately, and I am not sure if it is because of all the changes that are ahead, or if it is just due to Lucy snoring louder then normal, but boy, am I tired.

Today, I cannot be tired...today, I cannot show any other emotion but excitement, and today, my oldest little man becomes a big boy.  I have been coaching myself through this.  Smile...be encouraging, and don't fall apart in front of him.

This is a big deal for our family.  Blake has never been without myself or Tammy.  We were so very lucky to have Tammy take care of him his first two years of life while I went back to work, and these last year and a half has been amazing, but it is now time for him to thrive in an environment where he can learn, grow, and imagine.

I have realized also that my days aren't just going to be my call anymore... Now I have a school schedule to work around.  He will be in the morning class, so he will be there until noon, come home, have lunch and then take his nap... Oh what an adjustment this will be, but I am looking forward to some special time with Luke.  Maybe I can find a swim class for us or something, but whatever we do, it will be nice to spend that quality time with him.

They sure grow fast...  But I know this little man will be just fine, it is me that I am worried about :)
I wonder how this is going to go... he is already telling me he doesn't want to go...I will update later :)