New office, bad weather and other ramblings

I am going back to school this Fall and was in serious need of an office.  We moved into our house earlier this year and had an empty room upstairs that I always wanted to turn into an office, but didn't have any office furniture to fill the room with.  I was talking with my aunt the other day and she offered me one of her desks as she is trying to declutter to put her house on the market! I couldn't snatch it fast enough! Eli and my dad went to pick it up yesterday and brought it up to my empty canvas! Talk about so much fun!

Of course right after they unloaded it, I had a million and one visions going through my head of what I wanted my desk to look like....but first, I had to hope on pinterest.  Pinterest is my inspiration for EVERYTHING...my future classroom, meals, fun things to do with Liam, clothing and nail designs, and DIY projects! LOVE!!

While Eli and my dad were out picking up the desk, it started to rain.  It has been awfully dry in Houston, so we were thankful for the storm.  The rain let up, so Liam and I went out for a "quick" Target run to buy some cute desk accessories. :)  

I am the type that is super indecisive, so after 30 minutes in office max and an hour and a half in target, I came home with only 4 small buckets for pen holders, a sticky note holder, a pack of sticky notes, and a stapler. Part of my thinks I did this on purpose, so that I have a reason to NEED to go back to target to pick up "a few" more things. ;)

On the way home from Target, the rain started to pick up again so the plans we had made to play outside now turned into watching Frozen for the tenth 50th time this weekend....which I am totally ok with.

this mama even snap chatted it!

The back of our house backs up to a small bayou that usually rarely has more than a foot of water in it.  Let me tell y'all how terrified I was when I kept looking out the window every 10 minutes and it just kept filling. up. more. and. more. TERRIFIED.

I'm so glad we spent Monday morning watering the grass................. *insert annoyed face here*

onto the five billion other things i can't stop thinking about. :)

My bestie is in Panama this week to visit family and to be in a wedding, which makes for 5 long days of work for this girl. A while back, I went on a paper straw kick and bought these floral straws for her because she is obsessed with all things floral.  And of course I had to buy a pack for myself, too. ;) I missed her so much the day she left, that I had to break out the package and drink from on of my straws to make me feel like I was in paradise with her! Can't wait til she gets back!!

My little brother was in a bad car accident back in August of 2013, which put him out of sports for 6 months due to a lacerated kidney, spleen and liver.  He finally got to start practicing as of February and he got to play in the Spring Game last Thursday! I am so proud of how far he has come, but I am more thankful that football is something that he loves to do and it provides an outlet for all the frustration he is still holding onto from his accident. 

That guy is such a stud, headband and all. :)

Liam is still working on mastering the art of eating with a spoon...we are getting pretty far with this task. He is actually keeping the spoon upright 50% of the time. Winning!

This morning, I woke up and checked the weather as it is suppose to be a pretty nasty week this week.  The radar was full of yellow and red, which means Eli's job would most likely call it a day before it even started.  Before Eli could get ahold of anyone on the job site, he and my dad decided to stay home from work for the day.  My 25 minute commute turned into an hour and 15 minutes as there was tons of standing water and flooded streets from here to my job.  Not even an hour after I left the house, Eli called and told me a tornado touched down at his job and 12 men were being taken to the hospital by ambulance.  I strongly believe that God was telling him and my dad (they work together) to stay home this morning. I am so thankful for their decision, I don't know what I would do without these two men!!

I will leave you guys with this sweet photo I came across on IG the other day.  When I saw this picture, I immediately thought of Ryan and his sweet parents.  This Friday marks 4 weeks since the terrible tragedy, and ever since then I have looked at our lives in a completely different light. I am so thankful for each day we are granted and will continue to pray for Ryan's parents and their family as they mourn the loss of their sweet little redheaded boy.

Beach day

On Saturday, the three of us went down to Galveston with our friends Chelsea and Jordan and their son, Max. It was Liam's second time to visit the beach, but the first time doesn't count because he was 8 weeks old and we just sat in the back of Eli's jeep next to a space fan the whole time. ;)

Liam's great aunt, Kelly, bought him this adorable swim suit! I can't believe those 18 month bottoms fit his tiny waist! 

Right when we got there, his face LIT UP. He fought Eli to get out of his car seat and basically jumped out of his arms to step on the sand. He and Max played HARD, which only means he napped harder. 

Chelsea and Jordan bought these really cool hammock chairs that hang off the back of your truck. They were SO COMFY. And made for a great napping spot. :) 

Max and Liam were so cute together! Since my mom watches Liam while Eli and I are at work, Liam doesn't get much interaction with other kids so seeing these two babes share and play together was so awesome. 

After tons of trips to the water and 5 billion water gun fights, he napped for a good while...and thank goodness because this mama was EXHAUSTED. Running around chasing him (and making sure he didn't eat that much sand) was fun, but I definitely got a work out in. 

But before we knew it, it was time to pack up and head home for a two hour ride full of traffic. 

And of course, with my stubborn personality, I didn't think I needed to put any sunblock on and now I'm walking around like a zombie because my shoulders hurt so bad. Maybe I'll learn my lesson this time...but probably not. 

We are so happy that we got to spend time with the Covington's and Chelsea's family! We use to do this all the time when we didn't have kids, and now it's much harder to get on the same schedule! We are absolutely looking forward to more beach trips this summer!

What did you guys do over Memorial Day Weekend?!

Stressful week

This week has been all but expected.  Earlier this week, Eli and I got some news and have had a pretty difficult week.  We ask all of you for prayers and/or positive thoughts as we make it through this time.

Sunday evening, I ran to the grocery store for a few things (ya right...who doesn't say that before checking out and realizing you have $200 worth of stuff in your cart?!) and I passed by the baking section "just to see what they had".  I picked up some funfetti cupcake mix and blue icing. So fun!

My mom watches Liam during the day while Eli and I are at work, and we will never be able to thank her enough for all she does for us! She takes such great care of our little guy!! 

Monday afternoon, I got a text from my mom (a huge perk of having your mom take care of your baby!) with several pictures that her and my sister took while swimming and playing in the water sprinkler. He is such a ham!! I love it!

Tuesday was the day we received some bad news. I came home from work and this beautiful bouquet of flowers was on my doorstep! I love my mother-in-law!

Eli made me breakfast for dinner, which made me feel a little better after the rough day that I had. He is such a sweetheart.

^^ That's Troy, my sister's boyfriend.  Tuesday night, Eli, Liam and I were laying in bed when my sister texted me and offered to spend the night and help take care of Liam if he woke up during the night so we could rest. Troy ended up coming over with my sister, which was a good thing because he was in a goofy mood and that helped lift my spirits.

Wednesday, my best friend and I went to the gym on our lunch break. I'm so glad I have her to push me and encourage me to keep going! She's the best!

I also got these adorable pictures on Wednesday. This little guy has become a complete camera hog and I LOVE IT. Any time he sees a camera, he stops and poses for a picture. He is so smart...always making mama proud!

Tonight, I'm laying next to two of the most important men in my life and I couldn't be any happier that this week is finally over. We are off to the beach tomorrow for a stress-free weekend with our friends Chelsea and Jordan and their sweet son, Max!

Family visit

Over the weekend, Eli's family came in town and spent the weekend with us. Liam had so much fun spending time with his cousins, aunts, uncles, pawpaw, and momma jo! 

Eli is a twin, so seeing Liam's face when they are next to each other is priceless. Since we don't see them much, it took Liam a while to "warm up" to his uncle Treven but by the end of their trip, he didn't want him to leave! 

That's one of Eli's sisters, our niece and nephew, Eli's twin brother, and of course Liam and Eli!

It took several snaps on my iphone and my purple people walking in and out of photos to get a good one! 

Liam really loves being outside, but he loves being upside down even more! He has been doing this weird preparing-for-a-front flip thing and I can't stop laughing each time he does this!

And how can you not LOVE his little butt!?

It's safe to say Liam has a new found love for playing on his swing set that he was terrified of not too long ago. We are so glad we got to spend quality time with Eli's family and are counting down the days until we get to see them again!

#100happydays

So I am clearly not keeping up with my #100happydays but I do try to find something in each and every day that puts a smile on my face. While I most always forget to post them on my Instagram, i do keep them in my camera roll and am going to try to keep up with them (weekly)! 

This funny little face sure does make me smile! I am very thankful that I have him to come home to each day after work because no matter what kid of day I had, he's always acting goofy and making me laugh!

I love old pictures! That is me and my sister "way back in the day" when we would stuff our shirts with balloons. ;) I am so lucky to have such a fun and outgoing sister to make me do crazy things with her. 

Daddy and Liam snuggles REALLY make me happy. Eli works about one and a half hours away so even though he gets off at 5:30, he gets home pretty late. :( I love watching these two once he gets home! Liam loves his daddy!

I love having a (semi) clean toy room and a quiet house to relax in. Friday nights are my favorite!

I finally decided to join a gym after tricking one of my best friend's into doing it with me. 35 minutes of legs and we were DONE. By the end of the day, my legs were trembling and Liam thought it was funny because mommy couldn't walk straight. ;)

What things have made YOU happy this week?!

Ellie Goulding

i'm sitting here tonight editing my "about me" and i for some reason decided i needed to include a picture of me and Ellie Goulding from this past march when we were lucky enough to meet her!

Ellie Goulding holds a very special place in my heart, for a very unique reason.

In 2012, Eli and I took in his 16 year old nephew as he was going through a rough time in his life. We spent a lot of time together, just him and i, as eli's work schedule can get pretty crazy. Kevin and I were in the car one day when he plugged in his iPod and played Lights by Ellie Goulding. I had never heard of her before, but I really liked the way she sounded. He played a few more of her songs, and I was really loving what I heard! But I loved it even more because it was something that brought joy to Kevin's heart, which was rare during this time in his life. For the next three weeks, him and I jammed Ellie on the daily.  I ended up downloading her album and then buying the actually cd from target, as well. haha! 

On October 19, 2012, Eli had left for work and I was getting ready for my day.  At the time, we lived in a one bedroom apartment so Kevin slept in the living room on our sectional.  7am came quick and it was time to wake him up so he could study for his GED exam.  No response.  Something wasn't right. Eli couldn't have his phone on his at the job he was at, so I called Eli's sister who lives about 30 minutes away to see what I should do. I was so calm, I didn't realize what was actually happening.  From that moment on, I was just going through the motions. I don't even know what happened that morning. All I remember is calling 911 and leaving our apartment for the very last time. Kevin was gone and we didn't know why. Police and paramedics came to see if they could revive him, but it was too late. That morning, I felt like I lost my son. In just the one short month that he lived with us, we had bonded so much and come such a long way...but he was gone. 10 months later, autopsy reports came back and he passed from a clogged artery in his heart, which sometimes show no symptoms. :(

Now, a year and a half later, I will always cherish the moments we shared, with the most vivid memories including listening to Ellie Goulding.

Fast forward to november of 2013 when eli bought us tickets to her concert here in houston that was scheduled for march 2014. the week of the concert, i was listening to the radio when they announced that radio ticket winners would have their name put in a drawing to meet ellie goulding!!! you guys. i never. win. anything. ever. i am the biggest loser. ever. but i thought, what the heck...it can't hurt anything. i set an alarm on my phone for all 8 contest times that were announced. my first alarm rang...eli was at work so liam and i sat in the car in our driveway and sent over 100 text messages to the radio station that said "ellie". if you know me personally, you know i am a VERY fast tester...yet i got no call, no text. nothing. i didn't win. t was discouraged, but i still had 7 chances! 4 hours later, i noticed the contest was coming and liam was getting tired so i set up shop in the car and liam fell asleep buckled in his carseat. the announcement came over the radio to text in "joy" and it was GAME. ON. 76 text messages later, my phone rang! I WON TWO TICKETS TO SEE ELLIE! I cried like an idiot on the radio, but was even more excited that i had a total of FOUR tickets now and my sister could join us at the concert! I kept asking the guy on the radio, when will the backstage winners be announced?!?! all he kept saying was "i have no idea, but my guess would be monday before the concert". i woke up at the crack of dawn that monday morning and had 104.1 krbe playing all morning via safari on my iPhone. noon quickly approached, and it was time to go home from work to get ready for the concert. at that point, i figured it was a lost cause and that i didn't win the backstage passes..i was still super excited to see her perform, though. around 2 o'clock, eli, liam and i were laying in bed relaxing before we took him over to my parent's house. my phone was charging in the bathroom and was on vibrate. all of a sudden, i heard a noise from the bathroom and i swear y'all...i have never ran that fast in my life. there it was...the call from the same number that called to tell my i won tickets 2 days before this. i answered the phone and was shaking like CRAZY when the lady on the other side said "hi is this haley?" i don't even think i was calm enough to reply to her, but she continued and said "i'm calling to inform you that you and a guest were chosen to meet ellie goulding backstage............" and the rest all drowned out because i was crying so hard. i couldn't breathe (dramatic, i know) but i stayed on the line for more info on how to collect my tickets and whatnot.  ANYWAY....long story short, i met ellie and that was the biggest thing on my bucket list that i can officially say is checked off!

^ I am not a drinker, so when I had a little bit of "juice", I got a little cray. ;)

^Thats my sister...she ended up doing the worm on the wet concrete in the entrance line (it had just rained) and then danced with the people from the radio station for AN HOUR before the show started, so her and her boyfriend, Troy, got to come backstage, too!

This is something I will cherish forever.  When Eli originally bought the tickets before Christmas, I cried (tears of joy, mainly) for days because I felt this would provide closure for me after losing and finding Kevin.  Getting to meet her was a whole different story. I even got the chance to tell her about Kevin and she held a photo of him when we took our picture with her. She was sweet enough to apologize for our loss and was so genuine! 

Thank you Eli and 104.1 KRBE for making this dream a reality. 

Rest In Peace, Kevin Dutton

July 16, 1996-October 19, 2012