Family Time

Life is always moving at a fast pace. I've learned that you have to keep up, or you'll get tossed under the bus. I think I tried too hard to keep up the last week and a half, so I am crawling from beneath the wheels.

Don't get me wrong here. The last couple of weeks have been pretty great (discounting the whole stitches in my kid's face incident), but the exhaustion took over. I got sick. Really sick. And then I refused to go to the doctor. It takes too much time.

After Cullen's pediatrician urged me to see my ENT, I finally went. Once again, I have the sinus infection from hell. I haven't really eaten in a couple of days, and I've gotten more than 20 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours. The doctor gave me a shot to help my general miserable state, then prescribed me some excessive pain meds and an antibiotic with a request for me to eat. I never thought a doctor would actually ask me to eat.

Now, let's focus on the brighter side of things. James' mom came to visit. It was wonderful. Cullen absolutely adores Lynn, and we all got to spend so much time together. We laughed, we played, we shopped. It was awesome.

This past Friday was mine and James' fifth wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe that it's been that long. Time seriously does fly. We've been through a lot of tough and interesting times, but we always seem to come out on top. I think the stressful times over the last five years have brought us so much closer, and it makes it an awful lot easier to laugh at the not-so-tough times. We know that we're both strong -- together and individually. I hope James can share in the sentiment that we're lucky to have each other.

We decided to celebrate our anniversary a day early to avoid the crowds in downtown on a Friday night. How old are we? We had dinner at Mia Bella. The food was amazing, and James set up a really great evening. James and I don't usually make a huge deal out of our anniversary. It's date night. There are flowers. We have dinner. You know the drill.

This year, I managed to order some BBQ sauce from James' favorite place in Alabama. The catering department shipped bottles of it straight to our door step. You've never seen such a happy guy. James snuck flowers and my gift into the restaurant early. When we sat down for dinner, the manager appeared out of nowhere to deliver flowers to our table and a tiny little James Avery bag containing a ring I've been wanting for a while. We still manage to surprise each other.

On Friday, James and I each took a vacation day to spend some more time with Lynn. We took Cullen to the Children's Museum in the morning, and we had such a great time. Cullen spent plenty of time playing in the Tot Spot (for kids under 3), and then we ran all over downstairs in the play section of the museum. After a couple of hours, we were exhausted, and we had made the decision that a museum membership was in order for our household. Lynn was more than happy to support our decision, and James and I are already looking forward to our next visit.

On Saturday, James' cousin, Stephanie, drove in from Kentucky with her 5 kids. We all went over to Peg and Andy's to enjoy each other's company and wish Charly a happy birthday. The kids had a great time running all over, and the adults had a great time watching the chaos. I love the Little family. :)

From L-R(ish): Carly, James, Charly, Cullen (with 2 strollers, because 1 just isn't enough),

me, Kellie, Andy, Cassidy, Stephanie, and Lynn. Not pictured: Lauren, Hunter, Peggy.

We decided to brave the Children's Museum again on Sunday with all six kids. As it turned out, it was free day at the museum. The kids had a blast, but the adults all agreed that we would be avoiding free day in the future. After the museum was dinner at Lupe's for 11. 6 kids, 5 adults. So loud, so fun. Cullen hasn't been that calm for a meal since before he could walk. He watched the big kids play, color, and talk. He was so distracted that he actually ate dinner in a restaurant. Now I know who to sit by when we try to eat dinner out with Cullen.

Monday is when I woke up not feeling well. And here we are today. I think the most exciting news in our house (for this very moment at least) is that Cullen is stitch-free. After a quick visit to the doctor yesterday, the last stitch was snipped, and we are on the road to recovery. To be the mother of a son. I need to stock up on more Tylenol.

xoxo ashley