First big BOO BOO

Poor Mason has had a rough week! As soon as we came back from Florida he got a terrible cold and then had both canines breaking through. If that wasn't enough, he had a terrible fall yesterday while playing outside with Brandon and his grandpa. Apparently he was chasing a leaf and just face planted on the cement. He's normally a super careful kid so I was shocked that he fell like that. 

Hearing your baby cry is one of the scariest things ever. I think my heart was pounding a million times a minute. Luckily, it just scratched his nose and he didn't have any serious bumps or bruises. It looks AWFUL but not as bad as I thought it would be after I saw him initially! Hopefully little man will heal up fine. Poor guy! :(

We had Brandon's Dad and step mom Mary here which was really nice. We went out to eat, watched basketball, and had lots of play time with Mace. Mason also had a chance to go to his friend's birthday party which was awesome. I love seeing him play with other kids his age. Sometimes I feel guilty he's not in daycare interacting daily with kids. I hope that once the weather warms up we can do more than just library and bounce and meet some people.

Hope everyone has a great week. Mace and I are going to the park tomorrow to meet up with some of his library buddies to enjoy the 59* day. WOOHOO!

Day after the boo boo. As you can see it's been a rough week for this poor fella

Hopefully we can go outside this activity is almost at it's peak of entertainment

A little hint of Spring in our front yard

SAHM life

I haven't talked about it a whole lot but I wanted to share my thoughts on the SAHM vs. the working mom.

I remember one morning when I was teaching scrambling to get out of the door but kept running to the restroom needing to throw up from morning sickness….it was disgusting and awful.(TMI? sorry!) Later that morning I saw a post on Facebook from a SAHM saying something like "So glad it's Monday so we can finally relax!" I remember wanting to reach through my screen and punch that mom. As I was almost late to work, feeling like death, and knowing my meetings and craziness from parents and kids were about to come. I'm sure this mom didn't mean to offend anyone, however, it did make me think about how someone could write something like that knowing how awful Mondays are for most people. I made a vow to myself after seeing posts like this I would not be this way!

Now that I am a SAHM I feel like I am a lot more careful in the words I choose to say. I will never post my "hard day" because so many mom's out there would give anything to have a "hard day" at home with their babies. I know most people say being a SAHM is the hardest job in the world but I think that's kind of offensive to say. There's a lot of hard working moms out there who are balancing work, meetings, no sleep, stressful jobs, and losing time with their babies just to put dinner on the table.

I admire SAHM's and working mom's and think together we do our best to do what's right for our families. I think working moms need to know they are heroes in disguise and are truly amazing women to do all they do in a days time. SAHM's need to know that they are so amazing for putting their careers on hold to do what's best for their family. 

I have also realized that our family functions better when I am part-time. I loved having Mason meet buddies in daycare and still get to love on him the majority of the day. The funny thing is I've met mom's from all spectrums. One woman asked me how the heck I do it everyday at home without going crazy (She took a 3 week maternity leave and was SUPER ready to go back to work) and another mom who can't even imagine being part time away from her babies. I love how every family situation can be so different.

Cheers to a happy balance with you and your families! What are your thoughts on this topic? I'd love to hear!

Papa's 102nd birthday

Hello everyone! I wanted to share some photos of our time in Grand Rapids celebrating my papa's 102nd birthday. My grandparents reserved half of Reservoir Lounge for about 70 of us to get together and celebrate with irish music and delicious food! I haven't seen my Hauenstein side in awhile so it was nice to catch up with all my cousins, aunt, uncles and grandparents. 

I sat back and thought about how life would be if I made it to 102. All my family members growing up would be gone. Close friends would have already passed. It's such a weird concept to think about. He has lived quite an amazing life and it's very cool he has lived to see his great-great grandkids.

After my papa's party Brandon and I decided to take Mason to the museum for the dinosaur exhibit. His reaction to them was priceless! At first it was amazement then as they started making noises it turned into a little bit of fear. Most kids under 2 can't grasp what's real and not real so I'm sure it freaks most toddlers out. 

I am looking forward to a weekend at home with my boys! I will be hitting up Ikea with a friend and heading to Mason's friends birthday party as well. Should be lots of fun! Have a great week and stay warm out there.

Florida Fun

Mace man and I are finally back from Florida and it was so nice! We got to spend quality time with my amazing grandma Joy and she spoiled us with amazing food and was a great host. Mason loved his "Gammy" and it was cute seeing them together!

I told my grandma I feel like my mom planned this trip for me somehow. I am not one to usually book a trip like this last minute but I felt like I may need it. After losing baby I was feeling so down and this little get away was very much needed to get me out of my funk. I'm so happy I planned a trip there to see her :)

The weather was crappy the first couple days then really nice towards the end. We got a chance to go to the pool and we played with a lot of bubble toys and cars. It was nice finally being able to take him for walks too. It's amazing how much more their vocabulary can expand when you show them outdoor stuff.

It was so nice seeing my cousins and aunt and uncle too. I don't get to see my side of the family much these days because of the distance. My cousins kiddos were so cute with Mason. They kept fighting over who got to push him in his stroller first. It feels good to be home but I'm definitely missing the weather. Tomorrow we head to Grand Rapids for my papa's 102nd birthday party! Brandon has never met him and doesn't know many of my Hauenstein side so it'll be nice to introduce him to everyone. 

We are keeping busy here and looking forward to warm weather to go up north! We love going to the U.P. for Brandon's golf weekend with his family and also lake time at Renee's beautiful home and Tom's. Mason will be a lucky boy this summer with all the amazing things to do in this state. Here are some of my favorite pics from the weekend. More pics to come of papa's 102nd this week!! xoxo

Every little thing…Is gonna be alright :) Bob Marley is the best!

Hello friends and fam! Hope you are all having a great week. I feel like I haven't been able to blog much just because of all the craziness going on over here. I am still getting my blood tested every other day to make sure things are going ok after the ectopic pregnancy. I am so thankful that my numbers are going down woohoo! The more I read on ectopic pregnancies the more scared I get. I try to avoid the internet but it can be SOOO hard! I'm sure many of you have diagnosed yourself with a life threatening illness on WebMd am I right? The only scary thing I've learned is the risk of having it happen again. Also the chance of conceiving again after an ectopic is greatly reduced for many couples. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Brandon and I won't face too many issues in the future. Happy thoughts and prayers sent this way would be appreciated for the next few months!! <3

One of the funny things about moving back to Michigan is I'm noticing my schedule is filling up quickly. In Arizona we didn't have a lot of visitors so most weekends we spent doing whatever we wanted. Since living here, I find myself being invited to parties, shopping trips, girls night, and lots of play dates. I have to say I LOVE it! It's so weird being able to drive a couple hours to see my friends and family. I feel so blessed we are able to do that now.

Over the weekend we had my step dad Tom here. He was able to relax with us and enjoy some home cooked food. I enjoy making some of my mom's favorite meals for him. Mason really enjoys being around him and we love having the pugs here. 

I have also been doing some crafty little projects here and there. Not having a job is throwing me off quite a bit! I do miss working but Mace man has definitely been keeping me busy! We go to the library for toddler group, gymnastics class, play groups, and the church indoor playground. It's been a blast and I'm LOVING being able to watch him grow! I also have a passion for making things pretty and my house has been quite the project for me :) Brandon and I always call our house a diamond in the rough. It makes me laugh that it was shown over 20 times with NO offers! Kind of scary to think about…but we are working on making her flaws pretty again! ha.

 Lola the pug!! My mom's baby…

 Lola and Max are the cutest Pugs!

the old ladies at JoAnn Fabrics said sewing with burlap is impossible. I sure showed them!!! it sucked but if you want to know the trick let me know I'll teach you!! Very difficult material to sew with!!

This isn't the best quality of picture because it was off my phone but this is the table Brandon made! I was having a hard time finding a dining room table at the store that was durable enough, large enough, and this style. So we decided to make our own! it took Brandon about 7 weekends or so to finish it. I found the plans on Pinterest through an amazing blog! This lady and her husband walk you through step by step for everything. Brandon and I found plans to do a coffee table, planking, and a console table. We're excited to do some more projects together!

Angel Baby

I was debating whether I wanted to bring up some things that have happened to me this past week. There are a lot of things in life that happen that are rarely discussed or talked about and I had one of those experiences the past couple weeks. 

2.5 weeks ago I found out I was pregnant. Brandon and I were both in shock since this wasn't planned but SUPER excited at the thought of a future sibling for Mason. I was feeling the typical pregnancy symptoms and was feeling very excited. A few days later I started noticing some signs that could point to miscarriage or a possible problem. The Dr. brought me in and did two blood tests. The blood showed I was indeed pregnant and the pregnancy was progressing but he was concerned that the levels weren't going up high enough so he wanted to see me in a week.

That following week I was still feeling symptoms and felt strongly baby was going to be ok. Unfortunately the ultra sound showed no baby but because my blood said differently, I left my appt. immediately for the emergency room. There they discovered I had an ectopic pregnancy and lost baby around 5.5 or 6 weeks. Thankfully I won't need surgery and everything should go back to normal.

I don't feel embarrassed to talk about this or share it because honestly, knowing my friends stories of their miscarriages and how they healed has helped me SOOOOO much. I'm not sure what I would have done if I hadn't talked with them this week! 

Although I'm not quite myself yet I know I will get there soon! Hopefully another baby will be in the future for us but we shall see. Life can definitely throw us curve balls yikes!

On a happy note Brandon and I have been working on more fun projects at the house. His dining table is done and we are bringing it upstairs this week. Here are the chairs I bought for the end of the table.

I love T.J. maxi! :) These were a steal

Some more random pictures of my mini projects including my plants, pillow cover, and painting! Some of Mace face of course too :)

 New pillow Cover…nervous to sew it though Burlap isn't easy to work with!