Sleep over...

 

 

So... Occasionally (all the time) I have these moments where I'm like, "Dude, you're totally failing at this mother thing!!"  and one of those moments was this past weekend when my 8 year old son had his first EVER sleep over!!  I know!! So... this past weekend we fixed that!!  and it was a blast, and we brought the mattress out to the living room, and had pizza and I heard giggles until 1:30 a.m. and then again before 7:00 a.m.  and there was much boy humor and nerf bullets flying through the house and wii, leggos, mine craft and so much more!!  We went to brunch and sat by the ocean and then home to play some more and finally at 3:30 Logan's mother called and asked if she could have her son back and we sadly said yes... as long as he can come back next weekend!! 

 



Late night and still going strong!!

 Brunch with boys and the ocean and their I-phones... (I promise that even though their phones are in both pictures that they did actually do more than just play on their phones!!  Although, with WiFi they could mine together in Mine Craft so there was quite a bit of time doing just that!!.... BOYS!!!)

................
He had so much fun.
I wish he had a brother.
He needed one.

On the eve of eight...

Dear Bugs,

Tomorrow you will be eight years old...  I think eight is great!  (you still love my corny side so I have to get it in where I can!!)!! 

It's hard to believe that I've been a mom for 8 years, it seems like such a long time, and a short time all at once.  Life began 8 years ago, the life I dreamed, wanted, needed all began 8 years ago when you came into this world with all your crazy hair and huge blue eyes and the biggest heart I've ever known.  There are a million, bazillion things I love and admire about you, but tonight on the eve of eight, I'm going to try to pick just 8...

1. - Your Compassion:  At eight you still remain the tender hearted child you've always been, kind to everyone you meet, never judging, never mean, never one to look for a flaw.  You are kind and open and always willing to help, to comfort, to offer a smile.  You are honest to a fault, you put everyone before you and you do so happily.  You delight in the joy of others and always play the peacemaker.  Your heart is so incredibly huge and strong and fierce and I'm so proud of you.  You are good, simply and honestly good.

2. - Your Laugh:  At eight you still have the most innocent and wholesome bubbling laugh that not an adult around could not smile and laugh with you.  It radiates around you and bounces from the walls and fills me with such happiness I feel like I'm going to explode in rainbows and confetti and glitter and hearts and starts and everything happy.  It is hands down, my most favorite sound.

3. - Your Intuitiveness:  At eight you are so very intuitive.  You are still so innocent and sometimes almost too sheltered, but yet you have the ability to see when someone is hurting or sad, and you have this ability to give love and comfort better than most.  I guess it all goes back to your tender heart.  Your love is an amazing thing and each day I am so lucky to be a receiver of it.

4. - Your Love of Math:  At eight you are one smart cookie!!  You LOVE math, live for it actually.  You love numbers and breaking them down and putting them back together and you do it all in your head and you amaze me every single day.  You excel and challenge your teachers, and we're all so very proud of you!!

5. - Your Stinky Feet:  At eight you have crazy stinky pickle feet and as awful as it sounds I still love them.  It's a mom thing, or maybe it's just a me thing, I've always loved the smell of your baby drool pillows and now your stinky feet.  (someday you'll understand, or perhaps just realize that I'm your crazy stinky smell loving mom??)

6. - Your Eyes:  At eight your eyes continue to be huge, bright blue, long lashed and beautiful.  They are full of laughter and love and knowledge.  They sparkle and shine when you are happy and they twinkle with mischief when you are moody.  You give me "looks" that make my heart feel like it's going to burst.  Your eyes are expressive and kind, windows into the goodness that is you... I could stare into them for ever.

7. - Your Funny:  At eight you have the best sense of humor ever!  You truly find funny things funny, you have a bit of your momma's sarcasm and a comedic timing that is getting finer tuned by the day.  You make me laugh true belly laughs.  Your silly is my favorite silly.

8. - You:  At eight YOU are the perfect YOU!  I love every single thing about you, from your stinky toes to your sweaty head, from your funny bone to your huge heart.  I'm so very proud of the young man you are becoming.  I'm in awe of who you are, how you think and react and behave.  You truly are the best person I know.


This year has been full of high highs and low lows but through it all it's been a great year, because I have you.  I'm so proud to be your mom, I love you so much!  Being your mom has made me a better person.  So as we tackle eight, my wish for you is to keep being you.  Stay innocent and strong, funny and smart, kind, compassionate, loving.  Follow your heart, because it's an amazing heart.  You are beyond anything I could have ever wanted or wished for.  I love you with all my heart!!

Love,
Momma

D.C. - I heart you!!

Road Trippin' - Part 2!!

 

 

After all of our fun in the ATL we headed off for Daddy - 8 hours and one crazy crazy storm in North Carolina later we were at Daddy's place, kinda tired, kinda silly, kinda ready to relax!!

 

Daddy actually lives in Virginia just a few Metro stops from D.C., our first day there we went out and walked the streets of Alexandria - it's a pretty awesome little area with lots of cool shops and restaurants and a Whole Foods 2 blocks from Daddy's apartment!! We walked or rode the metro pretty much everywhere which we both loved!!   

 

Here you are right outside of Daddy's...

Saturday was off to see the sights day!!  We packed a TON into this one day but it was amazing and so much fun!!  We rode around on a double decker open air bus, and got off at lots of places!!  Here are a few highlights!

Well hello, Mr. President!!

 

 You were so excited to get to the Lincoln Memorial!!  If only that walk along the reflecting pond wasn't SOOOOOOOOOOOO long!!

 

Totally worth it once we got there...

 

We made a relatively quick trip through the Museum of National History - the Dinosaurs were your favorite - the Hope Diamond was mommy's!! 

We also visited lots of monuments, and went to Arlington and the Ford Theater and lots lots of other places!!  It was a long but pretty great day!!

Sunday was a day of REST!!  We needed it after Saturday's see everything day...  But on Monday we were off again and this time to the National Zoo which, hands down, my new most favorite zoo ever!!  We had such a blast!!  A few highlights...

 

There is a panda bear way way back there!! 

 well, hello Panda!!

 This picture just makes me smile...

Tuesday morning came too soon and we hit the road - we drove straight through because your momma is kinda crazy and you happen to be a rock star in the car - 11 hours and 55 minutes later we were home sweet home... we both were wired and didn't fall asleep until close to midnight and then slept for 12 hours to wake up at noon, have a lunch breakfast and fall back asleep for a 2 hour nap. 

All in all our road trip was pretty epic, pretty fun, and filled with great memories...  For all the fun we had and all the cool things we saw, moments in the car with you are the ones I'll cherish the most for ever and ever...

I love you Bug-a-licious!!!

xoxo,
Momma

Road Trippin' Part One

June 2013... Freshly out of 1st grade and ready to take on the summer!!  Greyson and I hit the road for a pretty epic summer vacation road trip, mommy and Greyson bonding trip...

 

For all the things that totally blow about Greg having to move to D.C. I will forever and ever be thankful that because of his move I got to have this experience with Greyson - because it was EVERYTHING!!! 

 

We left bright and early on a Wednesday morning, our first stop was not to head straight to Daddy but rather drive to Atlanta.  I've wanted to take Greyson to the Georgia Aquarium from the moment they opened their doors.  So we went a bit out of our way and headed to the ATL!

 

I have made the Florida to ATL drive plenty of times back in the day when we were moving here and knew that alone I could make the trip in around 6 hours flat, I figured that since Greyson has never been in the car more than 2 hours (expect one time as a wee baby) that it could take us potentially 8, 10, 12, 4 days??  We had his phone, DS, movies, car games, paper, pencils, markers, snacks, toys, basically every comfort of home was in the back seat, perfectly organized and at his finger tips...

 

We started playing 20 questions about 5 minutes into the trip - 5 hours, 55 minutes and one stop for gas later we were pulling into our hotel!!  Traffic was non-existent, and my boy - he's a dream of a road trip partner.  We talked and talked and rocked out to oldies on the radio and giggled and played about 7,436 rounds of 20 questions, and time flew and never once did he whine or complain or ask to stop.  We checked in, got some lunch, went and surprised a few of my old friends in the city and then ordered amazing room service and got to bed early... the next day was Aquarium day!!

 



 

Hotel Breakfast - Oh yeah!!  We were walking distance to the Aquarium....



 

 

 We were lucky enough to be there on a day when no one else in the world was... We walked around a corner and this room was ahead of us and Greyson (my son who never runs in-doors - ever...) RAN to stand in the middle of this room, fish and colors and sea life swimming all around him... This quite possibly could be one of my favorite pictures - ever.

 

 

This is definitely a place that just held infinite amounts of magic and joy... I can't wait to go back...

He could have spent all day in this one room...

 

I may have squealed out loud when I saw these little weedy sea dragons!!

 

Because penguins are just so fun... 

 

This window held a FABULOUS surprise... 

 

the coolest ever WHALE SHARK!!!

 

Beluga!!!

 

Well hello there...

The day was everything it could have been and more and more and more!!!  We left the aquarium, hit the road and drove 8 crazy fun hours (wait until I tell you about the storm!!) filled with more talking and singing and being super silly to finally pull into Daddy's just a little after midnight...

We were exhausted, slap happy and closer than ever... I learned so much about my boy on this trip... Something about being in a car, miles of road flying by... We talked about life, his thoughts on everything, school stories I hadn't heard.  He asked questions about me, what life was like when I was young, when I met Daddy, how we fell in love... What it was like being pregnant with him and what he was like as a baby, how I fell in love with him... We laughed and we cried and we shared in ways I didn't know we ever would.  Greyson and I are two peas in a pod, always have been, always will be.  I know for a fact that we have a crazy strong bond, we spend every single day together, play for hours, eat dinner, read bed time stories and talk each night, I thought I knew everything about him and that we couldn't ever be closer than we were... and yet... this trip, this trip gave me just that... I can't wait to do it all again...

Oh the irony?!?!

So remember how in my last post I lamented about all the crazy from the summer and I was all like, "Hey Summer 2013, I'm over you..."  Ha to the ha ha, because summer 2013 was NOT over me.  On Thursday (as in the Thursday before school starts on Monday so like 2 business day, 4 calendar days) we got a phone call... Our school has made the difficult decision to close our doors, effective immediately.

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...................

yeah.............

So.... within the next 4 hours I called in every single favor I've ever been good for, and exactly 4 hours later, Greyson was enrolled in my first choice of back-up plan schools, new supplies bought, new uniforms purchased and ready for meet and greet on Friday.  Apparently I work well under pressure, I won't lie and say that there were not tears, snot, panic and many a crazy lady phone call, but still - 4 hours!!

I don't blame the teachers, or really most of the administrative staff, they were all shocked too... I blame good ole' GREED and even though we paid through the nose to send our kid to that school, they have a mighty profitable piece of property and an offer came in to lease it and well the higher ups decided that it was silly to care about those of us that supported them when they could make twice as much off of strangers...

So now I say, Summer 2013 bring it!!  Because I got this, I've got all of this and what ever you throw at me, I not only got it, I got in 4 hours or less....


Greyson will be going to a very large new school.... We met his teacher and a few classmates and we have some friends there already so he's feeling pretty good.  I know that in no time he'll know his way around and how it all works.  Plus you can bet that this momma will be all up in the PTO and volunteering daily to keep an eye on things...

We're learning to roll with the punches and that we can't always live in the safe little cocoon I work so dang hard to always have surrounding us.  We're coming out tougher and stronger and with great sarcastic story telling capabilities...

One last day of summer break - hopefully the sun will shine and we can park our toes and Greyson's broken (ok hairline fractured) hip in the warm sand and appreciate just a little of summer 2013.

and then that one summer...

So first and foremost... um... Hello?

I've kinda been itching to blog, I've assembled some posts, have some pictures... yadda yadda... It's been a long time and SO much has changed... it's been a summer that some year far down the road, we'll be like "remember that one summer..."

So here is quick run down and perhaps I'll be back to add details or I might just disappear again... no promises! Ha!!

Greg's office closed (panic!!)

Greg gets a new job (yay!) ................  in Virginia (cry, sob, freak-out)

Greg moves to Virginia (eternal sad face...)

We make the tough decision to keep Greyson and I here in Florida... We don't want to leave his school for one thing and Greg's parents are here, re-locating them at this point is not an option, so we're hopeful he'll find something back in Florida soon... (I feel like throwing up...)

Greyson and I move out of our house into a condo (sad to leave his only home - but we love the condo - so yay!!)

School's out for summer!! (woo to the hoo!!)

I have major cancer scare and thyroid surgery - I'm fine!  (so, yay for that!)

Amazing road trip!!  Greyson, myself and the open road...  Atlanta, GA Aquarium, through the Carolina's and up to Virginia (just out of DC) to see Daddy... Amazing trip - all the DC sights, museums and the National Zoo!!  Road triping it home along the East coast - discovering that Greyson truly is the best and coolest kid EVER!!

Poppa goes into the hospital for the first time this summer... (Stress...)

Greg needs emergency surgery for bi-lateral hernia's.  (STRESS!!! and quick flights to Virginia)

Back in Virginia to care for Daddy, we make a trip to Baltimore to the National Aquarium and we take in Greyson's first Major League Baseball game - the Nationals lost to the Dodgers but we had amazing seats and Greyson had his first taste ever of cotton candy! (He hated it!!)

Poppa goes into the hospital for the 2nd time this summer and has a major emergency surgery... (He's finally home with a home health care nurse.)  (Sighs of relief...)

Greyson breaks his hip...............  wait! WHAT!?!?  Yep, Greyson has a hairline fracture in his hip, thankfully it does not need surgery, unfortunately, it hurts really bad and he has to be on bed rest his last week before school starts...

Dear Summer of 2013 - I'm over you.

Picture Post!

Many pictures from our mini shoot the other day...

 

 

 His cuteness just kills me...

 

 as do those crazy long lashes...

 

and this smile...

 

 and then he looks so grown up, and I cry...  happy tears, sad tears, proud tears, tears for time lost, tears of hope for future dreams, tears just for tears... and then he laughs at me... "Oh momma, you and your tears..."  :)

 

 I love you my super handsome, super sweet, super kind, super smart, super loving and hilarious boy, to the moon, infinity...

Check... check... check... Is this thing on??

Hi... My name is Heather and I'm.... addicted to being a really bad blogger...

                 Hi Heather...

It's been months since my last blog...


Ok, that's all I really know about 12 step programs, but it kinda feels like I need one to break my addiction to NOT blogging.  I'm sorry y'all!!

Life here in sunny Florida is good, we're chugging along doing our thing!!  Greg is good, he has a few changes coming up that we're equal parts nervous but excited about... Perhaps I'll blog about it in the future when we know more... (don't hold your breath!! ha!)

I have fully launched Heather Peugh Photography and holy monkey's I didn't know word of mouth marketing would make me this busy!!  I'm loving it and really being challenged and it's good!  I'm also still working races and such and loving all of that too!  I broke my tailbone early this year and had to take a forced break from running/biking/working out in general and it's made me grumpy, but luckily for anyone who has to be around me, I'm slowly but surely making my comeback now and man does it feel good (in that painful kinda way!). 

Greyson (I know that's all you really come here for...) - Greyson is amazing!!  He graduated from Arnold Palmers earlier this year and I'm pretty sure everyone clapped and cried for us as we left that final day knowing that weekly therapy visits there were OVER!!  We're still in the weaning him from his meds visits, but he is doing so amazingly well!!  Yay and hip hip hooray and everything overly the top happy!!!  WOO HOO!!

2 weeks ago he had a pallet expander put in his top pallet to correct his cross bite.  His cross bite was bad enough that it needed to be fixed sooner rather than later to keep him from having jaw issues in the future.  At first he had the cutest little lisp you have ever heard, but as he gets used to it the lisp is going away!!  He's been a trouper with it and hasn't really complained about it at all!  I'm so proud of him.

He's continuing to shine at school!  He/We love his new school so much and couldn't be happier with how that all turned out.  He fits in very well with his class and we've made great friends there!!  Love it so so so much!

Last week was spring break - we had a nice relaxed week with movies and playing and camping out in the living room, and late night giggle fests... I missed him so much when he went back to school today.  Schedule is good for us though and I'll spend the rest of the week getting caught up on everything I let slide last week...

and now for the good stuff...   We went out yesterday morning, and caught a bit of the sunrise and few captured moments of the little guy I love so much.  He's truly my first muse, my inspiration, my heart, my love, my everything.  He makes me smile like no other ever could... I love you Greyson - to the moon and back, infinity...