Say. It. Isn't. So.

Kyle and I are getting married!  Yes, Married! 

I have met the man that I know I want to spend each and every one of my days with.  The man I am proud to stand next to and call my own.  The man who makes me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.  The man who loves me like he has never loved anything more.  The man who makes me feel whole and happy. 

Kyle and I have talked about marriage for a lot of our relationship.  I am not a fan of the traditional ways (ie the proposal).  I feel like in our situation and our life marriage was a huge deal because it is something that we want our kids to treasure and be a part of. I want for the kids to know what marriage is truly about....something I don't think I learned until I was older.

I didn't want to be proposed to, I didn't want an engagement ring, and I didn't want a traditional wedding and reception.  I am so particular (I am still trying to figure out why Kyle wants to marry me?!?).  Once I realized that we can get married without a big proposal and a big wedding I was ready!!

We did a some ring shopping.  We did some venue hunting.  We made it official! We told our parents first, the kids next, then our friends!

Our parents were happy for us, as expected!  My dad isn't the most emotional human so I think he said, "well that's good"....my mom cried....Kyle's parents were very excited that he is happy and we are making it official!

Telling the kids was crazy fun!  I was nervous, not to tell them, but just for their reactions. Kyle and I made a video with pictures (played music) and put a some pictures of us and the kids. In the video were these three photos:

Everyone was standing/sitting around the kitchen table and we played the video.  It wasn't very long so we knew they would know pretty quickly. When the girls saw it they let out a little holler and Aiden looked at me, knowing he can't read I told him what it said.  Aiden got a little grin on his face and Sloane looked at us, but quickly realized there was still music playing so she was way too distracted by the video to care about our news.  Aiden then turned around to Kyle and I, wrapped his little arms around us, kissed us both on the cheeks, then yelled, "GROUP HUG EVERYBODY!"  It brought tears to my eyes (not just because everything brings tears to my eyes) because he was genuinely excited for us.  He knows we are happy and I love that.  Sloane watched the video a few more times, the girls immediately started texting their friends, and life went back to normal.  A football game ensued outside and cleanup began inside.

Sloane has since told everyone that we are all getting married (her, Aiden, Kailyn, Bailey, and Kyle).  She is very excited about picking out a dress....she shops daily on the iPad. 

I am happy.  It is a wonderful place to be.  I love Kyle, with all my heart and can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together!

back to school

Well it's official.....Aiden is in elementary school!  I still can't believe that he is old enough to be in kindergarten, yet he is! Sloane has also started her life as a preschooler, which is just as crazy to me.  I think Sloane will always be my little baby.  It gives me a lot of joy to see Aiden getting big and becoming a boy, but it makes me sad to see Sloane so grown up.  I guess there is a double standard with my two little people.  I forever want Sloane to be this little girl.....but I look forward to watching Aiden grow up and become a young man.

The first few days were rough.  In fact Sloane cried for an hour after day one....I don't think she understood what just happened.  I dropped her off.....then came back a million hours later.  I don't think she had a grasp of "school," even with us talking about it constantly.

Aiden had a great first couple of days.....but then cried every morning before school.  We are on his second full week of school and he is his normal happy self now.  No tears in the morning and is bouncing out to the car every afternoon.  They have a color system in his class (green is good....red is bad).  He has managed to make it to yellow a few times (so I know his teacher is getting the TRUE Aiden everyday.  He usually has a good excuse for his behavior.....and never argues about his consequence for not being on green (no iPad time for the evening) which means he KNEW he was in the wrong.

I have great kids. I am reminded of that daily.  I want them to love school and to stay happy little people.