Our Lives Through the Eyes of My iPhone......Has it Really Resorted to This?!

If it weren't for my iPhone, I truly couldn't tell you what we have been up to for the last THREE WEEKS! Everything leading up to Justin's opening has been a blur, as well as everything after! The Justin Scarlet Allstate Agency opened it's doors on Monday, August 1st. I have been working my regular job, as well as some after hours stuff at the agency! Add that to being a mom in the midst of potty training a toddler, and everything else that comes with being married with a family , and you have......
One. Tired. Woman.

The plus side? I get the most amazing sleep every night!  The down side? I do NOT want to get up in the morning, so I am

All in all, this new venture is VERY exciting, but also VERY exhausting.  I am just trying to find balance.  That's all :)

Please enjoy this montage of what's been going on for the last month :)

We celebrated Papaw's Birthday with a homemade coconut cake, topped with a tee and golf ball!

Connor and the Hossley boys did a little skinny dipping!

We took Connor to his FIRST movie, Cars 2! He did alright, but I would like to suggest to movie makers that the previews at kids movies be HALF the time! They were atleast 20 minutes, AND there was a 10 minute Toy Story cartoon before the actual movie started! That is 30 minutes WASTED! We made it through about 40 minutes of the actual movie for a total of 90 minutes. After that, Connor just wanted to chat about how the chairs go up and down, the lights on the floor, and the little boys sitting in the front row.  I suggested a trip to Goody's Frozen Yogurt and we left, still all smiles :) Luckily, the theater wasn't too busy, so we didn't disturb too many movie-goers.

Connor got a haircut!

We made a fun day trip to Cove Lake to swim! It was really pleasant.  The temperature was about 10 degrees cooler, and the humidity was much lower.  The water was clean, out picnic lunch was good (although Connor informed us that he doesn't like sandwiches lol!), and it was a great place to spend a Saturday afternoon with the family

We went for a swim at Eastgate with The Hossley's!

Connor took up some karaoke! He loves to sing "Holiday" by Madonna! LOL!

July 1st, I received a new territory alignment that included Joplin. After three weeks, I finally made my way up there to call on my customers.  During lunch, I made my way through the devastation.  I was surprised to hear that the city looks "100 times better" than it did two months ago. We continue to pray for these people, all of who seem so faithful.

Here is the hospital, which was hit the hardest during the tornado

God Bless Joplin, Missouri

Connor has developed an obsession with the Green Lantern superhero! Nana bought him a mask and ring (all part of the Green Lantern get-up) and he wears them EVERYWHERE! Lol, hey, I don't care.  Choose your battles, right? :)

The sunglasses even go over the mask!

Connor enjoyed his first long day on the boat with his friend, Carley. He LOVES Carley :) He did well considering he would NOT nap! He got a new Spiderman life jacket before the trip, so he was very excited to show it off! The day ended at JJ's on Beaver Lake with some DELICIOUS catfish! Oh, and what did Connor have you for dinner, you ask? Apple Pie and ice cream....yeah we're bad parents, so what? ;)

Getting ready for Justin's BIG DAY!

I got a haircut! "Me time" is SO rare these days....you don't even want to see my toes...they are in major need of a pedicure!

Connor found a cheap and easy way to entertain himself while we set up Justin's office.

I have been relying on my 5hr energy alot these days.....without it, I could randomly pass out in my lunch and probably sleep the rest of the day.



Connor and I had a Goody's date because he didn't have ANY potty accidents while he was at the sitter's. He wore  big boy underwear all day! Way to go, little man! (Side note: I have heard over and over and OVER how hard little boys are to potty train, so I would like to thank God for giving me a little boy who has been super easy! Morale of the story? Don't believe everything you hear as a new parent or you will be scared before the process even starts.  I was!)



Connor met daddy's new employee, Justin.  Yes, there is Justin and Justin in the Allstate office. And yes, it gets confusing. :)



Connor took a few phone calls before the office opened.  He was working on some pre-sales.

 One day while walking through the store, Connor discovered  super hero popsicles. "Oh how fun, we will have popsicles outside to cool off from this ridiculous heat...," I thought. Well, these dang popsicles have some nasty dark staining dye in them! WHEW! Now I know why parents urge their children to eat banana popsicles! LOL!

So after popsicle time, we rinse him off with the hose, and then he always wants to water the grass. I happen to think this was kind of cute :)



And yesterday, Daddy took him to Walmart to get a poster for another successful week of potty training.  And yes, it's in the closet where my little super hero likes to swing from the clothes bar while talking to his buddy, Green Lantern!

I sure have missed blogging! I have been working on this post for a few days now.  I am thankful I was able to get caught up, but a little embarassed that I had to rely on my cell phone pictures to remember what we have been doing for the last month. Oh well! Thanks for stopping by!

 :)

Fun on the Fourth!

We had a great weekend, spending time with family and friends, and just relaxing! It was Justin's first weekend home where he didn't have to drive back out the following week. His five weeks of training were complete, and we were just ready to indulge in some serious family time.

Our sweet neighbors allowed us to "take care" of their pool while they were out of town, and you can bet we "took care" of it every single day! Saturday afternoon, Granddad (my dad) came by to swim with Connor.  He had a ball showing Granddad all of his "tricks" :)


Saturday night we had a few people over to help "take care" of the pool. :) After all of Justin's hard work (and mine too), we were ready for a little relaxation (and a lot of cold adult beverages!) Unfortunately, our sweet son was battling some serious constipation and gas pains that started on Thursday afternoon. He was up, screaming, almost the entire night. When I realized that it was going to be a difficult night, the adult beverages and relaxation was replaced by temperature, lots of soothing, and an overall restless night. Eeesh!

Sunday morning, Connor woke up with a fever, so I decided to take him to the walk-in clinic to make sure his fever wasn't a sign of anything more serious.  As I suspected, the doctor just told us to keep working Connor's "issue" from the "top and bottom" (miralax and suppositories). Although I already figured that, it was comforting to know that it wasn't something worse. We left the doctor's office at 9:30 am and headed straight to Braums! I promised Connor some yogurt if he was well behaved at the doctor's office, so although it was early, I stuck to my promise :) He was a perfect angel while we were there, he deserved it.

Sunday night, we had my parents over for Hotdogs! I had been craving a hotdog all weekend!!  After hotdogs, Justin offered to hang out with Connor so I could go to the Casino with my parents! We had a ball! Drew and Melissa showed up too, and ol' Drewbie hit $200 on a $5 slot machine after just ONE SPIN! Way to go little brother! :) I.....well, I walked out with nothing....BUT, had a great time losing! I think the fact that they now serve wine may have helped brighten my spirits lol! (no pun intended...) 

Monday night, some friends stopped by to shoot off fireworks! We had a whole wagon full of fun!

I helped Connor with his very first sparkler :) Of course you know we spelled his name with it.

I let the kiddos throw down those little snap-pop thingies! Hey, those are safe in small doses, right? :)

Carley and Connor were watching the big fireworks from this lovely bike cart.....It was a great escape-mobile in case there were any issues in which the kids had to be evacuated immediately :)

Justin, Connor, and Carley

Hope you all enjoyed the 4th with your friends and families!

We. Have. Been. BUSY!

Over the past 8 months, Justin has been preparing to open his own Allstate agency! He has been through several classes, licensing tests, online training, 5 weeks of training away from home, and he is currently under a mentor for the next few days.  On August 1st, he will open the doors to his very own business! I can not express enough how PROUD of him I am! His dedication and perseverance are definitely something I admire (and could most certainly learn from....).

It's been a bumpy road, as he left his job with Reddy Ice in March.  We have been living off of one income, and let me tell you....THAT, alone, has been a learning experience in itself.  But a good one.....

I tried the whole couponing thing.....but.....every time I'd go to the store, I either forgot my coupons or they were expired, or I didn't buy the right item.  So, I am leaving the couponing up to those who are pros, and will just feel good about shopping at Walmart ;)

Justin being gone for 5 weeks (with the exception of the weekends), let me just say I am SO GLAD he is back home.  And I realize this is cliche, but kudos to the single mothers, you  are amazing. Every breakfast, every drop off, every dinner, every bath, every book, every bed time, every day....ohmygosh. Oh, and let's not forget I have to get up, get prettied up, and go to work every day on top of that. WHEW, what a ride! Thankful to be off. Lol :)

So here we are....it's a joint venture, no doubt, and teamwork and communication are necessary now more than EVER before, but Justin is the true star here.  And while some days I feel like I deserve more credit for my "behind the scenes work, " (hey, I am just being honest....mom's, I know you know what I'm talking about!) it is not my time to shine....I've had my time, my moments, my ventures.....it's Justin's turn.  I thank God everyday for the man he placed in my life. I learn so much from him! He is gonna' KNOCK this ball out of the park! I can't wait to share in his success and watch him shine!

Oh, and if you need a quote.......August 1st would be a great day to call! 479-646-9000. You will have THE BEST rep in town!

"I'm the boss!"

Here is our little fish taking one of his first few jumps off the side of the pool! When he is done, he says (very loud and PROUD), "I 'DA BOSS!!!" Yep, that pretty much sums up our household (and both sets of Grandparents' households as well lol!)

Watermelon Wednesday!

I absolutely love this picture! Thats why it takes center stage on the blog this summer :) This was Connor's first big chunk of melon, rind and all! Oh, and the upsidedown sunglasses? Well, that's just how he prefers them! We love you, sweet boy!

Memorial Weekend 2011!

Justin had to leave on Memorial Day for one of his many week long training sessions in Nashville, TN, so we just soaked up the weekend together and enjoyed every minute!

Our neighbors were out of town for the weekend and asked us to keep an eye on the pool ;) How kind are they to let us have free reign?! It was really Connor's first consistent pool weekend.  We went a couple times last year, but nothing much.  So the first day, here he is.....he made SURE we were holding on to him in the pool at ALL times!

 He sure is goofy!  We brought some Buzz Lightyear floaties, but they were super cheap and didn't work at ALL, so we tried out his life jacket.....which was kind of a flop....it's a flotation device....not a swimming floatie.

 He was having a ball trying to "drink" out of the fountain lol!

 He loves his cool shades :)

So after the life jacket flop, we headed to Walmart to pick out some floaties and this green star!  The second day at the pool he was comfortable in the star with the floaties.  He had a ball tooling around the pool!  This is one of my favorite shots of the summer! 

Sunday evening, the Hossley's came over for some ribs! As SOON as the boys came over, they all stripped down to their undies and played in Connor's blow-up pool! They had a blast.  Here they are eating some sherbert after dinner :)

 Sugar rush!

 These three together will keep your hands full, no doubt!

 Justin with his son and his Godson :)  He loves these boys!

Monday afternoon, after Justin left, Connor and I headed back to the pool.  I went to walk him in the pool, and after he hit the first step, he swam off on his own with only his floaties. It was a bitter sweet moment :) I was hurt that he didn't "need" me, but at the same time, so proud of how far he had come in just two days!

 Our little fish :)

Monday evening, Connor and I were scheduled to go to my parents, but their AC wasn't working so great, so they brought the party to our house!  Connor got to spend time with Granddad, Nana, Uncle Drew, Melissa, and Great Grandmother! He was showing off his guitar skills as he played along with the John Mayer DVD that was playing on the TV.

 Here he is making his "John  Mayer face" LOL! (John Mayer makes many odd faces while playing his guitar...Connor was merely mimicking him lol!)

 Connor had his first rib...boy oh boy was Granddad proud :)  He didn't eat much of it....he took one bite and started "galloping" his rib across the table as if it was Bullseye (the horse from Toy Story). I just love his developing imagination!

RIB FACE!

Here he is again making his "John Mayer face".....with a little added barbecue sauce lol! He is going to be the class clown, I just know it! He was cracking everyone up!

We had a memorable weekend with friends and family and I'm thankful to have my blog family to share it with :) Thanks for stopping by, and we hope you had a nice Memorial Weekend as well!

XOXO

Carnival Time!

First of all, I would like to apologize to those followers who log in each Monday morning to see if I have posted (you know who you are, and I thank you for following my blog!) :)  Justin has been going out of town during the week and taking the laptop with him, so I haven't had my resource for blogging! But I figured I could get one or two posts in before he leaves again tomorrow. ;)

A couple weekends ago, we took Connor to the Christ The King annual carnival! This year was much more fun than last because he was able to participate in a couple of the games. We went with the Hossley's, so of course he had a ball with his best buddies! Here are some pictures of our carnival adventures!

I highly doubt this is sanitary......but hey, boys really aren't that sanitary anyway :) 

Connor, Benton, and Baylor....small, medium, and large :)



Benton and Connor were really into laying out on the pavement



The Hossley boys played a little put-put!



And Baylor got a HOLE-IN-ONE! Way to go, buddy!!



The Scarlet boys played a little basketball! Connor wasn't having annnnny fun at all...can't ya just tell by that look on his sweet face? ;)



Connor also did a little bowling with Mommy, but I think that picture ended up on a cell phone somewhere. Oh, and the paddle game where you bang the paddle on the table to win prizes.....yeah what little boy WOULDN'T love that?! The more noise the better!

 When we were leaving the carnival, we found Justin buying, not one, but TWO funnel cakes! We took one back to the Hossley's where the boys played a little more into the late late hours of the night (and ate the other one on the way to the car lol!). A good time was definitely had by all! Looking forward to next year!