Always a Special Day!

The past few days have been full of family birthdays. My 'lil sis', my son and myself, nephew, friends. It's a crazy week of August. It's been happy! I made my son Ryan, a box of healthy goodies which included PB Cups (his all time fave), and Chocolate Truffles.  Yum.

(Inspired by healthywithlily.weebly.com)

Homemade PB Cups!

(Inspired by OneGreenPlanet.org)

Chocolate Truffles!

What a perfect birthday box!

Happy 31st Birthday to my son, who will always be my baby-boy!
Lots of happy celebrating!

Happy Birthday to everyone, everyday!

Bugging Out!

How many of you have been hit with the nasty-bug this season?  

My hand is up in the air!! I was sick for over 3-weeks with this horrible 'thing'. It was like this evil demon that was driven right into my very soul, taking me down to a weakling. Ugh. It was strange, no fevers, no chills, none of the typical flu symptoms.

The begining was a good 12 hours of barfing (sorry), the only symptom.  We were celebrating the hubsters 55th that Saturday, away! Okay, this was back in January, but I stumbled upon it in my drafts. Don't be a hater :)

I surprised him with a hotel stay, a massage, a comedy show, and The Bacon Brothers!  Yup, Kevin Bacon. I was so excited to see them! Oh we saw them...at a glimpse. As we walked right past the Bro's, to the lobby where I showered the lovely "hotel opening day", with part of my 'internal demon that my body was rejecting'. Yes, I did that, for what seemed like eternity!! It was all a blur.  The hubster definitely did me a solid, taking care of me.  Wow, was I sick! 

It was a fun day, up until that.

Although I thought by Monday morning I'd be fine with a 24-hour bug or something, I wasn't. I was so exhausted I wanted to stay in bed and sleep for a week.  Prior commitments forced me to get up and move around.  My beautiful little niece and beautiful sister were coming to visit for two whole weeks! I was so excited and I needed to get my act together, quick.

By Thursday the cold symptoms knocked me right back down! Getting on the mend was my only thought!  I had to do something.  So I googled...and found...then I made this concoction of a decongestant.  It works people! 

This really helped me. A lot. Use it throughout the day, if you are congested.

 Not remembering where I got this, I was a basket case, I did save these directions. 

Directions

Pour ¼ cup of lemon juice and ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar in pot and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in 2-3 tablespoons of raw organic honey and ¼-½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper and powdered ginger each (the latter amount makes it quite strong.) Store in a jar in a cool, dark, place indefinitely. Adults take 1-2 tablespoons daily as needed. Shake well before using, as the powder doesn’t dissolve in the most pristine way.

As my sister said, 'the baby will make you feel better'.  She sure did! I was so happy to have her all to myself everyday as everyone went to work. (I'm just happy she didn't get my illness.) I'm sooo lucky.

Sad to say, my little beauties had to go home.

Questions:

Has anyone ever tried Olive Leaf Extract? Does it work for you?
Does anyone use garlic as a preventative?
Any other suggestions for a daily preventative, or seasonal?

Hoping y'all are healthy & warm during this crazy season!  Think Spring, even though we aren't experiencing much of it yet!

Hugs and stuff,

  

Par-Tay!!

After days of celebration for my son and myself, it's time to share some Kodak moments!
Well, iPhone moments, but you get the picture :)

Gifts I received: my new duathlon bike from the hubster (yay!), and my Nike Fuelband from my son (yay!). Also received a food dehydrator (yay!), and a popcorn maker (yay, love my popcorn). 

Ryan's gifts in all his bags:

If you noticed in my Happy Birthday, 30? Post, you've seen the bags for Ryan's big birthday bash. Here is the pile of gifts, and here is the list of bag goodies!

T is for triple play and time/3-pick 3 lottery tickets and an alarm clock

H everyone needs a hero/a comic book personalized with Ryan's name

E Evo, a car I will never buy as a gift, never, like never ever ;-)

B is for buck$/$30 cash

I for the Internet nut you are/Galaxy notepad (received major kudos for that)

G the game is ON/Eagles-Cowboys tix

3 for three digits of your age/$$$

0 for zero of "O"/for organization, a catch-all tray with his initials R.A.T.

This kid was an extremely happy camper!!

We had awesome balloons and bling, supplied by a cute friend. Lots of fun cards. Shoes from my girlie-girl, J. 

Presents and family silliness. 

Yummy cake...yummy lobster, cool dudeMy pretty girlie-girl, fun friends, fun family

Goofy friends, goofy family, a goofy party

Mama-Dukes, that's ME!, R.A.T, my handsome little baby boy, all grown up!  

It was perfect weather, perfect family & friends for a perfect celebration! 

On another note, this week I've been a bit off on my blogging. It's been crazy! In addition to birthdays, taking a teen to college hours away, and starting a road trip from that point. The best part? It was unexpected (the road trip, that is) and we are getting to see some friends I haven't seen in 8-10 years!  I am so exited. 

With that, I'm doing a Where in the Heck is Wendy Week! I'll be posting picks, tweeting about them, and hoping y'all try to guess where I am. Maybe some of you will live near the places & things I post. I hope it's as fun as it sounds!  Haha. 

Please keep checking back, follow me, and watch for my tweets!  

Happy Birthday, 30?

Happy Birthday to Ryan!

That would be my son, turning '30' today...my baby! (I'm freaking out here!) Well, he wouldn't be happy to hear me say that, being 30 and all, but he will always be my baby...and he definitely was a cute baby!

My post is very late today, but for good reason. Tomorrow will be more birthday celebration! (No WWL this week.) Lots of celebrating with my son's birthday today 8/13, and mine tomorrow. We have a family birthday nearly every day in a row this week. Crazy!

Love, love, love these pictures. How adorable is he!?! 

To be honest, Ryan wasn't planned, but he was wanted, and loved, loved, loved.  I always thought I would want a boy first :) He was my first, and my only.  There have been some trials and tribulations throughout the years, but we leaned on each other and stayed strong.  We are, each others hero.

Ryan and I were less than 2-hours apart in our birthdays, but our relationship is as close as those 120-minutes. We definitely skipped a beat here and there, as typical parent/child relations do, we are far from perfect, but I believe we know each other, better than anyone knows us.  We have a great relationship that many would wish they had with their own children. I'm so thankful! 

Ryan will always ask what I want for a gift on any given holiday, and now my birthday.  It is always the same answer... All I want is a nice card (of which he thinks is a waste of money) or one of his many letters.  I have letters, and cards :) that Ryan has written me, that I will cherish forever.  I just read some of them the other day, and of course I cried.  I carry two special ones in my wallet all the time.  (But I can't share them, Ryan would not be a happy camper.)

Ryan's 21st birthday, Friday the 13th, 2004

The last big bash birthday we celebrated was his 21st.  Lots of family and friends at our house and out on the town in a little placed called, New Hope.  Turning 21 on Friday the 13th didn't give him any  superstitious thoughts, he thought it was luck! On this special day, with a town called New Hope, for someone turning 21 :)  only a promise for tomorrow.

This, is his celebration today.  Each bag has something that represents him, what he likes.  The "T" bag has something that starts with a "T", and so on, with each bag having a little hint attached to it.  Make him guess a little before opening.  I can' t share the contents because he won't be opening them until later this evening.  Right now he's out with friends.  

This I planted at his door when he arrived home to his place, with a special letter from mama :)

Healthy muffins rather than a cake, he is a health nut too, most of the time  :) THESE, were so delicious!  I do wish I had put some walnuts or pecans in them, yum! We all loved them.  No sugar or eggs, just coconut sugar, raw coconut, brown rice flour, apple sauce (instead of eggs) vanilla, salt, baking powder/soda, coconut oil (rather than butter), soy creamer (rather than heavy cream), with blackberries and raspberries.  Too good.  If you'd like the recipe, let me know.  I'll post it.  

This is the sign I made out of candy bars.  I forget where I saw this, somewhere on FaceBook.  I believe someone made one similar for Father's Day.  I tweaked it and made this little story.  So fun! 

I cried a lot today as I prepped for this surprise.  I cried a lot the past couple of weeks, as his 30th birthday became closer.  I don't understand the full reason why, but I know it's bitter sweet.  I am very proud of my little man, my baby, who has grown into a handsome, loving, respectful gentleman.

So this day, this post, is a celebration to not only my son turning 30, but to celebrate me being his mom.  Or as he calls me, Mama Dukes!  Never a day have I regretted being a mother, a mom.  It has always been fun with Ryan. Even poopie days, I wouldn't trade.  We have had silly laughs, funny conversations, serious talks, arguments, tears and many hugs and I love you's.  He has kept me strong through hard times, and young & healthy to keep up with him and his friends.  I have a lot to be thankful for, of him.

Even tough we are tested daily of our courage, strength, and perseverance, with life in general, in our different worlds that are still very similar, we are still here for each other.  No matter what, we will remain each others hero.

I love you Ryan, with all of my heart <3.  Happy 30th Birthday xo
Love,  Mama Dukes

August Gives!

This is a triple post today!  Lots to share.

Let me start off by mentioning that I'm participating in an August Giveaway! Along with a couple other lovely bloggers, we are being hosted by Sew Much Too Say.  Please hop over there and show Amanda Rose some love, as well as my fellow givers. You don't have to be a blogger to try and win the prizes!  Only 4-days left.

AUGUST! Wow.  Where has time gone. I cannot believe that we are already into August.  I feel like the summer just ran past me on one of my slow runs. Hopefully the weather stays perfect so we can all enjoy the last few weeks of summer, before all the kiddles go back to school.  (I know all the mom's that are ready for their kids to go back to school now, are screaming at me!)  I actually have my nephew again this week, so I'm happy he's not in school.  Plus I'll get another bonus visit on a long weekend with him to the beach, before school starts. Yay!

Not only is August pretty much the last fun month of the summer, my family has many birthdays this month!  No lie, with family and friends there are approximately 10+ in this month!  One week is covered with the 10th, 12th, 13th, 14th, into the following week of 20th and 21st being multiple friends and family. Then, we finish up with one pretty girl on the 31st!  It's a crazy month!   The 13th is special this year.  My baby, is turning 30!  I just can't believe it. This is us, when he was just 3-months old. 

I look like a baby myself here. Actually, I was 22 the day after I had R.A.T. (His initials. He's far from a rat!). We were 1-hour and a few precious minutes apart in sharing our birthdays. Bummer. At least he won't ever forget when his mommy's birthday is. Or he'll be in BIG trouble. 

That's enough of the birthday talk. I have a lot going on over the next two weeks to share. 

On to another subject.  

Bling, Bling, give me that ring!! 

This is a beautiful turquoise ring! 

I know I mentioned my Buy It section being up and running this past weekend, but the procrastination-bug bit me, again. I really did have a lot going on. So, I've posted a few pieces of jewelry, and I'll post more each day. I have soooo much! 

I really hope you like the pieces. I've decided I will make my page like a Flea Market. Many peeps, even though they didn't actually comment, said they can't wait and thought it to be a grand idea!  I can't wait to get more up for you to see.  

So be gentle, I'm sure I'll have a few-hundred tweaks along the way :) I am more than open to your critique, if you don't mind sharing. 

What is your August like?