Tuesday, March 30, 2010

10%

So last year I did this weight loss contest per say. I was really trying to get in shape and was well on my way when my friend started this contest and I thought I might as well do it while I am already trying I could make some money while doing it. I did lose the 10 % I needed to and was very happy about it. Then at the beginning of this year she decided to do it again. Unfortunately I still needed to lose a lot more after the 10% so I jumped on board again. With only .6 more to go, I am fairly confident I will do well this time too and plan on using my "earnings" to buy some new not baggy clothes. Which is always nice. Even my workout clothes are messy looking on me.

This time around I kicked it in gear. I have made it to the gym at least 5 days a week. My weight loss workout of choice is the treadmill. If I do it right I can really drop the lbs by doing cardio. I usually do about 3.5 miles everyday altering back and forth from 1 percent incline, for my break, but at a fast speed for every half mile then I go to a 10% incline for half a mile. I like to change it up to keep it fun. I really actually like being on the treadmill. It is relaxing to me. Then besides that I have a series of arm weight workouts I do every other day and then Zumba which has become my personal favorite. I usually get that in about 3 times a week on the evenings. This along with eating right and not eating after 7 and lots and lots of water has really done the trick. I still feel like I have a long way to go, but I can see progress and that is always nice.

The one thing that has been really frustrating is my stomach. I was doing crunches along with Andy everyday. I felt like the stronger my stomach was getting the more and more pregnant I looked. I had more people asking me if I was pregnant after losing weight than they did before. That was weird. After some researching about a rectus diastasis and a good friend who I refer to as a "recti guru" I have realized sit ups are my worst enemy. I was actually told bythis guru and a surgeon that doing sit ups are the worst possible things I could be doing for myself. That is a relief. I saw a surgeon last week and she confirmed my diastasis and warned me about several hernias she found in my abdomen. This is actually good news for me. I could not understand for the life of me what was going on. I cannot get anything done surgically until I am done having children, but in the meantime my guru feels that she can help me and I am really excited about that. BTW her name is Bonnie, not really guru and she has a really cool blog about belly's after babies. Click on her name to check it out.

I am really excited about this weight loss adventure, although I adore my children the 10 extra pounds I have put on with each one of them I do not adore. I hope to stay strong on this journey and the next pregnancy have more energy and not put on an extra 10! That would be ideal.

Together

I love Cortland in this one, like I am ready to go people, let's get this over with!


I am pretty sure Bennett was the best one in this shot. Like seriously I cannot hold this smile anymore!

When we were getting the kids birthday pictures taken I wanted to get a couple of group shots especially since I did not get their Christmas photos taken, which still makes me sad, but anyway, they all turned out pretty well. They sat well and most of the pics were pretty good. I have to say though my favorite shots were the last ones. They are so candid and so funny what all the kids are doing. The photographer was looking at all the shots to make sure she got a good one and told the kids to hold on a minute and she got some shots of what they were doing while waiting. It was so cute. I love it. They all have such great personalities. These five have just all stolen my heart. I am addicted to my kids. Really. I am.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

My {little} baby Paxton


Paxton's 18 Months Pictures
Paxton was a little ham taking these pictures. Since he is 18 months I was wondering if we would be able to keep him still, but he did a great job.
Anyone who is afraid to have kids should take this baby for the day. I have been pretty lucky with easy babies, but this baby takes the cake. He is so easy it is insane. He eats when we eat, he sleeps when I put him down, he never cries he goes with the flow, he loves the adoration he receives from his older siblings. He is just hands down super easy.
I love when I get him up in the morning and put him down to sleep. When I get him up he points at everything in his room and oohs and ahhs like he has never seen it before. When I put him down I give him his little clutchie and he lays down and snuggles with it then I put the covers over him and he says nite nite. It is seriously like my favorite times of day. Just so sweet.
He is into running now. It is so cute to see him run. I love watching it too. He is also easy to get to laugh. He loves giving high fives and if i laugh after he does it he belly laughs as if it was the funniest thing he has ever heard. I love it. He can feed himself and does really well with a spoon. He is getting So big, it is kind of sad. I just love this stage of life.
This poor boy I think has had an ear infection every day of his life it seems. I have an appointment next month finally to see about getting tubes. Hopefully that will mean no more ear infections. Even with constant ear infections he never complains.
I have to say I am a big fan of 19 kids and counting. I watch that show and amazed by how calm the mother is. She makes me want to be better. Right now they have their 19th child in the NICU and every time I watch and episode I cry and cry. It in some ways feels like yesterday we were there with Paxton and those days in there were the hardest of my life. The emotions you experience in a situation like that are unbelievable. I am so happy my little guy is healthy and so vibrant and full of life. I feel blessed beyond belief.
Thank you Paxie for being you. I love it!








My man, Cortland

Cortland's Four Year Pictures



Oh my little Cortland. I have to say that all my kiddos have their own little "specialness" to them, yet they are also so much alike. They are all sweet. Cortland is sweet and so tender and kind. He is just a little ball of gentleness. He can get boyish at times as far as being loud and running around, but it is not often. He is super laid back and just goes with the flow. He would honestly sit on the couch all day long and watch Lazy town or read books. He is in no way hyper by any means. Just a tender little boy. When he gets tired even around nap time, he heads up stairs and tells me he is getting his blankies. He brings them down and wipes them on his cheeks. He has three that he loves. He is my only child that is or was ever in love with blankets. I adore this trait. He is just so fun.

His cheeks are extra squishy which makes him the one that gets kisses all the time. I can't keep my lips off of him. When I call him a little ducky because when he kisses his lips remind me of a ducks bill, he says, "No, Moo Cow." I guess he feels more like a cow than a duck? Who knows, but it is cute. He is really into exercising and sports. He is always talking about playing soccer and baseball again. He is our athlete in the family for sure.

Cortland is also the most obedient one of the group. If anyone is doing something that he knows is not ok, he will kindly tell them mom does not like that, and then and comes to tell me. He almost always listens. He will stay in the time out step all day if I forget to let him off. He hates to disappointus and days later he will say something like, mom I am so sorry I spilt my drink. He is still thinking about and still feels bad about it. He literally takes himself to bed for naps and bedtime. I SO wish the others were like this.

He is such a sweet little boy. I can't even tell you how lucky I feel to have little Cortland with me everyday. It is such a treat!











They are just so cute. They really do have a special bond I think. Lately I have seen how much older they are and sound. It is weird. They finally get the whole twins thing too. The other night when I was reading them a story they were telling me, as if I wasn't aware, that Bennett came by himself, Maddox came by himself and Paxton came by himself, but they wanted to come together. Jadeyn said that and then she said, "you remember that Cortland?" To which he replied, "I do Jadeyn, I wouldn't let you here without me!" So adorable just like them!
One more thing on the whole twins thing. I have mentioned before how I always wanted twins since I can remember. I had no idea how amazing it would really be. It is far better than I thought. I feel so blessed to be their mom and be on this twin journey with them!




Miss Jadeyn

Jadeyn's Four Year Picture


Oh my little Jadeyn girl. I just love this girl so much. I am completely confident that she could run our house pretty well on her own. She is constantly taking care of things. Putting dishes in the sink, consoling Maddox when he is sad, holding Paxton when he needs love, sorting laundry, cleaning up toys, setting the table, helping me in the kitchen which is her favorite thing to do. She is just the little mama. It is truly so adorable.
This little girl requires a lot of sleep. If she does not get it, it is not good. She also does not do well if she knows she is disappointed in her. She has some serious determination. You don't want to mess with her, but I realize that this will be and is one of her most valuable traits in life, it makes it a little easier to understand and deal with.
She is just so sweet with her brothers. She is always so helpful to them as if she is 19 while the others are still small. She is always the first one dressed and ready to go. She is always the first one out the door and is always the one who knows what it going on. Her memory is a little frightening at times. Two weeks ago they started learning their tap song and she came home that night singing a song by Mr Blue Eyes himself. She knew practically every single word. She sang it all week. When we went to dance the next week she told her teacher she loved that song and the teacher told me that was the first night they learned it. How she knows most of the words is beyond me. It's talent.
I just love having her as my daughter. My partner in crime living in the boy dominated home!


The lady doing the pictures was obsessed taking the twins pictures together. That is why there are so many!

Mr. Maddox

Maddox's Three Year Pictures
I still am having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that Maddox is three. Since he came so quickly after the twins, his life has been cherished, don't get me wrong, it just seems as if it has gone extra fast.

Maddox is still the sweetest thing around. He is the most huggie child I know. I am getting hugs and kisses randomly all day long. I love it. He is also still soo tiny. We call him teenie tiny still too. Last week at the doctor's office he weighed 3 ounces more than Paxton. We can never find pants that stay up on that child. I have put on Paxton's 18 month pants to see if those would stay up and they don't! He is just a petite little thing.

I love that Maddox fully believes he and the twins are the same exact age. To him there is no difference. His little personality is quite the jokester too. He likes to say things in a funny way to be funny. He is starting to say such big words too. My baby is not quite a baby anymore.

Maddox is such a fun little addition to our family. There is no doubt in my mind that the child I was so nervous about having is totally meant to be in our family. He is an essential key to our home!















Thursday, March 11, 2010

Was it all a dream? A really really good dream?

I can't even express how much fun we had in Jamaica. It is now one of my favorite places. Seriously. They beauty there is astounding. The people are both gorgeous and genuine. The food was glorious and Andy and I were on cloud nine.

I can already tell this will be a long post. So buckle up and here goes!

The night before we were supposed to leave we had everything ready and tried to get to bed at a reasonable time. I was so excited and a little nervous at the same time. Almost like the first day of school or when you are about to have a baby. That kind of nervous excited. The alarm woke me up at 3:30. I popped out of bed ready to go. I got ready, did my hair, made sure we had everything, grabbed a book and I was ready. I had to coax Andy out of bed, but it wasn't too hard, we were leaving for Jamaica after all. Before we knew it we were headed out the door after some last minute reminders to Nicole (Andy's sister who was watching the kiddos for 3 days). When we got in the car as I always do I ask if it is ok that we leave. This time I was a little more apprehensive because the night before Jadeyn fell and hurt her leg pretty bad. I woke her up before we left and had her walk to our bed and she was still limping. I was so nervous about that. Was I the worst mother in the world for leaving my little girl when she was hurt? AS you can see we still went, but it wasn't till that next day that we heard she was doing a lot better that I finally fully relaxed.

We got to the airport in great time, parked our car in long term parking and off we were. It was all just so exciting. I just could not believe that we were going to Jamaica somewhere I never thought we would ever go and for FREE! That was one of the best parts about it I must admit! We arrived for a little lay over in Dallas then next stop was Montego Bay.

I have never traveled out of the country and customs/immigration was quite the experience. At least Jamaica it was. A lot of lines and waiting, but it didn't seem to bother us, we are in Jamaica after all. Once we got through all of that we found the Heartland Dental care sign for our ride and off we were to the hotel.

I knew it was going to be nice. I knew that, but this place was incredible. I just don't even know how to explain it to really describe the beauty and all around 5 star service. When we arrived we were greeted with cold towels, which I am still not sure what exactly those were for. Some were using them on their hands, some were wiping their brow...you know the usual. I am guessing that is what they were for. We went in, checked in and got our wrist bands that marked us for that hotel and then were greeted by a Heartland table with a special present and itinerary along with a list of things we could do if we wanted waiting on the table to be signed.

When we received our itinerary via the UPS it told us all the different events we could do while we were there. I basically wanted to be on the beach, eat and enjoy peace and quiet together and the beautiful hotel. Andy wanted to do that all too, but the zip line sparked his interest. Boy oh boy do I wish I would have looked into the zip line thing a little more than I did. For some reason when I think zip line I think of a line but you are sitting in something and you go across all powered by a machine about 5 or 6 feet off the ground. I could not have been more off on that, but more on that to come. So anyway, we signed up for the zip line, I did it knowing I would not actually end up doing it.


The Beautiful Hotel Lobby




The Piano Bar




We were led to our room by the guy with our luggage. I kind of get a giggle every time I picture us walking in while he is holding the door for us and all the ooh's and ahh's he heard from us. It was as if we never get out EVER and have never seen the beach before Ever and have never stayed in a hotel before. He just kind of smiled with a little chuckle. He pretty much unpacked our stuff which was nice and then he disappeared. Andy and I kept going from one place to another to another. Even the bath room totally impressed us. It was huge, as was a storage/closet/pantry hall. It was stocked with food and drinks. The bathroom was equipped with bath salts, gels and other fancy things. The decor in the room was exquisite. Just beautiful and the balcony that was more like another room was too cool. It was almost hard having such a beautiful place to stay. We didn't want to stay in our room the whole time, but man it was awesome! After we unpacked and got ready we were down to the beach for a welcome reception.



Our Room



The glorious bed!








The Sitting Room.



View from our room.



The awesome swing.


Our room was the third floor the third room in.
When we first got there, we were a little excited.
When we got there they had a photographer there to our pictures. Then they had amazing appetizers and drinks. They were all so good. I knew at that point I knew I was in trouble. The food was so stinking good.


The Reggae Band at the Welcoming Reception.

We stayed for a while and then decided to get to know the resort a little more. This place was huge. There were like 4 sections to it. We were in the grand hall that was for all adults and more of the first class type restaurants and stuff. They had shows there and discos and piano lounges and all kinds of different things. There was never a dull moment. We did find out however cell phones and calling cards were of no use. You could buy one of their calling cards and use a special phone area they had there to call out if needed. We had to just to check up on J while we were gone. Then I realized that they had a computer lounge as well so we were able to keep tabs on her progress through that. That is the only reason why I checked and even posted on FB while I was in paradise! After checking everything out we went to our dinner reservations at the Japanese Steak House. We were very excited for that! IT WAS SO DELISH! I mean SO SO good. I mean my mouth is watering right now just thinking about it good! You basically just order whatever you want off the menu. Anything. Which is dangerous. We got appetizers, and soups and salads and two main courses and sushi and dessert. It was just crazy. Really crazy and really good. We ended up sharing a hibachi with a couple from France and a couple from Canada.


Our fun new friends. The couple on the left, we just extra extra sweet. Just awesome people.


It was so fun. We felt like we were really friends by the end of it all. Could be because we were in there of about 2 and a half hours. It was so fun though. We waddled our way back to our rooms taking the stairs three times to sort of kind of balance that dinner out. We arrived at our room and on the dresser there was a gift from Heartland. It was so fun. Such a treat. Andy got a Visor and I got a beautiful silk scarf. They also had a turn down service and chocolates on the bed. The slippers and robes laying out for us. It was just amazing.


Having so much fun!


My slippers set out for me.

I wanted to try the jacuzzi that was in our room so I did, but I was so tired I fell asleep in there. I woke up and hopped into bed. It has been such a long day and night and we were so tired. We needed that sleep and the bed was just so perfect we got great sleep.

The next morning someone was knocking on our door at what seemed to be maybe 5 in the morning. I woke Andy up and told him someone is knocking at the door. He said, at 4 in the morning? He went to the door like it was the middle of the night and they guy said we are here to restock your bar and pantry. Andy told him we were fine and as he was getting back into bed he noticed the clock said 10 in the morning! So much for the meeting at 8:30, right? We had know idea it was that late. We set his alarm on his prehistoric phone that apparently died in the middle of the night. We got up quickly and rushed out of there to find out that no one was at the meeting, luckily for us and we grabbed some breakfast. It again was so amazing, you will here that adjective a lot in this post, right? and headed to the beach. We laid there for a while and then grabbed lunch and headed back to our room to get ready for the zip line craziness. Then we met at in the lobby to catch the shuttle.

This is the part of the trip that was a little out of control for me. As we are waiting for the shuttle I am casually talking to the other 30 people going to this thing and I am slowly realizing zip lining is a whole other animal that what I was picturing. I wouldn't say I am afraid of heights, but I don't really care for them. It is nothing I freak myself out about, but I can do without putting my life in jeopardy for "fun" if you know what I mean. So as we all cram into this little tiny bus I am starting to feel a little nervous. We get there after going up and up and up the mountain. We get out, get all our gear and then get into another bus that takes us up even further. Cue, freak out mode. I actually did pretty good. It was kind of like an out of body experience. It was like I was out of it, or else I really would have been freaking out. After a crazy, see video, ride up there we were off. I decided I had to go last. Well second to last. Andy had to go after me, so if I fell to my death he would witness it. I had no idea, like no idea it would be A., so fast B., so long C., completely in my control and D,. SO crazy. The first two I actually did pretty good. Really well actually. It was weird when they said ok just sit back and jump. I really don't know how I did it. The only reason why I did go threw with it, is because I had no other option. Everyone else, just acted like it was a day at the office. It was surreal. After the first two, we repelled straight down, probably about 500 feet. It was insane. Then is when the big guns came out. We had run almost a mile long they said and prefaced it by saying don't pull on the line too hard because you will stop and will be stuck, basically forever, but make sure you keep your hand close to the line so you can stop yourself when you get to the two by two platform when you need to stop. Well I took off and could not reach the line or get my balance to reach it. It was NO good. I get to the platform and almost ran into a tree and took the boy with me. It was scary. I think the guy was even a little scared. After that I was freaked out, but had to put on my game face because I had to keep going to get to the end. They just kept getting longer and faster. Finally the 10 lines were done. I have never been so relived in my life. Of course I was known as the lady with five kids there and I said I honestly would honestly take a major operation with a c section than do that anytime. It felt so good to be done. The guys running the whole thing were just so adorable. One in particular was just so darn cute. Their personalities, pretty much every Jamaican we ran into were so adorable. I asked Andy if we could find a child in need of a home and bring them back with us. I don't think he thought I was serious, but I was and am.


All of us crammed into the little bus.



It was beautiful up there.



Putting on my game face.



Andy and his game face.



Getting ready for our ride up even further=higher!



The ride up there was for sure more fun than the actual zip lining.



This boy on the left, is SO SO cute. Adorable. I totally fell in love with him.



That is me. Waaaaaaay up there. I cannot even begin to tell you how high it was. I could not even see the actual ground.




See that little tiny platform. That is where we had to "land".



Yes we are actually that high. It was insane. A beautiful view that I actually coulnd't even process because I was too worried about the five kids I was going to leave behind.



This is what we repelled down. Andy zoomed up so he could get a better picture of the little thing we were on. My heart is beating a little fast just looking at this picture, no lie.


Here are some of these adorable boys again. They were so sweet to me and helped me so much. What kind kind boys.

Thankfully I was safe and we were back at the hotel. We rushed to get ready for a spa treatment. Andy is so sweet to endure my indulgence. We got a couples mud massage. It was AWESOME and much needed after the most stressful situation I had ever been put into in my life. It was so awesome. We both loved it. They even had a wellness pool which was like a huge hot tub that we used before getting our treatment. It was awesome! Amazing. Perfect.

Then we were off to the Gourmet restaurant.


We took like 10 shots and I am not even kidding the one above is the ONLY one where Andy's eyes are open. They all looked like the one below!


We have only been to a "Gourmet" restaurant one other time in Chicago when the dearest people ever took us to Everest. It was awesome. We were pretty sure we would never be back or to a French place anywhere again so we jumped at the chance. It was so fancy just like all the places at this hotel, but this place was just a little fancier even.


The pre-appitizer.



The onion soup that was the BEST soup I have ever tasted.



The Lobster appitizer, lobster is one of the great loves of my life. I was in Heaven because everywhere we went there was lobster!



This is how our dinner was served to us. This was my lobster. Isn't is beautiful. The best thing I have eaten pretty much ever.



Delicious Chocoalte Eclairs.


So good and amazing. Like the places you see in the movies, you know? So good. The food was the most delicious food I have ever eaten. Just so tasty and good. I had a little too much fun with the camera there too. Note all the pictures and videos. It was all like a dream.

Then we walked around for a little while took a stroll on the beach. It was Heavenly. I missed my cute little kiddos, don't get me wrong, it was just SO nice to have some time just Andy and I with the only noise being the sounds of the ocean. It was everything perfect. We got back to our room with more gifts. Who doesn't like gift once in a while. We each got beautiful wallets. They are awesome, we enjoyed our chocolates and fell asleep quickly.


The bar in the pool.



Everywhere you looked there were pools. Although we only saw two people in them the whole time we were there. It was so windy.



The next day, Saturday, was ours to do nothing whatsoever, other than a banquet that night. We just had to be at the stairs in the lobby at 6. We pretty much spent the whole morning on the beach or eating and having our tasty pinacoladas, non-alcoholic. I can't even tell you how many of those things we went through. It was a good thing there was no alcohol in it or we probably would not have remembered Saturday. We got back to our room around 4 and started getting ready. We arrived in the lobby to see them taking THE picture of everyone who made president's club. We were told to be there at 6 figuring the picture would be a little after, well they took it before. So Andy missed it. He was really sad. He got over it real quick. We waited for the banquet to get started. The weather was awesome. As we approached the seating table, I got a little nervous as to who we would be sitting by. We were called to table 13. We were sitting right next to two older doctors who have recently sold their practices to Heartland and work for them now, an awesome couple from Africa who practice in the states and the President of the company. The owner this past year turned it all over to him. I was a little nervous at first. What on earth would I have to talk to them about? It ended up being the best conversation we had with other people the whole weekend! It was so fun. They are so fun and so easy to talk to, it was only when they told me they were taking the private jet to Minneapolis the next day that I realized how far apart our two worlds really are. I love how grounded and normal they felt. It is refreshing. They had a nice dinner and awards and plaques and all that jazz. It was at this point I started feeling sad it was all over. Just one more day I wanted!

Note to self, wearing powder lighter than your skin proves to not be very good!

The owner of the company, Andy and the president.
My feet after my strappy shoes. They actually didn't hurt, just looked really bad!

We got back to our room and changed into more comfortable clothes and hit the show. It was really good and fun. When we got back to our room there was a beautiful frame with our picture in it from the first night. It was so good and such a fun thing to get! I just can't get over how beautiful the Jamaican people are. They have such wonderful high cheek bones and awesome bone structure. I am already reading a book about Jamaica and plan on learning a lot more about that beautiful country. We got back to our room and watched a movie and I think we ordered room service again. I was not hungry, I don't think Andy was either, but he liked the fact that everything was free. Not one single dime of his was spent. That was an added bonus I must say.

The next day we decided to get up real early and be one of the first ones on the beach and get the big beds out there. We succeeded. We started with breakfast first. I said on FB that for the past 6 weeks I have worked out about 6 times a week and probably sabotaged all my efforts due to this all inclusive resort. We stayed out there as long as we possibly could.


I finished my book so the rest of my time I spent with my ipod and


Andy was busy trying to finish his.


We took one more stroll on the beach all the way down past the resort where we went to some little crazy shops. The price was right at these little "stands" but it was a little interesting. Andy thinks we got a little high off just conversing with the people there.


We scored a few things to bring home, although I think the kids enjoyed the chips we brought home from the mini bar more than anything. We like the little things we got. Bennett's favorite thing was the $100 and $50 dollar bills we brought for him. Seems like big money to him. They both cost us under $2 dollars!

We went back to our room packed everything up and sat in the lobby till the bus was there to take us back to the airport. This is where the fun began. Their airport was crazy. Crazy lines I should say. We waited in line to get our tickets, then in line to check our bags then in line for immigration then in line for security then another security line. These weren't just your average lines. I am talking hundreds of people in each line. It was crazy. I was surprised we made our flight. We finally got on our plane and made it to Dallas where our flight was bumped and arrived home around 1 AM. Luckily my mom took off Monday so she slept at our house and allowed Andy and I to sleep in a little. It was a crazy long day that day, but all I kept saying was who cares, I was on the beach this morning!
We had to take a picture with this thing. The little boys love all things pirates.


IT was a wonderful trip. I cannot find the words to describe how thankful and grateful I am for this trip. The weeks leading up to this vacation were rough. I was so wore out from who knows what and needed a break in every since of the word. This hit the spot. It was surreal, it was beautiful it was perfect. Being there with the man I love most in this world just made it more perfect than I could describe. We could have gone anywhere and I would have loved it. Just him and me, once in a while, there is no other place to be. We did miss our kids and both said a few times, this is so great, but really being with our kids is the best. We really do feel that way, but as I said, this trip was perfect in every way. I am so thankful to Nicole Andy's 21 year old sister that not only did such a great job, every time we talked or texted {can't wait to get this cell phone bill!} she only reassured us how great the kids were and how much she loves them and loved being with them. IT was so so so nice to hear. I also need to thank my parents for helping out and watching them Saturday night and Sunday. I feel so lucky that my kids can spend time with them. When we got back all the laundry was done, our sheets were clean and Andy's clothes were ironed. My mom is superwoman I tell ya! I am too lucky! I also need to express how much we have enjoyed our time with this wonderful company. We just love Heartland Dental Care so much. It has been, other than picking our spouses, the best decision we have ever made. We feel very fortunate to be with such a great company. And last, but not least,{it sounds as if I have won an Academy Award!} I am so blessed to have Andy as my partner in crime. He works so hard all the time. He has shattered his goals at work and continues to amaze me by his hard work and love and dedication to the love of his life, the dental field. He truly loves his job. I have never ever heard him come home and complain about work ever. It is like he gets to go play everyday. Sure there are stressful moments, but he is doing what he was born to do. I am so proud of him. You are awesome Andy and thanks for picking me to share this awesome week with. After this weekend, do not expect me to ever rush you home, stay at the office as long as you need to honey. If it will get me more weeks like this past one, keep on keepin' on.