Thirties

On Friday I turn 39. As I enter the last year of my thirties I can't help but reflect on all of the changes that have occurred in me and my life.

I started my thirties in a new city and state, a thousand miles from our extended families. I was also VERY pregnant with our 3rd son. Maybe both of those things contributed to my rather blase reaction to turning 30. I figured I would freak out a little but not so much. (I anticipate a full freak out next year when I turn 40 LOL).

I've learned a lot in the last decade. Mostly about myself. When I first became a mom, I thought that if I gave my whole self to being a mom, I would be awesome at it. I stuck with this theory for a long time. It is a really crappy theory!

My "A-HA" moment came when Magoo was still a toddler. I went to the doctor and asked to be put on antidepressants because I couldn't get out of the funk that I had been in. She was very frank with me and told me I wasn't clinically depressed, I just wasn't making myself a priority in my own life. She recommended that I make time to workout regularly, treat myself to me time (a movie, a pedicure, whatever), and spend good, quality time with Mr. T. Best. Advice. Ever!! 


There are still weeks, months days that I forget this awesome advice.  Sometimes Mr. T reminds me with a gentle "You need to go shop or something" :) and sometimes I'll stop and think "What the hell is your problem?"  And then I remember...oh ya - I'm putting EVERYONE before me.  There is nothing selfish about making you a priority.

Here's another bit of unsolicited advice...make your relationship with your spouse a priority.  Go on dates.  Ask family to keep your kiddos for a long weekend and go somewhere together.  Put the kids to bed early and watch a movie cuddled on the couch.  Send a sweet text or voicemail to your spouse telling them you appreciate all that they do.  It doesn't have to be a dozen roses or a new car, just don't forget about each other in all the craziness of raising a family.

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas here at the Trinks.  The boys got all they asked for and more.  We ate a TON of food and since the weather was BLAH we watched movies and ate some more.  The boys had a blast with their new Airsoft guns and would head outside during every lull in the drizzle.

Today we went shopping to spend our gift cards.  I was pleasantly surprised to find the stores not crazy crowded.  All in all it was a great few days.

Tomorrow we get back to the real world.  No more eating butter and sugar for every meal.  Working out is going to be a MUST :).  We are looking forward to New Year's Eve and hanging with good friends.

New Christmas Tradition?

So every year on Christmas Eve, we read Twas the Night Before Christmas.  My dad used to read it to us when we were kids and we have continued the tradition.  Once all the boys could read we started all taking turns reading a page.  I love this tradition and hope the boys continue it when they have kids.

Tonight we started a new tradition.  Aunt T brought us a surprise and I really hope we continue this tradition as well.  Take a look:

Yep - it's Christmas Mad Libs and it was a blast!  We laughed so hard!   You can totally tell that there are teen and pre-teen boys in this house LOL.  

Merry Christmas everyone!

My beautiful niece and handsome nephew

I was lucky enough to talk these two into letting me take some pics of them.

Big Canoe Thanksgiving Trip

We spent Thanksgiving in Georgia this year.  We drove out there last Saturday and after some traffic issues (U of Alabama game traffic - dislike!!) we rolled into the folks place at 11:30 ish.

On Sunday, we met some of our favorite people for lunch.  The kids got to hang out with their oldest friends (love you Ross boys) and I got to catch up with two of my best friends!

Later that afternoon we took the boys to see the Falcons play the Titans at the Dome.  We had great seats and it was a fun game.  Much better than freezing your tush off at Fulton County Stadium but I digress.

On  Monday, Mr. T, the boys, and I headed up to Big Canoe.  We rented a house close to the golf course and it was AMAZING (http://www.vrbo.com/318013).  We highly recommend it if you are ever in the area.  My parents, sister and her kids joined us on Tuesday and the fun continued!

We hiked.  We ate.  Mr. T and GT golfed.  We hot tubbed.  We ate some more.  We walked up a bunch of stairs at Amicalola Falls and then had a yummy lunch in Dahlonega.  We had fabulous margaritas from my new Margaritaville Margarita machine (thanks Mr. T).  It was so wonderful!!!

On Friday, we hugged and kissed everyone good-bye (lots of tears shed on my part) and headed home.  The ride home was smooth and uneventful!  Even though we planned on stopping somewhere along the way, we decided to push through and boy were we happy to sleep in our own bed.

Here are some picture highlights - enjoy!

San Antonio Half Marathon

Mr. T and his sister, Aunt T, ran the half marathon in San Antonio this weekend.  We went down on Saturday and took Aunt T to the Alamo because she has never been before.  We had a yummy Italian dinner and then called it a night.

On Sunday, we caught up with Mr. T at mile 10 but we were super bummed that we missed him at the finish line.  He was too fast for us :).  We all cheered Aunt T on as she headed up the hill at mile 13.  They both did great at the race and the boys and I were happy we were there to cheer them on.

Here are some pictures of the runner and their biggest fans:

Happy Birthday Aunt T!

Today is my sis-in-law's birthday.  We are so blessed to have Aunt T in our lives.  She goes out of her way to make it to the kiddos' events and she is always there to lend a hand when I am pulling my hair out trying to get everyone here, there and everywhere.  She is even going to spend part of her birthday cheering for GT and the Tigers this afternoon.  After some football, we are going to have a fun birthday dinner at the restaurant of her choice :).

Happy Birthday Aunt T!  We LOVE you!

Busy, Busy

It is that time of the year in the Trink's house!  Free time does not exist :).  Me and Mr. T live in our vehicles driving here, there, and everywhere.  And guess what...WE LOVE IT!!!

Yesterday was the First Family Pride Night at our middle school.  What a GREAT turnout we had!  It was a LONG, sweaty day (yep, we're back in the triple digits) but so worth it.  Way to go Tiger Families!  Proud of our school and the awesome families, staff, and volunteers.

Here's a picture of our youngest whip-creaming our oldest (this was a fundraiser the football players did for the fire victims):

BMan and Magoo are in full baseball swing and GT has his first football game tonight.  Magoo is also playing flag football but we are still in the practice only phase.

Our big Fall fundraiser at the elementary school is just around the corner and then...

Mr. T and I will be off to Jamaica to celebrate his 40th birthday and our 15th Anniversary.  Some days that trip is what gets me out of bed and keeps me going :).  

I am hoping to post some pics of the kiddos sporting adventures but so far the games schedule and Mr. T's travel schedule are not cooperating so I am usually keeping the score book instead of snapping pics.  Hopefully soon...

Guess what?

I'm getting a nephew-in-law!  My niece, Chelsea just got engaged.  Hope Zak is ready to join this family lol.  Here's a pic of the happy couple

Things that make me smile

Mr T

GT and B Man

Magoo

Welcome to our new blog

While we are patiently awaiting the arrival of Apple's iCloud, I have decided to dump our old blog (which I haven't updated since December) through Mobile Me and try out Blogger.  I am hoping that it is easier to update :).  Stay tuned...