My Husband Sucks At Bowling

With October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month, much of my time has been taken up by nonprofit events and speaking engagements, so I apologize for not having a "real" post ready this week. But what I can do, is catch you up the articles that I have written elsewhere, and also fill you in a bit on what else has been keeping us busy!

There was an Old Country Fair...

A weekend trip to the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin, which was a make-up trip from the one we tried to take several months ago when I ended up in the hospital. Thank you to the resort for bringing us back!

While we were there, we visited the Wisconsin Deer Park, where bless my heart, I got to snuggle deer.

My life is nearly complete.

Seriously, look at all those Bambi's!!!

The Girl Child mastered a high ropes course (while I freaked out from the ground).

And we learned something the first time we took the kids bowling...

.... We learned that we are terrible at bowling.

I didn't get a picture after the final frame because the computer shut off, but going by the 9th frame, please note the scores:

MH: AKA Mr. Handsome, AKA The Guy, scored a 52. A 52. Total.

Q: Queen, AKA yours truly, beat him with a 71.

B: AKA Batman, otherwise known as The Boy Child, wasn't far behind with a 63. He still beat The Guy.

P: AKA Princess, AKA our sweet Girl Child, won the game with a whopping 74.

Good thing that we are all pretty funny, because bowling skills are definitely not one of our better qualities.

Thankfully, animals seem to like us, so we went to the zoo.

 We also spent an afternoon at The Children's museum.

 I have to say, I did not notice that lady glaring at me until I posted this picture.

And we had several much needed family movie nights at home (thanks for all your suggestions!)

We were crazy enough to attempt an extremely hot day at a Fall Fest, where the kids learned to play some silly instruments, and The Guy was talked into ordering "sand cupcakes" out of a playhouse.

And we visited a pumpkin farm during a Civil War reenactment.

And the Boy Child has continued to recover in his Equestrian Therapy.

I also chaperoned a field trip for the little man. Out of respect and privacy for the other kids in his class, I won't post any pictures, but I did snap this cute one of him asleep on the bus ride back to school.

I can't blame him, it was an exhausting day.

So after all of that, I taught myself to enjoy a few alcohol free grown up drinks...

The above is a virgin daiquiri I tried in Wisconsin, and below is a Shirley Temple, that I ordered in a "fancy glass" for a ladies night out.

I mean hey, it's up to me to make my own fun, right?

Like the placebo effect I was going for here, with this alcohol removed wine...

.... Which surprisingly wasn't all that bad.

Because this baby is growing!

I'll have to warn you all ahead of time, I do not end up being a skinny pregnant lady in the end. I mean seriously, somewhere along the way something happens and I just start storing away every single calorie that I come into contact with. I'm fairly certain, that if I watch you eat a donut, that I will gain weight.

So, I then attempted to work that donut off, by swimming at the Y with my Future In-Law Friend.

I love how without makeup on, a vein in my nostril looks like I have bushy nostril hair.

#SuperSexy

We laughed at how demented we looked; her in her nose clip, me in goggles that must be made for outdoor swimming, as they are so tinted that I can barely see anything in the indoor pool.

But still, we did it, and I'm proud of us lol.

I show up twice a week in my maternity tankini, looking like a dork, and swim laps next to the senior citizen water fitness class, because it feels like the right thing to do. And when I'm not swimming, I've been taking a Barre class, Pilates, Pound, and using the elliptical; yet I think I've still gained like 40 pounds.

So basically, all of that has been super fun and completely unrewarding.

Fun times.

But, as promised, I also worked on writing the articles below, so I hope you enjoy!

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I wasn't sure how this article was going to be perceived, but WOW; I was blown away by the reactions.

"After Having Two Kids With Special Needs, I'm Not Afraid To Be Pregnant Again."

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Being DV awareness month, it was important for me to remind people that THIS is why we shouldn't tell DV victims to "just leave."

"Here Is Why It Isn't As Simple As Just Leaving"

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If there's anything you've learned from my story, hopefully you learned this:

"The One BIG Mistake I Made As A Stay-At-Home Mom, That I Hope Others Can Learn From"

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Watching the hurricane coverage on TV, my heart breaks for the people impacted, and THIS is what they NEED YOU to know!

"I Volunteered After Hurricane Katrina, And This Is What Really Happens After The Media Fades"

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Having children with special needs, I couldn't agree more with what this mom had to say:

"Mom Thanks Pediatric Nurses In Heartfelt Letter: I See You, We All Do."

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And lastly, I sure do love me some good DV awareness!

"As A Victim Of Domestic Violence, Nicole Kidman's Emmy Speech Hit Me Right In The Heart."

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So... are you as exhausted as I am?