Is it me or do teenagers have it easier these days?

Are teenagers so bombarded with ADD, anxieties, depression, and other ailments that they are using these problems as an excuse or are we making an excuse for them as parents?

As a teenager I personally was depressed for about a year when I was 13 and then again when I was 17 and my sister left for college along with other stresses. I was not on any medication for it but I knew I was definitely depressed. My parents probably knew it too but they never really talked to me about it. They went to work every day they treated me the same and they put me to work. They never gave me special treatment and I actually think that made me stronger and helped me work through my problems. I know not everyone is the same and people have different levels of depression, etc., but sometimes I think as a society today we medicate our children too much and make excuses for them so they have an easy life and less complicated life. Everywhere I look parents want to keep their children in a bubble so nothing harms them. I get it. I probably do the same to a certain level but then I realize what are they really getting out of me sheltering them to this extent?

Kids and teenagers need to be outside, off their phones and engaging with other people. People say computers are going to take over the world and soon there wont be jobs because everything will be done from home...well, I think great everyone works from home what will that mean for our society? Will we be hermits, not socializing, not going to happy hours, not really making friends, not dating? It's scary to think about it to be honest. I wish I could see more teenagers having a good conversation face to face instead of tweeting about a car going down the street or a new selfie they just posted. 

We need to get our heads away from our phones and start socializing with people. Kids need to have manners, smile, engage. I feel like I see more and more kids who can't say hello and parents talking for them, what will this mean for our future. 

I went to a shower a few weeks ago and there were two teenage girls at my table and they could not get off their phones. Once we started talking about this topic they finally got off their phones and tried to prove to us that they actually could carry on a conversation with strangers. I had to give them props for that. 

People are already rude let's not make it any worse parents. Let your kids speak, tell them to stay off their phones bc it's rude and let your kids work in a social environment so they can communicate with others. 

Ok, im done ranting for today. Have a great Wednesday! 

Give Thanks this month and every month!

Last week I started a Give Thanks tree for the kids. Every time they do something kind I let them put a leaf on the tree. It's still a little bare but slowly we are getting more and more leaves. 

The girls painted the leaves with fall colors. I will post a picture of what it looks like at the end of November. 

I really need to pick up some books on Thanksgiving. Our prayers every night before we go to bed mainly consist of giving thanks and not asking for anything from God. That has seemed to help me each and every year and I want my children to give prayers of thanks to God each day. If I ask for help or want something I typically ask for guidance from God. I want to always give thanks for everything we have because I feel like we are so blessed in so many ways. 

I love this month and everything it stands for, family, giving thanks and food- some of my favorite things! Not to mention the fact that this is the start to Christmas my favorite holiday of the year. Curt and I decided we will decorate the week of Thanksgiving just so we can get in that extra time week of Christmas!! Now my only question is how will we make a tree survive for a whole month or maybe a little longer? Every year we talk about how much more realistic it would be for us to buy a fake tree so the kids can be rough with it, no needles and having it last much longer (obviously) but we just can't seem to do it. It's so fun to pick out a tree and having that fresh pine smell in your house!

I can't wait to celebrate this Christmas we have so much to look forward to. 

Congratulations Mr. Cannon

I am so proud of my husband he made partner last week and I couldn't be happier for him. He is such a hard worker  he wakes up most mornings at 4:45 so he is at work at 5:30 and he comes home for dinner around 6:00 every day. He is the best and we are all so so proud of you! He has been working for Goldberg, Finnegan and Mester for four years now and we weren't really expecting this so we are thrilled!

Cheers to the best husband and Daddy in the whole world! 

Vivi 2 year check up

Vivi had her two year check up today and she is still in the 98% in height. Both of the girls have never failed to go below 95% in height since the day they were born. I wonder what that means about how tall they will be when they are adults. Some doctors say double it and that will be their height as adults at two. If that is the case she would be 6'2" which sounds crazy to me. I rarely see women who are that tall and I am only 5'5" and Curt is 5'10" his dad and my dad are over 6 ft but still...

We will see.

She cried more than half the time we were there. Bella stopped crying when she went to the dr at around 2 1/2 but I have a feeling Vivi will be crying for another year or two. Bella doesn't even cry anymore when she gets shots, she is so strong. It's so funny how different their  personalities are. 

We are both exhausted now and it's only 11:15am. It's a rainy and dreary day here in Md and I didn't fall asleep until after midnight because Curt had his last Mason meeting. He is officially a mason now! I love that he is following the footsteps of my dad and grandfather. He really likes to do things for my dad and that is just one more thing I love about him. I just wish these meetings didn't run so late, I can never fall asleep without him. 

I plan on taking a nap today and hopefully relaxing all day. Tomorrow I am going to be baking for the majority of the day. I promised 8 baked goods by Friday for Bella's school which means 8 hours added for the year. We have a requirement of completing 20 hours for the shool year or we have to pay $500. I plan on trying to get my hours completed before this baby comes!

I am so excited to see him, I'm starting to get anxious! The crib is arriving next week and his bedding is coming on Friday. We got the chair and ottoman for his room so now all we need is a changing table/dresser a little end table and I need to call next day blinds to get black out blinds! We are counting down only 79 days left! 

Here I come third trimester!! 

28 weeks! 

Sweet baby not crying waiting for her shots to come :(

Mommy meltdown

Last Friday was not the best day for me. I had two sick kids who would not stop coughing and Bella had been up all night on and off to the point of Curt just sleeping in her room. That day Bella was coughing so much she couldn't fall asleep for her nap time and I was beat. Days like that are so exhausting and feel like they never end. Luckily Curt came home early that day so I grabbed my bag and told Curt I needed a personal night. I called my best friend and cried to her for about ten minutes like a baby. I know life isn't that bad but sometimes you just need a break and you need to breath. 

I had not left the house in over a week and felt like the walls were caving in on me. 

I went to get a manicure/pedicure which was completely relaxing and then I went to Capital Grille sat down at the bar and had a salad in peace and quiet. I ended up making a girlfriend at the bar and we talked about ebola and other adult like things instead of the nightly conversation about Sofia the first and saying "please eat your food" a million times. 

Afterwards I went to Bloomingdales and bought myself a new pair of beautiful fall/winter boots and I can't wait to wear them. 

I felt a zillion times better after that so I headed home at 8:30 😬 and got in bed. 

Thank God that day is over. 

Going to the zoo with Vivian

This morning Bella had her first field trip to the pumpkin patch! Bella was excited to go but I don't think she really knew what to expect. 

After breakfast Vivi and I got dressed and had a little field trip of our own since it was so warm out today. I love when we have these beautiful hot days in October when the leaves are changing color! 

We started out at the elephant house and worked our way over to see the panda bears where we saw the baby panda Bao Bao but he was hard to see since he was sleeping way up high in a tree. At first Vivi kept saying "no" because she was scared but then really started to enjoy all of the animals. We will definitely be back soon since this weather is so nice and they really are at the perfect age to get some energy out and enjoy the day seeing animals. 

Here are some pictures from today...

Bao Bao in the tree

Beautiful leaves changing color

Cheetah

Zebra

Vivi making funny faces with the gorilla in the back!

Orangatan hanging out right above us. Kinda creepy

Yawning on her way home. Great morning spent with my Vivi

Dear Curt,

Thank you so much for my sweet notes you leave me every morning or every other morning they make me happy and determined to start my day out on the right note with the girls. You make me want to be a better wife and a better momma. 

Thank you for ironing for me. You know I hate ironing and you do it every few weeks even after a long day at work.

Thank you for bringing home dinner on the nights where I have been too tired to cook because I've been having insomnia. 

Thank you for rubbing my back every night before bed.

Thank you for being the best daddy in the whole world and making it home for dinner every night so you can spend time with us eventhough I know you could have stayed at work much longer.

Thank you for killing crickets and spiders. 

Thank you for putting up outdoor Halloween decorations where I can't reach. 

Thank you for keeping me happy and giving me all the babies I want :)

I love you.

Your wife