I was woken up Monday morning at 3:45am by Ed. I'm a light sleeper so he never gives me a kiss goodbye. I was caught off guard by his warm hug and long kiss on my forehead. I looked up and asked what was wrong and I'll never forget our conversation:
Ed: It's 3:45 so Wes should be good.
Me: It's 3:45? You're late! You were supposed to be at UNLV at 2, right?
Ed: Pablo texted me after midnight saying he was stuck in a shooting on The Strip and didn't know if he'd make it in. People are saying there's shootings all over The Strip so I said F that, I'm going to my other schools today.
After that I just don't remember. I laid in bed starring at Wesley and listening to him smack his lips. I looked online and kept reading so many crazy articles...so much panic. One man causing the death toll to rise so high. I finally fell back to sleep and Tenley woke up around 5am. I was so exhausted that I asked her to go turn on the living room tv and I'd be out in a minute. I didn't realize Ed was watching the news earlier so she turned on the TV and was watching the breaking news about our city. When I walked into the living room she was in tears reaching her arms out and said, "mommy, they said there is a wolf who shot people at a concert!!" I was stunned and so mad at myself for letting her hear the news so raw and not sugar coated. I instantly put on the Disney channel to calm us both down.
Tenley's sweet teacher texted me to say that she was devastated by the news, but wanted to let me know that she would do everything in her power to keep Tenley safe at school. Safe at school? Funny how much that phrase has changed over the years. I wanted so badly to keep her home, but didn't want her to be fearful. On the way to school we talked about the "wolf" who took so many innocent lives. We talked about why you can never trust strangers because they can look just like you and I, but they can really be a wolf on the inside or in Wes' opinion a Grinch. Yeah, bud...a Grinch, indeed.
Stevie and I lingered by the Kinder gate because we didn't know what to do with ourselves. I convinced her to meet me at the park by bribing the kids with Starbucks cake pops. Little did these innocent babies know that while they were having the time of their lives, their mommies were googling like maniacs trying to figure out what just happened:
The only bright side to Monday was that Tenley brought home her first Kinder school pictures. She looks so tiny and sweet! I just love them:
Monday drained Everly and had to be woken up Tuesday morning:
On Tuesdays I volunteer in Tenley's classroom while the twins are at preschool. Being around all the Kinder kids was just what I needed. They are all so smart and driven; which gives me hope that the future will be better in their hands. I loved working with all the kids and seeing their pictures in their classroom:
Tenley's class is learning about fire safety this week. The Henderson Fire Department came and gave the kids a tour of their fire truck and taught them all about fire safety:
While Tenley learned about fire safety, Ev and Wes learned about the letter 'E' for Everly and Elephant:
Wes had T-ball practice Tuesday evening and was so into it:
Ed has been working so much. With everything going on this week and me having to tend to the kids solo 24/7 Cassi did me a solid and watched the kids while I took class Wednesday morning. I know it sounds cheesy, but getting my workout done in the morning really sets my tone for the rest of my day and is like therapy to me. Plus, the kids love hanging with Cassi at Starbucks:
(Thanks, Cassi! You're the best!)
After my therapy sesh with the barre, we enjoyed the beautiful weather at the park:
The kids had been begging to go to the pumpkin patch since it opened. We wanted to go together as a family, but with Ed's schedule I knew it wasn't going to happen as quick as they wanted. When I picked Tenley up from school, I took them to dinner at Panera before heading to the pumpkin patch:
My babies love the pumpkin patch! There's something about Tenley being born in October that also makes it super special to me. The place was basically empty and we had so much fun on the slides, obstacles, train and swings. The kids had a blast and I'm sure we'll go back again with Daddy:
I woke up Thursday morning to a call from The Clark County School District saying that a man was arrested for threatening the district. The voicemail was vague and there was nothing on the news as everything was still about the Route 91 Shooting. Someone sent me a screenshot of the threat that said something about, "every school in Vegas getting blew up." I couldn't being myself to send Tenley to school. Instead we ate our breakfast slow and worked on a book about "what kindness means" to us. According to Tenley, it means giving hugs to everyone:
Stevie also kept Jackson home from school so we met at the park to keep our minds off everything, again:
Ev began to throw a fit as we left the park. I needed to go grocery shopping and braved it since she calmed down a bit. We went into the store and she instantly started throwing a fit. She wouldn't sit in the cart or let me hold her. Throwing a fit like no other. Everyone was starring. I was so close to finishing, but gave up. The lines were long and the lady in front of me was getting rain checks for every coupon offered. I stood there balling as I tried holding Ev, then just walked away. One of the baggers followed me out shouting to get my attention, but I couldn't even hear him over Ev's screams. He introduced himself to the kids like so, "Hi, I'm Dave. I'm a good guy. You can trust me. If you come with me we can work together and help your mommy." This mans kindness really touched my heart. He was so kind and I wish I would've given him a hug. Ev continued her tantrum for hours. I believe my emotional weakness and lack of sleep from the week was rubbing off on the kids. I couldn't handle the tantrum any longer so I put her in her room and went in the garage to sob. She finally put herself to sleep on the floor behind her door:
After we picked Tenley up from school we hurried home to get showered and pick up pizza to bring to Stevie's. She was kind enough to watch the kids while I worked and, of course, everyone was all smiles for her:
I stayed after school on Friday to go over some things with Tenley's teacher for when I volunteer next. Ev and Wes were so excited to see her classroom and Tenley was excited to show off her emoji ring for completing her Apple Core bookmark:
Saturday I took the girls to dance and cheer, then met Ed at the ballpark for Wes' game:
Sunday morning I taught a double, then went to Mish's baby shower at Bottiglia. Cassi threw the prettiest shower for baby Cayden and Mish was absolutely beaming! We're all so excited to meet baby CJ and see you as a mommy, Mish:
(Professional Gift Wrapping by our very own Victoria! Check out @bowbytso!)
I came home to Tenley having a fever and feeling awful:
Thank God, this man was home with me finally:
I want to say this was the worst week, but I can't. I'll never be able to say that ever again. Because of 1 man 58 people, who were enjoying life, lost their lives. Moms, Dads, Daughters, Sons, Wives, Husbands, Lovers, Friends...they'll never come home. I just can't fathom it. The city I moved to 12 years ago, the city I got married in, the city my children were born in, the city we call home...filled with such heartache. It doesn't seem fair that every time I look at The Strip I instantly think of that coward. I'm going to try to focus on the good and focus on how our community came together. Lines to donate blood were so long that you had to wait hours, donations were through the roof. One things for sure is that Las Vegas drove out that mans hate with so much love. We can never take back what he did, but we can live for those that lost their lives. Hold your loved ones close and love them like there's no tomorrow. We are truly blessed to have been chosen to be saved.
Please, continue to pray for Vegas!
#vegasstrong
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