Mayborn Museum: A Great Family Afternoon

Today my family and I went on one of our weekend family outings. At my husband’s request we went to the Mayborn Museum on the Baylor University Campus in Waco, Texas. I have to admit I wasn’t to thrilled to be going as I am not a museum person, and I didn’t think it would hold the attention of our 1 and 2 year olds. WOW! Was I wrong!

This is one of the better child-focused Museum’s that we have been to lately.  It is not one of the largest places, but don’t let that fool you. We spent 3 hours there and we only saw half of the exhibits. We decided to start our journey off on the Left side of the Musuem, or the Discovery side. This is where they have all of the interactive exhibits for the kids. Unlike the Austin Children’s Musuem, the Discovery exhibits were perfect for younger children ages 12 months – 5 years old.

My children were more interested in the exhibits on the second floor. They absolutely loved the transportation and the music room! I think we spent a good 35 minutes in the Transportation room just having them run back and forth between the School Bus and the Fire Engine.  They also thought the floor piano in the music room was fun. They would run from one side to the other amazing by the sounds that were coming out as they stepped.

They had other Discovery exhibits that focused on trains, water, the body, the west, a sensory room, fish and reptiles, dress up, and a little play town. On the other side of the museum, which we didn’t even get to see due to sleepy kids, they have the Waco at the Crossroads of Texas, Strecker’s Cabinets of Curiosities, and a Historic Village consisting of 9 wood frame buildings. 

Not only is this a great place for a family outing, it is also very reasonably priced.

General Admission

Adults: $6.00

Children (18 months to 12 years old): $4.00

Seniors: $5.00

Traveling Exhibit Admission

Adults $10.00

Children (18 months to 12 years old): $5.00

Seniors: $9.00

For Active Military they offer a discount. With Military ID you can get in FREE plus $1.00 off all the other people in your party.  For our family, my husband got in for FREE, my daughter FREE, my son for $3.00, and myself for $5.00. We got a day of fun for only $8.00.  It doesn’t get better than that!

Here are the Museum Hours:

Monday – Saturday

10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Sunday

1:00 AM to 5:00PM

With the Historic Village closing daily at 4:00PM

They are Closed On Game Day:

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Saturday, December 6, 2014

If you have ever been there I would love to hear what your favorite part is! 

It's Okay!

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What do you do when you realize you aren’t living the life you dreamed about? The life you saw displayed in magazines, movies, and television shows, the type of life that society has associated with “normal”. 

All my life I had depicted this image of what a “normal” life, marriage, and family were supposed to look. I would grow up to be a mother of four beautiful children who wore pearls and dresses while tending to the house and kids. I would smile all the time because there was nothing to be sad about. My husband would come home after a hard day at work to a gourmet meal on the table and his family exchanging stories about their day.  We would live in a standard suburban home with a well-tamed dog and excellently manicured lawn. I would dive the children around to their activities and sports in our minivan and cook for the bake sale and booster club.  Fights between spouses and daily troubles were not thought of.

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Ok…you can laugh now!

There is no fairytale life, marriage, or family. There is no “normal”. One of the biggest lessons I have learned after 3 years of marriage and 2 kids is that it is ok to just be you. It is ok to do what works for your family. What works for you.

I drive myself crazy trying to be the best mother and wife I can be for my family. I never want my husband or my children to be without or feel like they could have had someone better. This may sound crazy to you, but I just like to be my best. I think it is the control/ OCD side of me. I am still fairly new at this whole wife and mother thing, but I have found that it is important to find our families own identity. I cannot compare my family to that of those on television or in magazines because lets face it….THEY ARENT REAL!

• It’s ok to want to hide in a closet and cry when times get tough
• It’s ok to have arguments with your spouse. It can even be healthy for your relationship
• It’s ok for you house to not be wicked clean and tidy all the time
• It’s ok to have mac-n-cheese for dinner occasionally
• It’s ok to just want to be alone
• It’s ok to wonder what you life would have been like if you went down a different road
• It’s ok to skip bath time and go straight to bed
• It’s ok to not do the dishes every night
• It’s ok to totally hate the Disney Channel and all the characters on it
• It’s ok to just let you children cry themselves to sleep after a long day
• It’s ok to skip a few pages at story time to get to the end faster
• It’s ok to not put all the toys back where they are suppose to go
• It’s ok to want to have an adult conversation at the end of the day
• It’s ok to have your husband cook dinner and clean up
• It’s ok to get mad and yell
• It’s ok to be overwhelmed
• It’s ok to watch reality TV and eat candy in bed
• It’s ok to give into your kids and give them what they want just so they will stop whining or crying
• It’s ok the laundry has been sitting there for a week
• It’s ok if your lawn and landscaping isn’t perfect
• It’s ok if you have week old fast food bags left in your car
• It’s ok that you hid that really annoying toy your kids love and tell them it’s lost
• It’s ok to make bedtime a little early just to have time with your husband
• It’s ok to get a babysitter and enjoy a night out with your husband
• It’s ok that your still in your pajamas and your hair isn’t brushed
• It’s ok if you don’t sit at the dinner table as a family

IT IS OK TO JUST LET YOUR FAMILY BE YOUR FAMILY!!!! LET YOURSELF BE YOURSELF! LET YOUR RELATIONSHIP BE ITS OWN!

30 Secrets for a Happy Marriage After Kids

Maintaining a healthy and loving relationship is hard, add children to the mix and you have a cocktail for disaster if it is not nurtured correctly.  My husband and I jumped into the fast lane from the beginning of our relationship. Just a few months after we were married we were welcoming our first child, then a year later our second. We are 3 years into our marriage and have two wonderful children and one on the way to show for it.

Marriage is no easy thing! You can’t just read some articles on the Internet and think those easy tips will fix everything. Marriage requires effort, time, and love.  Let me be the first to admit that a marriage with children can be exhausting. Your attention is pulled in every direction. You want to be a good spouse while being an awesome parent. 

I am no marriage pro but I have to say my husband and I must be doing something right. Three years and we are happier now then we were then. Here are our guidelines that work wonders for our relationship:

1. Wake up by saying Good Morning with a Kiss
2. Always kiss Goodbye
3. Communicate throughout the day
4. Send loving Text messages just because
5. Take the time to share about your day
6. Say I Love You at least 5 times a day
7. Cook dinner together
8. Always eat together at the table
9. Have you time
10. Have your couple time away from the kids.
11. Set time aside during each day to spend as a family. For use we go on nightly golf cart rides and look at the nature that surrounds us. This is relaxing and the kids love it!
12. Give random gifts of love just because
13. Find television shows that you watch together weekly
14. Assign tasks around the house
15. Never go to bed angry
16. Take time to calm down when your angry before talking it out
17. Try not to use hurtful words
18. When your wife says she is “fine” she really isn’t
19. Set a time during the night to put all electronics including phones away
20. Pray with and for each other
21. Cook breakfast as a family at least once a month
22. Read books to your kids before bed nightly
23. Always laugh
24. Always smile
25. Always love
26. Say please and thank you
27. Don’t let an argument go by without saying sorry
28. Have family date nights weekly
29. Take interest in your spouses interests
30. Try and go to bed at the same time as your spouse

How do you keep your marriage happy and fresh with kids? I would love to hear what you guys have to say!!

When Daddy is Away, the Monsters Will Play

Isn’t if funny how you don’t really know how much you miss something until it is gone? Well lets just say that I came to that realization very quickly this week. For the first time since having our kids my husband went on a work trip this week. Now if you had asked me if I thought being a stay at home mom was easy, yes would have jumped out of my mouth without hesitation. But now that I have been lets say solo for a few days… I look at the garage door at 4:00pm and wish my husband’s bright-eyed face would come walking through that door!

Now don’t get me wrong, I love my kids to the end of this world and back! But after being in a house with an 18month old and 4 month old for days without a break….it is enough to send a mother to drink. My son is at that adorable age when he wants to talk but just can’t formulate words let alone sentences, and as a result just loud screaming and whining come out.   Of course on any other days these things are just down right adorable. Those daily phone calls of what mysterious color I just found in my sons diaper or how so much can come out of something so little, turn into calling anyone that will have an adult conversation with me for the few minutes my living room is quite. Today I think my son finally realized that daddy is away, and as a result wanted me to Facetime his father every second. My heart broke every time my son had to say Goodbye to his daddy and then the pain of the phone colliding with my nose brought me back to reality. Got to love the terrible 2s.

Oh and lets not forget my sweet daughter who just wants to smile and laugh at me with those big blue eyes, but the second I look away or god –for-bid have to go to the bathroom, world war three breaks out.

As I read the word quite, I am looking around and basking in the sound of absolutely nothing. The sound of small baby breaths and pacifier smacking is one of my favorite parts of the day. 

I know in my husbands head he is jumping up and down with joy knowing that I truly need him to help me run a smooth operating home. All of those fights about how he doesn’t do anything now seem obsolete. He may not clean, or be as attentive as I am, but he tries and that is all that matters. At the end of the day when we can divide and conquer, that is when I know we make a great team!

My little love bug telling daddy all about her brother. I just had to share this! 

Hello Friends!

Hi There!
Welcome to Hester Way! I am absolutely tickled that you found my little piece of heaven. Grab your paint brush, Diet Coke and pull up a chair! I can't wait to see the creative juices flow!

With a crazy house full of little ones and dogs, i started Hester Way as a way to share my:

•  DIY projects
•  craft ideas
•  recipes
•  and family values

 with other families just like ours. In the last six months our perfectly quaint home turned into a cracker jack box with the new addition of our beautiful daughter Willow and our adorable golden retriever puppy "Bear". After much prayer we were able to pack up the craziness and move our family 12 hours away to the house of our dreams in good ol' central Texas.

We are so happy to call our new house our home and start making amazing memories here. One of the best parts of moving is the chance to turn a picture into a master piece. Hester Way is my way of documenting our homes transformation into becoming William Family perfect. Decorating is not an easy task, let alone decorating with the craziness of two kids under the age of two, but i think it can be done! I can't wait to share our journey with you. 

Cheers,

Kasha Williams