Five days until Christmas

Feliz Navidad

What? It's December already???? We ARE alive and busy with Advent. Thirteen more days until Christmas...

Balance

I was just telling my mom that I remember when I only had Allie and while she would take a nap in the afternoon I would clean my house like Martha Stewart's daughter-in-law on Thanksgiving Eve. Now I just turn my head in shame when I see Martha's face on the grocery store check out rack. I'm still in survival mode. Kindergarten is ok. I'm still not too excited about Allie being in our school system, and I'm having issues with the right balance of book education and character education that I want for my family, but to be honest I think I'll struggle with this the entire time my babies are in school and maybe some more. I am however, enjoying all of the excitement about "homework".

...and to even out all that chaos *up there* I bento and I love it! Allie does too. She finishes her lunch about 80% of the time! A mom told me she saw Allie and her best friend sharing cucumbers in the lunchroom. Love it!

Shopping Fun

I love to spend money. I know, I know. Every possible emotional and psychological syndrome that I could possible have is on your checklist of "WTH is wrong with her" now. I don't care because I'm not going to try and figure it out or fix it. Because I love to shop. Well the SAHM thing, kinda threw a kink in my game. No worries. Over the last 5 years I've worked through the combo of need and guilt. I shop for groceries! Need without the guilt. Plus, we can stretch a trip to Whole Foods or Costco into a half day event. Play, samples, shop, visit with the old people who love to swoon over my kids, borrow(read: pretend to buy) new toys, eat, and then naps on the way home. Really, you can't beat it. Don't laugh.

Whole Foods even has an eating area, playground AND a meals worth of samples!

Oh AND entertainment!! This day PBS showed up and had games, balloons, and Cat in the Hat!
I don't even think Martin hears a drummer. His beat is more along the lines of a triangle or tambourine. He insists on getting a "sad face" every time we got to Costco which is every week . I know. Happy face would be too... normal. Martin does not do normal. Normal is not cool.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy birthday sweet girl!

My sweet Allie,

I think I've opened this page up at least 20 times trying to find the right words to say to you. The most overwhelming part of it is that this birthday was a huge milestone for me. I feel like I've given you away. To the world. You're not all mine anymore and as much as I love to see you grow into the person you're meant to be, I'm really sad that I have to share. Most days when I climb into bed to tuck you in, I kiss your sweet little face and I have to stop myself from wishing it was just you and me again. Hours of cuddling and playing dress up. Playing loud music and dancing while folding laundry. Wrapping you up in a carrier so no one could touch you and struttin' down the isles of Target with my feathers all puffed out like a proud momma hen. I miss that. The simpleness of just being your mom and no one else.

Now it's time to share. You spend more waking hours under the wing of another and I'm adjusting. I guess I knew all along that you are too wonderful of a person to keep to myself and I was right. You're my sunshine, my rainbow after the storm. I love you. Don't grow up too fast.

Wonder Woman Birthday Party

Ok, I almost didn't list this blog, because really, do my friends and family need all this information and links? No, but I had a hell of a time finding Wonder Woman party ideas out there in the big, bad world of cyberspace, so... I'm going to do it for the moms out there who's daughters are tired of princesses, Dora, and hula girls. Here's to girl power!

Wonder Woman Invitations: Again Tiffany at Miragreetings rocked them out!

The table: I love cupcakes because they are so easy. So I had plain vanilla cupcakes with red, white and blue swirled icing. I also made a small cake with blue icing to put her WonderWoman peg doll and sparkler candles on. I wanted to top it with a Wonder Woman doll but those are $$$$$ so I just painted one after I saw this on etsy. I covered the table in a red, white and blue tablecloth. Our party favors are in the yellow bucket which had red, white and blue star ring pops from Oriental Trading.

Costumes: I didn't want to make capes, because I HATE sewing satin and I HATE cutting large amounts of fabric. So I settled on towel capes. Oh and I HATE sewing velcro. I know hate is probably too strong of a word, but after making 30 sandwich bags I was done with all the sewing. Anyways, I took a towel, sewed on the back logo out of felt, sewed on a button and little loop of elastic! Done. I also made Allie a crown and she had to have the arm cuffs.

Balloons: There are none for Wonder Woman. Red, white and blue stars plus a big 5 balloon.

Cake: The reason everyone will be pooping green the next day. =) It's not hard but I saw the idea here. I also had my first encounter with fondant. Easy. Expensive. I just rolled out the store bought stuff and cut out some stars to go on the cake.

Banner- I saw this awhile ago on Salt Water Kids and loved it for holidays. I thought it would go well with the whole Wonder Woman, America's female hero, theme so I whipped it up in time for the party.

Food - We had the all Amercian party food: hot dogs, chips and lemonade. My mom also brought the kids red, white an blue Popsicles. Oh, and watermelon!

Plates and such - I used my Preserve red and blue plates and cups. I also used our cloth napkins I made awhile back. Curious George party

So really the theme was American superhero, but shhh we won't tell Allie that.

Oh, and sorry about the post from yesterday. I was typing out Allie's letter and she decided to add to it. Now it's gone. So I'll be starting over tonight. Until then, her post will have to do. =)

Baby Girl,

allie riocijufrijbkoioio2kpoenjr-0o

There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots. The other is wings. ~Hodding Carter, Jr

Getting ready. I'm not smiling because I'm a nervous wreck!

She was a little nervous the night before, but in the morning she was beyond excited. Like annoying excited.

I think she was done with pictures by now.

I should NOT be sick to my stomach, but I am and the two cups of diesel coffee at Chickfila didn't help. My baby, my sweet little girl, mi corazon left me today. I know it shouldn't feel this way. I KNOW she's going to have a ton of fun, make new friends and maybe learn some stuff but I'm going to miss her so much. We've been each other's buddy for five years now. Until this day, we've spent almost every waking moment together. She's my helper, my buddy, my shadow, my world. And for all of you rolling your eyes and saying that it's not healthy for your kids to be your world, let me just say... wait. Just wait until they place your first born in your arms and you can't breathe. Your whole life doesn't change; you are born. Wait until you spend the first three months of her life jumping out of bed because you think you hear her crying. When you're begging for just a moment of peace and quiet and then she's gone and you can't wait to see her again. Just wait until they take your heart out of your chest and place it in hers. You are never whole again, because pieces of you are walking around in this big scary world that you cannot control. Just wait, you'll see, you'll know and you wouldn't have it anyother way.

I guess, if I stop and calm down a bit, once the caffeine wears off, I know that even if I could control everything I wouldn't because then her life wouldn't be anywhere close to wonderful. But right now the excitement, fear and pain are just jumbled up into tears. I miss my baby and I have exactly two hours to dry my face and suck it up before I have to paste my smile on and gather up the little piece of my heart that has been gone all day.

Happy First Day of School baby girl.

I don't care who you are, that's funny!

And, since they are in the same pool of pictures, look at my baybee. He's losing his baby chub.

"They're here" - Carol Ann in Poltergeist

"The T.V. people"
You know, Curious George, Sid the Science Kid, and Buddy from Dinosaur Train.


Where have I been you ask ( I know because I'm such a consistent blogger)? Well, we've been busy worshiping our new idol!


Doesn't this picture remind you of the movie "Poltergeist" "They're baaaaack...."

From small screen to shrinking machine

What to do on a rainy afternoon, after naps but before Daddy's home, you ask? You guys are really in sync with me, in my mind.

Well, you Shrinky Dink!!! That's what you do.

Cashing out!

I knew there was a reason "pool time" and "sprinkler nights" counted as a bath!!! From about 8 months to 20-ish months my kids get a minimum of three baths a day. More if we have messy snacks. I think we've earned them, so I'm cashing out.

Pool definitely counts.

Puddle jumping counts as long as we rinse off with the hose after.

Hose time outside counts!

Beach counts. Just kidding. But the outdoor shower does count.

No T.V. land

Right after this picture, someone skipped someone, cards were thrown and lollipop guy is scarred for life.

Magical City

I talk a lot about wanting to move out of the big city but the truth is that I want to live in a magical city where we have all the diversity and culture of a big city, only it's small, everyone knows their neighbors and there's lots of room for the kids to run and be wild. Anyone know of this place? And I know what you're thinking, but no, the suburbs don't count.

Miller Outdoor Theater - Jack and the Beanstalk put on Children's Express Theater

Herman Park - I know. There are no ducks. I think the screaming and huge chunks of bread pegging them in the head, scared them off. The pigeons, on the other hand, were on the attack!

No T.V: Week Four

Our ginormous tv is dead. We had a love-hate thing going on. Hubby bought it before we were married and I HATED it but loved him. Love-hate. For the last year, ginormo has been teasing us with a prolonged death. Losing some color here and there, then a speaker in and out and the whole time I was dreaming of another. Smaller, thinner, and mounted. But the damn thing held on for almost a year! Alas, the dinosaur came down. A month ago and we have yet to welcome that sleek and sexy new tv into our home. At first it was a battle of wills, between my husband and myself. I wanted small, and discreet. He wanted huge and manly. Whoever could go the longest without could pick the tv. Then I caved. He laughed. I got mad and changed my mind. We still don't have a tv.

Our lives have changed. After the first week the kids stopped asking to watch Dora and Diego. After the second week they woke in the morning anticipating which games to play that day and Daddy started planning activities for after dinner. Some time in the third week I had a breakdown, but after that stopped crying. (Really, this no tv thing wasn't a we-are-too-smart-and-inspired-to-watch-tv thing. We aren't sitting around having cumbaya moments with each other or anything. I wanted to WIN but I caved first. So when Daddy laughed, I was a sore loser and threw a fit. Now it's just pride carrying me out to sea.) Now we are on week four with no tv and I think we've come over the hump. We'll see. If this part of my post is missing in a few weeks you know it got worse.

Busy living

... more like surviving.

I know there were short lapses of time *haha* between my blog posts so far this year. Buuut (me whining like my four year old, because for some reason it's catching. Like that song, "This is the song that never ends..., it goes on and on my friend..." You know the one. Yeah, you'll be singing it all day. HA!) Ok, so yeah, buuuuuuut we still did a lot of livin', even though I wasn't able to actually sit and upload pictures, or write about them or even remember my name. Don't worry, my kids remind me hourly that it's "Maaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmaaaaaaaaaaaaaa". Got it!

Anyways, my life always looks great in a montage. So without further ado, here is a picture montage of my life for the last six plus months. Enjoy.

You did it!

Your big boy cake! 18 days without your toot and still counting.


I have tons of pictures over the years of you just like this one. It was part of you, what you needed, and what eventually would send me into a panic when it went missing. So, alas the time came when it was lost for good and you had to leave behind a little more of your babyhood in order to venture into the big, scary world of boy-dom. Goodbye toot, you will be missed.

Allie and Nana

N: Allie, go get some panties and pajamas for bed.
A: NO! Just panties.
N: Are you going to sleep in just your panties? No pajamas?
A: Yup, I like to sleep in just my panties..... Nana?
N: hmmm?
A: You know, momma doesn't even wear panties to bed? Really. uhhuh.
........................................................................................................................

Well, that's the story told by Allie repeated by Nana, in front of me for my husband's amusement.

How can I share with the whole world of 11 people who read this, you ask? In turn, I ask you: Could it get worse than my MIL knowing I sleep without panties? Well yes, there was that time my Mom found my vibrator.

Benjamin, Benito, Big Ben, Papito, Papas...

My last, sweet, little snuggly baby. Just thinking about you being a year old makes my heart ache a little. My hurricane baby. And good god, there are no better words to explain how our lives have changed. Your life began in the quiet peace of our home surrounded by the chaos after a storm and I think this describes you very well. I think from the moment you were placed in my arms I knew our world had been turned more than upside down, but you, you were solid, steady and sure. You exhaled peace and calmness and if I held you close enough I could feel it too. I still can. It's amazing how you have brought exactly what I never knew we needed into our family.

My sweet Benjamin, you are such a giving child. You cuddle, love to be held, laugh softly and are perfectly content just being next to me. You are mellow and tough and what I imagine will be the strong and silent type when you are a grown man. You give so much of yourself, that by the end of the day it takes all that you have left to crawl into my arms and nurse and cuddle until you can replenish your spirit.

You have been such an easy baby amidst all the chaos in our house. It's so easy for you to not have a schedule or to get right back up when your brother or sister gets a little too rough. You are a survivor and I'm almost certain that's the reason you walked one day shy of eleven months. You had to. You are loved and I think you know it. Sometimes, I worry that we don't get enough time alone to do all of those skill building activities outlined in my parenting books and magazines, but then I hear you calling, "Allie", your first word, because you want to dance too, or I see you building towers with Martin, and I know. I know you are the luckiest of the three. You are Benjamin, my last son, the baby. You are loved.

Now that I've completed my motherly duty and told the world of how wonderful you are, I must also mention that while my world has been upside down and I was hanging on for dear life, I did have a moment or two where I was able to watch you closely and really know you. I had it wrong that first day we met. You are not simply the calm after the storm, but you are the storm as well. You see, your sister is clever and personable. She makes friends easy and jumps in over her head on most occasions. Your brother is stubborn and more determined than anyone I know. But you are patient and strong. It takes a lot to upset you and you function well out of your comfort zone. You have shown no fear and I'm afraid you don't have any. It's almost as if you've been watching your whole life, just waiting to let loose on the world. You are the storm out in the gulf, that moves slow and grows steadily stronger. I see you coming but I'm not prepared. In three very short months, you have climbed to the top bunk, scaled the playground slides, mastered jumping on the beds, hurdled the bathtub, and many other life threatening feats that I choose to block out. I'm a little scared. You are not.

So you see my sweet boy, it's only fitting for us to be here, at the beach, celebrating your first birthday. You will forever be our little hurricane. So strong and fascinating, yet, you move slow and with a strong potential for destruction. I am in awe of you and though I'm a little nervous about our years to come, I can't wait to see what beauty and excitment you bring into our lives. I love you my Benito and I couldn't imagine a more wonderful person to round out our family.