Unscripted.

Bumblebee says...

2012-02-14T07:30:00.000-05:00

Hope your Valentine's Day is Awesome!

Once again we have arrived at the class valentine exchange. Today is the party for Mason's class and I am so excited to be able to be there as he hands out his valentines this year. We got creative again, I mean would I really not get creative with valentines? Though, I almost went store bought this year, except Mason couldn't find any Transformer ones with candy. Instead, we decided it would be cool if he dressed up in his Bumblebee Halloween costume and made some fierce poses. I think we are both happy with the result.

I created the words in photoshop, leaving room for Mason to sign his own name later. Had them printed at Costco (I'm a little peeved that they cropped off the edge of the wording, even though I checked the cropping line. But got over it fast, as I realized these are 5 year olds and they really don't give a crap, much less probably even notice.) and then glued them to red card stock. Mason signed each one and then I punched holes in the top and bottom of his fist and slipped the heart lollipops into them. It totally looks like he is handing the lollipops to his friends. These photos do not do them justice.

The kids are also doing a cute craft I helped put together. They will be using red and white colored plates to make holders for all their valentines. I can't wait to see them put these together. And the snack, of course is healthy. Ritz crackers with a cream cheese and jelly mixture spread on top. It sounds so delicious, I hope there are some extras for me to grab a taste.

I went ahead and made my own Valentines for the kids this year. Mason has been asking me if he will get something from me and I kept telling him he had to see. Of course I would give them Valentines, duh. So, last night, I had Fred take a picture of me and then I got to work. I really wanted to give them a special message from me, because I feel they both have grown so much this year. And not just in height (My lord these kids are like weeds. Especially Sophie who is not much shorter than Mason these days.). Mason has really been working hard at school, and Sophie has really come into her own these last few months -- developing her skills, interests and vocabulary. Those two really do shine in their own special way. I'm so lucky to be their Mom.

(I do have something cooked up for Fred too, I just didn't get any photos of it yet.)

So here's to hoping your day is just as special!

Happy Valentines Day!

Why I love motherhood

2012-01-27T20:34:00.002-05:00

It's moments like this that reaffirm my love for motherhood.

Mason: say cheese mama.

Me: cheese! *blow him a kiss*

Mason: *squeels* I love you.

Me: I love you too, buddy.

Mason: I will throw a big heart into you.

...and my heart just melted, so it's a good thing he's going to throw me another one.

Collectors.

2012-01-21T14:55:00.000-05:00

These past few weeks, I have really been thinking about the kind of stories and moments that I want to remember. Each day conversations happen, new games get made up, something extraordinary occurs, or it's just simply our same old mundane routine. The kids develop quirks, which quickly change as fast as they came, and its all these things the kids do now, that I take for granted. I always think that either I'll remember these things down the road, or no one will care about this after the moment has passed. But, I find myself turing to Fred and saying things like, what was that little thing Mason used to say/do when he was this age (referring to Sophie being 2)? Or, oh my gosh what was it that the kids were doing the other day that had us all in tears from laughing so hard? And I can't remember. It made me realize those seemingly ordinary things, the moments that happen in the background and are often overlooked, are the moments we reach for many years from now.

I couldn't tell you how it started, but that's not an important part of the story anyway. Mason and Sophie, like so many kids, enjoy crawling on the floors and hiding in the clothes racks while I shop at Target. Normally this drives me nuts, and I can be heard through gritted teeth telling them to, GET UP. However, these days I let them have their fun--within reason. All this crawling on the floor and diving in and out of those clothes racks actually holds a purpose. You see, they are finding tick tocks. Say what?! Yeah, that's what I said when I started to notice my kids leaving the store with these colored plastic things in hand, and asked what they were. Tick tocks are really those plastic size markers that top the hangers at Target. Seriously, if you look hard enough you can find at least 3 or 4 of these things just lying around.

I overheard them one day in the dressing room discussing how many tick tocks they had found that day, which colors and letters, and then announcing they needed to collect one of each. Above is a sampling from that day (they had 6 if I recall) with a few more that were already laying around the house. In fact, it has been nice to hear Mason say things like, "Mom, you look at the shirts and I'll search for tick tocks for Sophie." She's the one who really likes to collect these, carrying them around everywhere. Even now, she is staring at the picture as I write this post, smile on her face, pointing, "tick tocks. My tick tocks. My pink. Yay!" Funny, isn't it, how the simplest things are the stuff they enjoy the most?

I know this story will get forgotten over the years. They will stop collecting tick tocks, and even forget themselves why they called them that in the first place. Our lives will go on, they will develop other quirks and hobbies, and new stories will be written. It is then--months, days, even years from now--that I will be glad I documented this story and all the other moments of our lives that instinctively get overlooked.

Though, I might still find myself asking, why do you guys call them ticks tocks? No, seriously, why? It's killing me not knowing.

Moments

2012-01-14T16:53:00.004-05:00

Every once in a while you have those moments when you feel like the recipient of the worst parent of the year award. My most recent experience with this feeling went a little something like this.

My daughter has tested and tested me over the last few weeks. You see she has horrible eczema. I don’t mean the kind where they get red, scaly, itchy patches here and there in the folds of skin where there is still lingering baby fat. Mason had that, on his ankles behind his knees and inside his elbows, but was pretty much grown out of it by the age of two. No, Sophie has the kind where we are seriously contemplating taking her to a dermatologist. These raised, red, scaly patches are not only on her ankles, but all over her stomach, her back, her arms, legs, EVERYWHERE, and ever so itchy. I can just feel how itchy it is when she is sitting there scratching and scratching at her belly, and I am doing everything I can to help her. I can feel how itchy it is when every night while putting lotion on her delicate skin, I see nothing but bright red all over her little body. I can feel how itchy it is when she’s crying, and there is blood soaked into her pants or pajamas and under her fingernails from having scratched too much. It’s all too painful to see her in this state. The steroid cream works for a certain amount of time, but we don’t want to over use that. Other creams and ointments keep the irritation to a minimum until the next major flair up, but nothing works on a permanent or very long-term basis. My heart breaks for her, causing me to just break down and cry with her.

So I guess it should have been no surprise when Sophie decided to take matters into her own hands, literally, by getting into the medicine and treating herself. Normally we have the diaper changing creams, ointments, and eczema medicines sitting in the side container of our diaper holder on the changing table. In the past two and a half years we have never had an issue with just leaving them there. That was until our little girl got smart. I can’t tell you the exact number of times, but at least 4 or 5, I would find her sitting in her room rubbing her ankles and legs. As I would get closer, I’d see the tubes of A&D ointment and hydrocortisone squeezed to death on her bed, and everything from her hands, to her sheets and her clothes, glistening with the now greasy, sticky ointment. There was one time it was so bad; she had it all in her hair and on her face and oh god, the brand new sweater I just bought that morning. Or, there was the time in the morning when she couldn’t open the door to her bedroom, so she started to yell for me at the god awful hour of before I’m ready to get out of bed, only to find out the reason was that her hands were so slimy from the ointment she rubbed all over everywhere--again. I don’t know about you, but I found out quickly that greasy ointments DO NOT COME OUT OF CLOTHES. So as the days progressed, and she was still, somehow getting into this stuff even after many trips to time out, and both Fred and I drilling it into her, YOU DO NOT PLAY WITH MEDICINE, I was seriously losing my cool with the amount of laundry that now lay in front of me. That, and the fact that she just didn’t seem to get it, or did she? Each time we went through the time out routine (thank you Supernanny) I would ask, “Why did Mommy put you in time out?” She’d respond, “cause medicine.” Then I’d ask, “Do we touch or play with medicine?” and she would immediately say, “NO.” Only later in the day she'd be doing it again. Ugh, this is so frustrating!

Now I have all the medicines; diaper cream, A&D ointment, eczema steroid, Vaseline, hydrocortisone, and whatever other medicine we usually keep handy, stored in the tallest cabinet of our master bathroom, because she has managed to get into them by pushing a chair, stool, or toy over to the area in order to climb upon and reach them everywhere else we have tried to hide these medicines from her. Not as convenient, but at least not where she can reach them. Hopefully.

It has been a few days and no more incidents of finding medicine smeared all over my daughter, or her belongings. I have managed to almost catch up on the laundry, and getting around to some much needed household chores. It is Tuesday, so I need to make sure the floor is mopped before my Parent Group meeting tonight. While I am busy downstairs, Sophie is upstairs slamming doors. I look at my watch. It is just about time to pick Mason up from school. This is when I notice that the slamming of doors as actually stopped, but not only that, it is incredibly quiet upstairs. Too quiet. I dash up the stairs, calling her name as I open doors, trying to figure out where she is and what she is getting into. I find the light on in the bathroom. She is not in there, but the medicine cabinet is open and the box of medicine gone. S*#t! I run now, screaming, desperate to find her. Finally she answers, a small voice, muffled from behind my bedroom door. I open it to find her over by my nightstand, not with the various ointments as expected, but with a bottle of Excedrin Migraine in her hand--open.

I have no idea for the life of me how she got that bottle open, I just know I freaked and started yelling, “Did you eat these?” She immediately said, “no.” However, I don’t know if that was because she didn’t, or that she just didn’t want to get in trouble because she did. She kept calling them candy and then said, “candy yucky,” and grabbed my hand, bringing me over to the trash can where she pointed out a throat lozenge she threw in there. I kept trying to get a real answer out of her about the Excedrin, but trying to have a serious conversation with a 2 year old is a bit like trying to understand a foreign language. I mean, toddler speak might as well be one. Either way, I couldn’t freak out for too long because I was going to be late for car pool. After picking Mason up from school, he reminded me I promised to buy him new shoes that day. So, off to Target we went.

The whole drive over I couldn’t get the Excedrin out of my head, and while Sophie seemed to be acting just fine, I knew I needed that peace of mind. After sitting the kids down in the café for their lunch, I called our pediatricians office thinking they might have information to help me if she had eaten the pills. They told me to call poison control. Great, that was just what I needed. Poison control already has me on their radar from Mason. When he was the same age, I came out of the shower to find he had eaten a few Tums from the bottle sitting on my nightstand. Being the nervous first time Mom, naturally I called poison control. Only a few months later I wrote this blog post about his incident with the bug spray. Shortly after that phone call I received a pamphlet of information in the mail from the poison control center, including a magnet with their phone number on it. I think they were subtly trying to send me a message, which as it turns out I didn’t exactly get, because after the phone call with them this week about my 2. 5 year old daughter maybe eating some Excedrin; I’m pretty sure I will be receiving another packet of information in the mail.

from my family to yours

2011-12-24T19:16:00.004-05:00

Our Christmas card this year.
Photographs by: myself (Rachel Briggs)
Card Design by: myself (Rachel Briggs Creations)

Have yourselves a Merry Little Christmas and all the best for a joyous and prosperous New Year!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T15:24:00.000-05:00

But, I'm not ready yet

2011-11-15T18:29:00.005-05:00

Mason is having his first drop-off play date tomorrow and I am having a minor, ok, Major panic attack over it.

Mason has had a bunch of play dates over the years, and even a few with new families we have met through preschool. They have always been with me present, mostly because me and the other Mom want to chat and get to know one another. But seriously, I have never had a Mom ask me to drop off my child at their house. Until now. And well actually, she never really asked, but more assumed.

For about a week we had been playing phone tag in trying to set up a play date with our sons. Finally we met up at a school function. This was where she said, "so do you want me to just take him to my house after school or would you prefer to drop him off?" I'm pretty sure my mouth dropped to the floor and my eyes bugged out. I felt blindsided as I struggled to regain my composure. We had already agreed to the play date and even though I am not at all ready to let my son run off without me, how could I back out now? I feel really uncomfortable sending my son to the home of someone I barely know. He is only five years old. I know most of the parents in Mason's class have multiple kids and the ones in his class are usually their second or third so they have been there and done that. But he is my first, my baby, and this is a HUGE step for me. I'm sure they are a wonderful family and from the brief moments I have talked with her, I've determined she is very nice. The fact remains, we've only had a few brief encounters, so I don't know her all that well yet. I don't know any of the parents in his class very well for that matter. At least not well enough to let my son go to their house alone.

Mason, of course, is thrilled about going to this house because he says they have Legos and he is really into building with Legos right now. I explained to him that I will not be there and it would be a long time without Mom (2 hours, and that was me cutting it down). Still he doesn't seem to be apprehensive about it at all. I seem to be the only one with reservations and suffering from fear, panic and worry. What if he gets hurt and I am not there? What if they allow him to do things that I find inappropriate? What do I do if their discipline methods are completely different than ours? Will she let them play outside unattended? What if he gets uncomfortable or upset or bored and wants to go home, will she call me and let me know? I told him that he should tell the Mom if he wants to leave and have her call me and I'll come pick him up but still, I have all these horrors running through my head. I've never been to their house, I've never seen my son and her son interact or play with one another, so I have no idea how well they get along. This is all so new and uncharted territory for me and for him. I have no idea what to expect, nor do I know what is the protocol in these situations.

I mentioned this on Mason's birthday, with all the parents wanting to drop off their 4 and 5 year old children at my house for his party, and this wasn't the first time I ran into this. At what age is it appropriate to expect other parents to watch our kids for two hours while we run off? Even more, is 5 too young for a drop off play date? Especially if you do not know them that well? I want my son to feel independent and confidence in not having me around but at the same time, he is only in preschool. I have such anxiety and feel so uncomfortable about the whole situation, yet I feel I can't insist I be there or back out for fear of being seen as rude or over protective. I'm almost trying to find any excuse, like bad behavior, to call up and cancel. Ahh! Please tell me I am not the only one who feels this way?

So how do I deal with this anxiety? I'm not sure. I could very well be that Mom who sits in her car for two hours, parked across the street.

Transforming

2011-11-09T22:34:00.015-05:00

Mason turned five years old last week. FIVE! Oh my gosh I cannot believe it has been five years since I first became a Mom. How fast the years go by and even faster, how you settle into your new routine. The ease at which you transform from a daughter, to wife to a mother and never look back. So it is only fitting that he chose to have a Transformers themed birthday this year.

I had quite a bit of fun planning this party. O.K., I have fun planning all my kids parties, but this one was especially fun. Mostly because of the age of my son and his party guests. I was able to do so much more, be more creative and actually plan some fun activities to go along with our traditional pin the tail, pinata and cake. Even more, it was fun because I kept it simple.

Yup, that's right, I said simple. The decorations, the favors, and the food, all quick and easy. It really helps to make early preparation a priority. Establishing that theme early on and then buying things like streamers, balloons, and tablecloths weeks before the party; even before I made the invitations. I scored them pretty cheap thanks to sales and coupons. Of course I could not go shopping for any of this stuff without my co-planner. He has been a part of the process from the very beginning. Since he could talk (which was two) and had an opinion, I've respectfully run my ideas through his approval. He usually agrees, but every once and while we butt heads. Still, it's fun to get the kids involved.

Having a Transformers theme, it was pretty easy to pick the colors. I assumed we'd pretty much be doing black and yellow for BumbleBee, Mason's favorite character, but he insisted we have blue, red and grey as well. Representing Optimus Prime and Ironhide, respectfully. We split the five colors up between the streamers (Red, Blue, Black) and balloons (yellow, black and silver). I then made two banners. One that says Happy Birthday, replicating the yellow and black stripped Camero that is BumbleBee. The second, a blue and grey banner to represent Optimus with alternating Autobot and Decepticon images. I hung them up the night before his birthday so when he woke up that morning and came downstairs he saw them and immediately said, "I love it Mom. Especially the Transformers letters."

For the favors I made yellow and black playdough. After having made my first batch of playdough last year, I have never looked back. The batch you get is huge and it a lot softer and stays moist for way longer than the store bought brand name dough. I packed them in cheap tupperware containers, printed out the recipe on sticker paper and wrapped them in ribbon.

That night after everyone was in bed I stayed up way too late and decorated the house. I am a bit of a night owl. I work best, creatively, when I am alone with no distractions and it is quiet except for my music or latest podcast I listen to while working. I think it was 2am by the time I finally crawled into bed but I had the satisfaction of having everything that could possibly be done, done. Weekends are my days to sleep in so thankfully I got to sleep later than everyone else after pulling the all nighter. I missed Mason's reaction when he walked downstairs, but my heart soared when Fred told me that he went on and on and on about the decorations and how, "this was the best birthday ever!!" And "Daddy, isn't this great? Isn't this the best birthday ever? How are you not more excited?!" I guess I got it right. If everything else fell apart or didn't go as planned, I could be happy anyway.

The most exciting part of the planning, and the party for that matter, was the activity I had planned.

Are any of you familiar with a show called Dino Dan? It is a show about a boy who is really into dinosaurs and you get to learn all about them and see them in action. It's a neat show as we have stumbled upon it a few times. On one particular day we watched an episode in which Dan was having a birthday. As one of the activities, his mother created a hunt for the kids with clues to find out which dinosaur was on the cake. Mason turned to me and immediately suggested a hunt to figure out which Transformer was on his cake. For months, he would mention this idea to me. However, I soon realized that finding a Transformers cake, much less getting a say as to what character was on it, was extremely difficult. So the plan had to be altered. I thought back to my childhood and remembered the summer reading programs my Mom would drag my sister and I to, as her helpers. One summer, the program had a pirate theme and she did a treasure hunt with the kids. I remembered how much fun that was for the kids, and despite the fact that at the time, I hated being there, it was actually a lot of fun for me too.

So our cake clue idea became the Hunt for the Allspark. Mason immediately thought this was a cool idea. However, we needed a way for each kid to get their own Allspark to take with them and how in world would I make 14 Allsparks? As I searched for ideas, we found ourselves at Walmart, shopping for who knows what, and ending up in the party isle where they have all those little trinkets for favors. You know the ones that are like $1 or less. There we found these cubed erasers, that are a puzzle, and immediately said, "this is our Allspark". They were perfect.

I then spent the next week leading up to the party, creating and coming up with clever clues to hide around the house leading the kids from room to room and ultimately the Allspark. The morning of the party, I hid all the clues in their appropriate places and anxiously awaited for the time to start the game. Below are the clues I created.

I started off by explaining the deal with the war between the Autobots and Decepticons, for those who are not familiar with the Transformers. I then explained that we needed to "find the Allspark before Megatron and save our planet from the evil forces of the Decepticons. Who is with me?" All the kids started jumping up and down, raising their hands and screaming, "me! Me!" The funniest part was after all the kids got quiet as I was about to read the first clue, Sophie runs up to the group and yells, "me too! " (Have I mentioned how much I love this girl?) This actually might have been more fun for me, but I think I got the kids excited enough. I watched as they ran from room to room, looking for the clue and getting so excited once it was found, ready to hear where they were heading next. Once they found the cubes, they were rewarded with a pinata. What an excellent way to get rid of excess Halloween candy.

After some more playing, it was time for cake. Being the family documentarian and always having my camera, my only regret was not having taken pictures throughout the party. No images of the kids all hitting the mark on the pin the symbol on BumbleBee, no images of me reading the clues to overexcited kids, no images of them pulling the strings on the pinata, no images of them them just all around having a blast and playing. However, I did grab my camera long enough to take a photo of the cake and Mason blowing out his candles. Which was a fun event, because jokingly I told Mason was going to use those trick candles on his cake and he then convinced me to actually use them. So two of them, no one knew which ones, were the trick ones and it took him a few tries to blow them out.

All in all, it was a fun day. I think it could have potentially been more chaotic, especially if more people were invited. I am learning that at this age most parents assume parties are drop off. I ran into this last year with Mason as well. I don't know about you, but I would not drop off my 4 or 5 year old preschooler at someones house for two hours, especially when I do not know them that well. Though this does not seem to be an issue for the majority of the parents at our preschool. A few of the kids got dropped off, which was fine, as we had a sufficient number of parents who did stay, but if it had been all 12 kids in my house just me and my husband, I would have lost it. Knowing this, and knowing it was only going to be expected for next year, Fred and I decided that future parties for Mason will be held somewhere other than our home.

I'm glad Mason had a great time with his friends, I'm glad he loved all the planning that went into it and I am especially glad I have gotten to see him grow from year to year. When it comes to transformations, this past year has been the biggest for him. Baby fat is gone, and his skills are expanding. With that, since he is learning to write, this year I am having him write his own Thank You notes. I created fill in the blank cards and he has been busy writing them out this week.

He has been doing such a great job, though I know even those few words are a challenge for him. I am so proud of my little man and the progress he has made in such a short amount of time. I'm not sure what I would do without his smile, laughter, sense of humor, logic and reasoning and all around truly caring spirit.

Thanks for Transforming my life buddy.

A Fa-BOO-lous Halloween!!

2011-11-02T11:53:00.004-04:00

Our Halloween started off with the class party and parade at Mason's school on the 28th. This year they came to school dressed in their costumes. Sophie, of course, had to be just like her brother and dressed in her costume that day as well. Being a room parent again this year, I helped plan, prepare and execute the party. The kids made an eyeball snack out of carrots, cream cheese and either a blueberry or an olive. I didn't think about how this snack would taste at the time of planning. Unfortunately it wasn't that great, based on the faces of some of the kids. However, these kids are pretty smart and ended up just eating each piece of fruit/vegetable on its own.

I also learned something while in the classroom. The white part of the eye, represented by the the cream cheese on our snack, is called the tapetum. It reflects light and helps nocturnal animals, such as bats, see in the dark. See even I am learning something from preschool!

After clean up, Sophie and I headed outside to join the rest of the Bears parents while we waited for the kids to parade by in their costumes.

Mason brought up the rear for his class in the role of caboose for the parade. It was pretty cold that day so coats were a necessity. He was pretty bummed though that they would not allow him to wear his cannon for the parade as it was considered a gun and no weapons were allowed. Still, I got so many comments on how much he looked like BumbleBee.

After making their way through the parking lot, the older kids (JK and Kindergarten) got to parade around Bloom grocery store across the street while the parents waited for the kids back in the classroom.

That evening we went to IHOP for free scary face pancakes. A special treat for the kids and night off of cooking for me.

I swear Halloween night could not come fast enough for these two kids. They had been chomping at the bit ever since Friday. This year was exceptionally special due to Fred and I hand making either all or parts of the kids costumes.

Mason was BumbleBee. This was a given from early on. In fact, he has been so into Transformers that when I saw the BumbleBee costume at Costco a month before Halloween, I didn't have to think twice before putting it in my cart. My only concern was whether it would fit. Which it did perfectly. After I had the idea to make Sophie's costume, thought it would be cool to make Mason a canon fully equipped with LED's. Mason, of course, LOVED the idea and would talk of nothing else till it was done. I have to say it came out awesome and really made the costume. Fred used a shipping tube for the canon, painting it yellow to match. He then programmed a micro controller to have the blue LED's blink in a circle like it does in the movie, as if he is about to shoot you. There were many compliments of his canon throughout the night.

Sophie was so hard to figure out. We had gone to Target, Costco, Walmart, etc. as soon as the costumes were being displayed to find one for her. At first I thought she would be TinkerBell, but the costumes were all either too baby or too adult or had elements like the wings and such which we already had. My next thought was a princess, she has been liking Ariel lately, but wouldn't even try on any of those costumes. She tried on Wonder Woman and wore it around the store, I was thinking we found the costume until she got bored with it. Mason and I were both at a loss. That's when Sophie started to really get into Strawberry Shortcake and My Little Pony.

It all started because we watch Transformers Prime on the hub and one day stumbled upon the newest Strawberry t.v. show. So one day while picking up some supplies at Target I had her try on the Strawberry Shortcake costume. For what it came with, it was a good price. Unfortunately the sizing on these costumes in not accurate. Even though it claimed to be a size 2T-4T it barely fit her and Halloween being a month away still, I was apprehensive about buying it. So I started to wonder how hard it would be to make.

Next thing I know I am searching Pinterest for homemade Strawberry Shortcake costume ideas and buying pink polka dot fabric and searching every store for green and white striped tights. Little by little the outfit came together and while I had some redos with the outfit, I think for my first attempt it came out really good.

Following a tutorial I found online, I just took one of her dresses, folded it in half and cut the shape out of the pink polka dot fabric. I then chopped of the top part and sewed the bottom half to a white T-shirt I bought at Walmart. For the leggings, I found the green stripped leg warmers at Target and ended up sewing them to the shorts of an outfit that she no longer fits into. Voila, leggings. For the hat, I used this tutorial, except I bought a cheap visor at Walmart for $2 as the base. I took the leftover green felt from making the peter pan hats for Sophie's second birthday party and covered the brim. Then I used the leftover fabric from making the dress and made the hat, using a hot glue gun to attach it to the visor. I piped the edges, covering the frays, with white ribbon from my stash and after trying it on her attached some elastic to the back of the visor to help it stay on her head. For the Strawberry Shortcake emblem, my friend, Kim from Hammers and Fire, made it for me and I then just printed it out on special paper and ironed it directly onto the t-shirt. Kim is the one who Fred collaborated with to make my one of a kind necklace for our 6th year Wedding Anniversary. I encourage you to click the link and check out her work on her blog. It is absolutely stunning. I am thinking of commissioning a ring to match my necklace. The pink sparkly shoes I found at Target and had to fight with her to not wear until Halloween.

I am quite impressed with myself and will be attempting to make more outfits and other crafty things. First on my list is to figure out how to make a memory quilt. I am feeling more comfortable with my sewing machine and am glad it is getting a lot of use these days, for more than just my scrapbook pages and albums.

After getting my pre-requisite photos of them in their costumes, we headed out into the night to accumulate as much candy as possible.

It was a cold evening, thanks to the freak snow day we had Saturday. Which also ruined our pumpkin patch plans. While Mason was fine in his outfit the whole night, Sophie only lasted the few houses on our cul-de-sac before wanting her coat.

Mason is a seasoned pro at Trick or Treating. It being Sophie's first real year, Mason was teaching her what to say and after the first few houses she caught on quickly. Putting her cuteness to work and milking our neighbors for all they were worth. At one point she fell, pretty hard. Tripping over her shoes and her pumpkin of candy rolling down the street. We made it to the next house, me carrying her and Sophie, using her tears to her benefit. For each whimper the lady but more candy into her bucket. I cut it off after the third or fourth handful. By the end of the evening Grandma and I had to carry their buckets for being so full of candy they were too heavy for the kids to carry anymore.

I think they really made out this year, as Mason's school assignment clearly indicated. He had to count the number of candy bars, lollipops and gum that he got. We counted 48 candy bars!

Well at least I now have enough bribes for them to last me through the new year. Either that or they might get so tired of candy by December they won't want to eat the rest. At least until next year.

MommyPage: Featuring Unscripted

2011-10-13T13:39:00.005-04:00

This week I have been given the opportunity to be featured on a new website, MommyPage.

About a month ago I was contacted by the owner of this website asking if they could interview me to feature on their blog. I was kind of caught of guard. Me? They want to interview me? So then I thought about it and I checked out the website and ultimately agreed. I'm pretty excited about it. So if you get the chance, go check out my interview and while you are there, check out what MommyPage has to offer.

If you are not familiar with them, here is some more info on what they are all about.

MommyPage is a brand new Website that brings the latest and greatest deals, coupons, and discount opportunities offered on the Web to expectant mothers, new mothers, and veteran mothers. The main goal at MommyPage is to find the best free samples, coupons, and other special offers from your favorite name brands! To be able to provide connections to these items, MommyPage has a knowledgeable team of moms just like you that encourage companies to offer great deals that are relevant to family-based lifestyles. MommyPage has recently found and posted some amazing offers from companies such as VTech Kids, Kellogg's, ThredUp, Baby Talk, and American Baby! Beyond our offers and deals, MommyPage assists mothers in navigating their way through parenthood. The mothers within our MommyPage community share stories on topics like buying maternity clothes, healthy eating for two, baby behavior, first days at preschool, and much more! At MommyPage, we know that being a mother is about finding a harmonious balance between home and family management, as well as all other aspects of life. With our tips and hints on parenting and access to discounts, we sincerely hope to help our MommyPage subscribers make parenting a successful experience. Please visit MommyPage.com to sign up today!

And don't forget to read my interview being featured today!

Just like that

2011-10-10T23:00:00.000-04:00

I tell you. I make plans, have great ideas and then just like that, it's almost a month before I get the chance to post to my blog again. Ugh. I feel like such a slacker.

Blame it on my inner overachiever who feels the need to be SuperMom at all times. If you remember, at the end of the school year, I became the Vice Chair for the Parent Connection Committee at Mason's preschool. Well, plans kinda changed a bit. So, um, yeah, now I have stepped up and become the Chairperson for the PCC instead. Gulp. Yeah I just had a minor panic attack too. It's a long story, but basically the PCC is struggling a lot with parent involvement this year and no one came forth interested in being the leader. I pretty much said, well I'm kinda doing it anyway, and so there you go.

I haven't exactly told Fred just yet. Mostly because of his less than enthusiastic and not so supportive response when I told him I wanted to be Vice Chair. Imagine how he would react if I said, "Honey. Guess what? I am now running the whole thing." Yeah that would not go over well. So I am kinda taking my time to ease him into this knowledge. That, and well, it's a hell of a lot of work.

I was not prepared to take on this role, so naturally I was not prepared for the responsibilities and duties that have all of a sudden slapped me hard in the face. I've only been in this role, in official capacity, for a week now. Mostly, I am trying to play catch up. I have been reading through the previous Chair's binder she put together. Getting myself familiar with how she ran things, what worked and what didn't. Studying up on her notes, past agendas and meeting minutes. Working hard to come up with a strategy or plan for how to make this year successful. I'm not gonna lie, its A LOT OF WORK and I find myself struggling with it all. I really don't want to admit this, but I think I might have bitten off a bit more than I could chew.

It's not like I was really keeping up with all my domestic duties as a SAHM anyway. I'll get into my opinion on domestic duties another day. As I was saying, I already wasn't keeping up with my massive laundry list of duties as it was, but now it's all gone to the wayside.

I haven't washed my floors in months. I know, disgusting isn't it? The only time I remember to do the laundry is when there is a lack of clothes to wear and by then the piles have gotten so huge it takes me two weeks just to get through it and by then it's piled up all over again. *sigh* I don't have a dinner plan and it's 5pm and Fred is super annoyed. My kids have watched way more television that I would normally allow, and eaten way more junk food than I am completely comfortable with them having, and whined far above my tolerance level due to boredom and wanting Mommy to pay attention to them. I feel so incredibly guilty. As if I haven't been feeling guilty enough since becoming a Mom. But, in turn, I need to have some time to get non-child related work done. Not just for school, even though we have three events that are coming up and no one to chair two of those committee's and a serious lack in parents stepping up to run stations at our Safety Day event at the end of the month, but to be able to have the time to nourish myself as well.

I joined the PCC, yes to help out with my son's school, but mostly to meet other Mom's. I felt so alone at the beginning of school last year. It was Mason's first year, I was new to the whole school thing. Unsure of what to expect, not really knowing anyone but one friend. I hated that disconnected feeling, especially when everyone around me seemed to be so in tune with one another. So I signed up for Room Parent and I met Nancy. I think I spent the most time with her than any other Mom at the school, between planning classroom events and chit chatting about life in carpool line. I got to know the other parents in the classroom and play dates were made as well as friendships. I then signed on to co-chair the Art to Remember event. I met Aimee, who's children swim on my neighborhood swim team and got a background of the school from one whose children have attended for nearly 10 years. I got to know the teachers and some staff where we would exchange hello's and how is you daughter in the hallway. One day, I ran into a fellow PCC member at Wegmans, than another one at Target, and then waves started exchanging in carpool line and I no longer felt alone. I felt part of a community and that was really the point.

I want to take my experience and bring it to the Parent Connection Committee this year. The whole idea is to connect. To enlighten parents on how the PCC makes school life better. I know we all have felt at some point in our lives as if we were alone, but we really aren't and we shouldn't have to feel this way. There is whole community out there waiting for you! As our children attend school, developing their minds, they are also establishing friendships, so why shouldn't we?

That said, I am struggling with the business side of it all, sitting here putting together my own agenda as I prepare for our first official social meeting of the year. I almost already feel like a failure, having not established committee heads for the majority of our events/fundraisers. Nor do we have the officer positions fully staffed. Psst, I am going to let you in on a little secret. I don't like talking in front of groups of people, it makes me so uncomfortable and self conscious. I too, shy away from leadership roles for lack of confidence in myself that I know enough to hold such a high power position and do it effectively, because I am not much of a confrontational person. My personality is anything but tough and I'm not sure I could be stern enough to someone when they aren't getting the job done. However, I hosted an extremely successful Room Parent Coffee Talk forum last week, where I discussed the role and responsibilities of the Room Parent and shared a few tips and tricks that I learned from being a Room Parent myself. There were many new parents and I had more than a few come up to me afterwards and thank me. I admit, it felt really good. My ego was boosted a little bit and I had some more confidence in myself that I might actually be able to pull this whole thing off.

So after that long explanation, what I was really trying to say is that if you don't see me posting as often, it's because I'm either desperately trying to catch up on laundry, planning the latest party for my son's classroom, actively getting parents involved, or just spending time with my kids.

And speaking of parties, I have a 5 year old Transformers birthday party to plan. *bangs her head on the table* Yeah, I'll get on that one first thing in the morning.

That Mom

2011-09-16T13:08:00.004-04:00

Today my heart about leaped out of my chest as I came so close to having an absolute break down. Right there in the women's section of Target. I hate to admit, but this is not the first time I have experienced this kind of sheer panic. Sophie has run off in the store many times before; at Kohls, Target, Walmart, etc. You know, only the really big stores where its easy for the kids to hide under clothes racks and in store displays, and equally easy enough for sometime to just walk away with your precious child and no one notice.

This is the scenario playing out in my mind as I am running up and down the aisles calling her name, "Sophie!" Each look around a corner or behind a rack I hope to see her pop out, that mischievous smile on her face and say, here I am! But there is nothing. This continues for some time, longer than I am comfortable with, and I suddenly realize, I am THAT MOM. We all know her. The one who didn't pay close enough attention and lost her child. She is the one in shear panic, running all crazy like and screaming at the top of her lungs, turning the store upside down, sobbing and calling out her child's name. The Mom who we all stare at and judge and secretly pray we never become. For some, our heart goes out to her and others swear that will never be us, because we are way better parents.

I really try hard not to fully embody that mom. I calmly walk up to the associate in the fitting room, "have you seen my daughter run by here?" I try not to sound too concerned. "She is wearing a cupcake shirt," I tell her as we walk the aisles together. She must have sensed my panic rising, or maybe saw the fear and tears I was fighting hard to suppress. "Would you like me to call it in," she asks. "Yes, please." I hate to admit that my daughter isn't just going to appear any second like she always does, and give in, accepting my failure.

The call goes out over the radios to all the associates. Amongst my fear, I feel embarrassed too. How could I have let this happen? Why do I let her play in areas where I don't have a direct eyesight with her? How could I have been so engrossed in looking at clothes that I didn't notice she was gone? Ultimately what I was really thinking was, I am a terrible mother.

I'm sure we have all been in this mindset before, for something we perceived as the ultimate betrayal to the trust of our children. It may be just an over reaction or it might be rightfully justified. All I know, is that today, in that moment, I had never felt so undeserving of my children. These precious lives that are at the mercy of my hand each and every day deserve better, better than me as their Mom. I wanted to turn to all those people who praised me for my mothering skills and snap at them, "See, I told you I suck at this."

Just as I was settling into this doom of self hate, a lady walks my daughter, who is donning adult sunglasses being held upside down, to her face, over to wear we stand. My heart skips a beat, my fear fades and I grab her and hold her as tight as I possibly can. "She was just trying on sunglasses," the lady reveals to me. I cannot thank her enough as she explains she has a son who does the same thing. So many feelings rush over me as I carry my daughter back to our cart and place her safely inside. "You are staying in here," I tell her, as I explain how terrified I was that I could not find her and it was very important that she NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!!

The rest of our shopping excursion goes without a hitch. Thankful and feeling as though I narrowly escaped what could have turned out to be THE ABSOLUTE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE, I buckle her into the car seat, steal a sweet kiss and drive off to pick up my son from school.

Holy Crap! Was that an earthquake?

2011-08-23T18:36:00.003-04:00

Those were the words screaming very loudly in my head as I descended the stairs after checking on my, just put down for a nap, daughter.

It started off just like any other day. Sophie waking up way too soon, but since she just stays in her room till someone comes to get her (and that might be 20 minutes later), I tend to stay in bed and get a few more minutes of rest till Mason comes charging in the room. After breakfast and a much needed cup, or two, of coffee, I join Fred and the kids outside for a morning bike ride. What a morning it was too. A nice breeze, probably in the upper 70's or lower 80's, much cooler than it has been. Mason rides around and around on his two wheels, while Sophie tries to keep up on her tricycle and at times just giving up and running after him. We wave good-bye to daddy as he drives off for his meeting in Maryland.

A few hours later, we are having lunch. Sophie is looking tired so I put her down for a nap. Then Mason and I settle down into the family room to work on a Transformers puzzle we picked up earlier in the day. It was a hard puzzle, later I realized it was because I had the edge pieces in the wrong spot. The point is that we were concentrating hard on this puzzle, sitting on the floor, when all of a sudden we heard a loud rumble and the windows rattle.

My first thought was that it was a big truck coming through the neighborhood, that was until everything started to shake. Mason looked at me, almost horrified. I kind of froze trying to settle myself as I looked up and saw the house moving. I felt dizzy and nauseous and knew this was not just a low flying plane or a tremor from the local quarry blasting. I went to grab Mason and heard picture frames falling in the other room. That was when my mind went to Sophie, alone upstairs. I jumped up, running up the stairs as fast as I could, Mason close on my heels. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, I just knew I needed to grab both kids and have them with me. I was also afraid that stuff would be falling off the shelves and walls of Sophie's room and onto her laying helpless in bed. About the time I reached the top it was all over.

I opened the door to Sophie's room. She sat up in bed, looking so innocent and confused as to why I was there and looking scared. Are you o.k.? I asked. Uh, huh, she mutters through her pacifier. Everything looked normal, only her butterfly mobile slightly swaying above her bed. I doubt she knew what happened or that it was potentially dangerous. I told her to go back to bed and quietly closed the door.

My hands trembling, my legs feeling of jello, my head reeling. Mason is practically in tears, the house is going to break. Is the house going to break, Mama? Was that an earthquake? I thought you said earthquakes don't happen here. I said we'd check on the computer, see if the news sites were reporting anything. Nothing, yet. But Facebook and Twitter were on fire. Wow, that was really an earthquake. Then CNN confirmed it, 5.8 earthquake hits the Washington D.C. area. That's when the phone rang. I rushed to get it. Fred was calling to ask if we just had an earthquake. I choke back some tears, the need to be brave for my kids starting to wear off, yes. Did you feel it too?

I spent the rest of the conversation walking around the house, picking up picture frames, checking on everything else to see if anything was broken. It wasn't. I called my dad in D.C. to see if he was o.k. We talked for a bit. Mason and I finished the puzzle. He begged for another bike ride. He rode his bike, I caught up on some reading. I talked with my sister, turned on the news. Talked with a friend, updated Facebook and Twitter.

All in all, everyone is o.k. and everything seems to be in good shape. Though, we will be making a few walks around the foundation, checking the gas lines and such just for good measure.

The training wheels are off

2011-08-22T15:39:00.006-04:00

When we first got Mason his 16" inch bike because he was seriously outgrowing his 12", it was a struggle, and hit my fear nerve trying to get him to ride on both training wheels. He tended to favor one training wheel over the other and I was certain he was going to bite it when he sped through the turns on our cul-de-sac. So much, that my body would temporary seize in fear each time.

This was only back in April or May. So when Fred and Mason came running in the door this morning insisting they had a surprise, Mason was riding without training wheels, I was shocked. You mean the training wheels are off the bike? Oh, yes they were indeed.

Doesn't he just look so cool?

Occasionally, he'd fall down. But he'd get right back up.

but not before Sophie ran to his side to see if he was o.k.

Right now this is our fourth time outside to ride bikes. Clearly he is proud of himself, as he should be. Taking the training wheels off is a big step, and at only four years old no less. He never fails to amaze me. His courage and determination alone are inspiration for my own life.

As I sit here watching him, picking up speed with each passing lap around the cul-de-sac, maneuvering turns with precision, it is hard to believe that just a short week ago he was practicing how to just balance on the bike. Now he looks as if he's been riding this way for years, instead of 5 hours. Our neighbors son, who is around 7 years, sees Mason and joins him. They ride together in a, we're part of the same club, sort of silence. Then,"I really like your bike." "Yeah, it's Transformers." "I know, and your helmet is Bumblebee." "He's my favorite Transformer." "Mine too." "Really?" And their off again, riding side by side. He looks so different on two wheels.

I still cannot believe my four year old is riding his bike without training wheels and doing such an awesome job! I am beyond proud. Practically speechless. It is odd for a four year old to have mastered riding a bike without training wheels already, isn't it?

It must be the energon seeping into his veins.

Project Big Girl

2011-08-19T13:40:00.012-04:00

Recently Fred did some handy work for my parents, so we all found ourselves hanging out at Grandma and Pop-Pop's for the day. Train tracks were built, cars were raced and when it came time for Sophie's nap she decided she didn't want to go in the pack n' play. I thought, well great. Where can I put her to sleep? Enter the trundle bed from my childhood bedroom. It is low to the ground and where Mason usually sleeps when he is visiting. Sophie was more than excited, to say the least, but I was nervous as to how it would turn out.

Surprisingly, she did really well. After some coaxing and instructing to, not jump on the bed, she eventually calmed down from all the excitement (this was her first time actually being allowed to sleep in a non confining bed), and fell asleep. She stayed asleep for about two hours without even falling off (seeing as my parents don't have any safety bed rails). It was this that encouraged me to decide that now was the time to say good-bye to the nursery.

So the next day, while Mason had his Grandma Sunday and Sophie was busy playing downstairs, I dismantled the crib and set up her big girl bed.

It was a long time coming. Sophie has shown interest in Mason's bed since January. Running into his room, jumping on his bed, pretending to fall asleep and looking so happy while he looks at me in frustration to, get her out of my room. In honesty, I have wanted to transition her since she turned two. Now that she is almost 27 months and has proven she can sleep in a big girl bed, there were no more excuses.

Her reaction to the crib being gone was priceless. She spent the rest of the time hanging in her new room with me, making it difficult to put things together because she wanted to touch and explore and jump on things. It was all so new and exciting and so freaking awesome for her.

Months ago, while having dinner at the home of a dear childhood friend, we ended up in their basement going through piles of clothes their girls no longer fit into, picking things out for Sophie. In the process, we got on the topic of toddler beds and left that evening with not only a bag of clothes but a cute white metal toddler bed as well. I am so very grateful for their ability and generosity in helping us out.

It sat in our guest bedroom until this day. Putting it together, I was a bit concerned that it didn't include bed rails like the one we got for Mason. However, since she did so well with the trundle bed at my parents, I thought we'd try it without them for her nap.

Doesn't she look so cute, and so not a baby, fast asleep in that bed? I had to peek on her just to make sure she was doing o.k., and she looked so peaceful and adorable so, I grabbed my camera. She did really well for the whole two hours in bed. Then I heard her wake up and...BOOM! Followed by screams and tears. Yeah, o.k., we need a bed rail. I remembered we had some handed down to us from family, so I dragged them out of storage and began to put them together until we realized they were longer than the bed itself. Uh...

That night I took a last minute trip to Target to see if I could find a bed rail that would work. I thought I found success. Unfortunately, when we put it on, we found out that there was only a 5 inch gap for Sophie to climb into bed. It made do for the night, but I knew it had to change for the long term. I mean, come on, seriously? A five inch gap to squeeze into bed? She's only going to grow bigger and quite honestly it seems like she's still in a crib. What was the point in putting her in a toddler bed then? I was frustrated. Torn between decisions, I called my friend and inquired upon what they used. The next day, I drove to her house and picked up the bed rail they used. It is 5 inches shorter so that gives her 10 inches of space now to climb into bed. Not as much space as Mason, but much better than before. Also, these bed rails were meant for a twin bed with box spring so I had to rig it to fit the toddler bed. My friend said they just zip tied theirs to the bed. I might have gone a bit overboard with the zip ties, but I can tell you, that sucker ain't going anywhere.

Here is an overall look at her new setup.

Since moving into this house, I have always felt the nursery room was small. Not big enough for an older kids bedroom. Now that the crib is gone, the room feels so much bigger. I moved the glider and ottoman out and into the guest bedroom, turned the book shelf on it's side for easier access at toddler height, and kept the starlight rug and changing table where they were for now.

Mason had a clear theme in his room; Cars. Everything matched perfectly, from the wall color to the bed and bedding, to the hamper, valance and border. Sophie doesn't have a clear theme. The walls are still the yellow and green with the half torn border that fit the starlight/nursery rhyme nursery theme. It's been hard to plan her theme, because she really isn't into one main thing like Mason. Yeah she LOVES TinkerBell but she also likes the Princesses, Cars, owls and deer, Thomas, Dora, Strawberry Shortcake...the list goes on.

Over the last year I have been creating and bringing things in, here and there, that she has shown interest in as she has grown. The bedding is from her first birthday. Woodland theme, with pillow and lamp and valance to match. The pinks and greens from the bedding go well with the current paint color in the room. She still has the butterfly mobile I made her a year ago. After she ripped it down a few weeks ago, I rehung it over her current bed at a height she can't reach. I fixed the butterfly collage and placed that on the bookshelf next to the vintage birdcage I picked up at Home Goods and was used for her second birthday. It still houses TinkerBell, hanging from some fishing line. I also utilized the two garlands from her party, the pictures from all the TinkerBell movies and the vintage scrap fabric. I plan to get wooden letters to spell her name and hang them above the fabric garland. Also from her second birthday party, I hung a second butterfly-TinkerBell mobile in the corner. It hangs over a big Birdcage we scored free from our neighbor when she moved out. The vintage Cinderella Poster we bought when I was pregnant with Sophie still hangs on the wall. It's a bit eclectic but I think it all works.

Of course Mason, not wanting to be left out, asked to have his room rearranged.

I moved his bed and bookcase to a different wall, so now we don't get woken up by his kicking the wall in his sleep anymore. His toy chest now sits at the foot of his bed and I moved the Cars table from downstairs, that went with his room in a box, into his bedroom. Now he can do school stuff and be creative in here. Hoping it will encourage him to spend more time in his room, playing on his own. At the same time, I decided to move the Lego table into Sophie's room along with the Mega Blox Legos and her talking tea set. The idea, to make it more fun for her to play in her room as well. It makes sense to utilize the space in their bedrooms and keep less toys downstairs to be thrown all over the floor.

This was a huge step for all of us. It was huge for Fred and I to trust that Sophie would stay in her bed all night and not randomly come walking out and accidentally fall down the stairs. It was huge for Sophie to be given the trust and freedom, so huge she hasn't quite accepted that concept yet. We still have to go and get her out of her room in the morning and after naps as she won't come out on her own. It has equally been huge for Mason to share the big kid role.

It's been almost a whole week with this new arrangement and all I can say is this. I love having her in a big girl room, and even after many months of knowing this day would come, I am finding it heartbreaking to admit that my baby girl is no longer a baby. Though, I have a feeling this realization was not so hard for her.

Mazel Tov!

2011-08-08T18:56:00.005-04:00

This past weekend we attended the wedding of this wonderful couple. My brother-in-law, Chris and new sister-in-law, Cynthia.

She was gorgeous, he was handsome. The day was beautiful.

With the bay as backdrop, a slight breeze kissed our skin, and sunny skies hovered above. Just long enough for the ceremony and all the pictures outside to be done because as soon as the reception started the lightning flashed, thunder rolled and the skies opened up with a steady fall of rain.

Despite the fact that I had a serious migraine for most of it, I enjoyed myself at what I can only describe as the most laid back, charming wedding I have attended to date. A wedding, whose ceremony time rivals our own. I swear it beat our time, but Fred will not concede.

It was a much needed date-night out for us, as we chose to go solo. These days it is rare we get out, just the two of us. It was nice, but with all the other wee ones running around I began to miss my rugrats. Especially when the music started and no one would dance with me, including my husband. I knew Mason would, he loves to dance, we dance all the time together at home. I almost cried when, I got a feeling by the Black Eyed Peas came over the speakers. That is our song, Mason and I's. So I grabbed a drink and enjoyed the company of family and friends.

It felt so awkward to not be mommy, especially when every one of my girlfriends attending were. But it was equally satisfying, knowing that no matter how late we stayed up (which in all honesty was only like 11:30pm), we didn't have to get up at the butt crack of dawn. It was a rather peaceful wake up as opposed to the jolt of a whining child in your face.

What started out as a long week of events with friends and family and this and that, ended with a joyous celebration of the love of two wonderful people who I am blessed to call family. You can totally see how much they love one another, all you have to do is see them together. Is is hard to find two people who make a more perfect match than these two. I wish them all the best in their life together and that this love they share now, lasts a lifetime. And seriously, how cool is it that they start this journey in Israel? They both managed to get their P.h.D's while planning their wedding in only a month and a half. Amazing! Cyn was offered a post doc in Israel. So off they go, leaving Sept. 3rd, for what is sure to be a grand adventure in their new life together as newlyweds. I know most of the family is worried for their safety and what not, but I mostly think, what a unique opportunity they have to experience this together. Though, I too, will miss them greatly over the next year and wish they lived closer. But you can bet I will get their new address and try to write to them often.

Chris and Cyn, with all the love of family and friends, Mazel Tov!

Week in the Life: Sunday

2011-07-31T23:18:00.005-04:00

Sundays are usually appropriately named Grandma Sunday, as Mason usually gets picked up by my Mom around 11am and they do their thing till she drops him back off around 6:30/7pm. It's a sweet deal for us. Recently I have been thinking to alternate weeks so Sophia can have a chance to spend time with Grandma too. Especially since she loved it so much the week Mason was sick. However, Saturday night we got a call from Grandma. She has pink eye and a raging fever. Of course Mason was devastated and well that meant we had to deal with both kids all day. Ugh. I think we all look forward to Grandma Sundays in our way. My Mom has this attachment to Mason unlike any of her other Grandchildren. Mason's attachment to her is equally as strong. Probably because he gets her full attention ALL DAY LONG and plus she is just a cool Grandma. For Fred and I, it was freedom to go out just the two of us and see a movie but since Sophia showed up it was the easy going day of having only one child. A child who still takes naps no less. So equal disappointment all around when the day is cancelled.

Still we find things to fill it up the day.

We have family members and friends descending upon us in two days for the wedding of my dear brother-in-law and his sweetheart of a fiance. I seriously could not be more happier that she is becoming my sister-in-law. Unfortunately our house is currently a mess and we can't have that with guests. Not to mention the damn ants. Argh. I could go on and on about the damn ant problem this house has. Honestly I thought we were going to get through this summer without them invading our house, and we almost did. Now I am being psycho mom about the food on the floor or left on the countertops. Which is proving to be a full time job in and of itself with a two year old who throws her food on the floor when she's done with it.

I'm learning what else is available for breakfast when I can't eat dairy within two hours of taking my medication.

The kids pick some more yummy tomatoes from our garden.

They play. So thankful we have an open floor plan for the kids to run circles, or push each other on the bike, which they do on a daily basis.

Fred works.

I cook.

And we begin to use the Wii as a game/fitness console again and not just another device to deliver a slue of television shows and movies to our home.

This marks the end of my documentation of our week. As much as I enjoy it each year, it is a lot of work and it doesn't allow me to focus on just having fun and living life. I focus more on capturing the memories than living them.

Tonight, as a way to unwind, I was going through my archive of photos on my computer and ran across my photos from Week in the Life last year. It was done in April then and as I went through each days photos I thought to myself, Wow. How different life was then.

It really is amazing how much our lives can change in just a year. April of 2010, I had a 10 month old and a 3 year old. Now I have a 2 year old and a 4 year old. That makes such a difference in the things we are doing. It became clear to me that the kids and I were constantly out and about. Target, Wegman's, the mall, soccer class, Costco, gas station, the park. Not so much of that right now. The park is difficult to manage with both kids alone, neither one wants to be on the same playscape and the same time. I run to the store only once or twice a week now as I make a list and only go when it is full. No one is currently taking any classes. Friends moved, are taking last minute vacations, or busy with swim team, or enrolled in summer camp.

One main difference is that Fred's company was still in business last year. Right now we are technically both unemployed. Fred is busily trying to put together this bird tracking gps business, his newest venture since closing the doors on telecom. So he spends pretty darn close to all his time working.

Different situations, different dynamics. A different set of photos represented. It really blows my mind, but it also reaffirms why I do this project.

Week in the Life: Saturday

2011-07-31T18:54:00.004-04:00

The thing about Saturdays, unless we have an event happening like our monthly hosted taco night, or hear of a local event for the kids, or family is in town, they tend to be one of the most boring days in our house. Most people look forward to the weekend when they don't have to work but in reality, for me, my days don't change because I am NEVER OFF DUTY. I work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. I never stop being Mom, so there really is no weekend in my world. Well, not until school is in session, which is in like 37 days. Yikes!

Since Saturdays tend to be a bit boring, I mean the million toys laying around the house are seriously not entertaining enough, there tends to be a lot of misbehaving, tantrums and time outs.

As a result there is a lot of Mommy needs a break.

There is also a lot of cleaning done on the weekends, as the kids tend to go totally insane every time I turn on the vacuum. Running around as if they were possessed by the noise emitting from the powerful machine and a lot of me yelling, stop! You are dragging dirt from that side of the room the one I just cleaned! So when Fred is around I am hoping to rely on him to distract them or at least move them into another area till I am done. Also with four of us in the house eating at an alarming rate, I swear these kids are constantly hungry, there are a lot of dishes to be cleaned and our dishwasher gets a workout on a daily basis.

We usually hear a lot of, Mommy can you play that pillow game with me? Daddy can we do legos? Mom! Mom! Followed by a cup from the play kitchen being shoved in my face for me to drink. It's like the second we turn our backs to do anything for ourselves a switch goes off in the kids brains that makes them instantly feel bored.

On days that it isn't blazing hot, which was not this week, the kids ride their bikes in the cul-de-sac or we take them for ice cream and play time. If I wasn't on nasty medication we would most likely be at the pool on most Saturdays too. But since I really should stay out of the sun, and it's been blistering out anyway, we do things inside. Like legos, tea parties, and finding old toys the kids got for Christmas a few years ago and replacing the batteries for a some car smash up.

My favorite part was not captured on film, but on video. Sophie and I were having a spot of tea. She was filling our cups when all of a sudden she must have thought, this is crazy. I could skip a few steps in the middle and just pour the dang tea straight down her throat. And so she did. Me laughing as best I could with a singing pink teapot being forced into my mouth.

Every once in awhile I try to get a nice family photo of all of us. I thought today would be perfect. While sitting out on the stoop, we got the chance to meet our new neighbor. A nice English bloke with the loveliest of accents whose wife is due with their first child in October. A girl, as he just arrived home with the pink paint for the nursery. And...he is going to be a stay at home Dad. Score. I like them already.

After our chat, the kids were ready to go inside so you could guess how that photo session went.

But the evening finally arrived and with it some nice relaxation. Evenings are one of my favorite times of day. After we put the kids to bed, there is this stillness and quiet that fills the atmosphere. I feel almost human, almost like fun self again. Almost.

This evening, Fred and I enjoyed some most delicious popcorn. I mean the real popcorn, not that crap that comes in those microwaveable bags. The stuff where you pour oil and kernels into a machine and watch the magic happen. Where you melt real butter on the stove and can layer it over the popcorn however you want. Mmmm.

We lounged on the couched with our big bowl of buttery, yummy popcorn and watched The Social Network. It reminded me that we need to make a conscious effort to go out on dates a lot more often. Just us.

Week in the Life: Friday

2011-07-30T15:37:00.002-04:00

Fridays are usually the day that Pop-Pop comes over and gets to spend time with the kids. It usually ends up with Mason playing swords with Pop-Pop and Sophie getting Pop-Pop to read a few books to her. Or we watch a movie. Tangled is one of Pop-Pops favorites. However, this week Pop-Pop is in Florida with some friends at a softball tournament. He used to umpire softball and actually only a few years ago used to run the tournaments until his stroke. I know he misses it terribly, I relate it to my eye sight going bad and being told I will never take pictures again. So I am glad he is there, spending time enjoying something he loves, it will be good for him. The kids were a bit disappointed, but it was made up with a play date to the pool. I took every precaution, lathering up on sunscreen, wearing my sun hat and a cover up. It was a lot of fun, until some kid threw up in the pool and they had to close. See kids, this is why we don't drink the pool water.

The evening was split up with the boys heading off to the car show at Chik-Fil-A, it was requested that the girls not come this time, so the girls ate some take out and watched Tinkerbell till the boys got home. At which point we were enthusiastically told about the Transformers Camaro that was there and oh my gosh Mom, it was so cool!

And here are a few more moments from our Friday. Simple, sweet, hot, but fun.

Have a great weekend!

Week in the Life: Thursday

2011-07-29T22:33:00.003-04:00

Today there was a lot of watching t.v. Team UmiZoomi, Bubble Guppies, Phineas and Ferb. This is only way I can achieve anything, such as washing dishes in the morning or throwing in a load of laundry.

Assessing the contents of our fridge.

Taking a shower. As usual, being interrupted by two crazy kids.

The state of affairs when you have kids. They take over everything.

Planing a play date over lunch.

Making banana bread. Couldn't have done without my two helpers.

Sophie goes down for a nap.

Freeze tag.

Tomato from our garden. It was very yummy.

Kobe's for dinner. He was so brave during the big fire. I was so proud of him.

Her new favorite shoes.

Week in the Life: Wednesday

2011-07-29T08:19:00.002-04:00

Wednesday was a fun day. It started off with a Free Movie, Dreamworks How to Train Your Dragon, at a local theatre. I seriously love the Summer Movie series the local movie theateres in the area host. It's a great way to entertain the kids for a few hours during what I consider the hot zone, those hours in the morning when nothing is open and the kids are so bored. It also gets us out of the heat which has been just ridiculous this summer. I've been super impressed with how well my kids have handled themselves because let's face it, for a 2 year old and 4 year old to still still and be quiet for close to two hours has got to be agony for them. That time span feels like forever to them. It was a nice way to get out just the three of us and do something special.

Here are a few of my favorite moments from Wednesday.

I have noticed on this little project that I am using my iPhone quite a bit. Since being introduced to the Instagram App, I am hooked. If you haven't noticed, a few instagram photos have made their way into this project. Fred doesn't get it. He doesn't understand the artistic creativity of making your photos looked aged. That has always been a favorite of mine since my first introduction to the darkroom. I must have tried sepia tone on just about every photo I took in Photography 101. One of my favorite classes in college was Alternative Process, using the skills and techniques I learned in there on other photography classes and art projects. I had a love affair with the dark room. Was known for pulling all nighters in college, hanging out in the dark room, creating, tweaking and trying again and again until my photo was perfect. I loved the smell of the chemicals, the waiting and anticipation for my photo to appear, did I get it right? Since taking a few digital photography classes in college and seeing as I don't have access to a dark room, don't think I hadn't thought or even planned out a spot for a dark room in the basement as my creative outlet instead of a craft room, I have embraced digital photography. Though I find my insatiable habit for taking millions of photos lacking when it comes to storage. Still, the technology of late astounds me and I find my hours in the dark room have been traded for hours at the computer experimenting in photoshop. I still find joy in manipulating my photos and well if you haven't discovered Instagram yet, I suggest you give it a try. It's free and oh so addicting.

Week in the Life: Tuesday

2011-07-28T22:15:00.002-04:00

This day did not start off good. I felt horrible. Plans were disrupted. It ended up as one of our simple days. Here are a few pictures from Tuesday.

Taking my antibiotic.

Planning out our trip to Wegmans.

Getting dressed.

Mason's Transformer movie arrives in the mail via Netflix.

Sophie goes down for a nap.

Finally make it to Wegmans.

Mason goes out for a romp in the sprinkler while Fred waters the lawn.

Fred fits in a little work before putting the kids to bed.

Bedtime ritual of books before climbing in bed to fall asleep.

What I took from this day is that I must eat a full breakfast, or rather not have an empty stomach when taking my medication. It makes me terribly ill. Only for an hour or two, but enough to ruin any plans for the afternoon. Thankful that Fred is home and was able to fill in and occupy the kids and feed them lunch till I felt better.

What I want to remember from this day is not that I got sick, leaving our day in a bit of a stand still, but to remember the moments that at first seem trivial. Like this morning, laying in bed, head pounding from the knot or two that developed on the back of my head, listening to this patting noise coming from downstairs. Wondering what it is, and worried it might wake up Sophie, and then remembering I put on the t.v., tuned to Little Einsteins, for Mason before hopping back in bed. This realization dawning just as I hear, "Blast off!" wafting up the stairs and into our bedroom before drifting off to sleep.

Week in the Life: Monday

2011-07-28T20:45:00.003-04:00

This is the second year in a row that I have documented a week in our lives and absolutely love it. To be able to look back and see what we did and where we were in our lives at that moment.

This year our week began with chocolate chip pancakes, per Mason's request.

Sophie has developed a taste for them as well as syrup.

After the kids have a fun filled bath, Mason and Sophie join forces to pick out her outfit for the day. Mason's old shark t-shirt from our first beach trip and her "Tinkerbell" skirt from her birthday with Lighting McQueen crocs to top off the outfit. To boot she actually let me put her hair in pigtails.

I needed to find a dress for my brother in laws upcoming nuptials, ASAP, so once again it is off to the mall for our third attempt. Toys R Us is running a special right now that if you buy a backpack you get a lunchbox for free. During the week of Mason's sickness, Grandma bought Sophie a new backpack, a rolling one, and of course she picked out a Tinkerbell lunchbox. But Mason couldn't be left out so he got a Transformers one. Seeing as they have been sitting in the cabinet unused, we thought this might be the perfect chance. So we packed our lunches and ourselves in the car. Made it to the food court at the mall just in time for lunch.

They ate all their lunch, high-fiving Sophie at the end, so I rewarded them with playtime in the play area. Sophie was having such a great time, climbing down stairs by herself, keeping up with the older kids and Mason made a few friends of his own. Even though I had to drag her, screaming at a decibel I have never heard before, she wore herself out and managed to nap in the stroller for short time.

In the meantime I went from store to store, trying on dress after dress.

Nothing really hitting the mark, either it was too expensive or just didn't look right, and me on the edge so frustrated with the whole thing when Fred called. He was in the mall getting his suit for the wedding, how ironic. He so graciously went on the dress run with us, which ended at Dress Barn at the outlets, the kids playing on the playground and me with a dress in hand. Finally. *It looks an awful lot like dress #1 in the photo above, in blue with white flowers. Mission Accomplished.

We decided to take the kids out for ice cream to make up for the dragging around to an ungodly number of stores while I tried on dresses. Though I think Mason rather enjoyed being my helper, rushing into the dressing room and asking if this one had a zipper. I'm sure the highlight though was riding in the Corvette with Daddy. I'm glad I got to witness the joy on his face that I only heard stories about till this point.

Following them as best I could, trying hard to get my tank of a minivan to keep up with the sporty red two seater. Desperate to catch a glimpse of his hair whipping in the wind, or the sound of his exuberant "woohoo's" out the window. Only managing to see his tiny hand appear from the window to grip the side of the car as we came around the turn of the off ramp. It would suffice.

We arrived at the shopping center housing the ice cream shop.

Mason regaling about his ride, making sure I saw every moment of it, as we hurriedly walked to the front doors. Sophie tripped on a drain top and landed sprawled on the concrete. Screaming, I led her to a nearby table till she calmed down, only to find her knee spilling blood. It was worse than I thought. While Daddy calmed her down for a bit with some ice cream, I ran to the car for the first aid kit. The hope was that she would be fine once bandaged up, however, once Daddy was at the AT&T store and I was left with the kids, free to play in the play area, she would not stop crying. She kept pointing to her knee and saying, "hurt. Hurt."

Fred managed to arrive back just as I was deciding I needed to take her home. While we headed off to Target, to find a better bandage for her knee, the boys stayed behind to play. On the way home I couldn't get the DVD player in the car to work so I promised Sophie Tinkerbell once we got home. Mason insisted upon a movie night. This consists of popcorn and m&m's.

Once the movie was over, even though it wasn't bedtime, Sophie was so tired I put her to bed early. Mason followed, after a game of war, with Daddy. Then to the basement for us, to indulge in our guilty pleasure of Gordon Ramsey and Hell's Kitchen.

Just another typical day.

110 degrees in the shade

2011-07-23T13:52:00.002-04:00

Yup that about sums up how it feels outside. We have had code red days, with heat and air quality advisories in effect for most of this entire week. The heat index rising upwards of 112 degrees, it's not recommended to go outside. Which works fine for me, since with the doxycycline I am advised against excessive exposure to sunlight anyway. That means no going to the pool, hanging at the park or going for long bike rides around the neighborhood. Much to the kids dismay. It also means our trip to the Zoo has to be postponed once again. But, knowing that just riding in the car while running errands and getting my hair cut I developed sun poisoning on my hands and wrists the other day, a condition of which I used to get a lot but have been free of for the last few years, I will happily suck it up and stick in doors as much as possible till this heat wave and my three weeks on this antibiotics are up.

Healing

2011-07-17T12:35:00.004-04:00

....................................

Mason, being on the verge of getting better, needed to be fever free for 24 hours before going anywhere. So Sophie spent the day with Grandma instead. Her first "Grandma Saturday/Sunday." She wasn't sure what to think of her leaving instead of her big brother. Though the smile on her face as she waved saying, "bye-bye mama," from the car told me this was just what she needed.

Understandably he was disappointed to be missing out on his Grandma time.

To help him heal from the past week, I put up a fort in our family room for us to play and sit under.

We watched Kung Fu Panda till Grandma and Sophie returned home. Who would have thought a few blankets, chairs and couches could be so much fun? We decided to keep it up the next few days, that is at least till Daddy gets home. In the meantime we get to enjoy our little haven of childhood.

Linking up at

Running on Empty

2011-07-14T12:34:00.003-04:00

The last 48 hours have been a little trying. This morning my husband left for a 6 day trip to California to help catch and tag birds with his brother for study. The big event of this trip is to test out the GPS tracking units he designed, programmed and built himself from scratch on the birds they catch. This trip just may make or break us, especially since my husband has been out of work since around March when he and his partner decided to close the doors of their telecom business. It was a hard decision but one that was necessary, cutting losses rather than losing it all. We are hoping that he can build a new business from these GPS units.

This morning around 6am, shortly after my husband left for the airport, I was awoken by a sound and rushed out of my bedroom to find my son, head over the toilet again. Yesterday he awoke and climbed into our bed like usual. However, after a few moments of rest he complained that his head hurt. This continued for a while until he began to puke, and continued to do so the whole rest of the day. His was scalding hot, extremely tired and running a fever of 101 degrees. I tried to get Tylenol in him but he couldn't keep anything down. So we were battling this sickness on top of getting my husband ready to leave for his trip. I did some last minute grocery shopping, knowing I might not be able to get another chance once it was just me and the kids, with Mason being sick and all. It's not like I can just leave him at home and say, "hey sweetie, you stay here for a bit while I go run some errands." By the time I got home he was feeling better. Fever was down and he was playing Mario Kart with daddy, laughing and smiling and seeming like his old self. I thought we had it beat and it was a 24 hour thing. Not the case. He's been struggling to keep anything down all day and his fever keeps spiking to a 101 degrees. I dug deep and tried to remember all the things my mom and would do when I was sick with the flu so many times.

I've been wetting paper towels with cold water and placing them on his forehead and neck. Letting him sleep on the couch and watch all the movie, t.v. shows he wants. Having him sip ginger ale, this always helps with my upset stomachs when I'm sick, and water. Letting him have a few Saltine crackers and remembering the BRAT diet. Continue to monitor his temperature and dose fever reducing medicine accordingly. Hold his hand, rub his back, and be there when he is head down in the toilet.

After two days of no relief from his fever I am left at a loss as to how to get this fever in check. Desperate I called the doctor for advice. They said to continue what I have been doing and to alternate between ibuprofen and acetaminophen.

I only had liquid ibuprofen in the house and even though Walgreens is only up the street I knew I couldn't leave Mason alone in the house. My neighbor, and college sorority big sister, came to my rescue. She picked up the medicine along with some cookies and a Family Fun magazine for me. All of this while her son too was running a fever. I swear it is these moments that I truly realize how blessed I am to have such wonderful people, friends, in my life and in my neighborhood. I owe you one Susie, thanks.

UPDATE: So I hadn't finished this post when I put the kids to bed last night. Exhausted, I left it sitting on my computer to finish in the morning, ready to just have some time to relax. However, that did not last long and here is the story of what happened next.

The kids are in bed asleep. I figured it would be nice to pop some popcorn and watch a movie Fred had no interest in. You know, try and relax from the hectic day and rejuvenate my spirit or something along those lines. In hind sight, Shutter Island, was probably not the best choice but I like horror films, even though they scare me and Fred doesn't. So the perfect time to watch is when he is not here. However I got interrupted numerous times from the phone ringing and doing laundry. But it wasn't until after I noticed the peculiar rash that appeared out of nowhere on my leg that I lost total interest in the movie.

In case you are curious, this is the best picture out of the few I took of the rash. It's not very clear but in the center is a red/purplish dot. This is how I react to mosquito bites. I have a few of them on my legs. I get at least 20 each summer. What can I say? I must have sweet blood. Around that dot is a large red circle.

At first I thought it was an impression of something I was laying on, but when it didn't go away after a significant amount of time...

I tried not to panic, really I did. I swear. But with the recent incident with Mason and the tick and being on high alert for rashes and what not, this was the first thought that came to my mind; Oh crap, I have Lyme disease. I started pacing the room, trying to occupy myself with anything other than the rash and of course that didn't work at all.

Suddenly, I felt really alone. Alone and scared and desperate to talk to someone. Look up at the clock, 11:30pm. Well that rules out calling any of my friends. I really needed some to calm me down and reassure me that I would be fine. I realize that it is only 8:30pm in California and Fred would still be up so I call him. No answer. Leave a tear filled, panicked voicemail and hang up. Pace the room some more. Go check on Mason, he is still asleep. Good. Try to watch the movie again, but at this point I am not following the story line and my mind is on something else anyway. Phone rings. It's Fred. We talk, he calms me a bit. I agree to send him the pictures I took of the rash so he can better give his opinion. Next I talk to my soon to be sister-in-law in Reno. We decide to find a way for me to go to the doctor tomorrow if the rash is still there in the morning and get tested for Lyme. After I hang up I look at the clock, it is around midnight at this point. I decide I should go to bed as Mason might need me in the middle of the night and I will need to get some sleep before then.

Just as I am crawling into bed, around 12:30am, I hear Mason rush into the bathroom. I quickly join him. Check his forehead, but he is not hot like before so I send him back to bed. 1:30am, he's back in the bathroom and again at 2:30am, and 4:30am, and 5:30am, and 6:30am and finally again at 7:30am. Each time, I groggily but hurriedly join him to make sure he is not alone, scared or running a fever again. Ready to dose if he is. Each time I look down at my leg and no, I didn't imagine the rash, it is still there. By around 5am I stopped checking, so tired and just wanting to crawl back in bed once Mason was back in his. During the trip to the bathroom at 7:30am he started to feel warm again and despite the fact that his fever was down I gave him some acetaminophen anyway, as it seemed his fever was on the rise and Mason was so desperate for sleep. It worked. He fell right asleep and slept till around 11am. I was not so lucky.

The phone rang at around 8:30am, it was Fred checking in. I recalled the nights festivities and how at one point Mason looked up at me, pale and upset from his millionth horrendous vomit session and heart breakingly said, "I wish Daddy was here." At that point, I did too. Fred had looked at the rash photos I sent and told me they all agreed that I should go to the doctor and get put on antibiotics right away. That was not reassuring, but I was too tired at this point to think too much about it, besides, I had forgotten to check it recently. I tried to go back to sleep but that was moment Sophie decided she couldn't amuse herself in her crib anymore and wanted out, NOW.

I managed to drag myself out of bed and start a pot of coffee while giving Sophie a banana for breakfast. I checked my leg for the first time in hours and ironically the rash had faded, to the point that I could barely see it. Very weird, I thought. But, I figured better to be safe than sorry. Mason still asleep and unsure of his current state I knew I couldn't make a doctors appointment to be seen. Instead I sent the photos I took to our pediatrician and family doctor in an email. He has today off so I thought I'd get his opinion first. He is also a family friend and I try not to take advantage of that fact, so I was hesitant about it at first but decided it was ultimately the best thing to do. His wife and I are good friends, as mentioned before our sons are best friends, so I called her later that morning just to chat and get things off my mind. She said she'd make sure her husband checked his email and would give me a call. At this point Mason had awoken and was feeling better, asking for something to eat and some water. He was acting a little more like himself.

A few hours later our doctor called. Checked on Mason. Said a bug was going around, probably what Mason has, but glad to hear he was feeling better. He also said that Mason could eat yogurt as well. Of course Mason jumped at hearing this and proceeded to have two servings of yogurt. Then the inevitable was discussed, my rash. He told me I didn't need to come in to be seen, based on the photos it looked like classic Lyme. In this area, where Lyme is prevalent, you don't take chances. So he is putting me on a 3 week course of antibiotics, Doxycycline, or something like that. Even if it turns out not to be Lyme it's better to take the treatment as a precaution. I agree, though it wasn't what I wanted to hear. I wanted him to say that it was nothing to worry about and I would be fine. I should be grateful that it sounds hopeful we caught it in the earliest stages and I should develop no complications. However, these antibiotics are rough on the stomach and make your skin extra photosensitive. I suppose though, it is a small price to pay compared to the many horrible symptoms of Lyme disease I could experience if not treated right away. I do, however, worry that for the rest of my life I will second guess every cramp, pain, fatigued feeling, headache, or nausea experience as a possible Lyme flair up. As if I wasn't paranoid enough already.

And now Mason's fever is starting to creep up again as he starts to complain, once again, about his head hurting and not feeling well. Another dose of Ibuprofen as he curls up on the couch to watch Max and Ruby. Sophie is down for a nap, and I, I am finally finishing this post and getting some lunch while I wait for my prescription of antibiotics to be faxed and filled. It is only 3pm on day two of being single mom for a week, and my tank is seriously empty.

I've decided, if Fred tells me he is headed on another week long trip, cross country or not, I will duct tape him to his suitcase and lock him in the closet.

Celebrating Independence Day: July 3rd-4th

2011-07-06T17:23:00.002-04:00

This year our annual 4th of July party was held on the 3rd. It was put to a vote and most people wanted to have a party in which they could stay up late and not have to worry about going to work the next day. It didn't really matter to me either way, my day is the same whether it's a Tuesday or a Saturday, but the feeling was understandable.

The party, hosted at the home of our good friends parents, has the same set up each year. Everyone brings a dish, or drink to share. Last year I made patriotic cake pops (this was after everyone loved the cake pops I made for Sophie's 1st birthday) and liked baking desserts so much, I decided to bring dessert again this year. However, my cake pop making hasn't been perfected and I wanted to make this easy and simple. After perusing Pinterest, my new internet time suck for ideas, I once again decided upon a recipe from Bakerella. Mini cupcake hot fudge sundaes. I wasn't sure how they would turn out, but they ended up being so cute. Here is a look at me putting these cuties together.

It took me all morning but only because I made like 100 of them. I varied my cupcakes a little bit. I used red velvet cake, cream cheese icing, chocolate candy melts and jellybeans on top. The straws also didn't look that good so I left them off. Super simple, super easy. Here is the recipe and a list of supplies I used.

1 box red velvet Cake

2 cans of cream cheese icing

1 bag of red jelly belly cherry flavored jellybeans

1 bag of chocolate candy melts

Patriotic sprinkles

Mini cupcake tin

Mini cupcake liners

Candy Maker mini squeeze bottle

Decorator bottle set from Pampered Chef

Mix cake mix per box (be careful, the red mix does stain your fingers, mouth, etc. but comes off with a few washes). Place cupcake liners in mini cupcake tin, filling only halfway and bake for about 30 minutes. Let cool.

In the meantime, place chocolate wafers into your mini squeeze bottle, place in the microwave and cook on 50% power for 30 minutes. You will need to do this a few times, squeezing the bottle for 15 seconds in between each interval until completely melted.

Once the cupcakes are cool to the touch, squeeze the chocolate onto the cupcake and spread into a thin layer. Let chocolate harden before putting on icing. For the icing I used my absolute favorite, cream cheese icing. I just spooned the icing into the Pampered Chef decorator bottle with the rosette tip and squeezed the icing onto the cupcake like I would whip cream on a sundae. While the frosting is still wet sprinkle with patriotic sprinkles, I used the dots.

To top the sundae cupcakes I used cherry flavored jelly beans. Voila. They are ready to eat.

And don't they look tasty? They were. My cupcakes were the talk of the party. You could see adults walking around with 5 or more in their hand at a time. I had a lot of fun baking and putting these together, so it was satisfying to see everyone enjoying a few, or 6 or 10.

Anyway, the party started off as usual, the kids playing in the inflatable pools or running around, while the grown ups drink and catch up on what has been happening in our lives. Then comes the food; burgers, hot dogs and bratwurst accompanied by potato salad, chips, fruit and beans along with an assortment of other foods. Then back to more drinking and kids running around. The big fun was the power wheels jeep. Two kids would sit in and drive while the rest would run behind or beside it. That was until one of the boys got run over. It was bound to happen, at least with our group of friends in the mix. You what they say, it's not a party until someone gets run over. The boy was fine and the kids went back to playing and the adults back to drinking and chatting while sampling the many desserts. Homemade ice cream and chocolate covered cherries were a few of the other desserts floating around. Somehow I missed out on the s'mores once it got dark. I had a feeling with all the sweets our kids were ingesting there one of two things would happen, they'd get sick or be so hyper they wouldn't want to leave. It ended up being the later.

Speaking of getting dark. We usually have a friend who hops the border and buys a few of the illegal fireworks ahead of time and we set those off in our own private, but small, fireworks display in the cul-de-sac. Sitting in lawn chairs or on our butts on the sidewalk we would all sit and enjoy the show. However, since we held the party on the third this year, it would have been hard to mask our illegal show amongst the many professional shows happening locally. So, no big fireworks this time.

Mason was devastated to learn that we were not doing fireworks, even though he has freaked out each previous year. However, bringing Mason to his car to show him the loot, our friend Trevor saved the day with a whole bunch of the small legal ones. Unfortunately this was about the time the first storm rolled it and it began to rain. Hard. I then had to hear, "Mom can we do fireworks now?" "Mom, where is Mr. Trevor?" "Mom." "Mom." "MOM!" For the next 30 minutes or so this drove me crazy as I started to sound like a broken record, "when the rain stops, Mason. I will let you know." "I don't know, maybe he's outside under the carport with the other adults. Now go play with your friends and leave me alone."

Eventually the rain stopped and the boys could have their fun. Mason was a completely different boy, super excited to help set off the fireworks. He stood up there the whole time with Mr. Trevor helping set up the tanks and barrels and other fireworks, backing away as they were lit and helping to clean up once it was all done. It was drilled into the kids the rules of fireworks. The first rule of fireworks, Be Safe. The second rule of fireworks, Clean Up. We had them repeat these over and over, especially once the sparklers came out.

We never had sparklers growing up, it was something I missed out on as a child, except that one time my BFF Shelly's family had some and we lit one or two. It felt so dangerous and sneaky at the time, especially since my parents didn't know. Shh, don't tell them. Anyway, we never really tried to get the kids sparklers because they always shy away from fire and didn't show an interest in participating in that part.

Mason was excited to play with it at first but once the flame started to get closer to his hand he got apprehensive and would drop it on the ground.

Sophie didn't want to be left out.

She patiently waited and watched as daddy lit the sparkler and guided her in holding it. She got a little crazy with it when attempting to go solo, almost poking daddy in the eye, so that was the end of the sparkler fun for her. Luckily it was also the last of the bunch so her tantrum was stopped short.

Around this time, the sun had finally gone to bed allowing the bigger stuff to be set off. Mason, of course stayed by Trevor's side helping with the show as the rest of us sat and watched with awe, wonder and laughter.

I would have thought Sophie would be freaked, but she enjoyed it. For the few moments she actually did sit and watch. Mostly though, she could have cared less that loud noises and flashing lights were being set off near by as she played with her glow stick necklace, drank some water and exuded cuteness by clapping, and swapping laps with daddy, mommy and her friend Theresa. Who in turn, was more than happy to pose for a super sweet, super cute photo with Sophie in matching Uncle Sam hats.

It was a great night with friends, and even though we didn't have the big ones shot into the air it was an amazingly great show and a lot of fun for all.

I wanted to note that our plan for the 4th was to watch the local professional fireworks show that goes on at the Sports Pavilion near our house, from our yard. However, that plan did not work out. We stood outside in the middle of the cul-de-sac with our neighbors waiting for the show to begin as we got a glimpse of a few fireworks here and there from different directions. Nothing like we thought it would have been for a professional show. We speculated on whether they were rogue shows by neighboring community streets or left overs from far off shows in neighboring towns. The highlight of the night was the bunny rabbit that kept making rounds from yard to yard awfully close to where we were standing. By 10pm we gave up, figuring it was a low flying show and we were too close to the area to see them above the houses. Bummed and disappointed we bid everyone a good night. As it turns out, we found out that a few days later from another neighbor that the show was in a different location than we thought and had actually started around 9:10pm un-like the 9:30pm time that was advertised in all the newspapers and online newsletters. So by the time we had congregated outside shortly after 9:30pm the show was already over. What a bust.

At least we had the fun show the previous day. Lets face it, nothing compares to good food, lots of laughs with friends, and staying up way past bedtime. And who knows, maybe next year we will get our simple, private firework show again. Or at least better inform ourselves of when and where the local show is being held so not to miss out for a second year in a row.

2011-07-04T10:05:00.003-04:00

Mrs. Mom's classroom

2011-06-23T17:03:00.005-04:00

Mason was devastated to learn that school would not continue over the summer. Seriously he was crying in the car the last week of school. I was equally as bummed because I would love for school to be year long. Especially since he is so passionate about learning and going to school. I really want his love for learning, growing, and attending school to continue throughout his education years.

In response to his genuine disappointment, it was Mason who suggested that we make our own school here at home. Well, how could I say no? It sounded like a perfectly awesome plan to me. So I have spent the last week gathering supplies and browsing websites for ideas on how I can take the skills he learned this past year and supplement them at home over the summer.

Was it just a coincidence that Target had numerous workbooks for various ages in their dollar bin? I think not. I grabbed a few including connect the dots, same or different, and beginning math skills. I also grabbed a few of the dry erase composition boards to help him with his letters, specifically his M's and S's that were discussed at our last parent/teacher conference.

What I absolutely love about my son at this age is his enthusiasm for learning and creating. Every day he has asked to do dry erase. At first he was making them like he had been in school. The M's looking more like W's and the S's looking more like Z's or squiggles. See the image above. But he kept at it and once he started to get it right his confidence grew and now he is making M's as if he always knew how.

In addition to the writing, we have art time where Mason can't get into the watercolors fast enough, and Sophie dabbles in finger painting. Color Wonder of course.

It isn't perfect and most days the routine gets thrown out the window. I often wonder how long the nostalgia of this classroom of ours will last, when we will burn out from ideas or get bored. Till then, I am so proud of Mason for trying and working so hard. I can only hope Sophie picks up on his enthusiasm to learn when it comes her time to put on that backpack and walk through the doors of Golden Pond as a student.

Anyone else doing any school related activities this summer? Leave a comment. I'd love to hear what your thoughts.

Ticked off

2011-06-18T21:41:00.003-04:00

On the first day of summer things went totally wrong.

After a morning of dealing with no school and wondering what to do, I left Mason downstairs to watch Backyardigans while Sophie and I went upstairs to take a shower so I could get my head awake.

Sophie and I were giggling up a storm, sitting on the shower floor. I was teaching her the wheels on the bus song. Mason came walking in and announced very happily, "we have our first watermelons." Moments later he came back in and asked if he could take a shower too. I hesitated and then after seeing his disappointment, I caved. He undressed and walked into the shower. I told him to get his hair wet and wash up and that's when I noticed a black spot under his arm. I told him to hold up and come outside. Glasses off I couldn't really see but I knew it was some sort of bug and wanted to get a tissue or something and get it off before Mason freaked out. I tried to flick it a bit with toilet paper and that's when I stopped to get a closer look. Squinting my eyes hard I stared at it and that's when I thought, oh crap. I think this is a tick.

Shower still running, Sophie quietly playing in it, I left Mason standing in the bathroom holding his arm up. Soaking wet and naked I ran to the top of the stairs and yelled for Fred. No answer. That's when I screamed as loud as I could so he could hear where ever he was and he came running in from outside. I hurriedly told him that I think Mason has a tick on him and I am not sure what to do, I don't have my glasses. He confirmed it was a tick and said he just saw our neighbor and ran out to talk with her. Our neighbor's daughter has Lyme disease. Has since she was about Mason's age. It's been a horrible disease and we've spent the last three years listening to the stories from our neighbor. I immediately thought about this and tried to stay calm, but all I could think was my poor little boy standing naked in the bathroom with this tick stuck to his armpit. How he had his whole life ahead of him and how this moment could possibly take all that away.

It felt like forever. Waiting there for Fred to come back. I didn't know what to do. Was there something I should be doing right now? My mind was going a mile a minute and I couldn't turn it off. My hands were shaking so bad and Mason started crying. I tried to calm him but I wasn't sure myself and Fred was taking forever. Mason kept crying and saying he wanted daddy and I felt helpless and scared and I started crying too. I couldn't just leave both the kids in the house and search for Fred outside, I knew he was getting information on how to properly take the tick off and what to do afterward, but my god the two of us were just standing there with no idea what was going on or what to do. And the seconds went by so slowly. IT WAS TERRIFYING.

Finally Fred came back but he wouldn't tell me what he was doing or what needed to be done and I was freaking out. I just wanted to know. It was killing me not having this knowledge and my son's health in danger. He tried to kick me out but Mason really started to freak when Fred got the tweezers so I ran back in and held Mason as tight as I could while Fred removed the tick (and some of Mason's skin with it) and placed it in a Ziplock bag. Mason was in tears, Sophie was trying to figure out what was going on, still in the shower, and I was sobbing. My whole body shaking in horrid sobs. I didn't know if my little boy was going to be OK or not.

Moments later our neighbor came knocking on the door to check the situation. We all quickly got some clothes on Mason and myself and went downstairs. She talked to us for like 3o minutes, giving us the website of a lab we can send the tick off to in order to test for Lyme disease. Arming us with what to look out for in the next days, weeks, etc. The bulls-eye rash, any fatigue, or irritability, etc. It was a bit comforting to have her there talking with us. Looking back she can see the warning signs she missed with her daughter. I hope her experience helped us.

So many things I am trying to stay hopeful about. Hoping the test the lab does on the tick comes back negative. Hoping no rash develops. The ticks head was not imbedded in Mason's skin, nor was it engorged so I am hoping that is a good sign. Trying to stay hopeful that this tick was not on Mason longer than the few moments yesterday morning before spotting it. We didn't notice anything before then, but then again we weren't looking either and it had been quite a while since the kids had bathed; I hate admitting that.

In the meantime we are observing the bite everyday, checking the kids for ticks on a regular basis after playing in the yard. I called our pest service about getting the yard sprayed for ticks. And emailed our pediatrician about the whole situation and thought I'd mention it to him at Sophie's check up on Monday.

I don't normally pray, but last night I found myself knelt beside my bed, head bowed, hands crossed and through my tears I spoke; "Dear Heavenly Father..." I prayed, and I've been doing that a lot since yesterday. I know, we as parents, can't protect our children from everything. There will always be dangers out there. As a mother, I find it is the hardest thing to accept that harm will come to my childen in some form or another. Be it a broken heart, broken bone, or an illness. I know that I can't keep them in a bubble, locked in the house, but I feel like I want to do that sometimes. To hold them, protect them and promise nothing will ever happen to them. It is these moments that I recall that scene in Finding Nemo when Marlin, Nemo's father, says that he promised he would never let anything happen to his son and Dory replies, "well that's a silly thing to promise. You can't never let anything happen to him. Then nothing would ever happen to him." Dory was right. I see that. But, how do I ease the fear, the pain, the constant worry, the guilt? How do I let go? How do I go on with life knowing the dangers yet still find comfort and peace? I need to know that it is all going to be OK. I need to have reassurance and knowledge. I know all to well how fragile and short life really is. I have seen and experienced my share of loss.

So as I sit here, my family in bed asleep, I think about how I wish I could go back to Thursday. Before any of this happened and prevent it, but know I can't. I think of how much I have prayed for the health of my son. I think, I need to say one more prayer. A prayer for strength. To find my strength to get through this no matter the outcome, and to learn from it all.

I may sound like one neurotic mother right now, I know my husband thinks I am, but I just needed to get this out. I needed to talk and have someone listen. So if you read all of this, I say, Thanks.

With that, I am off to bed with the hope I can get some sleep tonight.

Flying up

2011-06-16T12:00:00.000-04:00

Mason had his Fly up ceremony on Tuesday. It's a ceremony they have at his school in which each child gets a pin for each year they are at the school. It's not a graduation but a ceremony to signify their rise to the next level.

Mason getting his pin from the owner of the school.

The end of year gift.

We presented the teachers with their end of year gift. I had Fred draw a bare tree with a Zebra. I then met each family in the parking lot last week to get the thumbprint of each student to represent the leaves of the tree. It came out so nice. The teachers, you could tell, were overwhelmed with emotion. I'm so glad they have something they can cherish, to remember the 13 Zebras they taught in 2010-2011.

Then there was Today.

Today I walked Mason into school for the last time.

Today I watched Sophie join the Zebras for morning centers for the last time.

Today was his last day of preschool.

His last day in classroom #5.

His last day as a Zebra.

Today was the last time I picked him up from school.

The last time I would hold the sign with his name and he would run into my arms.

The last time we would say good-bye to his teachers.

The last time we would cross the street and wave to Mrs. Walker.

My last day as room mom to this wonderful group of kids.

So many times today I felt tears start to well up in my eyes. When talking to the teachers about how much fun it has been this year, how wonderful they are and how much we will miss them next year. When I was telling the zebras to have a great summer and that I would miss them and one of the twins, I think Reese, said she would miss me too. I stood their giving each one a high five (Caprice, Zohair, Prabhav, Omar) for possibly the last time ever, we don't know who will be in our class next year, and I felt sad. I felt sad because I knew I had been part of something great. Even if I didn't see it, it was apparent today that I had a special place in each of those little kids hearts and each of them a place in mine.

I will definitely miss these two wonderful women as well. The ones who took such great care with my little boy.

As if that wasn't enough to make me cry, here is a photo of Mason and Sophie on the first day of school (left) and the last (right). Ironically Sophie is in the exact same outfit but it really showcases how much they both have grown over the last year.

With that I say,

Good-bye Zebra friends

Good-bye Preschool.

HELLO JUNIOR KINDERGARTEN!!!

two years.

2011-06-09T23:13:00.005-04:00

Two years have come and gone. Where did they go? Twenty-four months of getting to know this little girl.

I have so many things that I want to say about how much she has grown. Her language skills, her personality, her height. So many things I want to tell about her birthday party. Yet when I sit down to write, I can't find the words. Words to describe how much love and hard work went into planning every last detail. In making sure she had the perfect TinkerBell birthday in all it's yellow and green. Instead I think I'll just share a few photos about that special day.

It was a wonderful day. Everyone had a great time. I had made ribbon wands for the girls and Peter Pan hats for the boys. Placed chipboard images of Tinkerbell in a birdcage and lantern, even made her ship from the Lost Treasure movie out of a coconut shell, ribbon and a balloon. It fell apart before the guests arrived.

Still, I will remember sitting in the backyard chatting with friends as our kids ran in the grass. I will remember that every child was yelling at Fred to cut them a piece of the water from the cake. I will remember Mason reminding us about the pinata only after half the guests left. I will remember how windy it was and that the balloons starting popping one by one before the guests arrived. I will remember the bubble machine was a hit and it really did look like pixie dust falling on the kids as they bounced. I will remember Sophie in her fairy outfit with her fairy wings. I will remember my daughter, having the best time with family and friends on the day she turned two.

That's my boy

2011-06-07T18:03:00.002-04:00

Today while packing up the car after a trip to Costco, a proud momma moment happened.

The car next to us was pulling out of it's spot and of course Mason was observing it. I heard him mumble something in a low voice. The lady in the car had her window rolled down and she shouted out to me, "Did he just say BMW?"

I thought about it for a minute. Mason knows just about every car out there, especially taken with the BMW's at the moment and looking at her car I replied, "yes he did."

An amazed look on her face she asked, "how old is he?"

I smiled, "he's four."

She pointed out the window at Mason, smiling and shaking her head, "you're good," she said. And drove off.

"Mommy, that was a BMW." Mason had turned back to me excited.

I stood there, watching her drive away in her blue BMW, smiling so proudly.

Yup, that's my boy.

I can't keep up

2011-05-25T07:50:00.005-04:00

Right now, life just seems to be getting busier and busier. At the last PCC meeting with Preschool I was named the new Vice Chair for the next school year. I may just regret this decision, but I am remaining hopeful that it will be good for me. It is time I got to know more Moms in the community. It is time I took some action in working on my time management skills. It is time I showed myself and my family that I can do something that scares me.

As I write this my husband has just arrived home from the doctors; face swollen, both eyes almost shut a Prednisone prescription in hand. I pray that it gives him the relief he needs. See our old house in Leesburg, the one we are renting out, has a plant in the backyard. Every time Fred would go out to de-weed or work in the yard he would get an allergic reaction. Nothing this severe, but enough to be bothersome for a few days. It's been three years and we've forgotten this little bit of information and we prepare to kick out our renters. It's a long story. He went to the rental property to get the yard in shape for putting it back on the market. Came home all blotchy red and itchy and we remembered. That was two days ago and he has only gotten worse. I pleaded with him to go to the doctor earlier but as we all know men don't listen to their wives about these things and it takes a severe act for them to do any kind of self care. Back to his swollen face, it turns out it is poison ivy in the yard and well, my husband is severely allergic. Clearly. I just have to say out loud how thankful I am that we have moved from that house, where poison ivy dwells in the backyard and where my children would be playing. Seriously thankful. Now, I am just hoping and praying that he gets better soon.

On top of all this we are preparing for our little baby girl to turn two this Saturday, with me busily planning a TinkerBell themed birthday. I've been immersed in all things green and yellow and having to do with fairies and Pixie Hollow. It's been fun. I'll be sure to take plenty of photos this year, unlike last.

Amongst all this chaos we managed to fit in Mason's first helicopter ride with Daddy, a reunion with my Eta Rho sisters from JMU, a few taco nights with family and friends, a Mother's Day tea with my little boy, an unexpected adult Easter egg hunt and Sophia learning to ride the tricycle.

I'm sure life will only get busier over the next few weeks as we count down the days till the end of school. As much as I love having a child in school, I look forward to the slower pace of summer. To splashing in the pool, family bike rides to the park, and fresh tomatoes, strawberries and peppers from our garden. To eating on the deck every night, bubbles in the yard, free movies and concerts for the kids, and trips to the Zoo. I look forward to being outside more, getting active, and playing with my husband and kids. I look forward to many many pictures and many many stories.

This wasn't my most elegant post, I've been distracted, in more ways than one. And, yeah, I'll probably be absent again from the blogosphere but I'll get the hang of this life, eventually, and find time for all the things I love.

Teacher Appreciation

2011-05-07T21:38:00.005-04:00

I've been absent from blogging lately. There has been a good reason. Life got really busy. But in a good way. Events at school picked up and social time with friends and family are in full swing. So I've been busy living my life as opposed to writing about it. And that is always a good thing.

This past week was Teacher Appreciation Week. A week that has been in much anticipation amongst the education community. If you are the parents of a school aged child, preschool or otherwise, you know what I am talking about.

This being my first year, I was not sure what to expect. I have to say I am impressed with the organization of our PCC with these events. Especially after talking with my friends and the dealings with their schools. The PCC organized every event. The only thing I, as room parent, was responsible for doing, was passing on information to the parents of my class. Each girl was to bring in a piece of fruit and each boy a single stem flower for each teacher on their assigned day. The teachers were asked to bring in a vase and a basket. The idea was that each teacher ended up with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a basket of yummy fruit. I took Mason to pick out flowers the night before. He was careful to make sure each teacher got their favorite color. We then took a picture of him holding a sign that said "You are awesome." I then printed them out and cut into circles to add to scalloped circles, punched a hole and tied to each stem with a ribbon. It was simple and lovely and the teachers were all so delighted.

A "Hallmark Day" was also organized, in which each child would make a card or draw a picture expressing how their teacher makes school special. The same could be done regarding fruit, flowers and cards, for any administrators or specialists (like the Music, Art and Spanish teachers-yes my son takes daily Spanish lessons in preschool). Mason had drawn pictures for each teacher. For his main teacher he drew a picture of them during outside time. For the assistant teacher he drew a picture of himself and Bumblebee as they share a love for Transformers and everything Bumblebee. For his music teacher, he drew a picture of Spring Sing. For his art and Spanish teachers he drew photos of him with them. Each teacher loved his creations and flowers of choice. Unfortunately I forgot my camera that day and got no photos of Mason's wonderful creations. Let me tell you how much I kicked myself in the butt over that one. But, such is life.

Now, as I mentioned before, this is my first year having a child in school. And I just want to say how much of a relief it has been to have these two wonderful teachers in Mason's classroom. They work really hard to enrich the lives of those children each and every day. Having seen how much Mason has grown, in mind, body and spirit, in just the time he has been at school almost leaves me speechless. In the meetings it was mentioned that this week would be a great opportunity for us, as parents, to send in a simple note to share our appreciation as well. While I had always planned to make a card for them, when it came to the day I had dropped the ball. So busy getting birthday invitations created, finished and sent in the mail. Feeling guilty for not having shown my appreciation to these two wonderful women with whom I have worked closely over the last eight months, I wracked my brain with ideas to easily show how I was feeling inside.

Remembering the gift tags I made for the flowers, I had an idea and busily went to work finishing the project in one day. Here is what I came up with.

I had originally thought to use clay flower pots but found these adorable containers at AC Moore on 50% sale.

I then went to work choosing various pictures of Mason, his teachers, and the class throughout the year. Printed each one and cut them into 1.5 inch circles using my Martha Stewart circle cutter, and punched the flower backgrounds out of yellow, pink and purple paper using the Marvy Uchida giga scalloped circle punch. I glued them together and then used Glue Dots to attach them to lollipop sticks I also picked up at AC Moore. I created a sentiment in Photoshop that said, "Thank You for helping Mason grow," and used that as the center of the arrangement. Here's a close up.

Next, I put floral foam in the bottom of each container and stuck the lollipop sticks with the flower pictures into the foam in an arrangement I thought was pleasing. Then I filled each one with Spanish Moss, tied a pink ribbon around each container and stamped a "So Thankful for You" sentiment onto card stock and attached it to the ribbon.

Friday morning I walked Mason in and presented them to the teachers. All of us were holding back tears as we pointed out each photo; Mason's first day of school, roasting marshmallows at Ticonderoga Farm field trip, Christmas party, Spring Sing, various artwork Mason brings home in the red Friday folders that we proudly display in our living room, etc. They loved the picture history and I expressed that I could never thank them enough for all they do and have done for Mason.

I am so glad that there is a whole week to give our thanks to all the teachers out there who give their time to making sure our children are equipped with the knowledge, courage and imagination to be anything they dream.

I know it's preschool, and I hear this statement a lot. "It's just preschool," as if it doesn't matter or isn't a big deal. Yet we spend hours upon hours agonizing over the right school to send our children and then stress over what teacher they are going to be assigned and how well they will adapt. So if it is just preschool then why go through all that trouble? It shouldn't matter right? Well, I don't see it this way. I believe Preschool is the foundation of our children's journey through education, learning, and socialization. It is their introduction to structure, routine, and following instructions from another adult (other than their parents). It's the base for all the fundamental things they learn from Kindergarten on.

I see the hours Ms. Regher and Mrs. Aviles put in. I see the love, care and support they have for each and every child that walks through their door. I see the well thought out curriculum they produce each week, month. I see the detail they go into at conferences and their overall passion for teaching. We have been blessed to have these two women in our son's life.

I really could never thank them enough. But really from the bottom of my heart, I say Thank You so much for all you do. It has made such a difference in the life of our son (and mine).

I was on a break...

2011-04-25T09:37:00.001-04:00

Last week was Spring Break and while most yearn for this week off, in our house it is one that is met with groans and pulling of hair. You see, my son thrives on routine and anything that disrupts our routine is on my list. You know what list I'm talking about. And, if you have been reading this blog for any amount of time, then you know that I am not the type of person who easily handles the trials and tribulations of motherhood. Namely, having to suffer through hours upon hours of emotional overload from a four year old. It didn't help any that most of the week it was raining, or that my daughter is at that stage in her life where she emulates her big brother's behavior.

*sigh*

But, we made it through and are currently experiencing that tedious transition back into the routine before we all feel normal again. In the meantime, I wanted to share a moment over the break when the skies cleared up and we ventured outside.

I thought to grab a few shots of our blooming cherry blossom tree amidst the hopscotch game and chalk drawings. It is really gorgeous right now. Mason, of course, wanted his turn at being Mr. Artsy Photographer. So I happily turned over my camera.

This is what happens when hand your camera over to a four year old and let his creativity shine.

Pure awesomeness!!

It's the simple things

2011-04-10T14:48:00.003-04:00

Like a Thursday afternoon. The weather finally warming up for a few hours. Just long enough for a little game of soccer in the backyard and chalk on the driveway before dinner.

Or making a quick stop at your hairdressers to ask if she'd be willing to donate to your son's Teacher Appreciation Week raffle (which she happily said, yes) and her taking a few extra moments out of her busy schedule for a quick unexpected trim, giving your daughter some bangs. Ms. Holly, you are exceptionally wonderful.

And of course, making homemade pizzas with Uncle Barry, who is in town for the week and helping Grandma and Aunt Jenni babysit, while Mom and Dad get an evening out to celebrate their Anniversary.

I truly embrace the beauty of the little things. It is, after all, these moments that make up our lives. The ones that really matter. I encourage you to celebrate your simple moments, each and every day!

Linking up to:

I could not ask for more

2011-04-09T09:20:00.004-04:00

6 years ago, it was the most gorgeous day. I was busy decorating the grounds of a beautiful historic home and the worst thing I had to worry about were my transitions glasses, and me being the only one wearing sunglasses at the ceremony. Something that didn't register when I planned an outdoor wedding.

How different that scene is from what our lives are now.

But I wouldn't change a thing.

Candy (Cheerios) Necklaces (Leis)

2011-03-30T10:00:00.004-04:00

On this last day of March I thought I'd share something fun with you all and pray that Spring will arrive soon. Even though it feels like we are still in the dead of winter, especially with snow falling in parts of the upper East Coast. Can we say Global Warming? Anyway, here you go. It might be something to do while you are cooped up inside with the kids.

I did this craft with my son for St. Patrick's Day, but really you can do this craft any day. It doesn't even have to be a holiday. It was inspired by a solutions tip in the February Parents magazine, from a mom in Hawaii who makes cereal leis for her child to snack on in the car. I thought this was a great idea, especially for my daughter, since she never keeps the snack container clipped to her car seat. So I gathered up the supplies I needed and picked up a few items I didn't on my next grocery run.

You'll need the following supplies to create one for yourself:

- string or shoelace

-scissors

-any kind of cereal. I used Cheerios and Apple Jacks.

-straw, cut into small pieces

After pouring the cereal into two separate bowls, I took the string and measured it around my son's neck to get the right length. I then took the straw I cut into small pieces and tied one piece to an end of the string. This is so that the cereal doesn't fall off while stringing it on.

Next, I decided on a pattern and began stringing them on the necklace. Once complete, I removed the straw and tied the two ends together.

My son especially loved this craft. So much, he wanted to make another one after almost immediately devouring his first. It was pretty easy for a four year old to follow. He needed a little help with me holding the string while he put the cereal on, but other than that he did his all himself. The one pictured above I put together for my daughter.

In hindsight I think using a string that didn't unravel would have been better as it caused a problem, especially for my son, until I painted the tips with clear nail polish. And as if the world was answering my question, last week, while walking my son into school, I was admiring the artwork from all the classes posted in the halls when I spotted cereal necklaces hanging on one bulletin board. After a chuckle, I noted what they had done differently and thought to myself, using shoelaces probably would have been a better idea.

So there you have it. A yummy, simple little craft you can do even with small children. It doesn't even have to be a necklace. You could make bracelets or garland for your Christmas tree, even decorations for a birthday party. What I like best about this, is that you most likely have all the supplies already in your house.

Just a typical day

2011-03-27T12:44:00.004-04:00

Fred is always the cool parent, throwing the kids up in the air, rough housing, kicking the ball outside, etc. Mason loved to be thrown in the air as a baby, still does. Now we try to see if he can touch the ceiling. Never thought to try it with Sophie, but, as with everything else, she wants to do what big brother is doing. So, naturally, she loves being thrown in the air.

This morning during one of these air throwing sessions I suddenly hear Fred yell. "Ahh," he comes running into the kitchen headed straight for the sink, "she's poopy! She's poopy! Ugh, my finger!" Laughing hysterically, because I find the fact that Fred is totally grossed out and over reacts about poop totally funny, I settle Sophie down to change her diaper.

Now, Mason loves to be a part of the action in the house, so as Fred is standing at the sink, scrubbing his finger with disinfectant soap and yelling, "I'm hit! I'm hit!" Mason starts to laugh along with me and says, "Sometimes that happens, Dad." Which causes me to erupt in more fits of laughter before abandoning my diaper changing duties to record the whole thing for our future enjoyment.

I seriously LOVE this family.

Everything is going to be alright...

2011-03-26T09:00:00.002-04:00

in the end.

In light of all that has happened in the last eight days, I haven't had a moment to just take it all in and breathe.

Thursday afternoon, feeling a bit rundown, I needed to just veg on the couch while the kids played. Mason had me coloring some Cars coloring pages that he was then hanging up on his wall of art in our family room. In the process of it all it somehow he slipped, or lost his balance, or as he tells it-got dizzy, and fell off the stool. I didn't really see it. I just saw him disappear out of the corner of my eye and heard a really loud sickening bang, like his tiny head smacking something really hard.

He lay there on the floor between the train table and wall, not moving, not making a sound. In the time it took me to jump off the couch and run over (a matter of seconds) he was having some sort of an episode that I can only describe and assume was a Vasovagal syncope. Something I thought he had outgrown due to it having been almost two years since his last episode. But I saw him on the ground, eyes freakishly wide, tense and almost convulsing as he was emitting a groan like he was struggling. I got down to his level, touched his face and tried to get him to respond. Nothing. I tried so hard not to panic, screamed for Fred, and tried to get to him better but the train table was in the way. I struggled to move it, screamed for Fred again, sat back down at his head and called his name over and over till he finally came to. I asked him simple questions I knew he could answer to gage his mental state and if there was any damage. I could tell he was scared and in pain, full out crying at this point. I screamed for Fred one more time as I rushed to the other side of the train table and yanked with all my might. Mason tried to get up but I made him lay down for a little longer till Fred finally came upstairs and picked him up. At this point Mason was fine, saying his head hurt but no visible bruise and even making jokes. We gave him some ice cream to get his blood sugar up. Being a Vasovagal sufferer my whole life, I know that you need something like a cookie or juice after an episode and then you are perfectly fine.

As he sat at the table eating his ice cream, I slipped away to sit on the stairs, take a breather and cry. I cried and cried because I was scared, because I was tired, because I thought I was a failure, because I felt sick to my stomach. I heard Fred suggest Mason come over and give me a hug. Here was this little boy, only four years old, reassuring his mother that he was OK and me, a grown 31 year old woman, crying on my little boys shoulder, holding him so tight, unwilling to let go. I needed to release a little of my worry and my guilt. Mason kept telling me it was enough hugging, you know how boys are, and then as I tried to get my crying under control I hear him say, very matter of factly, "don't get any tears on my BumbleBee shirt, momma."

I had to laugh. He always knows just what to say. I bought him two Transformer t-shirts yesterday and he was super excited to wear them to school as soon as possible. He had already been very upset when I picked him up. Having gotten orange paint all over his other BumbleBee shirt while painting shirts for Spring Sing, and his teacher told him the paint wasn't washable. But, he didn't take into account my super mom powers which of course got the job done. So it was no surprise that he was focused on not getting this one ruined either.

Seriously, I must learn to focus on the truly important things in life, not that other frivolous stuff . Well, according to a four year old anyway.

Today...

2011-03-24T12:54:00.003-04:00

I got the chance to experience something wonderful. Reading books to 13 four year olds.

For the month of March, we parents, get to chose a day to come in, coordinated with the teacher, and read to the class. I was greeted with smiles and enthusiasm and then given the floor. Silly, but I was a bit nervous. Four year olds can be a bit intimidating.

I started off with Another Monster at the end of the Book, which was a hit. The kids were engaged, blurting out, "no! Don't turn the page!" So I read book after book and the kids loved it. So much that the kid in the class who never talks and has social anxiety was the most talkative. After the last book, Where the Wild Thing Are, was finished they begged for more. But I had been reading for 20 minutes already and they had other things to do as school was almost over. So Ms. Regehr said that I could come back and read to them again another day.

Awesome! I felt so euphoric that 13 four year olds thought I was so cool and entertaining. What better way to spend a rainy morning.

it's in his genes

2011-03-21T21:24:00.005-04:00

Deep down we always knew this day would come.

Still, it's scary, because you are never quite prepared for that moment. When you are walking in the parking lot, holding your son's hand, suppressing the panic and fear as you make your way to the doctors office, and his little voice, gasping for air, pleads for you to slow down even though you are already walking slow.

I've only known asthma as an outsider, observing those in my life who suffer from the disease. So when I reached down and picked up my son, carrying him into the building as fast as I could, I bit my lip hard, in order to fight back the tears. Step after step, I listened to the horrible wheezing and short, shallow breaths and thanked the lord that Fred was home to recognize the symptoms and know to call the doctor. Thankful that our pediatrician made time to see Mason.

This was yet another one of those most painful moments I've had to face over the last four years on this adventure called motherhood. Sitting in Walgreens, waiting for the albuterol, prednisolone and to become the owner of our very own nebulizer, I wondered how different his life would be from this day forward. Would I be paranoid every time he goes to school or my moms or anywhere I am not? Would I sit up all night listening to him breathe when he gets a simple cold? Will I worry about putting him in sports? Then I am reminded that Fred developed asthma around the age of 5 and he played soccer well into his adulthood. Now, I can't remember the last time he had an attack or I really worried about his breathing, thanks to Advair. This and the many, many friends who have children who are on nebulizers and they are living extremely active lives, playing t-ball and other sports.

Mason, having suffered through sitting still for the nebulizer treatments was non-stop at Taco Night. Running, jumping in the bounce house for hours, only sitting down long enough to eat some mac n cheese and cake before he was off again. You would have had no idea he was rushed to the doctors 24 hours before and almost passed out during the treatment because of the adult dose he needed.

I must remind myself that he is going to be fine. At this point, it is believed to be allergy related and since being on the prednisolone and claritin he hasn't needed to use the nebulizer in days. Which should make Sophie happy. She is terrified of the whole thing. The noise, the mask on Mason's face, she's concerned about her brother, which I find so endearing. We'll see how he does once off the steroid, come Wednesday. If he has another one, then we put him on preventative medicine. Seeing as Fred has asthma, as do his brothers, and that Mason had eczema as a baby and suffers from allergies it almost seems inevitable.

He will be able to live a normal life. I must keep repeating that to myself. Still I can't help but see him through different eyes. Life just feels totally different somehow. But as always in true Mason style, you'd never suspect a thing.

Growing Pains

2011-03-11T14:20:00.004-05:00

Sophie decided she wanted to be a Zebra today.

I walked Mason in for drop off and as soon as we saw the front doors to the school Sophie squirmed out of my arms. "Down. Walk," she demanded. And leading the two of us, she paraded down the halls of Mason's preschool. All the way into his class room and right up to the teacher. I made small chit chat as I always do with Mason's teachers as he hangs up his backpack, signs in and acclimates himself. One teacher is expecting so we chatted about ultrasounds, due dates and the difference between boys and girls while Sophie explored the dramatic play area. Having showed up later than usual, by the end of our conversation it was time for school to start.

Ms. Regehr turned on the music while the zebras (Mason's class) cleaned up their free centers and one by one sat down for the morning meeting. This was just fine with miss Sophia. She walked right over and joined them for circle time, choosing sit upon after sit upon until settling on one sandwiched between her big brother, Mason, and his classmate, Caprice. She looked over at each child, a satisfied look on her face, then turned to Ms. Regehr and pointed, nodding her head as if to say OK, I'm ready. You may start class now. This amused not only the teachers but the students as well. "Oh jeez." I heard a few say. "I think we have a new student," Mrs. Aviles said to Ms. Regehr. To which she replied, "Sophie, are you joining our class today?" And my little girl, 21 months old, nodded her head. "Yeah," she said, "sit." Observing this whole scene and smiling, the only thing I could think was, where is my camera? Why did I leave it in the car this morning? Of all mornings!

Honestly, I was not prepared for this. For the sudden desire to be a big girl. With her independence growing each day; her persistence to sleep in Mason's toddler bed, her I do it attitude when it comes to brushing teeth and walking down stairs, and climbing onto Mason's chair for meal/snack time. I was caught off guard. Maybe it was because he didn't know there was anything better because there was no one to look up to, but Mason was content in his booster chair, crib and holding mommy's hand. She isn't even two yet and my little girl already wants to cut the strings. She sees her big brother doing it and that's it, it's all over, she HAS to do it too.

Though I really have enjoyed seeing her come into her own these last few months. Working so hard to say words we understand; milk, cookie, itchy, car, Thomas (as in choo-choo). And attempt phrases; there you go, I did it, thank you. But even if I'm not quite ready for her to fly solo I can check one worry off my list. When it comes to preschool, not only is it clear she is ready, but I think she'll do just fine.

Right Now

2011-03-09T10:31:00.003-05:00

Right now my daughter is dusting the floor in the time out corner. Working and concentrating hard. Now she has moved onto the end tables and couch. Mommy's little helper.

Before that we, had some more fun with photo booth; one of my absolute favorite features on a mac.

I think we are hoping the butterfly wings will hastly bring Spring.

St. Patty's Day Crafts

2011-03-04T16:30:00.003-05:00

So I'm not really one to be into all the various holidays throughout the year (federally mandated or not) but seeing as I am a mommy of two small kids, I jump at the chance to create something for and with the kids.

March, which as undoubtedly come in like a lion, has left us with more indoor time that we'd prefer so boredom is a big issue; with me and Mason. I tried to remember what holiday, if any, came in this month and hallelujah St. Patrick's Day with its green, shamrocks and pots of gold lit up on my iCal.

I really wanted to make something with supplies I had on hand, rather than go out and buy more crap to fill up the house or my craft room and possibly never be touched, because I just either never got around to it or it just didn't work out with what I had intended to use it. So I searched shamrock/clover templates online. I remember last year having downloaded one in which Mason and I created a shamrock face on a popsicle stick. He loved that. While I thought we could do that again, lets do something new as well. The thought of making shamrocks on a stick for decoration in the house quickly came to mind. I had bought these cheap green and yellow buckets from the dollar bins at Target, intended for Sophie's birthday party (and yes I do realize that is it 3 months away but you can never prepare too early for these things), and thought about making a shamrock centerpiece of sorts with it.

My idea was to use popsicle sticks as the stem and construction paper to cut out the shamrocks. But then I thought, cutting out 10-20 shamrocks would take forever to trace and then cut and it was fast becoming a bad idea. Then I remembered a valentine that Mason got from one of his classmates. She had used hearts as the leaves and petals for a lollipop flower which I thought was super creative. I wonder if I can make a shamrock using heart shapes? A few clicks of the mouse and sure enough it is possible. So down to my craft room to get my heart punch, two sizes, and away I punched. Now having done a few crafts with my son, and each time never being quite prepared for the task and it always ending in frustration and/or boredom, I got wise and decided that while Mason was at school I'd punch all the hearts ahead of time. So after lunch, I'd lay out the punched hearts and popsicle sticks and we'd glue away with our craft. Well of course, now that I was prepared, Mason had little interest in this craft. Yeah, he glued one or two hearts on the sticks, but he was way more fascinated by my heart punches and went on to punch about a million hearts out of all the scraps of paper in his craft cubby doth producing an overflowing display of what he calls his bucket of hearts. We proudly displayed it next to all the other decorations on the mantle until he decided he wanted to get it down, though he was too short to reach and all the hearts came tumbling out and littering my family room carpet. It now resides on the countertop and has been promptly forgotten by said four year old.

Anyway, it was a super easy craft and I had fun putting it together even if Mason showed now interest. So here is my final result.

All I did was use the Marvy Uchida heart punch to punch out hearts from green paper. Then used a hot glue gun to attach to the popsicle sticks. For the frame, I just added scrapbook paper from a calendar pack. Super easy. Super simple.

On the mantel I took spring florals in a vase and sort of made the bucket like a garden of small shamrocks. I used the martha stewart heart punch and smaller popsicle sticks and adhered the hearts to the sticks with a glue stick. A little more kid friendly (you could use a glue stick for the bigger ones too). Here is a close of up my sproutlets.

I just took some beans from my local grocery store in the bucket and stuck each popsicle stick in. Again, super easy. Super cheap and super simple.

And here is our pot of gold, filled with chocolate coins and placed next to frames filled with scrapbook paper from the march section of same calendar pad.

So if you are feeling bored this weekend make some shamrocks with hearts and popsicle sticks with your little ones. I have another craft in mind that I hope will spark a little more interest, and since it involves food I have a feeling I will get success.

Leaving us in stitches since 2006

2011-02-26T18:58:00.004-05:00

This was the conversation last night over dinner:

Daddy: Buddy, how do you feel about Grandma Veda saying you look like Justin Bieber?

Mason: It makes me sad.

Mommy: Me too.

Daddy: It makes you sad?

Mason: yeah. Why does Grandma call me a Beaver?

You can imagine how the rest of that went. Us, laughing hysterically and Mason repeating the phrase till we felt like we'd vomit from all the laughter.

Thank you buddy, for not only giving me endless material for my blog and your very own scrapbook, but for the daily amusement and constant reminder that motherhood is worth every moment. But only as long as you are part of it.

Now I need to make an appointment with Miss Holly to get his haircut.

A simple reminder

2011-02-21T21:11:00.001-05:00

As I stood in the kitchen, Thursday morning, listening to my son coach his sister on how to properly eat her breakfast,

"Don't just eat the raisins sweetie. I know you like those, but you need to eat the whole bagel. There you go, that's how you do it, Soph."

I'm reminded of the other super cute things I've overheard. Like, recently I went to Walmart and picked up the bean bag filler we'd ordered (and really should have done earlier, like before Christmas) so now we finally have usable bean bag chairs for the kiddos! (Thanks Nana. For taking the time to sew these precious jems). So in celebration, we had a movie night.

The kids loved them. Sitting right away in their respective chairs, and like any sibling, getting upset if the other sat in theirs. They sat and watched Transformers, Mason's newest discovery. Their little faces fixated on the screen and wicked cool action.

Now picture, if you can, this scene. The main characters are in a car trying to escape the Decepticon chick. The car gets picked up by one of the Decepticons and they are flying through the air and at some point the car is let go and it falls and crashes. Right at that point, I hear this little voice say, "whoa." It wasn't my hardcore son as I would have expected, it was my little girl. Mason, the four year old who loves to spout big words; while equally excited about this scene, had his most memorable moment by referring to the bad guys as "peptigons." At first I could't figure out what he was talking about. Some new shape I didn't know about similar to a hexagon or pentagon or something? Then, like usual, I eventually figured it out.

My kids are so very awesome.

*Edited to note: My husband argues that Mason actually says it, "pektigons."

Me and my little girl (Wordless Wednesday)

2011-02-16T14:00:00.001-05:00

From your Valentine

2011-02-14T09:00:00.001-05:00

For part of their Valentine Day celebration Mason's class was asked to bring in a valentine for each child in the class. We got creative and this is what we came up with. Now wouldn't you just love to get that valentine this year?

You + Me: a Valentine album

2011-02-13T13:44:00.003-05:00

[A set of coasters from the $1 bin at Target, some Basic Grey paper (Figgy Pudding and Oliver, and Maraschino card stock), a Martha Stewart heart punch, giga scalloped circle punch, Autumn Leaves-Katie Pertiet journaling stamps, and Paper Salon tailored tins-love equation stamps]

I made this cute little mini album for my son for Valentines Day. It can be adapted for anyone as a great way to show your love. I got the idea from Ali Edwards and a mini book she made two years ago.

I thought it would be a nice gift for Mason to get it in his little mailbox tomorrow morning, but also to allow him to flip through and see pictures of him and me from his birth to now. He loves to see pictures of himself. But more, it's a simple gesture on my part, to let him know that he is so very much loved. To get it out on paper (or in this case a book) and give him something to look at for years to come, to be reminded that he is my absolute joy.

Here is a peek at some of the pages of his album:

I have to say that I embraced absolute imperfection all over the place with this album. It was such a challenge for me to let the little things go, but I did and I'm happy I did because I have this finished album.

So many things went wrong, or not as planned. The pictures were printed on new paper I was trying out with a new printer and they came out less than stellar and not photo quality at all but I said, it's good enough and kept going. When cutting out the paper, I realized I didn't have a cutter the right size to cover the coasters so I went in search of a new one. Decided upon the Martha Stewart circle cutter. Like all new tools, there is a technique to it that you have to learn and I got frustrated that the paper kept moving but I stuck with it and decided that most of the mishaps could be sanded off after gluing to the coasters.

Next, the patterned paper was meant to alternate sides (left then right) and at some point near the end I wasn't paying attention and they all ended up on the right side and where I normally would have had a panic attack and decided to redo the album all over, I just let it go. I said, it is what it is and moved on. I wasn't thrilled with how I included the journaling (I hadn't thoroughly thought that out when I started the project) and the last was when punching the holes I messed up and punched the hole the wrong way on one page (you can see it above in the photo of us having movie night). That, I couldn't let go. I had to re-punch it because the photos wouldn't match the journaling. And I felt myself start to panic and stress and then I just did it and let it go. I told myself, Mason is four. He won't care that it isn't perfect. He probably won't even notice. All he will care about is that he has this album I made for him that he gets to look at every day.

So glad I did this and got it done. I feel a sense of accomplishment and can't wait to see Mason's reaction tomorrow.

Journaling reads:

From the time I felt you growing in my belly

to the first moments I held you in my arms

to my very first mothers day

and your very first steps

to your first birthday

and your second

to our first trip to the beach

and your third birthday, and our family of four

to your fourth birthday

to today, tomorrow and everyday in between. I love you more than I could express. You are my greatest blessing, my deepest joy- my son.

xoxo, mom

Create: Valentines Day

2011-02-11T22:47:00.010-05:00

Valentine's Day is vastly approaching and I thought I'd give a peak at some of the projects I've been working on.

Home Decor

After having a home filled with festive decorations the whole month of December it seems rather dull in the house until we hit fall once more and the decorations come out again. So this year I decided our home would be filled with seasonal joy throughout the year.

First up, I made the wreath you see above. It was super easy to put together and cost under $10 total.

Then I decided the mantel needed a little sprucing. I created the heart banner using napkins left over from various birthday parties over the years and cute out heart shapes. Punched holes and tied them together with twine. Super simple.

I kept the electric red candle from Christmas, added a white one then used these valentine printables from Rebecca Cooper to decorate them for the season. The Love blocks and picture frames are from the $1 bin at Target. I took random scrapbook paper I have hoarded over the years and cut them to fit the frames. Heart key is from Tim Holtz.

The flowers are from Michaels (I think) from many years ago. Frame from A.C. Moore. I used this Martha Stewart punch for the heart collage from various red, pink and white papers.

Our dinning room table. This picture frame (I think from A.C. Moore) houses pieces of art for each season. Currently it is filled with this Subway Art from Eighteen 25. I love their blog. So many great ideas. I printed it at Costco, but yet somehow the colors came out all monotone and muted. Not at all like the download. And this isn't the first time this has happened when I have tried printing something I downloaded with them. Their color calibration must be off. However, they are super cheap when it comes to printing 8x10 photos. So, I lived with it.

The jar of beads with the white candle, I left out from Christmas. The bunch of flowers were decorations from Sophie's first birthday and river rocks that I had intended for the good behavior jars but ended up using different ones instead. And my favorite. The apothecary jar, from Michaels, filled with conversation hearts. That jar only has half that amount in it now. I have to tell you though, you can only eat so many of those candy hearts before you feel like you want to vomit. Yet, somehow I keep coming back to them.

Preschool

Despite my extremely busy schedule of late with this Art to Remember project I'm co-heading at Mason's school I still managed to find time to get my room parent duties done. Above is a little shot I took of the centerpieces I made for Mason's classes Valentine Party on monday. Once again that $1 bin at Target was my success. Aren't those buckets just totally adorable? The hearts I punched from pink and red construction paper using this punch and the straws I had on hand (but found a few extra at the dollar store). Super easy to make. I just punched out the hearts and glued them to the straws using glue dots. I filled the buckets with black and white beans and then stuck in the hearts. Super simple and super cute. Can't wait till the kids see them.

Mason and I are currently making the special snack for the party; layered jello hearts. I'll let you know how they come out.

In addition to the party, my son's class is having a mail theme this month. Complete with post office in their dramatic play area as well as making their own mailboxes and requests that we send them one letter a week for the month. Mason is so excited about this. So when we spotted these cute little gems, once again in the $1 bin at Target he begged me and I caved. I thought we could get one for each of us and keep the mail theme going at home.

Not only that, I've been putting together the teacher gifts for Valentine's Day as well. Unable to decide on what container to put it all in till these little cuties lit a spark in my brain.

How cute right? It totally fits their mail theme for the month and they are valentine colors! Each equipped with their names of course, so the mailman knows where to send their mail. These are some really old stickers I found in my stash. Finally putting all those scrapbooking supplies I've collected over the years to good use.

Inside, each teacher has 4 tickets to the movies, a bag of candy hearts and a homemade valentine. Once again, super simple, and I'm so proud I stayed within budget this time! I hope the teachers like them. I keep trying to come up with unique gifts unlike the coffee mugs, apples and school supplies I'm sure they get bombarded with year after year from parents and students alike. It helps that the school provides the room parents with a sheet of each teachers likes and faves. It's been so helpful.

Well that it's for now. Been busy with crafts and valentines and getting inspired. Love it, love it, love it. Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!

A mothers worst fear

2011-02-04T12:41:00.003-05:00

The scene yesterday morning. Two kids under the weather, watching Tinkerbell and looking all to adorable doing it.

There are moments in every parents life when they truly get scared, I mean down to the core. I've experienced these moments twice. Once with each child. Mason's you can read about here, which thankfully ended with us figuring out he has my illness, Vaso Vagal Syncope. Sophie's turn was around 4am this morning.

This household has been going through the terrible icky sickies once again. It seems that every winter (or as I perused through my old posts, every January) we go through this. It starts off as a few coughs and stuffy/runny noses. Then it becomes all night coughing fits, followed by lethargic children and a Mom with a really sore throat, that sounds "funny" and is about to lose her voice all together.

So last night it was another sleepless night of coughing, body aches, and little children crying. I was quietly praying to myself that everyone get back to sleep when I heard it. A faint sound of choking and vomit coming from the monitor. I immediately went into mommy mode, jumping out of bed and running to her room. Standing in her crib and looking pathetic was my little girl. I gently picked her up and walked into the bathroom to clean her up. Seemingly better, but tired, I walked back into the nursery and put her down so I could grab the aspirator and suck out the nasty boogers that were clearly making it hard to breathe. Partway through she stumbled backward. Immediately I reached out and caught her just as she fell backward, eyes glassy, limp in my arms and proceeded to shake. That's when I panicked. Looking down at her pale, unresponsive face I screamed. As loud as I could with my loss of voice, "FRED! FRED!"

It only lasted a few seconds, long enough for me to be scared out of my mind and Fred to make it from our bedroom to the nursery. The tears were flowing and I struggled to catch my breath. Shortly after, Mason came walking in, my screams surely having woken him up. Of course he was concerned about Sophie, who at this point began to vomit. Thick, yellow, disgusting mucus. She was burning up and we made the decision to take her to the ER. So I threw some clothes on as fast as I could, packed the diaper bag, and grabbed our coats before rushing out the door, my little baby in arms. Luckily the Hospital is just up the road so it only took a few minutes before I was un-buckleing her from her car seat and running into the empty ER waiting room sometime shortly after 4am.

Sophie is nothing like her brother when it comes to doctor visits. She freaks out over everything. So I had to lay on the bed, holding her as they checked her vitals, took her temperature (102+), and put on the ID bracelet (which she hated worst of all). I tried to show her I had a matching one to calm her down but it was no use. They tested her for RSV, Flu and Strep. After what felt like forever waiting in the small room, t.v. on mute, the results came in. Negative on everything. So it's just a simple virus. The doctor then sat and discussed what he concluded as her having what they refer to as a simple febrile seizure. It was explained that a febrile seizure affects kids between ages 6 months and 3 years and is usually brought on by a high fever, 100.4 or higher and can last up to 15 minutes. It is the bodies way of protecting the brain when a virus hits. He reassured me that she has no brain damage and is not more likely to have epilepsy when she gets older. She does however, have a 25% chance of it happening again.

So around 6:30am, both of us tired out of our minds, we arrive back home and go back to sleep. We are to spend the day monitoring her fever, and making sure her fluid intake (water or pedialyte) is sufficient and she doesn't get dehydrated.

This truly was one of the scariest moments for me and I don't wish it upon anyone. To see your children suffering or in distress and feeling helpless and unknowing what to do to help is a tough place to be as a parent. We all want to believe that we have super powers and can fix any boo-boo and we all want to believe our children will be perfect. As I have learned and seen around me, this is never the case. Things happen that are beyond our control. All we can do is handle them the best way we possibly can, with maturity and composure. And don't forget to embrace the comfort of your family and friends as they only feed our strength in these moments.

For now, Sophia is doing fine. Her fever is down and she is currently napping. My fear has dissipated as I got the chance to sleep it off thanks to my hubby. My voice is worse, though talking with doctors all morning surely didn't help. Mason, well, he still has a fever in the 100's. So yes, he stayed home from school again today. Another week of only having school two days. He is currently napping as well though, can you imagine how hard it is to get a rambunctious little boy to just rest when he is sick? The resilience of these kids astounds me. Their ability to bounce back in the blink of an eye, jus amazing. I pray this is the worst of it for the year and we can all move forward and be healthy. That this weekend will bring with it, much needed rest and family time, to comfort and love and heal. So we can go back to peaceful nights and days filled with tiny laughter and a full week of school becomes the norm once more.

Well there you have it. Just another adventure in icky sicky land at the Briggs household. I think I'll head back to bed now.

Sweet things

2011-01-31T09:00:00.000-05:00

*This story actually happened on Friday of last week

This afternoon, while taking a nap (because I was developing a cold and a migraine) Mason climbed into bed with me and after eating a few tortillas chips for a snack, fell asleep himself. After awhile, both of us clearly asleep, Mason coughs (developing a cold of his own) and in the sweetest, tired voice says:

"Mama?"

Barely awake myself I reply, "Yes, buddy?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

With that, he promptly falls back asleep as I drift off myself, a big smile on my face.

Snow days

2011-01-28T10:09:00.005-05:00

It's snowing....again.

The boys have headed outside to play and while I stay indoors with Sophie, because she loved the snow as long as she didn't fall down, which at 20 months you can imagine how often that happened; watching TinkerBell for oh, probably the 20th time since Christmas I am reminded of a moment that happened the other day.

With the snow and teacher work days, Mason has only had school one day this entire week. Oy! You can imagine how that has gone over in this household. Bored kids + ridiculously cold outside = two whining, crying kids, one stressed mama and our Costco size diaper box of movies getting a good use. I've tried to trade which one picks the next movie, you know for fairness, and on this particular day Mason had chosen Thomas that morning making it Sophie's turn. She, of course, chose TinkerBell and Mason went into whine mode. "But Mom, we always watch TinkerBell. We've seen it like a million times."

Suddenly I was brought back to a time when Mason was about the same age as Sophie is now and there was a little movie by the name of Cars that consumed our every existence. I can't tell you how many times I heard that movie playing in the car, over and over and over...I just know I have the entire dialogue memorized. Back to 2008, the year of Cars and the reason we gave Mason's room at our new house a Cars theme. The reason we made an extra stop in the car isle of Target every trip. The reason his second birthday party had a Cars cake and little toy cars for favors and why we have just about every character from the movie (or at least I tried really hard to find them) that now collect dust in a box because the cars with eyes are no longer cool and we have moved on to the real life ones like corvettes, mustangs, mini coopers, toyota prius, and now monster trucks. Though now that Cars 2 is about to debut in the theaters this summer, that might all change.

Remembering all this, I turned to Mason who was pleading to watch something else and just said, "suck it up." Like Cars, I actually enjoy the TinkerBell movies, of which we have the first two. (The third is in storage awaiting a, no doubt, TinkerBell themed second birthday party) Though I wonder if I too would grow tired of the movie if not for it being a series and having the luxury of more than one to chose from.

In the meantime I'm gonna just sit here and enjoy my cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows and the troublesome little tinker fairy. Isn't motherhood just so...flitterific?

Mirror image

2011-01-21T09:00:00.000-05:00

I love how my son's idea of cleaning up mirrors my own from childhood.

20 months...almost.

2011-01-17T19:56:00.004-05:00

Tinkerbell and Never Neverland might just be her favorite thing right now, but refusing to grow up is far from her latest attitude.

Fred and I have been debating the idea of giving her a big girl room when she turns two, just like we did for Mason. Fred thinks it's too early, she isn't ready. I disagree. And I now have the evidence to prove it.

Tonight, the kids were playing in Mason room. Sophie, like always, climbed up into Mason's bed. This time, however, when we asked her to come out and she, of course, refused; she laid down and closed her eyes. Oh, for cute. Upon hearing us laugh, she popped back up, all smiles. Assuming she was tired, and really it was her bed time anyway, I said, "are you ready to go night, night?" Her response, "Kay." And then she pulled up the covers, laid back down in Mason's bed, closed her eyes, holding them tight and repeated "night, night" over and over.

Yeah. So, she might not talk all that well, or manage the stairs on her own just yet, but, I have this feeling she's ready to be a big girl.

Deck the Halls-Dec. 23rd

2010-12-28T15:18:00.003-05:00

Like literally. Our halls (ahem, house) have been decked. If you haven't caught on our screened in deck is finally finished. Woohoo!

A project we started back in mid October that was supposed to take only three weeks to finish turned into two and a half months. There were many delays. Most of which could not be helped. Things like weather, death in the family, and availability of product. However it is done (completed only days before Christmas and the final inspections and approvals a few days after) and we are extremely grateful to our friend, Ryan, and his company, Brian's Construction, for such a wonderful job they did. Fred designed it beautifully and they executed that design with patience and skill.

What I love about this deck; it is totally maintenance free. The floor and railing tops are Trex, the balusters are iron and the whole deck is wrapped in a pvc type material called Azek. The screen system is such that it allows us to switch them out no problem in case of damage.

Now we will actually be able to go out and enjoy our deck without the bother of bugs and the burn your skin off heat from the direct sunlight that hits the back of our house ALL DAY LONG. Not to mention there is no other deck in the neighborhood that looks like ours. It is totally unique. And seriously, I really WILL NOT be missing the red stained feet and socks from the god awful paint that used to be the floor of our deck.

Oh how I wish it was spring, or just a little bit warmer like 60 degrees, so I could sit outside on my deck with my laptop, a cup of coffee, breathing in the fresh air and relaxing.

Portable North Pole-Dec. 15th

2010-12-26T16:06:00.006-05:00

I wrote about this last year, you can read the post here. I thought the Portable North Pole was THE coolest thing I had ever seen. I still have no idea how Fred found it but I am so glad he did. After seeing Mason's reaction to it last year, I knew we had to continue this as a tradition, and just as I was thinking about it, I got an email from someone at the PNP. How cool that they read my blog! Apparently they had great success last year and added some new features for the 2010 season.

I highly suggest you check them out for next year, if you haven't already. Putting a video together was new for me since it was Fred who created it all last year but it was super easy. When you go to the site you choose between toddler, child or grown-up. Next you answer a series of questions as to what you would like your child to work on behaviorally and whether or not they made a reasonable effort, what you expect from them over the holidays, and what part of the North Pole you think they would most like to visit. Then you get to choose a few pictures to upload, such as a family vacation or birthday party and enter a gift the child has been wanting. Seriously, this thing is cool. Though I think I had the most fun watching each of my child's reactions to their custom video from Santa.

Mason, having been through this once before, got to tour the Reindeer Training Center and spent the video answering Santa's questions and talking with him on the video. Though he was still surprised at how Santa knew he was in school, was four years old, and about his awesome vacation to the beach. He agreed he needed to work on being nice to his sister and waved good-bye to Santa when it was all over. However, the best part was his face when he saw what gift Santa knew he'd been asking for.

He turned to me and said, "Mommy, Santa's bringing me a red Camaro with black stripes! YES!" All I could think was, Shit. Now I have to go out to the store and frantically search for a red Camaro with black stripes. All because that was the first photo I found on the internet. Lucky me that I found one within the first few minutes of searching in the car aisle at Target. Christmas Miracle it was, I swear.

Sophia, on the other hand, being her first year experiencing the wonder of the PNP, I was curious to see if she liked it. She was glued to the screen the whole time.

I'm not sure if she really knew what was going on, though I kept pointing out Santa to her. Just enthralled she was and when it came to her special gift, TinkerBell Movie, she sat up, excited and pointed.

And just like Mason, she kept wanting to watch it over and over again. I don't know who came up with this, but it is brilliant. Seriously, brilliant. Friends and family, all fawn over these videos just in awe over the detail that goes into it and how real it feels. I truly think this is going to be our new yearly tradition for the kids. It's Santa in the new age.

Don't get me wrong, I still love the nostalgic letter to Santa and will continue to do this as well, but even Santa has to keep up with the technological boom. And what is more tech than Santa contacting you via the internet, or rather the Portable North Pole as they call it? I hope upon all hopes that this is what keeps my children believing. Even if they don't believe it really is Santa in the suit when we take pictures; maybe, just maybe, they will keep believing in the magic through the PNP.

And you know, they have an option for grown-ups, so I'm thinking next year Santa just might contact me.

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas

2010-12-25T07:00:00.002-05:00

It's Christmas Eve in Washington...

2010-12-24T17:11:00.006-05:00

Well the suburbs of Washington anyway, and as we spent the day making our traditional holiday cookies I decided I would share a few more December moments.

Each year we get our pictures taken with Santa. Santa, of course, being my Dad. I really love that he is still able to do this. It is such a wonderful set of memories and photos for my children to be able to have. Them sitting on pop-pop's lap, dressed up as Santa and discussing what they want for Christmas. If I had any question as to whether or not my son was on to us last year, I no longer do. He is four years old and has already got it figured out.

After last year's fiasco with Mason refusing to sit on Santa's lap, I went into this knowing it would be an uphill battle, but was pleasantly surprised when he hopped right up onto his lap and starting pointing out all the cars he wanted from the MatchBox catalog.

Sophia on the other hand was little miss attitude and had to be bribed with the musical hallmark ornament she was playing with earlier, in order to sit on Santa's lap. But once there, she managed to sit still and show off how cute she can really be.

All in all I think the photo shoot went well. I wanted to include a photo with Santa in the card this year and my Dad graciously agreed to take the photos earlier than normal. Successfully, I got a few different shots to choose from.

Mostly I really like seeing the progression of the kids as they grow older. How they interact with Santa and how willing they are to believe. Mason, as I said earlier, was pretty sure he figured it out. He Insisted that Santa was Pop-Pop. Here is how the conversation went:

Mason: You're Pop-Pop turned into Santa.

Mommy: He's Santa.

Mason: No.

Daddy: Who is he normally?

Mason: He's normally Pop-Pop.

Mommy: No, he's Santa.

Mason: No! He's Pop-pop. [A pause as he thinks for a moment] Are you Pop-Pop?

Santa: I'm Santa Clause!

Mason: No, you're Pop-Pop.

*Sigh*

By the end of the conversation we gathered that he thinks it was Pop-Pop but he still believes in Santa, and that Pop-Pop knows Santa. So maybe not all is lost. At least he still believes there is a Santa after all. I really wonder what next year will bring, he is getting too smart for his own good. And he better not spill the beans to Sophie either.

Oh well, we got the photos and all is good. And just for fun I sat on Santa's lap too.

I'm really going to miss this when, hopefully many years from now, the kids will have out grown Santa or my Dad can no longer do this.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2010-12-23T11:04:00.009-05:00

Even though we put up the tree on Nov. 27th this year, the earliest ever, we still managed to be digging through boxes and struggling to get the house all holly jolly with decorations up until the last minute.

As with the stockings, everything sort of got a shift this year. It's been one of learning and growing. Nothing is in the place it was last year, but I kind of like that. This is our third Christmas in this house and we are still learning how to make it a home. Deciding what works and what doesn't.

Some new things this year are the glass jars, that I absolutely love, filled with ornaments and glass beads. The frame on the dining room table has the free Be Merry and Bright download from Becky Higgins in it. My plan with this frame is to rotate a different digital print each season. The Playmobil Nativity Scene is new and really cute. I thought the kids would love it, as they could arrange the scene and play with the characters however they wanted. It sits on one of end tables in our living room. I moved the wreaths to the french doors leading into the library. It spreads out the holiday decor throughout the main level and keeps me from going insane each time they would fall off the only window we have facing the front of the house.

I added the Joy ornament to the wreath that hangs on our door. I like it a lot more now. Added a little color and pop to it, don't you think? I tried to find a welcome sign but they were all too big. Instead, a Welcome sign hangs around the end stair post as you first walk in. It is a wooden sleigh with a Santa face that reads Believe as well as Welcome.

The stairs are decorated pretty much the same. Lighted garland wraps the top banister. This year, I added wire garland to the bottom, weaving it through the balusters as I worked my way up the stairs. Gold, red and green ribbon bows are attached to each post; made with the wonderful Bowdabra. (Haven't put that thing to use in years. Such a wonderful tool it is.)

Scented pine cones sit in a gold basket next to a ceramic pitcher filled with white poinsettias on the other end table in the living room. The silk blooms came about because we had Zeke and poinsettias are poisonous to cats. Four years since his passing and I still haven't found the heart to buy the real thing. More silk flowers lie in various size vases in the corner of the dining room.

Though quite possibly my favorite decoration was my husband's brilliant idea last year; to wrap the pillars separating the living and dining rooms as candy canes. The tree still sits in the bay window in our dining room. We contemplated moving it into the hallway this year. But left it where it is. I feel it is out of the way here and still the perfect spot to build our village underneath once the kids get older.

Speaking of village. I have been begging Fred to get an electric train for under the tree for 5 years now. He keeps coming up with excuses and putting me off. Mason is a big train fanatic, he owns almost every Thomas train there is, and now with Sophie developing a strong interest, I really wanted one for this year. However it was looking like once again it was not to be. And then a Christmas miracle happened. Fred was installing recessed lights in my parents kitchen on a Grandma Sunday. Mason and my Mom were putting up the village and brought out the train they bought to put around the tree. As luck would have it, the train was huge. Too huge to place under the tree with the village and so Fred no longer had an excuse and I finally got my train. Doesn't it just look awesome?

The kids were over the moon about it. There is a Santa at the engine, it plays Christmas music and, it goes forward and backward. I LOVE IT! Thanks Mom and Dad.

And that is it for the holiday tour of our home. Hope you enjoyed it and maybe got a few ideas for yourselves for next year.

Dear Santa-Dec. 2nd

2010-12-22T20:46:00.005-05:00

Today I took the kids to the mall after picking up Mason from school. I NEEDED to find him some waterproof gloves for this year. It was round two after Sophia having a nasty reaction to a cookie she ate a week earlier and me having to rush home to get some Benadryl into her.

First we stopped at Chick Fil A to grab some lunch. I wanted full tummies before attempting the long haul a trip to the mall meant. They both ate well so I let them have some play time before heading out. Sophia did really well managing obstacles and Mason played friendly with the other kids. When it was time to go, they easily got on their shoes without fussing and we headed to the mall.

The day was going well so far. After settling on the first pair of mittens we found at Sears, the last pair in his size, I decided to turn my efforts into finding a Christmas outfit for myself. The kids, understandably getting bored and tired and hungry, were begging for a train ride. Since I do have a tendency to be horrible at making decisions, especially on clothes, I realized the kids needed a break.

Sophia, having developed an interest in trains, was just as excited as Mason for the ride. She was looking out the windows, smiling and giggling. Mason was being his usual friendly self and waiving to all the shoppers as we passed. At the end of the ride I wanted to get a photo of the kids in front of the train. Mason happily posed but Sophie was not so cooperative. I settled for what I got.

But realized that patience were wearing thin. I made Macy's my last store and even though I hadn't intended on writing our letters to Santa so soon, when the whining started I made a beeline for the Believe meter rising above the rows of clothes. There I would find a little red table and chair, and a box of pre-designed letters sitting next to that adorable Santa's mailbox. Mason was super excited having experienced it last year. He quickly sat down and diligently wrote his letter.

I am so proud of him. Since starting school, he has done such an excellent job in not only learning to spell but to write. He is far from perfect. Spelling words backwards when writing them out more often than not, but he tries so hard and has come so far. I love that he wanted to do this all on his own this year. I stepped back and gave him the space and privacy he deserved. When he was done, he quietly walked over to the mailbox and waited for me to get into position for the picture picture before placing it in.

I then handed over my iPhone to Mason as I assisted little Sophia with her letter. My battery for my camera was being charged at home and had forgotten to grab it when I walked out the door, so all I had was my iPhone and ironically my battery was getting dangerously low. Sophia did well, doodling on her letter and really not wanting my help at all. So I mostly observed. She quietly and happily drew away, writing her own letter to Santa.

However, when it came to me having her stop her letter writing and actually put it in the mailbox, the little diva tested my patience to the core. I had to remove her from the chair and lead her to the mailbox but she did not want to let it go. This was the closest she got before proceeding to have an all out screaming meltdown tantrum in the middle of Macy's.

Even after Mason assured her that it was o.k., showing her the opening in which to place her letter, she still ran off into the clothing racks clutching tight to that letter, flailing on the ground and leaving Mason and I just looking at each other and me totally mortified. After what felt like a million minutes of trying to calm her down, my battery died and I knew I wouldn't get the picture I wanted of Sophie so cutely placing her letter in the mailbox to send off to Santa for the very first time. So, defeated, I gave up.

And just to prove that she was the boss, as I got ready to pick her up and put her in the stroller she calmly walked over to the mailbox, smiling now, and dropped that letter right into the slot.

Rethinking the Holidays

2010-12-20T13:47:00.008-05:00

We've had to re think how we are decorating this year for Christmas. With a sassy one year old running around, it has caused some snags we weren't expecting.

Traditionally the stockings are hung by the chimney with care. And I bought these super adorable vintage looking snowman mantel hangers last year. However this year, after hanging everything up and it looking oh so pretty, Sophia walked right up the the fireplace and yanked on the garland causing a cascade of falling holiday decorations. One by one the stockings, their heavy holders, the garland and other nicknacks came tumbling down narrowly missing my daughters head and thankfully causing little to no damage to them as they hit the marble hearth below. Which sustained no damage itself. Phew! That was a close call. Only now I had to come up with a new idea to hang the stockings.

It took me about a day and then I had it. I raided my stash of ribbon and with the assistance of my eager son, we hung the stockings by the stairway with care instead. See picture above. Seeing them there now, I actually really like it. Maybe even better than the mantel, and just might make this their new permanent home for the holidays.

This is the mantel as we have decorated it without the stockings. Except now we don't have those three candle holders in the center because they got in the way of the sensors for the television and cable box. Yes, that is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix we are watching on the television. It was just after having seen The Deathly Hallows in the theatre and decided upon a Harry Potter marathon for the rest of the weekend.

Stay tuned for more holiday decor and December Daily sharing.

A lesson learned. Hopefully.

2010-12-17T20:37:00.000-05:00

The last day of school before winter break. Snow still on the ground from the few inches of snowfall the day before. Two hour delay had carpool starting an hour later than normal and our day a little out of sorts. Luckily we got a phone call for a play date from Mason's best friend. After a quick lunch and a phone call to the doctors (who ironically is the father of our play date friend) we had Sophia dosed up with Benadryl for her stomach rash and headed out the door.

Met with uber excitement the kids threw off their winter gear and ran off to play. As usual they eventually wanted a snack so we made chocolate ice cream from a recipe in High Five magazine. With just some soy milk, ice, sugar, salt and 10 minutes of shaking we had our ice cream. I thought it was pretty cool, but like all new things we try there is a margin of error. And unfortunately the plastic bags broke and our ice cream ended up quite salty. Now we know for next time. Double bag.

A few hours later, kids still playing and Sophia asleep on my shoulder; it was after all about 4:30pm, the boys were upstairs playing and we sat on the couch for some girl talk and downtime. Then it happened.

My son started to scream. Blood curdling screams that let us know something was terribly wrong. He comes running down the stairs and very clearly upset and in pain. The reason? His best friend had bit him.

WHAT?!

Yeah, that was our reaction too. Totally in disbelief. But sure enough I lifted up Mason's shirt and there there perfectly aligned teeth marks on his upper back. Seriously, neither of us knew quite how to handle the situation. Mostly we were both stunned and in shock. Totally mortified, my friend went into action with discipline as any Mom would do. She called her husband, a.k.a. my son's doctor, and it was decided we would stick around till he got home to have him take a look. I swear Mason cried for like 45 minutes. My heart was breaking for my poor little boy and I kinda panicked inside, unsure of how to make it better. All I could do was hold him and assure him that his best friend still liked him and that Daddy would not be mad that he got bit. Though I have to say my heart broke the worst when Mason cried, "I don't want to come over here anymore." That's when his best friend erupted into tears and ran into the other room. My friend and I, the Mom's we are, just looked at each other with sad eyes. We knew better but still did not want to see this end their long time friendship of 3 years.

Honestly for me, I understand that these things happen. Boys will be boys. They play rough, they disagree. They are after all only four years old. The biggest issues at this age are sharing and learning to control their emotions. It probably didn't help that neither one had a nap and were clearly at that tired but totally wound up stage. I'm not sure how I would have handled it if our roles were reversed. I thank God that they weren't. I was still in shock. I had never seen my friend's son act out like that. Though inside I was saying to myself, "what a relief her son acts this way too." I know we always think our kids are the only ones that turn into terrors the moment they are alone with us in the house and no one believes they can act so different than the sweet, easy chid they see at school, or gym class. It was a bit of comfort to see evidence that my friends, who I feel are so perfect, go through the same thing. Maybe the one good thing that comes out of all of this will be my son never becoming a biter.

As I am writing this, I am still befuddled about how it all went down. I'm not sure we will ever know. I only know this; Mason calmed down, we had another snack, played a few games of sword fight on Wii. Smiles came back and by the time it was time to head home, we had a prescription of antibiotics, instructions on how to clean the wound, and as I suspected, my son declaring, "I want to come back tomorrow."

December Daily

2010-12-17T14:00:00.000-05:00

Seriously, I had every intent on doing another one this year. However, life had other plans.

*Sigh*

I am so tired of being busy. So busy that even my friends are like, "where's Rachel?" Where am I? Up to my eyeballs in Preschool, Holidays, and Motherhood. For real. I have a few things to put on my NOT TO DO list for next year.

However, I've been taking photos, and from time to time, writing things down about each day. But no where near the caliber and detail that I did last year. I don't even have the foundation of album done yet and feeling like this project is totally hopeless with how far behind I have become. Though I am trying to channel Ali Edwards and say to myself, there are no rules. It doesn't have to be perfect. Just get the story down and only tell the stories you want to tell.

And so I will.

Little Miss Helpful

2010-12-16T16:38:00.007-05:00

We've hit the stage where she has discovered the use of tissues and the trash can. While normally I would be delighted that she is wanting to blow her own nose, we are in the midst of coldville in this house and she doesn't always get all of the snot and now I realize it is no wonder I finally came down with it too. And it doesn't always matter if she needs to use the them. Just like her brother did at this age, she finds the nearest tissue box in her reach and pulls them out one by one and then runs off to the trash to throw it in. I find myself torn between praising her for knowing the correct thing to do and scolding her for wasting a precious commodity in this household of colds and allergies. But this is not the worst of it. I remember finding it so cute when Mason was this age, that you could give him a wadded up piece of paper and he'd run to the trash can to throw it away and happily rush back to do it again. She is not so cute. We have so far dug out; two clothespins, the handle to the vintage popcorn popper, the popcorn scoop, a sippy cup and my credit card.

Fred finds that last one real amusing. Something along the lines of my spending habits followed by hysterical laughter.

Chalkboard Paint-oh how I love thee!

2010-11-29T09:00:00.000-05:00

I have a new obsession. It is chalkboard paint. I want to put it on everything. Well, not really everything but I'm sure Fred feels that way. He thinks I've gone crazy since the last few projects I've done involve chalkboards in some way. I just really think there are some creative things you can do with it, and after perusing the Internet I've seem some inspiring ideas and am just itching to try them.

But for now I am sharing with you my two most recent chalkboard paint creations.

This project was used for Mason's birthday party. I originally wanted to make a sign digitally but being so busy it just wasn't coming together. On one of my many shopping trips to Target, I came across this mirror in the clearance section. It was bright magenta and just really awful looking, but it was only $2 and I thought, I can just spray paint the pink white and make this a chalkboard. Which is exactly what I did. (After it was all done I thought that I should have gotten some before pictures to show the transformation, but you live and learn). I thought it would take many coats to cover that pink and Fred didn't think it would stick to the plastic but it only took two and worked great. And the chalkboard paint worked perfectly on the glass. I know I have to be careful cause it still is glass and breakable which is why it will have a permanent home in my craft room. The sign worked great for Mason's party and now I can use it for jotting down ideas for scrapbooking and other crafts.

This one came about after some creative Internet searching. I've seen these mini clipboards at A.C. Moore and just thought they were so cute and wanted to buy some but not sure of what to do with them other than use them as mini clipboards (which, yeah that would be cute), but I wanted something a little more creative. So I stumbled upon this post about travel clipboard chalkboards she made her children. While she used regular size clipboards, I immediately thought of the mini ones and ran out to grab one and give it a try.

For both of these projects, I decided to use the chalkboard spray paint as opposed to the regular paint. Seeing as I didn't have much luck with the magnetic paint I tried in my craft room. It doesn't hold anything and is really a worthless brown section on my wall. Most people said the spray paint for these small projects works better and I have to say it worked perfectly. I am impressed with how well it covered and how easily it was to make just about anything a chalkboard.

As always, Mason had a say in the details. He gets so excited over my projects and is so eager to help with anything these days. I love that attitude about him. He picked out this owl paper and it's been sitting in a special place for months. I thought this would be the perfect project to use it, because eventually I know it would make it into his hands and he would be able to draw on it, practice writing on it and keep himself busy in boring situations. Well at least that was my hope. But mostly I intended to use this idea as a memo board to jot down messages, a phone number, etc.

To make this, I unscrewed the metal clip and set it aside. Then I spray painted the entire clipboard. I used two coats and alternated the direction of spray. That is key to making sure you have a smooth, even surface. Then I let it sit for 24 hours. Once dry, I measured and cut the paper and attached it with adhesive. Then Mason helped pick out the ribbon (orange of course). I ran it through my xyron sticker maker and attached it. Then I gave it and the paper a once over with Mod Podge. The felt owl came as a sticker and I added that last. I tied a pieced of chalk to string that was tied to the metal clip I reattached once the board was dry. Mason promptly broke the chalk in half. The directions tell you to condition the paint by covering the surface once over with the chalk and then erasing, which I did, but I think on larger surfaces that would be too difficult and really messy. I think it would work just fine even if you skip this step.

I think it came out rather nice. I just need to find a place to properly hang it where Fred won't look at it and go nuts, that it is just one more thing hanging up in the house. Maybe I should just leave it in the car for Mason to use. Either way I think it came out nice and I totally plan on making some more.

November Thankful

2010-11-25T00:00:00.000-05:00

This year I got so busy, I didn't participate in the daily November Thankful as I did last year. I loved documenting the little things I was thankful for each day, but I feel there is a need to take a different approach. Why do I wait till November to reflect upon the gifts I have been given in this life, to be grateful for who I am and what I have? I recently got the Live Creative eZine from Christine Kane. In it she talks about Gratitude as being a way of life, a practice. This is how I have been feeling lately; a want, a need to live a life of Gratitude. I want to be more aware of what is around me, to really be here in the present moment. Stop worrying about my past or what my future might hold. To be my own validator of my life and stop worrying about what others are doing, or how my life compares. I want to understand that I have a translation of life situations and they are my own choice. And those choices I have made and these changes I have gone through, have all brought me to where and who I am today.

I wanted to share with you just a few of these moments.

At my son's 4th birthday party, my Father told me that his Sister recently sent him a package full of poems that my Grandfather wrote when he was teenager. My Dad thought that I would like them and he was so right. Despite my busy life, I found a snippet of time to sit down and read a few of them. In reading his words, I felt a closeness to my Grandfather I never achieved during his years alive. In fact, I barely knew my Grandfather at all. By the time I remember meeting him, he had already had a stroke (I think maybe even two) and lost all function and feeling to the left side of his face. I was only like nine or ten years old, so young and had never had a full encounter with someone with a disability. I was unable to communicate with him well and I found him a bit scary. That was the last time I saw my Grandfather alive. I often think about how I missed my chance to ask him about his life. But now through these poems (and the letter sent from his sister) I feel I have gotten a second chance and I am grateful. Because, I never knew my Grandfather had aspirations of being an artist and musician. Growing up, I read and wrote many poems. I had dreams of being an artist, though I can't draw very well, but really shine in photography and other crafts. I often wondered where I got my talents and I realize I now know and had so much more in common with one of my Grandparents than I ever thought before. I am so incredibly grateful for my Aunt for sending this to my Father, and for my Father acknowledging how much I value our family history to pass them on to me. And in doing so, giving me a piece of my Grandfather I never had before.

This year is the first in which most of Fred's family is living on the east coast, and in the Northern Virginia area. It has been an unexpected joy to have everyone so close. My family and my husbands. I think more for Mason and Sophie, that they get a chance to really know their Great Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. Holidays are sure to get a new twist, which I am actually looking forward to. Mostly I am one who loves tradition. In tradition we find comfort. For the last 18 years my family has kept a tradition for Thanksgiving. It started when my sister, Kerri, and her family moved to Ohio. We would travel each Thanksgiving holiday to visit. Instead of having a cooked dinner, it was a small house, we went to The Old Country Buffet. We liked it so much, it stuck. Even after my Sister moved back to Virginia, even when my other sister and I graduated from college, even when I moved out to live with Fred. We still went to The Old Country Buffet. But now, for the first time in 18 years we will have a sit down, cooked dinner at home. Well, not our home, but Fred's Grandparents new home. There will be 22 of us and I am so looking forward to spending time with everyone. I am not one who handles breaking with tradition and stepping out of my comfort zone all too well. But this year, I have felt more than most, a need to be with family. To spend as much time as possible in the company of those who love us. Who knows, if all goes well, maybe this will become a new Thanksgiving tradition.

Life has been an out of control emotional roller coaster the last few years. Marked with a few dark and desperate moments I wasn't sure we'd make it through. Yet, somehow, I am constantly reminded of the strength of the human spirit and the power of true and honest love. I am shown that we are full of mistakes, each and every one of us, but it is in the simple fact that we chose to work through them that really matters. I think back to my wedding vows and feel a profound thankfulness that I have this man, my husband, with whom I share my life every day. And for our two children who constantly teach me, and help me be a better person.

I truly am lucky in this life I live and I want to remember that, each and every moment of each and every day. I hope to keep some sort of daily gratitude of my life. Whether that be a simple mental note, or a physical one jotted down on a napkin, or even a whole blog post or scrapbook page. Living a life of Gratitude seems so much more fulfilling than not. During this holiday, as you reflect upon the things you are thankful for in your life, think about what that means. To live a life of Gratitude and start living it today.

Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Productivity with Creativity

2010-11-22T08:36:00.009-05:00

I've been up to some creative projects lately. Something I have totally missed doing over the last several months. I absolutely love to make things. Things for myself, and especially things for other people. In fact my holiday gift giving is going to be 90% handmade, or creative gifts this year.

I got the idea for the art display above from The Creative Crate. Very inspiring creative projects over there. Go check it out if you have some time. I originally wanted to cut out the quote using my Cricut machine, like Erin did, but found that to be difficult. I didn't like the font cartridges I had and the vinyl for the machine is expensive. So I searched and searched the Internet and ended up buying the vinyl quote from one of the stores on etsy. I then took fish eye hooks and placed them in the wall and strung picture hanger wire between them. I used small clothespins that I found at A.C. Moore and painted them white. However during that process I decided that spray painting them would have been way easier. Noting that I purchased white spray paint for future use.

I love this idea because now that Mason is in Preschool, he brings home artwork every Friday in his backpack. Since our stupid stainless steel refrigerator is non-magnetic. Who knew stainless steel wold not be magnetic? I don't have a place to display all this wonderful art. Now I do. The best part is that Mason feels so proud to have it all displayed in a special place, in our family room with all the other toys and kids stuff. Each Friday we rush home to open his backpack and see what new art we can display. Already it's been filled up and I am running out of room; twice the capacity you see in the photo and think I need to make yet another row. Mostly though, I really enjoy sitting at the table or on the couch, looking up and seeing all my son's creativity staring back at me.

Speaking of Preschool. In the previous post I mentioned how incredibly busy I am with all the room parents duties, fundraisers, permission slips, parent connection committee, etc. I sort of anticipated this year being a bit crazy, so I figured I needed some sort of organized area for all the school stuff. Enter the SIC.

This is what Fred dubbed it anyway. I call it the School Information Center. It's a small section of countertop in our kitchen that I cleared away for all the important school stuff that comes home. Important dates go on the calendar, such as school closings, field trips, etc. Important notes, such as bring in $2 for grocery store trip and make sure orange shirt is cleaned for picture day, go on the chalkboard. Important papers to be signed or filed, go in the metal file basket (the most important on top with sticky notes). Anything else, like invites to the PCC social or ornament exchange get tacked to the board. It really helps keep things in perspective to be all in one place and in plain view where I spend most of my day.

To make this center I repurposed an old cork board I had down in my craft room. I painted it white, then covered the cork with coordinating scrapbook paper, using Mod Podge, to make it look pretty instead of boring. I then put a layer of Mod Podge over the paper to help with wear and tear. The chalkboard is a vinyl piece I picked up at A.C. Moore but you could do the same with chalkboard paint, and make it any size and shape you want.

For the calendar, which is like a dry erase board, I used a cheap picture frame I picked up at A.C. Moore. I spray painted it black then used the glass as my base. On the inside I used a permanent marker (which wipes off with some alcohol), to make the grid. I then used rub-ons I had in my stash for the word, MONTH, and stickers for the days of the week. Voila! A dry erase homemade calendar, way cheaper and a little more elegant than the ones you get at the store. Once again I got this idea for the calendar over at The Creative Crate.

This project has been in the works for a really, really long time.

I can't remember exactly when I got the idea that I wanted to make a mobile for Sophie, possibly when she broke the hand-me-down airplane mobile that played twinkle, twinkle; the one I so very much adored when Mason was a baby. However, sometime in March I searched for ideas on how to make it and gathered supplies. I know this because the photos I took of the butterfly mobile I saw at Pottery Barn on my camera says it was March. I used that as inspiration, and while Sophie was still a lump laying on the floor, I spread out my supplies, turned on reruns of Cold Case, and assembled my creation. And then it sat in Sophie's room for 7 months until I decided to finally hang it up a few weeks ago. I found some butterflies with alligator clips at Michaels, and the green wreath with pink crystals was on sale. I then used clear jewelry wire to hand the butterflies from the wreath. It turned out rather nice.

This is how it looks in her room, hanging above her crib. She seems to love it. Even saying something that sort of sounds like butterfly, while pointing to it at bed time. I think it looks great in the room. Adding a little more girly to the nursery as we decide how to prepare it, or the guest bedroom, for her big girl makeover.

I have a few more projects that I've done, dealing with chalkboard paint. A post on those is in the works so stay tuned for that.

In the meantime I am reveling in the time I have with our family and this holiday of gratitude. Mason is out of school this whole week (ugh!) so I am stocking up on numerous crafts for us to do relating to the season. Keeping a preschooler and a toddler occupied for 24 hours is quite a feet and I imagine that the t.v. will play a big roll this week, as well as some Wii, and a few movie nights might make an appearance.

I never knew...

2010-11-14T19:39:00.005-05:00

When we first signed Mason up for preschool I had a whole different idea of how I figured things would be as opposed to how they have turned out. Here are just a few of the things I never knew before becoming a mother of a preschooler:

I never knew that sending my son to preschool would make me want to go back. What fun, creative things they do each day and how exciting the teacher makes each lesson.

I never knew that three hours is really not enough time to get anything worth while done.

I never knew that I'd be twice as busy.

I never knew that signing on for room parent duties would put me in the role of leader, or that I'd feel so overwhelmed with the work. Taking on more than I could handle once you added on volunteering with the Parent Connection Committee. Note to self: you don't have to be supermom. Your kids will know you love and support them. Next year, room parent is enough.

I never knew I'd be so nervous at picture time and then anxiously awaiting their return, only to be brought to tears at the grown up little man staring back at me.

I never knew I'd look forward to planning, preparing and bringing in snacks for his class.

I never knew that watching little 4 year olds parade in their halloween costumes would be the highlight of my day.

I never knew I'd be so scared of parent-teacher conferences.

I never knew I'd see my son write his name after only two months.

I never knew the excitement of Fridays and a red folder would bring. To see what new art project he brought home and proudly hang it in our family room.

I never knew the extra amount of laundry I'd have on my plate, due to finger paints, play doh and god knows what else coming home all over his shirts.

I never knew that during sharing time, when asked what they are thankful for; my son would say he is thankful for parks, cars and his teacher.

I never knew how much Fred would love this school.

I never knew the joy of going to pick up my son and seeing his smile as he runs into my arms. Or the happiness of my daughter having her big brother back home as she reaches across the car to hold his hand on the way home.

I never knew I'd be so surprised by the explosion of my sons imagination and creative play. Or my new found inspiration in being crafty at home with my kids.

Mostly, I never knew that preschool would be an opportunity for both Mason and I to learn, build confidence and independence and really, truly grow.

So, yeah, that's where I've been this past month. Up to my eyeballs in preschool. Writing and sending emails. Going to meetings, taking notes, checking the yahoo group. Remembering fundraisers, soccer class on wednesdays and classroom events. Dropping off and picking up. Having family visit and preparing for holidays. Having our deck rebuilt and screened in. Coordinating teacher gifts, pot luck feasts, running endless errands and attending birthday party after birthday party.

Phew! I'm tired just reading that. How about you?

Mason hasn't had a proper "grandma sunday" in over two months and we haven't had a weekend to just sit and breathe. Not to mention the state of domesticity. The house is a mess, the laundry impossible to keep up and the fridge looking a bit empty. Getting some "me time" has gotten more difficult and things like my blog, facebook and twitter have gotten neglected. Everyday it is one more thing on the list and one more minute of me trying to hold it all together and not be a raving lunatic. But then, I take a step back and think; it's all just a part of the next step in motherhood.

Like Mother, Like Son

2010-10-21T12:57:00.004-04:00

I just caught up on episodes of Bones last night and it was the one with Dr. Bunsen Jude the Science Dude. That name totally makes me laugh. Anyway, his signature phrase was "That's A-MA-ZING!" I totally think I'm going to use this from now on. And say it in just that way too (Uh-Maaaaaay-Zing).

Uh-hem. Anyway. Back to the topic.

As if there wasn't enough evidence that I ended up with a child "just like me," my son decides that orange is his favorite color. This, of course, requires that EVERYTHING be orange. From the floss stick he uses use at night, to the clothes he wears each day.

Recently at school they have been using bean bags and playing games with them. He asked me if we could buy some bean bags and I, being the crafty mom I am, convinced him that I could make him bean bags just as cool as any store bought ones. About 30 minutes into picking out the fabric for these bags I realize I should have kept my mouth shut. Standing there in the store, listening to my son whine, "no! It has to be JUST orange!" about to rip my hair out and lose my mind if he doesn't just PICK ONE ALREADY. I suddenly had a revelation.

I am about 6 or 7 years old. It's 1980 something and we are on our annual family get together at Kings Dominion. My grandmother has just agreed to buy my sister and I any shirt we want. While my sister picked hers out in a few minutes, I want a purple shirt. Why? Purple is my favorite color and everything I get has to be purple. So I drag my poor grandmother to, no lie, EVERY SINGLE STORE in that park until we finally found one. To this day that story is still told at family events, and my grandmother, still a bit bitter about it all.

Now, standing in front of the rows and rows of fabrics, desperate to find an all orange one before my son has a total meltdown and I die of old age; I think to myself, "this is what my parents went through." And once again I am reminded of the fact that I was cursed, oops, I mean, blessed to have a child just like me.

*Note: we eventually found an all orange fabric, tucked away behind some other ones and it was THE LAST ONE. You can bet I grabbed that thing, held on for dear life, and ran to the checkout as fast as Mason could keep up.

16 months.

2010-10-13T10:31:00.004-04:00

This girl, I am LOVING her. Not that I didn't before. But now, these days, I am REALLY loving this girl.

This girl, who talks very little but understands much more than she can say. Like a sponge, she absorbs everything.

This girl, who is growing so fast.

This girl, who loves the camera.

This girl, who has become such a copy cat. From imitating our noises, facial expressions and actions to wanting to do everything her big brother is doing. Playing with cars and trains, joining in a game of chase or hide and seek, and sitting on the stairs, next to him, to get her shoes put on in the morning.

This girl, who loves to eat. Grapes, string cheese, gerber sweet potato puffs. Pretty much anything you put in front of her. And who still throws her sippy cup and plate on the floor.

This girl, who is constantly on the move. Running here and there. She never wants to be held for very long. Whose walk is pigeon toed causing her to swing her hips just so, that her skirts twirl.

This girl, whose personality has really burst forth.

This girl, who loves to dance and knows how to be silly.

This girl, who is very much like her brother, rough and tumble. But still enjoys a cute tutu and admiring herself in front of the mirror.

This girl, who gives high fives and cheers. Who pouts and gives you dirty looks.

This girl, who is fearless. Running full steam into waves, and going head first down slides.

This girl, who can throw a tantrum with the best of them. Screaming, hitting, falling on the floor, crying and looking oh so pathetic. Who will actually sit in time out for a full minute. Forty percent of the time.

This girl, who has developed a relationship with her brother. Who gets frustrated when he takes a toy away but who still wants to hold his hand in the car. Who misses him each day he's at school. Who sometimes gives hugs and kisses and is always, ALWAYS willing to play and be goofy with him.

This girl, who likes to have her teeth brushed before bed and enjoys books.

This girl who charms the pants off of strangers while shopping and family who visits. Whose smile melts your heart and whose giggle is infectious.

This girl, who surprises me everyday. When the basement door is left open and I see her heading in that direction I panic. Thinking she is headed for the stairs and going to tumble down them, I jump up only to find she is helpfully closing the door. Then turns to me, nods her head and claps her hands in self acknowledgement of a job well done.

This girl, who has discovered crayons.

This girl. This 100% mama's girl, who has given me the opportunity to know what it feels like to be the preferred parent. I LOVE IT.

This girl, who can follow simple instructions. Like, "bring me your boots."

This girl, who sometimes reminds me of Zeke. When I am in the bathroom and I see these tiny little fingers appear under the door and a little voice call out, "hi."

This girl, who looks good in hats. Which is good because she doesn't have much hair yet. And even though I dress her in pink, people still think she is a boy.

This girl, who still takes two naps a day.

This girl...

Yeah, I love this girl.

I got a feeling, that tonight's gonna be a good night

2010-10-04T12:21:00.000-04:00

Saturday night we went to the the local VillageFest in our neighboring community. It wasn't our first experience at a carnival but to date it was the most memorable.

Entering fall and quite possibly the busiest time of year for us. Between birthdays, holidays, family visits and get together's, school events, NFL and any other local venues/events or happenings we'd like to attend, our weekends book up awfully fast. We barely seem to have time to breathe.

So, it was nice, after a gorgeous day of watching Daddy race at Summit Point, to spend some time with friends being silly, riding rides, getting messy with cotton candy and funnel cake and rocking in out to old school jams.

And can my kids rock it out or what? This scene had me cracking up almost all night.

Yeah, they take after me.

The gravity of a cavity

2010-09-29T13:34:00.011-04:00

It went a little something like this.

Me asking anyone and everyone, when is the right time you are supposed to take your child to the dentist? And like most things, getting a variety of answers. Then inquiring upon my dental hygenist friends about the stains that showed up on Mason's two front teeth. Followed by me pleading with my husband to put our kids back on dental insurance because I was certain Mason was getting to that age. However it wasn't until I was filling out the many forms required for my son's preschool, and the question asking for his dentist being left empty, that I seriously decided that I needed to get on the ball.

So yesterday I did a lot of research, phone call inquires and debating in order to find the right dentist for my child. About an hour later I had an appointment scheduled with Little Pearls Dentistry for Children. I chose them mostly because they are in-network for our insurance but also because they seemed to really have the children's comfort and interests in the forefront.

That night, I prepped Mason for what to expect. To help ease any anxiety that I was sure he might have. This is where I really love the internet. Mason in my lap, I pointed out the picture of the dentist, he is going to count your teeth. And if you have any questions or concerns you can ask him, just like your teacher. O.K.? I also pointed out the pediatric dental assistants to which Mason asked, Do you think the girl in green will clean my teeth? I read him the many testimonials from patients. Yes, the children. Things like: ...they give you a puppet to hold and let you watch your favorite t.v. show! Dude I don't get to watch my favorite t.v. show at my dentist. That is sooooo cool! And off to bed he went with a promise to bring whatever car he wanted, to hold instead of the puppet.

I woke up today having high hopes. Later in the afternoon, I left to pick up Mason from school. Getting my running hug, as always, I asked if he was ready for the dentist. Unfortunately we hadn't grabbed a car before we left and he pleaded to stop at home to get one. Being located just up the road from our neighborhood, always a plus when appointments are close to home, I didn't see a problem. Car now in hand and Mason in high spirits, we were off to the dentist.

We were greeted by a waterfall and fish tank as soon we walked in and were surprised with a Thomas train table around the corner. So while I filled out the necessary paperwork, Mason played with the train table while Sophie watched from the stroller. Once done, Mason got to choose a movie from a long list, he chose Aladdin, and holding on to my hand for comfort we headed to the back.

Holding tight to my hand, I placed Mason into the chair and the dental assistant promptly put on the movie. She was so great with Mason. Showing him the toothbrush she was going to use, how it worked and letting him touch it. Helping him put on sunglasses to shield his eyes from the light she needed to use to see in his mouth. I'm Dana by the way. I don't think I told you that. She worked as I stood in the background. The only issue Mason had was with the flavor we chose for him, raspberry. I don't like that, he said. The feeling? Does it tickle? Or the flavor? The flavor. Second time around he chose orange and liked it much better. I want orange every time o.k. mommy? Duly noted buddy.

He sat there so still, listening to her and following her directions when asked to open wider or chomp on the saliva ejector (yeah, I had to look that one up). I was so very proud of him. Do you mind if I take pictures? Camera at the ready. Go ahead. SWEET! Click. Click. Click. Enter Dr. Mike. He sat down, asked if there were any concerns on our end and started counting Mason's teeth. I turned my attention to Sophie, who was modeling excellent behavior herself. One of the nurses had given her a plush dolphin and she was showing it off, all smiles. So he is missing a tooth on the bottom. My attention shot back to the doctor. What? From what I was told this is not uncommon. Turns out instead of the normal four he only has three, missing an incisor. Sometimes the baby tooth just doesn't erupt. Nothing to do at this point but later on an x-ray will be necessary to see if an adult tooth is there or not.

Still trying to absorb the realization of my son missing a tooth (and the fact that I had no idea) I was hit with the news of a cavity. Crap. Really? No I didn't say that out loud but it's what I thought. And felt. The stain in between his two front teeth on the top, yup it's a cavity. And now I feel like such a failure as mother. While I have not taken very good care of my own teeth I really wanted to do better for my children. Still it is what it is, and I have to just accept it and move on. So I was told that we need to use a fluoride toothpaste and place a dab on the front and back on his teeth before bedtime. They said we could choose to separate the teeth to loosen the space between them to help. Not sure if I am comfortable with that. I'm not sure what it all entails, maybe sedation or numbing with a needle. Both of which would not go over well with Mason and cause him to fear the dentist in the future. So I guess we'll try the fluoride and see in six months how that goes. There was no mention of a filling or anything, so I guess it's not that bad but still it is a cavity. It was mentioned to stay away from foods with carbohydrates like goldfish and I seriously looked at the doctor like he was insane. He wants me to keep carbohydrates away from a three year old? Or he said to make sure to brush after he eats those foods. Realistically, I'm not thinking about brushing his teeth that many times a day and quite honestly he isn't in my presence for a whole three hours where he gets snacks. So honestly I don't see that happening too much.

I'm sure I'll be thought of as a horrible mother now because I don't brush my child's teeth more than just at bedtime but seriously I'm doing the best I can with strong personalities. I barely have enough time to get my son out of bed, fight with him to eat breakfast and then get dressed before heading out the door for carpool. And be on time. So to add tooth brushing on top of it is like, OH MY GOD, adding fuel to the fire. My daughter, I try to brush her teeth with the gum brush thing but, HELLO, she BITES MY FINGER and bites it hard. So bad that I have cried, certain she drew blood. You can bet I think twice before sticking any finger back in that death trap. But still I find myself so distraught over their heath, and now especially their teeth.

I went into this dental visit feeling hopeful that Mason would once again impress me with his coping skills, which in true fashion he did, but I left feeling depressed and concerned and a complete failure as a mother over a simple cavity and non-existent tooth.

*sigh*

Motherhood.

just a note: my husband so proudly came up with the title and I just had to give him credit. (Bet you didn't think you'd see me write that did you, babe?)

Let's start over

2010-09-26T10:45:00.007-04:00

Reading and catching up on my emails this rainy Sunday morning, I came upon the September newsletter from SARK. If you are not familiar with her I suggest you do so. An author and artist she in an inspiration to many. I was first introduced to her in college when a fellow classmate let me borrow the book, The Ultimate Nap Book: Change your life without getting out of bed. I was hooked. 10 years later: I own eleven books, follow her on twitter, read her blog and subscribe to her newsletter. Oh how great it is that technology allows me so many ways to indulge in wondrous inspiration.

As I said, her most recent newsletter caught my attention. A story about creative dreams. How they are not only projects, businesses or great ideas, but ways of living differently. She writes, "my mom was a grudge holder who was very concerned with being 'right.' I've carried on that tradition while having a creative dream of being and living differently...Don't you love how the world gives us new places and ways to practice?" Below is an excerpt of the story from her newsletter.

The story ended on a happy note and she made this statement: I was profoundly reminded that when we can live and behave differently than our reactive patterns we are also untangling other larger dynamics.

It got me thinking. Really thinking. Most recently about our beach trip and my actions or rather reactions to events that unfolded. Here is my story.

It was the second to last night and our big dinner out as a group. Without discussing it with everyone, Fred and I were just informed that we, as a group, were going to go leave for dinner at 6:30pm. Upon thinking about it Fred and I thought that was a bad idea. We made our concerns known. If we don't leave till 6:30pm, by the time we arrive at the restaurant, get seated and order our food it will be close to 7:30pm and the kids bedtime. While we want to eat and have a good time the kids will be losing steam and getting fussy. It made more sense to leave closer to 5:3o or 5:45pm in order to minimize the meltdowns. While one couple agreed with our assessment when mentioned to the other, they were less than agreeable. Their baby had to be fed at 5:30pm, their son was currently napping and they hadn't had showers yet. My solution to that was, get in the shower now, your son will wake up soon and you can feed the baby at the restaurant. Simple right?

Still they did what they wanted instead, which was stick to the not leaving till they wanted plan. So the closer it got to 6pm the more my kids started to get hungry, bored and meltdown. I knew we had to go and go soon. So I suggested that Fred and I head over there, get a table (my kids settled down and fed) and wait there for everyone else to join us when they were ready. This was of course ridiculous, we could just wait here, and I GOT MAD. I mean really PISSED OFF. I just sat there festering about how wrong they were and how much I disliked them, their selfishness and unwillingness to compromise. And I remained this way the rest of the night. Being unsocial at dinner, taking it out on my husband and kids. My anger turning to hurt. Even spending a few moments crying in the bathroom. How disappointed I was with our vacation this year, how I felt disrespected and disliked by my friends. How I so desperately wanted to go home. I left feeling detached from my friends when I should have felt more tight-knit. I was not feeling good about myself or the whole situation.

I've often thought about the whole trip and the events that resulted immediately and shortly thereafter. Mostly about my behavior. What I could have done differently. Like SARK, I too want to go back and say to everyone, "can we start over?" Because seriously, when I look at how I behaved, it was, again like SARK, self-righteous and defensive. While I was so upset over how I was being treated, how disgusted I was with the selfish behavior and uncaring toward other's feelings I too was acting just like them. I was uncaring how my unwillingness to let it go and unsocial behavior was causing uncomfortableness to those around me. And my anger, while maybe justified, was being directed to those who were undeserving of it's wrath.

We cannot change others, how they behave or think or feel. Change comes with a desire to be a better person, with respect for human life. As SARK says, we all have the opportunity to live and behave differently. And I for one have the desire.

So, let's start over shall we.