Paint me Beautiful

We frequently will watch my mom's dog Tawney. She's a good girl, she's great with the kids and let's them pretty much do anything and she's sweet.

Now I decided the other night that I would do something nice for myself and paint my nails. I never do that anymore....and I left out all my nail polish....and Thomas decided that it would be fun to Paint Tawney....and being as good as she is....she let him!

Beautiful shades of red, pink and even some blue on her shoulder blades! So much for my nails....By attempting to get the paint off of Tawney, it messed up my nails. Well maybe I'll try again soon!

Happy Wordful Wednesday!

Twilighting a winner

And the winner is A Mom with Boys with Toys, I will email you to get your info!
Congratulations!

And in other news, can I tell you how stinkin' excited I am that Eclipse is TOMORROW NIGHT!!! I have had my tickets for MONTHS.....MONTHS people! Already have the VIP seating, assigned seating....and me and my mom and a bunch of my besties will be living it up at the midnight showing rooting for our favorite side.

Are you a Twlighter? Who's your favorite? Team Edward or Team Jacob?

Picking and play

This Sunday we went to the local farm to pick our own....everything really. You can dig your own potatoes, you can pick your own zucchini.....but this week we stuck to the berries.

Raspberries, Boysenberries, blackberries, and Strawberries.
And forgive the pics, we forgot the camera, and these all came off my cell phone....

Thomas did a great job picking, as soon as you told him what to pick, he was all over it. Christopher I think spent more time eating than picking.....good thing Daddy picks faster than he could eat.

And it sure did get warm in a hurry, so Christopher enjoyed a little down time in the wagon.

And there are a ton of animals there, Thomas loved the snorting HUGE pig, which we did not get pics of, but Christopher enjoyed these little goats, who love to climb up and over the crowd

And then it was time to play, and both boys LOVE this wooden train...they can not seem to get enough play time on this thing every time we go.

Thomas haming it up for me....

Want to see more of Sundays in Cities from all over the world? Head on over to Unknown Mami's.

I call it Home

I posted this once before, and it's not really a "poem" so to speak, but it works for this pic...

Thoughts of summertime, the longer days, the warmer weather. Seeing the glassy ocean sparkling like diamonds in the snow. The warm sun upon your face, sliding your feet into the sand and feeling the coolness underneath. The soft breeze across your face, whispering gently in your ear. Walking along the shore, feeling the cool, cloudy water lapping at your feet and ankles over and over again. As the water retreats you feel the sand slide gently beneath your feet.

If you look carefully you may see some of the ocean's treasures it leaves behind on the shore with each crash of a new wave. The seashells, the sea glass, looking over and over for that one sand dollar that may be worth millions. That one perfect sand dollar, untouched by the waves and the sea gulls. If you slide your hands into the sand a wave just broke upon you can feel the sand crabs burrowing through your fingers.

Walking along to the pier, as the tide draws out to it's lowest point you will see the muscles that cling to the posts of the pier. Spending each and every day trying to survive the powerful ocean waves. Interesting pieces of driftwood laying upon the shore, brought there from the violent winter past. Drying and contorting into different shapes in the sun. People picking through it, looking for that one perfect piece to suit their needs.

Dogs running joyfully along the beach, playing in the waves, chasing pieces of driftwood or a ball, with their owners not so far behind. Back along the strand, the concrete blocks, you can see the squirrels coming out into the sunshine, blinking their sleepy eyes, all the while, completely aware of their dangerous surroundings. If you look out over the glistening ocean, you will see the pelicans hovering, flying all in a line, just inches above the water, looking for a tasty snack.

As the day slowly comes to an end, the sun sinking in the sky, the breeze picks up, blowing your hair across your face, shoulders and back. People leaving the beach with their children and all their belongings. Couples staying longer to see the sunset as they nuzzle closer. Surfers waiting in the water for that one last perfect wave out at the point, just one last wave to end the day. The ice water from coolers being emptied in the sand. Lifeguards closing up their shacks to go home, only to come back tomorrow for another gorgeous, hot summer day on a California Beach in Ventura....

Some call it beautiful, I....

...Well I just call it HOME!

Brought you by Mama Kat

Peace Out

As I was going through some old photos of the boys....we are working on a family picture wall....and I found this one.

PEACE OUT!! After 4 days in the hospital after birth, he was finally going home....look at how jaundiced he was, it's amazing they even let him go home, his eyes were soooo yellow!

Brought to you by Angie head on over to the big top

And Cheryl over at Twinfatuation for way back When-esday's

Preschool Blues Part Duex

So Thomas started preschool last week. And day one he did awesome, it was mommy who fell apart. And I was so happy that he did so well, and I felt even better when I picked him up and he ran across the playground and gave me a big hug!

And then day two...he cried and cried and didn't want me to leave, it broke my heart, and I figured if Thomas is going to cry and make me cry, I'm going to call my mom and cry to her! And I did, but she didn't cry, she threw some logic junk at me! lol And it made sense and I knew it, but I didn't want it to make sense, I wanted that feeling in my heart to go away.

And then this was said on the way to preschool.

Thomas: Mommy, I don't want to go to school, I want to go wis you.
Mommy: And I want you to go with me Thomas, but you just can't.
Thomas: Well then I want to go wis grandma and brother
Mommy: You can't baby, Brother has to go to his baby school (which just means he is going to Grandma's because she is working with him to learn new words)
Thomas: I promise I'll be good Mommy.
Mommy: Thomas you don't go to school because it's a punishment, you go so you can learn, and play, make friends, and be smart.
Thomas: But I don't want to be smart Mommy.

FABULOUS! Let's hope he grows out of that mentality! Or we're doomed!

He still complains about going to school, He still wants to go to Baby school with Christopher, but today he met another newbie....Tyler. And they were fast friends, and now Thomas can't wait to go tomorrow to play with Tyler.

I think he misses being by his brother all day every day, because when we leave in the morning, he makes sure to wave to his little brother as well as let him know that he loves him!

But it makes me feel a little better that he's got a buddy. And every day he goes there and every day I pick him up and he tells me all about his day and how he had to cover his ears at quiet time because a girl next to him wouldn't stop talking, I begin to trust a little more each day, that this time, I might have gotten it right and picked a good spot for him to learn.

A Giveaway in honor of my new look

Okay so I've been planning our trip to San Francisco...I so can't wait!!! I'm so excited I can hardly sit still or keep a thought in my head!

And while looking around for a hotel, I saw some hotels that have these platform beds, and I thought to myself, how intriguing and adorable! And then I was approached by CSN for a giveaway. Now wouldn't you know it, one of their products from their 200+ online stores which offer over 1 million products to chose from are these platform beds.

CSN has offered one of my readers a $50 gift card to spend on one of their fabulous products!

Super easy to win, just enter in one or all of these ways (leave me a seperate comment for each you have done)
1.) Tell me what you just can't live without and what you would spend your gift card on.
2.) Grab my new button to post on your sidebar
3.) Follow me and all the fun here with My Little Miracles

Super easy right? RIGHT! Now head off to CSN and see what kind of great things they have in their 200+ online stores. I can spend DAYS on there just drooling over all their great products!
So don't forget to come back and tell me what you like!

Good Luck! This will remain open until June 27th at Midnight!

Happy Father's Day

To my other half....
Sometimes my other 3/4 and other times my other 1/4 and sometimes my 2/3....
The yin to my yang, the bacon to my eggs, the moon to my sun, the wind to my rain....

You never cease to amaze me.

You are the most loving and patient father.
I Love how you play with the boys...
I Love how you are so content to lay with them and watch TV, even if it is Elmo.
I Love how you let them "help", even when they aren't really helping but making it worse.
I Love how you teach them to do things, even if they don't want to listen, you keep trying.
I Love how you read Thomas his story at night, or how you rock with Christopher before bed.
There are so many reason I Love how you.....
But most importantly,
I Love how you Love them.

I couldn't have picked a better husband and father!
We are all so blessed and lucky to have you in our lives!

I hope you have a wonderful Father's Day!

Touch My Truck

What a busy weekend this has been....

We celebated one of my besties wedding anniversary....dinner without the kids...BONUS!

Then we went to the local park for "Touch a Truck"....

We saw everything, from Helicopters to Search and Rescue, to the bomb squad, UPS, Army Vehicles, Fed Ex, Cement trucks....just everything.

The kids can get in, crawl around, honk the horns, make the sirens work....You name it and they can touch it.

Thomas had a great time....he wanted to be in the drivers seat.

Then it was off to the playground for a little swinging before lunch and party time with my besties!

Party Time begins....we were celebrating so much, so it was a HUGE success!

Christopher was having a great time playing school and looking out at the great View...he loved being in that window!

And of course, what's a party without dancing, which the kids not only danced but played all kinds of instruments along with the music.

And that is what at least this weekend looks like in my city.

Take a tour around the world by visiting Unknown Mami

Can you Dig it?

Check out my new "digs"
Do you love it?
And thanks to Jessica over at the Frilly Coconut
She did an AWESOME! Job, we absolutely love it!

She was so easy to work with, and FAST!

We've been talking about doing this for SO long!

And in honor of my new digs, I will be hosting a giveaway!

Stay tuned!

Because apparently it happens

There are a lot of things that go on in offices. A LOT! Gossip, Friends, Eating, Drinking, and sometimes there is even some work that goes on.

When I worked in my office in Michigan, I have some really great friends. We learned to be really tight because of the close quarters we worked in. Now let me try to tell this story in a short way so that the laughter can begin.

There are 3 of us, Kara, Myself and Kim...our desks all in a row, cramped. So this one day, one of our co-workers comes up to Kara's desk to ask her a question, and she is answering it, pen in hand...coworker farts and Kara slams her pen on the desk and says "Are you kidding me?" and gets up and walks to the other end of the office, at which time I am laughing...hysterically! I'm talking tears streaming down my face, almost peeing in my pants laughing. Not necessarily at the fact that said co-worker farted but more so at Kara's response. Here she is trying to help our co-worker and he was so disrespectful to just fart mid sentence!

And of course said co-worker is laughing so hard that because he is laughing so hard continues to fart. over, and over and over again, all the while being right in front of another co-worker's cubicle and that co-worker has a client at his desk this entire time!

Now don't get me wrong, farts happen...they happen at the office too, but what I was shocked to learn was that almost everyone in our small little department (Sorry Kim, I had to tell the story) has had to leave the office at one time or another because they had soiled themselves. Yes that is right they had filled their shorts! And I thought to myself, oh my jeeze I hope that never happens to me and if it does I hope I can cover my butt in every sense of the word and never reveal that it happend to me at work! And to this day I am proud to say I am soil free!

Anyone had that unfortunate accident at the office?

Brought to you by Mama Kat

My Little Miracles

Baby Blue

Because the eyes are the windows to the soul....and what a beautiful soul it is! Thomas has always been "Mommy's P-Nut", and I think I have now found the nickname for Christopher "Baby Blue", and I am sure you can see why.

Brought to you by Angie and 5 minutes for mom

My Little Miracles

Preschool blues

Thomas started preschool today, and after Our last mishap with a day care setting, and my last moment of mommy guilt pertaining to that day care situation. I still considered her my friend, and I did hand pick them to love and guide my children while I could not be there with them, and she still destroyed it all....and for that I feel I have the right to be angry and hurt. And I know they could still care less.

So, I was a little hesitant. It's hard to trust again. Thomas on the other hand went bounding in there, happy as a lark. He did tell me on the way over there that he wanted me to stay with him all day. So I was nervous....nervous he wouldn't want me to leave, he would cry and I wouldn't be able to leave him. He's been staying with Grandma during the day, they go to the park and to the library and shopping and all kinds of fun stuff, so for me to have to leave him in a place he didn't want to be would be hard.

He wandered around the room meeting new kids, checking out new toys and mommy cried in the corner. His teacher told me not to worry about it, it happens all the time. So I said I'm sure it didn't, but that's okay, and I laughed. And he jumped right up and waved to me through the window and sent me on my way blowing me a kiss. I felt like the child and he the adult, for a moment.

He did great, and enjoyed himself, but I couldn't wait to get there this afternoon to pick him up and see how his day was. He ran across the playground screaming "MOMMY, MOMMY" and he gave me the biggest hug! He then told me all about it, what he did, where they went, and how he had to cover his ears at quiet time because a little girl wouldn't stop talking, and when he did that, he was able to nap. He was excited they had Thomas sized pottys, and he went pee 3 times before I even left!

And for a moment, I felt okay, all my mommy guilt has been dissipated....

until tomorrow morning when I drop him off again, and the fear, hurt and anger start all over again.

My Little Miracles

Diagnosis....

This is what my counter tops look like these days....

I am feeling OLD! I remember my grandmother having to take a million different meds, and you see people with their pill cases and such and they have them all panned out, ready to go, AM and PM pills, M-F pills, some on Sat, none on Sun….you just never know.

And now….I am one of them.

Anti seizure meds, aspirins, Max-Alt, among other things, I can’t even remember the names of everything.
My mom even gave me a pill case! UGGH! Now I’m REALLY ancient! My boys will be getting me a decorative pill case for my birthday, or better yet Mother’s Day next year!

Made me think though, we don’t have a home phone, there is no need for it, we just have both the hubs and my cell phones. I am thinking it’s about high time that we teach Thomas how to dial 911….but they frown upon us “training” him for some odd reason. =) But he knows his name and he knows where he lives….now we just need to work on dialing and the actual numbers of the house so they can at least get there. Then I’ll have to teach him to call Grandma and say “Come get me and Christopher Grandma”.

As for the boys, they did have a staph infection. So a little topical antibiotic cream for them and they are good to go! Definitely wasn’t as bad as it could have been, since we have staph all around us all the time and our bodies are working to fight it off, they did pretty good. But it did warrant everything in the house to be cleaned with bleach, just to make sure we don’t have another flare up!

Can't we just be done with medical stuff for a while?

My Little Miracles

Dinner in the Garden

Sundays in my City bring good friends together for dinner in the Garden. The kids like to eat in the garden while the mommy's were busy in the kitchen eating and talking and the men were watching the fight. A perfectly balanced meal don't you think?

And of course what meal in the summertime is complete without WATERMELON!

What is your favorite summertime food?

Want to see other city's from all over the world....head on over to Unknown Mami's she'll get ya started.

My Little Miracles

Parenting: What WERE we thinking?

Before I was a mom, I didn’t care about things nearly as much.

I didn’t worry about nap times or bedtimes or what I was eating, drinking and how it would affect my health. Or how much time I spend in the sun and how it will affect me.

I used to smoke and never worried about the effects it had on me or the people around me.

I lived on 2 or 3 hours of sleep and never once worried about if I could make it through the day.

I never worried about how and what people do with or to their kids until I realized how it could affect my own.

I never worried about having a “savings”, now I worry about making sure my boys have savings in their names, more important they have it and learn how to use it wisely.

And I never ever thought I would ever feel the fiercest love for anything. A Desire to protect my children from all evils and harms.

Before I was a mom I didn’t know what SELF-LESS really meant. Oh yeah and I didn’t know the meaning of the word “Mommy-Guilt” either.

Before I was a mom, I didn't appreciate my mom nearly as much as I do now.

Life has now become all about the “next generation” And before I was a mom, I didn’t much see it from that side.

And now, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I Love being a mom, and I love my little faces I see every day, and I love laying on the floor rolling around with them, playing, laughing, putting puzzles together, snuggling, reading bed time stories, rocking together and saying prayers and I love who they are becoming. And I love what I have become being their mom. And I treasure each and every moment, because you never know when it will be your last.

So, my motto….Life Happens….Live it!

Brought to you by Mama Kat

My Little Miracles

Dazzle me with Brilliance Child

I was recently told that my youngest may have a certain “disorder”, as slight as that may be. And when the “experts” (ie. Doctors) give us that information, of course, our job as a parent is to panic. OMG My child is not normal. (what is normal anyway?)

And our next plan of attack is to learn EVERYTHING there is to know about said “disorder”. And this day in age that means the internet. Now of course I don’t need to check the internet since I have a degree in Psych, and I know about said “disorder”. So of course my brain goes through each and every “symptom” and diagnostic tool in the DSM IV, all I have read about in recent years of advances in treatments and diagnosis and such and from several of you who’s child or family member suffers from the same “disorder”!

And then I look at my child and laughed and say YEAH right, there is NO way. Then I look at WHY said expert has stated it’s possible he may have this disorder. And After stressing, analyzing and discussing this with many of my besties, and my mom, I have come to several conclusions.

1st, after everything that is going on in my life and family right now, this is the last thing I should be stressing about.
2nd, I have read a lot of different things about HOW children learn. And not all children learn the same. Some are visual, some are verbal and some have their very own way of learning things.
3rd I think that it’s our responsibility as parents to figure out that way of learning and help our child learn in that fashion.

Otherwise they will just be another statistic and yet another child that falls through the cracks, or is diagnosed with a particular “disorder” and then we spend a lifetime dealing with the disorder and not allowing the child to shine with the brilliance they already have and we are hindering who they are by not accepting or trying to figure out how they learn.

And if my baby ends up having this “disorder”, as one of my closest besties said to me, and I quote her, “It is not a disease, it’s a way of life, I am not a victim, but a savior, don’t cry, embrace it”. And that is what I will do….embrace it, and know that I am not a victim and neither is he.

My Little Miracles

Out of the clear blue

Well we wanted to hit the beach again this weekend, Thomas was super upset that we couldn't. So he settled for some pool time.

Christopher was loving it as well. He's such a ham...both boys have a million pair of sunglasses!

Out of the clear blue....these little red bumps kept us close to home. Thomas came down with them on Friday, and we're thinking Chicken Pox but we are not sure. He has them on his neck, his chest, his legs and his back. We thought it might have been a result of some shots he had last week, but Christopher has a few popping out as well, so it's not that. We are also thinking Staph infection. We'll know more tomorrow when we head for yet another Doc appt.

Another thing that popped up out of the clear blue is my Cala Lily.

Last year I planted it, and it died, but I never dug it up....this year I planted over it, and now right smack in the middle of my flowers, my Cala Lily popped out!

Sorry for the lack of posts, I have a lot going on, medically with the boys, myself and my family. More on all that in later posts.

Happy Sunday and step on over to Unknown Mami's to see what's going on all over the world on a Sunday afternoon.

My Little Miracles

Because I'm scared, and I'm sharing

Everyone watches their children, you know, when they don't want to go to sleep, afraid they might "miss" something. They sit up, bob their heads, trying so hard to not only keep their eyes open but also to keep their brains working...running, so they can comprehend what they are seeing.

I feel like I am doing the same thing. Life is short, and it's getting shorter. I worry about a lot of things, probably things I shouldn't worry about, and other things I just let roll off my shoulders because they aren't worth my time. I lay awake nights with my brain not wanting to shut down...going over and over things in my mind.

I don't want to miss a thing. I stay up late and I'm up with that stupid crow outside my window at 5:30 in the morning, I swear I am going to invest in a pellet gun or a BB gun...and soon! And once I am up, it's hard to get back to sleep, and often times I fall asleep just about 10 minutes before Thomas comes in and says "Hi Mommy, I have to go pee".

And lately, I'm worried....I am going to a new Doctor next week, an internist, I have put it off long enough....long enough that the hubs has been bugging me to go and get some things checked. I'm worried what he's going to find....or not find for that matter. Anyone new to reading or knowing me, I was told about the dreaded "C" word several years ago, in August of last year I had to have surgery on my face to remove cancerous cells that were spreading from my cheek to my nose. I am finding things popping up all the time, I am getting the migraines back, coupled with bloody noses, among other things, that feeling that things just aren't "quite right".

And now, I'm worried, scared, really...
I have a hard time telling people what's going on with me, I have a hard time sharing when I am in pain, or scared or when I've found something new, my brain retreats to childhood and says "If I don't acknowledge it, it's not there, if I don't tell anyone, it will go away"...it's just not me, to share...but now....I'm scared, and I'm sharing.

My Little Miracles

I lost it

I just read an email from a friend of mine about his grandson and it reminded me of something I have definitely LOST!

Remember the days, way back when, you know, around 17, 18, 19 years old...oh come on, think back...you know...back when you knew everything?

YEP, that's the time....I can remember telling my mom that she knew nothing, and she can't tell me how to live my life, I KNOW what I am doing!

Yep, I knew that my high school sweetheart was the one I was going to be with FOREVER... *ahem* yeah well, not so much.

I knew what was best for me....and I could stay out all night long and still be responsible, until I did that and had to actually work the next day....at BOTH my jobs. Yeah so much for that. I think I slept for 2 days straight after that!

I KNOW what I am doing MOM! Jeeze, you don't know anything, you are not me, and you are not 20 or 21 or 22. I am, and I am cool and know what I am doing!

And I don't know how it is that my mom knew so much, because I have lost that "I know everything attitude" and the older I get, the less I know.

I sure hope I can find that "I know everything attitude" by the time my boys know everything, otherwise I am IN. FOR. IT! And if not I guess I'll just fake it until I make it, and hope they never know the difference!

Thanks Mama Kat for reminding me I have lost it! Now go see what else is going on!

My Little Miracles

Woggle Goggles

Lots of friends.....Big friends

Little friends....

And a good set of Woggle Goggles that the kids fought over all weekend long...

One of my besties daughter, Zoe, would not smile with the goggles on, but she looked adorable anyway!

All this and more make for some really great weekends

Brought to you by Angie and 5 Minutes for Mom

My Little Miracles