Tired of Turkey

Well then try a little bit of ham.... Actually, it's not ham....it's genuine Chicago style hot dogs, complete with chefs hat for the ham and cheeser of the family!

Comes with buns that have poppy seeds on them and are best if steamed over the boiling hotdogs!

Once Chicago hot dog, complete with cucumbers, tomatoes, relish, mustard and hot dog!

Thomas was all over it, although he just ate his plain.

Same with Christopher, and they loved it!

So when you are tired of turkey after Thanksgiving, enjoy some family and some Chicago style hot dogs and talk about what you want Santa to bring you!

The Happiest Place on Earth 2

So it was that time of year, Time to visit the happiest place on Earth, DISNEYLAND!
We took Christopher for his 1st time, Thomas went last year for his 1st time and had a great time. Christopher had an equally great time, but he was so in awe, we didn't catch many smiles!


Hey didn't seem too keen on meeting Mickey and his friends, but he did high five each and every one!

Maybe next year we'll get him to stand by them by himself!

Don't fool yourself, that isn't a smile, the sun was in his eyes!

Neils and my favorite little girl Nalani and Christopher and I chillin' on the Merry-Go-Round

We did the jungle cruise and he was more interested in the driver of the boat then anything else we were seeing!

This is the Oreo to my Milk, my bestie Maile, and we finally have a pic of the two of us together, even if neither one of us like it!

It's a small world all decorated for the holidays, he was in total awe of this ride, I think we should have gone on it again, he might have missed something!

He did have fun in Toon Town, and we even got a SMILE!!!

Okay so I was tickling his leg....but he was smiling!!!

That look....it says DAD, seriously, QUIT with the camera in my face!

This is a very tired Christopher, until he hit his second wind....and we saw....

ANOTHER SMILE!!!!

The tree lighting right before the start of the parade.

We got the best seats in the house, sat and waited, saw the tree lighting, sitting on our warm blankie and the minute the parade started he decided he had enough and he was OUT! Slept right through the parade!

Ahhh well, he'll see next years! He did have a great time, such a trooper, even loved the Haunted Mansion! Next year we are doing 2 days!

Brought to you by Unknown Mami

Thankgiving, a child's eye view

Driving in the car with Thomas, he's 3.5 years old, to school....

Mommy: Hey Thomas, do you know what Thanksgiving is?
Thomas: Yes
Mommy: YOU DO? (all excited, the school is doing their job) What does it mean?
Thomas: Ummm, I don't know.
Mommy: I thought you said you know what Thanksgiving is, don't they teach you at school?
Thomas: No, umm yeah
Mommy: They do teach you about Thanksgiving at school?
Thomas: yeah
Mommy: So what? you just don't listen?
Thomas: Huh? no....umm yeah

Meanwhile, back at the school, talking to his teacher....

Mommy: I asked Thomas if he knew what Thanksgiving is and he said he didn't know, you are discussing that in class right?
Teacher: Of course, we've been talking about it all week, silly Thomas.
Mommy: Okay great! walking away saying under my breath, yeah I hope so, I hope I am not paying for an education that you aren't providing!

Later...back at the bat cave

Mommy: Hey Thomas, did you talk about Thanksgiving today?
Thomas: Yes
Mommy: Great what does it mean?
Thomas: We had a lot of food today, and I ate cake.
Mommy: FABULOUS

His place mat he made says he is Thankful for
T: Trucks
H: Home
O: Otter Pops
M: Me
A: All my family
S: his little brother

So he doesn't know what Thanksgiving is, but he is thankful for himself and his brother, and those Otter Pops! Phew, at least he knows where his priorities lie!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Brought to you by MamaKat

Don't you just love Boys

Going along with my "theme" this week it seems, of how I am so Thankful for my boys....

Don't you just love boys and the things they do?

This was taken at about midnight, my baby sound asleep, snoring away.....with his hand right. down. his. diaper!

He often sleeps this way....Daddy says he's checking to make sure he didn't spring a leak!

Another wonderful post brought to you by pBd, and maybe this week I'll remember to link to AngryJulie's

Thank God for little boys

Everyone always asks me "You have two boys, don't you want a girl?"

And my response...HECK NO! Are you kidding me? And I wrote about why I love the snips, and snails and puppy dog tails in my life.

And I am still very grateful. But as Santa is making his list and checking it twice we are finding out a few things.

One of my besties, (she is the milk to my oreos) has a daughter, and she said when she was pregnant she was hoping for a girl because she just couldn't see herself playing with cars and trucks and trains for the next 12 years, where as I said I can't see myself at a tea party. So she gives me the opportunity to buy girlie stuff for her daughter, I still can't do a tea party!

Well now, even boys can play with doll houses and have it be cool.....check out this

That's right peeps, this is a "dollhouse" made all kinds of cool for boys, it's a firehouse! The hubs says, regardless of what you put in it, it's still a dollhouse. Doesn't matter, neither of my boys want it....they would play with it, but they don't want it.

My boys don't watch anything other than Disney movies and the Disney Channel on TV, so when it comes to seeing something and saying "Oh I want that" they don't, because there are no commercials on the things they watch. So they ask for more movies and that is about it. So when my son asked for this....

From Santa, a scooter, my thought, this is my curse of having boys.....he doesn't want some simple doll house that will not harm him, he doesn't even want some quiet little game to play inside, he's not a "gamer" so he doesn't care about any of that.....

No, my oldest son wants something he can break his arm on, something he can knock his teeth out with, something that he can scrape his knee on...something his little brother will want too, who will in turn do all the same things on.

So although I ADORE having two boys, and I wouldn't change it for the world, I am not to thrilled about the countless times I am going to have to attend the ER because of "boy stuff"

Just like this....it's started already.....tug of war between two brothers near a coffee table!
*sigh*

Balance between health and OCDs

I am attempting to find balance between health and my children developing an OCD.

Christopher has a lot of health issues. He was a preemie, he suffers from a condition called Laryngomalacia, coupled with asthma and a predisposition to RSV. RSV landed him in the hospital once and he's had it since, now that he is older RSV is now considered pneumonia. Not my idea of fun hearing him wake in the middle of the night wheezing, coughing and gasping for air.

When the youngest was born the doctor required my oldest to get a flu shot, one of the vaccines I was not sure about giving to my 15 month old, especially since I have had such problems with the flu vaccine. But was advised that my youngest could be brought to death's door if he were to contract the flu. When the youngest hit a year old I was, again, advised it was an absolute must the flu vaccine as well as H1N1 was given to both. My little one could not afford an attack of the flu.

Now we all know that cleanliness helps avoid illness, how many times do we hear about washing hands to prevent colds and flu. Both the boys go to school, Christopher in nursery school and Thomas in preschool. They come into contact with germs from school, germs from toys, germs from other students, germs from the playground and not to mention germs from the bathroom. They do wash their hands at school often and after each bathroom break it is a rule to wash your hands.

We wash our hands often in our house, and when hand washing is not convenient we use antibacterial gel. But even that gel can lose it's effectiveness if used obsessively. The doctor has also advised that a healthy diet with enough vitamins are anti-oxidants and pro-biotics are a definitely help in fighting off colds and flu. So we feed the boys healthy, (mostly) include vitamins and pray for the best.

But I've noticed lately that Christopher is exhibiting some Howard Hughes like behavior. He is constantly asking to wash his hands, he is always looking for a wipe and is obsessively wiping down tables and lamps and his crib, and he does not like to have his hands dirty in any sense of the word.

Am I keeping him healthy and hospital free or creating an OCD?

There will be no wine before it's time

There will be no wine before it's time.....

My bestie finally sent me my HK Wine! She was supposed to bring it down next week when she comes for a visit...she is the milk to my cookies! I heart her! And I can't wait to see her beautiful daughter....we are going to DISNEYLAND!

Ok, so anyway.....yes this is not bubble bath friends, this is good old Hello Kitty Wine.....made and distributed directly from Italy. There are two other's not yet available but I will for sure be getting me some of that when it is available!

A nice little Brut Rose....adorned with an adorable little HK Charm.....

And a sweet Pink...isn't she just adorable with her little wink and her party dress?

I know I am such a dork....HK Festival and now the HK Wine....I can't help myself!

WW by pBd and AngryJulie

For the love of all things HK

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a HUGE Hello Kitty fan. Some might even say I am obsessed! Well when I heard that there was an actual Hello Kitty Festival coming to my neck of the woods, I was ALL over it!

So I drug my mom and Christopher there. And it's funny how both my boys know Hello Kitty, and Christopher just lit up with a smile when he saw Hello Kitty!

But seriously, don't you think I need this car? I looked for a way to win it or something....they had 3 of them there, and I think they are just there to tease me! PUNKS! Or hhhheeeyyy a little holiday present hint!!! =)

Ohhhh and look at the new Hello Kitty Line coming out from Sephora.....I would so let them sponsor my blog, or send me samples to review and promote and tweet about, ahem....just sayin'

And what is a festival without a ferris wheel? Even if it is Hello Kitty!

And of course HUGE Balloons....Christopher kept pointing to them, I think he wanted to take it home, I agreed, but then thought, we have vaulted ceilings but don't think this would fit!
Not to mention the hubs would kill me!

And of course there was entertainment, Hello Kitty and Friends!

And what is an afternoon out without a little shopping....although this is such a little shop, they only let so many people in to begin with, we waited an HOUR to get in....and I bought a couple of things!

There was plenty of art work to chose from, this just happened to be one of my favorite pieces....It's cute, no? I could see this in my house too!

I am thinking I am going to just have my car totally redone, custom paint and all.....It may or may not look a little something like this. Or if Smart Car is willing to donate one of these cars to me to run around town with, I would so take it!

And that was my fun filled afternoon spent with Hello Kitty! How did you spend your Sunday?

Join SIMC, it's a lot of fun!

Freedom isn't Free, appreciate our Vets!

Did you ever stop and wonder HOW Veterans Day came about?
I have a huge soft spot for the military families, of those that sacrifice so much so we may enjoy the very freedoms we have today. The armed forces touches my life and family in more ways than one, and to those, I am grateful, I am honored, and I am blessed to know them.

Here is a brief history of how Veterans day comes about...with a little help from google!

Veterans Day, formerly known as Armistice Day, was originally set as a U.S. legal holiday to honor the end of World War I, which officially took place on November 11, 1918.

In legislation that was passed in 1938, November 11 was "dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day.'"

As such, this new legal holiday honored World War I veterans.

In 1954, after having been through both World War II and the Korean War, the 83rd U.S. Congress -- at the urging of the veterans service organizations -- amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting the word "Veterans."

With the approval of this legislation on June 1, 1954, Nov. 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

In 1968, the Uniforms Holiday Bill ensured three-day weekends for federal employees by celebrating four national holidays on Mondays: Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day. Under this bill, Veterans Day was moved to the last Monday of October. Many states did not agree with this decision and continued to celebrate the holiday on its original date. The first Veterans Day under the new law was observed with much confusion on Oct. 25, 1971.

Finally on September 20, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed a law which returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of Nov. 11, beginning in 1978. Since then, the Veterans Day holiday has been observed on Nov. 11.

So on this 11th day of the 11th month of the year 2010, I say Thank You.....Thank you to all the Veterans, my Veteran Family, My Veteran friends. I appreciate you, and I heart you in every way!

Now I was introduced to Bands For Arms they have some amazing bracelets, they are made from the actual uniforms that have been donated by Vets from the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, They are available for purchase for yourself or just to have one sent over seas to an active Armed Forces member, Check it out, I have several coming my way! Or if you have old uniforms you'd like to donate, check out their website, they will tell you how!

The Gut is a terrible thing to waste

I was so miserable, I was a balloon just waiting to pop! My skin could not stretch any tighter. If I moved the wrong way while bathing Thomas, I wanted to just cry!

I was just done, but....HE wasn't. He needed to "cook" more. I went to the doc, she said as soon as I hit 36 weeks they would not stop labor if it started. Well guess what? I was 36 weeks and 1 day, or so they thought. Labor started, and I was ready but I wasn't.

When Thomas was born, I was ready, I was done, I was confident, I went into that OR ready. I was excited, but I wasn't nervous. The spinal was done with ease, I was comfy, and all went well. I was up and healing and ready to go 2 days after he was born via c-section.

9:30pm, September 6th, on the way to the hospital, it couldn't have been more wrong. My doctor, in another hospital, on duty! She said she would TRY to get someone to take over for her so she could race down to my hospital. No, this is wrong.....

Monitoring my contractions.....feeling them, watching my stomach tightening and releasing....no doctor....this is wrong. My mom at home with Thomas....this is wrong.

My doctor finally arrives....why do I not feel any better? Why am I not relieved? Why am I not assured it's all going to be okay? This is wrong.

In the OR, trying to relax for my spinal....this is wrong, one needle stick, two needle sticks....I feel it....burning in my hip, down my back into my hip....this is wrong!!! I don't remember it being this painful, I definitely don't remember this pain in my hip....this is wrong.

I don't remember it being this hard to breath, while I was laying there, looking up at the lights, at my husband, and my brain just kept thinking, This is wrong! This isn't how it's supposed to be. I want to stop, I want to turn around, go back....I'll deal with the contractions, I'll lay on my left side, I'll relax, I promise, I'll drink some water and relax.

He was born, he was 7lbs and 13oz, and he was 2 months early, not 4 weeks!! One quick picture with mom and dad, a little kiss on his cheek and off he went, to the NICU. "He's in respiratory distress". What? Wait.....what does that mean? This is wrong.

I couldn't even think straight...I'm stuck on this table, and my baby....he needs me. They tell me they need to put a line in, a tube to help him breath, a line in his umbilical cord to get him the meds he needs. He needs surfactant to help his lungs. We don't have room for your baby here at this hospital, and he will not be staying in your room tonight, we are going to transfer him.....This is Wrong!

They did transfer him, I saw him at 4:30am in a huge contraption, and I couldn't hold him, I couldn't touch him, I couldn't kiss him goodbye. This is wrong! I should go with him, I should be with him, I am his mommy, he needs me!! He was in the NICU for 5 days and I didn't see him until that 4th day after complications of my own at the hospital.

I wish I would have listened to my gut, I wish I would have listened to my instincts, he might have grown a little bigger, he might have had developed his lungs, and he might not have the health issues he has now. But it doesn't matter....despite my gut feelings, he is my baby blue, my little mini me....and I am blessed and lucky to have him in my life!

I Love him!! He's such a ham! And he completed our family....between he and his brother....they were the life of me, and they complete me in every sense of the word!

Brought to you by MamaKat

There is no I in Team

As my boys grow older, they are growing closer and more "deviant" for lack of a better word.

Such as Thomas will get his brother to do things for him that maybe he shouldn't, and vice versa.
And with Christopher's growing vocabulary with the help of his language development coach, he is learning how to communicate to his brother, or maybe they just have that "internal connection" between brothers. But they are teaming up.
So at a trip to the park, they have this statue, and Christopher may have a growing vocab, but he's still two! So he doesn't quite understand that the shovel doesn't come out of that little "boy's" hand as much as Christopher may want it, it's not going to happen.

But that didn't stop him from telling his brother to distract him so he could take the shovel. And all the while saying "Mine"

And Thomas peeks around and says "Did you get it yet?"

I hated to tell Thomas, there is no "I" in TEAM but there is a "ME" and that is all Christopher cared about, because I can tell you, if he did get that shovel, he most certainly was NOT going to share with Thomas!

Brought to you by pBd, another Wordful Wednesday

80 only comes once in a lifetime

We had the ambiance, outdoors, right on the lake, candlelit, bottle of wine (or 4)

We had family.....

And in every family there is always one clown right?

And a whole lot of fun for an 80th birthday bash!

Thank God the weather held out as it seems we are going to be getting a nice little storm coming to us from Unknown Mami's neck of the woods!

Part of SIMC

WAY to much Science

I remember it like it was yesterday.
It was a hot summer day, I was just coming home from summer school. I had walked into the back yard and there she was, lying there.

Just days before she was happy, and we were playing ball in the yard. I was so excited, she was getting better. She was a little larger than normal, but the docs said it was all the meds she was on. That was okay, I loved her anyway.

How could it be, that just a short 7 years after we came to know Lady B. Bug that she was gone, and I had to find her. When we came to find her she showed up on the door step, she was fully trained, and the best thing, Dad said we could keep her after she spent her required 7 days at the pound!

YES!!! Our very 1st dog!! And she loved our family, my brother and I, she loved her "unscheduled walks" where she would disappear and come back in a couple of hours, all worn out and ready for a nap, after a scolding of course! And she would never hurt a soul....until that one day. That one day where my mom went outside to talk to a tree trimmer, and since he had a chainsaw in his hands Lady took him as a threat, and she bolted out the door and bit him.

After that she began to get sick, and sick, and sicker and sicker. Until finally after biopsy after biopsy that was sent to Davis, CA, came back that she had an auto immune disease. But they had no cure. There was no treatment, some steroids to keep her comfortable, which really didn't, she ended up bloated and hardly able to lay down, she couldn't hold her bowels, and she was miserable.

But just days before she was playing ball with me, she was the best ball player, and she seemed happy. I was so sure she was getting better. Maybe she just wanted me to always remember her as Lady B. Bug, the best darn dog that I ever had.

I swore that I would be a vet, I would find a cure for a disease like what she had, and that way no other young girl would have to find her dog dead in the back yard, no other young girl would have to wait in the garage for her mom to get home so she didn't have to see her like that. And that same young girl would have her dog for years to come and not just a mear 7 years.

And I might not have been 10, I was 14....and if I would have become what I wanted to become then, I would be Dr. Erin, DVM....until I found out just how much science you actually have to know to become a vet...and I suck at science!

Brought to you by MamaKat

A Brand new exercise routine

For those not getting enough exercise in their day.....this is my new exercise routine.
It's super easy, and it's self explanatory!

I had to, this made me laugh so much, I got it in my email.
Now see what else is going on at pBd