R-E-S-P-E-C-T!

I have a ton of pet peeves. A lot of them are just simple and I can let them roll off my back.

But there are some that will just make me crawl a wall....

And my biggest one?

"Mommy? I would like some milk" small child says

"Ok dear, just a minute and I'll get you some" mommy says

"NO, get it NOW, I want it NOW" small child says

Mommy stops everything she is doing to bow down to her small child and get him/her milk

And now child knows that they are boss. They know that they can totally disrespect their parent no matter what the circumstance and mom isn't going to do anything.

I don't mind doing things for my children but not with an attitude like that.

My children are learning very early that it's not ok to disrespect mommy or daddy. Daddy is one of the biggest enforcers.

That is one thing that drives me absolutely NUTS! Parents that allow their children to walk all over them, totally disrespect them and basically spit on them and walk away.

I remember trying to disrespect my mom when I was younger and it didn't work, it bought me a one way ticket to my room or grounding or priviledges taken away. And when I was a teenager, it bought me a lovely night at home with the 'rents, which mom proceeded to make it a nightmare!

I am hoping that by teaching our children respect for us, not allowing them to be disrespectful towards us also teaches them they can't disrespect their teachers, grandparents, aunt's, uncles and some of my closest friends that we consider family.

The hubs makes it really clear that they are not to disrespect me or females in general, and hopefully in time they won't disrespect girls/girlfriends/women/wives.

So there, I stirred the pot....that's my biggest parenting pet peeve, what's yours?

Would have had this up last night but blogger sucks, I think it's time for a move to my own domain!!

Love this time of year

I just love this time of year, even more so this year. We are so buzy but it's so worth it.

There are dancing shows to put on with friends,

Girlfriends to meet at BBQ's while playing with "boy toys"

1st Dodger games to take the boys too.

It was hot, but they had a good time all the same. How can you not with Dodger Dogs, Cracker Jacks, Ice cream and frozen malts??? Teaching the boys about planting their own food, and having them push the seeds in the soil.

We have sweet basil growing....

Our corn coming along just beautifully with our "scarecrow" Homer looking after it!
My squash is just smashing, will soon find it's way into my kitchen for cooking!

I've already made Plum jam.....

Tomorrow night will be Apricot Jam.....But tonight.....

This beautiful home made peach pie with stars cut out for a 4th of July party!

And before long, Peach Jam.

The boys planted cantaloupe, beans, zucchini, pumpkins and cauliflower! Can't wait for those to pop up.

What's your favorite thing about this time of year?

I hate being a Mom

I hate it when my babies hurt.

I hate it when my babies cry.

I hate it when Christopher doesn't understand when I drop him off at his new school, that I will come back for him.

I hate that I cry about anything these days when it comes to them, even when they make me angry.

I hate that they will never be this age again.

I hate that this time will move so fast, and I'm afraid I might not remember.

I hate when Christopher is sick and can't breath, and I have to stand by and watch him suffer like a fish out of water until his meds kick in.

I hate that Thomas sometimes feels left out because he is the older brother and Christopher sometimes gets the attention.

I hate how hard it was to potty train Thomas, but what a cinch it was to potty train Christopher.

And I hate how they will never know how powerful their hold over me is....well maybe that's a good thing.

Who ever thought that a love so fierce could be created by someone so little, who ever thought that payment in little arms wrapped so tightly around my neck, little kisses, and words that say "I Love You Mommy" makes it all worthwhile. Little giggles, and smiles and wonderment in their eyes will always make me come back for more.

I really don't hate being a mom at all, it's the best "job" I've ever had, but I do hate how my heart breaks every day they get a little older. And how I cry at everything little thing!

Because Erin means Ireland

Erin go Bragh.....we've all heard it. But did you know what it means?
Did you know that it is Gaelic for "Ireland Forever"?

My ancestry is mainly Irish with a little Russian thrown in for flavor. My grandmother taught me some Russian that she knew when I was a kid, and I still to this day will still use some phrases. I wish I could have learned more Gaelic.

I've learned a lot about Ireland, at one low point in my life I even considered moving there.
The people are so friendly, the towns have a kinship you would never know as an outsider. But it doesn't take long before you are no longer a outsider.

The lush green mountainsides. The blue sea. A Country full of myths and legends.

I've always wanted to go, and have been offered a trip twice, and turned it down for what, at the time seemed like good reasons not to go. I know, STUPID!

Someday, I'd love to take two weeks and just go....1st class all the way. See what there is to see, meet people, take it all in, because it will be a once in a lifetime trip! And in that trip I'm going to get that Irish accent down pat!!

So in the mean time, I'll think about it, I'll attempt to save my pennies for it, and maybe by the time I retire I will be able to go. And I hope between now and then, it doesn't change much!

Where do you want to go?

I look like who?

My Friend Morgan over at The Little Hen House came up with a great idea to compare yourself with your celebrity look a like.

There is only one person anyone has ever said I looked like and that is Natalie Wood. Must be the Russian in me and the brown eyes. I still don't see the resemblance, she's gorgeous. Maybe I don't have a celebrity look alike?


Who do you look like or have been told you look like? Head over to Morgan's and see who everyone else looks like!

Naps: A Help or Hindrance?

Naps, a help or a hindrance?

I absolutely love naps. I always have. So relaxing and refreshing. After a busy morning to turn off the TV, grab a book, read a few pages and drift off into neverland for a short....or long nap. Wake up feeling refreshed and ready to fight the rest of the day.

From the moment my boys were born we established a napping routine with them. We never disrupted the routine. I would even wake Christopher from a nap so that he would nap again at the same time as Thomas' afternoon nap. We made sure we were home for nap time every day and every weekend, no matter what was going on.

Now I'm wondering if that was a help or a hindrance.

I don't push my children to the point of meltdown. It's frustrating for me, but also them as well. Their little brains don't function the way they should when they are tired.

My boys go to a school where they have a 2 hour "quiet time". Right after lunch, from 12:30 to 2:30 my boys relax, sleep, read.....whatever they do they have to be quiet.

The weekends come around and we put them in their rooms and they nap. And come bedtime, we put them in bed and that is the end of it, we don't have sleep problems, we don't have the "Just 5 more minutes please" or "Wait I need a glass of water"

But now they are almost 3 and 4, according to WebMd they need 10 - 12 hours a day. They go to bed at 8:30 and get up between 6:30 and 7. So they should be tired and need a nap but why does it have to interrupt everything we do?

We did Disney and they lasted until the end of the day before they crashed. We did Sea World and they lasted until the end of the day before needed a power nap.

When I tell my friends that both the boys still nap they say "You are so lucky"

But am I? Am I lucky that my day is interrupted and we can't some of the things we want to do? Or would I rather them not nap, but go to bed at 7:30? Then we have to be home by that time in order to avoid that 7pm meltdown.

I know, I should be counting my blessings that my boys still nap, and I am. But sometimes I wonder.......

A Weekend to remember

It has been a busy weekend in our household.

It started out that we took these beautiful home grown plums.....


And turned them into the yummiest plum jam on the planet! (well in my opinion anyway)


Then we decided an impromptu trip to Sea World was in order for Father's Day weekend. The hubs and I haven't been since we were kids. He remembers a lot of it. Me? I don't remember a thing, except Shamu!!


We got to touch all kinds of things in tide pools. The star fish was a favorite! That water was sooo cold. Phew it was amazing we could even put our hands in it at all!

We saw the enormous Sea Turtles sunning themselves on their beach, as it was the perfect Day in San Diego. I told the boys that maybe someday they might be able to swim with them!

We saw dolphins, and lot of them, but the boys were not impressed with those so much as they were with the performers that were swinging around the pavilion.

Thomas wanted to see the penguins, and was fixated on the fact that there was one swimming in the water and he pooped....didn't he know that he's not supposed to poop in the water?

The sea lions are always entertaining, and Thomas wanted to feed them but he didn't want to put it through the "feed whole" in the glass, he wanted to actually feed them.

And of course the favorite of the day.......Shamu...or whatever they are calling this one these days! But he was the biggest one of the bunch and made the biggest splash!

And our Father's day will now be spent with our closest friends celebrating the Father's to our babies.

And for me? Especially celebrating the Father to the babies they said I would never have. Celebrating his love for his children. I love to watch him interact with them, show them how things are, how they work, and I only pray that my boys will grow up to be men as their father, Kind and Loving and patient and understanding!
Happy Father's Day!!

Happiness's Past

Sitting silently at my desk, hearing my iPod playing somewhere in the background.
Papers everywhere, I have so much to do, my mind is spinning.

I stare and my mind sits blank, overwhelmed with everything I need to do.

My attention turns to my digital photo frame. Pictures fading in and out of view. Smiles and sunlight, pumpkins and Christmases passed.

I can't help but feel a little sad, a tear slips from my eye, and slides down my cheek and I realize.

Realize that today is my baby's last day of Nursery school, and he'll be moving on to unfamiliar territory, new rules, a new school and a new teacher, and it's me who is bothered by it.

My oldest finishing up preschool and will be moving into Pre-K in the fall, new things to learn and new friends to meet, a new teacher and it's me who is bothered.

I know they will both be fine, especially since they have each other.

So what is my problem? As my pictures are flipping and my mind is wandering and remembering.

As much as I want my boys to grow up just a little bit more, I am seeing that they are no longer my little babies.

They get their shoes on by themselves, they get dressed by themselves, they play by themselves, they get in the car by themselves and the buckle their seat belts.

And soon? They won't need me at all! And that is a harsh feeling in my heart that I wasn't prepared for while watching my digital frame flip from Happiness's of past.

Girls Night Out

Anyone who knows me knows what's most important to me.....my family and my friends.

And since I've become a mom, my time with my friends is not what it used to be that is for sure. I do not need to be out partying like I used to when I was single and childless. I love spending time with my family, playing with my boys, doing everything from laying around to going crazy, they usually drive.

But I do love me some time with my girls! Just a few weeks back I had a girl's night. Every time is different. But usually my besties and I hook up and have dinner, we enjoy a conversation without interruption. We talk about work, we talk about our spouses and what's going on with them, we talk about our kids. And most importantly we talk about US! We talk about what we are hoping to do, what we want to buy, what's up next in life. Who's going to be pregnant next. And most importantly we laugh....we laugh at ourselves, at each other and at parenting.

We don't worry about what may be going on at home, or at the office or with the kids. And the release is amazing. The next day when we email each other it always seems to be "I had so much fun last night, we really need to do it more often"

Usually work or just busy lives keep us from getting together more often, but we make it a point to get together at least once a month for dinner. Unfortunately one of our "crew" moved up north and we try to get together with her as often as possible, especially now that she is pregnant again with her 2nd after a horrible miscarriage! But our next plan.....NAPA!! Tell me that won't be the best!

I have other lovlies I hook up with at least every other weekend, the kids are usually running around playing together and the ladies are hanging our talking about anything and everything. Nothing stops us from getting together, and every now and again the grandparents step in and take the kids for the night and all the adults are treated to a night away, but those are stories for another time!

And now that reminds me....I Need to go make another Girls Night Out date!

Wait....could it be?

A Picture's worth 1000 words.

Weather was GREAT!

Scenery is always awesome!

It wasn't really a "vacation" but we did enjoy it.....and look what we got.....

A Picture where we are all smiling, and we are all looking at the camera, and the picture is clear!!

I'm amazed! It's one for the scrap books!

This is what you get when you take a 75 degree day, Disneyland, Lots of rides, Friends, and a Ton of fun....

2 crashed out little boys in the car on the way home! Can't wait to do it all again!

Left for...

Have you ever been bullied?

Made fun of?

Felt left out?

I know I have, regardless of when it is or was, young, old, by friends, other moms, family even?

Well I shared my mean girl story at it's being featured over at "I Survived the Mean Girls"

So stop by and check it out! There is strength in numbers and if you have a story to share, chances are someone out there had the same thing happen to them.

Thank Kelly, for letting me share my story.

SURPRISE!!!

I just love being a party planner for a Surprise party!
So in preperation.....I began with this.....

A yummy vanilla cake layers with tons of fresh strawberries and some special whipped cream frosting.

Put it all together and Thomas says it looks like a Hamburger.

Put it all together into this yummy goodness and it definitely does NOT taste like a Hamburger, but it gets this reaction from one of your besties!!!

Between her husband and I we pulled it off, and while we sang Happy Birthday to her, surrounded by her family and friends, she reflected last years turn of events in the loving arms of her Husband!

Happy Birthday Mer!

Take me back....

You're Home when You are Here.

The crash of a wave, hearing it pound the sand as if to indicate who's in charge. Hearing the sizzle as the white water washing up on shore. Sounds just like a soft drink being poured into a glass. I watch the quickness of the sand pipers running from the water and as it retreats chasing it in hopes of a tasty snack.

It takes me back.....

Walking, not so sure footed, holding hands with my mom. Feeling the wet sand beneath my feet, amazed by the strong surge of the water and it's retreat. Feeling the Earth almost disappear underneath me. I look up, blinking away the shine of the sun beyond my mom's head, smiling, my hand secure in my mom's, thank God for her stability as I am having a hard time keeping upright during the crash of waves on my feet. Until....

A wave, stronger and more powerful than was expected, swept me off my feet and out of the grip of my mommy's hand, I reach and I grasp and grab at nothing. The water cold around me, sucking me in, like a power attaching itself to my ankles and pulling me in. I gasp for a breath, I see my mommy, reaching for me, running for me.

The water envelopes me and fills my lungs as I scream. It throws me back up again, into the air, I cough and I try to see my mommy. I try to beat this thing pulling me in, and I am turned to find another crashing beast coming right for me. I'm sliding into neverland and I feel her grasp on my wrist fighting with the attachment on my ankles, and my mommy wins.

I'll never forget the moment when the ocean tried to steal me from my mommy. Pieces of me were left behind that day, left with with powerful waves. A part of my mind, a part of my heart and a part of my soul.

I long for the dampness that weighs heavy when I have a pressing and complex issue lying on my heart. I return to the beach. A place where the waves sing with sympathy and understanding. Where the sand welcomes me as it to say "I've missed you, welcome back". I draw in the sand, doodles that represent the turmoil of my mind. I hug my knees to my chest and I look out along that vast horizon. And suddenly my issue doesn't seem that big.

When triumph appears, I run to the beach, slide on that wetsuit and jump onto my board, letting the glistening sun blind me and the waves guide me. I feel the waves pump through me like the blood through my heart. I put my knee on my board and push down on the nose, duck diving through the crashing waves, feeling it's power wash over me. A Christening of the soul.

When tragedy strikes, the salt water soaks up my tears so that no one will notice. I inhale deeply and I smell the salt water like the first rain on the concrete. It fills my lungs and it pulsates through my heart and it fills me, completes me, makes me whole again, if only for a moment!

When I leave it pulls me back, it calls to me. It reminds me that one time when I was young it became a part of me in more ways than one. It reminds me that it will always be a part of me. It reminds me that no matter where I've been, where I am, or where I am going.... I will always come back to the Pacific Ocean.

A trip

A Trip around my yard.
Was out in my yard last weekend and noticed just how everything has sprung up so beautifully.

And after a computer scare that nearly wiped out all my pics,

These gems would have been lost...so before they were, I had to post.

So full of color, and brightness!

I just love the spring and summer when everything is just in full bloom!