Wednesday Madness....err I mean writing

More fun this week at Mama Kat's, some interesting prompts this week to chose from, so head on over to her place for all the fun!

The Prompts:

1.) Mother's guilt...tell us what happened.(inspired by Lolli)

2.) Write five "Incredibly Short Books". Some examples:"Chemical Contraception Choices for Catholic Couples""Teenage U.S. Presidents""The Book of Female Popes""The 2008 Book of General Motors Profits"Dan says, "The point is that the book is of zero size since the title is a contradiction with reality."(inspired by Dan)

3.) I'll be happy when ________________.(inspired by Tracy P.)

4.) Relay an interesting conversation you recently had with someone that may or may not involve creating a Loch Ness Monster Theme Park.(inspired by Jen)

5.) Show us something you made!(inspired by Janis)

I picked all the odd number ones this week....

1.) Whenever anyone mentions "guilty mother syndrome" I have 2 thoughts....my first thought goes racing back to when Thomas was about 8 months old. He was learning to walk, he started crawling up to everything, standing up and walking along while holding on. I was trying to do two things at once, and even though I was "keeping an eye" on him out of the corner of my eye, he not only slammed a dinning room chair into his head but proceeded to tip right over backwards and pull the chair on top of him. OMG he got the worst bruise down his forehead, check out this post to see the pics, I am convinced that is why they children get bruises...to remind us that we should have been WATCHING THEM!

My second thought, runs to right before Christopher was born, Thomas got the stomach flu, and he has ALWAYS gotten up in the middle of the night, and sometimes he would get up and just play in his crib at about 3am for an hour or so and then he would go back to sleep....well this one night he did get up, and he cried a little bit, but I didn't pay attention....I was 9 months pregnant with a whole MONTH to go and no more skin to stretch to accommodate Christopher, I was tired and so not wanting to get up and check on him. Well I felt so horrible the next morning, I walked in there and thought...what is that SMELL? Yeah well the poor kid barfed all over his crib and all over himself, and I didn't get up to check, so he went back to sleep in a pile of barf! I cried and cried and cried, I felt like I deserved the worst mother of the year award. And because of that stomach flu, I got it that Saturday and it sent me into Labor 6 weeks from the due date and gave birth to Christopher that Saturday night! I still felt horrible and guilty!

3.) I'll be happy when:

I will be happy when my up coming surgery on August 5th is OVER! And I'll be happy when I am healed up without my children running away screaming from me...but more on that at a later time! I'll need all the words of encouragement I can get I am sure!

5.) And this isn't something I made....but something Thomas did in his music/craft class on Monday....again with Grandma's help! They are making some really cool stuff in his class and of course he loves to play with it. It's one of those little clappers....you move it back and forth and it makes a clapping sound....FUN FUN FUN! Tell me that isn't adorable...my talented 2 year old son made that!!! I know I know he had Grandma's help but still!!!

My Little Miracles

Warm Weekends

FINALLY, some nice warm weekends....and we all know what Warm Weekends means....

POOL PARTIES

And BBQ's

We had both...well a kiddie pool party, but hey it works! We had some really great Tequila Lime Chicken tacos, along with some spinach balls for the veg heads, and some carne asada flavored Tri Tip steak tacos! Really easy and super yum!

So here is Thomas getting ready to host his 1st pool party! He walked around and around the pool, putting the balls in, taking them out, the water was pretty darn cold when we first put it in there but after his nap and 2 hours of sitting in the sun it warmed up nice!

The we put his little slide in there and the kids LOVED it....

Thomas getting a little help from his Godfather to slide down! Not that he needed it but it was a great photo op!

My Godson, Brandon, needed no help at all....he had a great time!

Look at my little long haired boy! He promptly got that cut on Sunday! It's funny because he looks like such a little baby and then we get all his curls cut off and he looks like a little boy! Keep scrolling and you'll see what I mean!

WHAT A HAM!!!! He was finally getting the hang of the pool and enjoying himself at Grandma's on Sunday. We really need to get him in the pool more and more! Swim lessons here we come! And look at that mouthful of teeth! Phew, we never thought we'd get there!


Christopher on the other hand is a born swimmer!! He's just like his uncle....LOVES the water! He went under the water several times yesterday (with mommy holding him, it's not like we just threw him in...sheesh) and he still was all smiles and kicking and splashing and everything! At this rate he will be swimming before he's walking!
Look at him, no fear at all....I can't wait for him to jump in from the sides now!

Splashing fun....and with Brother too...it doesn't get any better!

Mommy and Thomas playing in the water....he finally relaxed enough to have a good time splashing around, but he does NOT like his face wet!

See his adorable hair cut? His "I'm a trouble maker" smile...but adorable hair cut!

And there is my no fear boy getting ready to be thrown in the air and come splashing down in the water....with me holding him of course!

Okay enough pool pics, it's making me want to jump right back in!!!

And sorry for some of the quality of the pics....the computer was being a HUGE pain last night and I didn't get to edit much! Anyone else do anything fun and exciting this past weekend?

My Little Miracles

A Day in History

Even if you weren't a fan of Michael Jackson, you notice how EVERYONE knows his music? Everyone knows the chorus line to at least ONE of his songs....which one do you know? Was it "ABC...easy as 123"? Maybe "Billie Jean"? or How about something like "Thriller"? He was among one of the most recognizable names and faces, despite all the physical changes over the years. He was the King of Pop, a legend, and his music will live on for a lifetime. The music industry suffered a great loss.

How about Farrah Fawcett? Even if you didn't watch Charlie's Angels for the year she played on it, and even if you didn't see "The Burning Bed", everyone knew Farrah....that unforgettable poster, and the smile. I can remember being about 6 years old, my dad was a Farrah fan....I mean who wasn't...she was beautiful! Anyway, my hair was "bone straight" as my mom used to say, so she put my hair in curlers and attached me to this old vacuum hose looking like thing that attached to a shower cap looking like contraption and it blew hot air in there to dry my "curls". When we got done I was hoping I would have curls like Shirley Temple....instead I got curls that fell out quickly and easily...I was sad, and when I walked out and saw my dad, with my dwindling curls and all, he said "You look just like Farrah"! I immediately was walking on cloud 9, and even after I had no curls left, I still felt like a million dollars! Dad's are great that way!

And Ed McMahon, I don't remember Johnny Carson, although I think it's a shame he retired, he's a funny guy! Okay anyway, my memories of Ed McMahon were of Star Search, but there was no mistaking "Heeerrrreeee'ssss Johnny" and everyone knew who that was and no one will ever duplicate or do it better.

It's a wonder, no matter what they did, who they were, we will all remember something about them. And of course we all know the things that comes out of the mouths of babes....I am waiting for the day that my son will say "Mommy, do you remember when Michael Jackson died?" or perhaps "Mommy, were you alive when Michael Jackson died". And I will remember, and I will be able to say yes, that was the day Farrah died and the same week that Ed McMahon died, and I will be able to share my memories with him.

My Little Miracles

Wednesday Writing....

Another fun filled week over at MamaKat's, stop by there to see all the amusing responses

The Prompts:
1.) Interview a child.(inspired by Quilao Triplets)
2.) How do you stave off boredom?(inspired by Jenn's Pen)
3.) Write a poem for the little boy in your life.(inspired by Life With Kaishon)
4.) Describe a memorable interview or talk about your experience trying to find a job amidst this recession.(inspired by Lacey)
5.) Create a Help Wanted Ad.(inspired by Jenners)


#1) I always try to do a little bit on each one, but I can't really interview Thomas, although I do want to inform you all, his new word is now YUCK! I mean he says a lot more than that, but the word we tend to hear the most classifies at the favorite word of the week. For about the last several months the word was MINE, but YUCK is now the new MINE! Does that make sense?
And Christopher would merely say dadadadadadadadadadad mmmmmmdadadadadada and giggle!

#2) How to stave off boredom.....Well in Thomas' case, he likes his new shakers!!

Thanks to Grandma helping him put these little shakers together, (fun little crafty project if anyone is interested, I can tell you all the secret ingredients) he loves to make music, so he will shake his shakers and play his drum, then he may bang on his xylophone, and to top it all off he plays the harmonica! He's a talented one toddler band I tell you! America's Got Talent here we come!

I think Christopher gets bored and then he likes to pull on mommy's hair, that's a favorite past time, or he just likes me to tote him around while I am trying to get things done!

I can't remember the last time I was bored....if I am not playing with the boys, working, doing laundry, cleaning up, bathing children, kissing boo boos, trying to reason with a toddler, toting around a heavy 10 month old because he's on a mommy kick, making lunches, spending time with hubs and talking with him, texting, talking on the phone, reading......I am usually blogging, leaving comments, responding to emails and figuring out what the next day will bring....phew...oh yeah and somewhere in there I sleep! And people wonder why I don't facebook or twitter! HA! And Thank God for my wonderful Hubby who cooks us yummy meals!!!

#3) This one I could not resist, I haven't had a poetic bone in my body since I was pregnant with Thomas.....BUT I do have a poem....it was written by my mother, for my brother, Thomas, whom my son was named after. And I couldn't resist sharing....I still give her a hard time because she had time to write a poem for my brother since he was the 1st born and once I came along and she was running around after my brother and taking care of me, she didn't have time to write me one....so I try EXTRA hard to do the same for the 2nd as I did for the 1st just so she can't say "I told you so" HAHA

Now on to the poem.....

He's an eater, he's a sleeper,

Who's not a bit shy

And often times we wonder why

He's a wiggle, He's a squirm

Who sometimes will cry

And often times we wonder why

He's a toothless drooler,

Who can't say good-bye

And often times we wonder why

He's a pleasure, He's a treasure

Who sometimes causes a sigh

And often times we wonder why

He's cute as an angel

Who came from up in the sky

And now we know the reason why

He's Thomas Joseph (and my son is Thomas James)

Who's the apple of our eye

Because we know the reason why

ceb 8-70

My Little Miracles

The Baby Itch....

This has been coming up more and more often in discussions here at work and with friends and such. I guess I am a little off. Don't get my wrong, I Love my babies! They will always be my babies....but am I really the only one who can't wait for them to grow up....at least a little bit? I mean I don't want them to be 30 and married with kids yet or anything. But 4 and 5 or 5 and 6...I can't wait for those times!

I was definitely NOT a happy pregnant woman, I did not "glow" with my pregnancies, I was HUGE and sick and miserable for every single month except maybe my 6th month with both pregnancies! I did love feeling them move inside me.....notice how I said MOVE....not KICK or JAB or any of that, but to feel them move and grow was a true miracle, and I did love that, every second of that. Then that month went by and I was miserable!

Then they were born.....these amazing, wonderful, beautiful....Miracles. And they were adorable, even when they were screaming because someone was torturing them by putting them on a cold scale and cleaning them up since I did it the easy way and had c-sections with both, not by choice I might add. And I didn't get that nice cuddly let's put them on your belly so you can gaze deep into their eyes and imprint me in your blurry brain moments. But I did Thank God the moment they were born, not only because I was so in love but also because now I could have my body back! So in between puking in a little cup and not being able to sit up for 24 hours because my blood pressure would drop and make me sick, I snuggled and fed Thomas as best I could. Christopher had to get snuggled by blankets in the NICU for 5 days until I could snuggle and feed him myself! You can read his whole story here.

Thomas after birth

Thomas snuggling with mommy

Christopher a few days after coming home

Snuggling Christopher in the NICU for the 1st time

And I would stop and watch as they slept on me or in their basinettes or cribs and I would just tear up at how amazing they are and how happy I was to finally be a mommy! I couldn't ask for anything more....except for them to grow up and walk and talk and play so we could go to Disneyland and the zoo and watch them at the aquarium to see they touch a ray for the first time, or watch them squish sand in their toes and catch sand crabs, hold my hand and jump through waves together.

I am perfectly happy with our little family of 4. I do not have that baby itch, when my friends get pregnant or are talking about their growing, kicking, miracles, I remember how nice it was for that ONE MONTH, and then how miserable I was for the rest of my pregnancy, and I remember how they smell, how adorable their yawns were, and I didn't even mind the midnight or 3am feedings.....but now, they are 2 years and the other is 10 months and I know I should, and I do, savor every moment, and every hug and every kiss and every snuggle...I love it all....but I am not one of those "aww I wish they would stay a baby forever" type of person.

So baby itch? I think not....and until we do the Disneyland and the aquarium, and surf the waves and all that....I will stand in awe at every turn of life, I will cheer at every new word learned, and at every coo, I will praise every new lesson learned and I will love my miracles as hard as I can, and be grateful that they get older and not younger!

My Little Miracles

Weekend in Pictures

I know, I know, several have asked about Date night already, I'll get to that! So let's recap....

Saturday right before Date night was supposed to start a neighbor behind us decided to burn up their house? So we had a lot of commotion with that. And of course Thomas wanted to see the "Big Trucks", so we went to see what was going on and it's amazing in a time of emergency how many people flock to see what's wrong and what's going on. (including us heehee) But you should have seen the people who were following the fire trucks, lawyers maybe? I think we had 4 different engine companies respond and there were a TON of trucks as you can see below, and that's not including the hook and ladder, the paramedics, or the ambulance. Needless to say it's nice to know how fast they respond in this area, and as far as we can see everything ended up okay.

They had to cut holes in the roof, and they wasted NO time! As far as I can see they had minimal damage and no one was hurt, Thank God!

Now on to date night, we were going to go with some friends, we were all childless for the night, but it was their 5 year anniversary celebration so we sent them out on their own. We went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner, and of course stuffed ourselves, YUM! They have some of the best food, but we ate so much dinner that we didn't have enough room for Cheesecake! Oh well, not that I need it anyway. After our dinner we walked around the mall, there was no way we could have gone straight to a movie and sat with how full we were! Then after checking out our newly redone mall, and walking off some of dinner, it was off to Movieland. We saw The Hangover And Let me tell you, that was the funniest movie we have seen in a long time. It was great, we laughed the whole way through. But if you are offended by foul language this is NOT the movie for you. I think what made it so funny is you could definitely see this happening! It was hilarious, two thumbs up! We thought about going to Cold Stone Creamery afterwards but we were still so stuffed from dinner we decided not to!

In other news....my adorable baby boy is starting to pull himself along, slow and steady! I guess he finally is realizing that Mommy can't spoil him and carry him through life! The hubs got some great video of it on his cell phone but I can't get it to post on the blog, so hopefully I will get some of that up soon!

Thomas, on the other hand is in dire need of a haircut, but his stylist was unavailable this weekend! =) So maybe next weekend he'll get his hair cut!

And look at my beautiful Hibiscus flowers....we had NOTHING, the tree looked like it was dead and all of a sudden we have about 8 blooms! They are gorgeous.

And I finally got a flower on my African Violet plant! I didn't even notice it come up until Sunday, so Steven took a pic of it for posterity! I usually kill my violets, but with their new pots and Grandma asking if I watered them, they are doing great!

And to finish off the weekend Christopher decided to feel horrible and sleep awful last night, so needless to say that this morning, the hubs and I are both dragging a little, hopefully we'll catch our second wind about 5pm!

Anyone else have an exciting weekend?

My Little Miracles

Happy Father's Day!!!

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful dads out there. Anyone can be a Father, but it takes someone Special to be a DADDY!!

Steven's 1st father's day to TWO wonderful boys! Who ever thought huh? We had a peaceful, relaxing father's day! Both boys greeted dad in bed, I know I should have let him sleep in, but it's so much fun to see Thomas go toddling in there in his jammies and pat the bed and say UP! Then he likes to get up there and jump on the bed, so there is NO sleeping at that point!

Daddy opened his new flash with diffuser and remote control while laying in bed and couldn't wait until it got dark to try it out! And of course Thomas helped open everything, even the cards and then proceeded to get mad when Daddy wanted to actually see his cards! HAHA He's such a character!

So Happy Father's Day to the best husband and Daddy in the world! We Love you!

My Little Miracles

WIPEOUT

I don't know if anyone out there watches Wipeout the new show on ABC? Well it's entertaining to say the least. People do some crazy stuff and go through some serious pain just to win some cash.

Okay so anyway, Thomas gets up from his nap as I am turning off the computer after getting movie info for our date night, Dad brings him into the family room and he comes running over to me but what catches his eye on the TV is a show called Wipeout....the next thing you know I am all but forgotten while he wanders near the TV and as these crazy people on here are falling into mud and breaking their necks on treadmills and such I hear Thomas say OOOOOHHHHH....so the hubs and I look at each other and snicker. Then we hear him say AAAHHHH YUCK as someone got punched in the face and thrown into the mud. We could not contain ourselves. We are laughing hysterically and Thomas keeps making comments and laughing at these people who are getting totally destroyed on Wipeout. So of course I had to sign on and share since it made us laugh so hard!

All this from a toddler who watches little TV and usually nothing more than Elmo and Mickey Mouse....oh yeah and Bolt, he loves Bolt!

The things that come out of the mouth's of babes right?

My Little Miracles

PSSST......

"Pssst....I Love you", read the card when I recieved these gorgeous flowers today at work....
I thought it was Father's Day weekend, not Mother's Day....I guess it was just send your wife flowers day? Or maybe it was just my awesome husband wanting to tell me that he loved me in an oh so special way!
We are having a date night this weekend, Grandma agreed to take the boys on Saturday night, so we are going to make the most of it!

My Little Miracles

Snips and Snail and Puppy Dog Tails....

That's what little boys are made of. Or so the rhyme goes. I was sitting here talking with my girl Brooke this morning, and of course all my friends know that I feel truly blessed to have all boys...well two boys that is. I was thrilled the first time when they said "It's a boy" and I was even more estatic when they said "another boy" I almost jumped up on the table with that goopy ultrasound junk on my tummy and did a happy dance! And had I not felt like horrible barfy crap I probably would have!

But everyone said awww not a girl? Well next time. HAHAHA Next time? Not likely, we are ALL DONE! I like to say that I am the Princess in my house! Everyone said why are you so happy to have all boys, and I said well let me just tell you

1.) I watched me grow up and the torture I inflicted upon my mom, you think I want that???? NO PLEASE!

2.) No PMS, except mine =)

3.) No bras, no boobs

4.) No hormonal outbursts, again except mine =)

5.) No attitude

6.) No shopping, I Hate to shop, I guess that's why I never get anything new, My mom is the shopper and she always picks out the best stuff anyway!

7.) No weddings to pay for....well traditionally speaking we would only need to cover the rehersal dinner.

Oh I could go on and on, but those are just some of my favorites! So as Brooke and I were talking, we discussing going to our place on the Colorado river and I thought, okay I don't have to worry about any of those things above, and just think of the money we will save from not going dress shopping and shoe shopping and all that, and my mind immediately flashed forward 10 years.....

FABULOUS, Guess we need to save all the dress and shoe money for all the new TOYS the boys will want! *sigh* oh well, I still think I get the better end of the deal!

My Little Miracles

Wednesday Writing

Another week of assignments over at Mama Kat's, head on over there to get linked to every one's midweek fun... I chose prompt 4 and 5

The Prompts:

1.) Grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page and share two “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.(inspired by Heather)

2.) What do you aspire to be?(Inspired by The White House)

3.)Share a piece of unsolicited parenting advice...only I'm soliciting it.

4.)Tell us about your blogline...how long have you been blogging, when did you start, what were/are your goals for your blog, etc.(inspired by Corn)

When I sat down to create my blog, I was a new mom. I saw and watched my 1st born sleep, I watched him breathe and I looked into my heart to realize just how long I had waited for him, my perfect little miracle. They told me I would never have kids, they said if you do get pregnant it most likely be an ectopic pregnancy, if it isn't you will surely not carry the baby full term. I did get pregnant, and lost that baby at 16 1/2 weeks. I never thought I would ever have a baby of my own. So here we are....2 babies and 1 full term pregnancy and one almost full term pregnancy and two beautiful Miracles! So when it came to what did I want to name my blog....My little miracles was taken so it was Life's Tiniest Miracle. My goals to start were to allow people to keep up on my life and my babies, see pics and video and to share. I now write and read and contribute to more blogs than I ever started out to. I am forever thinking in my brain about everyday things that I find funny or amusing or whatever that I would love to just log on and blog about, but figure who wants to read that, so I post about life and of course My. Little. Miracles! I thank God for them every day! And because I was told that no post is complete without a pic....

Look at those two perfect miracles!!

5.)If you had 5000 dollars to give away or donate to a charity...explain what you would do with it and why.(inspired by Hallie's letter)

If I had $5000, I would split it up....I would love to give a $1000 to Dove's real girls, Real Beauty, which my cousin had turned me onto last Christmas, so I made a donation in honor of her two daughters. Dove is in with the Girl Scouts and it made for a great Christmas present for them. I don't have girls but I am a girl and know how hard it was in high school and such to maintain that level of society required everything. So it's a great cause!

Second I would give $1000 to the ASPCA because I love animals, they bring happiness to our world, and we have to be the voice for those that don't have one. They need protection as well.

And lastly I would give the remainder to the Cancer Research Institute They are making leaps and bounds in cancer research and who knows someday....someone might come up with a cure to help me!

But since I can't donate that kind of money, for now I am growing my hair out to donate to Locks Of Love, a wonderful organization who makes hair pieces for children. Once I hit that 10 inch mark I will start all over again!

My Little Miracles

Weekends full of fun

We had a little visitor this weekend....a coworker's nephew. Little 5 1/2 month old Gavin came to stay with us for a little bit while his uncle got married. He's adorable, and can't weigh more than 15lbs! He and Christopher had fun playing and chewing together, but all in all I don't think Christopher liked seeing his mommy play with and talk to another cute little boy! And Thomas looked like a GIANT next to these two little guys!

Sunday morning Thomas shared some brotherly love by sharing his cherrios with Christopher, and Christopher really did love those honey nut cherrios! Thomas is getting better at sharing his cherrios, now we just have to work on sharing his MnM's!

When you ask for funny faces ....this is what you get!

And after walks and lunch and naps we had a nice little BBQ with lots of yummy food, and we finally got some decent pics of our new outside lights! Or should I say we finally got a beautiful sunny day to energize our outside lights in our back yard so we could get decent pics! And look at that sky! Amazing! Hope everyone else had just as nice of a weekend!

My Little Miracles

Wednesday's writing....

Okay so I forgot about my homework on Wednesday's Writing Assignment over at Mama Kat's....it wouldn't be the first time I did my assignment the morning it was due!

Get in on the fun by stopping by her blog!

The Prompts:

1.) Describe something someone has done to make you feel special.(inspired by Le Poppy Design)2.)Name your current addiction...we can get through this together.(inspired by Lula)

3.) What have you been busy doing that's keeping you from updating your blog? How hard is it for you to get back into the swing of blogging when you take time off?(inspired by Sera)

4.) Write a letter.(inspired by eyegirl)

5.) Where would you like to be?(inspired by T.J.)

I chose #4

Dear Thomas and Christopher,

You are the lights of my life. Mommy can't remember her life before you and I can't imagine my life without you. You have completed me in every way! I spent so much time thinking about you both, about how much I wanted to be a mommy, and you have given me that opportunity. I only pray I will never fail you!

Thomas: My first born son, you are my spirited 2 year old, and I don't know what life would be like without all of your silly antics. Since your birth you have been outspoken and demanded to be heard, and we spent many of nights listening to those demands. It's amazing to watch you grow and learn, to see you run and play and comprehend new things daily. I want nothing but the best for you, and I want you to be as proud to be my son and I am being your mommy! I will defend you with my life and I will always be here for you, unconditionally. I Love you with all that I am and all that I have.

Christopher: My baby, my 9 month old Angel baby. To see you look at me, you melt my heart. And to think I was afraid we wouldn't bond because they took you from me for 5 days to the NICU and I couldn't even see you, now you are my sidekick from the moment I get home until the moment you lay your little head down at night, you are my mini me! You are so quiet and so serious, but despite your difficulties since birth when you want to be heard, you are! When you smile and laugh, they are so contagious. I hope you know just how special you are, I hope that I can always be the mommy you deserve. I will defend you with my life and I will always be here for you, unconditionally, I Love you with every fiber of my being!
And to my amazing husband, who gave me both of them. I have 4 words, you have heard them before and will hear them time and time again....You are my everything. We are like a rare coin, one side is worth nothing but together we will remain untranished.

Love All my boys

~Mommy~

My Little Miracles