Happy St. Patty's Day

I didn't get any of Benjamin in his green. But I did have a little mini-shoot with my little aspiring model.

Mama's Faves {Benjamin}

Growing

Almost ONE

Walking Boy

Here is a little video from Valentines Day when Benjamin started walking.

The Big 3-0



This is my family!

Well, it happened, what I have been dreading since the big 2-5, Sunday February 24, 2013, I turned 30! It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, maybe because it felt like just another day. That and I certainly don't feel like 30.

Sunday night we celebrated with a take-out picnic on the living room floor with champagne while we (yup all 4 of us) watched Rapunzel. While I was sitting there I took stock of what the last 30 years has brought me and how lucky I really am. I'm not getting old despite what people might be telling me, I am growing in wisdom and into the person I want to be.

I am the mother of 2 of the most amazing babies and each day they teach me more and more about being patient, spontaneous, and the unimaginable way your love can grow. I am the other half to an awesome husband who challenges me to be stronger, more adventurous, and realistic. I am the daughter to two people who show more , understanding, and guidance then one could ever hope for. The unconditional love they have for us is the epitome of what parents are supposed to be. I hope to show my children the world they opened for me. I am the sister to one who has become my closest confidant and best of friends, the one who I count on for her honest opinion and loyalty. I am the granddaughter to two of the most wonderful beings that are with us on this great earth and those angels that I am fortunate to have watching over me from heaven. I have them to thank for this family whom I have been enormously blessed to receive.

In this last decade of my life my family has grown and I am now a daughter-in-law to two very kind and generous souls, like my own parents they want for us to thrive and are there to push us and care for us despite our age. We will always be their babies, something I have come to understand so much more. I am the sister-in-law to three and soon-to-be four more siblings, two sister's and two brother's. Each one of these people bring something different to my life. Humor is top of the list, but the ability they have to love my children as if they were their own is remarkable. I can only hope that when I am blessed with niece's and nephew's of my own that I show them what these 5 aunt's and uncle's do. Then I will hop them up on sugar and send them home. ;)

Even my family of aunt's, uncle's, and cousins have an impact on the person that I have become, no matter how close or far away.

I was celebrated at dinner surrounded by my family, 20 people who were there for me. How many people can say that? We actually celebrated with another dinner closer to my birthday at another one of my favorite Italian places.

Benjamin says "don't tell on me for having cake a little early"

Once we were leaving Olivia took my balloons and luckily they did not just pick her up and sweep her away. She carried them to the car all by herself and then proudly sat on the edge of Benjamin's car seat and sang to him.

Happy Birthday to Brother

Happy Birthday dear you

Happy Birthday dear you

Happy Birthday to Brother

Seriously the cutest thing ever. Even though we were trying to get her in her car seat so that we could get home.

I love her blue lips from the cake.

I have so much more I want to accomplish in the next decade and I can't wait to get started.

Life with a Toddler

There is never a dull moment in my life. It ebbs and flows with sweet amazing loving times and crashes with crazy loud toddler shenanigans. And it is in those times when we find ourselves looking at each other wondering what the hell just happened? Those times are many living with a toddler. It is like living with someone going through menopause, you're hot, you're cold, you're hot... You get the gist, toddlers change with the wind, their attitude and as I am finding out her clothes! One minute they are a little angel and the next devil horns have sprouted and they are shooting fire from their precious little mouth.

We are going through a change (one that I hope has a very near end in site) and with that change said toddler, ahem Olivia, is becoming quite demanding. Each morning she wakes up and demands gummies (fruit snacks) apparently the new toddler crack! When we say no, to which we say every morning, we are met with kicks, flails, and then she is laid out on the floor in the ultimate fit. Ahh the days before we had children, those glorious delusional days, when we thought to ourselves, our child will never do that. I look back at my childless-self and laugh as I step over the screaming toddler and carry on about my business. Then it's quiet and we all know that no good can come of this.

When there is trouble to be caused you could call a toddler a little ninja, she can get into something without us even noticing she is missing in action. Between the quiet and her small size she can move stealthily from one place to another. She fits perfectly behind the height of the sofa, counters, and tables (I'm sure it doesn't help that her Daddy and I are not the tallest people in the world, hell I'm only a couple inches from being the same height practically). How do you think this little magic happened?

Yes, this happened while she was supposed to be playing in her room and Daddy was cleaning up from dinner (Mommy was out of town). It is also when we find her streaking through the house to the tune of my-shirt-is-wet-so-I'm-changing, or you find her climbing on chairs to reach in her dresser for new panties because she wants Dora instead of Cinderella, or we-must-dirty-every-pair-of-leggings-we-have-so-Mommy-can't-ever-get-caught-up-on-laundry-again.That is if she even wants to put clothes back on, I can't count how many times we have eaten our dinner while she sports only a shirt after she goes potty. Don't judge me sometimes I would like to eat without getting indigestion from arguing with her! I sometimes wonder if I will be visiting her when she is older at her home on a nudist colony?

After 4 days of single parenthood (Daddy's little vacation) I wanted to change my name! I never realized that the reason we marry and then have children is so that there is someone else's name for them to call scream for a hundred times in 2 hours. In the car she asks to watch her movie and silly me I wanted to talk to her about her day so I said no (I lied and said it wasn't working, otherwise it would be "Mommy I wanna watch my movie" on repeat for 15 minutes). Well she didn't want to talk about her day, so my questions went ignored, who out there knew that a 2 1/2 year old was smart enough to just pretend you weren't talking to them? Oh You were talking to ME, Mom? Silly me I thought you were talking to the other little girl in the car. Instead she wants to talk about everything else, Mom why are you stopping? (asked 50 times while we were moving) Mom, what is that? (from the backseat while I am driving and then getting mad that I have no idea what she is pointing to on the ground behind my seat) Mommy, I have to peepee! (It never fails) Mommy, I want a waffle. Mom I don't want a waffle! Mom stop! (when I am singing along to the radio that I have turned up to not hear my name). Mommy I want a poptart. Mommy I want gummies! Mommy (something in a super soft voice) that I then have to ask 15 times for her to repeat and she thinks its funny so she continues to say the same thing the same way. Ahhh life as a mother of a toddler!

It's as if she lives her life on a stage in a performance every day. She knows that she has an audience at all times and she knows how to make us laugh even if it's the stifled-we-shouldn't-be-laughing-at-this kind. And there is always a moment in the middle of us disciplining her that she says the sweetest thing that just catches you so off guard. It makes you wonder what you were yelling at this little angel for in the first place. It's a trap! They know they are getting in trouble for something that they did wrong so they figure if they sweeten you up that you will forget. I'm up on your little game!

Despite all the times where you just want to pull-your-hair-out-change-your-name-move-into-a-hole there are just as many times where you look at her calmly playing with her little brother and actually sharing her toys. And you think, this is what it is all about, these moments that just out weigh anything else that happens and in a moment of weakness you want to keep popping out these little miracles. But you remember the times where you are on your hands and knees scrubbing the hot pink nail polish off the tile floor, watching only as it makes larger pink circles. Yes, remember those times so you know that you don't want to have another one just yet.

Our Angel