The Little Things

It really is the little things in life that make it fun! Here are a few things that I really like

Clean In-Style Gloves - you can find them at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5786053 - I just got some for me and a pair for my cousin for her B-Day. I wash a lot of dishes and they have saved my hands - they are also fun to wear and somehow make washing all those dishes a little more bearable.

Reusable Oilcloth Sandwich/Snack Bags - http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5107577 - These are wonderful and wash great! I was using soooo many zip lock bags and now I hardly use them!

Flip Flop Fancy Dresses - My friend Connie makes these are they are so cute! http://www.flipflopfancy.etsy.com/

My Clips - http://www.theclipfairy.etsy.com/

Zippy Wristlet - I have decided that I am going to make one of these - Les is lending me her sewing machine - we'll see how it goes! http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5565246

The Mommy Mafia

The Mommy Mafia - I know it is a funny name. Brian, Karina's husband came up with it a few years back. This is the name of my amazing play group! We have been getting together every Thursday since September 2005. There have only been a few weeks in those years that we have not been together. It all started one warm September day. Leslie's parents were out of town and she invited myself, Karina, Gioia, Michelle, and Jessica. The babies were just that babies (Lilly was 2 months old) and Gioia was still pregnant. We sat around and chatted - the big kids aka Big Jack and Big Lily played. It was just so nice to be with other people who were mom's - I was new to this mom thing. We decided that this would be a great weekly gathering. I was going back to work pt and Thursdays seamed to work for everyone and the rest is history. Over the next few months the group grew. I invited Christine who's husband was working with John at the time. Leslie invited Rhonda, the wife of her childhood friend. Jess invited Paulette, who's husband works with Joseph. All of the kids were born between January 2005 and October 2005 - except the "big kids" Big Jack and Big Lily - both born December 2003. So the original group was - Leslie, Zoe, Jessica, Karina, Gioia, Michelle, Rhonda, Paulette, and Christine - Amy and Liz joined later. We have been through so much - the birth of babies (there are now 20 and 2 more on the way), surgeries, breast cancer, miscarriages, loss of parents, and all of the joys and struggles that go with being a mom. We support each other and rally together. We are friends because of our kids, but we are friends without them as well. We all cherish our Mom's Night Outs and our annual Mom's Night Away. So often I think about how lucky and blessed we are to have each other and that our kids are equally as lucky and blessed to have each other (Lilly loves "her friends"). We do not judge each other - there is nothing but love in this group. They have all made me a better mother and a better person.

Love, Love, Love, Love, Crazy Love

The title just popped into my mind. I Love me girls and life is crazy! Lilly sometimes has tough days. Yesterday was one of those days at school. She gets overwhelmed and just can't control herself. When I picked her up at school yesterday at school she was crying. That kind of cry that mother know is not just something little - she was sad! She knew that she had not behaved and was mad at herself. It was the kind of cry that makes you cry (right there in the pre-school classroom with her). This has not happened in a while. There is a new girl in her class and Lilly got excited and that leads to her being overwhelmed and not being able to control her emotions and her actions. To top it off her backpack was not on the hook when we left the room and that lead to a meltdown. The backpack was located, but not until after we got home. I decided to take her to McDonald's for lunch - I do not reward "bad" behavior, but she knew what she did wrong - both the teacher and I talked to her. I needed to turn the day around and make the second half of the day positive. McDonald's was Great!!! There was 1 little girl in the play area when we got there and she came right up to Lilly. She even brought her toy and some of her food to our table to eat with us (she was there with her dad and he was busy with her baby brother). Once the girls had eaten they played very nicely and some other kids joined in and it was great. Lilly played nicely with all the the kids and the day was saved! When we got home our wonderful neighbor Marge and her son Grant came over and played for over an hour - another positive interaction. Lilly and Anna took baths and john came home and played with them until bed. As I reflected on this day I realize more and more how much Lilly needs me. I try not to beat myself up about the fact that I went back to work (even though it was only 2 or 3 days a week) when she was little. Maybe if she had the stability of just me caring for her when she was little maybe she would not have the issues she has -maybe she still would. I did what I thought was the right thing to do then. She was with people who loved her, but she was bounced around - a different person each day of the week I worked. Like I said I try not to beat myself up about it, but some days it is hard not to. It is days like yesterday that remind me why I am willing to give up the luxuries that were once taken for granted to be home with my girls. We don't go out to eat, buy new clothes, get my nails done, have our house cleaned by someone else (except when my mom is generous enough to pay for it), etc. and it is so worth it. We are working on Lilly's issues and I have no doubt in my mind that she is going to have a GREAT life. In some ways these tough days make me love her even more - I hug her harder and hold her longer - she is mine and I would not trade her for any other child in the world. I am just glad to be with her.

Christmas 2008

I love the holidays! I start listening to Christmas music in October - I know I am weird! We got our tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. We always get our tree at the Rite Aid in OB. John and I started getting our trees there when we lived on Sunset Cliffs Blvd and now it is a tradition. John and Lilly went this year and came back with a very cute tree! This was the first year Lilly decorated the tree with us and she was so excited!

Christmas Eve - The day started with both girls not feeling very good. Anna started feeling better, but by 4pm Lilly had a 103 fever. I have her motrin and it brought it right down, but we decided to skip Church. We went to my MIL's for Dinner and our Christmas Celebration with John's family. The cousin's played and we all had a very nice time.

Christmas Day - We all woke up and opened gifts from Santa. Lilly was not as excited as I expected, but she was not feeling great. We had a quiet morning at home before heading over to my parents house.

We had fun opening more gifts and eating a yummy meal!

This is the only picture of the 4 of us. Lilly decided that she didn't like her dress! It was so beautiful and my mom took so much time to find her ans Anna coordinating dresses!

Lilly's First Christmas Pagent - December 2008

Lilly was in her first Christmas pagent for preschool. It was so cute. She sang all of the songs and was such a big girl. Lilly is growing up and changing so much. She loves school and takes pride in the things she can do, like remembering the words and motions to the Christmas songs. Lilly helped her teacher Mrs. Moser carry baby Jesus to the stage. Lilly has had a baby Jesus obcession this holiday season. It is soo cute!

Anna's 1st Birthday - December 9, 2008

I can't believe my baby is 1! I am writing this 1 month later and I still can't believe she is 1! Where did the year go. She is running all over the place and is such a big girl. We started her celebration with a play group party at Chuck E Cheese. The big kids love it and Anna likes to explore. She had her 1st birthday cupcake and it was so cute watch her eat it!




Her second celebration was a family (and a few close friends) at my parents house. We all had a wonderful time!






The 3rd and final celebration of Anna turning 1 was a trip to Disneyland! It was Anna's first Disneyland Adventure and we all had a blast!

Thanksgiving 08

Well, it's been a while and I definitely need to catch up. The girls got sick - again and we basically missed Thanksgiving! I got sick the night before and Anna did also so we sent John and Lilly to Cindy's for a few hours and Anna and I slept on the couch. The next day we were all feeling a lot better so Sophie, Jessie (Sophie's friend), Justin, and Janay (a college roomate and dear friend) came for a Thanksgiving take 2. We had a nice night and the girls went to sleep early. John, Justin, Jessie, and Sophie went out to get a drink and left Janay and I to catch up. We had a great time and she ended up staying over and driving back to AZ the next day. The rest of the weekend was quiet. We had a good visit with Sophie including a trip to the Zoo. The only sad thing is that we have no pictures of Anna's 1st Thanksgiving - she did not feel well enough to wear her cute dress. We will have to make up for it next year!