The First Day Of School

This is Jack's friend - whose parents are really super great. At the same time, I was wondering on how they were keeping composed and I was about to burst into tears?

Jack and my husband. Right after this photo was taken, Jack turned around and realized he was about to walk into a huge school by himself. He made a pouty lip face and that was when I lost it. Thank God for sunglasses, as they hid my tears very well.

Jack and his grandma, who was nice to be with us to watch her first born grandson go to school.

This was the face that said "really? another picture? Why are my parents such photographers?"

The first day of kindergarten was  - uneventful. I say that because there was no running around trying to wake Jack up to go to school. No running to catch the last bell before the doors closed. In fact, the only highlight of the morning was that everyone woke up early and on time. Charlie woke up early, Jack did. it was just another morning, except this was the morning in which Jack was going to start his school career for 12 +years. School for the rest of your life Jack !  

Jack was great. He woke up early. Ate his breakfast and was in great spirits the whole morning. We walked to school and as we were approaching, Jack said " I'm not excited about school." Yikes. Alert! I told him in my most calm voice that he was going to be fine. Of course there were going to be jitters. His whole life was just playing, eating lunch and the occasional play dates and camp here and there. Now , he would be somewhere away from his parents every single day. I remember feeling a bit nervous when I went to school and I remember my Dad holding my hand right as he walked me up to the classroom. I wanted to do that with Jack but this school was just a leave em hanging at the door. The kids lined up and went into the school themselves. I felt that the goodbye was so rushed and cold at the dropoff. I didn't even get a chance to really give him a kiss goodbye. My husband said that it is like that here - there is no more hand holding. Really? He's only 5, why can't I hold and guide my child in anymore? My kid is starting a new life in which now his mom and dad can't nudge him all the time to pay attention when someone asks him a question. NOW HE REALLY HAS TO PAY ATTENTION. 

All in all, I think I only shed about 5 tears. Not bad for a really sentimental mom like myself.

The Full time Of Lectures

This was pretty much the most frustrating weekend. I think at this point we are facing an incredibly hard stage right now. Charlie is at an age where he is learning to talk but also learning how to talk back and fight back.
Jack is at this age where everything is his way. Everything is no, no, no. I find myself constantly just lecturing him and scolding him. Don't do that. Be gentle. Be nice. What did I say? Time out. Time out. Time out.
It's at a point where giving him a time out is so stupid that he just sits there but then will still do the exact thing an hour later.

I was the full time parent this weekend and it sucked. We live in a place where you can walk for 15 minutes and still be in the neighborhood complex. Not a lot to see or do here if there is no car. At least if we lived in the city, I could have gone to the city with the boys, walked to a different park, be with my family. Here, all I could really go with the boys this weekend was go to the park, to the front yard, and to the park.

There is no one out here to help us or even be with the kids while I can maybe take a jog for 15 minutes. All I need is 15 minutes! 30 if you'll let me! I find myself alone out here and with just two boys to be with, especially with two boys who don't listen, tensions run super high.

I'm sure that the boys didn't really want me with them for the third straight day in a row. That was made clear when Jack asked me today- don't you have to leave or go to work today? Maybe for them seeing me stay here meant another day of nothing special in a neighborhood where nothing really happens. I felt like shit when Jack said that and today proved another day where lectures upon lectures happened.

In the end tonight, I ended placing them both to an early bedtime as I witnessed another brotherly fight. I couldn't take it and I erupted saying I was done. I always feel like shit when I give them lectures, but I want them to know at the same time that the pulling, the squeezing, the teasing and the hitting is not acceptable at all. I call bullshit to the theory that boys will be boys. So that means that this intense wrestling is ok? Absolutely not.

I'm not saying that it's like this 24/7 but I will give them lectures and punish them before it becomes that way. I think I made some leeway with Jack. I reminded him that for everything that he does, Charles will do. So if there is intense squeezing and pushing from Jack, then Charlie will do the same. However if Jack doesn't want to see the intensity that he gets from Charlie and in turn acts nicer, then Charlie will be nicer. I reminded him that Charlie looks up to Jack and just repeats everything that Jack does. In the end Jack said- I'll be a nice kid. That broke my heart.

As for myself, I know exactly what's going on. I'm stressed. The place that we were supposed to live to is now not happening anytime soon and meanwhile where we are now has just gotten inconvenient in so many ways. My stress is coming out tenfold and I need to calm myself down as well as listen and practice on what I preach. I would love at this moment to just get up and walk somewhere. But no one is here to stay with the kids and it's just me. Life is so hard. I need to know when all of this ugly phase will end soon.

The Best Summer Weekend

Buster Bunny was going to make an appearance at the Miss Lori show, and then he realized that he was about to go out in a 95 degree summer day. I caught Buster waiting in the wings at the grocery store, catching his last breath of AC air before heading out to the scorching sun.

For free fun, take a chance and go to a Miss Lori's Campus show. It's a lady from PBS Kids that goes around from grocery stores to malls to the nearest Sprint store and will sing songs to kids about eating right, exercising and all that jazz. I wish that she would emphasize more on how to eat vegetables and would make the kids eat some right then and there. That would have been a good one for my oldest. 

We went to a "show" by our grocery store and they had stands of food and snacks. I was sold. I wasn't sold however that it was one of the hottest days of the summer and that she was dancing up a storm in dead heat. Miss Lori, you need to hurry up and show who the special PBS guest is so we can go back to the AC. Stat! 

The pic you see below is Miss Lori herself, with a little chap named Charlie who is in the midst of the big kids. Just standing there and watching her. Do you see him? Look closer!

On Sunday, we went to a photo exhibit showcasing work from the former Sun Times Photographers. We took the boys there and it was my intention for them to meet my mentor, photographer John H. White but to also look at different photographs and talk about what they see. 

What I didn't expect was a sea of photographers, in a cramped space, with no AC. On a really hot day. So much for showing them around, looking at each photograph and explaining to them on what a composition is. I was also going to explain to them that photography is in their blood and by nature it was a 50% chance that one of them will grow up to be one. Or just really really like photography. It was too hot for them to care, there were hardly any kids around and there were no snacks there. This was not a Miss Lori's campus.

This photo was taken in one of the cool spots of the gallery. These guys really didn't care that they were at a gallery show. They did care however that they were able to get some cookies and cake at Dinkel's bakery afterwards. My idea, of course.

The Hard Times

This is a hard post to write. My oldest is going thru some weird phase right now. He discovered something called independence and it really sucks right now. Almost everything is no. No. I don't want to take a bath. No. I don't want to eat. No. I'm not going to bed. I'm going to watch tv instead. That last argument is the worst one.
Sometimes he will tell me that he's not tired but tells me this with one eye open. This kid is fighting his sleep and he'll tell me somewhat defiantly "I'm not tired". Yes you are. "No I'm not!"

I see myself losing my patience a bit more each day. I want to be one of those moms that really keep it cool every day but when I hear no all the time, how can I?

I placed this pic on this post to remind me that my children are young only once. Especially with my oldest now at an age where he will remember these memories. I don't want him to think- my mom used to reprimand me all the time. It kills me to think of that now. I'm asking to be blessed with something people ask for all the time- patience. And for my children to understand that i love them so much that even when I give them time outs- it's not fun for me to do so.

The Missing Spouse

This moment was captured while we were at the Chicago Botanic Gardens on Saturday. Beautiful right? Except that my husband had one kid climbing on his back and I had the other slightly larger and older kid climbing and sliding down my back. Notice our tired faces. Yet, our faces were one of happiness, as in, It's a gorgeous day, we are out and about, and for once we do not have two kids running around. We can actually lay down here on the grass for a good 5 minutes. 

My husband just started a new job last week that he loves. He is perfect for this job and I love the fact that the job that he has been looking for has been treating him so well. He actually gets to work with normal thinking adults!! Yes, there is such a job that exists. He found it and that is all that matters. For all the searching and patience that he has had over the last couple of months in finding this job, we are truly blessed.

Here is the hard part. He works the evening shift, and I am gone in the daytime. His days off are Tuesdays , Thursdays and Saturdays. 

Let me stress again that he is working the evening shift, I work the day shift. I come home Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays scrambling for something to make for dinner for the boys that will be healthy, not boring and above all, not boring to eat. Plus, in our shift as we move into a new place, we have either my dad to come over and watch the boys. That is a not an easy thing for my dad to do all the time , since we live sooooo far away. There have been times where I come home so mentally exhausted, and I really needed my husband there, yet he was working. How can I be mentally exhausted yet put on the cap of the fun mom? Fun mom was there at 8 am, but my kids get swollen eyes since she looks at the computer all day mom. That is the mom that comes home at 6pm.

I do have one fun thing that I have invented last week. I have discovered that if I just sit still on the floor and do nothing, that gives my kids a chance to climb on me and jump off from my head. I really don't care if it hurts to have kids stand on my shoulders or head, so long as I can sit on the floor and not think for 5 minutes. I feel like I have become one of those gorilla moms from the zoo. They just sit there with their huge mass of a body and proceed to let their little gorilla babies climb and jump on top of them. That is me, gorilla mom. Take it or leave it. 

Then when the kids go to sleep, now I can turn around and talk to.....no one. My husband comes home late at night, so I watch How I Met Your Mother and laugh to myself. I would call my husband for a chat, but I don't want to disturb him. 

This is tough, this two parents working full time business. Not because I am taking care of the kids myself, that is not the issue. I just miss my partner. I miss my husband. 

The Most Horrible Day At Work

I had the crappiest day at work. It started with a client stating that she never got my emails, yet she was responding back to an email I just sent her. Nice try lady.
I went to eat lunch at the park and that was a big mistake. I saw all these little kids running around with their friends, with their moms. I realized what an absent mom I am. Working. Coming home late. Never took them out to a park with friends. They have gone to a park with me before, but I don't even know what kind of friends my kids have. This made me feel like shit and was so lonesome for my little guys at that point.

I realized now is the time to win the lottery. Then I will have a chance to quit working. I'm young enough. I think I still have the energy to be with my kids and run around the park like those park moms do.

I went back to work to only get yelled at by two different people on the phone for two completely stupid reasons. Bullshit is what I thought when I was being reamed. This is effin Bullshit. The last call made me cry so hard that my shoulders shook. Then I got really pissed at that idiot lady for making me crumble on the phone. JERK. MEANWHILE, she's in a coffee shop making this call. I feel sorry for any barista that she comes across that doesn't make her mocha latte just right.

I thought of my sweet boys and how their lives from now on will forever be changed as having two parents who work full time. I have friends who had parents that worked separate shifts-daytime one parent, nighttime another parent. I thought how horrible that is and how lucky we have been to have had every night together as a family.

Now our lives are about to change dramatically and I still hate the fact that I work, or that money still matters for some reason. Why can't we live by the honor system? I promise to be a good tenant, then I can live for free right ? You don't really need money for rent right? Property taxes? Isn't that kind of outdated? For what do we work so hard for? Clothes, food. Again, all can be acquired through the bartering system. Let's bring that into fashion again!

I work to provide for my family, not to say that I saved the world by providing a great website. You, idiot lady. You are making me second guess the only good job that I have come across.in a long time and I hate you for that. I guess if I can find something that makes me feel good about what I do, at the same time gives me enough money to feed my family and allows me to be with my family more than just the measly 58 hours a week, then I'll be good in life.
And to that ridiculous lady that made me cry today at work, I say this. I bet I can make a better arroz con pollo than you.
Jerk.

The Santa's Village

We went to Santa's Village for my father in law's birthday. To celebrate his upcoming anniversary of his birth, he wanted the whole Brady Bunch there to be with him. All five grandchildren. It would have been great for him to say  "Hey, I would like all kids to myself on this day. You guys go out and relax!" 

Not this year...maybe next? However I did get a chance to go on the Tilt a whirl this time around. Last time we were here I was pregnant, and therefore the only ride that I had was walking around the horse corral with Jack as he rode a horse. I love that Jack asks to go on the Tilt a Whirl over and over again. I screamed more than he did. Maybe that is because he is braver than I am.

Look at this pic. The three eldest grandchildren. I love that my son is the leader of this pack. 

From left to right; my niece, myself and Jack, waving Hi to our shadows. I love that you can see the excitement in the waving in shadow form. I also love the detail of the shadow captured in my niece's pigtails.

My youngest's first pony ride. Look at that face. Happy and not at all scared. 

The Movie Day

We are always truly thankful to my sister, who is always there when we need her for a few hours or so. For babysitting, for a talk or anything. This time around, she came in and took care of Charlie while Brian , Jack and myself had the rare moment of seeing a movie together. We saw Monsters University, to which Jack loved. As a huge Pixar fan, he would ask months before of when the movie was coming out. As huge Pixar fans, my husband and I gave him a countdown. Three more months! Two more months! Two more weeks til Monsters U!!!! 

After the movie, we got some lunch and hung out at a pretty sweet park by Chicago River. It was nice to just run around with an older kid and not worry if my little chubby bubs that is my 19th month old was going to tumble down the slide or fall over as he walks up the stairs. Yes, these are my worries when I take Charlie to the park. He is in that "I bump my head, gash my lip, have a scratch by my eye" phase. I hate that phase. 

Luckily Jack , you are not in that phase anymore. It was nice just to be the three of us. And it is also nice to know that there is a family member that will come in and be a babysitter every once in awhile,and not because we ask her. But because she wants to. I am lucky indeed.

The Bad Dreams

Jack and I had a very intense night last night. He woke me up around 2 am letting me know that he had a bad dream. On instinct and like a robot, I led him back to his room and went to sleep in the extra bed in his room.  All the while doing this while my eyes half open. Usually this works and he goes right back to sleep.  This time, he stayed awake.  I could tell from his breathing that he was just laying there with eyes wide open.  A mom can tell when her kids eyes are open.  Trust me. 

The whole night was full of interruptions. He would wake up every 10 minutes.  Telling me that he had a dream.  He had a good dream.  He had a bad dream.  It went on and on.  I kept telling him that he can't tell me his dreams any more since it is so early in the morning.  I kept telling him that he needed to sleep and that he needed to stop thinking of whatever was making him feel bad. By the 4th time I told him this,  he  finally started to fall asleep. Now I started to hear his heavy breathing. 
But now I couldn't sleep.  By this point we were doing this whole song and dance for almost two hours and I was just laying there.
My mind was distracting me. It was telling me that I had to go to the bathroom.  I never go in the middle of the night but tonight of all nights I needed to get out of bed.  I kept listening to the sounds outside.  A freight train was rolling non-stop. I think we are about a mile away from the tracks.  But I heard the train as if it was outside right underneath my windows. I kept hearing creaks outside. At this point I was cursing the suburbs.  And all of its creepy noises at night.

He finally went to sleep around 5 am. That was only because I told him that he could sleep in my room with my husband. It was there where he felt safe. I think that was why he finally drifted. That or that he has been awake for three hours in the middle of the night. 

I am not sure what to do now with this new phase in my child's life. Do I let him sleep with us? That will only create a bad habit of which I do not want to encourage. 

I remember when I was little , I would cry out for my parents because I had a bad dream. Sometimes I dreamt of them dying and that I was all alone. I remember crying in my bed and my dad or mom would say "It was just a dream" . They would stay with me until I fell asleep. I remember them leaving the room, but I was so sleepy I was never able to protest for them to stay. My son, however is a fighter. Picking up all my traits of wanting a parent by his side in the middle of the night, and not wanting to let them go as he would go to sleep.                      

The Playground Bully

So what do you do when you are at the playground, you see your kid trying to interact with some kid on the playground, and then said kid goes off to tell other kids that your kid is weird? Yet, your kid hasn't heard this conversation so for all he knows, all is right in the world.

I took my son to the park on Saturday morning and he sees this kid and immediately runs over to him. Hey let me see your shirt!! my son said excitedly. I am not sure what my son's response was to the shirt but he looked and then just ran away at that point. I think the kid was wearing a typical Angry birds shirt. One of the many dozen angry birds shirt that my son doesn't have.
The kid then goes over to his buddies and says " Keep that kid away from me. He will ask to look at your shirt and then he will tell you that he doesn't like it. He's weird."

That last part stung me. My mind told me to back off, this is not the first time that Jack will encounter little snots like this kid on the park, and it will not be the last. My heart however wanted to march right over to the kid, tell him that I am that "weird kid's " mom and tell him he has the worst manners on the planet. I am sure if I did that, then I would become the "weird mom on the park who can't take kids being kids and will hunt your kids down if they say something bad to her kid." Bring it suburban moms. I grew up in the city. That alone should make you back off.

alright, easy there.

My heart broke knowing that this can happen to Jack, but maybe only next time someone might say it to his face. My Jack at this point in life doesn't really care if kids don't want to play with him sometimes, but he will understand someday. I couldn't enjoy myself that morning. I was feeling so sad for my son, and tried at best to keep him away from the park instigator. As we walked home, I did have a conversation with Jack on how to introduce yourself to new people, always say hi first, followed by a "do you want to play?" Maybe saying let me see your shirt is a good intro too, but never tell the kid that you don't like it. Although my kid is a huge angry birds fan, so why would he tell the kid he didn't like it? Park instigator has bad manners and is a liar!!!!

As I told this story to my husband later on, he laughed about it. Which made me feel a little better and also made me realize that I was boiling so much for an incident that Jack never knew took place. It wasn't even an incident, just something one kid said, only once.

I am not sure what to do if this happens again, do I just sit back, watch kids being kids and have my son learn to stand up for himself should such words are thrown at him? Or do I walk over, and tell the kid that has the worst manners in all history and that he should go to charm school?

The Attempt Of The Nice Photo

I thought- what a good chance to have a nice photo with me and my boys.  Then Jack puts this face.  Truly he has his father's sense of humor.

The Star Wars Day

With Brian being sick last weekend, I took the boys on a Metra adventure over to the Joliet library, where it was Star Wars Day.

 Jack has been asking when this day was going to come since he found out about it at the Comic Con convention. Here we were, June 1, it was a sunny and not so humid day.

A lot of favorite moments in this day. I like on the first photo that the evil Emperor was holding Jack's hand in the photo. I didn't notice that til we saw the photos later on that night. To which at first I said, oh that is really cute that they are holding hands. Then I quickly said " They are holding hands? That's creepy. And why would the emperor think that my child would like to join the Dark side? He just wanted to say hi to you, not join your evil team. Stay away emperor.

The fest started with a parade of Stormtroopers. Much thanks to the 501st Legion - they were the ones that put on this show. My sons appreciate you guys going all out and being in costumes 24/7. Although they did give a second glance and were really confused when you guys would take off your helmet. It was like reality sunk in and you are not who you say you are!! 

Pure, pure joy from this kid. This is why I will go to as many Star Wars day as possible. Just to see this face light up.

At one point, we were trapped by Stormtroopers. I just wanted to get out at that point. My son was in Clone/Stormtrooper heaven. At one point, he was asking all the characters if they had lunch yet and if they wanted to join us for lunch. Isn't he the best kid ever?

My littlest was a superstar, and would fist bump Darth Vader and Chewbacca. No fear.

The Beginning Of Summer

Here we are, in the beginnings of what I hope to be a not so hot summer. Jack's preschool graduation went splendid. Of course , I cried. I cried when the teachers told us that they have changed so much since the first day of school. They had such little baby faces back then, and now they are graduating with what I can only say as fully matured kindergarteners. Jack has changed so much too. His face is so grown up now and with the Star Wars phenomena, every day he shows us how much he has grown. He had made it clear of how grownup he is when he said "I liked Thomas the Train when I was little, now I like Star Wars because I am a big kid." No truer words have been spoken.

Speaking of big kids, here is kid #2. Still wanting to be with Mama all the time, but now with a lot more new words. His favorite to say is "outside". Even on a chilly morning at 6:15am, he will just say "outside? outside?" He doesn't nurse anymore, except for those lazy Saturday mornings when I want him to sleep just a bit more. Come on Charlie, I wake up every day at 5am. Can you at least wake up at 7:30 or 7 at least to give me some more shut eye? Maybe next month??? Or even next week? I would like that.

The Ta-DA!

For now, everything is TA-DA with Charlie. He likes to announce what he has done with a TA-DA!

Ta-DA! I am in the playhouse!

Ta-Da! I climbed up on the sofa all by myself.

Ts-DA! I am standing on the seat and bouncing up and down, with the odds in my favor of pushing this chair over so I can fall and conk my head.

The Weaning

My little guy will be turning 18 months in May. A year and a half already! So in this time of reflection of where has the time gone, I decided to wean him officially. No more nursing when I come home from work, no more nursing him to sleep, no more nursing when he feels upset. 

I haven't gotten bitten every time I did nurse, contrary to what people think. He would bite occasionally just for fun. I say that in the most honest way, since after I gotten bitten, I would say "OUCH!!" 

He would just giggle and laugh, like getting biting your mom's breast was a good thing??!! No way man. 

With this and other reasons, the time has come to stop. He doesn't really need it for nutritional value anymore. He gets plenty of that from the fruits and veggies he eats every day.  He really nurses as a habit now and I am here to stop the habit. Sounds harsh but I feel so bad for my first born to say 

"Hi, I missed you but I will be with you in about 10 minutes as your brother wants to be nursed." My poor Jack. The weaning has been hard for the first 3- 4 days, but now he really doesn't ask for nursing when I come home. At night he still does, but doesn't put up as much of a fuss as he did before. 

I will miss it though. I will the little moments of myself coming home from work and just relaxing on the sofa while I nursed. I will miss the moments of him playing with my hair. I will miss watching him drift to sleep. I will miss the way he cuddled his little head against my chest, as that was his way of telling me that he wanted to nurse. 

An alright, you got me. He has been waking up at 5:45 in the morning and in the hopes to get him back to sleep, I nurse him in the morning. Baby steps, and not cold turkey nursing is the way to go. I swear, I will stop the morning nursing too. Just any day now.....

The Sentimental Mess That Is Myself

I have talked time and time again on how I get mushy over the littlest details of any Pixar movie. Really, how can you not, with the tiny fin holding the tiny Nemo egg in Finding Nemo to the final goodbye scene in Toy Story 3. I am getting choked up right now typing this, no joke.
But I need to strengthen up, be a strong mom! How can I be the strong mom when my kid comes to me in tears? Just seeing that my kids are upset for some reason breaks me in two, as I always want them to have the best and brightest memories ever. Not possible, I know, but I think my sentimental meter gets another notch or two every time we see a Disney movie.
I know there are a lot of you out there that when you read this, you will be nodding your head and saying "Exactly!! This is why I cry too at this part!" At least I hope you will so I am not alone in this.

1. Toy Story 3 Final Goodbye Scene

Two special thanks for this scene.
1. Special thanks to the director of this movie, Lee Unkrich, for turning around a very dismal scene in which the toys were almost burnt to a crisp to the most bittersweet scene in which the toys get a new life with the little girl Bonnie.
2. An uber thanks to Randy Newman, for creating a sweet heart wrenching soundtrack to this final scene. Every violin made me cry a bit more.

2. Lion King

I remember getting a bit sad when I saw this movie many years ago, but now it has increased ten fold with having kids. Simba loses his dad, and right after the big speech of how the great kings look after Simba and his dad via the stars?? It reminds me of how my dad uses beautiful analogies to explain life, and seeing Simba and Mufasa is like seeing Jack and Brian. The whole father-son aspect tugs my heartstrings ever more so now that I have sons.


3.Disney 50  Animated Movies

Just search this video up. It shows clips of every animated Disney movie. The tearjerker in this one for me is the song that they use for this clip, called Dreams. "You, you're in my dreams."
Once again relating this to my sons. The bonus is to see Jack get excited over every Disney movie in this clip that I loved as a child. Sentimental value galore.



4. Tangled Paper Lanterns

This cute little scene where Rapunzel finally sees the lanterns for the first time. Plus the scene right before it is killer  -the king and queen cry silently since they are still releasing the lanterns yet their daughter is not found. My husband recognized that it was nice that there was no dialog in that scene, just actions. I think Disney secretly did that so it would give everyone a chance to wipe their eyes from crying.


5. Up- Carl and Ellie

The moment where she holds his hand as they are reading just because. The setting up the nursery. The moment in the hospital. Enough said.

The Ultimate Star Wars Fan

No, I am not talking about myself here. Yes, I am the ultimate Star Wars fan. I can watch the movies over and over again and not get sick of it. I did say "WHAATTTTT???" when I heard that a new Star Wars movie was being created, but already was making plans of who would I take with to see it opening night. I did meet an Ewok when I was 6 in Puerto Rico of all places and was a super happy girl that day. I didn't even see Return of the Jedi but I knew meeting an Ewok was a life changing event.

Jack is now the super ultimate Star Wars fan.

I mentioned Star Wars to Jack a couple of times when he was younger, around the 4ish age. It didn't really click in when one day he just asked to watch it. He did and he was hooked. Now, I do have to admit that as we watched it, I would comment and say " Isn't that ship cool? " I would also make sure to point out who was who and what the exact plot was. He loves everything about it, the lightsabers, the sound of the lighsabers, the huge battle scene of Darth and Luke in Empire Strikes Back. He sounds a lot like me when I was his age. I never had anyone tell me how cool this movie was. I just fell in love with this movie by my own. 

Jack loves playing the Darth battle scene with me and for some reason, I am always the one with my hand getting chopped off. Then he takes it a step further and starts chopping off my other hand, my arms, my legs, finally my whole half of my body. Let me inform you that all this chopping off doesn't happen in any of the movies, just hands. Jack likes to intensify the battle scene on his own.

Wait - Anakin gets his whole body chopped off in Revenge of the Sith. Stop!! Nerd alert!! Back to Jack........

I am happy that he found this as his go to movie. He will still watch his Pixar movies from time to time, but Star Wars has taken a bit leap forward over Toy Story and Ratatouille. With the help of his cousin, Jack is "borrowing" a Darth Vader doll to play with his new Clone Trooper that he got for Easter. The job for Mama and Papa now is to find a Darth Vader doll for Jack to own. 

For anyone that says Star Wars is too much for a kid blah blah, let it be known that in the beginning credits, Jack reads the whole intro story. This kid is learning to read as he watches the movie! A win win.

The Clothes Giveaway

We saved every shirt, short, onesie, pant, sweater, jacket, shoes even first time underwear that Jack owned when he was little.
We were ecstatic when we found out Charlie was a boy, now we don't ever have to buy clothes for the second kid. EVER!! Any new clothes that we buy is just for Jack . For Charlie, it is hand me downs from now on. It was great for me because I got to re-live all the cute little onesies for Charlie. My favorite was this blue onesie from Carters. It had a simple "Woof" on it with a picture of a dog. Another favorite one was a light blue onesie that just had little designs of dogs, doghouses, bones and paw prints all over. I loved that onesie and I loved seeing my boys wear them. I love the Carters brand too. Any design they place on t-shirts or onesies just makes you want to buy 100 of them, just so when your kids wear them, people can go, OH how adorable!!! Then they would ohh and ahh over your kid and you would think to yourself " They are in love because 1. my kids are beautiful and 2. the clothes they wear are adorable. Thanks Carters!

My little Charlie is growing up so fast now. He is quickly outgrowing the old baby clothes and my heart tears just a bit when there is a certain item of clothing that I have to put away because now Charlie doesn't fit into it. A friend of mine had a boy recently and although I am super happy to give the boy's clothes over to her, it also makes me a bit sad that giving away those clothes means a little bit of their baby life is soon ending. No more little doggie onsies. Charlie is now getting into the 2T phase!!! Which means that he will soon start wearing the tshirts that Jack wore of Buzz and Woody and Thomas the Tank Engine. Where did that time go of my little baby wearing sweet PJ's with little duck faces or rattles? Silly isn't it? Getting sentimental over a tshirt or pants? Maybe it's not the tshirt per se, but really the memory of being the new mom and holding your little son for hours without doing much. Those days were nice.
I am reminded every day of how Charlie is a big kid, especially with the 10 teeth that are coming in right now. He also lets us know that he is a big kid by climbing up the sofa, somewhat attempting to jump off the sofa because he sees his big brother do it and drinking from a cup as the adults do. I can't complain too much, because for every moment that I wish I can relive from their infanthood, I now have moments where both of my kids say " Mama" ever so sweetly.

The Original Trio

Here is the original trio of grandkids from the Morowczynski side of the family- from left to right, Frannie, Charlie and Jack.

My sister in law just had her little twins on March 20, thus making them #4 and #5 in the family.

I love that in this little trio, they each have their own special title.

Frannie - the first granddaughter into the family.

Charlie - was the baby of the family for about 17 months before the little twins came on board. Now Charlie is the middle grandchild. Hey Charlie, middle children unite! You and I hold a special title together.

Jack - the first grandchild, the first grandson into the family and is the quiet and strong leader of the pack.

The Countdown To Change

Brian told me earlier this week that we are very close to the end of the school year for Jack.
A preschool graduation is upon us come May.I know it is not such a big deal, but when I think that my kid will now be going to school for the next 12 years, that is a big deal.

This is tough stuff. We always had this kid that would have the easy life of watching TV, eating cheese and crackers as a snack, and then throwing in some train layouts. He will still have the easy life of a kindergartener, but then 1st grade rolls around, 2nd etc. Then we will have an 8th grader, getting ready for high school. Hopefully by then he will have at least eaten a carrot or some pea pods.

My little guy is growing up. He loves the bedtime stories still and he is becoming this great big brother where he will just look at Charlie and say " Come here you!" and give Charlie a massive big hug that brothers are always known to give.

I hope that as time rolls on, life as a working parent gets a bit easier. I wish I can be in a place where I don't have to wake up so early to travel an hour and a half to get to work, and travel another hour and a half to get home. I get home late sometimes, I see my guys only for an hour or two. Where has the time gone? At work, worrying about what the next great big gig is. The next great big gig is here, with Jack growing up.
I need to be present more and I can't always worry about cleaning up as soon as I get home or rushing him to brush his teeth at night. I guess I am giving myself a promise right here and now, to be in the moment and not wonder what is going to happen tomorrow, or even in 15 minutes from now. Because then Jack will be an 8th grader, going out with friends and the bedtime stories will be a memory.

The Photo In The Airport

Hard to believe but this was us around 6 am in the morning. Smiling, happy and ready to embark on our first airplane trip as a family to Disney World. 

This moment felt surreal to me. I kept saying to myself " this is too easy. I have two kids who are not upset, are wide awake and are happy. " We haven't even had breakfast yet and look at these two. We are so lucky to have such awesome boys. 

The Charlie Words

Yes, Charlie is talking. In order by how I have heard them, here are the first words that Charlie have said.

1. Mama - sometimes it morphed into Nana in the beginning or saying Mamamamamamamamaaa .Then he started to say Mama, but it was just when he wanted to nurse. Now he just says Mama, Mama ,MAMA! to get my attention. When I say "what is it?" he then tells me "beisbrhgiusdngSdkjngSDbfdks" in pure adorable toddler jibberish that I love.

2. Papa - I cannot remember exactly where we where, but I was sitting with Charlie somewhere and he saw Brian come into the room. All of a sudden, he just blurted out Papa. I asked Brian if he heard and we tried to make him say it again, and he didn't. Now he does the Papa,papa, PAPA!! to Brian when he wants to tell him something in Charlie talk.

3. Doggie - It helps that there is a dog in the house to bring the word Doggie ingrained in Charlie's head. It also helped a lot that when Charlie woke up cranky sometimes, I would say " Look at the doggie!!" and he immediately cheered up and said "doggie!".

4. Agua - Yes, as in water in Spanish. Agua comes about when he wants to wash his hands, brush his teeth and take a bath.

5. Eyoo - Brian said this is Elmo, and Charlie said it when he was on the potty reading an Elmo book as his book of choice.

Let's not forget the regular Charlie words
sroighrsogi
sdpfihjfign
bwhabfsruf
goishahshsdgij
sfpgijrpigmn
orighon
apuyaypus

These words we are still trying to figure out on what they exactly mean.

The Fifth Birthday

January 22, 2008 - 5:33 pm


January 22, 2009 - 5:33 pm

January 22, 2010 - 5:33 pm -


January 22, 2011 - 5:34 pm.
 January 22, 2012 - 5:33 pm

January 22, 2013 - 5:33pm

Playing with the Disney balloons that emerged out of his gift box, signifying that we indeed are going to Disney World.

The Animal Kingdom Photos

So here is a great tip for parents who are going to Disney World for the first time with two little kids. Leave the Animal Kingdom park for last. It's spacious, not a lot of rides so it is somewhat calming just to walk around. Lots of trees for shade. Safari rides and train rides that are long enough to just soak in whatever craziness you experienced over the last four days of your trip. We needed that sense of peace. Which is why we made Animal Kingdom our last park of our trip. It was easygoing, chilly in Florida standards so with a warm cup of coffee, we started our last day in Disney.

Were we by Mt. Everest? I liked to pretend that we were in the Himalayas just for a moment or two.

This was how Charlie got his naps on our trip. Either on the stroller or being held. 

Were we in Africa? Disney said yes. Charlie is in this stage where every animal is called "Doggie." He called out the giraffes, antelopes, lions, hippos all doggies. 

By the time this pic was taken, it was around 4 pm. The sun was casting a beautiful light on the animals. The boys were quiet and calm and I really did just sit on that safari jeep and soak in on what was an amazing trip for us. Plus I had a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar earlier so I was a happy girl.