Camping with Papa

I have to say that my children are so blessed to have such great grandparents. They love to spend time with them and are extremely excited to see them whenever they can. Thats why I was so thrilled when Bob said he was driving down from Dallas to watch Landon's baseball game. He was so excited when I told him that I couldn't wait to let him know he was bringing Joshua and they were going camping! Man, the look on his face was priceless! The day finally came and Landon spent most of the morning peeking out the front window checking for Papa's truck. We had plans to camp out tent style but when the 80 degree weather took a turn for a night time low of 36.  Bob decided to rent out a log cabin. The first night they made a fire and had smores. The second day he took them downtown to Tower of Americas and had lunch. After that they went on one of those boat ride tours on the Riverwalk. Then finally to the Alamo. Landon said his favorite part was seeing guns and maps. Of course that is all a little boy would remember. When night time came Landon and Joshua had some more smores by the fire and played battleship. It was a great bonding experience for all of them and I know Landon will always remember it.

Happy Halloween

Halloween is such a fun holiday when you have little kids. I love picking out the most adorable costume for them to wear and then laughing my head off when they put it on. So hilarious! Now that Landon is older he is so much more opinionated on what he is wearing. First he was going to be Spiderman, then a Power Ranger, then Mario and finally a Vampire. After going already twice to the store to exchange costumes I told him sorry bud but Mario it is. There was no way I was going back to Party City again. What a mad house that place is this time of year! I love the age that Liam is this year for Halloween because he could care less what I put on him. Although we did have a hard time keeping it on his head. I decided on a monkey costume for Liam because well... it just fit's his personality. On Friday night we went to our church Trunk or Treat. Cameron was gone to Peru at the time so I just brought them myself. Landon had so much fun. Liam on the other hand was kinda bored because I made him sit in the stroller the entire time. With all of the desserts they were serving and candy with nuts it wasn't safe for him to walk around. Poor kid. I feel so bad he can never experience a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. When it was over we swapped our nut candy with another family. They gave us a bunch of lollipops which are safe for Liam. So Cameron came home that weekend and on Halloween night we decided to go over to Rachel and Dustin's house to go treat or treating with all of our kids. We had a lot of fun and were out with the kids for about a hour and a half. Landon got so much candy he didn't want to hold onto is bucket anymore. So we went back their house. On the way back Landon informed me he had a great time at the "Halloween party" but it would be even better if it was a dance party. Well I couldn't let my little boy down. So we turned on some dancin music and let him show us his moves. All of the kids were not shy a bit and boogied down.



Shakin their groove thang!



Happy 2nd Birthday Liam

You know the saying "It seems like just yesterday"? When I was singing happy birthday to Liam those thoughts ran through my mind. It seems like just yesterday he was on my chest taking his first breaths. Then bringing him home from the hospital. Now I was staring at him smiling getting ready to blow out the two candles on his cake. In two years he has developed into a curious, tough, energetic, and lovable little boy. He has taught me patience, empathy, and to live in the now. I am so in love with my little Buddha! (:

         

        This year I decided to start making the boys birthday cakes because of Liam's allergies. We did a Mickey Mouse theme because that is his favorite cartoon. I was nervous about making the cake only because I am not a baker. I just don't like to make desserts because I usually fail. His cake was a vegan recipe which made me even more nervous. After working on it for 4 hours straight... it turned out great! I was so proud of myself!! The cake was chocolate and I did a cream cheese frosting. The left overs didn't last long. After cake he opened lot's of fun presents. All of the adults loved the lawn mower I bought for him. Seriously, that is the loudest toy I have EVER heard. So he loves it of course! (:

One sad day for this mommy

I am one of those people who can toss out just about anything. I hold little sentimental value to objects. Even if there is a emotional tie I have with something I ask myself a list of questions that I have to answer yes to in order to keep it. I live for the feeling of getting rid of clutter and giving away bags of goods that I no longer need. It makes me happy. Now with all of that said when it comes to getting rid of my babies things I feel panicked, anxious, scared, and sad. Why? This isn't me. The girl I just described to you leaves whenever I hold up a onesie and remember their little bodies fitting into it. So what do I do? I put it away to deal with those emotions later. But when Liam needed to be put into a big boy bed last week I had a mini anxiety attack while watching my husband take down the crib. This is the crib that I have spent hours leaning over rubbing, patting their backs, and giving breathing treatments. This is the crib that has been puked on, pooped on, peed on, and had its sheets changed at 3am. This is the crib that I have rocked beside while singing my babies to sleep. The thought of taking it down and never to be put up again is just down right sad. So I opted that we lower the crib mattress and take off the side rail. At least he can crawl in and out now safely and I can have a few more months to process all of this. We are moving in two months and when it gets taken down I am afraid then will be the time to get rid of. It is in bad condition so the garbage man is going to have to haul it away, *shudder*. I know this all sounds like I have some serious problems. But what can I say? I love and cherish my babies. I thoroughly enjoyed when they were teenie tiny. I could watch paint dry as long as I was holding my baby in my arms. I know that a lot of mothers are ready for their children to grow and move onto the next phase. Which believe me, the terrible twos that Liam is in right now could speed up a little bit. I just hope whenever my garage is free of all of my baby clutter that my old self will come back and will feel great about the extra space and organization. Fingers crossed.

Landon's 5th Birthday

For weeks Landon has been counting down to July 22nd. To turn 5 according to Landon meant that you were officially a big boy. The night before his birthday he couldn't fall asleep. I went in to check on him after bedtime and he balled up his fists and  excitedly told me he can't sleep because tomorrow he was going to be the birthday boy. I was so happy for him, until 6am rolled around and he came in my room about 2 inches from my face to ask me if he could open up presents. It was still dark out silly boy. I let him crawl in bed with me and we waited until we could hear Liam waking up. Or more like screaming and jumping up and down in his crib. When we came downstairs he was excited to see his the kitchen decorated in a Spiderman theme along with his cake and presents. When his school friend Thomas came over we had cake and and showed him his big present from us. He was thrilled to see his new battery operated car. We let him pull off the tarp and drive his brother around the back yard. So this year instead of throwing him a party we decided to take him to Sea World and let him chose a friend to take. This would have been a great idea if it wasn't triple digits that day. After 5 hours the kids with their red sweaty faces were begging us to leave. Cameron and I decided to go shortly after that. I think the temperature in the car said it was 104 degrees! Landon was excited to leave anyways because all he wanted to do was put his new Spiderman costume on and drive his new car. Even with the heat it was a fun day and my little boy got to feel so special on his big day.

Summertime Fun

            This year we decided to buy season passes to Splashtown. It's water park here that is only 12 mins from our house. I love how convenient it is and how much fun the boys have there. When we first started going Liam was to scared to go down the slides and Landon was scared to go underwater. Now Landon can go under water without plugging his nose and Liam goes down everything and can climb up pretty much anything. They have such a good time and I am so glad we got our passes. It has been so nice to go there and cool off in this San Antonio heat. We also brought out our blow up pool from the garage and filled it up on our back deck. The boys have fun using water guns and bringing there toys in there to play with. Afterwards I usually give them popsicles which they think is such a treat.

Best. Vacation. Ever!

Cam and I had the best time on our trip to Cabo. Before we booked our trip we were unsure where to go and wanted to be sure we picked the right place and price. I am so glad we decided to go to Cabo and stay at the RUI Palace. It was beautiful. We spent a lot of time relaxing by the beach and pool and then also doing fun excursions. Oh and of course we ate a lot of food. I think one night for dinner I just wanted to eat at the dessert buffet because I was still full from snacking after lunch. Guess I was thinking I would keep it light with a piece of cake. Yeah right... Not when they have chocolate fondue stations! I took two large plates back to my table. Mmmmm the food was so good. They had homemade tortillas and salsa everywhere so Cameron was in heaven. He even had that for breakfast most days.  At least his breakfast was healthy unlike my french toast smeared with nutella and then drenched with syrup. I savored every bite. So the first day we got there we just checked out the beach and the hotel and actually went to bed at 8:00. We were tired from the flight. The next day we relaxed by the pool the entire day and booked our excursions. I also made reservations for the restaurants at the hotel. The 3rd day there we rented a wave runner for about a hour. All I could take was about 40 mins. I felt like I was beaten up when I got off that thing. I let Cameron finish our remaining 20 mins so he could go as fast as he liked. Which he thought was a good idea. Fourth day we drove ATVs through these trails that take you to the ocean. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Seeing the water crash against the rock on a deserted beach was just amazing. Right after that we went horseback riding. Cameron and I were laughing at each other first until we both realized this is going to be one a painful ride. The guide wanted us to gallop the entire way. Note to self: Never, ever wear short shorts when riding a horse. Bad idea! On the fifth day we went on a beach hopping excursion. That's where we got to see the famous arch. We rode on a speed boat and got to see different beaches spending about 30 mins a piece there and then they took us snorkeling at two different places. Cameron saw a huge tall rock and jumped off. I have a brave man I tell ya! No way was I getting up there. When we finished we went onto another boat that served us lunch. Homemade Tortas. Cameron really liked them.We docked at the Marina in  Cabo and got to see the downtown area which was neat. That night the hotel put on a show for everyone. I guess it was the Broadway version of Grease. I thought it was pretty good. Before we went back to our room. We walked down to the beach. I love sitting on the beach at night. It was so pretty and not to mention I had great company. (: When our last full day rolled around which was Sunday we went zip lining and rock climbing. Even though I don't think I have sweat that much ever in my life, it was so much fun!!! I challenged myself and it was worth it. I am scared of heights but I just put on my brave face and went with it. Although it didn't help when going over the suspended bridge on tiny pieces of wood really high up for Cameron to start shaking the entire thing. A few screams and some not so nice words later and he stopped. When we got back we wanted to just relax by the beach. We saw a school of Stingrays jump in and out of the water. It was so strange to see them like that. We watched for about 15 mins. Monday morning came and we both were sad to leave but so ready to see our boys. I missed them so much. During the week we called several times and even skyped. I have a hard time leaving them but it was a vacation that Cam and I both needed. We are so glad we went!

Highlights from last month (Pt 2)

  Landon graduated from preschool!  It has been great year for him. I couldn't have picked a better place. The school is awesome and his teachers were amazing. Of course all of this came with a hefty price tag. But we fit it in the budget because I really felt like it was a great way for him to adjust before he went to Kindergarten. In the beginning of the school year he found it hard to make friends because of his shy personality but by Christmas time he really started to open up and developed some good friendships. It's so nice to see your child thrive and do well. Along with going to preschool I do a little bit of homeschooling with him. So far I have taught him how to hold a pencil and write his name along with every letter in the alphabet. He is now even sounding out words so hopefully reading won't be to far off. He has a enthusiasm for learning and it's so exciting for me to watch my little boy learn something new. 

It's the end of soccer season. They only had a couple of wins but it didn't matter to Landon because he wasn't keeping score. Playing sports at this age really isn't to competitive, for the kids at least. They like to chat on the field or pick some flowers while the game is going on. Or if your Landon you like to pull up your shirt to show all of your team mates the mole on your chest. All I could do was laugh and wish I had gotten that on camera. Well as the season drew to a close he started to tell me that he liked baseball much better than soccer and didn't want to play anymore. Even though it would have been so nice not to wake up extra early on those Saturday mornings for game time I thought he should finish what he started. He thought it would be a good idea to let his coach know that he doesn't like soccer and wish he played baseball. It was a little embarrassing but can't blame him for being honest. In the end he was proud of himself and really loved getting that trophy!



Highlights from last month (Pt 1)

My little Leprechaun. Oh Liam why must you climb on my pantry shelves to get the food coloring while I am in the bathroom 5 mins before we are supposed to leave?

I love you my sweet baby but you never give your mama a break. It's a good thing Landon is a great taddle tale. He yelled up the stairs "MOM, Liam is green!" "What!?" I yell back,
"No mom, really, really green!" I fly down the flight of stairs to find Liam happily sucking on a container of food coloring. He decided he wanted to be artistic and make some murals on the walls too. Then he wanted to show Lola some love and her fur was dyed green for two weeks! That stuff does not come off easily. So, I picked him up and took off his clothes which I then threw away and put him in the bath. It didn't help that he had diarrhea in his diaper too. Ugh! What a mess. After a week it finally came out of his skin, each day getting lighter and lighter. I was so frustrated that morning but every time he would flash me a smile I couldn't help but laugh at those mint green teeth!

Liam's surgery

From the moment Liam was born we knew he was tongue tied. I was actually concerned about this when I was pregnant with him because I wanted to nurse him so badly. When the lactation nurse came in our room in the hospital she told me breastfeeding him was going to be excruciating and that he must have his tongue clipped as soon as possible if I wanted to continue feeding him. So as the days went on I realized for sure that nurse was so right. Nursing Liam was extremely painful. During his feedings I would grit my teeth, and sweat horribly because of the pain. I would cry a lot of the time because I wanted nurse him but I just could not continue to do so in this much pain. At his 5 week check up they referred me to go up to Chapel Hill Children's Hospital where they told me that they did not want to do the procedure until he was at least 12 months old because of the risks from anesthesia. So when we came home from the appointment I gave him his first bottle. I just couldn't do it anymore. I was upset, but after a few "it's going to be okay" conversations with my mom and sister I felt better about my decision. So here we are.. now he is 20 months and we are finally taking care of business. We had to be there at 6:30 am. They didn't take us back to pre-op for two hours. That is forever when you have a toddler who hasn't eaten anything to sit in a waiting room so Cameron and I took turns walking him outside. When they finally called us back to the pre-op room Liam was quite cranky. For the next 45 mins he threw the tantrum of lifetime!! Finally the doctor gave him so medicine to calm him down. This is when we took the pictures you see above. He was in a drunken state! It worked like magic potion! Cameron and I couldn't help but to laugh when he would giggle with his eyes squinted. Next it was time to wheel him away. I felt my heart drop and then do a couple of flips. I just wanted this over with! Please give me my baby back!! After about 20-30 mins the doc came out and told us everything went well. We went back to the recovery room and I rocked him for a hour while he was waking up. So far it looks like it is healing well. Although yesterday he spiked a fever at 104. I was able to get it down with Tylenol and today he is doing better and ate for the first time. I am so glad that this is over with and my sweet Liam is feeling better. Hopefully now this will help with his speech and prevent any future problems.

Emotional breakdown...

Mothers Day is on Sunday and I am really hoping it will be special...just sayin. There is nothing like a sacrifice of a mother. Nor is there anything like the horrible feeling of helplessness you get when trying to nurse your sweet children back to health. The last few months have been challenging, to say the least. It first started with Liam getting a staph infection for his horrid eczema, not to long after that he got RSV. The RSV lasted about 2 weeks. I did round the clock breathing treatments even setting my alarm in the middle of the night to do them. I will never forget how loud that machine is at 2:30 am. Right when Liam was getting over that Landon got the croup. I was on the phone with the nurse what seemed like a eternity only for her to tell me there was nothing they can do for him. What! Unacceptable! My poor baby! He needs relief. So I did the only thing I could.. load him up with Tylenol and lots of snuggles. He slept in our room for several nights just because of his breathing. After all of this poor Landon got double ear infections. One of the ear's had some nasty pus and they had to irrigate it out. I felt so bad for my little guy. During this doctors appointment I was sick as well. Nothing like running a fever and having a sore throat with a runny nose and dealing with two sick kids in the doctors office who haven't had naps. I was so happy to leave that place. While all of was going on Liam was still having reactions to certain foods. His skin was covered with eczema. I finally figured out that the soaps I was using on him contained coconut. Liam's little body does not like coconut. Bummer, it's soooo good. Then I found out he is allergic to eggs. His allergist put him on allergy medication to take every day. We saw a big difference. No more red purple eyes, itchy skin, and best of all his general mood is just better. He can hear better now too now that the fluid is draining from his ears. So it sounds like everything was getting better right? Nope, we were hit hard with a horrible stomach flu. Thank goodness Danette was here! Cameron got up around 4am and started puking. While I was helping him I started to feel bad but there was no time to think about that because I took off down the hallway towards Landon's room. Without giving gory details, lets just say I had to change all of his bedding, his PJs, and then give a good face wash. There is nothing like a mother's love I tell ya! Later that day we all were throwing up, even Danette. It took us days to get better. Liam was the last one to get to get rid of it though. So about 5 days later I go to get Liam out of his crib and see that his eyes are sealed shut. Conjunctivitis...just great. I used a warm wash cloth to help his eyes but it was just getting worse. I took him in and the diagnosis.. Bronchitis, sinus infection, and SEVERE conjunctivitis. They gave me a cream to put under his eyelids and a antibiotic. While I am disinfecting I am praying that every bad germ leave this house!! Please, for my own sanity.

Whew, it's Sunday! I made it. A week full of sleepless nights, breathing treatments, doctor appointments and a strict medicine schedule. All because my sweet puddin had RSV. It started as a cough with a fever. In the top picture to the right is what happens to Liam when he has a fever. Complete unconsciousness. You could slap him silly, hang him upside down and he will not even crack an eye open. It's kinda freaky. He was such a sad sight. I put a cold wash cloth on his forehead, rocked him until we both almost fell asleep, and catered to his every whimper because that's what mommies do right? I hate seeing my boys sick. Just hate it!

Dinner Last week

So I have come to realize that cooking is one of my passions. I really enjoy it and love to improve my skills and make new things. I wanted to make a cook book last year for Christmas but didn't really think it would be that involved..NOT!! I am definitely going to finish it at some point and have just recently discovered I book company that I want to go with. So hopefully I will be able to check this off at the end of the year. I made other things this week for dinner but they just don't look as good in a photo as these. On the left is Carne Asada Taco's with homemade salsa. These are Cameron's favorite and usually if he has a really bad craving he will help me with all of the chopping. Homemade salsa is sooo worth it!! On the top right are Grilled Pineapple Chicken Quesadillas. They have fresh cilantro and monterey jack cheese. The pineapple is fresh and grilled along with marinated chicken. I usually use Teriyaki sauce for the chicken. Then I heat up the tortillas on a skillet with melted butter. They are like good potato chips you cannot stop with one. On the bottom right is Creamy Penne with Shrimp. I use fresh Basil and Parsley and mix tomato sauce with some heavy cream, white wine, and LOT's of garlic. It is divine! After my first bite I sighed and tried to enjoy every bite, and tried to ignore my little punks sitting at the table with me.. the screaming, throwing of food, spitting out the food, putting the food in hair, putting the food ... well never mind you get the picture(;

It's all good...

So this week I've been trying to just stay at home and work on some projects and spend some special one on one time with the boys. I went to Micheals and bought some craft projects for Landon to work on. I figured I could help him with them so he could get some undivided attention. So he painted a magnet that was in the shape of a race car and then did some lace up crafts. I also bought him I rolling pin and a chef's hat because he is always asking to help me make dinner. We made homemade pizzas. It is always so exciting for him to make his own food. It's so cute to watch him stare at his little pizza cooking in the oven. Now cleaning up the mess afterwards is a different story... Liam this week has two new words "Uh-Oh" and "Hi". He loves to hand me a play phone and for me to pretend talk and then hand it back. The uh-oh word is like a alarm for me. Numerous times this week after hearing him say that word I have caught him in the toilet, dog food, and trash. Cameron and I have figured out where his stash is for all of his treasures... the trash can. Our knowledge of this came a little to late once we realized where our TV remote and Mario Brothers game went. The garbage truck has come and gone unfortunately.

Life in San Antonio

I am really enjoying this city. It's a big upgrade from Fort Bragg that's for sure. I have made some friends here and have gotten to know my way around the city. The days before Garmins I am not sure how I would have survived... I like the weather here so far too. It has been a mild summer and winter. Which has been great for the kids to use our big backyard. Since I have last wrote Liam has changed a lot. He is been walking for a couple of months now and is learning a little bit of words. He really doesn't talk that much though. Which is weird for me because Landon was and still is my little chatterbox. He obviously inherited his gift to gab from me. He is very affectionate and is my little side kick. I told Cameron the other night that I feel like Liam is one of my body parts, he is always attached to me. Cam I think gets a little jealous.(; I treasure all of his little snuggles. He is almost a one and a half and I can't stand that he is getting bigger. I just plain hate it. As a matter of fact I refuse to give up his bottle yet or crib. Cameron just mentioned to me that it's time for him to go into a big boy bed and it immediately brought me to tears. Not my baby. No way. I just refuse for him to get older. I know I am talking like a crazy lady because it's happening before my eyes. Sniff,sniff... Even though his dimples melt my heart every time he flashes me a smile, a lot of the times he has me chasing after him like a mad woman. It amazes me the things he can climb, eat, stick up his nose, tear down, destroy, bang into, ect.. I could go on forever. It's been a good day if there are no goose eggs on his head and my house isn't falling apart. Oh I almost forgot, I not sure how.. to mention that this little boy can SCREAM! Scream the highest, loudest pitch I have ever heard!!!! The stares I get everywhere I go. Everyone has that look on their face that it certainly could not have come from this bald headed sweet baby.. NOT! There have been days when my ears will ring from listening to it all day. The weird part is he usually is never crying when he does it. It's just his way of communicating. Let's just say this is a habit I hope he outgrows... real soon. A new trick he can do is summer salts. The only problem with that is he likes to try and do it at the top of the stairs. Not good. Lets hope he got the hint the first time. One great thing that I can always count on him to do is take his naps with no problem. He is so good about going to sleep. He takes anywhere from 2 to 3 hours of naptime and sleeps about 11 hours every night. Landon really doesn't take naps anymore. He does occasionally at his preschool. But it is rare. He hates bedtime too. We always read him a story before bed to get him wind down but he always finds the best reasons to stay up which of course we never give into. So instead we let him take a toy to bed. Often when I go up there to check on him I hear him talking to himself with his toys. It's so funny to hear him and his big imagination. He has been doing great in school. He has got great friends. We are going to his first friend birthday party tomorrow. It's a bouncy house so it's guaranteed that he will have a blast. Lately his vocabulary has really increased to. It is so much fun to carry on conversations with him. He has me laughing until I am crying sometimes. Speaking of crying... I went on a trip to Tampa to see Amber and had the best time. It was my first time leaving Liam overnight. I do have to admit there were times when I felt my eyes well up with tears thinking about how much I missed my boys. I am so grateful that I can be at home with them so I never miss out on anything. Before I was a mommy I could have never begin to imagine that happiness and pure joy my children would bring to my life. They let me experience I love that cannot be put into words...