Wordless Wednesday - Tug of War

6 Decades

Happy Birthday to my Dad. Today you would have been the BIG 6-0! I miss you so very much. Really more than words can say. With tears in my eyes, I remember all that you were. The good times. The bad times. The loud times. The sentimental times. Everything. I love you!

To celebrate my Dad, I am going to share some of my favorite stories and moments of our life.

*When I was about 3 years old. I told everyone that I saw that "This is my Mom. This is my black Dad. My Mom is pregnant and we are all getting married." First of all, my Dad is Italian not African American. Second, my Mom was not pregnant. Third, they were not even engaged yet. So there is that. (My biological Dad died when I was young, my Dad adopted me after they did get married and has raised me since I was a toddler)

*I remember my Dad holding me so that we could dance at my Mom and Dads wedding. The smile on my Dads face. The smile and rosy red cheeks on mine. 

*We were driving home after my Dad made the adoption finalized at the courthouse. I was sitting in the back seat looking at my arm. My Mom asked what I was doing. "Waiting to get dark like my Dad!"

*My Dad took me to get my ears pierced without my Mom knowing. Then they got super infected and had to be removed. I now have a slit in my ear!

*My Dads face seeing me dressed up for dances. Seeing me graduate. Smiles, smiles and more smiles.

*When I was pregnant with Dominic. My Dad went to build a bear. He made a bear for me and Dominic. He did all the stations. If you know my Dad then you understand how awesome this is. He is totally not the type of person to spin around holding a small heart in the middle of a store.

*Seeing my Dad hold his first grandson in the hospital.  Warms my heart.

*My Dad bought Dominic his first ride on toy. A John Deer tractor. He even dug out a course for Dom to ride on since he gave it to him for Christmas.

*Dancing with my Dad at my wedding.  Makes me so teary eyed.

*Watching my Dad oooh and ahhh at his second grandson. Tickling his toes and belly.  He was too sick to come to the hospital and did not get to see Logan until he was a couple weeks old. That made my heart hurt but I was comforted when he got to "play" with him.

*My Dad's last birthday before he passed. I went to the baker to get his cake. I had to hand make the apple from his IMAC onto it because the bakery would not do it. His smile when he saw the cake.

These memories I will cherish for all my life. There are so many more but these are the ones I choose to share. Happy Birthday to a great man.

Satruday's Top Five Laughs

 

I really cannot believe that today is Saturday already! This week flew by :) The Saturday laughs are some of my favorites to write and read. I am thankful that Melissa started this blog hop. I have *met* lots of great bloggers. Thank you for stopping by again to read about my crazy kidlets!

5. We had friends over for dinner the other night. Logan loves Brianna and so he gave her a kiss on the cheek. She had a funny look on her face and wiped the kiss off. So Logan kissed her again. Brianna wiped it off a second time. (obviously she was not impressed with his smooch...SO....) Logan began singing "I'm sexy nan I know it." to her. All the while doing his special dance for her. Only my 2 year old!

4. Logan took Charlies binki. She gave him a dirty look. Slapped him in the face and took it back out of his mouth.

3. We went to get Charlie a pair of early walker shoes at the mall. My Mom had the boys so it was just us with her to minimize the chaos. Logan loves to watch "rowbee bike" on you tube so Gary decided to ask if they had any Yo Gabba Gabba shoes. They did not but Nordstroms did have the Vans. So we went there and got Logan his first (and only!) pair of character shoes. When Logan opened them, he was so excited. "Oh Yo Gabba Gabba. My shoes. Rowbee. Muno. Mine. Mine" And now he shows EVERYONE his shoes. Seriously. He talked about his shoes all day long at daycare too. Kid is obsessed, ha!

2. Libby was running around like the crazy puppy that she is. Charlie was crawling around on the floor. Libby jumped right over her and ran around the kids in circles. Charlie looked up at her with the dirtiest look. (like how dare she bother me) I am crawling around with a little people in my mouth dog so leave me alone!

1. Logan grabbed my cell phone. "Mama I pway angwee birs" "I text Nana. My sway HI." "My go Nana house and see Bellwah." Apparently he has the attention span of a flea.

I hope you enjoy your weekend. We are off to the Vets, the Eye Drs, 2 birthday parties and grocery shopping. It might be a double coffee weekend in our house!

10 Months and Counting

Dear sweet sweet Charlie

You are 10 months old. I, I, I... I cannot believe it. WOW! We have been watching you grow, learn and explore so much lately. You are the greatest little girl. Sweet, sassy, adorable, smart, dramatic.

You are starting to stand on your own. You get a scared face when you realize what you are doing but you are getting brave! You can now drink out of a sippy cup. YAY, Mama thought you would have a bottle forever. You can ride on your princess car by rocking back and forth. It moves forward and backward and you are so delighted with yourself when it moves. Cruising along all the furniture is always happening. You are more and more like a toddler and less and less like a baby. *sob*

You love to play with baby dolls still. You play blocks and trains with Logan every single day. (seriously the two of you playing together makes my heart melt) You play with your tea set and just started playing with your stroller. Little people are a big hit in your small world. The zoo we have has seen much love from you and your brother. 

You are in 12 month and 18 month clothing. You still fit in 6-12 month skirts and dresses but not pants. Your shoe size is a 3.5 which means you have some tiny little feet my dear. We love your hair. It is getting lighter and is often referred to as the whale spout!

You love to dance and bounce around to music. You stand and do the jig when your favorite songs come on. (Party like a rock star by the Fresh Beats and Party Rock by LMFAO) It is beyond adorable. I cannot get enough of it. You can now waive hi and bye and blow kisses.

You say the following words:
Mama (Me of course!)
Dada (Daddy)
Buba (bottle and both of your brothers)
Nana (My Mom)
Gaga (Gary's Mom)
Hi
Buh-Bye
Uh oh
Quack (Yes you do say quack for your yellow duck)

I love love love you soooooo much! More and more each day I thank God that I am your Mommy. You are sweet as pie little princess :)

Wordless Wednesday - Little People Fun

Satruday's Top Five Laughs

So....it is Sunday. I know. BUT I wanted share my laughs. We had a super busy day yesterday and I was way too tired to post when we got home. Yay for great days with family :)

So without further ado.....

5.Logan has a paper jam guitar that he strums. Sings the song and "wahks out" to!

4. Logan has started to tell us when he wakes up: "It's time to get up!"

3. Charlie has started standing. BUT once she realizes she is, she gets a super scared look on her face and falls over!

2. Dominic got picked to attend the symphony for school. He was picked for being smart, talented and interest in music. When his letter came with his tickets "Ah yeah! I am a winner!"

1. Logan blows raspberries on Charlie's belly and her cheeks. She squeals in delight. And now she tries to do it back!!

Wordless Wednesday - When toddlers have a camera

Satruday's Top Five Laughs

 

This week has been a pretty crazy funny one now that we have a puppy to throw into our mix!

5. Logan was playing with the little people. He had a bunch out and was making them talk to each other. Charlie crawled over and took one of the people and put it in her mouth. "Hey, dats mine. Give dat guy back." Then she took the ballerina little person (which is obviously hers) and he took it right back off of her saying it was his. I looked at him and said that it was a princess and it was hers. He preceded to throw it back and hit her with it. "Fine. I don't yant a pwrincess one."

4. The puppy loves to bite things. She follows us around nipping at our toes. Pulling the kids socks off with her teeth. But the funniest is when she nips at Charlie's pony tail. She does not think it is funny and screams but I cannot help but giggle.

3. My kids love fruit. Apples are a favorite around here. Yesterday my MIL was cutting up apples for the little ones. Charlie grabbed hers and said "Ahh whole" 

2. Charlie is too big for 12 month pj's but 18 month pj's are too long. When she crawls around in the bigger jammies, her legs come right out. She gets very frustrated and screams because both legs end up in one leg. 

1. Toddler talk is the best. Logan says the following as of late: orndada juice (orange juice) and whift way (this way).

Keeping it real on a typical day

I get the “how do you do it working so much and having three kids” comment. All the time. And really, sometimes I have no idea how I push through each day. Especially during non-sleeping nights. I….I just do. BUT it is not without frustration, annoyance, guilt, tears and even spats. I am human. I have flaws and they show. Just don’t tell my husband, ahem.  Because, I am perfect when it comes to him ;)

A typical day for me starts around 530 am with an alarm. 3 to be exact. One is mine. The other 2 are husbands because the man likes to sleep. I take the puppy out. Get all the things together for the day. Coffee, yummy coffee. Or tea, if I am in the mood for that. Or sick, cause really, who does not like tea when they feel like poo?! Potty and throw in a load of laundry. Dog comes in.  10 year old out of bed. Breakfast. Babies up and fed. And then I log onto work. Or if it is a daycare day then I take the little 2 to school and then log on. Glamorous, I know!

While I am working, Dom finishes getting ready for school. The babies have a sitter or are in daycare. I worky work work work. On my first break, I change out the laundry. Let the pup out. Grab a snack. And bam, working again in the blink of an eye. Lunch time consists of me getting lunch, changing out the laundry and getting a shower. Most days I have a bit of time to check in on the internets too ;) while the pup is outside doing her business. Then it is back to work for the afternoon. Last up is my 2^nd break which I again change out laundry. Take the dog out. Back to work till dinner time! (sometimes I change out a diaper or two, play with the babies or even put them down for a nap)

Then it is the rush to make dinner. By this time, the kids are all whiney. They are tired and hungry. They want held.  The gate is usually being shaken repeatedly. Gary wrangles the kids while I cook. Sometimes, Gary cooks while I deal with the cranksters. All depends on the day, the meal and our moods. We eat dinner as a family. Then Gary and I split the cleaning up of dinner and kids. And we try to get everything ready for the next day. Make lunches, set up the coffee, bottles washed, dish washer ran. (but hey we have 3 kids who need us so sometimes this is not all done)

Dominic always has homework. The kids get bathed. There is play time with the kids and the puppy. Stories and TV go on with some relaxing in there. Then if it is a good night, Charlie is in bed by 8 and Logan by 8:30. Dom is in bed at 8:30 with lights out around 9ish.

Then Gary and I have to clean up the messy living room. Sometimes there is folding of laundry. And I will be totally honest that it ONLY gets put away on the weekends. HA!  And then there are nights where we only get what is necessary for the am done and then go relax and watch a TV show or two! I am usually asleep by 11:30 so that I can get up in 6 hours and repeat. Who needs 8 hours of sleep? Ha not me. YEAH RIGHT. I would kill for 8 hours of straight sleep. Has been so long that I cannot even remember what that feels like!

So my day is pretty packed full. I am tired every night. Insomnia in this house is rare.  

So when people ask me how I do it all, I just tell them that I do what I have to do to get by. I wish I could be a stay at home Mom so that things would not be so stressful and I wouldn’t be pulled in 6 different directions at all time.  But hey, I have an unused college education to repay. So the time for me to stay home is not now and I am *mostly* okay with that. I just remind myself that I know I would get bored once the kids were a bit older and more self-sufficient.  I just keep telling myself that they are only this small for a short period of time. Someday I will miss the mess, stress and funny that they are so I need to suck it up. (in more ways than one) I keep on swimming each day. Treading water to keep my head above the sea of work.

Scentsy is a great gift

I have been buying Scentsy since my long time friend Prissy started selling it.

For those who are not familiar, it is a company started by entrepreneurs that were stay at home Moms. They wanted a way to have scent fill a room without burning a candle. They developed a warmer, heated by a light bulb, that melted wick-less wax.  The company was born and has been going strong since.


My house always smells amazing all the time.  I am having an online party until February 26th. The monthly special is awesome! Stock up while you can save mulla :)


There are more than 80 scents, tons of warmers, stuffed animals, on the go scents and more!

I have a few warmers, the car scents, over a dozen wax scents and the monkey stuffed animal in the babies room.  Each of them give off wonderful fragrances.

https://prisgreen.scentsy.us/Buy?partyId=71998094

Click on the link above to order! Valentine's day is coming. Stock up for Christmas for this year or birthdays!