Who is skinny?

Not me. Since I am a Mom to a newborn I have decided that sleep deprivation is a good enough reason not to exercise yet. Please don't get me wrong - I do consider strolling around the neighborhood, carrying two kids up the stairs many times a day, changing an average of 15 diapers a day, etc. all exercise. It just isn't the type of exercise I need to burn off this extra baby weight. I keep telling myself that the time after giving birth should be the new definition of "babymoon". While I think the new addition into 2007's Webster's Dictionary of "babymoon" is quite important I still think I prefer my definition better.

It would read something like this:

babymoon: the time immediately after which you have given birth but before you starve yourself to try to fit your moon (bum) into the designer jeans you once owned, in other words, the time immediately following child birth when you believe nursing is a good enough reason not to diet and enjoying every minute of your scone each morning instead.

Okay, so back to my question, who is skinny? (Boy, it is quite easy to get off topic isn't it???) I am talking about the Skinny Marinky Dinky Doo! Anyone know who skinny is? Skinny Marinky is the catchy preschool rhyme (yes, DS and I have graduated from nursery rhymes to preschool rhymes). This catchy preschool ryhme even has this hop-hop loving Mommy (me) humming her way to sleep each night (um, humming during her sleepless nights is more like it).

So, I looked it up (gotta love Google!). It is from a Canadian children's television show "Sharon, Lois & Bram's Elephant Show".

The show is no longer is on TV but I am not going to hold it against the Canadian's for no longer producing the wonderful TV show since the new Canadian television series "Super Why" is DS's favorite show on television!!!

If you aren't quite sure what song I am talking about link here to hear Skinny Marinky Dinky Doo . It is Track #7 and #25. And hey, not feeling like such an old housewife now. If you notice, I found the song and lyrics on MTV.com. WooHoo! Or does that just mean that MTV.com is for *old* housewives now?! Ugh, can't seem to keep up with these kids now-a-days!

So if you take the time to link to the Silly Songs Album Track please tell me which Preschool rhyme is your favorite? Do your ears hang low? There's a hole in the bucket? Awwwwwwwwww, the joys of Motherhood and I thought crazy lyrics were no longer in my life when I stopped going to the clubs! LOL!!!

Don't it make your brown eyes blue?

I swear this girl was born with brown eyes. It brought a big smile to my face that we would have a blue-eyed boy like his Daddy and a brown-eyed girl like her Mommy. One week later her eyes appeared blue ... 7 weeks later they still appear blue. I do know that a baby's eye color can change at any time but in the meantime her once brown eyes are now bright blue! What makes me giggle even more is that I too am one of those parents that talks about what color they once were ... seems like there is an entire population of parents that like to always comment on their child's eye color at birth. When DS was born it was pretty obvious what color his eyes were and what color they would be and I always kinda chuckled at the silly ways parents talked about their child's eye color at birth (only because I didn't have the same experience of it changing colors) ... and now here I am, not just talking about it but even blogging about it! LOL!!! I guess there is no escaping certain parental habits ... what's next, sounding just like your parents?! Ha!



(The picture is from last night's bath time with Daddy. DH is continuing the tradition of his special time with the kiddos and gives her a bath each night (after giving DS a bath, reading to him and putting him down for bed). I adore that my DH loves this tradition. There is nothing better then seeing your husband and kids having fun together).

Moving on ...

It is fitting that we have sold our townhome and moved into our new home during Springtime. The time of the year of rebirth and good-byes. I feel truly happy and blessed to be in a new home with more room and a small yard but can't help to feel the loss of a place that holds so many dear memories to us.

The process of unpacking is long and hard but I find enjoyment in some it. In between all the boxes of neccesities and household items I need to unpack I am getting side-tracked by all the wonderful memories I am stumbling upon, such as, my sororitiy composites, plastic boxes of coins from my travels, big-hair pictures from the '80's, old letters/cards, etc. And if the memories aren't enough, there are those objects that make you wonder - why on earth have I been holding onto Political Science lecture notes from 1991? or a faded .99 cent frisbee? Are they attached to a memory I can no longer recall? Or was it just an over-sight during my past moves? Aw, the joys of moving! Ha!

Happy Springtime, Welcome Change!

The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day he created Spring. ~Bern Williams

Toddler Talk

My DS is now at the age where he can hold complete conversations with me.

Yesterday he went out on the patio and set up two chairs facing each other. He asked (or demanded), "Mommy, come out here." "Sit right there" (pointing to the chair directly across from him). And we just chatted. About what?! Mostly, sitting on the chairs "Mommy sits there", "L sits here", "Mommy and L" yada yada. It was so adorable that I ran back inside to grab my camera ... and to my surprise, he remained seated, waited for me to return and then continued the conversation right where he left off. LOL!!!!

This isn't the most creative shot or the best quality ... but it is one of those pictures that will forever capture a memory for me. Just as we were, DS in just his diaper after nap time, sitting on the patio on a sunny spring day and just "chatting" about nothing. Awwwwwwwwww, how I adore my little boy!!!

Just a tip and reminder to parents ... don't forget to capture the little every day happenings too!!!

Welcome Spring everyone!

Picture Perfect

We had a wonderful visit from Miss Joleen a couple days ago. She is the wonderful photographer behind Love, Joleen Photography (darling company name too, huh?). She was kind enough to stop in after a local session she had in Orange County to photograph our newest family addition (we have had the pleasure of working with her before when DS was 14 months old). I have only had a sneak peek at a few photos but so far I am loving all of them (& so is DH!).

I have chosen only one to share for now since I must keep the others private as they may find their way into gifts very soon (Mother's Day is only around the corner!).

If you are local you must check her out (she does maternity, newborn, children, & family photography). Her style is fun, upbeat, creative and fashion forward. You will get wonderful pictures you will cherish plus an opportunity to work with a WONDERFUL person. Joleen is pleasant, sweet, patient and a natural with children.

Thanks Miss Joleen, just wish our DS had been awake for some sibling pictures too! :)

Decent Exposure

Two years later and I am once again trying to nurse a baby while keeping up with daily activities, chores and events. This time around I have found something that makes it so much easier to nurse in public then using the dreaded blanket-over-the-shoulder-trick that just never seems to work the way you want it to.

First off I must admit, I am not a big fan of public breastfeeding. It just makes me uncomfortable and more importantly makes a lot of other people uncomfortable. I still choose the most private area available but now that I have an active toddler to keep an eye on it becomes more challenging .... so that is why I am thrilled to introduce the Hooter Hider! Okay, I know, I know, it isn't the most conservative name but it does do the trick, that is, keep your hooter's hiding. And funny enough, they too must have realized that the name may not attract all the buyers so they offer the SAME EXACT nursing cover under the name Bebe Aulait (& there is absolutely NO DIFFERENCE from the Hooter Hider, even stated on their website!) LOL!

I got the adorable spring pattern Cream Soda but there are so many cute patterns to choose from, look here and here for examples of the patterns you can choose from.

So, you may be asking, what makes theirs more unique then other nursing covers (or even the blanket-over-the-shoulder trick), I asked that question too because I am always looking to save a dime or two with two kids, one income and nice taste (LOL!). Well, to answer that question, it has an adjustable strap to wear around your neck so you don't have to keep re-adjusting or tucking in your blanket and it also has a patent-pending rigid neckline that allows Mom to see baby and baby to see Mom (this is my favorite feature on the Hooter Hider - sorry guys, too funny not to use Hooter Hider, makes me giggle much more then the classy, chic name of Bebe Au lait ... and not that you wouldn't have guessed it any way but the name Hooter Hiders came from a male friend of company owner's Ronnie and Claire.

You must check out their website. They also carry burp cloths and fun gift packages for nursing Mom's!!! And for those of you in Southern California, I purchased mine from Hush Baby in Ladera Ranch (also available at the Tustin and Aliso Viejo locations) or click here for their nationwide store locator.

I am happy to say that without my Hooter Hider we would not have been able to enjoy the long visit to the beach today. DS and DH played in the ocean and sand while DD (Darling Daughter) got to eat (privately).

Sorry for the lack of posts ....

But this little princess and her big brother have been taking up a lot of my time and I am loving every minute of it!!!

Born on 2/22, she is such an amazing, sweet, cuddly baby and big brother is quite fond of her too!

Happy *HEART* Day!

I hope your day started as wonderful as mine did ...

A "Happy Valentine's Day sweetheart" and this is what I was greeted to when I came downstairs this morning. I think my favorite part was that he either put it out last night or early this morning so I could start my day this way. Did I mention lately how much I love my DH?! :) And I think there may be See's Dark Nut and Chews in that red box.

Have a great day everyone. DH and I are having a special fancy lunch together today and celebrating as a family with the G Family tonight!

PS Here is a sample of what DS and I made for DH yesterday:

Flying high!

Wow, what a gorgeous California day we had in Feb. ... and we spent most of it at the beach.

Since I highlighted my DH's soft, gentle side last week I thought I should also show a pic of his fun-loving-throw-him-in-the-air (enough to make Mommy nervous) side!

I just love seeing my boys together. You would never guess from this picture that my DS is fighting a cold.

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!

Definitely his father's son

My DS loves chocolate ... as much as his Chocolaholic father (my DH). I don't think I even fully fell in love with chocolate until I began dating DH. I mean, I always liked good chocolate and brownies of course but I still think there were many other desserts I ranked higher then chocolate (such as Ice Cream, Cheesecake, etc.). But now I adore chocolate and can keep up with the best of the chocoholics. The big 2 year old DS will ask at 6:45am for "chocolate please", no joke!

OK, why all this talk about chocolate ... tis' the season for yummy chocolate goodies and I thought I would remind you of last year's Easter post that See's Candies sells out of the dark chocolate nuts and chews pretty darn fast! (Is my DH reading this?) And if you don't care about dark vs. milk check out their entire Valentine's chocolate selection. DS will definitely be getting something from this selection!!

Who is the older one in this marriage ??? ...

I was cleaning out old emails today and came across this one. At Christmas time I asked DH to give me a list of some ideas of what he would like for Christmas. He emailed me this list, the subject line read "list":

Cigars
Scotch
Tie Case
Shoe Trees
Noise Canceling headphones
plasma TV
Gray pinstripe suit
Blazer
Overcoat
briefcase
exercise shorts
sunglasses
Rubber thongs, like the ones I lost
Books
Wall painting

So, how old do you think he is?? LOL!!! I just *adore* my DH, he makes me smile, always!

(BTW, the picture below of my sweet DH is from DS's 2 year appointment. They do bloodwork to test their iron & lead levels, as well as, cholestrol. DS got a "very healthy" report back (in only 3 minutes I should add - gotta love state of the art equipment). But isn't Daddy just the sweetest man ever?? He was kissing his head and whispering to him what the nurse was "about to do to his toe (take blood, blah blah blah)", the nurse finally let out a chuckle and said, "I already did it. I am already done.". DH and I got a good laugh. She gave us a nice compliment and said our family is a lot of fun & certainly had a great time even in the Doctor's office! Oh, and am I the only one that takes pictures while there??? heehee)

34 weeks and two days ... but who's counting?!?! :)

An opportunity to use my wireless remote today (the one DH got me for Christmas this year)!

Note to self: DS is more interested in the wireless remote then his baby sister in Mommy's "big tummy"! What am I getting into???

I felt brave today, maybe it is because DH is off for MLK tomorrow and I get another day to nap ... but what ever the reason, I finally took my first bare belly picture today:




And yes, I am short, but DS hasn't caught up to me that fast ... yet! I am kneeling on the floor in this picture.

Don't eat the Tempura!

DS is really into painting now. I am lucky if I can make it to 9:00am before he is asking every 5 minutes if we can paint. I actually don't mind and have been enjoying it myself!

A little tip I learned back in my Preschool teaching days ... add a little dish soap to the Tempura paint to help wash away the paint and alleviate staining. It is not a guarantee but certainly it does help. I did take the time to look it up on-line to verify that it does work since my Preschool teaching days were over 15 years ago, YIKES! Everything I read did verify that it is still a good practice to mix dish soap with Tempura paint to help prevent staining ... also, an additional suggestion, DS's Nina (Godmother) gave him little plastic containers with a paintbrush size hole to dip the brushes in (see picture) to help prevent spilling. They also come with handy lids to help prevent drying (you will still want to use the paint within the next day or so since one the benefits of Tempura paint is that it is dries fast so try your best not to over-pour the Tempura paint from the get-go).

Oh, and I know, my posts have been very kid focused this last month. I have been really focused on spending all my time with DS before his sister arrives soon. I plan on sharing other fun stuff soon!

I *heart* my new bounce flash!

Oh my gosh, I am in love ... after struggling for the past year to get a great indoor candid snap-shot of DS (because of lack of natural light in our ever-so-small-attached-on-two-sides townhome) we finally went and purchased a bounce flash! We got it late yesterday afternoon so my only time to play with it was after dinner and bath time but we got it for exactly what I used it for last night. That is, to get great candid snap-shots of DS doing his every day activities (coloring, reading, play-doeugh, painting, etc.). This was actually a snap-shot worthy moment as it was his first time brushing his teeth all on his own. We struggled with a crying, squirmmy boy for almost two years as we struggled to brush his teeth. We stayed consistent, often asked if he wanted to brush them himself, tried many recommendations from other parents and today was the first day he asked if he could brush his teeth ... first after lunch and then again yesterday evening. Let's hope this new trend continues, so far it has continued today. (I hope posting this doesn't jinx it!)

I can not believe the bounce flash works so well even with our two story high vaulted ceilings (I bounced the light off the ceiling in this one) but I am thrilled with the results - no over exposed eyes, washed out skin, etc. I did nothing to this picture but cropped out DH (LOL!). Watch out, next time you see me with my dear camera indoors you might have to look around to find me, DH says it is hysterical looking (quite large) and my dear camera now completely covers my face (wow, double use in one, great indoor pics and something to hide my bloated pregnant face that has already started! :)

Facing Fear

DS is afraid of heights, so is DH. I have always been a little afraid of heights too but not in the debilitating way I was when pregnant with him. I would even exit one off-ramp earlier to avoid an overpass near our home. It was crazy. Now I must admit I am not too uncomfortable with his fear. I love being able to sit at the park and not worry that my Toddler is going to run right to the top and tumble down one of the open spaces. I enjoy taking a sip of my water while I see other Mom's rushing to try to catch, stop, yell, yank on their brave toddlers before going over the edge.

However, I have been quite proud (& a bit surprised) at how brave and courageous he has gotten in the last couple weeks. 85% of the time he still asks, "Mommy come too" when venturing to the top (which is still much better then the "no, no, no" he used to say when I asked if he wanted to go up) and the other 15% of the time he will brave it with Mr. Brown Bear only (if you look closely you will see Mr. Brown Bear in his hand). I am one proud Mommy ... okay, so it takes a little to make Mommy proud! :)

My DH is so afraid of heights I think he even got a little nervous when I just showed him this picture but like Mommy, DH was also quite proud (& surprised) of our little guy facing his fear.

So ....

What do you think? Like the brown, pink and blue! Would love to hear from you all ... you can comment without using an URL or email!

Stay tuned ....

My new Blog "look" is coming soon ... some time this week it will be up for everyone to see!!! Keep checking back!!! Just a reminder, all previous comments on my Blog will no longer be available but you will be able to post comments again (and one of my favorite parts about blogging is getting the sweet comments from you all).

Happy Tuesday!

I hide Mommy!

DS is hiding behind the small tree, can you see him?!? LOL!!!

Happy rainy day to us!!!

Clutter Control Calling

I thought about asking our priest if you still have to make a New Year's resolution if you're pregnant? I mean, I don't have to fast, I get to eat meat on Fridays during lent ... so don't you think pregnant ladies should get a pass on having to make resolutions for the New Year?!?!

Okay, I think I am joking , I mean, at least only half-way joking! :) But at least I know I definitely don't have to include the obligatory resolution of losing 15 lbs. So this year I searched for the next best thing ... instead of losing weight, I will lose things. To be specific ... things creating clutter around me. I started this project a few days ago by first attacking my closet and have already made one drop off at The Goodwill but now that I am on a roll I am anxious to attack DH's closet next, DS's thereafter and of course there is the kitchen, desk, linen closet, nightstand drawers ... and do a dare say ... GARAGE!!! Actually, I think GARAGE should be on DH's resolution list. I think I will wait to mention that tomorrow though. He was sweet enough to let me take a nap today while he cleaned the kitchen, played with our DS and cooked dinner. Oh and he also reminded me that I got to start the New Year with breakfast in bed ... the best home-made pancakes I have ever had with real maple syrup, mmmmmmmmmmm!!! Happy New Year to me! I think he is just trying to butter me up (yes, pun intended) for the arrival of our new bun in the oven (yes, another pun intended!) ... he knows all too well that I am entering the no-sleep, no-rest zone very soon.

So, please share your New Year's resolutions!!! And I want to hear from all of you this time, I know you're reading, yes, I do have a site meter on here, so please, will you post in the New Year!!! Thanks in advance!

Oh and I do have other resolutions too but I much rather hear yours!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!

I can not believe how fast this year has gone ... 2008 is here!!! I hope you all enjoyed a safe and fun night ... if you are like us, you are enjoying football, food and relaxing today!!!

A recent fave of DS (I can't believe he is turning two at the end of this month, we are getting excited for his little sister to arrive!!!):