April Fool's Day!

I woke up this morning to Junior saying, "Mommy, there is a reindeer on the roof."

Followed by instant giggling and "APRIL FOOLS!"

Then "Mommy, there is a Christmas tree on the roof."

More giggling..........."APRIL FOOLS!"

I got out of bed and decided to give another try at 10 minutes of the super hula. And my Wii Fit decides to play an April fool's day joke on me. Luckily it didn't have to do with my weight!!!

I suspect it is going to be a very long day!!!!

I joined the Sisterhood Of The Shrinking Jeans this past week. Let's face it- my jeans are getting tighter and tighter and I could really use some shrinking! I'm happy to report that I'm down 1 pound this week! It certainly wouldn't guarantee me another week on the Biggest Loser ranch but slow and steady wins the race (or something like that!)

So the Sisterhood has weekly challenges and for this week the challenge is the super hula! Now I am the master of the hula in my house! I hold the spots for all the highest scores! I thought to myself, "This is a challenge I can win!"

HA HA HA HA HA HA freaking HA!

Each time I do it I'm pretty sure I'm going to have a heart attack! (mental note to self- make sure there is a bottle of Bayer in the house at all times!)

I guess when I'm competing against a 5 year old and an 18 month old I can't really consider myself a "master!" But my score is slowly improving! Not enough for me to win, but enough to keep me going back for more!

I'm up for the challenge!

On this day 5 years ago.....

WOW is all I can say! Junior turns 5 tomorrow (at exactly 3:09am!) I've been recalling bits and pieces of the days leading up to his birth. Calling my mom in tears because I had such a bad headache. My mom telling me to call the doctor right away. And my best friend, Merrie, driving me to Beth Israel after the doctor decided that I needed to be seen right away. On this day, 5 years ago, I had an ultrasound to confirm Junior's approximate weight. It was then decided that I could be induced. Panic pretty much set in at that point. The thought of having my baby boy in my arms was more overwhelming then I could ever describe.

It's been a tough year for Junior. He's moved, started a new school, has had to make new friends, and has become a big brother. And he's done an amazing job at all of it. There are times when we leave school and parents will approach him saying, "my son/daughter told me that you are his/her friend. H/she talks about you at dinner every night telling me the funny things you did today or said today. " Junior just smiles his big infectious smile at those parents and laughs. Junior's teachers are also impressed by him. They tell me every time they see me how proud they are of him. He's a full year ahead of where he needs to be academically. And he's a great little athlete.

5 years ago if anyone had told me that my son would be this wonderful I would have laughed at them thinking they were sadly mistaken. But the truth is that I don't think anyone could have ever predicted what a dynamic personality he would have. They certainly would have shortchanged him in their description of him.

5 years ago today I would have never been able to imagine the amount of love I would have for this little person. 5 years ago today I would have never imagined how much that love would continue to grow each and every day. 5 years ago today I could not have imagined that I would be so proud to be someone's mother as I am to be Junior's. Today my life is a million times better then it was 5 years ago.

When Life Is Like an Episode of What Not To Wear!

Last night, after dinner, I decided to set out on Mission; Buy New Fabulous Jacket. I arrived at the mall still unsure that I could/should spend $80 on said jacket. So I hop into a couple stores looking at clothes- some pretty- some ugly. I try on a couple things and realize that at my house, in the basement, packed into several boxes, I have all the things I had just been trying on. In sizes 10, 12, and 14. So really my wardrobe problem is that I just need to get rid of some of the fat on my body so I can wear these clothes again!!!

So I set off to the store to accomplish my mission. A couple other things catch my eye so I decide to try them on......and yes I do already own them in a size 12! I'm in the dressing room and it hits me. I look like crap! A- My hair is pulled into a horrendous ponytail! B- I have a large zit forming on my chin! C- My jeans are really much too tight (I blame it on the fact they just came out of the dryer but really they're just getting too small!) D- My shirt has a coffee stain on it from the morning (I never even realized that I spilled any coffee!) AND on one shoulder I have some of Baby's boogers and on the other is some of the dinner that didn't quite get into Baby's mouth, but instead made it's way onto my shirt!

I am a bad episode of What Not To Wear! There has got to be camera crews somewhere in the store filming me! I'm just waiting for someone to come up and tell me they are filming a documentary about people living in Pittsfield and their fashion choices. HA HA- I'm on to you Stacy and Clinton! Really this has to be the only reason my husband would allow me out of the house looking so horrible!

I quickly make my purchases and run out of the store! I never did see any camera crews so I'm probably just ultra paranoid and need some medication in nice pretty colors!

Luckily when I got home my favorite t-shirt (you know the kind- it has all sorts of holes in it from excessive wear and washing!) and my favorite pajama pants were waiting for me! ;)

Memories

As a child there was nothing more I enjoyed then Christmas Eve. As a very young child I have vivid memories of going to my Aunt Rose's house and then driving to my grandparents house. Finally we would drive home. My brother and I would quickly put out cookies and Diet Pepsi, as that is what our Santa liked best, before we scurried off to our rooms to fall fast asleep. While driving between the houses my father always challenged us to look for Rudolph's nose. And every year we saw it.

As the years went by things began to change. My grandparents no longer spent winters in Pittsfield. Instead they resided in Florida's warm weather. The Christmas parties that my aunts held, in an attempt to keep my grandmother's traditions alive, began to fade. The one constant was being at Aunt Rose's.

Christmas Eve at Aunt Rose's is somewhat magical. Each year between 7pm and 7:30pm Santa Claus arrives for all the young children. It's a tradition that I have grown up with. It's now a tradition that my children get to grow with. He only comes for about 5 minutes. But it's a 5 minutes that will make you smile for the remainder of the night. The children's excitement as they tell Santa, for one last time, what present they really want to open the following morning. When the children run to the window looking for the sleigh, Rudolph's red nose, and the other reindeer.

Last Christmas Eve Junior turned to me and said, Mommy, do you know that Santa is driving a red car tonight?" A year later and he still remembers that!

When I was in high school I began a second tradition that I am anxious to celebrate each Christmas Eve. That is attending church. It began with my whole family. Myself, my brother, and both my parents. I always volunteered to read a verse from the Bible, telling the story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus. As the years went by I no longer volunteered to read a verse but my brother and I were always in the audience. And as time continued to pass. I would be the only one that would attend this service.

This year I started getting ready for the service. Junior approached me and told me that he really wanted to come to church with me. I tried not to look surprised at this request. But I couldn't help but to ask him why.

"Well because I want to go with you and have fun."

I asked him, "do you really think that church is fun?"

"Well no", he replied, "but I just want to be with you."

Those words melted my heart. 2 weeks later and they continue to melt it.

At the service that night, I kept looking over to Junior and my eyes would tear up.

I can envision us 25 years from now continuing to attend the Christmas Eve service together. We will light candles and sing the same songs. We will hear the same stories about Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus.

We will truly believe. Just as we truly believe in Santa and all the magic that he has when he arrives at Aunt Rose's in his red car.

Homework

Last month Junior started school. He is in pre kindergarten. The program is 5 days a week and each Friday the children are given a homework assignment. So far every week has had a color theme to it. The homework assignment pertains to what the following weeks' color will be. On Friday Junior was given a piece of paper that had the outline of a pumpkin on it. Junior was to use an orange peel to paint his pumpkin orange. He could add accessories to it as long as they were orange.

Most Fridays I encourage Junior to complete his assignments right away so that we can enjoy the weekend and not think about homework. But this Friday was different. Monday was a holiday so I enjoyed knowing that we had some extra time to work on things. We decided to order a pizza and watch, "The Nightmare Before Christmas."

On Saturday the weather was beautiful so we spent the day decorating the house for Halloween, raking leaves, jumping into the leaves, and going to the park.

Sunday was another beautiful day and we went to pumpkin patches, we went on hayrides, we went to the petting zoo, and we bought our Halloween costumes.

Suddenly it's Monday and we still have not started the homework assignment. But the dilemena is that it's another gorgeous fall day and we still have not gone apple picking. So we head off the orchards.

Monday evening rolls around when we discover that we need to make a quick trip to the grocery store to buy an orange to paint the pumpkin with. While at the store Junior describes to me how he is going to decorate his pumpkin. Immediately I was amazed at how much thought he put into this project. And I realized that he must have been thinking about this over the weekend.

So we set off home to start collecting orange leaves to make a wreath around the pumpkin with. And Junior practiced making circles so that he could draw an orange sun to shine down on his pumpkin. And on Tuesday morning I could not have been more proud of him. His pumpkin showed off just how creative he is (and just how good of a procrastinator I am.)

Junior refused to put his pumpkin into his backpack. He was very concerned about the leaves falling off or the pumpkin's face getting ruined. So he proudly carried it onto the playground. He was approached by one of his friends to play tag. Junior's face was beaming when he said to his friend, "C, do you like my pumpkin?" C took one look at the paper and said, "that sucks, my pumpkin is better."

I could see the disappointment in Junior's face. He handed me the paper and asked me to hold it while he chased his friends around the playground.

My heart broke for my son who put so much effort into making something wonderful. Something that he was so excited to show off to his friends and his teacher. I decided that I was going to kick C's ass! The nerve of this insensitive child telling my baby that his art project sucks! Who does this kid think he is anyway!?!

I continued fuming for the next 2 1/2 hours while I waited to go and pick Junior up from school. I had to tell him how awesome his pumpkin was. But more importantly I wanted to know exactly what C's pumpkin looked like so I could tell Junior how bad it sounded. I would tell Junior that it sounds like C's pumpkin sucked.

Junior enjoyed his afternoon at school. He told that he learned that red and yellow make orange. The kids all practiced mixing the paints together. Junior had the proof on his hands that red and yellow do indeed make orange.

I asked him if Ms. Eileen liked his pumpkin and he excitedly told me that she loved it. He told me that a lot of the other kids used leaves to decorate their pumpkins as well. I asked him what C's pumpkin looked like and I was ready to make a snide remark at how bad it probably was.

"It was orange."

So I poked a little more, "well did he put any leaves on it?"

"Nope, no leaves. It was just orange."

So I poked a little bit more, "well did he make a sun?"

"No Mommy. He just painted it orange."

So I continued poking. This child had to have done something remarkable to his pumpkin.

"No Mommy, C just painted his pumpkin orange. But he can paint very nice."

My eyes welled up with tears. Thank God for my sensitive son who continues to amaze me everyday! And as for me, well I definitely can stand to learn a lesson or two from my four year old!

First birthdays

I cannot believe that in less then a week Baby will turn 1. I can recall the days leading up to his birth. Baby was born on a Wednesday. The weekend before we took Junior to our favorite breakfast place. Knowing our typical routine I can confidentially say that Daddy ate Eggs Benedict without the bacon/ham, Junior ate pancakes, and Mommy had an egg and bacon sandwich with homefries. I know that we spent the weekend just relaxing and enjoying Junior as much as we could before his little brother was here. The night before Baby's arrival we made homemade pizzas. All three of us were covered in flour and pizza dough, as were the counters and kitchen floor. But it was well worth the mess as it's a memory that I'll never forget. A year later it still brings a smile to my face.

This year hasn't been easy for any of us. As much joy as Baby has brought to our lives, he's also brought a lot of sleepless nights and tears and frustration. As a newborn he hated sleeping in his bassinet. He preferred my bed and would only sleep if he was cuddled up next to me. This made nursing quite convenient, but it meant that poor Daddy spent a majority of those 6 months sleeping on the sofa. Once we moved into a house and no longer had to worry about downstairs neighbors hearing the cries of an infant, we allowed Baby to cry it out in his crib. We've definitely had our ups and downs with that. But overall we've made progress and *most nights* Baby will sleep from 8:00pm until 5:30am.

This year has brought me so many happy memories. Memories that can still bring tears to my eyes. One of the best mornings occurred about 2 weeks ago. Baby has been trying so hard to say his big brother's name. He says the first syllable of his name and we've all started to call him by that now. I was lying in bed with Baby. It was one of the nights when he decided to start his day at 3:00am. Junior woke up around 7:30am and came to join us for some snuggle time before we started our day. Baby's whole face lit up when he saw his big brother. He started calling for him, "A, A, A." And then he said "hug." He gave his brother a big hug and a big kiss. Junior was so happy and said to him, "you love me a lot don't ya buddy. Well I love you too. You're my best buddy."

Best. Memory. Ever!!!