Cramming an entire week in one post.

The past week’s highlights in bullet form:

Monday the 2nd: Dreamy’s birthday

*Smurfette woke up at 1am and announced at my bedroom threshold that she had puked in her bed. I stumbled into her room with one eye open to discover the mound of blown chunks had actually made it to the carpet. Bonus.

*Kept Smurfette home from school. Within hours of waking she was chasing the dog around the house. No fever. Good appetite. Which lead me to believe that my skinny little Smurfette simply ate way more than her tiny tummy could handle at the previous night’s Superbowl Party.

*The family then celebrated Dreamy’s birthday at Outback Steakhouse per Dreamy’s request…he loves a good steak.

*Notice his diligence at scraping away all the good stuff off his dessert. All he wants is the ice cream.

*This is Dreamy's year for the "friend party". All 3 of my kids alternate and so get a "friend party" every 3rd year. Due to the gymnastics schedule and full weekend calendar Dreamy's birthday party with friends has been pushed back a couple weeks. We will be celebrating his 10th birthday with his friends at an indoor water park during their mid-winter break from school.

Tuesday the 3rd:

*Pulled Dreamy from school for the traditional birthday lunch. Big Boy restaurant gives a huge free dessert to the birthday child. We went to collect. Apparently the economy has hit Big Boy because the mound of Brownie, vanilla ice cream, and cool whip has been reduced to a brownie with chocolate syrup and whipped cream. They can no longer spare the scoop of ice cream. This child doesn’t like whipped cream. This child doesn’t like cake (they call it a brownie…but Dreamy begged to differ). So I ate his free dessert and bought him a scoop of ice cream. What’s a mom to do.

Wednesday the 4th:

*Hubs and I collectively had a minor ohmyfreaknGoshitscoldashellout winter blues melt down. So, we decided to call our travel agent and see if she could find this family of 5 a deal to somewhere (anywhere) with sand, sun, and heat... preferably with palm trees. And, to make a long story short…she did. An all inclusive four nights in Cancun. So, now I can muscle my way through the next 3 weeks of winter knowing that our family will see sunshine very soon. I just needed something to look forward to. Nothing helps pass the weeks of winter like shopping for swim suits and sandals.

Thursday the 5th:

*Met some friends for lunch where our annual trip to Florida was discussed. The trip is now officially booked. In roughly 10 weeks there will 6 gorgeous mom’s and wives lounging on the sandy shores of the golf coast with their umbrella drinks in one hand and books in the other. We will be the ones without children. We will be the ones without husbands. We will be the ones with the gleaming relaxed smiles on our face. And you may not want to visit our condo cuz we don’t cook, we don't clean, and we don't clean or pick up after ourselves (or each other) during this trip.

Friday the 6th:

*The kids stayed at Grandma’s over night while Hubs and I went out with some lovely new friends. K & I met at the gym. We’ve been work out buddies since last October. Our husbands hadn’t met till Friday night. Going out with new friends can be a little daunting. Not entirely sure what to expect or what they’re like. But we had a very good time and lots of fun with this couple and look forward to going out again in the future.

Saturday the 7th:

*My parents held a surprise 85th birthday party for my Step Dad’s mom….my step grandma so to speak. It was a surprisingly nice party. I say surprisingly not because my mom doesn’t know how to throw one hell of a spread…cuz she totally does…. but because of the attendees. There was no redneck hillbilly drama. All present were surprisingly pleasant….and kind...and dare I say….friendly. And Granny was touched…moved to tears even. And that alone speaks volumes….cuz this redneck hillbilly hard nosed granny of a woman….doesn’t cry. Ever. And that’s all I’m gonna say about that….

Sunday the 8th:

*Our little boy smurfs had a gymnastics meet at their own home gym. The first of many (we hope). They did very good. It was a very small meet. Hefty was one of 4 in his level and Dreamy was one of 8. They both took 1st place and walked away with a really cool trophy. More importantly, they walked away feeling proud that they had done their personal best.

I tried like hell to blur out other children's faces but I can't figure out Photoshop to save my freak'n life. I now have a Photoshop for dummies book and hope to make it a priority in my life real soon.

Monday the 9th:

*We attended Dreamy's 4th grade winter music concert. Where he refused to sing, refused to dance, and refused to do the sign language. And he was standing smack dab front and center. *sigh* This child's stubbornness will be my undoing.

*And here it is Wednesday morning and I woke again at 1:00am to the sound of my oldest child blowing chunks in his bathroom sink. Why his sink? Because someone had used the toilet yesterday and didn't flush....leaving a lovely surprise. Nice. I know. So, now I'm home with another sick child. *sigh*

Other happenings this week....

*My Step Dad used his amazing work shop skillz to make us this fabulous custom made built in bay window seat and book shelf. LOVE. IT! Please ignore the missing panel on the window seat...it will be put on shortly.

*There's lots of shelves and storage behind those closed doors!

*And even more hidden storage under those seats!

The Middle Child

My first born holds a special place in my heart because he's my first born. He taught me how to be a mom. He taught me how to love and nurture. But his first year was difficult for me because I had no idea what I was doing as I explained here.

My last born holds a special place in my heart because she's my baby and my only daughter. But her first year was difficult for me because she was colicky as I've explained here.

My middle child holds a special place in my heart for other reasons entirely. I worried my whole pregnancy how I could possibly hold and give the same amount of love for another child that I did for my first. The idea was inconceivable to me. I worried that it wouldn't be possible to divide my love and attention. But when this middle child of mine entered our world it all became instantly clear. Your love isn't divided. It's multiplied.

I worried that having two children so close together in age would be very difficult. A toddler and an infant. But this child was so easy and content that I felt silly for worrying.

This whole second experience was just so much better than the first. In every aspect.

My pregnancy was more comfortable because I only gained 40 pounds instead of 75.

His birth was a piece of cake. I had hoped to try for a VBAC but after 15 hours of labor and no progress I simply asked for a C-Section & he was born. On his due date. Groundhogs Day. I was awake for the birth this time. I didn't freak out on the operation table this time. I held him, nursed him, bonded with him immediately instead of 8 hours later.

This baby's dimples captured my heart in seconds. He's my only child to have inherited those gorgeous dimples from my father's side of the family.

This second born son held a special place in my heart the instant he entered our world. He nursed instantly and easily. My goal was to nurse him until he was sleeping through the night. He was sleeping through the night at 6 weeks and I stopped producing enough for him. It was an unplanned weening. I never went through the engorgement and pain of weening. It just happened. Easy.

He never cried. And when I say "never" I truly mean "never". He'd let out a little whimper every now and then when he was hungry but that was it. My mother thought there was something wrong with him and thought I should ask the doctor about it because "it's just not natural for a baby to not cry."

When he'd finish nursing at night he'd fall instantly to sleep. There was no dinner/evening time bewitching hours for this one.

He was the only one of my infants to let me rock him to sleep. I could sit and rock him for hours and he would just stare at me and smile. He was my only cuddler. Content to just be in my arms. And yet, if I put him in his crib awake? He'd fall asleep all on his own without a sound or complaint.

He was a perfect baby. The happy and easy infant that every mom dreams of having. If all my babies had been this easy I probably would have ended up with ten kids.

It's 10 years later to the day and he still manages to squeeze my heart daily with his dimply smile and happy-go-lucky eager to please ways. He's got just a touch of my hard headed stubbornness. That stubbornness makes me want to pull my hair out some days....but it mostly just makes me smile. He's my sweet one. The one that will still cuddle with me on occasion. The one that is very stingy with the kisses but gives one hell of a hug. The one that notices when I've gotten a hair cut and compliments me when he likes what I'm wearing. He's the one that offers helpful tips when needed and who's teachers adore him. He's the one that is learning to cope with sensory integration over load and over came his delayed speech and now gets straight As. He's the one that is hoping to get two more card markings of straight As so that he can get the Faux-hawk I promised him *God help me*. He makes us laugh with his goofy ways and sense of humor (only Dreamy could hurt himself on the bathroom faucet while trying to get a good look at his wedgie in the mirror). He makes us (and himself) giggle with his Monk-like OCD ways. He's obsessed with the TV show Monk for a reason. He understands Monk. He "gets" Monk.

And he's the one that tends to get slightly shafted because of where he falls in this family line up. Today is his birthday. Today, as tradition dictates, I should be pulling him out of school and taking him out to lunch for his birthday. But Smurfette decided to vomit in her bed last night and had to stay home from school today. Did Dreamy get upset? No. Did he complain or put up a fight? No. He said "It's OK Mom, we'll go tomorrow."

I love this child more than words can say.

Happy 10th Birthday Dreamy. You've finally made it to the double digits!

New Born Hospital photo:

6 months old:

Monthly photos up to first birthday:

18 months old:

2 years old (would yah just look at those dimples...I just wanna eat'm up):


3 years old:

4 years old:

5 years old:

6 years old:

7 years old:

8 Years old:

9 year old: