A Bird in the hand is worth more than 2 in a bush!!!

On Sunday, while I was feeding Emilia, Armando and Giovanni come barrelling into the house saying: "Look Mom a bird!".. I looked at them and there Armando was holding a baby bird. I thought.. Great.. just great... bugs.... but then I said.. Okay... Lets find it's mama. The poor lil thing hurt it's wing falling out of the tree and you can tell it was dazed a bit, but after awhile it started getting restless and looking up to the trees. I called a wildlife rescue and they said to leave it be for an hour and it's mama will find it. But baby birds fall out of trees and are on the ground for up to 2 weeks before it can fly... I thought.. I don't have 2 weeks to baby this baby.. I have Emilia! But.. Sure enough.. mama came to the rescue within a half an hour and was coaxing the chick to some brush.
Before the "release" I took some pics.


Whoever said that life was dull and boring obviously did not have children!!!

Blowing Bubbles....

Emilia is fastly becoming my main source of entertainment when the boys are in school. Her cooing and bubble blowing are keeping me busy. Here's a pic of her today.



A pic of Armando and Giovanni with Emilia. Isn't it amazing how much they look alike? I get asked if they are twins all the time...It's soo hard to believe that they are 5 and 7 already.



Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

ALL NIGHT LONG....

I am hoping to not jinx myself...... but little lady has been sleeping like a champ these past 3 nights. She has been going down around 9:30pm and sleeping until around 5am!! I feel like a new person!!! I am beginning to think "out of the fog".

Little Lady is sleeping now and I am tackeling the laundry. I had it ALL done on Sunday... but laundry is just like a monkey on my back... I can get away from it and it is consuming me!!!

I am sooo glad that we have chosen to cloth diaper!! A friend and I were just talking about the new prices of child rearing and I can not believe just how expensive disposables are! WOW! I am thanking my lucky stars everytime I have to do that extra load of laundry every other day! I'm saving approx $9.00! That's almost $50 a month!! WOO HOO!

Yesterday... I had a great life lesson.... I was at my wits end at my breaking point and ready to cry.. but instead I just took a minute to smile and laugh at the madness of it all. The phone was ringing, the baby was SCREAMING, the boys were fighting, dinner was over cooking and the dog was barking. I was tested to the extreme and I came out of it unscathed! I guess the old cliche that God doesn't give u more than what you can handle is true... I just wish he wouldn't test me soo much at one time! :):)

I am keeping my fingers crossed that we hear something from my husbands perspective new boss(es). We have applied for a laterial position transfer in PA and are anxiously awaiting word. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this is a positive outcome.. we are looking forward to a possible move closer to home.

Well... I must tackle the chore of the day.... laundry...

HOpe all is well... and sending much love and light!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words:



The first pic is of the boys, proud as can be with their Lego creation. They absolutely love lego and it keeps them busy for hours. THANK GOD for LEGO!!!





Here's Little Lady sleeping. She is sooo beautiful and such an angel. Is it possible to love anything more than your own child?






I absolutely love this pic. Both DH and Little Lady are sleeping. Emilia is hanging on.... that is for sure! She was slowly sliding down hubby's stomach. This pic makes me smile every time I see it!











And here is Nina: my first baby. She was the first little girl in our lives. It never fails that she sits in the car seat when she can get the chance. When Armando was a baby it got to the point where Nina wouldn't eat unless she was in the HIGH CHAIR! Talk about spoiled dog!




and last but not least: me with Emilia. Armando took this pic... the inspiring photographer.

Thanks for taking the time to check in. I will try to make it a priority to say a word or two every other day.

God Bless and keep safe!

Where....Oh Where to begin.....

Sooo much has happened in these past few weeks since I last posted. But let me first start off by wishing my wonderful family and friends a VERY HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Little Lady will be 2 months old on the 17th!! (where has the time gone!) She is smiling and cooing and it is overflowing my heart with sooo much emotion!! The boys are enjoying her more b/c she is getting a little more interactive. She is getting soo big that she has an "outgrown" bin for storage started and almost full!!

Armando has had a tough week, between the bee stings, almost breaking his nose, getting hit below the eye with a drum and choking on proscuitto.. I'm surprised that we haven't had to make a trip to the hospital.

Giovanni is up to his "trickster" old self. No accidents to mention. But he has found his love of building and drawing. I see an architectural future for him. He is quite the bookworm and would rather read than play outdoors. It's like pulling teeth to get him to play outside! If you mention water gun though.. you can't hold him back!!!

I am doing well. My list making has become somewhat a thing of the past. I am making a small list daily, with only 3-4 "TO DO" things on it. That way I can accomplish them and I feel GREAT!!!! I was making my normal long lists and when I would only accomplish 3-4 things on it, I would feel like I didn't get ANYTHING accomplished, so I had to change my list making to keep my self esteem and good mood flowing! Lesson: Learn to balance the important things in life... vacumming and dusting is NOT important.. napping with baby in arms.. VERY IMPORTANT!!! (however, my house is not disgusting dirty, I do clean every other day! But during my time not cleaning, I have taught the dust bunnies to hide when company comes over! ;) )))

I'm little tired and overwhelmed by the amount of remodeling work that needs to still get accomplished in my house, but it all takes time and $$ and we have more time than $$ right now. Actually we are looking to relocate now so the house updating must take a more nitrous powered, all systems go, full steam ahead, CHARGE approach and do what we can physically and monetarily. But I'm excited of the potential move despite the feelings of being overwhelmed with OH MY GOSH... I NEED TO DO THIS... THIS... AND THIS!!!!

I will be posting updated pics soon, I have to make discs first. Finding time on the computer has been very hard and if I make it on every other day I am lucky!! But I thank you for keep checking in and very faithful to my ramblings of insanity!

Lesson I have learned lately: You can babywear, vacuum and dance all at the same time!!

Hugz my friend!

What a wonderful world!! WOW! So much has happened... so many milestones, life events and realizations. Here are the boys and "little lady". My babies are all getting sooo big!! Armando just turned 7 on April 19th (will post b-day pics at a later time), Emilia is officially 6 weeks old today and Giovanni is well....Giovanni.. my "funny man" (just check out his "cheesy" smile here! :):) )

Spring has officially sprung and cabin fever has become a distant memory to the two active lil boys in our house. They are soo busy playing baseball, soccer, chasing butterflies and searching under rocks for all the creepy crawlies that their brain has went straight to "summer play mode"! They are not letting any grass grow under their feet, that is for sure! And watching them play and giggle made me realize that life is beautiful and oh...sooo short....

I remember my childhood, at their age, doing the same things... our favorite night activity was taking baseball bats and chasing the lightning bugs and whacking them then collecting them in jars that we called "nightlights". I know.... violent, cruel to animals and frankly just plain sick behaviour, but back then, we didn't realize what we were doing. We were having fun w/o causing a ruckus. My god-brothers (who were my neighbors) used to smear the "glowing stuff" on their face and chase me while threatening to make me all aglow. I can still hear myself screaming!!! I remember the smell of the bay in the evening. Our daily swimming rituals, the innertube games..king of the mountain, tag, bet you can't flip me!!

My fondest memories and the best of all.... the mud fights... our moms used to get sooo mad... but I remember the fun, the squishiness of it. I remember my mom always saying... "Kristina Marie... I will NEVER get those clothes clean!"..... I find myself saying that to my two adventure seeking boys. I truly have become my mother and I can honestly say... that is the best part of me. If someone tells me..."Your just like your mother!"... I feel honored.

And then... life goes on.. summer turns into fall, fall into winter, winter into spring, and spring into summer...next thing you know.. your a year older. Soon, chasing bugs and having mud fights got left behind in my childhood. Ring around the rosie got replaced with Heart, the Grateful Dead, Melanie, Janis Joplin, Joan Baez and Jefferson Airplane. And now.. at 33 I am wondering where the time went.

Tearfully I look back on those times.. but happy tears...and I am determined to allow my children to grow old slowly..to have those mud fights, to create slip and slides out of the grass and dirt in the back yard and create a huge 100 ft grass baren spot, to chase bugs. Just on Easter..Armando comes in with his butterfly net and says..."Look mom, a dead mouse".. I left my heart on the floor and gently guided him back outside and threw the whole mess into the garbage. Then we went inside for a hand cleanin never to be forgotten!! But how funny.... I will never forget that moment (and neither will our guests!) and that will always be cherished in my heart. For that will always be remembered by him just as my "lightning bug ventures" will be remembered by me.

My beautiful babes, please live life to the fullest... take life by the horns and never be afraid.... always stop to smell the flowers, take off your shoes and feel the earth beneath your feet, never forget that each day is a blessing and always stop... look up and give thanks.

You've got the cutest little baby face!!! Here is our lil angel.. bright eyed and bushy tailed. Emilia has truly added some extra sun rays in our house.

She is starting to fill out and loose that newborn look (her cheeks are getting sooo chunky). Her newborn dipes are getting a lil tight around her waist. WOW! It is all happening too soon! I waited forever for her to come and now she is growing too fast! SLOW DOWN PLEASE!!!

UH OH.. talk about getting chunky... she's calling me over now b/c she is hungry!!

Have a Happy and Blessed Easter!