strawberry picking

i really can't believe that the last time b or i have gone strawberry picking was when we were wee little tikes.  this was such a super fun time!  there is something so great about getting down into a plant and choosing your own ripe red berry to pop into your both that satisfies all senses.  caleb was just picking strawberries left and right and eating all of them.  he would yell out, "ooh here's a good one!"  and plop it in.  mom came with and even though it was hot and she was sore from her previous day's work, she loved it as well.  annual tradition for us.

 i love that caleb's eyes are closed in this one.

fun with play-doh

being home for the summer is the best perk of my job as a teacher.  i have the best of both worlds, a wonderful career, and being home with my son a lot!  we love playing with play-doh and here are some of our creations.  i was pretty proud of my watermelon making skills.  caleb's favorites are making ice-cream, rockets, and caterpillars.

what are some things you have created with play-doh?

fathers

from the first few days of life, and even before that when caleb was growing inside me, brian was an amazing father.  he took to this role instantly and ever most tenderly.  he was always talking about how he couldn't wait for caleb to grow a little bigger so that they can do things together like play ball or go fishing.

 

this weekend was the first actual time they went fishing.  caleb, as you can see, loved it.  b showed just as much love back to him with his patience in helping him cast his pole and also saving it from accidental drowning as caleb threw it in the pond.

to the most loving father i know.  i know that caleb will experience the kind of love that i never did growing up, and it makes me love b even more.

i love you both!

caleb's life lessons

as we were walking through the parking lot yesterday to go into target, caleb picked up a piece of trash from the ground.  i immediately told him to drop it because it was yucky.  he looked at me seriously and said, "no mama, we have to throw it in the garbage!"  picture this with the best 3 year old serious face complete with a brow furrow and duck lips to show his insistence.

today caleb, you taught me not to pass up a time to do something helpful for the earth and that it's no big deal to pick up trash, we just go in and wash our hands.

thank you for that life lesson.  i will always cherish your strong will to do the right thing.

Love,
mama

Easter

Caleb was so excited for Easter this year.  With each passing year, he is able to comprehend more meaning surrounding these celebrations.  This year, he was most excited about the Easter Bunny bringing  him eggs to find in the yard.  We also went to a traditional Polish Easter basket blessing where Fr. Joe accidentally got holy water in Caleb's eye, and Caleb let him know it, so Father decided to have some fun with him during the blessing.  We hosted our families and the mister made a killer spread as usual.  It was such a glorious day filled with the warmest weather and gratitude for how much Jesus loves us.

week one

I finally have enough resolve to take a true look at myself and see that I am not happy with my appearance to do something about it.

Today was week one of waking up before work to begin my road back to fitness and health.  It is hard talking about weight loss for obvious reasons, and I have been in denial for long enough so here it goes. 

After I had Caleb I was super fit and in great shape, but as soon as I stopped nursing 2.5 years ago, the weight has been creeping up slowly and I've been ignoring it to a point.  I thought to myself that I looked fine, I should stop being so self critical.

I didn't like the way I felt about myself because I knew what my potential was.  So, just talking to a friend of mine has finally motivated me enough to kick it into high gear.  I have tried getting up early before to no avail, and have done a half ass attempt at working out after work for about a year without being consistent resulting in yo-yo weight loss and gain. 

I would think to myself that this is just the way I am going to look like now and I should accept it.  Well that all changed last Friday at work when I was asking my friend how she does it, I mean get up at 4:45 AM to exercise?!  I asked her what her motivation is and she said these simple but powerful words to me, "I want to exercise".  Hearing these words said so plainly hit me like my toddler running full force and jumping on my  stomach.  It took my breath away for a moment.  

"Because I want to exercise." 

Those simple words changed the way that I look at myself and my situation of working full time and being a mama and wife.  I want to feel better and look strong and healthy.  In order to do that I have to make the effort and I am so glad that I have begun.

36

as i reflect on my birthday today, i want to write down all the moments i don't want to ever forget.  these are not in any particular order.

• caleb running into our room this morning wishing me a happy birfday carrying a present that i wasn't to open yet.
• b baking me the most incredible peanut butter chocolate ganache cake.  this was his first time baking a cake and it was one of the best cakes i've ever had.
• getting flowers delivered to my house from my best friend, it was so thoughtful and totally unexpected.
• seeing my sister on facetime and spending some birthday "time" together.
• seeing the almost finished gift that b made for me that just shows how much he listens and cares(more on this gift upon its completion).
• having wayne goss surprise the heck out of me at my birthday- little side joke with the mister about my brush crush.  wayne goss brush here
• going to mass together as a family, b obliged since it was my birthday.
• being able to go out on a nice walk after dinner for the first time this year.
• having my little angel sing happy birthday to me today.

a little scare

i had a bit of a scare when i was sent to the emergency room due to experiencing some chest pains for a few days.  i had the gamut of tests run and nothing came back that was indicating any serious heart issues.  i followed up with my primary doc to be told that it was caused by stress.  really?!  so his advice for better health is to date my husband weekly, go out with my girlies more, find a hobby to do, and get back to doing things that i used to enjoy. 

so i am taking his advice and doing just that, starting with blogging again. 

for some reason i feel guilty doing anything for myself because that means i am taking time away from caleb when i'm already away from him for 8 hours each day.  he is growing up so fast, and i keep being reminded of that all the time.  there were a lot of things going through my brain like, how much i miss him being a baby and that he will be in school in a year and a half,  and then an adult in the blink of an eye... you know all the typical things that moms think about coupled with the every day stressors of working full time, trying not to ignore my husband, the house, eating healthy, making time for exercise, my failures, things that i did not accomplish and how bad i felt about not doing the simplest tasks and the list goes on. 

i found that i would spend too much time doing stupid things like watching YouTube beauty videos each night after caleb went to bed instead of staying up to watch a program and snuggle with the mister and just being together alone.  also, my prayer life was dwindling because i was trying to cram it in while driving instead of just taking a few quiet moments before bed to thank the Lord.  instead i was forcing myself to pray the rosary, divine mercy chaplet, morning prayers and night prayers.  i felt like i wasn't doing a good job anywhere.  meanwhile my dear husband would yet take on another thing onto to his already over flowing plate to help me out and lighten my stress all the while adding more to his.  i am so blessed and lucky to have such a great man in my life and i've taken that for granted too many times. 

what happened to me? to us?  i told myself that i would never be that kind of person that forgets about them self, but yet here i am trying to find my way back.  i am starting slowly by returning to things that make me happy, and this blog is one of these things.

hiatus

i'm sorry that i have been on a long hiatus, but i am currently trying to figure out a new direction i'd like to take with my blog that includes a whole new redesign.

as with all things, this takes time and for me, trying to figure out how to dedicate more time to my blog without neglecting my family, my home, and sleep deprivation.  bare with me.

last supper and some funnies

it's always very hard to say good-bye to my sister after her visit.  we tried to make it light hearted this time, no tears.  i guess we were too chill because she made her flight with 10 minutes to spare!  

 i miss so much what we did together like, burning my arm with her new curling wand,

 looking like we were back in junior high when we used to wear tight rollers to bed with wet hair, and wake up to an afro,

 blog stalking and sitting on our butts talking about how we are going to try out the latest trends and have all these cute outfit posts.

cooking

caleb loves to help out in the kitchen whenever he can.  so, recently my talented mister, has been building up a storm of cute things for caleb to use, including this nice step stool.  it's perfect for caleb to use when he wants to help make us coffee or whatever he decides to do in the kitchen.

new year

 it seems that it has become our tradition to fondue every new years

this was the spread for this year

steak, shrooms, broccoli, and chicken boobs

 b made his magical potion to cook it all in

after a few rounds of using the sticks and waiting for everything to cook, we got smart and just

dumped all the meat in, and let it cook

we also had 2 dipping sauces that b whipped up

 caleb was into the party scene for about 5 minutes 

so we had to take advantage while we could

 oh the horns, give a kid a horn and he could amuse himself all day

 here's a couple blooper scenes, ( don't be mad sis)

yea, don't know what to say about this one, other than i look insane

forgot

oops i forgot to post this, ha.  i found this in my queue.  oh well, better late than never i suppose!

christmas eve with mama

the best present of all

pops getting his ww2 mugs from g-funk

caleb came down with a fever on christmas day of 103, he was so sad, but snuggling with ga ga was healing

the best present from ga ga was this inflatable dino we coined zilla

just us girls in front of the town tree

ga ga waking up with her morning coffee while i make her pose

the polish tradition of breaking oplatki and giving blessings to those around us is  a huge tradition that caleb got to actually partake in this year.  this polish tradition is part of the whole christmas eve dinner extravaganza, wigilia.

the boy gets all these great gifts, but the i pad is all he wants to play with

stained hands after painting his ornament for the tree this year

before...

after...

christmas ornament 2012.  caleb is 2.4 years old

sister style

i love that when my sister and i are together we are able to share clothes.  we had a ton of fun just playing around with outfits, hair, and make up.  i adore her.