"My name is Tinker Bell!"

Ahh, the sound of scurrying in the hallway, yelling, "Mommy, where's my Tinker Bell costume?" I looked down @ her with a grin and told her it was in her hope chest along with the rest of her dress-up costumes and jewelry. Not even five minutes later, she comes back fully dressed in her costume w/ her matching shoes and asked me, "Fix my hair like Tinker Bell."

As I was fixing her hair, I saw a little plastic baggie held tightly in the palm of her hand. I asked her what was in the bag and she said, "oh, it's Tinker Bell stuff". So she laid it gently on the kitchen table then slowly opened the bag to get them out. Her small hand reached in to grab each little piece at a time to set them up. Oh course, I knew what I needed to do which meant to turn on her movie, "Tinker Bell-Lost Treasure." As the movie started, Maddie got into it deeper and deeper with that one-sided look with her eye...I tapped her on the shoulder and quietly asked her, "Maddie, do you want anything to drink?

She looked up @ me and responded, "My name is Tinker Bell!"

B's teething or is he sick???

Hello all,

The past few days, B has been a bit fussy. We've been a bit worried b/c two weeks ago, I was sick with either strep or tonsillitis (white patches on my tonsils and back of throat)-killer sore throat. And then the following Tuesday, Maddie came down with tonsillitis as well. So you can imagine thinking we were a bit nervous hoping Bryant doesn't get either or. Anyhow, Joe and I did some serious analyzing over the symptoms Bryant has...so far, it's been a runny nose (clear), diarrhea, but no fever and the fist in the mouth. Stop right there, go back to the last symptom-"fist in the mouth"...ah ha, of course...he's TEETHING!!!

Sunday night was the worst with him...really fussy, plus lots of moaning and crying so we gave him some Motrin and rubbed a couple of teething tablets on his lower gums where his 2nd tooth came in. Finally, he went back to sleep...well, @ least for an hour...he woke back up crying. I picked him up and his nose was runny and he seemed to be in a lot of pain. So I massaged his gums again, but this time, I decided to rub his upper gum...lo and behold, I felt something cutting in...his 3rd tooth. His whole body melted into me as I rubbed his little sore gums with a cold teething toy. Bless his heart...how could we have missed that spot...we felt horrible. Hmm, being a parent is a lot of work and it's not just that: you have other roles as well-being a nurse, teacher, reader, mentor, coach/player (games), watcher, listener, cook, driver, dancer, and the list goes on and on...

I AM BACK!!!

I apologized to every one of my devoted readers and hope to be back on the right track in doing daily posts or @ least I'll do my best in doing it. Just can't belive it's been three years since my last blog so I decided to start over...I even redid the title since it'll be more about my children, Maddie and Bryant than my life in general. However, be aware that my blogs may be more of a short story than short-simple posts so be sure to have your cup of joe in hand and your kids put up and get ready for some serious reading-titled, "Mommy..."

Mommy and Me Day

Just can't believe how fast the time flew by today...this morning, Maddie and I left to take Bryant "B" to PDO (parents day out) program. He goes every Tuesdays and has been going there since January. When we dropped him off, his arm reached over to one of the aides there...he LOVES it there and thank goodness for that. Now, this may come to a shock to most of you and you're probably thinking-"Oh, but he's so young" or "I stay at home full-time." Well, here is a simple answer...Maddie. Ever since, B was born...I hardly had any time alone with her and now, here's my chance and I'm making it up to her. Between us, there's always something girly going on....whether it's painting our nails, having a "pretend" beauty spa like the book, "Fancy Nancy", watching a movie or just shopping for clothes, shoes or toys...so our 5 hours together every Tuesdays are worth it...

After we dropped him off, I drove back home so I could get cleaned up and get ready for our "Mommy and Me" date to Chuck E.Cheese. Before I got into the shower, Maddie had already picked out her movie and the movie of the day was "Monsters, Inc." She loves that movie...however, when it comes to going to bed @ night, she would always ask, "Can you turn the closet light on?" Hmmm, I wonder why that is...for anyone who has seen the movie.

An hour later, off we go to the mall...as I was driving, I told Maddie that I needed to return a few things while we were there...I parked the car, got Maddie unbuckled-as always she had to take her purse with her...if you need to know what's inside-I'll tell you...lip gloss, left over Chuck E. Cheese coins, shades and candy. First stop was ON...didn't have Maddie's shoe size-got a refund, then to The Children's Place-exchanged for a bigger sized tulle skirt. As I was waiting in line to be checked out, Maddie was doing her little "toy" searching with her "I WANT THIS, I WANT THAT..." look on her face. She had a few things she wanted to have, but I told her she can either have one of the three or Chuck E. Cheese. She wanted the toy and do the Chuck E.Cheese another time. I had to remind her what would happen if I got her the toy and she understood. This particular toy was an odd shaped ball, but not just a ball...A PINK BALL!!!

So, then it was time to get something to eat before we left to get Bryant. I asked her if pizza sounded good and she said, "Yes, but be sure it's plain pizza with nothing on it." We headed out to Sbarro's and got two slices of plain cheese pizza and waters. She ate it down to the crust and asked for another slice...to let you in on a little secret...I freaked out when I saw the total on the cash register-$8.03...R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S, isn't it!!! So I bribed her with mini cookies from The Cookie Store and that worked like a charm. So that's the last of our Mommy and Me date as we headed out to get B from PDO. Until next time...

The Three B's...Bibs and Burpcloths for Babies

The Three B's...Bibs and Burp cloths for Babies was a hobby I started two years ago. I have never sewn a thing other than taking a one-time course in Home Economic my senior year in high school so that tells you I really didn't have much experience. Thanks to my mother-in-law, Barbara, for lending me her sewing machine and for her numerous help in the past.

Last year, I decided to go on ebay & browsed through variety of fabrics and they had darling materials to choose from...bright, colorful and cheery fabrics from designers like: Michael Miller, Robert Kauffman & Alexander Henry.

All burp cloths are dyed from home kit dyes with matching colored ric-rack trim. And the bibs has the minky mink dot fabric on the backside-so super soft and thick. The bibs are sized for 6 mos.old up to toddler years.

The reason I got motivated into doing something I never dreamed of doing was when Maddie was an infant...she would constantly spit up so much I was used to keeping several burp cloths around the house. It was hard to find stylish & cute bibs & burp cloths , but affordable ones that wouldn't cost more than $20 a set.

I am thinking of doing other things to sew like child-sized aprons and nap mats, but the bibs & burp cloths are my main expertise and every time I make them for someone it brings me back many fond memories of Maddie's sour spit-ups. Ha! Ha!

Beau's Blogs-R.I.P May 1997-June 2010

My name is Beau. And I have been with my mommy for ten years which would make me almost 12 years old. Top things to remember about me: either you love me or hate me. I love to sleep alone or with Mommy, love to cough up hairballs, love to eat kitty food and get treats daily, drink lots of water, use the kitty litter when needed, love to purr only when I am happy, love to be petted, do not care for children-sorry, Maddie and most of all, I hate being groomed, therefore, I have fur for a reason. Thank you!

Seagrove Beach, Florida (May 2008)

Acting all giddy like two happy, little children because every new year in January, Joe & I would get on the website looking for places to stay in the Seagrove area for a one week stay in May.

As May neared, we booked our tanning bed visits so we wouldn't get scorched on the beach. Our love for the sun and our skin doesn't really go together well. Within, a week from the time we depart-I loved shopping for last minute "do we need it stuff" and finally with 24 hours away from getting ready for the road towards paradise-things are packed and we're on the go.

The thought of driving down I-65 south until we turn off from the Montgomery exit (Hwy 331) excites us more than anything. Joe cruising with his shades on while I'm watching the movie, "Finding Nemo" in the backseat with Maddie on the way down and even a better feeling was when we saw the Florida state line sign in Florola, Alabama...because baby, we're ALMOST there.

Our most well known tradition of four years was to stop for boiled peanuts in Freeport, but this year was the first time we didn't get any because they weren't there. Oh, well...maybe they'll be there next year. Leaving Freeport, driving ahead is the most famous Bay Bridge. Every year, we would open up the moon roof, roll down the windows with the Beach Boys & Jimmy Buffet CDs playing in the background.

I could seriously live on the beach for a month at most...waking up at sunrise, walking on the beach, smelling the salty air with my eyes closed, listening to the waves crash, feeling the soft, gritty sand between my toes and just enjoying the scenery...nothing is more beautiful than the sunrise/sunset at the beach.

Of course, we knew it was more fun when it was just the two of us...nothing held us back and it was just...us alone. Maddie was younger and the environment was new to her...which was understandable, but she hated the sand so we had to put down a big sheet for her to lounge on with her cute little red child-sized folding chair she would sit in. Luckily, we came to our senses in buying one of those nice, big canopy tent you can buy from Wal-Mart-which to say was a great idea.

Our moment of peaceful meals at nice restaurants were over...well, just until she gets a little bit older. The whole week we were there...we went out to two restaurants -The Red Bar and Yianni's. Both times around 5:30 or so, she acted awful. We were slightly embarrassed by it and we asked nicely for the check & to put the food in a doggy bag to take home so that was a lesson learned. The rest of the week, we decided to go out to The Seafood Market and bought fresh shrimp, scallops & grouper for Joe to grill for dinner. We had a wonderful time getting meals prepared and eating outside on our balcony which was 200% better than any restaurants put together-"the view, casual attire, peace and quiet, but we could talk as loud as we wanted and could tolerate a screaming child and we were home". I don't mean to sound like she was this "horrible, evil child", it was just a lot of work especially at her age... "not respecting us when we say no or wouldn't hold our hands when we walk outside"...she was young and we were frustrated because it wasn't going as planned.

The majority of our stay...was great and memorable. Especially, we three, had great fun in the swimming pool which she loved. And finally, our last day there, we went to the beach to hang out (on the sheet, of course) as the sun sets, we knew it was the last daylight when the sun hit the horizon into the ocean. But until then, we'll be back!!!