Weekend wrap-up

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Friday night we just relaxed and hung out. Hubby has been working CRAZY overtime, so Friday we sort of just all crashed! :)

Manuel was feeling pretty under the weather, but thankfully it was just a bad cold and being the bad mommy I am, I headed out anyway for wine and movie night with my girlfriend's at Erin's house! (Just kidding, Manuel was actually asleep, for the night, before I even left the house at 6:45pm. So you know he wasn't feeling well. Poor guy! :( It was great seeing some of my closest and dearest girlfriends (who I've been friends with since high school) and although we spent most of our time talking about our children (isn't that how it always works? :)) it was still fun to get out for a few hours. We've made an effort to TRY and get together once a month. It won't always happen, but us mommies/wives need to make time for ourselves, again, even if the time is spent talking about our children and husbands! :) Our next girls night out (well actually "in") is already on the books for March 19th at Lauren's. It should be a great time! That will be my FIRST time spending the night away from Mia, EVER! Eekk, okay, I can't even talk about it, I don't want to cry at work! :)

Then Sunday was church, teaching Sunday school, and then again, relaxing. Manny is working overtime in the mornings and the evenings this week too. The extra money is great (it'll allow us to thoroughly enjoy your vacation in July) and although he'd rather be home with us, this overtime won't be around for forever, and we are SO thankful his job is busy enough to be offering it in this economy where so many people are without jobs!
And for good measure...Here are a hodge podge of pics from the weekend...

 Enjoying the beautiful spring-like weather on Sunday

 He loves climbing this tree (although there really isn't much to climb! ;)

 My sweet, sweet boy (I had to bribe him to get a pic of him looking at the camera and smiling! :)

 Relaxing

 I have to laugh because her belly looks SO huge in this pic! ;) Clearly Pillow Pets are a fav around our house.

"Good Morning!" (and I know it appears that my children wear nothing but pajamas, but I promise that's not the case, AT ALL! :))

Friends since high school (and before), Veronica, Laur, Erin and I

*Tomorrow I have to get a DOUBLE root canal and I'm pretty scared! :) I've had a root canal before, but two at the same time, UGH! And I plan on coming to work after it's over, so pray that I am able! :) And yes, my teeth are awful. Not outwardly awful (it's not like you look at me and think, "Wow, her teeth are bad!" (or at least I hope not! ;)) but they are VERY prone to cavities and just all around issues! :( Wish me luck!

My name is Christina....

And my kids can be ornery. Should there be an OCA (ornery children anonymous)? Seriously, I feel like it's something that mothers are ashamed of and totally try to hide (I'm guilty of it too :). But why? They are CHILDREN! They are going to misbehave. They are going to not share. They are going to throw tantrums. They are going to get sassy. And as long as it's not something that you accept or allow to happen ALL THE TIME, it's okay. They will outgrow it. They will mature and it will stop.

Again, I'm guilty of it too, but really, if you are on a play date and your child isn't sharing, it's always, "Awww _____, I know you're tired, that's why you're not sharing!" or, "Oh ______, I know you're not used to this many children, that's why you're hitting the other children." Did we ever stop and think, "Oh Mia, I know why you're throwing yourself back and on the floor when Mommy takes that crayon out of your hand because you don't like me saying no, and you're mad that I am but it isn't okay to draw on your clothes!" :)

Case in point...awhile back we had a "run-in" for lack of a better word of child that's not a fan of sharing. Every time a child had a toy "this child" (the non-sharer) would want it. And every time this child's parents would take the toy out of said child's hand and give it back to child it was taken from, the parent would follow it up with an excuse, "Oh _____, I know you're not sharing because you're tired." Then the next encounter it was, "I know you're not sharing because you're hungry...." and it just went on and on. No, the child isn't sharing because that's what toddlers do sometimes AND.THAT'S.OKAY! :)

My name is Christina and my children, who I love more then life itself, misbehave. I have a 5 year old and a one year old who have been known to throw fits, not share, hit, talk back (the 5 year old), and just plain ol' misbehave. It wasn't because they were tired, hungry, sick, overstimulated, understimulated, potty training, not potty training, etc. etc. etc. It doesn't mean that I'm not a good parent. It doesn't mean that they are spoiled. It doesn't mean that I don't discipline.  It's because they are FIVE and ONE and thats what kids do. Enough said!

Shewww, that was exhilirating! :)

And for good measure...
A flashback from a little less than a year ago...

Snow DAZE

I woke up this morning to a few inches of snow on the ground...no biggie. My work NEVER closes (I think it's closed once in the 4.5 years I've worked here), and as long as Manuel's preschool is opened, then I'm heading to work. But something about this morning had me in a daze (over caffeinated, perhaps! :)) and I was out of it! If I didn't know any better, I would have thought I had pregnancy brain (but trust me, I don't! :)) Before I even pulled out of our neighborhood at 7am, I had...put my snow boots on the wrong feet, put an article of clothing on inside out, forgot to put shoes on Mia (she had socks on, thank goodness) and left my lunch in the refrigerator! It just one of THOSE mornings, that's for sure! :) Thankfully I'm at work, in one piece (boots on the correct feet ;)) and haven't made any work related errors. But I am STARVING because my lunch bag also contained my breakfast so I've been without food and it's 11am! I guess I'll be walking next door to Subway for a veggie flat bread sandwich for lunch. I HATE spending money on food unnecessarily when I have a perfectly good lunch waiting for me at home! :) Oh well, I guess I'll eat it tomorrow.

Do you ever have one of those days/mornings? I know we all do, but I really was going crazy this morning! ;)

On an even more random note...our vacation is booked for July! I haven't taken a week off work in YEARS (I wouldn't even be able to tell you when the last time was), so I'm super excited to go with Manny and the kiddos. Grant it, it's not exotic or super special, just our local beach resort town (about 3 hours away), but vacation is vacation in my book! :) Manny and I have been going ever since Manuel was born and it's just "our" family thing. We love it! We do everything touristy...Old Time photo, eat a TON, ride the rides, etc. I love my little family! :)

Now that you have read this, your day is complete, I'm sure! ;)

And for good measure...

I heart faces photo challenge: Phone Pic

I've decided to link up with i heart faces this week for their phone pic challenge. I am ALWAYS taking pictures of the kids with my cell phone. My phone is your basic picture taking/phone call making/texting phone. There is NOTHING fancy about it, but it does take some pretty cute pics. This being one of them...

We were on our way to church, and I just loved the way the sun was shining through and how you can see Manuel's reflection.

Visit i heart faces and link-up :)













*Scroll down to see my weekend wrap up and LOTS more adorable pics! :)*

Weekend wrap-up (with lots of pics)

Happy Monday! :) I'm at work while my husband is enjoying a day off, lucky guy! Tell me how much sense this makes...I work in the mortgage business as a Pricing Analyst. I can not do my job (locking loans) when the banks are closed, but yet I still have to come to work. My husband, on the other hand, works at a ballistic laboratory, testing bullets and armour (clearly something that can be done EVERYDAY of the week) and he is off!?!? I'm jealous (in case you can't tell! ;)

Our weekend was great! Saturday Mia and I headed to my sisters for a play date with our friend Shelby and her daughter Adelyn. I have known Shelby since middle school and she and I used to be BFF's! We were inseparable. She was the first person I ever knew who was Mormon (I make that point because before my family and I knew her family I think we didn't really understand the Mormon faith and perhaps had a clouded view of what they believed) and her family was like a second family to me when I was going through a very difficult stage in my life (my dads drug and alcohol addiction, and ultimately my parents divorce.) Shelby and I were friends through 9 and 10th grade, and then when I transferred high schools we just stopped hanging out. I was too worried about partying and "being cool" and that was that (sadly :( Fast forward to 2006 Shelby found me on Facebook, we re-connected, and have been great friends ever since. So we hung out at my sisters house, the kids pulled out every toy imaginable, and then my cousin Tanya, surprised us from New York, with her daughter Angelina. It was a great time. I had wished Manuel was there, but him and Manny spent the day together, going to lunch, and having a BLAST at Build-A-Bear. Then yesterday was church, teaching Sunday school, and relaxing. I actually got super brave yesterday and decided to try on my bathing suit. And I must say, that although I don't feel 100% comfortable (by any stretch of the imagination) I am pleasantly surprised and the most comfortable I have been in years. Thank you Jillian Michaels and your 30 Day Shred! :) I still have a WAYS to go, but progress is progress! :)

And for good measure...
*Please remember that Manuel was NOT there (in case you are thinking, "Why didn't she take any pics of her son!??!?!" :) The first pic is of him, that evening, with his new creation from Build-A-Bear! :) And I have to apologize for the amount of pictures I have of myself! :) I very seldom post pictures of myself, so to have THREE (that may be a record) in one post is a bit overwhelming for me, but they were too cute (of the children! :) not to share.



Manuel and Tony Hawk Beary :) 

 Adelyn (Shelby's daughter) and Mia (that is how Mia was most of the day...one sock and shoe off :) And she is signing "more"...that is something Manuel actually taught her :)

 Vivienne (my niece, Spencers sister) and I

 Mia and I

We handed down these mittens to Vivienne. I made Mia put them on for old time sake ;)  

 It was mild outside but SO windy so we had to stay in

 With an entire area to play, the girls decided to play right in the foyer :)

 Sweet Spencer enjoying some lunch

 Mia eating her pizza (well the crust, anyway :)

 Vivienne and I (I LOVE her little smirk and hand on her cheek! :)

 Mia and her moustache :) (aka Tanya's camera lens)

 My beauty! :)

 I hope you all had a WONDERFUL weekend! I wish I could say that the warmer, milder temps are sticking around, but in Maryland, that just isn't the case! :( We are supposed to get 2-4 inches of snow tonight, UGH!! I LOVE Spring and it can not get here fast enough! :)

Happy 13 Months Mia Grace

Wow, it's already been an entire month since you turned one Mia, I can hardly believe. Time is flying by and your little personality is getting more and more adorable/ornery/funny/mischevious each and every day.

What are you up to these days...
-Everytime I post during a "non well child check-up time" ;) I will not have an exact weight on you, but when you were weighed at your DMSA scan on 2/8, fully clothed you were 23 lbs, 1 oz. So my guesstimate is right around 23 lbs, give or take.

-You get where you need to be, when you want to be there, and TYPICALLY that method of travel is still crawling. You can walk, you can take multiple steps in a row, but you prefer to crawl. You LOVE climbing on things, especially your brothers little chair and climb up the steps (with Mommy or Daddy standing behind you, of course! :)

-You are still in size 4 diapers.

-You are primarily in 12-18 month clothing, but now more towards the 18 month end.

-You continue to spend your days at Linnie's while Mommy and Daddy are working. You are Linnie's baby and she loves you to pieces. She misses you SO much over the weekend when you aren't there. Mommy and Daddy are SO lucky to have someone that takes such awesome care of you! Linnie has taken a new baby in, Mackenzie (Mommy works with her mommy) and you love the baby! :) You get a little rough with her at times, but when we say, "Mia, be nice!" you'll lean down and give her a hug! :)

-We had your physical therapy evalution on 2/15 and you've done SO amazingly well, that you are done! :) No more physical therapy for you, little lady! :) Mommy and Daddy are so proud!

-You have REALLY changed your sleeping patterns...as in, you've decided that you like waking up multiple times throughout the night! :( You seem to be pretty miserable when you do, so I'm almost certain you are teething. I HOPE that is the issue! :) And I HOPE it's resolved soon! :)

-Speaking of teething...you still only have TWO teeth! Mommy has to go to the dentist on March 2nd so I'm going to ask my dentist at what point should I be concerned! I know all kids get teeth at different ages but really? ONLY two teeth at 13 months old???

-You say SO many words that sound like actual words, but I'm not sure :) You "talk" constantly and are literally having conversations with anyone and everyone, but we just don't understand you, YET! :) Of course you continue with the usual, "Mama", "Dada", "Cup", "Baba" (even though you don't take one anymore :)), etc.

-You can point to your ear, teeth and belly when asked, "Where is your ...... Mia?" It's adorable!

-You were SO easy to transition off the bottle and formula. You now drink whole milk, from a sippy cup. You love your milk, but your favorite is water! You are just like your brother...you both LOVE water! :)

-You still eat baby food, Stage 3, along with "real" food. I feel most comfortable giving you baby food since you only have two teeth (both of them on the bottom, front). You love anything and everything we've given you so far (baby food and real food). Your pediatrician said that's fine. It's obvious you don't have any sort of aversion to real food (and actually prefer it), but Mommy still throws in baby fruit and baby veggies for you to eat.

-In regards to your kidney “issues”…there isn't any! :) Your DMSA scan came back completely normal. Both of your kidneys are functioning equally! They still want to monitor the size discrepancy so we will go back for a kidney ultrasound in 6 months to check on that. But other then that, all is well! :) Thank God!

-You are HILARIOUS! Seriously! You crack mommy up with your little personality. And I love it because you know you are funny, so you act on it to get people to laugh! :)

-You love giving "Awwws" especially to your brother. But really, you'll give "awwws" to anything, even a water bottle! :)

You are going to keep Mommy and Daddy on their toes, that's for sure! :) We love you SO much! Happy 13 months sweet girl! :)

And for good measure...
(a pic that has nothing to do with Mia ;), but I just realized I never posted the beautiful flowers my hubby got me for V-day. They are more beautiful today then Monday! This is earlier today :))

THE TRUTH and Wordless-ish Wednesday

For starters, if you read my post yesterday and were wondering what which one of those 5 fact was the TRUTH, here it goes...

1. I speak fluent Italian due to my Italian upbringing.
Not true. Although my moms family is Italian (my mom was actually born in Sicily) and I grew up constantly hearing Italian, and I am NOT fluent in it. I can say, about 5 phrases "Eat!", "Come here", "What are you doing?", oh wait, I can only say 3! :)


2. I was born in New Jersey, at my parents house, not in a hospital.
Not true. I was born in Maryland, and have lived here my entire life (except for about a year when I lived in South Carolina). I was born at a hospital, via a c-section.

3. My husband and I met on a blind date.
Not true. My husband and I hung out with the same group of people and met through that.
4. I'm afraid of the dark and keep my eyes closed until I turn the light on.
Absolutely TRUE! I have been scared of the dark my entire life. I honestly don't think, even at almost 30 years old, that is something I will EVER get over. I try NOT to instill that fear in my children, because it is irrational, I know. I know that there is nothing in the dark that isn't there in the light, but still, it freaks me out! :) And yes, if I walk into a pitch dark room and for some reaosn the light can't be turned on IMMEDIATELY, I keep my eyes closed until a light is on! :)

5. I'm the youngest of 4 children in my family.
Not true. I'm the youngest of two. My sister is 19 months older then me.

And now, for the Wordless-ish Wednesday...in honor of hubby and I talking about when we want to go on vacation this summer, a picture of Ocean City, Maryland at night that I took about 2 or 3 summers ago. Although we usually only go for a long weekend, I can't wait! It's our special family time and this year Mia is going to be so much fun! And of course Manuel just LOVES everything about it...the beach, the rides, the yummy food, etc.