This is happening RIGHT now...

 

I suppose I could have locked myself in my room to

catch my blog up, but I work best under pressure.

 

Little hands trying to snatch my laptop and constant demands

from my children make accomplishing a few posts that

much more rewarding... right?!

 

I knew I should have picked up a bottle of wine today...

 

:)



JP's ONE year update!

That's right, you read correctly...

JP is an entire year old already!

 

I can hardly stand the idea that my baby is gone,

and that my little June-bug has reached toddler-status.

 

Watching him grow, learn, and develop relationships

with the rest of the family has been such a gift...

but this selfish Mommy misses the 8 pound newborn she brought home.

 

That's being said, let's get on with it...

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABE!

 

 

Age: 12 months

 

Stats: 27 pounds and 33 inches long

 

Clothes: 18-24 months. He fits best in 18 month shorts/pants

and 24 month shirts/tops

 

Favorite Foods: Bananas, chicken, pasta, and graham crackers

 

Words: Mama, Dada, CAR, go, and you are the most used

 

Favorite Activities: taking apart his older brother's train track,

crawling at high speeds, pestering his sister, confusing Suri with his babbles,

and snuggling

 

Signature Moves: smiling the second he sees a camera pointed at him,

taking off like a NASCAR driver when he sees the bathroom door open,

slamming cabinet doors shut (I need to RE-baby proof) like they're

a percussion instrument.

 

Mommy's MOST PROUD Moment: anything that involves him laughing

with his brother and sister

 

 

I love him (and his siblings) so much!

 



JP's birthDAY!

It's JP's birthday!

I can hardly believe it's been an entire year!

But I'll save all of the mushy stuff for his one year update...

 

He's a few pictures from TODAY!

 

 

Birthday presents, first thing in the morning

 

I love the "What the heck is this?!" look on his face.

 

Green frosting for my June-bug!

 

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am for his actual party!

Come on, Sunday!

 

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all of the wonderful Dads out there!

Especially my incredible husband!

 

He truly is an amazing Dad! I'm so proud of him and so

grateful for all that he's done, and continues to do, for me and our children.

 

He puts us all before himself and there isn't a thing he wouldn't do

for our happiness.

 

Watching him with each of our babies, and seeing him

grow as a parent over the years has been incredibly rewarding!

 

Jason is pretty great!

 

 

Dressing Cameron for the first time.

 

Admiring his newborn daughter

 

Snoozing with JP.

 

I love this picture! Cameron's face? Ha!

And Eva's bear-hug? Too precious.



More C and E cuteness!

I know. I know. I take a lot of pictures.

But you never hear anyone complain that that took too many.

We only regret not taking enough.

 

So, in the spirit of trying to capture every smile,

I have a few more smiles to share!

 



diaper bag? bottomless pit.

Just like I change out my children's wardrobes with each season,

I also change out what I carry in my diaper bag.

 

For a split second I was feeling really ambitious.

I was going to clean it out, organize it,

and prep it for the warm Minnesota days that lay ahead....

 

And then I dumped it out.

And saw this.

And gave up. Maybe tomorrow.

 

 

.ice cream cones.

Nothing says SUMMER like ice cream.

At least if you ask me.

And with the recent humid, nasty, sweatyourassoff days we've had,

who would turn down an ice cream cone?

 

My older two love them, so I figured it was time to get JP on board.
 

 

He's had a few bite of ice cream before, but lets me honest,

this is a totally different experience.

 

I'm happy to say, JP too enjoys the finer things in life.

 

;)

Paying it Forward.

I came home from work today with a request from my husband to pick

up some Heggie's pizzas for him and the kids to have for lunch tomorrow.

 

No problem.

 

He really likes Heggie's (a MN brand) and he rarely makes specials requests,

so without hesitating, I packed up the kids and headed out to the only

place in town (to my knowledge), a local butcher shop, that carries them.

 

And there he was. I saw him before I even got out of the car.

Not even half a block down the road, sitting in the grass, was a homeless man.

 

 The entire time I was in the butcher shop,

I was thinking about him. When I got in my car, all I could do was watch him.

From my suburban, I could read the sign he was holding.

 

Homeless.

Anything helps.

 

I could feel my heart knotting up in my chest, but was quickly

pulled back to reality by the shout of, "MOM!"

 

I backed out of the parking lot and turned to make my way home,

away from the man. My head and my heart kept telling me I should help him.

 

But I had my kids with, and wanted to get home... so I told myself someone else has

certainly stopped already. This is a good town, with great people, I'm sure people

have been stopping and offering what they could.

I felt better.

 

I pulled into my drive way, and again, felt like I should go back and help him.

I knew it was the right thing to do, and knew that it was something I HAD to do.

 

So, I backed out of the driveway again, and made my way back to the butch shop.

 

I stopped at a different deli first, and picked him up dinner.

A hot sandwich, a bag of chips, a candy bar, a pop, and big bottle of water.

Nothing special, but it was a meal.

I also stopped at the ATM for a little cash.

 

I was worried he wouldn't be there anymore, but was determined to find him.

 

I was relieved to find him still sitting there.

 

I got out of my car, locked the doors, as my kids were still inside, and

walked across the street.

 

I could see the shame on his face from yards away, and did my best to choke back tears.

 

ME: It's nothing special, but I brought you dinner.

MAN: Thank you so much. God bless you.

ME: There's a little cash in the bag as well, good luck.

MAN: Thank you. Thank you.

 

He was dirty and looked like he hadn't shaved in quite awhile.

 

As I turned to make my way back to my truck, every car that drove

by housed a smiling driver. I can only hope that my small gesture

inspired them to pay it forward too.

 

It took every ounce of strength I had to not start to sob as I drove away.

I certainly didn't want my kids to see me crying, and I didn't know

how to explain the situation to them.

 

Small gesture or not, helping him felt right, and I'm so glad I went back.

 

Once upon a time, I was leery of homeless people. Too many times I had heard

stories about people preying on the sympathy of others by posing as

homeless to make some quick cash.

 

Or I would wonder why they hadn't reached out to homeless shelters or

different programs tailored to getting people on their feet.

 

This topic just so happened to have come up not too long ago with

a close friend of mine who works for the county.

 

I had no idea, but the county I live in DOESN'T have a homeless shelter.

In fact, there's almost no sort of programs establish to help those in need

in our area.

 

And the worst part? We have quite the homeless population here!

 

I must live a sheltered life, but I had no idea. I'm not trying to be modest,

but had anyone asked me before this how many people I thought were

homeless in my town, I probably would have guessed 10.

 

She knows of over 100 people, just in this town. (Maybe that doesn't sound like

a lot to some people, but this is only a town of 16,000.)

 

I was disgusted in how oblivious I was to all of this, which is

maybe why I felt so compelled to help that man tonight.

 

Long story short, my heart told me to help him, and I'm so glad I did.

I will carry his gratitude with me forever.



Cupcakes.

I decided last Sunday to make some

fun, bright colored cupcakes for the fam...

just  because I can.

Do I really need an excuse? I think not.

Though the boys weren't thrilled to have "princess"

cupcakes, no one turned them down.

Eva, of course, was over the moon.

 

Betty Crocker ain't got nothing on me.

Mini carts and +1 shopping trips.

Getting one-on-one time with our kids

isn't exactly easy, given our work schedules,

so we make the most out of any chance we get...

Even if it's just a quick trip to the grocery store.

I seriously can't resist taking my kids to one of the locals 

grocers because of their toddler sized shopping carts!

Eva thought she was pretty cool as we cruised

through the aisle rounding up the things on our list.

She even unloaded the cart herself and offered to pay!

... with my wallet of course.



1ST birthday prep.

As 1st birthday preparations have begun for JP's big day,

I can't believe how emotional

I'm feeling in regards to him turning one!

I've been down this road two other times, but I assure you

it doesn't get any easier.

If anything, it only gets harder...

because I know in a flash he'll be pushing FOUR like his big brother.

I've started getting things in order for the party, and recently

made a pennant to hang at the party. We're having a

Captain America birthday party, and I couldn't be more

thrilled with how it turned out!

 

And any excuse I can use to dress my kids in matching outfits

is welcomed in this house, so I made each of them

a Captain America inspired t-shirt!

 

Thank you Heat 'n' Bond for your very existence.

You are the shit.

My husband even wants one now!

Bikes for everyone!

Well maybe not "everyone"...

but C and E got new bikes!

I wish I would have gotten video of the looks on their faces

when they walked in the house to find new bikes!

We were up late putting them together (when I say "we", I

mean Jason), so they could be surprised first thing

in the morning.

(Note the drink. The unspoken rule in our house is that if

it requires tools, it requires booze.)

It was like Christmas morning and they couldn't have been

more thrilled!

Cameron especially is LOVING his bike.

Score one for team MOM & DAD!

New make-up!

It's pretty rare that I splurge on make-up.

I've been able to find some really great drug store

products that work really well for me, and I'm

satisfied with that.

But on a recent trip to MOA, I stopped at Sephora and

bought myself a few new products.

  

I was REALLY excited to try Benefit's "They're Real!" mascara

the next morning. I've been eyeing it up for MONTHS

and it was finally mine!

But my daughter got to it first...

 

Thankfully she didn't ruin it by any means,

but her Dad was less-than-pleased to catch her

red handed.

No harm, no foul... right?!

And while we're on the topic, this little incident reminds me
of something similar her brother once did.
But on a much grander scale...

Someone please explain to me what it is about mascara.

brother AND sister.

Cameron and Eva have gotten so close over the past few months.

Sure, there's still plenty of fighting and arguing, but when it's good,

it's GREAT.

I'd be lying if I said having kids this close in age wasn't hard.

It isn't always rainbows and butterflies, but every second

has been worth it.

Especially when I get to capture moments like this...

Freedom to Marry- Minnesota

Three weeks ago, something incredibly historical

happened in this great state.

It started in the House of Representatives, before making

it's way to the Senate.

3 days later, it was the Senate's turn to make history.

I was glued to my computer for hours watching the debate

go back and worth. Why we should pass it, why we shouldn't, etc.

 

And then it happened.

The Senators stared the voting process...

It passed.

I cried. I have gay friends and family members, and I

couldn't help but sob in excitement for them.

I've never been more proud to be a Minnesotan!

The very next day, the Governor signed it into law.

As of August 1st, everyone has the right to marry and have

their marriage recognized in the state of Minnesota.

Go us!

Garden veggies!

Since us Minnesotans are finally able to enjoy

some warmer weather (as I write this, it's only actually

57 degrees out, which is actually WAY below normal), I was

able to get some things planted.

I grew up on a poultry farm (there's a post I should write!),

and my mom always had a HUGE garden.

She grew EVERYTHING.

Because helping in the garden was always such a

big part of each of our summers, I've always wanted

to plant something more then flowers at my own house.

I decided I'd start small, since I don't exactly have the green thumb

my mother does.

We currently have Roma tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos,

and sweet peppers growing! I'm happy to say, a month after getting

them planted, they look great!

Maybe this gardening think isn't as intimidating as I once thought!

Another ecard.

These ECards crack me up!

There's one for everything!

Well said. Well said.

Date night with our toddlers.

A few weeks ago we decided to take our little toddlers out on a date.

Having a baby in the house consumes a lot of our time, so

Cam and Eva certainly deserved a special night, JP free.

As much as they love their brother, it was obvious they enjoyed

having a little break.

We didn't do anything too over the top, but they felt special

and that's what was important.

After dinner, Cameron talked us into dessert.

Once we got everyone cleaned up, we made our way to

the movie theater for Iron Man 3.

Some of you may not agree with taking toddlers to Iron Man 3,

or letting them watch any of the newer Marvel Comics movies,

but we like all of them and so do our kids.

They've both been to movies at the theater before,

and thankfully they were both well behaved.

Sure, there was occasionally more talking then there should have been,

but we got through it without getting the stink eye from

any of our fellow movie goers!

I've always loved going to the movies, so I'm really glad

there's several family movies coming out this summer.

We're all pretty excited for Monsters University and Despicable Me 2!

It's finally gone!

I know I've gone on and on about the snow, but

this has been an exceptionally strange winter...

even by Minnesota's standards.

I'm happy to say, it's finally gone!
But not without going out with a BANG.

On May 2nd, we got hammered with 17.5 inches of snow.

There's really nothing more to say about that... it's as

ridiculous as it sounds.

Thankfully, there's nothing a little coffee can't fix.

But then...a few DAYS later, something magical happened...

It all just disappeared, and we finally got the warmer

weather we had been longing for.

We got a few hours, and I mean that literally, of Spring

before jumping into some 90+ degree days.

I think it's FINALLY safe to say, Winter is OVER!

At least for a few months.





Who are you to judge?!

I need to rant.

I promise to keep this blog positive 95% of the time.

But today is a 5% kind of day.

 

I've been seeing a lot of posts on Facebook lately questioning/judging

the choices parents make for their children... posted by people WITHOUT kids.

 

I'll be the first to admit, before I had children, I thought I knew

a thing or two about kids and what they need.

HA! I had no idea.

 

And I have to say, I'm really tired of people without kids, thinking

they know a damn thing about what kids need, or what it mean to be a parent.

 

One post said: "Just saw a Mom carrying her baby into the store and he

didn't have socks or shoes on! What the hell?

Shouldn't he have something on his feet?!"

 

Seriously?

 

Before you go off judging a mother of a barefooted baby,

let me clue you...

 

Shoes rarely stay on baby feet. In fact, having raised three babies,

I'm pretty sure baby feet were never meant for shoes.

 

And further more, babies LIVE to pull their socks off. And you want to know

what happens to socks once a baby gets them in their hands? They put them

in their mouths. And within about 7 seconds, those socks are soaked in drool.

 

But you're right, that terrible Mother should have put the soaking

wet socks back on her son's feet and then stuffed those wet feet back

into the shoes she'll likely lose at the store when the baby kicks them off

for the 487th time.

 

Or the most recent post: "Just saw a kid have a complete melt down at the store.

Since when did parents stop disciplining their children in public?"

 

Wow. You're so obviously NOT a parent, that your post was

almost painful to read.

 

As any parent quickly learns, you're wrong if you do

and wrong if you don't. There will always be someone who will

judge you, no matter how to handle the tantrum.

 

Would you have been happier if the parent would have screamed

or spanked the child, right there in the middle of the store?! Get real.

Sometimes, you just have to let the child have their moment.

You can't calmly speak your way out of very flip out.

God forbid we just go on with our shopping trip and not acknowledge the

behavior at all. Did you ever think that maybe if the child

sees that shouting and crying doesn't get a reaction from Mom or Dad, they'll

give up the act?! Worked with my kids.

The person who made that post went on to say that this child was "obviously
old enough to know better."

I'm sorry, but that fact that you think the age of "knowing better"
actually existing, proves that you don't know what the hell you're talking about.

I'll I'm saying is, if you don't know what you're talking about and
don't have any first-hand experience, shut your damn mouth.

No parent is perfect, and when your time comes,
you certainly won't be either.