Feeling Happy

Little E and I spend the day playing catch up with chores since on Monday I didn't get anything done since Pops was off.
So E and I spent the day with laundry, sadly that's all that got done. Where does all this laundry mysteriously come from!?



There's something to be said when one catches a glimpse of their children, being just that, children.
The boys had a Popsicle yesterday afternoon and I overheard them outside talking about birds and their "baby" wildflowers. I peeked out to see them sitting on the wooden swing chatting away.
I stood there feeling an overwhelming sense of love as I watched them swing.
I didn't want to ruin the moment but so badly wanted to catch it. So I snapped a photo from inside.



I pray they're always this close.

Fun for kids = Insanity for me

We kicked off our weekend as soon as the school bell let Z out of school.
A friend of his had a birthday party Friday afternoon where the kids had hot dogs, nachos, fruit, chips and cake.
Not to mention a sweet swing ride for two (E and K).
And some crazy fun on the trampoline.

The following evening the partying continued at the infamous Chucky cheese.

Nick and I dreaded it but it was not so bad for a Chucky cheese party.

Not to mention the host's even bought drinks and food for us parents...nice.

Didn't get picks of that though..shame on me.

Last but not least Sunday was Earth day at the zoo.

Kids lined up for a photo op and the day continued with tons of arts, crafts, bounce houses and of course animals.

E looks scared, Z isn't looking at the camera and Presley is striking a pose!

Ethan really does love using the zoo maps, he is here showing Z how its done.

In the beginning it started with 6 kids our party grew a bit can you tell?

The kids had a blast and I fell like a ton of bricks by 7:30, the kids Nick tells me kept going and going and going...poor Nick.

Can I cook?

That is something you'll almost hear on a daily basis come out of my boy's mouths.
"Can I cook?"
I signed up for dessert for a meeting and Little E saw me gathering ingredients and had to help out.

These are cupcake bites and you can make the coolest things out of them.
I stumbled upon a website that gave directions how to make them from simple to WOW.
I opted for the simple for now.

Here's what you'll need:

1 box of your choice cake mix, I used a Butter Recipe cake mix
1 can cream cheese frosting
Baker's Dippin Chocolate
Baker's Dippin White chocolate (recipe asks for Choc/White Choc Almond Bark, Baker's microwave Dippin's was easier for me and E.)
Sprinkles or candy pieces
A VERY wet Dish rag or wash cloth to clean up little fingers as soon as they get dirty, this helps them from wanting to lick their fingers.

Bake your cake as directed on the box.
Let the cake cool completely, then crumble in a big bowl (kids LOVE this part) crumble until the cake looks like a corn meal type of consistency.
Now add your can of frosting it helps if you mix using your hands, this is super messy but easier than using a spoon.

Take your mixture and roll into balls about 1-1.5" and place on wax paper.
Put in freezer for 15 minutes or leave in fridge and forget about it (about 1-2 hours)

This is what they should look like.


Now comes the super fun part.
Melt your chocolates according to directions and drop your bites in one at a time.
I used baby feeding spoons, they were easier to use than regular spoons.
Place cupcake bites on wax paper and add your sprinkles, candy pieces or just take and drizzle chocolate over white chocolate(or vise versa) and make a pretty pattern.
I then placed them back in the fridge for the chocolates to set.



Voila CUPCAKE BITES!




As you can see above we were not completely done.
But E had a blast.
Also I felt they were a little too rich for me.
I am going to try other options that aren't so sweet and see what I come up with. When I do I will definitely share the recipe.
Nothings better than spending time with your little ones in the kitchen.

Just you and me.

I dropped Z off at school and on my way home with E I thought to myself.
"I'm taking him to the zoo."
Came home packed us a lunch and off we went.
When we got there E was beside himself.
He squealed and jumped up and down and was generally excited.
Then it hit me....
He's never been to the zoo!
Last time we took him to the zoo he was so young he doesn't remember.
I wish I had waited so Nick too could of seen his beautiful excitement.

Here he's sitting in a giant birds nest.




Balancing act.



Insisted on looking for every animal on the map that we came upon.
He was especially happy with the birds and monkey's.


Our trip was short (he got tired) but lovely.
I was so happy we had our little trip together.

And this below well....you know mommy is Latina when your taught your math with beans!




Have a great weekend!

"Real" moment

I had a "REAL" Mom moment yesterday.
When we picked Z up from school he asked if he could have an ice cream treat as a snack.
I said yeah as long as they ate it outside.
Mind you I usually go outside with them and they'll show me their flower pot progress so on and so forth.
Yesterday I let them go out alone and decided I had to catch up on folding my towels.
I was sitting in the t.v. room folding when I must of fallen asleep...sitting up and in mid fold.
The ring of the phone is what woke me up.
It was my best bud whom I had been playing phone tag with.
First thing he asks is "Were you asleep?"
I lied.

But you know were all guilty of it.
On days your exhausted you'll sniff your kids to see if they REALLY need a bath that night.
Or give them a lick and a promise with a wash cloth.
Feed them breakfast cereal for dinner.
Plop them in front of a t.v. or game to give you "You Time."
Bribe them with treats so they can stop yelling...for goodness sake we want some peace and quiet.
Let them stay in p.j.' s all day....who's going to see them?
Or they fall asleep in clothes they wore the day before (because you know they passed the sniff test) and they wake up and you realize hmmmm....they wore that yesterday...and the day before, but who will know...its the weekend.
Or one of my favorites....putting your kid in Auto-pilot.
Whats auto pilot?
Someone dear to me taught me the terminology of this.
Your kid fends for themselves when they decide to wake up at like 6:30a.m.
Now Auto pilot is an art.
Your in bed....resting but not fully in REM sleep.
You hear one thing fall or a peep and your up, but you know we'll take any kind of rest we can take.
If not, you too will fall asleep mid fold on a spring afternoon.

Me and Little E

Little E and I bummed around all day yesterday.
We stayed in bed all morning, watching Qubo and playing "Guess what hand it is in" game.
He LOVES holding a small object in his little closed fist and making me guess.
But it's a known fact that Little E cheats, sometimes both hands are empty.

When we finally got out of bed it was because we were hungry.
After lunch we walked around the neighborhood and chased birds, he rode his bike, chased more birds then I decided we needed to head to the park.

Of course there he chased more birds and a few butterflies.



He also challenged me in a race, his bike against my legs.
So we ran and rode in circles.
Check out the sheer look of determination on his face.
Needless to say this little speed demon won every time.



It was nice.
We picked up Z came home where they continued to play outside until Pop's came home and they had a great game of "Monster Ball"( Dodge Ball, but with monster noises).
I wish I had taken some pics of Monster Ball but I was out on my run.
Maybe I'll catch some pics next time.

Sprouts

Yesterday evening the boys came in from the backyard all excited.
They insisted I come and see.
When I went out they pointed to their hanging planters and wanted me to see that their seeds were sprouting.
I'm so happy my boys take interest in such things.
Though, they have been bummed out that no birds have taken to their See thru bird houses.



Here's a pic of my onions.
I have to research more...not sure when I should pull them.



And my cilantro.
I know what these babies are going to be used for besides salsa....beans!



Hope everyone has a great day.

MaMa's

Yesterday before going to pick up the boys from their Mawmaw and Pawpaw's we watched "Marley and Me."
At the end I cried not because it was sad..which it was, but because it brought back a painful memory.

Our "Mama's"
"Mama's" is a pet name parents give their daughters, which means like little mama, sweetie, darling..you get the picture.
Well our mama's was beautiful and we were crazy about her.
We adopted her from a animal shelter and she was perfect.
WAY hyper, sweet and just beautiful.
She was half yellow lab and half husky.
And when Nick saw her cool eyes, one was brown one was blue, he said " She's meant to be ours, she's half you and half me."

About a month after bringing her home I noticed she was overly clumsy and walked funny.
3 different doctors later and a call to the animal shelter where we adopted her got us a verdict.
All her siblings had died of distemper, she lived but it crippled her neurologically.
She would lose more and more use of her hind quarters and not live over a year if she even made it a year.
Many doctors advised us to put her down, because her care would be costly and EXTREMELY time consuming.
We didn't care, we had a little girl and we loved her.
Mama's wasn't her real name her name was Aspyn Corkill.
Aspyn was spoiled beyond belief.
She got water therapy several times a week if not daily.
We gave her therapy for her legs so they would not atrophy.
I had to bang her sides several times a day to prevent mucus from collecting in her lungs and OH she wore diapers.
Nick and I would buy adult diapers make a hole for her tail and VOILA! Doggie Diapers.
Anyway she was so spoiled that we bought her a REAL toddler bed for Christmas...couldn't stand that she slept on the floor.
Of course she had her blankie and a mountain of lovies but still...it WAS the floor.
When Nick and I watched television we would place her between us and make a hug sandwich with her...she loved it!
On her 1 year birthday which was the same month as Nicks..March.
We bought them both a cake.
It said "Happy Birthday Nick & Apsyn".
I was even naughty and gave her a piece.
I knew she didn't have long with us so her favorite treat was Fritos..I was a naughty mom to give them to her.
Aspyn was going to be part of my wedding...one of my flower girls.
One flower girl was to pull Aspyn in a wagon decorated with flowers while two other flowers girls walked behind to make sure she didn't fall out.
By this time she had NO control of her hind legs.
She was walked with the assistance of a hind brace we concocted to walk her.
Well Aspyn didn't make it to our wedding, she died about 2 months before.
(Now you know why I had so many flower girls...I had three)
Sadly, I wasn't present when they put her to sleep, Nick went, his cousin David was sweet enough to be with him.
I just couldn't go.
To this day feel horribly selfish for not going and just terrible I couldn't be there to give her kisses goodbye.
Nick and I looked for a Pet Cemetery to bury her, can you believe they were all full!?
We had her cremated and she is still with us in a little cedar box.
When Nick picked up her ashes he hid her in back of a closet.
He knew it would kill me to see her ashes and in the middle of us getting ready for our wedding he knew I couldn't take it.
I found her a few months into our marriage.
I cried.
I still have all her lovies and blankies in the attic.
Can't get myself to toss them out.
And believe me...those toys are RATTY!
She LOVED chewing her some lovies, yet can't bare to separate myself from them.

Nick and I still talk about her because she truly was the best dog.
She would of been great with the boys, we just know she would of.
And watching "Marley and Me" made Nick and I feel like we have been robbed.
Robbed of having been able to enjoy the perfect dog, perfect dog for us, perfect dog for our boys.

Though silly as it may seem we think Apsyn was a test for us.
A test of how not everything in life is perfect or what one expects.

A few years later we had our boys who came with challenges, challenges we felt ready for in a way.




Our lovely Aspyn.
She would of just turned 9 this past March.
Can you tell we still miss her?

E & K in BLUE BONNETS

As of lately Little E has found the sweetest little friendship with Kamila, Mila for short.
They play so well together,but like all children have their battles once in a while.
We were on a play date yesterday with Mila and her mom, my friend Letty.
Of course play dates means the kids have a ball and us moms have naughty food consumption.

Yesterday while having lunch at a restaurant, Mila leans over the table and tells Little E..."I love you Ethan.", Little E replied "I love you too."
After Letty and I gave each other the Heimlich we were like "What did they say???"
Needless to say we agreed this was ok.....for now :)

On our way back to the house we saw this beautiful field of Blue Bonnets.
I had my camera on hand so we let the kids run through the fields, they loved every minute of it.

This coming week Letty and I hope to take all the kids to romp in this field and take pictures.

Those pics hopefully soon to come.

More Birdie and Flower goodness.

Our after school craft yesterday was painting the bird houses they made at Home Depot.






They really do love sitting by the open window while they paint or craft.
I assume they find it relaxing.



After the painting I sent them outside.
I bought these little planters, had them fill them with soil and sprinkle the wild flower seeds they got at Piper's party.

Now we sit and wait.

Bird Drama

The boys are really into birds lately.
Especially E, he chases them in hopes to catch one someday.
Well yesterday morning on my way to water my veg garden I see this.

Some poor sap was caught by our cat Kiley.
I felt so bad!
Here I am a total Nazi!
Feeding these little guys inviting them to our backyard birdhouses just for Kiley to have a buffet.

I inspected the feathers and they look like mockingbird feathers.
OH GOOD!
Not the nice little sparrow family who've nested in the bird house.
I guarantee it was that nasty mockingbird that dive bombs Kiley every summer.
It must of gotten to close and BAM...instant lunch.


She oh so lady like made this horrible mess by our back door.
How did I not notice all these feathers on my way to the garden??



Then about 4:30p.m the boys were doing their homework and I was on my way to our bedroom when I heard a thud against my living room window.
The thud was followed by a horrible chirping sound.
I though Oh no Kiley caught another bird!
I looked out our window and saw this bird trying to kill another bird!!
How weird is that?
I swung open the back door to scare them away.
This little meaner (below) flew only a few feet from me while I picked up what I thought was already a dead bird off the floor.
He was brave, he stayed close until I really scared him away.

I identified the bird in our bird book, Loggerhead Shrike.
Hmmm didn't say anything about him eating other birds though.




Here's the little guy I helped out.
He was in major shock.
So I kept giving him water to snap him out of it, then placed him in the boys bug catching cage.
I covered the cage up with an old T-Shirt and placed him in quiet place.
At about 7:00 when Nick came home this little guy was alright.





Nick the boys and I set it free in the backyard...with no Kiley present.
Funny thing is there it was...a bird.
E finally had his chance...instead he headed for the hills.
He wanted nothing to do with touching this bird...KIDS!

Take the time.

Even back when it was just Nick and I, we sat for dinner around this table almost every evening.
We both worked long hours and though we did work for the same company we didn't have time to sit back and talk all day, so we took dinner time to face one another and chat.

After Zenny and Little E were born we continued our family dinners.
There are hectic days when I feed the kids early, bathe them and even put them to bed and tell them its time for bed (yay for the fact that they can't yet tell time.)

It's sad that so many families sit around the television for dinner and not enough time around the family table.
Even if they can sit together once a week would be a wonderful start.



Even when the boys were having trouble talking we took time to talk to them, have conversations and reflect on our day.
This time we also take the time to thank God for all he has given us.
If my blog hasn't given the message that Nick and I are a Christian house hold then I am not doing a good job.
Because we are.
Yes, we have our faults but we lean on him to help us.
I think that is why during this hard economic time instead of pulling us apart it has pulled us closer.
When Nick's down I'm there to pick him up when I'm down he picks me up.
Our family unity is something money can't buy.
It's something God has blessed us with.

So tonight sit with your family around the table, its not so bad.
Thats when your kids tend to say the craziest things.
I love it.




And THAT up there is what a "REAL" mom looks like at the end of the day!
My hair looks crazy!

Weekend Madness!

Our fun filled weekend started on Friday evening.
Nick called, he wouldn't be home in time for us to attend Good Friday Services.
But he would be home in time to catch some daylight fun in the park with the boys.
So I packed us some snacks and off we went.

They really enjoyed watching dad maneuver this kite that used to belong to their uncle Rocky.
When are you coming to see us again Uncle Rock??



Z and Nick had some quality time together.
I had to stop my "bird catching" with E and snap this pic of Zenny flying the kite.



E and I spent alot of time by the water.
He was determined to catch a bird.
I took several continuous shots of him running by the lake flapping his arms, ahem I meant wings.
He is really into birds lately.
The shots below are cute but I didn't do a great job of combining them on photoscape.




E watching the sun set.




Saturday we went to Piper's 2nd birthday party.
The kids had a blast and Tonya rocks at planning kids parties.
They had face painting, balloon animals by Nick and yours truly, flower planting as so much more!
I am going to tell her the boys birthday theme and see if she can help me come up with fun ideas.. (It's a Piggie Monkey Party).. hint hint :)



I love this picture of Piper.
She was working hard on painting that flower pot.



The festivities continued up to Easter Sunday where the boys hunted eggs, played with all their cousins and had more sugar than I would EVER allow.
But they had so much fun it was worth it.

What is everyone looking at?

Why the Easter bunny.

I thought it was pretty neat that the kids got to see him.

Then Ryley, Z & E decided to chase the poor thing all over the fields.

We really should of stopped them but they looked hilarious!

Poor bunny.

Well actually it was a rabbit, but lets not get too technical.

Birdie Bird Bird!!

Little E's class had their Easter festivities yesterday.
Of course I was on hand to take pics and help out any way I could.
Their egg hunt was sweet and their lunch was McDonalds...yummy.

Looking hard for more eggs.

Back in class after lunch making a puzzle with his classmate Kallie.



After school and Homework. I have been taking the boys outside....NO T.V.!
Yesterday I took them to the alley where birds tend to gather and we sat on the drive way and I showed them a book on Native Texas birds.
They ooohhh'd and ahhhh'd and we sprinkled bird seed in hopes to attract birds to our yard more often.

As they sprinkled the seeds they yelled "Birdie Bird Bird!!", "Birdie Bird Bird!" "Come Eat!"
I was like ummm boys that ain't gonna work.
Then Ethan decided to add "Birds....YOUR HUNGRY....EAT!!"

They loved filling up the bird feeders around the house. So now we just wait.
I think I saw a small bird making a nest in one of our bird houses...oh I hope.



Sprinkling away and ummmm...yelling oh so sweetly.
What must the neighbors think?

Patterns, tears and candlelight.

Yesterday amidst taking care of Little E I spent the day cutting the fabric for my Easter dress.
I spent ALL DAY LONG on the stupid thing.
It was so frustrating because it was the worst pattern on this side of the earth!
Aside from stopping to play with Little E I was just glued to the instructions and it just didn't make sense to me.
6:00 rolled around and I bathed the boys and back to my sewing room to stress.
Nick came home and I felt terrible dinner wasn't made kid's hadn't been fed and I even got teary eyed when I saw him, I was so horribly frustrated.
He hugged me and told me not to worry he'd feed the kids.
Time fly's when your in deep concentration, because next thing I knew he was at the door to my sewing room with a dish towel draped over his arm.
He told me a handsome gentleman was waiting for me at my table for two.
I finally gave up on the stupid dress and walked into my candlelit kitchen.
He made some Pasta, garlic bread and set the table.
Now how sweet is that?
He washed my woes away and we sat and had a lovely dinner.
How on Earth did I get so lucky?




After dinner I grabbed up the fabric and pattern and shoved them in a plastic bag.
I tossed them in the back of the closet and flipped em' the bird.
Yup, I will never use that brand of pattern...NEVER!

Reality

I started blogging so my family who live so far away could keep up with the boys.
Over time I've had family and friends tell me........
"Your such a good mom", "Your boys are so lucky",
"You do the neatest things with your boys", and the one that I've heard most is
"How do you do it all?"

Well I feel like a fraud because I don't do it all.
There is no possible way unless I was a happy-go-lucky "Speed" mom.

I sacrifice my home a lot to do things with my boys.
Little E demands attention from his mama and I am more than happy to give it to him.
I don't clean up my breakfast dishes on most days, and I swear I always have laundry!
When people come over they think my house always looks neat.
That's because I knew you were coming.
My main living area is always clear but if you look closer you'll see it hasn't been dusted in forever and then I wonder why Nick's allergies are acting up.

So with that I show you the truth.

My kitchen table.
Yesterday it was the only clean spot in the house.



A few feet away my kitchen counters told a different story.



My sewing/guest room is screaming for mercy!
I just haven't found the time.
Check out the pile of mending on the sewing machine, some articles of clothing have now been there for 7 months!!


My bedroom...this room really gets me because it should be my sanctuary.
I toss my clothes on the treadmill at the end of the day and my little computer corner is ALWAYS pitiful.




I can't believe I showed my messy house.
One runs in circles all blasted day and at the end it looks like I haven't done a single thing!!
Arrrrgggghhhhhh.
But that's life....that's my life.
And if I have to sacrifice my neatness for my kids well so be it.
Though a little trick.
I clean my kitchen before preparing any meal.
And clear up the living area when the boys have gone to bed, so when I wake in the morning my house doesn't look too shabby.
Than we start all over....Again.