Guess we weren't as awesome as we thought we were......

When Z  & E were little they were pretty darn good toddlers. Yes they got into a few things like cookie jars, chip bags or the infamous diaper ointment fiasco but all in all I can literally count on my hand the biggies they got into. Nick and I were like "OH YEAH we rock as parents we must be doing this right!" Fast forward a few years and cue in baby A, this boy gets into it all! My word in less than a week he's clogged the toilet, torn my basil plant up to put in the dog bowl and busted a glass jar of liquid vitamins at GNC. He definitely keeps me on my toes! So NO we weren't perfect parents and NO we are not bad parents its just all kids are different and Z & E were just passive kids and Ash is full of wonder, excitement and passionate about getting his grubby fingers on everything! Oh and have I mentioned the hypocrisy of it all? We used to see kids like Ash back in the day and parents would just dust the kids off maybe tell them "No, No" and then we'd see the parents smile or crack up at the kid. We used to think "OH NO! we'd be so upset!" Whatever, we let that crap slide off our shoulders. He's a baby and I'm happy his little brain is full of creativity and wonder. Do I condone his naughty behavior? No I do not. Do we correct his behavior or redirect it? Of course we do. Do we yell and spank for it? Well I am naturally loud and yelly so I can't say I don't get loud, but not at him. He's just Ash being Ash and ya know I wouldn't have it any other way.

Does your bookcase look like this?

The case of the nasty bookcase. I don't know about anyone else but keeping a decent bookcase is a lost cause in our home. I organize, organize and organize and well its still ends up looking like this......

 

I try to ignore it knowing that if I organize it again it will just end up this way. I've tried everything from designating an area for school library books to where to put their daily readers and no luck. They have to read daily so instead of putting books back correctly they just shove, sigh.... I'm guilty of it as well. So for now I shall cover it up with Ashton's tent castle and pretend its pretty and neat. Yeah that'll work!

 

 

~ Liza

Never let them see you cry....Don't buy that boys don't cry BS!

Yesterday Little E had a rough end of school day. He's been having spats with one of his best friends, they play on opposite teams at recess and when Little E's team wins his buddy gets upset and refuses to talk to E. Sometimes name calling occurs and Little E gets extremely heart broken. I've always told them that they can totally cry and let their feelings out but never to let them see him cry at school. So he climbs into the SUV at pick up and I can immediately tell he's upset. I continue with my usual "How was school today?", he spits out "Terrible!" and starts to let his recess drama unfold. I can tell he wants to cry. We pull up to Z's school, park and wait for Z to be released for the day. I tell E if he would like me to hold him so he can cry it out. He nods yes and he starts to bawl, he's so upset my heart breaks. He pulls away and tells me "Boys shouldn't cry right?" I respond with "Who told you that?" He says no one that it's just known. Well I reassure him that his been horribly misinformed, boys can most definitely cry and whoever tells him otherwise is on crack! He giggles at my response and looks to ease up and smiles at me, crisis for now is averted. My point is telling our boys that they "Shouldn't cry", "Be a man", "Man up" is a bunch of BS. As a mother of 3 boys I want strong and independent boys who can most definitely show their emotions. I don't want emotionless, meatballs who can't show how they feel. Sadly, society pushes us on what women and men should be and we all have to fit in societies perfect little box. Well lucky for us we don't play by the rules we dance to the beat of our own drums and in our house boys can most definitely cry!

These boys here....

 

Having had my baby days behind me there was one thing I missed and that was the absorbing, curiosity, the learning. I am so happy to be able to start this phase in my life all over again. There is just something magical when they discover leaves, planes in the air or like this, sidewalk chalk. I LOVE toddler years they are a hot mess but oh so cute in the process.

 

 

Today after school I caught Little E just sitting there playing with some little objects entertaining himself as we waited for Z to get out of school. I suddenly didn't see my 5th grader but a toddler pretending and using his imagination. Wasn't long ago that he was Ash's age, time is cruel, it goes by way too fast.

 

Couldn't leave my biggest baby out! Here he is practicing his trumpet for us. And not because he's my boy but for only having been at this for a month he is pretty darn good! He played me Mary Had a Little lamb. And YES that is a picture of a video, I record him regularly so he can see his mistakes but most importantly to send the videos to his grandma Lupe. Because you know grandmas love watching videos of their grandbabies!

 

 

Middle school, stomach migraines and waiting....

 

So the school year has started and Z is in Middle School.....sigh...Middle School. His first week was tough but that was due to schedule issues. Little E well that's a different story, first week was a NIGHTMARE! This goes back to last May, he started with stomach aches and we assumed it was a stomach virus. I started noticing monthly trend and red flags went up. Little E was diagnosed with Abdominal Migraines and it sucks. This whole thing was new to me didn't even know such a thing existed. You know how you get a migraine so bad you get nauseous? His is the other way around he gets nauseous usually not always followed by a headache. Here is a link in case you want to read more http://www.medicinenet.com/abdominal_migraines_in_children_and_adults/article.htm

 

 

Z and Little E on the first day of school, notice the pale face on E along with dark under eye circles and terribly

skinny? Didn't eat for almost a week!

 

 

Little E (still skinny and all better but..for now) and Z sheesh Z looks pretty skinny himself, I really should feed them more!

 

With Stomach issues figured out and E feeling better just in time for football!

Here's Ash all ready for his Big Bubbas first game!

FYI his team was creamed :/.

 

Now having all boys is an adventure. They are smelly, noisy and there is always a ball flying around the house even when not allowed. So look at my lovely surprise when Pops took down the Mr. Potato heads from the attic. Peace and Quiet for momma while I cooked dinner...SCORE!

 

Also had to drop my only class this semester, lady was on crack! Seriously she had to be on something and I wasn't putting my GPA in her hands! Plus it was a tough course and I was not putting myself what I did last year, no sure wasn't. Plus don't need this class to apply for nursing school, need it for my BSN but not to apply. Which I already have and so now I wait....and wait until I get either a acceptance, wait listed or rejection.  So with my free time I can bake and was able to bake this for sweet Aiden's birthday party.

With the help of my fabulous Sous Chef, Pops. He was a big help thanks POPS!

 

Aiden all smiles with his cake!

 

Oh and the count down for the Texas State Fair begins!!!!! CAN'T WAIT!!!!

 

~ Liza

Losing Battle....

Seems that keeping this blog is a losing battle for me. Though in all honesty I don't want to give up on it just yet. Truth is my life revolves around my kids and school, everything else takes a back seat. But I am hoping to seriously keep up with this blog and write what life entails for a mom like me, I know there are more out there ready to pull their hair out and run out of the house screaming.
On a different note I am tired of feeding my kids frozen pizzas and take out. Again, school takes up a lot of my time but a friend/classmate mentioned she feeds her twins homemade meals that she makes ahead and freezes. Hmmmmmm that sounds like a plan, I just might chronicle that. Tonight I made us pot pie and made a double maybe a triple batch haven't eyeballed it to see if it will fill two casserole dishes. Anyway hope I can keep this bad boy up, I'm just not ready to let go just yet.

~ Liza

Hello Summer!

On the boys last day of school we loaded up the SUV and headed straight to South Texas to visit family and have a little family reunion at South Padre. We had a blast! Ashton was able to visit the coast for the first time and well, he hated it! Boys came back looking extra toasty, their color is quite gorgeous. Upon our arrival Z had to attend summer school which he was totally bummed out about. Sad thing is he passed all his classes, he just failed a section of the Texas Assessment Exam, total BS if you ask me! But alas we let him go and his real vacation started this week he was so excited.

Yesterday Pops worked hard on the yard and has started painting the house, I'm excited about that! Our poor house totally needs a fresh coat of paint and then some.

We all took part in the outdoor time. Even Ash hung out in his Sport play pen and Nina kept him company, she's such an awesome pooch. All was well, lemonade was had then Ash stretched his legs by marching up and down the side walk when lone behold he fell, big surprise, he's always falling that baby.

 

 

 

Mommy gasped, Pops was worried, boys oooo'd at their baby brother and he was cuddled with love.

This boo boo was nothing a bit of Arnica gel and a homemade chocolate chip cookie couldn't fix.

 

Oh baby A is totally "That" kid.

 

~ Liza

Rotten luck and the case of the missing cucumber!

Received a call from the boys school today. Seems little E became nauseous in the school lunch line and threw up....in line :/. Poor baby came home and started running a high temperature and threw up again. So then not only did I have a sick Little E but I had a very sad Little E. He is so upset about missing the school auction. His teacher gives the kids "Class Money" for grades, good behavior anything special really. They in turn can use this "money" to buy center time, trinkets or save for the BIG AUCTION which he'll miss. Oh the tears, almost brought me to tears watching his sweet little heart break. I immediately got on line and wrote his teacher and asked if I could go bid in Little E's place. Yes I will be there bidding against other Fourth Graders because that's what mommies do! Anyway she quickly responded that I most definitely can! Or if E was feeling better he could come to the cafeteria at 1:00 to bid on his items of choice, awesome! So I'm tending to a sick kid, begging the other one to stay out of the room to prevent him from getting sick too and a 1 year old whining on and on and on! I finally get around to cooking dinner and I one of my kitchen drawers and what do I find? A rotting cucumber! UGH THAT BABY and his quick and sticky fingers! I was looking for this cucumber in my crisper the other day for my salad. I looked and looked and finally convinced myself that  A. I already ate it or B. I had actually only bought one and not two cucumbers or C. I am getting old and already becoming forgetful, thanks a lot Baby A! Well I'm off to plan my menus and cut coupons....and pack for vacation and check on Little E and do a bible reading and maybe get some sleep in while I'm at it.

 

 

 Guess our hens Toshia and Katy Perry get diced cucumber tomorrow!

Where do I put it all????

So this past weekend we spent it in Dallas at my in-laws house. Pops wanted to go check on his parents house since they had been robbed a little over a year ago. I decided to take advantage of my mom in laws fabulously large washing machine. Mine is old and VERY ancient which means one of my loads is half of hers. So we packed up our dirty laundry, detergent and baskets and we were off! It was nice to relax almost like a little staycation. My in laws live in a beautiful neighborhood with gorgeous mature trees. Driving down their street is like your being hugged by mother nature and I love it. Baby A and I took several walks yesterday alone, he's real nosey and enjoyed exploring everyone's front lawn. So if your from the OC in Dallas and saw a Latina walking around your neighborhood with a baby boy in a tshirt and sandals only just RELAX! He was in a cloth diaper not boy daisy dukes and I happen to think he was rocking that diaper with mathematical equations all over it ;).
Well upon coming home I realized it has been a long time since EVERY SINGLE ITEM in our hamper was clean....clean! Where do we put it all now??? Its a crazy sight for me to see....empty hampers. Our shelves that hold our towels look like ticks about to burst. I almost want to take a few baths just to relieve some of my shelf pressure. I'm going to soak in this moment because once I return back to school or yet when the boys are released for summer vacation this Friday, those hampers will be over flowing once again! Thank you Pops for your help and I DID notice upon returning from my appointment today that all the said laundry was put up. I am one blessed gal!

~ Liza

Teething Sucks!

So Ash has been quite a little pill these last few days. What started out as fever has turned into sleepless nights! We assumed Baby Ash had caught what his big brother had this weekend, a crazy 24 hour virus. Nope, he's teething and it sucks! Drool, no sleep, fever, restlessness, oh did I mention no sleep already? Not only is it exhausting but its heart wrenching to watch. Can't wait until all this teething business is over. Pops and I want nothing more than for the 3 of us to finally get a good nights rest! So for now we will rub his gums, keep baby ibuprofen handy and walk around with our eyes blood shot. So if you see me down the street and I look crazy, NO I'm not knot haired, crazy woman who's been smoking a little something, something! I'm a sleep deprived mom with a teething baby!

~ Liza

It's over, now what??

So for the last couple of years I've been taking prerequisite and supporting courses in hopes of getting into nursing school here in North Texas. Now if your from here and in my similar situation you know that getting into school here is TOUGH! I'm so sick of people saying "Well...there are so many different school to choose from." Yeah maybe back when you applied but now days these crazy institutions are so competitive you basically need a 4.0, insanity! So I've finished my courses and took the Hesi (entrance) exam on Saturday, and I passed WOOOOHOOOOO!!! Now wish I had passed in the 90th percentile which I did not but that's ok because I know what to expect and think I'll rock it next time. I'm also retaking  summer course in hopes to up my GPA a bit more but when all that's said and done, then what? I'm applying for school but even if I get accepted I have half a semester of nothing, NOTHING? What will I do? I'm so used to pulling my hair out and studying for something...anything! Really trying to just relish the thought of no deadlines, research papers or praying I don't run out of disposable gloves for lab class. Well guess I should just sit back and enjoy these kids of mine while I'm nice and sane because before long Dr. Stressed Jekyll will come out again. Yes, that's what I will do, that and make menu plans and figure out a way to live even more frugal because I'll have to pay for college soon, ugh tuition stinks!

~ Liza

NEVER.ENDING!

What does tired look like? It looks like barely have a chance to shower, only hair accessories are a rubber band and a head band, no make up (but never skip the moisturizer) and brows in a bad need of waxing and there you have it TIRED! Though horribly exhausted the semester is over YAY!! Want to loose hair and break out? Take Microbiology you're guaranteed all of the above!

 

 

Though school for me is out I am still studying, now for the nursing entrance exam and I am keeping my fingers crossed. I don't have much time to study for it since I signed up about 2 months ago but all my time was devoted to writing essays for English and studying non-stop for Micro class. So on Friday I took a day off from it all and baby sat our sweet little cousin. Ashton loved having a playmate for the day!

Baby A showing Emma some lovin!

 

 

Z and E helped keep the kids busy while I cooked up dinner, yup never a dull moment in our home that for sure!

 

 

Last but not least Baseball season is officially over for our boys. E ended it with pitching for the first time in a game. HE DID AMAZING!! I was so super proud of him and considering that I'm a bit timid when it comes to compliments all I could do was smile when parents kept telling me how awesome he was. Yeah, pretty darn awesome! I was really proud of this pitching boy!

 

Now off to finish up my weekly menu, study a bit and start dinner. So nice to be able to blog again, for now at least.

 

It's been awhile, I'm surving....barely

As much as I'd love to blog on a daily basis, life has kind of consumed me. Boys are growing so quickly, Baby A has finally started walking, oh yes finally.started.walking. Z is on his last year of elementary school which is flying by and quite honestly I'm not ready to let go. He'll be a big boy and won't want mommy coming to school often (not that I have much time to go lately due to school). Little E is excited about him and Z starting baseball again. I'm STILL in school and really wishing it was over right about now, quite honestly it feels never ending. But it will end one day and I'd love to say I'll miss these school days but NO, no I will not, I loathe school. How on earth can I tell my children to go to college when I myself hate it so?? For the greater good kids, for the greater good. So I sign off cause I have a report to polish up so far one of my favorite homework assignments have been to write essays, ewww who likes to do that? Apparently now I do.

 

 

Boys being boys, building forts and making messes.

 

 

~ Liza