Did You Drop Something?

Okay, okay I am writing it. The post I am assuming most of you wanted to read, or I became popular overnight, because I swear my visitors tripled today!

If you haven't heard the news, here it is....
Last night Nathan got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! Seven and a half years, 5 pregnancies and three children (not fifteen dad, wink wink) later, we are finally taking that big leap into marriage.
I got it stuck in my head that I wanted to go to the Children's Museum in Boston Friday night. I called Nathan to see if he would jump on board, but before I even asked, I found out he was having a terrible work day. I did ask though, and he said yes, much to my surprise and joy. He said that before we went though, he wanted to walk around all of the pretty gardens that have been built in the city, part of the big dig project and to add some green to Boston. They are gorgeous, so if you are in the area, take a stroll. It almost makes those years of horrid, nightmarish traffic and construction detours forgettable.
We were telling the kids about this, when Nathan asked Nate if he wanted to take a picture of us. Brody then threw a temper tantrum because, naturally he wanted to take a picture. We diffused the situation, and I took my place next to Nathan to take a quick photo. But Nathan dropped down next to me, and I thought he dropped his phone or something, but he didn't, because when I looked at him he was on one knee, wait,he was on one knee, and he asked me to marry him. Then there was a pretty little box in front of me, with something sparkling at me from inside that box. and he said some very heart felt things, things I fear if I wrote out for the world to see, he may take the pretty sparkly thing on my finger back. But it was really sweet, and made me cry, and made me speechless, which is so very hard for me to be. And this is probably right around the time Nate took the picture.

And it was perfect. All of it. Oh, and I said yes.

These are a few of (her) favorite things!

A friend of mine (and fellow mommy blogger) is doing her own version of Oprah's Favorite things. Amiee has two children, Kate and Patrick. Kate has a special heart. She was diagnosed with Restrictive Cardiomyopathy. Kate has truly been a miracle girl (and is such a sweetheart!). Amiee and her family could use all the support they can get.
Please check out her blog, enjoy the days of giveaway, and join Kate's cheering team!

I LOST it

Oh LOST. I will miss you so much.
I got into LOST a season late, and Nathan and I spent 3 whole days locked in our living room unable to break away from the t.v. Seriously. How did the kids even get fed those three days? (I'm only kidding about the kids part, not about the spending three days watching season 1 of LOST.)
It was then that our love affair began, and we became such avid fans and viewers from that moment on.
I think with a cultural phenomenon like this show, it was even more intriguing to guess along with your family, friends and the country really as to what was going to happen, and where it was all leading.
Tonight answered that. Did y'all cry as much as me? It seemed like each reuniting of characters the emotions built. I mean Shannon and Sayid?!?! To even throw that in there, ugggg so happy.
I think if you were a fan or not of tonight's finale (I was a fan) you can't deny that it left you emotionally fulfilled as far as how that characters turned out. Did it answer everything? No. But that was okay. (Okay, to be honest, the only storyline that I have wondered about since they left it was Walt. They put so much into him and how he was special and then, nothing.)
I truly believe it came full circle though. Thank you LOST for you creativity, consistency and for being the best source of television entertainment.
You will be missed.

Photos

Christmas Morning

You know that feeling, you feel it before you go to bed when you are really excited for what's going to happen the next day? And you are so excited that you wake up often because you hope it's morning?
Maybe it was in part to due to the fact that Nathan and I went out last night at 9:30 to a local restaurant to have a few drinks and an appetizer... ok and dessert too.
We lasted a whole hour and a half. But after two yes I said that two whole years of not being out alone, it was amazing. It felt new and kind of strange riding together alone in his car, which we both pointed out. And when the bartender carded me (yes I got carded and Nathan didn't which I used to my advantage) we felt the need to tell him how long it had been since we had been out alone and that we (okay just how I) never drink and that this was a very impromptu gift for us.
Back to today. That feeling is because today we are headed into Boston to listen to music along the Charles and play catch and have a picnic lunch, and enjoy each other. I grew up going to all of the free concerts at the Hatch Shell. I have vivid, glorious memories of dancing on our little blanket at sunset, mesmerized by the music.
I woke up this morning filled to the brim with happiness and excitement an anxious anticipation.
Pictures to follow.

A Walk in the Park

I'm doing it again, that swirl of sunny fun that clogs my brain and makes it impossible to write. Keira has decided nightly parties are again fun, so she has been waking up for two hour dance parties in the middle of the night. I have to propel myself forward all day to keep myself from crashing. Yesterday before I left to drop Nate off at school I had already completed two loads of laundry, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, swept and mopped the floors, cleaned the bottom floor, stripped all the beds, and re made them and cleaned my cabinets. All before 9 am. I enjoyed a gorgeous walk around the lake, which if I haven't told you lately how fortunate I feel to live in this picturesque location, then I just did. I love the lake. I love people watching, and singing songs with the kids, and stopping at the parks. I love it all.
Unfortunately our day took a dip when we went to the park because of a little two year old monster (not my own) who was hell bent on pushing my kids. It started with Brody, who he pushed clear away from the play structure. When no one seemed to claim this terror of a child, I walked over and kindly said "Oh no, please do not push him, pushing is not nice." A winded grandfather came over at that point and said no, no to him, and that was that, or so I thought. I turned to look for Nate, and out of the corner of my eye I see the kid walk over to Brody, Keira, and a few other children, and then his arms go back to push, AGAIN, and this time Keira was the object of his aggression. Keira came away hysterical and the grandfather once again said no, with a why are you doing this for added effect. Keira refused to leave me at this point and Brody was hiding in a tunnel from demon child. That was not good enough for this boy, he then went to the tunnel and proceeded to pull, kick, push and hit Brody and Brody stared wide eyed at him. All the while there's ol' grandpa saying "devil boy" (I won't write his real name here) "please don't kick, push, hit, pull. Why are you doing this?"
Here's a tip. When your kids act out, remove them from the situation. Don't sit there and try to reason with them while they are practicing their torture techniques on another child.
Was this kid really as bad as I am describing? Put it this way, I'm pretty sure he was hoping a fence to slaughter the dog in the house behind the park and Criminal Minds already bought the rights to his story for their next big serial killer episode.
Since Old Man River wasn't doing squat about the boy who shall not be named, I picked up my kids while they still had all of their limbs intact and offered them the promise of the kiddie pool at home. When I was putting Keira in her car seat I almost ran back in that park and karate chopped the kid though. When he pushed her into the play structure, she must have hit her head hard because my poor baby girl has a massive egg smack in the middle of her forehead that is all black and blue and purple.
That. Little. Shit.
I wanted to grab Keira and bring her and say "LOOK WHAT YOU DID! Look what HE did! WHY am I the one leaving this park when that boy is a menace to society?"
Grr.
On the plus side, Brody was awesome. He did not push back, he just walked away. In the end, that is why I didn't run back to yell at the old man and the nightmare boy. If Brody could walk away, so could I.

Missing

It is so easy for me to write when I am feeling emotional or I need to vent. It is much harder to sit down when we are so busy and having so much fun. Then I feel overwhelmed because I know I have neglected to really write anything, and there is so much that has occurred that I procrastinate doing it and well, here I am. So much to write, no clue where to start. BUT since today I have been ultra productive here are my sharing moments from my absent time:

• Brody has started to potty train himself and is actually doing a great job.
• I have taken away Keira's pacifier with the exception of bed time.
  
• Keira is extremely vocal.
• I can get Nate to eat anything by letting him put gallops of mustard and mayo on top of the food. For example, the other night he ate chicken, broccoli and ziti with said topping. Picture the way you drizzle chocolate syrup over ice cream. Yes, I threw up a bit in my mouth too when I watched him eat it.
• I get by with a little help from my friends. (I was singing that when I wrote this, but it's OH SO TRUE.)
  
• Brody has recovered from his double ear infection-sinus infection-croup-high fever-virus, thank GOD!
• Keira is almost done with her medicine for the same virus, but less severe symptoms, and I am pretty sure she's going to be holding up pharmacies for her daily fix of the sweet pink liquid.
• I am not joking. She stands at the fridge door and screams until I open it and give her the medicine.
• Ty has pitched in every game so far and has done amazing!
• I cry when my kids do things that I am proud of. Look for the teary eyed mom on the field, that's me.
• Someone hit my parked car last week. Irony? The only car accident/driving fiasco I've had is when I hit a parked car in high school.
• This car accident thing has become my seventh child. Soooo not fun.

I promise I'll try to update more... it's just been a crazy few weeks!
Oh! In my spare time I have organized a cookbook fundraiser for Nate's school. There are some delicious recipes, and it's only $5 per cookbook!
Please support Nate's school and order one! Or support me and my hard work putting it together ;)

Beauty in the Chaos

There are some friends that just get it. That is not a dig to the others. Okay, let me explain before I get furious emails. There are certain friends that compliment different areas. I think we can all agree on that? There are very few friends, who get it. I got a phone call today from one of my dearest friends who happens to live 3,000 miles away in the desert of steamy California. She and I became friends while working at a gym together. This was right after Tyler was born. We clicked instantly and were inseparable. Although I don't get to see her as often as I would like, or even talk to her as much as I want to (we are queens of playing phone tag), our conversations always pick up right where they left off and have a home-like feeling to them.
Today my kids have been chaotic and loud and are recovering from being sick, which means cooped up for too long. When Meg called, she patiently waited (and sometimes laughed, or offered what to say next) as my kids screamed, talked back, and whined. And do you know what my soul sister said? She said "Oh honey, I wish I could just take them for you for a bit... so you don't kill them."
Folks, there are just not many people, close friends included that have ever said that to me, and followed through with it. (Hey, can you blame anyone? I have FOUR kids!) But I'd bet my sanity and last dollar that if we lived close enough, she would have driven right over.
Only a true friend could say that, and actually mean it. She has a daughter of her own, and is always with kids, and she is level headed and calm, and has a way with children that is uncanny.
Instead I blocked out the noise and snuggled into the warmth of our friendship, and our too funny memories and recounting of our ephedrine induced year (okay or two..) and our really skinny, fit bodies, and our seemingly sleepless life of fun. Sometimes, amidst all the chaos in my day (and today was a doozie) the beauty of a friendship like ours just makes everything all better.
Thank you Meg!

Happy Mother's Day

Dear Mom,
It is funny how much you suddenly learn when you become a mother. Your childhood is put into a whole new perspective. Mom you are truly amazing. You guided me in a selfless, always encouraging, loving, supportive way. What more can a child ask for? And I know with me, and all of my phases, and my dramatic nature, that could not have always have been easy. Yet you never complained. You were at every game, every performance, and never seemed bored or bothered by giving up your own free time for that. You always saw the best in me, and made sure to point it out.
You were fun to grow up with. When I sing songs in the car with my kids, I always think of you. I think I love doing certain things with my children, because I enjoyed them so much with you.
I have the most amazing memories of sitting in Boston, along the Charles listening to bands play all day. Playing at the beach in the summer, which I still have no idea how it was possible because it seemed to me like we were there every day, and building the coolest sand castles and digging the deepest holes. Even now, when Tyler is reading his books in a matter of hours, I think of my obsession with R.L. Stine's Fear Street books, and how you would take me out to buy a book, only to have me finish it a few hours later and take me right back to the store to buy another one.
Mom you have set an example in motherhood that I can go to constantly. I refer back to my own adolescence, like a parenting manual on a daily basis. Well, that is when I can't get a hold of you to ask you directly, which I do. Often.
I know I was not easy, especially as a teenager (I'm sure I will be payed back for it, and you can laugh) but I want you to know that I know that. I want you to know that you did a great job. I want you to know, I hope I can handle everything just like you.
Mom, you are my best friend. I feel honored to say that. Thank you for everything you do, and I hope you find time today to do something just for you. You deserve it. I love you so much!

Dear Tyler

Dear Tyler,
Happy, Happy, Happy Birth Day!!!! I can not believe you are now nine years old. I can barely grasp my head around that. I mean this is your last year in single digits! Ty you are growing so much. You are no longer a little boy, but are growing into a wonderful man. You have taught me so much over these nine years. Sometimes I feel bad because I have learned to be a parent with you. I have a relationship with you that is like no other. Maybe that is because we are so much alike, or maybe it is because I really grew up with you.Tyler, you are funny, you are loving, you are kind, you are handsome, and smart. You surprise me on a daily basis with how sensitive you can be, and how mature you are. You are an amazing big brother, and even when you are really wanting some alone time, you still selflessly give yourself to play with them.
I love our mornings together, our special time. I love having our shows that we watch together, and hearing your opinions on everything. I look forward to those times with you. It warms my heart to listen to your teachers and classmates and coaches describe you, because Ty, you make such an impression on everyone. Your charisma and giving heart is such a strength for you, among many other things. You literally are great at everything you do. If you decide you want to do something, you do it, and you do it extremely well. The world is yours Ty. I think the MLB is going to open its doors wide to you bud. The Vacuum has a bright future.
Ty, I love you more than I could ever begin to say. I hope you always know how proud I am of you. You are loved by so many. I hope you have a wonderful ninth year.Love,
Mommy

How Do I FIX This?

My followers know I have been cutting back on foods, and have been watching what I eat. I have been exercising (when I have any free time) and have been willing my body back in shape.
Here is what I have learned.
I have size 6 limbs with a size 10 stomach.
Seriously.
I received a generous bag of clothes from a friend and most of her stuff is a size 6, and I am sitting here writing in a super cute pair of size 6 jeans. (Lets see how many times I'm about to write size 6.) and they fit like a glove... but I can only button them up if I contort my deflated stomach in strange ways. How's that for a mental picture? How do I fix that? I am walking at least three times a week, usually more, and am alternating doing ab work and arm/weight work every day.
Moms, HELP!
How do I fix this? I am convinced that my abdominal muscles did not fully form back together this time around. Is my own vanity a medical reason for surgery? Will the insurance company go for that? Wishful thinking?
Seriously. I want ideas. I want to hear what you do. I want to be inspired by how you struggled with this and overcame it.
I refuse to live with a deflated tummy. I will not give up hope that I can have a tight, toned stomach once again. It will happen, it will, it will...
I do believe in fairies, I do, I do...

Last of the Twenties

I celebrated my twenty-ninth birthday this weekend. It was scorching hot and brightly sunny. I took the kids to the zoo and then spent some time at my mom's where we had cake and ice cream. Throughout the day I had a soundtrack of beeps from my phone, with so many sweet birthday wishes. It made me feel very loved, thank you.
I am determined this will be the year. The year I reclaim what is left of my body, and make it look damn good. The year I learn to balance family life/time and couple life/time. The year I also learn to make time for myself and actually stick to it. Regrouping is something that should not be taken lightly. Every mom needs it to be a successful mom, a less stressed mom, and more well rested mom, a more energetic mom.
I want to remember this last year of my twenties and know I felt good, no great.