My... how time flies...

I know... it has been far too long since I have last "blogged". I am amazed that blogged is an actual word, and actual verb... as Amanda says, it sounds kind of gross "I just blogged" or "I need to blog" or "I am blogging"... sounds like some kind of nasty bodily function....

Ok... so what has been up with us? Hmmmm LOTS AND LOTS!

I meant to blog this past week at some point, but with Justin working nights and us all fighting illness lately, it just didn't work out. This past week Gabby was struck once again with a fever... this time a little milder, and we spent the week out of school and just resting to get better. Finally... I think we are safe to say, we are ALL better! I must say this year has been a rough year so far in regards to getting sick... we must not be used to the climate!

So last I posted Gabby had her first day of preschool... well after that she only went to one more class and then alas was sick the following week. This week coming up is spring break... sooooo ya... we paid $135.00 for Gabby to attend class 4 whole times in the month of March!!! Ehh... what can you say... things happen... all that matters is Gabby is loving school and loving her new teachers and new friends. I can't even begin to describe how cute she is when I go to pick her up and she has her little backpack all packed up and sooooo excited to show me her "good behavior sticker" for the day. This really seems to be a good fit for Gabby.

Miss Gabriella on her first day of school, March 4th
(she picked out her outfit!)







Last Friday, March 7th we headed out to Children's Hospital for Mason's follow up VCUG (voiding cystourethrogram). For those of our readers unaware of what I am talking about, Mason had a urinary tract reflux or vesicouretera reflux. This is a condition wherein the urine doesn't fully empty out of the bladder when a person urinates and depending on the grade goes back through the valves from the kidney and in some cases recirculates through the kidneys. There are 5 levels to this condition, with 1 being mild and 5 being severe. Mason was diagnosed with a level 2 at only 3 months of age. Last May he awoke with a very high fever, I brought him into the doctor and after catheterizing him and lots of poking and prodding we found out he had a urinary tract infection... something very uncommon for such a young baby. We were then prompted to take him to Children's Hospital in Albany, NY (where he also spent the first 4 days of his life :)... in the NICU) and there we found out from a pediatric urologist Mason's condition. He was put on a prophylactic dose of antibiotics to be taken every day and reassessed when he was a year old. Well... the little man was ready for his checkup! So out we trucked... it is quite a drive from our house! Because the Children's Hospital is on a RSV lockdown, children not being seen for medical reasons were not allowed in any of the facilities. So Gabriella and I enjoyed a picnic lunch out on the lawn and waited around for 2 hours outside while daddy and Mason finished up inside. Good news was to be had... Mason outgrew his condition and no longer needs to take any medication... we are soooo happy and relieved for him!



After our visit to Children's Hospital, we decided to go out for a celebratory lunch at Abuelo's Mexican Restaurant... quite yummy. We then headed off to the mall for an afternoon of shopping ... mainly to kill time and avoid all of the traffic... being that our nearest mall is a good 45 minutes from our house (just down the road from the Abuelo's Restaurant we like so much). While there, we decided to let the kids go see the Easter Bunny. This year our little Gabby wasn't so scared and didn't hysterically cry as she did last year. She was a bit uneasy with the old fur ball as he didn't talk... as she says "He had a red mouth and just smiled at me". Mason thought "How cool... a giant stuffed animal"... he had no fear... we shall see next year huh!?






Too stinkin cute huh!?















Last Saturday we had Gabby's dance class and then a birthday party to attend. The neighbor girl down the street was turning 1. On Sunday, my lovely Uncle Ken awoke me at 8:30 am thinking I was clearly awake because I have young children... note to all loved ones : my children are trained to sleep in until 9am on weekends :) hahaha.... just kidding Uncle Ken... had to give you a hard time... no for some reason everyone was still sound asleep ... but alas...we got up for the day and mozied (I have no idea how to spell this word, and don't feel like figuring it out) on over to Uncle Ken's and Auntie Darcy's house and spent the afternoon visiting with everyone. Gabriella was finally able to meet her Uncle Tim Ohman, whom she shares a birthday with... and she can't stop talking about how "high up in the sky" he is!



Monday is when Gabriella decided to wake up with another fever, and that is when we decided to just relax and take the week easy. By Friday we were all ready to get out of the house. Justin took the children to Gabby's make up dance class and I went and had my hair highlighted and chopped off! It was time for change!






Yup... I chopped the hair... bad picture... but you get the idea of what it looks like










Saturday was a great day... we got up and Justin took Gabby to dance class while Mason and I stayed home, cleaned and decorated for his party. It was quite interesting trying to decorate with the little bugger as he continued to tear everything down while I tried to put everything up! After fighting with him over a table cloth, I just decided to fold it up and lay it on the table with no sides hanging down... that is when he decided to just rip little pieces off and take off running and laughing. I brought our little picnic table inside for the kids to sit at during the party... well Mason has decided it is much more fun to climb on and stand and dance on top... yes I have a table top dancer for a son... he gets down and shakes his booty alright!... and then squeals with delight when mommy comes running to get him off... he is such a pill!

and here are some pictures of the decorating!

The fabulous rock star themed birthday party started at 4pm. We enjoyed yummy pizza from Palermo's, a rockin' skater birthday cake, and lots of presents. The children enjoyed playing with the 36 balloons and blow up guitars we had laying around on the floor. At first I was worried that not a lot of people were coming because we had a lot of people not able to make it due to being ill or previous engagements... but we had plenty. Everything works out, because if more people had come, we wouldn't have had enough room for everyone! So the party was perfect and we really enjoyed having everyone over. Thank you to all who attended... it really made our day! To all who were unable to come, you were here with us in spirit. Again, I will put up lots of pictures and a video or two for you to see the great fun as it happened!

Here's the invite:


(the caption says "it's time to PARTY like a Rock Star!")
















(I am turning 1 years old. That means it's time to party hard...ROCKSTAR STYLE!) Ok so I just realized I had a misprint on this darn card... I omitted the word "to" on the card... oh how embarassing!

(Please come celebrate with me and my family.


When: Saturday March 15th
Where: My house dude
Time: 4:00 pm (it's a bbq baby)
Please RSVP so my mom knows whos coming and doesn't totally freak out...

TOTALLY DUDE...)










(made by my momma)






Cute invite huh!? I worked hard on that!!

And now for pictures of all the fun and mess!!

watch the video... we sing happy birthday!

mmm yummy cake!
(this was an accidental video... but at least you can see him chow down!)


and then he had to get nakey cuz he was a MESS! no worries... just back in the spirit of the day... in the birthday suit!

My lovely grandparents stayed the night last night. We always love having company and I know the children just love it when Grandma Jeannie and Papa Bill show up and play with them. We love sitting around and chatting... always nice conversations! This morning we all awoke and went out to a nice breakfast at Mimi's Cafe. I just love their yummy hot chocolates.

we love you papa Bill and grandma Jeannie!

There miss Gabriella decided it would be ok to color on her booster seat because the adults were talking and not paying enough attention to her! My oh my... the trying "3s" sure are kicking in! That's ok ... she could be much worse... she is a very good little girl and very well behaved. She knows it was naughty (she had a timeout in the restroom at the restaurant) and was very sorry afterward. Breaks my heart to see her big baby blue eyes well up with tears... but sometimes... we just have to make sure she understands the rules and a little discipline doesn't hurt. Justin and I take great pride in our parenting... we come under fire a lot from friends and family thinking we are too hard on our kids... but we do what we feel is best for them. We don't raise our hand to them... we utilize time outs and now with Gabby the loss of privileges. We feel it is our duty to raise respectful, positive influences to society... as one day they will be the generation making all decisions for us. We know our children are happy and good spirited kids so whenever we come under fire about "how hard we are on them" we just foo foo the comments and continue on with what we know is right. Are we perfect? No... and we know that... have we lost our cool before and maybe over reacted with raising our voices? Sure we have... that happens... but if we ever do over react we make sure to apologize and let the kids know that we were wrong too. Too many parents now a days feel they either need to be friends with their kids and not a disciplinarian or feel that they have no control over their kids. I don't want to be the mom standing there with my kids walking all over me and throwing tantrums in public. I may be old fashioned... but I would be doing a disservice to my children and to everyone else by letting my children rule me. Sure... I know Mason is going to be COMPLETELY different from Gabriella... I am learning that already... things will have to be done differently with him, and nothing wrong with that. However, I will never give up on him and my determination to make him a positive contribution to society will always be my main focus. Many of you may be wondering, "What is the point of all of this? Why is she rambling on and on about this"... Well again, as I mentioned before, Justin and I have come under much fire as of recent as to how we raise our children, and I feel I must say at least something to put my frustrated mind at ease. The only place I feel I have to stand up for us is here... as I don't want to step on toes or cause any type of uncomfortable situation or argument. But... I am the type of person that has to get things off my chest and somehow express how I am feeling. Who knows if those that judge our parenting will read this... and I don't really care if they do. I just need to vent! We do what we feel is right and we feel we are doing the best we possibly know how. Whenever we are out at a restaurant and are seated next to a table... and get the look of "oh great, a table with two kids" ... I smile inside, because I know my kids will behave... and if they don't... I will leave... no sense making anyone suffer. Whenever this happens, it is always nice at the end of the other table's meal when they nicely mention to us how well behaved our children are and what a pleasant surprise it was to them. That to us is confirmation that we are doing our job somewhat right!

Parenting isn't an easy task... and not to be taken lightly. I couldn't ask for a more challenging, frustrating, fun-filled exciting job than being a mommy. I want my children to know that Justin and both Gabby and Mason are all my best friends... not matter what happens... and every night before bed I make sure to tell Gabby just how much she means to me and how she is my best friend. Well tonight, I may have slipped up... because I said "Gabby I love you so much sweety, you are my best friend"... with that she responded "Can you please stop saying that"... at that Justin cracked up laughing... I guess I had mentioned it one too many times in the last 5 minutes for her (I only said it twice)... so here we are... already at that stage in her life... I am beginning to annoy her! YAY! I just laughed, kissed her head, and said goodnight to her. Outside of her room Justin and I started laughing at how funny that whole situation was... and how unexpected it was at that! It's moments like this that I will always cherish. I am glad I have a place like this to write these moments down and savor.... I wonder if this will still be around in 20 years? HMMMM good question!


Here are a few extra pictures from the last two weeks:

Mr Mason always ready for the camera...
Gabby was sitting on the floor and Mason intentionally went and sat next to her... we just had to snap a picture of his adoration for her!

















Here is how I found Mason last week... a tutu stuck to his feet... aww he was playing dress up!

So all seriousness and griping aside... that is our last two weeks in a nut shell. I need to go attend to a few things around the house, and then I am going to sit down with my husband and enjoy a nice glass of wine and conversation. I love when Justin and I can just sit around and talk... he is the best conversationalist I could ever ask for. I can only hope that as the years go on... it gets even better! So to this I bid you adieu and farewell. Stay safe, stay happy and be healthy!

Cheers
Tara

ok so this just took me over 2 hours to do! YIKES!!