I should have known he was up to no good...

Here are the last 2 photos taken of the culprit before he destroyed my camera forever...

And now broken camera

So it has been a trying evening...
For Mother's Day I got a nice new Nikon D80... beautiful camera... I have only had the camera for 4 days... well tonight Mr. Mason decided to pull it off of the counter and destroy it...

I feel like a failure as a mommy for getting so angry, for screaming profanities and hating life for an hour or so...

I know this is only the beginning of many trials and tribulations this little man has to offer me... I feel so guilty for letting my anger get the best of me and make my kids feel so frightened with my yelling...

At one point I was thinking "I hate my life as a mommy and a wife"... I am sad right now... I know it is just a material thing... and that's not the point... I am sad because the whole situation is my fault, and I am angry, and my kids should never have to see me that angry.

I just had to vent... I am still shaking because of my emotions getting the best of me. I went in and held my babies tight and cried and apologized to them for yelling... but that doesn't make it right... why am I such a failure at this mommy thing?

Yeehaw... we got a new camera

So yippee skippy for us... we got a new camera for Mother's Day... awesome possum I tell you! Thanks to our good friends Jeremy and Amanda... and all of their research and lengthy insight, we decided to follow suit and purchase ourselves a Nikon D80 as well! I must say... what a great purchase it has been so far! We are having a blast becoming armature photographers these days! Regardless... it is nice to have a camera once again!

So these past few weeks have been filled with birthday party after birthday party... and go go go in between. In fact, one Saturday we frequented 2 BIRTHDAY PARTIES.. back to back... crazy I tell you! We also cracked down and got our playroom done... finally. We did away with our "guest room" downstairs and made it a nice big play room. It is the color of "peanut butter" as Gabby puts it. I also was able to finish the formal living and dining area with some nice accents this week, so I took some pictures as well to share!

My mother's day was an amazing day. We had so much fun. Gabriella was totally into this year. She was sad when she didn't get presents that day ... she said she wanted a Mother's Day too. I had to explain that she is what makes mother's day... and without her I wouldn't get that day either. That day I was able to sleep in, and the kids and Justin went off to get me some flowers and cards. They woke me up with nice surprises and then we got dressed and took off for a nice day of shopping at IKEA... yes that was my mommy wish. Everyone hates that store, but I wanted to go darn it! Afterwards we stopped by my Uncle Ken's house and had a nice afternoon with family over there and a yummy dinner! The Tuesday after Mother's Day I was able to go to school with Gabby for "Muffins with Mom". Ok... let me just tell you how darn cute this whole experience was. Gabby is by far the smallest thing in her school... and quite cute. I was cracking up when this little boy "Kyle" (whom Gabby talks about constantly) approached her... only her no one else, and asked her to play super heroes with him... she said no thank you... but how cute it was to witness!! I was given yummy muffins and lemonade and sat outside with the other mommies and visited. We were then brought inside to watch a movie of our children at school, and then listen to little "adlib poems" they made for us.
Here is what Gabby said:
My mom looks the prettiest when : "She wears dresses.".... ok?
My mom makes the best : "pasta with cheese." ... ok what is she talking about?
My mom laughs when: "I tell her jokes." ... yes I sure do... she is quite the comic these days! My mom is happy when: "I clean my room." ... hmmmm not sure she has EVER done this but ok!
My favorite thing about my mom is : "I make her happy." ... that she certainly does.

Each child was brought to the front of the class while the teacher read their individual poem about their mom aloud. They saved Gabby for last... she was so shy and cute. After the poems they wore sunshine faces and sang "You are my sunshine" Too cute. Gabby was somewhat out of sorts this day, as at the beginning of the class her friend Max told her that she wasn't his friend. So sad... it broke her heart and she was sad about it for 2 days. I had to explain to her that sometimes people say mean things that hurt our feelings but they really don't mean it. I also told her to tell him that he hurt her feelings. It makes me sad though to see her feelings hurt. I want to protect her from that pain... but I know I can't :(

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of Mother's Day or Muffins with Mom as we didn't have a camera yet.

However, now is the time to enjoy lots and lots of pictures from our new camera! Most will be pretty self explanitory!

















































Hope you enjoyed another edition of our hectic lives!

Love to all
Tara

This must be important... why can't I do it?

The Good Wife's Guide

From Housekeeping Monthly, 13 May, 1955.

· Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.

· Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.

· Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.

· Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Run a dustcloth over the tables.

· During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.

· Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet.

· Be happy to see him.

· Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.

· Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.

· Don't greet him with complaints and problems.

· Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.

· Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.

· Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.

· Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.

· A good wife always knows her place.

Tell Me...

Do any of the videos on my blog work for you? They are hit and miss for me... it is FRUSTRATING ME to no avail.
any feedback is greatly appreciated...

Well... here we are

So I know I have been bad about updating this, but to my surprise, I didn't realize I was that bad. It has been 1 month since I last updated you with the wonderful going ons of this household. I am very very sorry about the delayed update. Quite frankly, there are no excuses, other than :sick kids with tummy bugs, babysitting kids, redoing the playroom, company, and a roadtrip to San Diego... in between all of that trying to squeeze in preschool, church, friend time and family time... hmmmm. But again, like I said, no excuse for my delayed updates.

This time, I am not going to write a book. Many of you have commented on my "ahem... story book writings" so this time, I will keep it short and sweet. I will spoil you with lots of pictures. Get ready for some fun, and enjoy this for now, as our camera is BROKEN (yay time for a new one :):):) see me smilin'!?) so it's a bit hard to take pictures now.

First up... some silly candids from the past month:

Mason got a new hair cut!!! Check him out!!

story time with daddy is always so interesting!

toilet kisses are the best... especially when big sissy is "dropping a load off"




she has this new bikini... and thinks this is how it is put on... (the two pieces are still connected with tags, but she managed to get it on)

so one night, we forgot the house alarm key downstairs... but had set the alarm with the main control pad... here is my silly hubby playing "Stewart.... Justin Stewart (Im James Bondin it right now) as he slides down the stairs out on to the floor so as not to be picked up by the motion detectors!!!!!
(I had another picture, but it was inappropriate ... Justin was showing me a bird on his finger)

So that was just some random happenings this past April.

Gabriella had her first ever sleep over with a friend. Tori stayed the night to give her mommy a much needed break! The girls were really good, and even slept together at first, until they woke up at midnight and started jumping on the bed!! That is when Tori was moved to the playroom!!!

Here are some cute pics!...oh and the bubble bath was awesome... I dumped an entire bottle of bubble bath in the water, the girls had a blast.





On April 24th we took off that evening to San Diego. We stayed the first two nights at the Manchester Hyatt in downtown San Diego. Melanie's friend works there and got us a great deal. Friday we took the kids to Sea World and that night the kids stayed with their Auntie Melanie while mommy and daddy had a night away from kiddos! Saturday we shopped and lounged around and then went to stay with Uncle Ben and Aunt Terri and the girls down in Eastlake. We went to church with them Saturday night, and Sunday spent the day at the beach in Coronado. Gabby was apprehensive at first about the water, but then turned into a true beach girl and didn't want to leave. Mason on the other hand HATED the waves, and hated the water, and hated the sand... hmmm not much of a beach bum! Monday we headed up to Ocean Beach where we met Uncle Bob, enjoyed the tide pools with him, some lunch on the pier and ice cream at none other than Rite Aid... it was a lovely afternoon. Enjoy the pictures!
































So did you notice the picture of Mason soaking wet in Justin's arms? Well... at the Ocean Beach tide pools Justin slipped and fell while holding Mason and dropped him in a tide pool... pulled him out by his ankle... quite the incident! Poor bubba didn't know what to think!

Today... today has been a trying day.... While cleaning this morning Mason decided to dump a plant all over our beige carpet. I spent the rest of my "cleaning time" cleaning up his mess. I went to take a shower, and to no avail my two children got into a "knock down drag out" and Gabby slammed Mason's head into the tile floor (not that he didn't have it coming, he was pulling her hair and wouldn't let go). So I quickly jump out of the shower, sopping wet and console the kids and bring Mason to his crib. I get back in the shower and Gabby tells me through the shower door that she feels bad and is sorry she made Mason cry and wants to go get in his crib with him. I say it is fine as long as she sits down, doesn't jump and plays nice. Well as I get out of the shower I hear her jumping, and all of the sudden SNAP. I run into Mason's room to find the crib BROKEN. Oh my goodness. At this point I am like... whatever... it doesn't even matter. I call my mom to tell her of my "experiences" and just then Gabby comes walking in to show me a toy she had just broken... lovely huh? So now the kids are down in bed... Gabby consistently getting up to "go potty" and I had a MINUTE to blog. I hope you enjoyed this edition... story ... well for the most part... story free... and full of cute kiddie candids.

Until next time...
Stay safe, Stay healthy and be happy!
Love Tara