I'm In Love!

With my new camera! The pictures that I have taken in the two days since I got it are AMAZING! I always thought that my Sony took good pictures until I got my new Kodak 1012IS! I am now IN LOVE witht he thing! Tim said he's going to have a hard time getting it out of my hands and he's right. Here is just a sample of what I've taken in the past few days :

Get ready....and check back to see what more I can take a picture of!!!

In Celebration Of.......

Team Sarcoma 2008

Saturday, May 17th, along with 30+ other friends and family, we gathered at Creve Coeur Park to walk. Dressed in tye-die orange shirts, we walked In Celebration of Tricia, my sister-in law, a cancer survivor and our hero. It was a beautiful day and just reinforced for Tricia and my brother, Hank, that we all support them and continue to celebrate her success with beating and being cancer free for 4 years now!

A Special Birthday Shout-Out!

Jack and Mason want to send a special "Happy Birthday" Shout-out to UNCLE HANK on his birthday today! He's the best and coolest Uncle in the WORLD!

Happy Birthday, Uncle Hank!

We love you!

Swimming Lessons Here We Come!

Tim and I decided that we'd sign the boys up for swimming lessons to get them in the right mode for Summer. Jack is not fond of the water. Imagine bathing a cat...that's kind of what Tim deals with at bath time at our house. He can't stand water getting into his eyes and ears so I have no clue what he's going to be like in a swimming pool. Mason doesn't seem to mind the water one way or the other.

The boys have always had fun in our kiddie pool, but now that they are getting older, they are showing more and more interest in the Water Park that is within walking distance of the house. I want them to enjoy the water and learn how to swim, so this is our first step.

Every Saturday, from 11:00 - 11:30 starting in June running through the end of July, we'll be heading over to our local indoor pool for Parent & Child swim class. The boys seem interested and very excited about it but the truth will come out on day #1 when they realize what it's all about. Hopefully, it will be FUN that we are doing it as a family and we will get the results that I am hoping for - two FISH that we can't get out of the water!

Check back to see what happens - our first lesson is 6/7!!!

"Happy Smother's Day!"

As I walked into the kitchen yesterday morning after getting dressed for the day, I got a big, happy "Happy SMother's Day, Mommy!" with a huge smile from Jack. It was the most wonderful thing I could have heard him say. Tim even said he didn't tell him to say it - that made it even better!

Yesterday was a wonderful Mother's Day! I would have loved better weather, instead of the damp and dreary 50 degree, rainy & windy weather that Mother Nature delivered to us here in St. Louis, but I don't think we were alone in that respect. I am just thankful that we were not one of the unfortunate families in the mid-west who were affected by the severe storms that moved through Saturday night/Sunday morning.

Our morning was no different than usual. Breakfast for the boys, breakfast for Mommy and breakfast for Daddy. A little TV and then everyone got dressed. In order to break up the mundane day of being inside all day, we decided to pack the boys up and head to the play place at the Mall for them to burn some of their extra energy before lunch. A ride on the beautiful Merry-go-round and then lunch from Subway.




Oh....and my present? A digital picture frame for my desk at work. See.....


Anyone who knows me knows that I am a picture FREAK and that my office is a shrine to my children and my husband. Well....why shouldn't it be? I am here 8 hours a day, 40 hrs a week - I miss them and it helps pass the time. But...my company is starting to implement a clean desk look so personal pictures will be a thing of the past. Tim though this would help me in making the transition from the 21 pictures that I currently have in my office (those are the ones in frames and don't include the ones in my desk blotter). It was THE BEST present! I don't think he could have done any better! Thanks Honey, I love it!!

The rest of the day was spent playing and napping and then we had a nice dinner, at home. Nothing that fancy, just chicken breast and shrimp for Tim and I and mac & cheese, meatballs and corn on the cob for the boys.

I told Tim, I really didn't need a special day to know that my children love me and that he appreciates me. They tell me that 364 days out of the year (yes, I know there are 365 days in a year, but I have to be the bad guy once in a while!) However, it's still nice to be pampered and treated like a Queen anyway! I LOVE BEING A MOM!

Before I Was A Mom.....

Before I was a Mom...
I slept as late as I wanted
and never worried about how late I got into bed.
I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mom...
I cleaned my house each day.
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations

Before I was a Mom...
I had never been puked on, pooped on,
spit on, Chewed on, peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom...
I never held down a screaming child
so that doctors could do tests.
Or give shots

Before I was a Mom...
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep

Before I was a Mom...
I never held a sleeping baby just
because I didn't want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into
a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom

Before I was a Mom...
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom...
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love,
the heartache, the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much
before I was a Mom.

Jack & Mason - Thankyou for making me a Mom!

I LOVE YOU BOTH!

To My Mom - Happy Mother's Day!

I LOVE YOU!

A Proud Mommy Moment

They're born...they smile their first smile....they sit up...they crawl...they walk...they learn to talk...they learn to say their names....they learn to WRITE THEIR NAMES!

Yesterday had to be one of the proudest "Mommy Moments" that I've ever had watching Jack show Tim and I how he could write his name ON HIS OWN! It was so cool! I almost cried.

Yes, I'm a proud Mommy!

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

Saturday evening, Tim, the boys & I went to a Cinco De Mayo party at one of Jack's classmates house. They had a pinata, Balloon guy, pin the tail on the donkey and tons of more fun! It was a great night for everyone (even the parents)! Thank you to Laura, Guy & Lecie Link for the invite!

Aren't they just too cute?

March For Babies

This morning was the St. Louis Chapter of March of Dimes, March for Babies at Forest Park. We were just THREE of the 10,000+ walkers that showed up to support such a wonderful cause.

Again, a HUGE THANK YOU, from Jack, Mason, & Me to those of you who generously donated to our fund. The ticker on the right hand side of my Blog shows that we actually surpassed our goal by $95! It's not a ton, but heck, we raised more than we originally set out to a month ago!!!

We were joined by a few other of the Mom's from my online Mom's group, as well as their husbands and children and we all walked the entire 3.2 mile walk! Boy was that a workout!! Especially pushing a double stroller filled with 50+ lbs of Riley boys! It was good for me though!

We wore special TShirts that were designed by another Mom from my Mom's group and I was actually the one who was responsible for finding the vendor, having the shirts made, collecting all the money and distributing the 113 shirts to the other Team Julia's Grace members who are walking in their respective cities around the country.

Getting faces painted in preparation to walk

Mason got a snake!

Jack had a butterfly and a snake!

The crowd in front of us waiting to go

The crowd behind us just as eager to get started

A giant American Flag suspended above the starting line - Pretty Cool!

Mommy's friend Lisa with her husband Dave and their children Lucas and Addison (she's not in the picture somehow) - sorry Lisa!

Mommy's other friend Amber's Team for her girls Perry & Ella

That's all my pictures, when you're flying solo with two children, it's kind of hard to push a stroller and take pictures at the same time so I did the best I could.

We're Walking For Aunt Tricia - 5/17/08

It's that time of year again....my wonderful sister in-law, Tricia has started to gather her team again for the Sarcoma Alliance, 10th Annual Cancer Survivorship Walk. As you may or many not know, 4 1/2 years ago, Tricia was diagnosed with Leimyosarcoma of the broad ligament. There are many different types of sarcomas but the most important fact to understand is that less than 1% of those diagnosed with cancer will be diagnosed with a type of sarcoma.

Tricia is the 12th, yes 12th, person to have ever been diagnosed with Broad Ligament Leimyosarcoma and her doctors consider her a miracle. Another fact, 75% of people diagnosed with sarcoma, have a recurrence in two years - this year Tricia was 4 years cancer free! She says that she was able to win her battle because of the help of family and friends and that she also made a promise to herself that she would do whatever she could do to help others who are living with cancer - this is just ONE of the ways that she does that! She is truly OUR HERO!

On Saturday, May 17th, Tim, the boys and I, will be a part of TEAM SARCOMA, walking for Tricia, at Creve Couer Lake. Last year, we were a team of over 30 people strong and raised over $1500 for The Wellness Community, so that they can continue to help the cancer community of St. Louis as well as family and friends of those living with or who have lost their life to the monster. This year we are hoping for a team of 50 and to raise $3,000.

If you would like to help us raise money for our fund for The Sarcoma Alliance, you can click the DONATE button to the right of this post OR if you'd like to register to join the walk and join Team Sarcoma, you can visit The Wellness Community online at http://www.wellnesscommunitystl.org/ for a printable version of their pledge form.

Either way, Thank you from Tim, the boys and Me AND a big thank you from Tricia and my brother, Hank!

Here are a few pics from our awesome walk last year:

Hank & Tricia with their dog, Spicy

Jack and his buddy, Uncle Hank!

Even Mason walked, well....kind of!

2007 Team Sarcoma!

Our decked out stroller - we walked proudly for Aunt Tricia!

Check-Up

Here are Mason's stats from his 18 month checkup in Nov 2007 -
Height - 33 1/2" (80th %)
Weight - 24 lbs 12.5 oz (35th %)

Here were his stats yesterday -
Height - 36" (85th %)
Weight - 27 lbs (40th %)

He's tall and skinny! And to put it into perspective a bit more....he is 3/4" SHORTER than Jack was at 3yrs! They are going to be sharing ALL their clothes pretty soon! They are in the same size shorts right now!

Other than that............nothing too earth shattering. We'll be keeping an eye/ear on his speach because of his tight frenulum. Tim and I think that his speach is not nearly as clear as Jack's was at 2yo but it's hard to tell. We'll be watching that for about 6 months and reevaluate with the Ped this fall to see if we need to do anything about it. His ears were clear, his lungs sounded wonderful so his asthma has been downgraded to mild/intermitent (which was nice to hear).

The pediatrician did also note the huge difference in the boys personalities too. She nailed it on the head that Jack is more laid back, reserved and emotional and Mason is more outgoing, active and physical.