52 Weeks of Happiness :: Week 10

Feeling loved on Mother's Day.

There is nothing sweeter than the smell
of a bouquet sitting on the dining room table.
Especially when it's for something
as special as Mama's Day.

We had quite a celebration this year.
I was totally spoiled and
got tons of gifties and special things.

Some highlights were...

Taking a trip to IHOP with my parents and

eating pancakes topped with
strawberries and whipped cream.

The fact that my husband
took a trip to the antique store
and scored this fantastic retro snack set for me.

I'm already in the early stages
of planning a ladies' brunch
just so I can use these dishes.

By far my favorite moment
was waking up from an afternoon nap
to hear Griffin stomping through the house
to give me a hand picked wildflower.

He smelled like a puppy dog
from playing outside
but had the most sincere look of love on his
grubby little face as he handed it to me.

Being the only girl in my family
can make me feel like the only soul
in the house that takes the time to make special plans.

I must admit that I was a little worried
about what my boys would plan for Mother's Day.
I envisioned a game of dodge ball or mud pies
but they totally came through.

I just love being a mama to smelly little boys.

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Want to join me in my quest
to scout out happiness for a whole year?
Simply post a photo of something that
makes you wildly happy and tell us all about it.
Then, steal my button and include it in your post.
Don't forget to link up to Mr. Linky.

Mr. Independent Drives Into Town.

Early Sunday morning I was pulled out of my slumber by Koen calling for me. The cruel numbers on my digital clock said 4:45 am and I tried to just roll over and go back to sleep but he wouldn't settle down. I stumbled out of bed and made a stop to powder my nose and I could hear him shuffling around in his crib. Suddenly, his bedroom door opened and there he stood in the hallway in the glow of his night light.

"Hi mama!" he said casually while waving and giving his hips a little shake. Shocked to see my toddler standing in the hallway I replied "Well, hello Koen, how did you get out here?" He pointed into his room and said "I climbed out." He then led me by the hand and said "I climb out right there, mama." His little finger pointed to his crib. I wanted to cry right then and there. I swooped him up and tried to rock him back to sleep but as soon as I put him back in the crib, he just climbed right out. I stood outside his door and watched as he flung one leg over, then the other, dangled his little legs while holding onto the railing, and simply dropped down onto his feet. He had incredible form and a solid landing. It was official...time to say bye bye to the crib and hello to an independent toddler. I am so not ready for this.

It didn't stop there either, as we ate lunch out for a Mother's Day celebration, he demanded to sit in a booster seat. As I tried my hardest to gently force his tiny body into the highchair, he kindly kicked the highchair and yelled "No thank you! I big boy now!!" So, he sat next to me in a booster seat and then abandoned the booster seat soon after and then stood up in the booth and then jumped in the booth and then tried to escape three times. He also refused to let me help him with his drink and proceeded to spill said drink into his lap and then managed to look at me as if I was to blame and exclaimed "I get all wet." It was a very peaceful Mother's Day lunch. Roger and I gazed at each other over a basket of stale tortilla chips and said things like "I love you?" and "What are we going to do with this kid?" Griffin basked in the glory of being the "good kid" as Koen tried to dump an entire salt shaker onto his head.

When we arrived back home, the house became a flurry of activity. We grabbed our trusty ol' car bed and pulled the guard rails out from storage. The crib came down and the new bed was parked in it's spot. We made sure that all the outlets were plugged up and anything that could provide mischief in the middle of the night was removed. Late in the afternoon, his new room was complete and a proud two year old hopped onto his new bed and surveyed his new found freedom. I am trying not to panic here but I think that my little guy is on cruise control and I better hold on cause this car is moving fast.

Let us all have a moment of silence
for the crib that is dismantled and lonely in storage.

Winner : Mother's Day Edition

We have a winner for this week's installment of Freakshow Friday. Please take note that my super hilarious and non biased best friend was the judge. Here are the top three in no particular order.

Holly
During her second trimester,
Trudy decided that Wayne
should have to push a watermelon out too.

Ben
"The next person who says 'Nice Melons'
gets a cap up their ass!!!"

Our Beaten Path
"Wanda's BabyDaddy can run....but he can't hide!!"

The winner is...
Ben

"The next person who says 'Nice Melons'
gets a cap up their ass!!!"

Ben
is the funniest blogger in all the land.
Now head on over to his blog

and marvel at this fantastic award he just earned
to proudly display forever.

Thanks to all the people who played.

Tune in this Friday for another instalment of Freakshow Friday!

A Family Lives Here : Exhibit 2

It's so fun to stumble upon evidences that children live in my home.
Lately, when the house gets too quiet
I know that I can find Koen
exploring the bottom cabinet of my china cabinet.

That is where I keep a collection of cookbooks.
He loves to rummage through the stack and thumb through the pages.
He calls them "hot books"
and he can literally look at them all day long.

I love to see all the hot books scattered about the dining room floor.
I love that he points to recipes and says
"Cook this one mama."

Maybe I have a future chef on my hands.

I'm linking up to the lovely Queen Scarlet's new weekly carnival.

It's such a sweet idea.
You just scout out evidence that a family lives in your home.
I think that everyone should join in the fun!

Freakshow Friday : Mother's Day Edition

It's time for another installment of Freakshow Friday. Where I ask my readers to come up with a caption or story for a funny photo found on Awkward Family Photos. My best friend will be the judge and she's one hilarious freakaziod. So, bring it! Here is this week's photo, I am a little afraid of this mama.

Mary took her cravings very seriously.

You got a better one for me?

If so, you may just when this awesome award

and have bragging rights forever.
Oh...do I ever have an award for you!
You will win this brand spankin' new award!!

If you win then I'll link up to your
Blog and make a big deal
about how funny you are.
Simply leave your funny caption or story
in my comments section.

The winner will be announced on Monday.

Why We All Need to Start Thinking like a Smart Hispanic Woman or Motherhood According to Mo.

{Me being a Hispanic woman who means business, Mo-the wisest man in the entire world, and
my awesome drunk husband looking like an unfrozen caveman lawyer.}

Over the weekend while celebrating at a party, I met a fantastic Cuban guy named Mo. We struck up a conversation about how I have two sons and that boys always love their mamas. I expressed my concern that they will one day grow up, get married, and leave me only to spend all the holidays with his wife's family. That was when Mo gave me the single most life changing piece of advice that has ever been bestowed upon me. He told me that I needed to "start acting like a Hispanic Mama."

In the most fantastic Cuban accent, he then unleashed pearls of wisdom on me about cunning ways to ensure that my boys stick with me and not his wife's family. His mother is a pro at this and I have a feeling that I was learning from the best. I was so inspired by these amazing techniques that I invited him to join us here on my blog to school us all on how we can be more like a Hispanic mama. Trust me, you will want to read every single item on this list. You must read this in your head with a very musical and wonderful Cuban accent.

Ladies (and you few gents)...I give you, Mo and his infinite wisdom!

I grew up with just one brother, but about 16 first cousins (that are like siblings to me). In my family, no matter the gender, we tend to have an unbreakable gravitational pull to anyone that marries into our family. So much so that we have even absorbed the parents and siblings of those that marry into our family (I call one of my cousin’s wife’s sister My Cousin since she’s been so ingrained in our family since I was a child). This was first orchestrated by my Grandmother. The Head of the Family. The Goddess of Parenting. The Queen on top of the Family Pyramid.

My mother has followed suit when it comes to my brother and his wife. As far as she is concerned my brother and I (and my brother’s children) are the center of her universe. And she plans on keeping us in her orbit until her last dying breath. This however is not an easy task, and it takes a lot of effort to maintain. Below is what I think are some of the key strategies my brilliant Cuban mother uses to keep my brother and his wife always at her house and in her life:

1. Pick the holidays that the kids like most. I'm talking any holiday with gifts and candy. I'm talking Christmas and Halloween. Let her family have Thanksgiving and Memorial Day. Gifts trump turkeys. Remember, the children are the key.

2. Babysit. Babysit. Babysit. The more time you spend with the kids the more they will like you. The less time your daughter-in-law (DIL) has to spend with the kids the more she will like you. Heck, my Mom takes care of my brother's kids after school. Guess which Grandma they like most.....

3. Constantly compliment how good a mother she is. Be the opposite of her actual Mom who is criticizing her mothering style as we speak.

4. Food is the magic elixir. Cook well and cook often. If you don't know how to cook, learn. Nothing is more awesome than a mother-in-law that makes fantastic dinners. When not having them over for dinner, occasionally make them dinner to go that they can pick up on the way home from work. This is yet more time they are spending in your house. After a long day of work, nothing says I love you more than not having to cook because your mother-in-law (MIL) made you dinner for you and the kids to go.

5. While on the subject of food, try to pass down some recipes from your dear old Grandmother. If you don't have any, make one up. This delivers the message to your DIL that she really is a member of your family. That she is like your daughter. This also works with old jewelry that belonged to your great grandmother the midwife.....

6. Occasionally buy her something because you were thinking of her or because it reminded you of her (even if it didn't). Hispanic mothers are not above a little bribery to buy her DIL's love. However don't spoil your grandkids too much, no mother wants to be outdone by her MIL.

7. Be a good Grandmother. Spoil your grandkids, but don’t make them rotten. Give then some freedom, but provide discipline. No mother wants to leave their kids someplace where they return with worse behavior then they left. (this one step almost doomed my mother, who felt her role was to let the grandkids do whatever they wanted to). Remember that when it comes to your grandchildren that your DIL is the Queen Bee. The Head Honcho. The Woman in Charge. You need to be on her side and support her disciplining decision (and yes, some are going to seem really dumb and not at all how you would have handled it). But the minute she feels you challenging her or usurping her authority with her own children she will be quickly returning to the comfort of her own Mother’s house whom she feels comfortable yelling at for doing the same damn thing.

8. Don’t immediately come to the defense of your Son when he’s done something idiotic. Because he will do something idiotic, he’s a man. And he will do it often. Make sure to take your DIL’s side every now and then. She will think you are wise and that you understand her.

9. Learn to be passive aggressive. I hate to state this one since it drives me absolutely insane, but I can’t argue with the results. Hispanic and Jewish mothers have mastered this skill. My mother can get me to do just about anything using guilt or by being passive aggressive. Personally, I think you should use this as a last resort. Your Hail Mary pass when all else fails.

You can thank me later for introducing you all to Mo.
You can't have him though, he's MY new bestest friend.

To school or not to school, that is the question.

When Griffin was two years old, I remember scooting him into the door of his preschool classroom and having him look at me like I was a traitor as I blew him a kiss and walked away. I heard him call for me as I made my way to the gym to hide out. An unsuspecting mom walked by and I snatched her up, begging her to check on my son. She reported back that he was sitting in the teacher's lap and crying. It was horrible and I remember feeling like we weren't quite ready for the separation. Of course, all the moms in my playgroup were putting their two year old kids in school too. Yet somehow, I was the lone mom that lingered in the bushes for the majority of the first day. It just seemed to be expected that it was time to start but I felt a gravitational pull to be near my toddler. Not wanting to be "that mom" I had to let him go. After a long adjustment and many tears on both of our parts, he learned to tolerate being shuffled off to preschool a few days a week.

Now Koen is two years old and although I have him enrolled in a sweet preschool just up the street, I am reluctant to actually send him when September rolls around. Maybe it is because he is my last baby but I just don't have the desire to push him out the door just yet. With Griffin graduating Kindergarten this year, I know how quickly these early years can pass by. Sometimes I wish that I could go back in time and spend just one day with a two year old Griffin. Although I am so proud to be the mother to a big six year old, I sometimes feel that I let those early years slip through my fingers. I try to treasure every single moment that I have with my children.

The truth is that if I send Koen to school then he would be gone from nine to noon, three mornings a week. He would come home, eat lunch, take a nap, and then it would be time for Griffin to come home. We would get one hour alone together as we ate lunch. I would lose all the precious one on one time that is so rare to find when you have two kids. My heart is telling me to enjoy having him at home one more year. I am a firm believer that children can learn just as much at the grocery store as they can at school. We could visit story time at the library and various other activities to get him socialized around other children.

Sometimes I feel resolved in my decision to keep him home with me but then I watch him interact with other kids or enjoy an activity that they would perform at school and wonder if he would really be happy going to a little school a few days a week. I ponder if he will get bored at home with me as he grows over the next year. I never want to hold my children back because of my need to hold on. What if I start to feel like I wished that I had those few mornings a week to myself while he would be off at school? These thoughts make me question myself and it's such a tough choice for a mama to make. I have yet to call and take him off the list at his little preschool. I'm holding out a bit longer as I'm still not sure what the right move is for us.

I'd like to know your thoughts on this quandary.
Please take a minute to take this poll
and leave a comment if you have thoughts to share.

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