On a bike ride

I let the kids ride their bikes to their nana's house today so Diego could finish off the rest of his ice cream cake from Sunday. We hung out there for a bit & then started back home as today was pretty cold out, for Arizona anyway. On our way back, we were crossing the street & Delaney decides to stop in the middle of the street just as a car is approaching, rather quickly I might add. I'm making sure Diego makes it to the sidewalk & I turn to her & yell to hurry up. She sits there pointing at this stupid cat on the other side of the street that was also crossing. Even the cat knew to hurry up to cross, but not Delaney. She just sat there & then I got scared 'cuz this car was coming & I'm still yelling at her to MOVE! I finally start pushing her & yelling at her & she starts crying. All of this just because she wanted to show me a freaking cat! She cried most of the way home. Once we got here, I sat her down & explained to her why I yelled & how we never stop in the middle of the road, EVER! She tells me, "I'm very sorry mommy and I will never, ever do that again...next year." Huh? Well, I guess the apology is good enough...even if it means I have to wait til next year for her to hold up her end of the deal. Gotta love a 3 yr old's way of thinking.

Turning 6!

Today is Diego's 6th birthday! I can't believe 6 years ago (at 9pm AZ time) he was born! I think that once our kids pass age 5 they just aren't little anymore. It's bittersweet because I hate the thought of my firstborn child growing up so fast, but I'm excited that he is going to experience so many new things this year as a 6 yr old. We have tried for over a year to persuade him into wanting a bike, but he just kept saying no way. We decided to take another approach...force him to want one! It worked! He LOVES his bike & Delaney gets to ride her Dora tricycle right behind him while I walk as fast as I can to keep up with both of them. It's a win/win situation as they are getting exercise & loving to be outdoors and my flabby butt is getting a workout as well. Amen!

The hard part about Diego having his birthday at this time is that we struggle with throwing a big party since it's so close to Christmas...27 hours before the holiday, to be exact. We always said we wouldn't short him a party ever, but it's hard to get everyone together when a lot of people leave town, school is on winter break, etc. So, we do our very best to give him the special day he deserves and let him decide how he wants to spend it. This year he chose to spend the WHOLE day at Amazing Jakes with his cousin Anthony. Then, we met afterwards w/the grandparents for ice cream cake (a tradition we started over a year ago in NC) and gift opening. Diego had a great day that will be memorable to our family forever, that's all that matters!

Tonight, we will spend his actual birthday at Peter Piper Pizza with just our little family playing games & eating our favorite food, pizza! I saved a gift for him to open (Star Wars action figure) that he already knows he's getting at some point since he saw it in the shopping cart the day I bought it. Oh well, he thinks he's getting it for Christmas so I still win 'cuz he'll be surprised to be getting it today. It's the surprise & excite factor us parents really care about, right?

So, as this day will come to an end soon and before I know it we'll be celebrating his 7th birthday, I'm going to take this chance to blog about how proud I am of this amazing son I have. I am so blessed that he was born my son and although he was born 4 weeks early, he was healthy, happy and he was mine! I love you, Diego!

Things I love the most

This is a "combo post" since I have things to blog about that took place over a span of a week or more.

A few days ago Delaney was at the kitchen table while Nate, Diego & I were sitting in the living room talking. Delaney was happily drawing at the table when I look over & see her putting her head down on her paper. I'm trying to figure out what exactly she's doing until it dawns on me that she's trying to trace her own head! A few seconds later, while she has no clue that I'm watching her, she picks up her leg & puts it on the table and tries to trace it as well. I couldn't help but start cracking up & of course, Nate & Diego are laughing too. She gets mad & tells us to stop laughing at her. She has such an attitude! She later brings over a couple of her drawings to show me her work and I was totally surprised & impressed. She traced her own hand so well and drew a picture of a robot that had real arms, legs, eyes, nose, mouth AND even a bellybutton. Most 3 yr olds don't draw at this level and I was very surprised. She then drew a caterpillar that LOOKED just like one. Again, I was impressed.

So, yesterday I got out of the shower & she was watching me get dressed. She always comments on how she likes my underwear and thinks it's very pretty. Well, today was no different but she added a new one. She said, "mommy, I really think your underwear is so pretty!" "Mommy, um, why does your underwear go INSIDE your butt?" I was cracking up, but nicely told her that some moms like to wear underwear that isn't visible through their clothes & they're called thongs. Uh, think I gave her too much info?? I can see this coming back to bite me in the butt when I find out she shared this little story during sharing time in preschool. Oh boy!

Last night the kids were allowed, by Nate, to sleep in our bed. I opt to sleep elsewhere when this happens as I NEED my sleep! Anyway, the kids always talk when they're in our bed if we're not in there. I hear them talking and then the talking turns to Diego crying. So, I go in the room to find that Delaney was trying to get closer to Diego & accidentally scratched his face. Then, Delaney starts to cry because she feels bad he's crying. Sigh!! Why can't they ever just go to sleep, I thought. So, I get them settled back down & I leave the room. Delaney is still kinda sniffling & crying. I tell Nate to go in there & deal with it and he finally does about 15 minutes later. He tells me this morning what the whole issue was. Apparently, Diego told her he was leaving in the morning on a train for 3 days. She was upset that he wasn't going to be coming back & started to cry. Nate says Diego was so involved in this story that he started believing himself & kinda started to get sad. He told her he didn't want to go. Hilarious! Well, the reason he said all of this was because he is going to ride the "Polar Express Train" at school today, but it's really just a pretend thing they're doing at school. All the kids are wearing their pj's, gloves, hats, jackets, etc & they're going to have hot cocoa & pretend they're at the North Pole. Anyway, these kids are too much. I just wish I was able to constantly record my life (and be able to edit or push the "off" button, of course) in order to capture these amazing moments that will never take place again. I just wish I could show the actual footage to my kids one day. Can you imagine?

Movie night

Nate & I are truly blessed to have such wonderful parents who are willing to babysit our kids on a whim so that we can have a few hours alone to go watch a movie. Tonight we saw The Blind Side and it was a GREAT movie! Anyway, I allowed the kids to sleep in our bed tonight and while I was cleaning up the living room Nate was getting the kids settled into our bed. I heard them having "storytime" and Nate was basically retelling the story of the kid in the movie we just saw. It was really sweet listening to Delaney ask him, "so then what happened?" and Diego would ask details about the boy and Nate would try his best to answer so they could both understand. Then, Nate starts to tell them about the part in the movie where the boy (who is 17 yrs old, btw) takes a ride from the woman in her car. Although, the boy is 17 and old enough to understand "stranger danger" Nate realized our kids would not. He then had to go on and on about how we never get in the car w/people we don't know. He explains to the kids that the boy knew who the woman was, but we still never get into a car with anyone unless mom & dad say it's okay. He finally moved on & finished telling the story, but something tells me he's gonna stress over this discussion for months to come! Lucky me.

All in all, it was a great movie and the kids really enjoyed their dad sharing a story about it. Great way to end the night!

Breakfast, pretend play & a little attitude

This morning when Delaney woke up she wanted to eat breakfast...as she does every day the very second she wakes up. I asked her if she wanted shredded wheat or oatmeal. She says oatmeal. So, I fix her the maple & brown sugar flavored oatmeal and she starts to eat it. She turns to me and say, "mommy, this oatmeal isn't as tasty as it looks...I want the oatmeal I picked out at the store yesterday because this kind isn't tasty." So, I add a little more brown sugar to it & she asks to smell the sugar before I put it away. She eats it all right up!

We had Laney's soccer game this morning and then came home to hang out until Diego plays later today. Delaney asks to bring a chair over to sit right next to me. She then brings her dora doll & a small little butterfly over to play with. Here I thought she wanted to play alone, but be closer to me. Oh no, she gets a little irritated and says, "MOM, you have to pick up the butterfly & talk to Dora...don't just leave it there!" Sheesh, excuse me!

A little later Diego is bugging me for something to eat & I tell him to find something. Apparently, my tone wasn't pleasant because he said to me, "mom, if you're mad at Laney you shouldn't talk to me like you're mad at me". Wow, he taught me a lesson, huh? I just told him he was right and I shouldn't show anger towards him if I'm mad at someone else. What a cutie patootie!

Hurt feelings

I could've mentioned this in my last post, but figured I'd blog all about Diego in this one so I'll just keep it separate.

On our way to Delaney's soccer practice today I hear the kids talking in the back seat. Apparently, Delaney is telling Diego that boys are mean and girls are better. She enjoys saying the phrase, "I HATE BOYS!" and it really made Diego mad. He turns to me and says, "mom, tell Laney to stop saying boys are mean." I tell her to stop saying girls are better and I jokingly say that boys ARE mean & stinky. I guess he was NOT in the mood for my jokes because out of nowhere he just turns his face into his carseat & starts bawling. He tells me that what I said really made him feel sad all over and it hurt his feelings. I turn around and tell him that I was only joking & teasing him and that, of course boys are not stinky or mean (totally lying 'cuz all boys ARE stinky!). I tell him that I'm sorry and I would never try to hurt his feelings because he is my son and I love him. I really felt so bad. Poor guy! I will say that's it great to know he can open up & express himself to me without hesitation. Delaney, on the other hand, had to have the last word...just as I would. After he calms down and stops crying she had to throw one last punch and say, "Diego, you're such a big cry baby." I tell ya, she is gonna be one tough cookie when she gets older and Diego will be the man every girl wants...actually communicates his feelings! I love my kids so much!

Grocery shopping with Laney

I always say that one of my least favorite things to do is grocery shopping! I refuse to shop at any store at any time with my kids. Today, I HAD to get food in this house so I had no choice but to take Miss Laney Lanes along with me. Of course, there is always some type of bribe that takes place in order to get her into the store & stay quiet for at least 10 minutes. Today, it was Starbucks (okay, okay, it was more for me BUT the girl loves strawberry frapps...what can I say?). So, we get her shake (and 2 polar bear shaped sugar cookies for her & Diego's after school snack...yep, I'm the best mom ever!) and we start our shopping. It never fails that I waste at least 10 mins looking at the $1 spot and then at kids' clothes and by this time she's over the excitement of her Starbucks. She usually wants to run in the clothes racks & hide from me, but today she was a perfect angel. She found a "calendar" (height chart) on one of the clothing racks & thought it was so cool to stand by it & see how tall she was. Then, she moved onto the rocking chair/crib/baby changing table area that they always have set up no matter which Target you go to. She sat in the chair & rocked and then started asking me all sorts of questions..."mommy, what is this for?"..."mom, what is this called again?"..."mommy, can I stand on this chair?", etc. We moved on and actually started our grocery shopping as this was the whole point of going to Target. She was such a trooper helping me put things into the cart & was truly such a good girl. Once we got to the car and she climbed into her carseat I looked into her eyes & told her what a big helper she was and that there was no way mommy could've done all that shopping without her help. I thanked her for being a good girl & listening to mom. Loaded up the groceries & drove home.

A few hours later it was time to get her ready for soccer practice. She got all pissy with me because she didn't want to stop coloring to get her shoes on. While doing her hair she tells me that I'm being mean and then says, "well, I guess I won't help you go grocery shopping ANY MORE!" I guess she told me.

All men should wear a belt

Today is the day I usually drive to the bank. The kids hate going w/me and always complain about it. Well, today's trip will probably have them laughing for quite awhile. After I put my deposit into the tube & ship it I hear Delaney talking in the backseat. I am somewhat ignoring her because I assume she's talking to Diego. Then, I hear her say, "mommy, that boy's pants are falling down....mommy, I can see that boy's butt." She & Diego burst into laughter & Diego then comments as loud as he can (btw, my windows are down) "that man's butt crack is showing!" I look over & realize there is a man sitting on the ground at the ATM machine next to us painting it. His ass crack is so freaking large & practically all I can focus on for the next 10 seconds before I tell Diego to be quiet. I'm thinking to myself that there is no possible way that he doesn't feel the draft because his pants could nearly be down to his knees as low as they were! He doesn't even move an inch to fix them and I'm pretty sure he heard my kids. Then, he proceeds to get up and move over closer to where we are and bends right over in front of us. What is this guy thinking? Or maybe he just doesn't care that I can clearly see it all. Unbelievable. Delaney then says, "wow, what a great job that boy is doing! Mommy, wow..his painting looks beautiful!" Hilarious.

Bedtime

It seems that every night when I put the kids to bed I might just get to sit down & relax for the rest of the evening. Then, I'm reminded that until I've heard both of my kids yell my name at least 5 times I will not be able to kick my feet up & enjoy any peace & quiet. Tonight was no different. First, Diego calls me into his room for "one more hug". I give him his hug & tell him to go to sleep because we have to get up for soccer tomorrow. He tells me he really doesn't like soccer anymore & would rather not go to his game. How convenient! Before I can even sit down & get comfy I hear Delaney yell for me to come into her room because she has to tell me something so important that I have to be standing next to her before she can tell me what it is. This is what she tells me...

Delaney: Mommy, my pillow is too hot. I don't want to sleep with it because it's too hot.

Me: Fine, Delaney. Take it off your bed then.

Delaney: Okay mommy. Mom, I want to be the mommy & I want you to be Delaney so that I can be a grown up and I can go to weddings and I don't have to go to school and I can stay up late & watch tv and I can do anything I want.

If only this is really what being a grown up was all about...wouldn't that be the life. Or as Delaney puts it, "ahhh, this is the life!"