Playdate, Papa's day, party supplies, and a new milestone for Belle

Our weekend is well underway, but there are a few highlights from the past few days I'd like to mention.  One being our Thursday's scramble to finish up our Father's Day gift for Fernando (which he's already received today so no spoiler alert here).  Our gift (thanks again to Pinterest) was a lot of fun to make and super simple (kind of)!  But it took a trip out in the heat of the afternoon, just me and the three kids.  However, looking at the picture, you'd never guess it was super hot!  Max happened to find a stocking cap somewhere hidden in our van, and he thought he'd put it on.  He had a fit when I refused to let him wear it into the store.  It was not because I cared what he looked like, but because I didn't want him overheating outside.  He reluctantly left it in the van, but when we returned he begged to put it on, eventhough he was already a sweaty mess.  After putting it on he kept walking around the house saying "I'm just sooooo hoooot!!!"  Ummmm...gangsta Max, take off your hat!!!  What a turkey.  He's always pulling something out or doing something random and he's just totally unaware that it may be a little unusual.  I admit, that's one of the things I love the most about him.  He doesn't care one bit what someone else might think and I hope that he can stay that way.  I try to encourage his uniqueness as much as I can.  I want him to always feel confident in himself and his decisions.  We got Fer's Father's day present completed and when I held it back to view our finished project I realized the pictures were in color...not sepia (think that's what it's called) for the look I was going for...Womp Womp.  In my mad rush to get the pictures selected and printed as fast as I could, I neglected to edit the pictures.  But you know what?  I think it looks great anyway, besides I can trade out the pics later on if I feel like it needs it, but Fer LOVED it the way it was so we're good.  

Friday was the last day of St. Michael Academy Summer Camp.  They were sad it was over, but they have two weeks of religious education classes at St. Michael's to look forward to.  It's a different program, but same classrooms so they'll be used to going there and I think they will enjoy them also.  So, on the last day of camp I got a text from Nico's teacher at around 10 a.m. saying that the parents were invited to gather with the kids at 12:15 for the closing song of camp.  Belle and I rushed around trying to get everything done in preparation for the crazy afternoon we had planned, we got out the door in good time, we parked and got inside, I look at the clock...12:16 so I start to walk a little faster and as I'm walking up to the overflowing classroom, I hear the last line of the camp song....I missed it!  One minute late.  Don't tell my kids, they think I was there for the whole thing.  Max had been talking about that song all week, asking me if I'd heard it and if I knew the words.  Can I get another Womp Womp (not Whoop Whoop)....The boys saw me shortly after and waved to me like crazy.  They are oblivious to the fact that I wasn't there for the song so shhhhh keep that a secret for me.  Max is always telling me that I forget things like this so I don't want him to think I forgot about him.  After the program I did something very daring, well daring for me anyway.  Max and Nico's best friends came over to play.  I spent the entire afternoon from lunch until 5 with five kids (two 4 year olds, two 2 year olds, and my 5 month old).  Unfortunately my 13 year old helper couldn't make it.  And you know what?  I survived and it was fun!  Of course after a couple of hours I started getting worn out and the boys started getting into little disagreements, but that is completely understandable.  They were exhausted from camp, no nap, and constant playing for hours and hours.  I had made sure that I had everything done that needed to get done ahead of time so that the entire afternoon we could all just play together (and mediate when needed).  Lunch was first so I had made a pepperoni pizza and chicken nuggets ahead of time and left them to cool while I picked up the boys from camp.  I had an old comforter spread out on the living room floor so we could picnic there for lunch.  They watched about 20 minutes of Mickey Mouse while they ate their "picnic" lunch then took off for upstairs.  We played board games, puzzles, kitchen, tools, tents (no girls allowed it turned out), with toy story toys, looked at books and picture search and finds, swords, trains, super heros, cars, cars, and more cars, etc.  Max was so excited about showing his toys to his friends and his friends we so excited to see different toys.  They went through things so fast I was worried they might run out of something to do!  I had to always keep one step ahead of them to suggest something new in case that happened.  Wow was it EXHAUSTING!!!  Those little guys have energy.  Belle got worn out just watching and took a wonderful nap which made it easier to play with the boys for a little while.  I'm getting pooped just thinking about it.  The kids took only a short break from their play to have yummy all fruit popsicles (peach or strawberry were their choices).  By the time Fer got home I was so ready for another adult, but then realized that the extra body in the house put off even more heat and the boys got even more hyper and excited.  Fernando and I spent the rest of the time being "monsters" or "dragons" and chased the boys around.  All they did was run around screaming and giggling and we just had to walk behind them saying "I'm a monster.  I'm going to get you. Grrrrr.." or "I'm a dragon and I'm going to breathe fire on you." and proceed to pretend to blow fire at them.  Awww the good times.  I'm so impressed with Belle and her ability to just go with the flow.  Thankfully she does not get overwhelmed very easily and she LOVES watching other kids.  One of the things that helped make it a more successful experience (besides having no chores or distractions that needed to be taken care of during the play date) was making the kids pick up after each activity instead of just letting them run to the next thing so quickly.  I didn't want to constantly make them feel like they were cleaning up the room, but I convinced them that they would have a lot more room to play their next activity if the one before was completely put away.  There were times when there wasn't a definitive end to what they were doing and that activity just turned into another so when that happened I just quietly picked up behind them.  It was awesome.  When the two little guys went home that evening, there was no extra mess to straighten up since we all had tried to stay on top of it as the afternoon went along.  There was actually less mess than a normal day around here.  Wish every day could 100% be focused on just playing, but alas I have responsibilities....yuck!  But it sure was nice to be able to devote my complete attention (as divided as it might have been between 5 kids) to play time!  We do a lot of play on a routine day, but I normally have to go in and out of it to do the chores, cooking, and other day to day things. 

I'd love to say after such a tiring day that I slept awesome last night, but unfortunately I can not.  I know I keep mentioning this, but poor Belle and her teething.  And I think she's starting to have some tummy issues too.  She's up and down all night, with long periods of wakefulness.  She's not necessarily fussy, although periodically she is, but rather "talkative", calling out with her fingers in her mouth.  A couple of days ago two bottom teeth (the ones right next to the front two bottom ones) just poked through her gums.  I can barely see it, but I can feel fit with my finger when she's gnawing on it.  The two front ones shouldn't be far behind (crossing fingers and sending up a prayer).  Hopefully she'll get some relief for a week or two before more come in.  I remember Nico got around 8 teeth within a couple of miserable days.  That boy went from no teeth to literally a mouth full overnight!  Perhaps she will follow suit.  She did hit a milestone today too!  Belle rolled over for the first time ever!  She went from her back to her tummy after lunch today while she was playing in the living room.  I layed her down with some toys while I went to clean the kitchen.  I can see her by looking over the bar and into the living room.  I glanced down to load a dish into the dishwasher, looked back and she was on her tummy!  Fernando had been sitting in the living room with the boys and saw her first, however he missed the actual event as well.  We tried and tried to get her to do it again, but she wouldn't.  I guess she doesn't like being treated like a circus monkey.  Fernando and I were cheering so excitedly and perhaps a little too loudly that she probably doesn't want to hear that again.  I'm happy and proud of her, but sad at the same time.  How did we get here so fast!? 

 We can never hold out until someone's special day to give them their gifts.  We decided that we would spend the entire weekend celebrating Papa.  So this morning after breakfast we pulled out his presents and had him open them.  Max and Nico have been holding onto their little gifts that they had made at school for weeks now (since around Mother's day).  They were extremely patient.  I had even told Max that if he wanted to go ahead and give Papa his present right away after he brought it home it would be okay.  Max only responded, "Well, is today Father's Day?" When I told him no he said, "Then no, he's going to have to wait."  He was more than ready by today to give him his gift.  Max had made his Papa a card shaped like a shirt and tie that he had colored himself.  Inside was a special poem.  Nico gave his Papa a koozie with a poem and his hand print.  Aren't their teachers pretty awesome to help them make these gifts ahead of time?  And then as you saw above, the kids and I put together the special picture frame for him.  It is tough to get the perfect shot.  I took each kid one by one into our room and just focused solely on him or her, took many shots, and ended up with some cute ones. 

  

We spent most of the morning shopping at the mall, where all three kids did amazing!  I was pleasantly surprised how well they did.  I'm not used to them listening when there are so many new things to look at, and clothes racks to hide behind.  I am NOT a shopper so I would not blame them one bit to have been annoyed the entire time.  In the afternoon we went party supply shopping.  Fernando and Max both have birthdays and parties coming up.  So exciting!!!  Speaking of birthdays, I want to give a shout out to an awesome bro-in-law, Scott on his birthday today!  Happy Birthday, Bro/ Uncle Scott! Hope this year is even better than the last! 

For kids, Party City is an exciting place to go, but for this mama and papa with these little kids, it's a crazy place to go.  The boys ran up and down the aisles and picked up anything they could grab, begging for us to buy them this and that.  Seriously, it just might be kid heaven.  We left with only one screaming-at-the-top-of-his-lungs child, another with tears in his eyes, and one oblivious-to-it-all baby girl.  At least when we got back into the car we had a peacemaking activity we told them about....swimming!  All three guys went for a swim while I tended to Belle who begins to wind down her day quite a bit earlier than the boys.  And to top off our day, we decided to get a "To Go" order from Texas Roadhouse for dinner.  Yay!  A night off from cooking!  Praying now for a much needed peaceful night for all five of us.

 Some of the BEST DAYs EVER!

St. Michael Academy Camp week and more at home fun!

 

Wow!  It's already Wednesday!  As always we are as busy as can be.  This week is St. Michael Academy Summer Camp every morning.  The boys are having a blast!  If I accidentally refer to camp as school Max will tell me "It's not school, it's camp and it's more fun!"  This year the kids get to take a make believe adventure to different parts of the world traveling by hot air balloon.  My guys are so excited about it and have so many fun things to tell me when they get home (and their hyperness is proof of the fun).  

Max trying to reach for help while in "jail"

This summer as we juggle all of our activities and the three kids, we've decided to get a little bit of help.  Our new friend, Nita, comes to play a few times a week and to help me get the kids to and from places.  It's nice to have someone new in our home who can add more imagination play for the kids!  On Monday they got one of the tents and lots of building blocks out and created a "jail".  Max enjoyed being locked in there and then busting out!  A lot of times Nico likes to just do his own thing, hence the eye rolling every time I try to get him to take a picture while he's in play mode.  He doesn't like to be interrupted to join Max for a picture.  Belle's as cute as always.  Her favorite toy continues to be Abuelita, but she now LOVES her new flowers that were handed down to us from two sweet little girls who don't play with it anymore.  The boys were also blessed this week with an awesome hand-me-down toy.  A co-worker of Fer's gave the boys an electric car they think is super cool!  We'll be fixing that up for them to play on this weekend.  Now just to find room to store that in the garage....might be taking Fer's space.     



Yeah....maybe she's getting a little bit too
big for her bouncy chair. 
I'm so not ready for her to be getting
this big already!  Fastest 5 months of my life!



Today the boys decided they wanted tattoos so I just found some random ones we had around the house.  Nico got a jack-o-lantern and Max got a Mario Cart bullet.  Oh the little things!  Nico was very happy!  One of my favorite things today was when Nita and Max decided to put on a play for me.  They wrote out a script and had me narrate.  Max played a boy on a horse and Nita played the horse.  Max had the best time riding all over the house on her back.  She's going to feel that tomorrow!  Max even delivered his lines with feeling.  I had to feed him his lines, but he did great!  I'm proud of him!  Nita also took the boys outside to run races.  Max, Nico, and I started having afternoon races when I was pregnant with Belle.  When I was so sick and couldn't get them out of the house very often it was a great way for them to burn energy and get some much needed sunshine and exercise.  The afternoon races kind of stuck and we still continue to do them.  They all took turns winning and receiving "medals".   So on another note I wanted to discuss a recent development....apparently I'm back to working out!  Yes I am!  Well, if you can count going twice in a three day time span getting back into it then I am.  I'm purposely writing about it to hold me accountable for keeping it up.  The last time I had done a formal workout was Cowtown half marathon 2011...I know long time.  I injured my knee during my half marathon training, but proceeded to participate in the event.  There was NO WAY I was going to miss that race.  My twin bro in all of his awesomeness had actually agreed to train and participate with me.  I wasn't going to let him do it and not follow through myself.  Besides, I had agonized through so much training and Saturday after Saturday doing a 9+ mile run.  I was going to complete that thing if they had to push me in a wheel chair.  Fortunately, I held on and was able to run almost the entire race.  Unfortunately, my knee hated me for it so I had to take some time off to try to heal.  During that time I found out I was preggers and the sickies started.  I know that it has been said that working out can help with morning sickness...yeah, whatever.  So my long absence from the workout scene began, continued, and continued.  And it was just easier not to pick it back up once I started feeling better some 6 - 7 months into the pregnancy.  Anyway, here I am at 5 months postpartum and I couldn't find too many more excuses.  Besides, my hubby went to the Y one day last week and just signed us up.  Now I feel obligated to go...which isn't a bad thing.  Whatever can motivate me right!  But let me tell you, it is tough.  Before I had to take a break from running due to my injury, I may very well have been in the best shape of my life.  I felt awesome, I had energy, I was the size I wanted to be....and now I'm running on empty and probably in the worst shape of my life.  I want to get back to where I was before, but I know all of the hard work and dedication that goes along with it.  I'm not one of those types that doesn't have to work to have the shape and size that I want.  I have to work HARD!  I've got a LONG LONG way to go, and I will probably have to take baby steps, but I'm determined.  I was a little spoiled after I had Nico, just from deliverying him and nursing I lost all but about 8 lbs (I gain a lot in my pregancies. Don't judge) of the baby weight and those 8 lbs (and more) melted away with my running.  With Max it took me well over a year to lose and that was a year after I started working out...I didn't start working out right away.  In fact I got to my pre-preggers weight about a month before I was pregnant with Nico.  When I found out I was pregnant with Belle I had pleasantly surpassed my pre-pregnancy weight (from Nico) and was finally at a healthy feeling place.  Now I find myself in a complete different place.  The weight is definitely not melting away with nursing like before.  I sure was counting on that.  So to the gym I must go.  I guess I wanted to mention all of this for those of you who feel like I do, who has a long road ahead to get where you want to be.  You aren't alone!!  And I wanted to write for those of you who are where you want to be or are already on your way, spread some positive encouragement towards anyone you think might need it.  Sometimes we just need someone to (sensitively) show us the way or motivate us to get started.  Probably if the hubster hadn't have signed us up on his own then I would still just be talking about signing up so thanks, babe!  (He's at the gym as I write this!)  Now I just need to get into a routine for when I can get to the gym.  As of now, I fly by the seat of my pants for those kinds of things. You know, the kinds of things that I can do for myself.  Whenever I can get to something (if I ever get to it) is when it gets done.  Just ask my poor pathetic toenails...they are in desperate, I mean DESPERATE need for a pedicure! Or my long hair that's screaming for a trim.  With all of this said, I still love my life, no matter how little of time I have to do these kinds of things.  I know that the time when there is too much time to fill without my kids is way too near.  Besides, I could have a mullet, be missing my two front teeth, and have skanky toenails and my kids would still love me.  That's all that matters. 

Best SMA camp week and first week back to working out EVER!

Henry's 2nd Birthday and Family Reunion

It has been an amazing weekend full of family!  Our little family is actually only a teeny tiny part of a very large family.  As you can already tell, we are very family oriented which includes our extended family (and our family of friends) as well.  Saturday we had a very special birthday party to attend.  Our nephew/cousin Henry turned 2!!!!  Early in the morning we headed up to the Grandparents' house once again (it NEVER gets old) to wish He-Man a very happy birthday.  Needless to say my boys were super excited to get to go to their Mema and Pops's house for yet another overnight stay and spend lots of time with their cousins.  When the little guys get together anything can happen.  There's lots of energy, excitement, and adventures.  Jack, Max, Nico, and Henry are as thick as thieves.  We're really going to have to watch those boys!  Belle and Lucy got to enjoy some time together too!  These sweet girls were born only 6 weeks apart and are so blessed to have each other to grow up with like sisters!  The kids had so much fun at the birthday party.  All they needed was a bucket full of water and water guns to provide them with hours of entertainment.  Of course, the playground didn't hurt either.  I think Uncle Fer had just as much fun, if not more, as the boys!  Henry got to spend his special day with his parents, brother, maternal and paternal grandparents, his aunts and uncles and cousins, his Great Uncle Les and even his Great Grandma Mary.  We spent the party on Pops's deck which is such an AMAZING place to share with those we love!  I know I have mentioned it before, but it's completely the perfect weekend getaway.  Complete with bar, grill, playground with swings, and a whole lot of running space!     

Great Uncle Les, Great Grandma Mary, and Belle
Belle loves them!

Fernando, Jon and Jen (the twins!)

Beautiful Belle and her Gorgeous Mema, Joyce

After spending a long wonderful morning and afternoon outside together, some of us were able to stay at the house overnight for continued family togetherness.  That is the awesome benefit of living out of town, we get to have long days and evenings spending time together, joking and laughing, having meaningful conversations, etc.  It would be a huge blessing for all of us to live close together, but living apart sure does make the moments we have together even more special.  Especially when we have family gatherings that bring us all to my parent's house where we all cram in and stay overnight.  There may not be enough bedrooms, but there's plenty of space to find a cozy place to rest.  Besides, not a whole lot of resting happens when we all get together.  It is definitely typical for the adults to stay up until one or two in the morning enjoying each others company while the kiddos are sleeping.  Actually, this past Saturday was the very first time that I can remember since having multiple children that we had the kids fed, bathed, books read, prayers said, and asleep in bed by their usual bedtime while attending a huge family gathering.  I was very impressed with ourselves as well as the kids to accomplish this.  We had the babies and little boys in bed at the same time.  I think every one of them were beyond exhausted which probably helped.  My parents, brother, and sister-in-law, Fernando, and I were all able to have a peaceful (although never quiet) dinner together without a single interruption.  It was glorious!  While our angels slept soundly close by spread out into three different rooms, we were able to get some much needed quality time with our adult family.  After dinner the guys headed out back to the deck and the ladies ended up hanging out in the kitchen...how stereotypical is that!  But we had so much fun!  I can't tell you what kind of male bonding the boys were doing, but I really enjoyed talking with my sis-in-law and Mom while cleaning the kitchen, putting food together for the next day family reunion, and planning for our next family party (Someone's turning the big 3-0!)

Today we were able to attend a family reunion for my paternal Grandmother's side of the family.  It was nice to see my Grandma having so much fun seeing her family together again.  With her family spread all over, it has become extremely rare to see some of her siblings.  We enjoyed a great lunch, awesome desserts, and excellent company.  Of course the boys ran around again with their cousins, which is never dull.  I can't imagine a time when my brother, my sister, myself, and our families do not live close enough to visit regularly.  It really makes me reflect on the importance of spending the time that is available to us being with those we cherish the most. 

On that note, this afternoon when we finally made it back home after a long and exhausting but awesome, weekend away, the most amazing husband and papa in the world (who just happens to be all mine) forced me to take a much needed nap.  He made me lay on the couch and he took all three kiddos upstairs to play trains.  That nap was absolutely amazing.  I can't remember the last time I was able to even take a cat nap, much less an hour nap (but I guess that's not saying much since my memory is always failing me).  When I woke up I found an already bathed baby girl happy as could be!  While I took care of getting the baby fed and put to bed, Fer got dinner on the table for the boys.  By the time I got back downstairs, the boys had finished eating and were playing together in the living room, and this is what I found waiting for me... 

Fernando had made a delicious salad and had created a nice romantic display for us to enjoy dinner together complete with wine and a candle.  He's too good to me and so incredibly sweet.  The salad he put together was amazing yumminess too!  He made a spinach salad that included avocado, carrots, celery, jalapenos, boiled eggs, blueberries, walnuts, croutons, and a sprinkle of cheddar cheese topped with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing (hope I didn't leave anything out).  Yum yum yum!!!  Yes ladies, my husband is not only the best husband in the world, and not only the best Papa to our kids, he's also a romantic who's not bad in the kitchen, not bad at all!  Thank you, Fernando for all you do.  You make our lives complete and we love you more than the whole wide world! 

BEST weekend out of town enjoying family and my nephew's 2nd birthDAY EVER!

Favorite parts of the weekend:

Max, Nico, and Belle: playing with their cousins

Fer: Saturday adult dinner and hangout guy time out on Pops's Deck

Jen: family togetherness, late night hangout at my parent's house, Fer's romantic dinner

Memorable bloopers worth sharing have been rare lately, but I'm sure something will come up soon.  I'm so busy with the kids, juggling schedules and activities, and commuting to different locations for events, that I don't have time to focus on these things.  Nonetheless, our lives are never boring!  I've tried really hard not to miss any more appointments, play dates, or activities.  But I'm sure we haven't seen the last of that either!  A cute moment that I do want to share happened on Saturday morning.  While eating breakfast, for some reason or another Max was having a little bit of a meltdown.  I can't remember why, but when he's still tired, it's not too hard to set him off.  Anyway, we were trying different things to cheer him up to get his mind off of the issue.  Fernando was in the middle of doing the "Running Man" dance move in the kitchen saying "watch me boys, watch me!" so obviously both boys refused to look in his direction, giggling because they thought they were so clever.  Little did they know, this refusal to take a look would only provoke their father to continue to do the dance move until they would look in his direction.  Max finally shouted for Papa to wait a minute, ran to the living room for a second, and came back with binoculars.  He told him now he could continue (because his eyes were protected).  I just had to laugh.  Belle and I are so blessed with these three guys to keep us entertained.    

     

Pool Play Date

Oh my goodness.  I don't know about you, but the CRAZIEST time of day in our house is 5 pm - 8 pm.  And every day it just seems to get even more insane.  As the baby gets more active and as we try to get settled back at home after summer activities, it's getting absolutely nuts around here!  Everything seems to happen all at the same time.  The baby needs her cereal so I have to pump a bottle, the kids are starving so I am cooking dinner, Fer gets home and the kids get wild with excitment, Belle wants to go to bed at 6:30 so while I'm cooking dinner I have to get her a quick bath, and while the family is finishing dinner, I'm off to put her down.  It's crazy!!!  Thank goodness Fer takes the boys upstairs and bathes them and puts them to bed so that I can have a chance to clean up our daily disaster of a kitchen.  Phew I'm pooped!  It is so rewarding having our three kids and staying at home with them, but at the same time it can be extremely overwhelming!  Honestly, tonight is a wine kind of night so I've already had a glass of that.  I'm worried it was a mistake since now I just want to close my eyes for the night since I'm too relaxed!  I'm definitely not used to having it.  But hey, I'm calm.  And I am so proud of myself for not exploding on anyone today.  The boys were great and we were all in a wonderful mood, but the chaos sometimes leads to crazy mama.  Okay always leads to crazy mama, and you never know what's going to happen.  I've kept my cool pretty much the entire day!  Hence the little glass of wine reward for Mama! 

We had a wonderful day out on a playdate with two adorable girls, the oldest Max's age, the youngest, Nico's age.  They have a great big shaded backyard with an above ground swimming pool just the right depth for kiddos...although Nico isn't used to such a shallow pool and he's used to wearing a life jacket.  Let's just say falling under the water a couple of times was enough for Nico and Mama...he got out before the rest.  But they have a water table, sandbox, bubbles, and other toys and activities that kept him entertained.  Max had a blast in the water, even though it was terribly cold due to all of the rain we've had.  Once everyone was shivering enough we headed inside to warm up and take a rest.  At lunchtime the kiddos camped out in the living room and watched "Up" while the adults were able to actually sit down at the dinner table and have civilized conversation.  IT WAS WONDERFUL!  It's not often that I get to have adult interaction in the middle of the day.  Or as busy as we are, it doesn't happen much during a day at all.  I definitely need more of those times so I can still be Jen instead of just Mama.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE LOVE LOVE being Mama, but it's definitely nice to be able to be more than that. 

 Well I'm keeping it super short tonight.  We've got a super busy weekend and I've still got things to do this evening.  Hope you all had a glorious day and have the best weekend ever!

 

A Balloon ping pong, scavenger hunt, sock puppet kind of day

What a day! What a day!  I feel more tired than ever.  I know the little guys weren't home for a couple of days, but because we decided to clean carpets while they were gone, I just can NOT catch up.  Laundry is piled up...but this is mostly due to the fact that my dryer is a piece of...well...you know.  I've got a couple of baskets of wet clean clothes that I'm thinking about hanging on a clothesline...that I string throughout my house!  Hmmm...really need to get a backyard...Anyway, our little girl has been rather cranky lately.  I can't see anything happening yet, but it's got to be her teeth.  She's always gnawing away at her tiny fingers, and the drooling is continuous.  I feel so bad for the poor sweet thing.  She's still struggling with napping, but it's obvious she's sleepy.  She's just too uncomfortable.  She finally pooped out for the night and I got the kitchen and living room cleaned up so I thought I would take a much needed break.  I know there are a couple of clean, dry loads of laundry just begging to be folded and put away on my bed upstairs, but it'll have to wait a little longer. 

You know, I could probably get caught up if I really really tried, but the boys and I were having way too much fun today!  Our original plan for the day had been a play date in the park.  If our date hadn't have fallen through already, the rain definitely would have put a damper on our plans.  So I decided to consult my trusty list of things I'd like us to try this summer.  Although some of the activities that we do are originally from me, I have to admit that I've gotten most of my ideas from Pinterest.  I would love to claim to be ultra clever and crafty, but that's just not the case.  But that's okay because I'm an excellent researcher, AND I'm resourceful!  The first thing the boys and I decided to do was Balloon ping pong. Complete hit!  We took paper plates, duck taped colorful craft sticks to them (we all picked our favorite color) and Voila, we had ping pong paddles.  I blew up a balloon and there was our ball!  Great times!  We played at this for some time until the balloon got caught in the ceiling fan, popped, and woke up a very cranky Belle...whoops!

Another activity that we decided to do was an indoor scavenger hunt.  I just whipped that up as quickly as I could.  The boys were getting antsy for another activity off the list.  "What's next on the list?  What's next on the list!!!?""  I just thought of items and toys around the house that I knew would be scattered out and would take a little time for them to collect.  I gave them baskets and their list and said "On your mark, get set, go!" and they took off.  This was very similar to the day we collected things of a certain color.  Next time though, I'm not going to have them collect anything in a basket.  We'll just walk around together and locate items.  These scavenger hunts I've been doing causes a LOT more clean up for me (when I can get to the clean up).  Some of our items this time included Batman, flip flops, apple and banana, etc.  I wrote the word and added a picture next to each one so that Nico could understand what he was looking for.  I also put a circle in front of each word so the boys could check off (or color in) whenever they found what they were hunting.  I was so impressed by Max.  At first I let him sit beside me when I was "secretly" coming up with the hunt list (and before I added pictures), but he kept identifying words I was typing.  Needless to say I made him move where he couldn't see what I was doing.  I didn't want him to know what he needed to look for until the game began.  That would spoil the fun!  

    

In the afternoon, Max got to do something that he hasn't done before.  He got his teeth checked at the dentist.  He's gone with Fernando a few times in the past just for him to get used to it, but this was his first time with his own appointment, sitting in the exam chair, getting his teeth cleaned.  He did great!  But, before his appointment is a different story.  During lunch when I reminded him of his appointment, he got really quiet.  Finally he abandoned his food and told me his stomach hurt and he couldn't eat any more.  He just went and layed on couch.  When I asked him what was wrong he told me that he didn't want to go to the dentist.  Over the next hour and a half he asked me about a half dozen times if he really had to go.  He also kept complaining of a stomachache.  My little guy was nervous!!!!  This was another first for me.  I can't really ever remember him acting like this at any other time.  I mean, sure, he would mention not wanting to do stuff at times or maybe hesitate a little before doing something, but this time he actually had a nervous stomach.  Man that kid reminds me of me!  When the time came for him to go, he left kicking and screaming.  Thank goodness Fernando had an appointment too and took him, because I'm not sure I could have done that with two other kids in tow.  Of course, Nico refused to be left behind, however, so my dear husband brought him along too.  (What a good Papa, or crazy?!)  My almost five year old was screaming and crying about not wanting to go to the dentist, and my two and a half year old was screaming and crying because he wanted to go along.  Yeah, sounds about right.  He went in crying, but came back ALL smiles.  Turns out all along that he was scared of being told he had a cavity.  Which he didn't!  Hooray!!!  It didn't even cross my mind that he might have one, but it sure crossed his!  He's getting so grown up and he really THINKS about things.  Today he told me that he's going to brush his teeth EVERY morning and EVERY night.  He's such a rule follower that I've never had to be concerned that he wouldn't do it.  Now, Nico on the other hand, he's the kid we'll have to be on top of! 

We also worked on making sock puppets today.  This wasn't as joyous of an activity as I had hoped for.  Max kept putting his on his feet saying that his feet were cold, Nico wanted to play with the scissors and glue, and the darn yarn would not stick for anything for the puppets hair.  We ended up with some really sad looking puppets, but it's all good...Max now has some really decorative knee high socks.  I would say complete with googly eyes, but those kept falling off too....And when we were going to make up a little story for the puppets to act out, Max said they had to be Smurfs and Nico argued that the puppet wasn't a Smurf, he himself was a Smurf, etc, etc.  And a fight ensued.  No more sock puppet making for us...not for a while.  But we tried, and it was on the list.  Now struck from the list.  You never know until you try. 

The rest of the evening, in all honesty, has been complete chaos, from cooking dinner, feeding the kids, taking care of the poor grouchy babe, to clean up.  That's why I'm taking a little break from things before I head up to tackle the mountain of laundry.  Never a dull moment, but that's the way we like it!!!

Nico helped me make vanilla pudding after lunch

BEST balloon ping pong, scavenger hunt, sock puppet making DAY EVER!!!

Favorite parts of the day:
Max, Nico, and Mama:  Balloon ping pong (we played off and on throughout the day).  Good thing I had more balloons.  Nico claimed to be "so excited!!!" (his now signature expression)

Mama: Snuggling Belle

Fer: delicious dinner and taking kids to dentist with both doing awesome!

Belle:  playing with Mama and her Abuelita doll

Girls' Day and Date Night

You know how things get to be so routine and ingrained into your every day life that you just do them without thinking.  Well, this morning Belle was still sleeping when I got up.  I'm so not used to this at all!  I suppose she didn't have two little guys waking her up this morning so she took advantage of the extra rest.  Wish I could have slept longer, but I'm used to getting up early.  Anyway, it is so routine in the mornings that I get up, get the cartoons on for the boys, and get my oatmeal ready along with my steaming mug of green tea.  This morning without even thinking I turned on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and it didn't even register with me until I sat down to eat my oatmeal that I was the only one in the room.  I couldn't think of anything that I might want to watch so I just kept on the cartoons.  There is something so comfy about routine that I just decided to go with it.  After Belle got up, she and I had a busy morning.  Last night, Fer was able to get most of our things put back into place so Belle and I spent most of the morning getting the rest of our things back in order and working on laundry.  We also spent a LOT of time playing together.  She enjoys sitting up, so her Bumbo chair is a huge hit.  She also loves to kick her legs, so she got a lot of fun exercise in her Jumperoo.  She also enjoyed laying on her tummy on my bed playing with some stuffed animals.  Our house is so quiet that she had difficulty falling alseep for her afternoon nap.  I had to turn the TV on and keep her downstairs.  Yes, I said too quiet.  She's so used to her brothers being around that I think she's feeling a little bit lonely when she's in a quiet room all by herself.  During nap times the past two days I've been doing a lot of sewing.  I've got a camo themed gift set that I'm working on.  Yesterday was a camo tag blankie and burp cloths.  Today's been a camo cape.  And I might say, it's looking pretty cool!  I'll post pictures of the finished projects later on That's Sew Belle's facebook page.  Catch me there for the latest happenings for That's Sew Belle.  We've got a tab at the top of this blog just for that!

Favorite part of the day was DATE NIGHT!!!!  This evening, Fernando took Belle and me on a dinner and a movie date night.  We watched "What to Expect When your Expecting."  Pretty funny movie.  It was kind of perfect since we just had Belle....well...5 months ago tomorrow we had Belle.  It completely seems like yesterday, but at the same time, it feels like she's always been here with us.  She's the perfect addition to our family.  She's been such a blessing to all of us.  The boys love her and really try to take care of her.  And she's one lucky girl to get two such amazing big brothers to look out for her.  We couldn't ask for anything more.  We miss her big brothers very much, but they are having an awesome time with their Mema and Pops.  We're ready to hear about all of their fun adventures while away.  We will have them back here before we know it!  Can't wait!

 

Celebrations and Grandparent Camp

Phew!  We've been super busy around here since our last blog post.  Trying to take a little break to come up for air.  Well Friday definitely was the beginning of back to normal after a rather rough Thursday last week.  As I has mentioned as a facebook post on Friday, you know it's going to be a great day when you wake up hearing your husband tell your son, "please don't use your toothbrush to kill an ant". Then proceed to find out there's been a water gun hiding under your pillow all night. I'm so incredibly serious when I say every bit of that made me smile.  It was so wonderful waking up feeling like myself again.  Also, last Friday my awesome hubster took charge of the children for the night so I could go out with some girlfriends for my BFF's birthday.  Luckily the baby goes down at 6:30 so I was able to put her to bed and the guys didn't have to worry about that.  It was the first time I've left the baby for more than an hour or two since she's been born...it was tough at first but we had a wonderful time out and it was so worth it!  We saw the movie "Snow White and the Huntsman".  We all really liked it.  If you are curious, it's not just another fairy tale movie, but it's a fantasy action movie.  It was very enjoyable so if you like all of these kinds of things, then go see it!

Saturday was full of more birthday fun!  Two birthday parties in one day (which actually has happened to us a few times in the past).  This makes for an extremely fun, tasty, exhausting, sugar high day.  Meaning great times until the night time meltdowns due to too much fun, too much sugary tasty treats, and over exhaustion.  Totally worth it though!  Our morning went very quickly with us scrambling to get ready to make the long hike to our first birthday party located two hours away.  Max brought along a butterfly net.  After all of the driving we did on vacation, Max come up with a great way for us to pass snacks and trash back and forth to each other.  When he was hungry he would hold out the long handled butterfly net for me to put his snack in.  He's so funny.  Party #1 was for our very dear friend, Liliana, who turned one last week!  She's such a gorgeous, precious little girl.  We loved spending her special day with her and her wonderful family and friends.  We are so blessed to have this family as a part of our lives.  The boys really enjoyed the piñata and all of the yummy candy that came out of it!  Next we drove the two hours home and attended the party of our sweet little neighbor who turned two.  The boys enjoyed playing in the bounce house for a couple of hours.  We're thankful to have such great neighbors to spend time with.  All in all it was a wonderful fun filled day!  



Pops with Nico and Mema with Max



Sunday was another long, busy day.  We packed up our boys and drove the hour and twenty minute drive up to their grandparent's house.  It's Grandparent Camp!!!!  The boys are really looking forward to spending some quality time with their grandparents.  If we are really really lucky, perhaps their Mema will make a guest appearance and write a special blog post about their adventures.  I know for a fact that today the boys had an AMAZING DAY!!!!  As for the rest of us, we spent Sunday into the night preparing the house for getting our carpets cleaned.  YAY!!!  I was not excited about this at first because of all the work that goes into preparation, but the carpets are so clean and pretty now, and I'm really looking forward to less dust and allergens in the house (for awhile anyway).  But today, Belle and I were banned from the upstairs while the carpet dried all afternoon.  So pretty much we spent the whole day playing, snuggling, playing some more, and then snuggling even more.  She did watch me sew a little bit which we both enjoyed as well.  And now we are in the process of getting the house back in order.  I'm sure that's what tomorrow will be all about.  Not too terribly exciting, but it's always nice to feel like everything is fresh and in its place. 

Belle was talking up a storm on the ride home from dropping the boys off at Grandparent Camp.  Without the guys around  she could finally hear the sound of her own voice.  She's really missing her brothers though.  She looks for them everywhere!

Favorite parts of the day:

Fer:  "Enjoying dinner with my sweetheart" (I think it was more the Pei Wei)

Mama and Belle:  precious snuggle time we had together

Max and Nico:  I'm sure it was playing games at Mema and Pops's house as well as playing on the playground. 

Working together on our yellow laptops.

She's growing up so fast!  Such a big girl.  She wants to sit up on her own so bad.  Not too much longer now.