Favorite books

I love books, some of these books I read as a teenager but I still find myself going back to them, if you have only seen The Hunger Games movies you owe it to yourself to read the books. The Francine Rivers book is a wild card in there, it's a Christian romance novel (weird, right?) I thought that too at first but really it's great!

Ricky's first birthday

He's turning one on Friday, I really didn't believe it when people would say "enjoy this time, it will fly by" at the time I was too busy being exhausted from feeding every two hours and changing what felt like diaper number 1,000. Nothing can prepare you for this, for the love you can feel, the apathy some can have for you and the amazing amount of support you never knew you had. It's extraordinary how much you are willing to do without, sleep, food, any social interaction. It all becomes inconsequential to the task of raising a little one.

I hope he never looses this sense of wonder and that I get enough time with him to see that smile for many years. 

12 months later 

Day 1

P.D.A (yuck!) .

Just a quick rant about how much I dislike P.D.A (public displays of affection). Last week we went to the mall so Paul could get a haircut and there were these teenagers right in front of the place just sucking face, it was disgusting! I am really not a huge prude but other than hugs and a quick kiss I find it inappropriate and tacky. Just my opinion, I found it even more disturbing now that I'm a mom, I seriously wanted to ask these kids if their parents would approve.

My parents were strict traditionalists, in the sense that I was not allowed to date until I was in High School, I always had a curfew and school always came first. Even now as a married woman I hold hands with Paul but never make out with him anywhere that is not the privacy of our home. I think it's important to show Ricky affection and for him to see his parents be affectionate towards each other but never more than a hug or quick kiss. As a child my parents rarely ever displayed affection in front of us kids so I think it's important for me to do so.

Basically I'm just saying keep it classy ladies!

Aloha Friday

Everyone seems to be either loving or hating the documentary "American Blogger", if you have not heard about it, don't worry it's mainly a concern to bloggers and blog lovers. Here is the trailer if you are the least bit interested:American blogger it's $10 to download and I don't think I will be purchasing it. I do enjoy reading about the controversy it's created and made me curious to check out the blog that the film makers wife has. It's pretty, very pretty but it din't hold my attention.  Instead I went to the zoo :) and Ricky had a blast .

My favorite pictures, he's a riot.

Once upon a time

Today began like every other day, early the baby was up and Paul was off to work. The usual routine commenced and then I saw a letter that had been pinned to the wall in the kitchen. It was from my husband, odd I thought and sat down to read it. In it he told me about one of his co workers asking how we meet such a simple question brought back so m any memories. There it was laid out for me, his feelings from the very beginning, how much he loved me and how much he forgets to tell me that he appreciates me as a mother and a wife.

It was the sweetest, simplest thank you from him I have ever received. Then it made me cry to remember all the times that I forget who we were, how we feel in love and how much I still love him. Sometimes it's hard to step away from the everyday things that occupy our lives to stop and appreciate the things that really matter.

At one point after Ricky was born we went through a very rough spot, I was always tired from both work and taking care of the house and baby. Sometimes I admit, there was anger towards him, he wasn't' doing enough. The resentment grew until finally one day it felt like I was living with a stranger who I didn't talk to and we just went on with our lives separately. Through the whole thing, he was supportive tried to talk to me and asked me to get help. It was hard to admit that I needed help. Women have babies everyday and they deal with the stress, they have careers and husbands and houses to keep, so why was it so hard for me? I didn't know how to ask for help but I also didn't know that the whole time Paul was watching me and noticed all I did.

Today won't be like every other day because I will stop and say "thank you", "I love you" and it means the world to me that your are a wonderful husband and father. Don't forget about your "Once upon a time" and remember to make time for "The happily ever after" part too.

"Milestones"

It finally stopped raining, when I can go outside so Ricky can play I feel better. Probably because he gets so tired he takes almost 2 hour naps in the middle of the day (heaven!)

So today when I had some alone time I finally read some of those annoying articles people post on Facebook from random websites or blogs ( we are all guilty). This one was not only hysterical it was so true. 

This is the link to the blog, the writer is a mom, blogger and stand up comedian she basically took what we usually celebrate as milestones like first steps, first haircut and word and instead focused on these firsts:

1.) THE FIRST TIME YOU TURNED YOUR BACK FOR ONE F*%KING SECOND AND YOUR CHILD ROLLED OFF THE BED OR SOFA OR CHANGING TABLE.

Guilty! you can read more about it HERE

2.) THE FIRST TIME YOU TRIED CUTTING YOUR CHILD'S NAILS AND YOU ACCIDENTALLY CLIPPED THE SKIN AND SHE BLED A LITTLE.

I did this and it did feel horrible, I got over it quick though because you know what feels worse? Nursing in the middle of the night and having a sharp baby nail right on your goods. Ouch!

3.) THE FIRST TIME YOU WERE HOLDING HIM UP IN THE AIR AND HE THREW UP ONTO YOUR FACE.

This one happens to Paul all the time, I always warn him but does he listen? of course not, he's a husband. 

4.) THE FIRST TIME YOU SAW ANOTHER KID YOUR CHILD'S AGE WHO WAS MORE ADVANCED THAN YOUR CHILD.

This happened ALL the time at that place we don't mention it starts with a G and ends with E. We stopped going because if I had to hear one more F*'n time how your kid can sign and I need to teach my baby how to I was going to buy a baby sign language book and slap her upside the head  with it. 

5.) YOUR FIRST TERRIBLE SHIT STORY.

HAHA, you will never have an empty laundry basket again, new moms. Our first time required me to change myself, the baby and disinfect both the couch and the rug....then there was that time at a wedding, in the middle of  rehearsal dinner, I was wearing a white sweater :) fun times. 

6.) THE FIRST TIME SOMEONE YOU DIDN'T KNOW GAVE YOU UNSOLICITED ADVICE ON HOW TO RAISE YOUR KID.

:/ seriously, don't be that person.

7.) THE FIRST TIME YOUR CHILD HAD A MELTDOWN IN A PUBLIC PLACE.

Nothing can make you break down faster than a crying baby and those postpartum hormones, F you hormones!

8.) THE FIRST TIME YOU FORGOT TO LOCK THE WHEELS ON YOUR STROLLER.

Yup, I think this person must have been there when it happened to me, except I was on the ground. 

9.) THE FIRST TIME HE REPEATED SOMETHING YOU DIDN'T WANT HIM TO REPEAT.

HERE is the story on that one

10.) THE FIRST TIME YOU COULDN'T REMEMBER YOUR CHILD'S BIRTH IN ENOUGH DETAIL AND WERE WILLING TO CONSIDER HAVING A SECOND CHILD.

Nope! not there yet. 

These all deserve to go in the baby book, right next to the curl of hair that I saved from his first haircut. They are not milestones for him, they are milestones for me, I made it through all that and here I am. I had no clue what I was doing when I brought you home baby, I cried so many times and felt like I couldn't handle it some days. Yet here I am, your going to be one soon and I made it. That deserves a celebration, maybe not one you will remember but I Mom and Dad deserve a little something for making it through all this. 

The Weekend!

Lots of catching up to do here, the quick and dirty is this: It's still raining (yuck) and of course it's also 80 degrees outside so while a lot of you may be experiencing something faintly resembling spring it's a hot humid mess here. I know that it's Hawaii, blah, blah and I shouldn't complain so on that note here is our weekend. After I almost died from a stomach virus on Saturday the rest of the weekend went smoothly with lots of candy, friends, and of course Easter eggs!


Ricky is too young to know whats going on but he enjoys getting to roll around in the grass to find eggs, he loved our reaction every time he would find one we would clap and say "good job!"

Ever since we got to Hawaii, the Easter sunrise service is something we talked about doing and every year.. we missed it. This year we finally did it, and it was great and also beautiful.

Easter sunrise service on the USS Missouri 

Thought he would be scared but he acted fine and even tried to get a hug

My first time making home made wings! they were amazing, Here is the recipe

I miss seasons

Happy Aloha Friday! as they say in Hawaii.

 I keep seeing all these pictures of spring decoration and beautiful spring clothes (especially on kids). It's been muggy and cloudy here as of lately, I'm trying to keep the spirits up around here. Tomorrow we are attempting to take family pictures, hopefully Ricky can keep it together for 20 minutes. No creepy bunny pictures at the mall, no offense if you take your kids to those but it's just not for me. Easter egg hunt for Ricky, actually more for the benefit of me eating all the candy in them ( shh! don't tell). No doubt I will be the crazy mom with the camera chasing him around the whole place (it's a church event).

Chardonnay and strawberry lemonade

While I was making dinner, his antics are too funny

The only Easter decoration on our house

 Have a good weekend everyone! Enjoy your springtime weather for me. 

12 in 2014

Fresh out of the bath, he loves baths once he is out I have to tackle him to get clothes on him.

Some Easter goodies, those plastic toy eggs can now be found in my kitchen cabinets and other random places he decided to place them in. 

11 month update

Been slacking on these also need to update the baby book in case machines rule the world one day and all internet servers crash (it could happen).

I digress, Ricky is 11 months old and getting into everything he was before plus some new stuff since he is taller and can tip toe to reach the kitchen table. He really is freakishly baby strong, he can open the refrigerator door and the dryer door. He has taken over our entire living room with all his toys and since his first birthday is fast approaching, we will need to spread his domain into the dinning room as well.

His teeth have been pretty slow to come in, he has a total of 3 so far and the others are peeking out, just not coming through yet. He has a solid sleep schedule as well as meal time schedule. Their really isn't anything he wont eat, except pureed veggies and oatmeal cereal. He will eat the veggies if I cook them, but not pureed (weird). He also loves avocado ( my favorite) and strawberries. He says things like ma ma and papa and sometimes calls his dad Paul, he even said Gaby once or twice.

His favorite toy looks like a little house, which he spends hours climbing on and pretending to "live in". I ring the door bell, he opens the door and laughs. We do it for at least 20 minutes every day, then he is in all the kitchen cabinets slamming pots and pans, his personal favorite is climbing into the jumper, crying because he wants to get out, and then climbing in again (sigh).

This day I was watching a DVD on how to take better pictures, he was in "his house" 

I took this picture because he lined this all up himself, and then just knocked them over...?

I need to be quicker with the camera, he took about 5 steps this day.

On friendship

It's never been easy for me to make friends, I'm not good at small talk and not overly friendly with strangers. When I meet my husband this became more obvious, true to the cliche he has that certain "southern charm" that makes everyone love him. We had a conversation recently about how I need to be more open with people and try to make new friends. To begin with let me just say that I admit to many of my faults and in this case, I don't consider my lack of  "friendliness"  a bad thing. No I don't have many friends but the ones that I have, are truly valued. You see when I become someones friend I mean it, I am all in. This is what I believe a friendship should be, because I have moved so many times and encountered all types of people, I know for a  fact that in the end this pays off.

When I was 17, the girl who was to become like my sister sat across from me in History class. We agreed on nothing and constantly argued in class about all sorts of topics including politics (because we thought we knew so much...right). We became best friends, we graduated together, lived together, worked together and even went to school together. She even dated, married and has kids with my high school sweetheart's best friend!

So if you happen to meet me one day and I don't immediately jump into a full fledged conversation with you about all things me, consider that I am a person who is reserved, prefers intelligent, friendly banter rather than gossiping about whomever... and that if we take the time to know each other you will never have a better friend.

Us at 17

                           

Almost a decade later on my weeding day she was my maid of honor, we don't always see things the same. We still can get into a good argument, she has two boys, is a conservative and lives in the south. Not someone you would ever picture to be my best friend, but what truly makes a good friendship is being able to see past all that and admiring and loving a person for who they are. I may not have a lot of friends but I can see right through people BS and avoid it, instead opting to be friends with people who will bring something positive to my life.

Our weekend in pictures

Put together a little something for Ricky since  Easter is coming up, we scored some toys from the dollar section at Target. Then we hiked Koko Head with the baby for the first time, that hike is no joke with a baby on your back. My legs are still shaking and I think I might not be able to get out of bed in the morning. 

Paul just got back from a 5 day trip to Kauai, where he hiked and camped the beautiful Na Pali coast, his pictures are amazingly beautiful so I wanted to share some and yes I am insanely jealous but I will get my turn this summer :) planning a little trip myself.