Anatomy of a SuperMom Part 2

 ( eta- seriously, after all the time i put into making my CHARTS they didn't even show up on here!!! GRRR they did at first but at some point something went wrong. doublegrrr)

OK, so  a HUGE THANK-YOU to everyone who participated in my "survey". It was fascinating and revealing and inspiring and motivating! We're a bunch of hard working Mama's - but I did not need the survey to figure that one out!  

I think SLEEP and NUTRITION are vital aspects in being part SuperMom and lets face it, we all want to be part SuperMom, not for ourselves or for what other people think of us but so we can raise SuperKids - who are healthy, happy, balanced , empathetic and awesome. So we NEED to take the time from things like watching TV and oh maybe even the computer ( yes, I am talking to myself here!) and make sure we do this for ourselves. I always told myself that TV/Computer time is MY relaxing time, which it IS - BUT- at the expense of being drained the next day and the next and the next - who is that fun for? 

I am clearly NOT a writer ( or a SuperMom or a Chart maker truth be told!) and my thoughts on all this and the answers I received are all jumbled in my head and I am finding it hard to put it all to paper like I had planned. The one thing I did realize from this all though is that there is no ONE MOLD for what a SuperMom is, just like fingerprints and snowflakes , we are all completely different and so require different things of ourselves. Ultimately a SuperMom is a HAPPY MOM who gets out of life what she wants by making the effort to do so. 

So I am not going to keep harping on about this, and hope you've learned what I did from the experiment even though its completely NOT what I thought the lesson would be. There are no tricks or magic spells, we all require different things and have different things required of us. 

Here is a breakdown of some of the info I gathered, I’ll gradually add more to later posts as it would just be too much all in one. 

Question#4:

Approximately how many hours of sleep do you get a night?



According to my basic research we're doing pretty good here, 7-8 hrs is what we need. But of course for many thats not a continuous 7-8 hrs and there are too many of you getting by on 5 or less hours and I really urge you to try and get a few more. A more rested Mommy = a happier Mommy = a happier family. 

Question #6:

DO YOU COOK 4+ TIMES A WEEK?:
In response to the question about how often we cook in a week, there was one common statement across the board bar one - who cooks 6 nights a week. And that was that we wish we cooked more for our families. I know I wish I was better. My Mom used to come home from a full days work at 6pm and cook a full meal every night , like a roast chicken or something crazy like that! I will roast a chicken maybe twice a year! How DID she do it? I do cook most nights at home but its always pretty basic and I go in phases of being really good about it and then burning out and slacking off for months after that. 

Question #14:

WHAT IS YOUR WORST?

a) Poop

b) Snot 

c) Bedtimes

d) 5pm witching hour - making dinner meltdowns

e)Teeth Brushing

 f)Other    

This was pretty funny, but the majority chose d) the witching hour / making dinner meltdowns as their nemesis and since I answered mine has changed from e)teeth-brushing to d) the witching hour too. He has definitely got better about his teeth brushing ! f) was mostly people with older kids and so a) thru e) were no longer a factor but apparently “Getting the kids up and out te house in the morning” is gonna be on the horizon for many of us shortly. I can’t wait. I am such a great morning person at the best of times...

One things for sure: SNOT IS HOT / WE LOVE SNOT ! ha ha!

So, THANK YOU again. I will take all I have learned and continue to grow and try to improve myself and strive to be a better Mommy every day- knowing that I already am a SuperMom and so are YOU!

with love

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL.

spend time with your loved ones, coz if you can, you are blessed.

Tis the Season

Just a quick post to share our 2009 Christmas Card with you all , THANK YOU to A Mom Two Boys for getting the 2nd Annual Bloggy Holiday Card Exchange up and running!

As for Anatomy of a SuperMom : Its coming along well THANK YOU for all your responses! I am still collecting my data so its not too late to submit your answers from the previous post to supermominfo @ yahoo dot com !!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS BLOGGERS ! 

Anatomy of a SuperMom part 1.

OK, so every year for the past who-knows-how-many years, I have totally copped out of doing New Years Resolutions. I guess I jumped on the " no-one ever actually sticks to them so why bother" bandwagon and just rode it, I rode that sucker into the ground. I believe it's time for me to get up and walk on my own two feet this New Year and actually attempt to make and stick to a resolution.


Its just one, how hard can it be right? Well the ONE that I have picked is kinda all encompassing...


Lets start at the very beginning ( its a very good place to start...♫) So, many of you know that I was an Au Pair and then a Nanny for several years. I would ALWAYS say I was doing it to practice for when I had my own kids, I have wanted to be a Mommy since I was waaay tooo young and so it was the perfect avenue for me. I loved being a Nanny. I learned so much from all those kids and their parents , I learned a lot of what I wanted to be like as a parent and plenty of what I did NOT want to be like too.
When I was pregnant everybody would say to me " Oh you are going to be such a good Mommy with all this experience..." and my reply was always " Aw shucks Thank you, but I think the lesson I have learned the most is that no matter how much I think I know... its going to be way waaay harder than I imagine. " and you know what? I was RIGHT! 


Fast Forward 17 months after I officially graduated from Pregnant Nanny to Stay at Home Mommy:
Oh Em Geeeeee!!!! Its so difficult/ exhausting etc etc etc - I don't need to tell you, you know. Absolutely its also without doubt the MOST AMAZING/ REWARDING etc etc etc job in the universe. I do not forget that , not for a single second. My child is the reason I was put on this planet, he is the epitome of LOVE. But thats not what this particular post is about.
What I am saying is, after 17 months I have still not found my groove with this whole Mommy thing. I KNOW I can be more, and its not just the "Mommy" part its the Wife and Homemaker part too, others do it - I know its not easy , but nor is my current state of "just getting by" and I know we all have good days and bad days and behind the scenes in every house is some kind of drama. I am not delusional .
I just feel I am capable of more but I didn't get a degree in this ( Nanny School didn't cover it all) no-one does without experience and so ( finally - my point) I am going to attempt to tap into my network of Mommies across the globe - THATS YOU! - and learn some tricks, tips and been-there-done-that information and put it to good use for myself. Then I am going to take said DATA and share it back with you all *hopefully* on the form of a graph or 2 and some other nifty ways to emphasize what is important , what's NOT and what you may wanna try to make your life a bit easier in 2010 and beyond.


Yup, my New Years Resolution is : Learn some SuperMom skills before I even think about having another child!


So would you , my fellow Mama's o' the internet please take 5 mins and answer these questions. You can be as basic or as long winded as your SuperMom Schedule will allow.
Copy and Paste them to an email ( or send a blank email and I will send u the form. If you do copy and paste remember this is in WHITE so you will have to change the color or it will appear invisible in your email ), add your honest answers and send them to:
supermominfo at yahoo dot com
and then send someone else here, someone you feel has SuperMom powers we could all learn from and have them share the love.
( all information will be used anonymously - you don't even have to put any names or details in the email)


Your Questions M'dears:


1. How many Children do you have? ( list their ages)


2. How old are you ?


3. Are you a working Mom or a SAHM?


4. Approximately how many hours of sleep do you get a night?


5. Do you go to bed right after the kids? 


6. Do you cook 4+ times a week?


7. When do you do your Grocery Shopping? once a week? with/without kids? monthly? as needed?


8. Do you exercise regularly? - if yes, give basic details


9. Do you have regular "me time"? If yes, when/ how often and what do you do?


10. What is one ( or more) Mom thing you feel you do really well- your Mom Forté if you will... don't be shy.


11. What is one( or more) Mom thing you feel you would like to improve on?


12. Do you have a group of other Moms in your area that you talk to/ get advice from/ have playdates with?


13. Do you have "date night"? Paid Babysitter/Relative/Friend? How often?


14. What is your WORST 
a) Poop
b) Snot 
c) Bedtimes
d) 5pm witching hour - making dinner meltdowns
e) Teeth Brushing
f) Other... please elaborate!


15. Tips and Tricks or anything extra you'd like to share:


THANK YOU!


here are my answers:

1. How many Children do you have? ( list their ages)

1 boy -17 months old

2. How old are you ?

30

3. Are you a working Mom or a SAHM?

SAHM

4. Approximately how many hours of sleep on average do you get a night?

6

5. Do you go to bed right after the kids? 

NO!- its when I get most stuff done or relax- usually 12:30am bedtime for me

6. Do you cook 4+ times a week?

Yes- but I am tired of cooking the same things. I don't do Hamburger helper or anything like  that , but I need to get a bit more adventurous / exciting.

7. When do you do your Grocery Shopping? once a week? with/without kids? monthly? as needed?
Once a week, I usually take him to my Mother-in-law while I go to the Grocery store, I find that if I take him I spend FAR more and WAY less and take 10x longer. 

8. Do you exercise regularly? - if yes, give basic details

no. nada.

9. Do you have regular "me time"? If yes, when/ how often and what do you do?

1 hour of Yoga a week. And then random occasions.

10. What is one ( or more) Mom thing you feel you do really well- your Mom Forté if you will... don't be shy.

I'd like to think I am good at finding a happy medium between being natural/organic and "normal" . We are still breast-feeding, doing cloth & disposable diapers, eating 80% organic,  etc etc etc and I am proud that he recently at 16.5 months old had his first fever - which only lasted one night ( and I am positive that was due to molars coming in anyway). He is a healthy boy which is a blessing and I work hard to keep it that way.

Also like to think I am a fun Mommy- but with rules of course.

11. What is one( or more) Mom thing you feel you would like to improve on?

Meal Planning/ Grocery list planning ahead of time.

Being more "educational" for Elijah

Being less tired.

My daily appearance - less haggard would be nice.

12. Do you have a group of other Moms in your area that you talk to/ get advice from/ have playdates with?

Yes, Thank Heavens! I have a couple of groups of local friends and then my online community of Moms via, iVillage, Facebook, Twitter, momslikeme, blogs . All of which are PRICELESS.

13. Do you have "date night"? Paid Babysitter/Relative/Friend? How often?

no. Can't remember last "date" maybe Christmas party '08?

14. What is your WORST 

a) Poop

b) Snot 

c) Bedtimes

d) 5pm witching hour - making dinner meltdowns

e) Teeth Brushing

f) Other... please elaborate!

e) TEETH BRUSHING - its the worst part(s) of my day. Not MY teeth I love that...its Elijah that hates his being brushed.

15. Tips and Tricks or anything extra you'd like to share:

I am addicted to:

1. My Family

2. Tea

3. LISTS - i thrive on putting a √ next to something! or crossing it off

There just never seems to be enough hours. Or is it enough energy? Or is it enough Caffeine? We can't all be good at everything but by doing this I hope we can tap into each others strengths and learn a trick or two to make our lives easier and when Mommy is Happy - everyone is happy!!

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR INPUT, I WILL SHARE MY FINDINGS WITH YOU ASAP!

Remember November

I stand by my blog title - Time flies when you're having fun! November must have been fun because I seriously can not believe its over. This month has been hectic but I know its been a cake-walk compared to what December will bring and I am excited for the challenge!
I am a big one for reminiscing , especially when it comes to my baby boy, and this month brings back memories of just 2 short years ago and how far we have come:

I know, I know TMI right? Well he was a planned baby, what can I say? LOL

He is 16 going on 17 months old already has 12 teeth , a few signs and as of Thanksgiving day finally>>> ONE WORD!!

That word is a special word, especially to our Lijah and makes me so happy that he chose it to be his first, even if it sounds more like YaWa it translates to LOVE but it means:

NOAH

For those who don't know the scoop: We refer to them as brothers but they are technically first cousins once removed. Noah lives with my Mother in Law ( Bubbas Mom, his Great Grandma) but we have shared custody of him with her and he spends the weekends with us. These two boys love each other SO MUCH its ridiculous! Its amazing. Its beautiful. I hope hope hope that their relationship is always so awesome.

Thanksgiving was different for us this year, in that I didn't cook, but instead we went and helped serve meals to the homeless and I hope thats a tradition we can continue from now on at our house. But we did have a turkey, a 25 pounder...

we've been plumping him up since last year...

I can't get over how fast time goes with him around I saw a quote that captured it well recently:

"For Mothers of small children, the days are long but the years are short."

SO TRUE!

Tomorrow is December 1st and its going to be a special day for me, I have spent many many an hour in this past year thinking about mortality and how precious children are. December 1st is significant for a few reasons:

1. My friend had her baby boy twins TYLER and PARKER on December 1st last year. Those babies are fighters. Their Mommy and Daddy fought on behalf of them to even conceive them, then fought to keep them safe in Mommy's belly for as long as possible. I talked with her on the phone almost every day while she was on bed-rest in hospital for a loooong time and we begged them to stay put till December. That they did. And not a moment longer! She called me early on December 1st 2008 and said "  it's a baby day!" . They fought in the NICU and both came home by early Feb I believe and are the sweetest lil dudes. They defied the odds and will continue to do so.

2. Another friend had her baby SLADE on that same day. Slade is a miracle too. In many ways. Her Mommy and Daddy had 2 boys and were hoping for a sweet daughter, it took quite a while for them to get pregnant again and when we found out she was the long awaited for GIRL , we all cried tears of joy. Little did we know how that little girl and her absolutely incredible smile would lift up that family the first year of her life , when they discovered a Tumor growing on her oldest brothers brain before she was 3 months old. Forester ( who is now 8) is fighting like a champ and after his surgery and lots of Chemo and things I can't even comprehend , he will come out strong and will always be a hero to me. He is incredible as is his entire family, if it were not for Slade I would not know them.

SO HAPPY BIRTHDAY SLADE, TYLER and PARKER for tomorrow!!

The 3rd reason is different. This child has a tragically different story , an equally amazing family , a place in my heart that I did not know was there for a little person who I would never have met but may have known as I am sure she would have been famous. Madaline Spohr . The reason why December 1st is significant regarding her, even her parents wouldn't know. Maybe its morbid , I hope not, thats not my intention but tomorrow my baby will be a day older than Maddie never got to be. And I am going to celebrate his life , embrace his silliness and stop and smell the roses, thankful for every single moment I have with him. Entering this crazy holiday season with the goal of making it special but not at the expense of making memories and those don't always require big parades, platters, parties or presents, but they do require people and plenty of time with them. That I can do. And that , I appreciate. 

Lucky 13

First, let me begin by explaining my lack of bloggage. For those who don't know its NaPoBloMo and so Bloggers who have the oomph are supposed to post once a day every day for the month of November! How cool... yeahhhh I 'm NOT one of them . I figured I'd not waste your blog reading time with my ramblings since you probably had a few others to catch up on. My friend Brittany @ www.mommywords.com is totally rocking it out.  Thats my excuse and I am sticking to it!

So now I have to tell you about my Friday the 13th. It was something let me tell ya... Let me rewind and explain the lead up : So it was to be my first weekend away from my baby, a MOMS WEEKEND AWAY in VEGAS! This is not just ANY group of moms, its was part of a group of girls that I love dearly. For 2 years we have communicated almost every day, in almost every way but never face to face- until now.
It sounds dodgy, I know I know, don't worry I get "the look" when I tell this to people, but if you know me for one, you know I met my husband online , so its not THAT unusual for me. But more importantly if you are reading this Blog you are probably in the category of people who are open to the greatness of an Internet community and if you have any doubts about its power, you need to research the current case of Anissa Mayhew - a Mega Mommy Blogger who had a stroke earlier this week and how there are thousands of people around the globe who are rooting for her, supporting her, praying for her and keeping the faith alive for her and her family.

I digress.

We planned this trip to Vegas long ago, and I was so READY for my weekend away but also slightly terrified at the prospect of leaving my boy for 3 full days. I left the house at 6am on Friday November 13th, aware of the date but I am not superstitious and it was too early for my brain to even deal with that anyway.
I was scheduled to fly from CLT to ATL and connect with a friend from ATL to LAS. I , in general have bad luck with flying. That said I always make it safely to my destination and back so its not THAT bad and boy oh boy I am grateful for that! They make me check my carry on suitcase due to lack of space, oh well as long as I can pick it up in Vegas.So we get out on the runway in CLT. I'm ready, I send my last minute text messages: " Departing Gate! C U Soon! " . Aaaaaand we wait...
Next thing we are heading back to the gate. Navigation Issues. Part is coming - from ATLANTA.
We all get off the plane and back in line at the gate and we wait some more. Missed my connection from Atlanta to Vegas and subsequently my friend/ flight buddy. I do get put onto a new flight and this one is direct to Vegas for CLT so thats a bonus and ultimately I would only be an hour later than my original flight arrival. So, new flight, new plane ( well not a *NEW* plane just new to me) , new airline, gate and departure time. New text : " OK lets try this again! Departing Gate, must turn off phone, C U soon!"
Kiss of death.
NEW PROBLEM. Right engine won't start, we kinda need that... So they tell us to wait on the plane while the look and see if they can fix it quickly. Hmmmm I am not-so-comfortable with the "quick fix" plan but my blood was boiling too much for me to get up out of my seat at that point. We waited over an hour while I watched from my window as 3 men fiddled with the engine until I saw one give the Pilot a thumbs up! I was happy but very nervous at his point. Text : " Looks like its good to go. If I die in a ball of fire coz I ignored the signs 4 me NOT to go. I will feel like a dumbass. ".
5 hrs and 1 drink no snacks and 1 Grand Canyon later , I landed safely in Vegas!!!

6pm EST and half a chicken biscuit all day, but I was not the only one who was hungry and disrupted by my flight drama. The other 7 Moms that came had also been upheaved by MY flight drama and had not eaten all day either- a GREAT way to impress your  *new* friends! oh and did I mention they lost my Luggage? Yup. Borrowed clothes , make-up and accessories and headed for the Strip that very night too. Luggage got delivered late that night.

In case you were wondering. I did NOT win a penny on the slot machines that Friday the 13th.

But I met some Lucky Ladies and we had a ball.

We're home from home.

My humble apologies. 3 months have past since I posted and so much has happened. As planned, we went to South Africa for almost 5 weeks ( Bubba only got to stay for 2 of those) and it was incredible, but more about that later...
When I returned in September our computer , which was 12 month and 2 weeks old had a complete hard drive and logic board failure. We were without it until last weekend ( mid-october) . Basically we got a new computer on the inside ( thank goodness we took out the protection plan!) which is great but our data was not backed up and so we had someone work on it and only some has been saved, we lost several HUNDRED photographs. To attempt to restore the rest could cost thousands of dollars - starting at $500 and we already put $400 into getting what we've got. Its more than just a little frustrating and I wish we had been told when we bought the Mac that we should always have an external hard drive backup - why is it not included!? So please learn from our mistake and back up your data ASAP.

That sob story is my excuse as to why I have not posted in so long. I was using our old slow laptop in the meantime and it could not have handled it. But now I am back!
Here is a start to my South Africa story:

CAPE TOWN

The purpose of this particular trip to SA was to surprise my Grandpa ( Pop-Pop) for his 90th Birthday. Not just to say Happy Birthday in person again, because it has been years and years since I had that pleasure, but most importantly to have him meet his first Great Grandson and vice versa. It was a phenomenal moment. My Mom, Aunt , Uncle and Cousin Greg walked into his flat singing Happy Birthday and when they were done, the 3 of us walked in and wished him. His reaction was perfect and he definitely got teary eyed and kept repeating "Impossible!! I never thought I'd live to meet this little man. What a wonderful surprise what a wonderful birthday present."

This was another tear jerking/ priceless moment: He watched the video of Livi singing Happy Birthday to him .

We went to lunch with him and then later that day there was a Party in the Dining area of The Rathfelder where he stays which my Mom and Aunt threw for him. It was a magical day.

This man has lived though some incredible changes in the world and some horrific things that most of us can't even comprehend. His mother died after the birth of his younger sister when he was only 14 months old. The same age Elijah was while we were there visiting. His father was abusive and he was raised on farms by some brutal aunts of his and was the epitome of a naughty boy - oh the stories!

He was a P.O.W and is still haunted by the things he endured and witnessed. But he discovered what true love was when he met my Mimi and then had 2 daughters , Athene ( my Mom) and Helene ( my Aunt).  He has become a big softy in his old age and will cry every time he talks about  walking with my Mom holding his finger and waddling along beside him as a baby. He loves his family and oh how they LOVE him.

He's 90 now and although his mind is still brilliant and he reads and reads , his body has started to give out now, but only just, which is amazing considering what its been through and for how long. We spent time with him almost every day that we were in South Africa. Its precious time , Bubba loves to listen to his stories as if he were his own Grandfather and Pop-Pop will tell stories as long as you will listen. He'd watch Elijah playing and how he was learning to walk and marvel at how our bodies go a full circle through life and tried to get pointers from Elijah on how to get up if you fall down.

Whenever I leave South Africa since the first time when I was 19 years old ( 1999) , its always hardest to say goodbye to him because he always says " This is probably the last time we will see each other my girl" and every time I come back and he is still going strong.

This time he didn't.

Up up and awaaaaayyy

Thank you to everybody for all the wishes for Safe Travel etc. My poor Mother-in-Law is absolutely terrified that our plane will crash, the thought naturally crosses my mind but its never gonna stop me from going anywhere, I won't live in fear and I won't let fear run my life. Just as I am nervous about flying for so long with a 13 month old , the reward of being with MY family , far outweighs any of that nonsense.

Quiet honestly I think it can't be worse than when I flew alone with him to Scotland in February. My very first leg of the journey was delayed by 2 hours, we sat on the runway for an extra 2 hours of an 18 hour flight. Of course my connection was about to leave without us, so we had to get escorted through Newark Airport, not on a cart, no, I had to run behind our escort guy with Elijah in the stroller and he had poop all up his back at the time- No, not the escort guy - Elijah! I didn't have the chance to stop and clean him until we were on the plane and the seatbelt light was turned off .

I will admit I sat and cried once it was all over. But seeing my sister, brother-in-law and niece made up for all of that within seconds.

We will arrive at about 5pm in Cape Town on Saturday and Sunday is Pop-Pops Birthday, for those who don't know, he is my Grandpa and therefore Elijahs Great-Grandpa and is turning 90! He does NOT know we are coming. I told him we would TRY and come at Christmas time and he said " I don't know if I can hold on that long my Girl... But I'll try just to meet my only Great Grandson ".

Here are 2 little movies I made of both his Great Grandkids and put them on a Dvd for him.

I didn't even realize I have already posted the Elijah movie... how dense am I? Just coz I am being lazy i will leave it on there...

I am not sure if I'll be able to Blog while in SA as my Moms internet has been really bad lately, but I will try to at least a couple of times. When I return I will have even more to say than usual and I may even type with a South African Accent. Lekker.

Check out my Weather widget for Cape Town . Average daily temps about 62 degrees ... its the middle of winter.

Cloth makes a Comeback

BUMGENIUS BOY>

http://www.clothdiaperblog.com/feed-your-stash-3-bumgenius-deluxe-aios-1-babylegs/#comment-11316

OK so most of you know we are Cloth Diapering Elijah, I have a lot to say on this topic but try not to preach it too much for fear of scaring people off the whole idea by making it sound like a Tree Huggers dream come true... which it is , but you don't have to be a tree hugger to do it. Its so easy and so awesome. I plan on doing a proper post when I return from South Africa to celebrate our one year of Cloth Diapering anniversary! ha ha!!

Preparations & Preservations

August??

How did THAT happen?

July was a hectic month for us but a good one, August will certainly be even MORE hectic and REALLY GOOD. We leave on Friday at lunch time and fly from Charlotte to Atlanta and from there to Cape Town via Dakar Senegal ( just to re-fuel) so it will be about 11am EST when we land in CPT on Saturday but will be 5pm there. Its about 22 hours and hopefully it will be a decent 22hrs thats all I can ask for. ( South Africa is 6hours ahead of EST)This will be the first time Bubba has flown with us and so we are preparing ourselves and the house as much as possible to be gone for 2- 4 weeks. One of Bubbas jobs is to make sure all paperwork etc is in order and that his Mother knows where all our life insurance stuff etc etc is in case of the unthinkable- we do this every time we leave the country, its NOT just coz we are going to SA. This reminded us that we needed to update our wills and make sure Elijah is on them, not just Noah. Bubba was talking about how with us both being on the same plane going there we need to make sure E is "covered" should something happen ( which it's absolutely NOT going to

happen but thats what wills and insurance etc is all about right... insurance) then we both looked at each other and realized that Elijah will be with us on the plane... yuk thought. So we'll update everything but stopped thinking about that at that point!

Lately we have been having sleep battles with the lil man again. We thought we had paid our dues but alas there is more to be paid apparently. Just hope we can get it somwhat under control before we go. He seems to have forgotten how to fall asleep on his own and needs a hand or even just a finger tip on him to get to sleep, and if he wakes up in the night he needs that comfort to get back to sleep again. Silly boy.

We went last week and made his one year hand print tile. We did this with Noah from when he was about 2 ( when I entered the picture) till he was 7 , once a year we'd go have one made. So we are doing the same with Elijah and I am already amazed at how much that little hand and foot have grown, the first ones were made when he was 10days old!

Hopefully I will post before we leave again, I have so much to say ( whats new right?) for those of you who have not seen our "Elijahs First Year " video here it is > one year crammed into 10mins!

Do the Happy Dance 'Lijah

I know there have been a lot of videos on here lately... I guess Its an easy out for me, instead of writing! Here is a classic Elijah move that I have to share, it was recorded the same night as the walking ones, so its the same beer bottle > we don't constantly have beer bottles sitting around! In fact that night was the first time I have ever made Bubba do a "Beer Run" but we both just had the inkling for a beer and its not something we have in the house normally. LOL. I swear!

So enjoy the HAPPY DANCE, its a bit Stevie Wonder and when he really gets into it the legs start going too.

as always remember to scroll to the bottom and pause the music before starting the video. Thanks for Following us!

8000 miles away...

View Cape Town in a larger map

a lil interactive tour of where we are headed... Nicole asked me to point it out on a map... I did that, and then some. You should be able to click on it and have it take you to a full page,which you can zoom in and out of to get an idea of where we are going and how far it is. Each blue marker has a tidbit of info and some have photos.

WALKING. BABY STEPS!

My Baby is Walking!!! I suppose that makes him a bona fide TODDLER now! eek

His first couple of steps were the day before his birthday, and then it seems like he added a couple or so steps each week after that and now can do about 10. I left him with his Grandma and Noah yesterday and came back after a few hours to see him waddling around! ha ha of COURSE it happens when I am not around... I'm only with him 99% of the time...

Anyway its great that he is mastering it now as its only 3 weeks till South Africa and his Great Grandpa prides himself on his children, grandchildren and grandchildren being early walkers ... which we were NOT but at least we'll actually be walking when he meets Pop-Pop otherwise he may have been shunned! LOL just kidding.

Friday Fun with an envelope.

1 BUBBA plus 2 Noahs and 2 Elijahs = Hysteria... Enjoy!!

ps. I'll do a proper post soon!!

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Just for laughs

OK so Bubba told me I had to put this up for more people to see since it only has 833 views on Youtube and some lame-o " Hot blonde on Ostrich" has 17 634 !!??? So have a good laugh at my expense!

Ps. Thats my Mom and Aunt wetting themselves. My Mom was supposed to take photos but she was so busy laughing she got several quality shots of the ground.... ENJOY

( scroll to bottom of page and turn music off first)

Rub A Dub Dub

who does THIS remind you of? ( above)

After eating and wearing his Spaghetti for Supper, Elijah took a leisurely sink bath and then needed time to air out his goods.

Coming down off the Turtle High.

I got asked a great question today : " Were you more tired at the end of the day on July 5th 2008 or July 5th 2009?" My honest answer : "2009" . But if I could go back and do it all over again , I would in a heartbeat, just like 2008. There are things I'd do differently from this year ( more on that later) but I would not change a thing from how 2008 played out - that was how it was meant to be and the reward is now a whole year old ! Incredible.

I think it was a successful party overall. In the future I won't throw a party on his actual birthday, I want to spend that day with him and I feel like I was too busy to do that and am sorry for that. He woke up at his usual 7am on Sunday, we cuddled together in bed for a while and then got the day started. Pancakes for breakfast and then he "opened" a few presents. Then Mommy got back to work in the kitchen and Daddy kept the birthday boy entertained.

The weather forecast was saying "SEVERE THUNDER SHOWERS" for our area starting around 4pm... exactly when the party was scheduled to start, a party which was planned for outside since it had not rained in weeks... of course! So I did a re-think and despite it actually looking good outside , we decided not to risk it and so we set up everything inside. I had borrowed 3 large Tents, 3 Tables and plenty of outdoor chairs from a friend for the outside but those stayed in the garage unused :( I had visions ( and the supplies) for the bigger kids to be running through the sprinkler, doing sidewalk chalk, games, ball pits, popsicles in the sun, crafts and splashy turtle pool for the lil ones, none of that happened. It could have in hindsight as it didn't rain at all, but I had spent all my setup time indoors and by the time people started arriving I just had enough time to change and brush my teeth!

There was plenty of food, I felt like I was forcing people to eat because Bubba had warned that there was too much food and I didn't want to prove him right by having tons of leftovers - which we did - We had Hotdogs , you know we had to have hotdogs as a shout out to when Elijah had no name and we called him hot dog , Casey wore a Hot dog T-shirt! Wish we had got a picture of that. We also had burgers and "turtle sliders" for the kids but I am not sure if people even knew thats what they were as I didn't explain them well. Here's what they wee supposed to look like>

Of course I had waaaaay too much candy. My intention was not to overdose everyones kids with sugar but more for decoration but of course I told them to help themselves at the end.

There were 2 cakes - a Turtle and a Tortoise as well as 20-something cupcakes. Of course a Fruit Turtle - what party would be complete without one? And Turtle juice -punch with a turtle swimming in it. Have I mentioned my middle name is "over -the-top" Its a family name. From my Moms side.

So despite me forgetting to bust out the bottles of wine, the music I had prepared on my ipod, the cute lil tent I had lovingly made and several other small details, it went well.

The highlight was when everyone sang Happy Birthday to my baby, I wish I had got that on video, instead I stood there with the camcorder in my hand and sang. Then he was offered his first cake and he did not decline it. He did devour it!

He shrieked with excitement and I think he loved all the attention, but once that cake was in front of him I am pretty sure he did not know the rest of us were even there anymore!

He was showered with wonderful, thoughtful and super fun gifts. I hope I Thanked everyone verbally when opening them, it was a bit chaotic!! We really do appreciate your generosity and he has not found a single one that he doesn't like yet! Including the boxes.

My guy is ONE. Its been a whole year that we have been blessed with that face and the personality that grows by the minute. I wish wish wish MY family could be here to celebrate with him, but they called and sang to him earlier and we'll make up for it in due time. Thats just the way it is for us but our love is big enough to cross over vast oceans and it was felt despite them not being here in person.

Thank you to everyone for being a part of his life so far , I just know he is going to grow up to be a person of integrity and honor with a great sense of humor and gratitude because he is learning from all of you everyday , some of the most wonderful people in the world. Lucky Boy.

Happy Birthday Dear Elijah. Happy Birthday toooo YOU! Hip Hip Hooooray. Nog-a-piep HOORAY!

A Quick Thank You!

Its late. We are all pooped. But THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for all the cards, thoughts, messages , gifts and thank you to those who came to the party I hope you had as much fun as we did!!

I will update in the next couple of days but until then, THANK YOU!

ELIJAH - MY ONE YEAR OLD!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LIL MAN!

Its the big day! My baby is ONE . Look how far we've come!!

I am nostalgic and proud and in total awe of him.

But I don't have tome to dilly daddle, its a party day too and much to be done.

Of course it has not rained properly on WEEKS but todays forecast says RAIN ALLL DAY with Thundershowers starting around 4pm > exactly he time the party is supposed to start! Grrrreeeeat.

But I guess the show must go on, I almost postponed but Bubba would not let me. So I just hope its not a total chaotic disaster , I want it to be special for my Boy.

Better get back to work. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELIJAH T TAYLOR I love you with every ounce of my being!!!

Gettin' Close to B-day!

I have not posted on here in ages... been rather busy getting ready for the party, which I hope to goodness turns out well. It has not rained in weeks and of course the weatherman is saying thundershowers on Sunday! ha ha well I can't control that!All is well otherwise. My lil guy is growing and my big guy is shrinking! I have Bubba on a diet at the moment, I am micro-managing everything he eats and am so sick of cooking and prepping lil boxes for him to eat its not even funny! But he has managed to lose 13lbs in a month so at least there is progress. The goal is about 30lbs and as a reward he is allowed to TEMPORARILY grow a mustache ( eeew yuk! I know!) he thinks thats terribly funny... me? Not so much. But if it keeps him motivated then I am going with it. My reward - coz lets face it- I am doing all the actual work here, will be a SPA day or something of equal value to me. I try to remember that when I am boxing up food at 11:30pm every night.

As for the Lil guy growing... he is so awesome I can not get over him! Last week I noticed his 2 FRONT TEETH are finally filling the gap between his fangs! So by his first birthday he will have 6 teeth, 4 on top and 2 on the bottom! Occasional I get the pleasure of feeling them bite down, but he has got much better about that already. On that same note, we are not weaning yet, neither of us are ready and we are lucky enough to be able to keep breastfeeding so we are! We rarely nurse in public anymore and as he gets bigger I will limit it more and more but for now we are just going with the flow- so to speak.

His crawling has picked up some serious speed and he pulls himself up to stand on just about anything and his balance is getting better every day so I am sure walking is not too far in our future!

Elijah is obsessed with phones and remotes, but mostly phones because they make noises and light up when he presses them, did you know that at 10 months old he called 911? Seriously he did! He was playing with the home phone and I heard a voice so quickly hung up. 2 minutes later the Sheriffs Department called me asking if everything was OK because they had had a 911 hang up from our house! Embarrassing! But what are the odds he would dial 9.1.1 and hit "talk" in that sequence!? I digress... he loves phones and since Daddy just got a new iphone he has been testing that badboy out and will have to teach his Daddy how to use it by the end of the week!

We are hoping Bubba will get his "old" phone back so Elijah can play with it... Baby's First Blackberry!

In the past couple of weeks he has mastered the art of pressing buttons/ keys on purpose with his pointing finger ( that finger gets a work out let me tell you!)

Pointing is a favorite pastime of his. VIP'ing { Very Important

Pointing} goes on all day and sometimes randomly in the night too.

I have been on a mission to find him a Swing set for his Birthday, I just want a second hand one but its proving to be quiet a challenge! I may have found one today so watch this space!

Of course I am being rather particular about what I want, not just any swing set!

Of course we also just had Fathers Day. Bubbas first OFFICIAL Fathers Day. Here is what we made for him>

Well as the final minutes of June 2009 tick away I better go and prepare food for Bubba for tomorrow. I can't help myself from thinking about this time last year when I was blissfully unaware that in mere days I would be holding my baby, I was convinced he would come in late July. I was preparing for my Mom to arrive , had jus

t got our new car and was cleaning the house- that was probably the last time it got a good cleaning too!! Little did I know I was about to embark on the most incredible, exhausting, emotional, indescribable journey of my life!

Please Turn Over

So apparently not everyone knows what P.T.O means (on the invitations under "place")

= Please Turn Over. Its at our house.

Sorry for the confusion, my husband and Mother-in-Law have told me that its not common knowledge here... been 8 years and I am STILL learning to adapt to America!

Am back from surgery and rearing to go! You can RSVP on here via comment or Facebook, email or the phone number on the invite. Whatever is easier for you!