Tag: birthday

children, gratitude, happiness, life in pictures, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Happy Birthday, T.Puzzle

WFAM

T.Puzzle turns four today!

My baby is now officially in big boy territory.  Let’s hope like his brother before him, this increases his awesomeness tenfold.  Let’s leave the terrible ones, twos and threes behind us forever.

The birth of a child is always a vivid memory.  T.Puzzle’s stands out because I went into labor (after a solid month of miserably contracting for no reason) on the night of our third wedding anniversary.  I was in complete denial.  I can even remember the clothes I was wearing in great detail.  That’s mainly because I was so huge (T.Puzzle ended up being a healthy 9lb 7oz), I only had one semi-dressy maternity outfit that fit me reasonably well.  Black pants, with a huge amount of stretch no less, and a long-sleeved black tunic with red and white dots to top off this stylish ensemble. Pregnancy is certainly not about the fashion.

When I realized that the Braxton Hicks I was having were actually closer to the real deal, we went to the hospital where I continued to deny I was in labor.  I even got to watch an episode of Sex and the City on TBS as we waited to see if I dilated more.

Eventually, I couldn’t deny it any longer.  T.Puzzle came into this world and screamed louder than any newborn I have ever known.  I remember thinking, ‘baby, you’re suppose to be my easy one,’ and this only seemed to increase his volume.

Easy or not, he is the best second kid anyone could hope for.

Happy  birthday, T.Puzzle.  I love you!

children, gratitude, happiness, humor, kids, life in pictures, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

What We Did For Thanksgiving Vacation

WFAM

Whew!  Full Speed had a whole week off and T.Puzzle stayed home most of the week, too.

You know some mayhem ensued.

Oh how it did.

We were a busy bunch.

The week started with a ‘date’ for Mom and Full Speed.

The boys saw Santa with their cousin.

We celebrated Thanksgiving and Mad Dog’s birthday.  And yes, as a nation, I do believe in our entirety, we felt extreme gratitude that Mad Dog’s birthday coincided on this special day.   Or something like that.

 

Then, Mad Dog and I celebrated his birthday again as Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Pink graciously hosted our boys.  Upon our return, it is unlikely they will be invited back anytime soon.  Apparently, someone really needs to talk to their parents about their rowdy behavior.  Our apologies.

 

love you, Mad Dog!

Then, if all that wasn’t enough, we decorated our Christmas tree.  I tried oh-so-hard to let the boys do their thing without anxiously hovering about.  They seemed to have fun and I did too, just as long as all our breakable ornaments were hung at the top of the tree (by me!).

By the end of the week, we had two very tired boys on our hands.

 

So glad they have an 'off' switch.

 

When all was said and done, the thing that I am most grateful for is that I was actually sad to send them back to school because we had so much fun together.

Mothering these two strong spirited boys has not been without challenge.  To be able to say that I am honestly going to miss them as they trounce back to school is a turning point.

I am learning that even though there were days during vacation that they drove me to tears with their outlandish and stubborn behavior, I am now beginning to see the emergence of who they really are underneath.

Thankfully, they are two very cool little dudes.

Hope you all had a great holiday!

children, grief, kids, life in pictures, loss of parent, marriage, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting, self-discovery

Love & Birthdays

WFAM

 

Happy 6th birthday, Full Speed!

 

I am having many mixed feelings about Full Speed’s sixth birthday today.  I am excited for him and happy his remarkable growth and change are being marked in such a celebratory way.  The challenge is not having my Mom here to help me celebrate or to share in all the wonderful milestones Full Speed has achieved in the past year.

It was hard enough that she wasn’t here to offer support and guidance when he started kindergarten.  Now, with each passing year, Full Speed is growing into who he is meant to be and she won’t be able to see it.   I wish she could because this kid is only getting better with age.

As the distance grows from the last point in which my Mom was in my life, it is ever more shocking to my system that she really isn’t coming back.

I’d also like to apologize to Mad Dog for my extra crazy, unpredictible moods as of late.  I am in the last stages of processing my Mom’s absence and while I will never fully let her go, I will move forward in a more even-handed manner.  I promise.

All I can do is my absolute best.  I will celebrate the good times in my present and honor the sadness as it floats up from my past.

I am grateful for the time that I had with my Mom.  I believe the joy I have managed to create in my own little corner of the world is possible through her choices and example.   I watched and I learned.  I made some different choices of my own.  Most importantly, I was loved.

Thanks, Mom.

children, gratitude, happiness, humor, kids, marital blissishness, marriage, mommyhood, motherhood, parenting

Birthday

WFAM
Ohio Stadium, home of the Ohio State Buckeyes ...
Image via Wikipedia

Heading into my birthday weekend (yes, I turned 36), I had the weighted guilt of bad-mommy mojo slowing me down.  When I picked up T.Puzzle from school on Friday after only his second day back, I felt huge relief that the incident memo I received from his teacher was a result of an injury.  Thankfully he had not physically lashed out at another student. It’s hard to feel like an awesome Mom when my first thought over such a thing is “Yay!  My kid tripped, bit his tongue and cried.  Oh, thank  god!”

Sorry, T.Puzzle.

What’s a girl to do?  Only thing she can, hire a babysitter and go away for the night with your husband I guess.

Mad Dog has a simple formula for a successful marriage.  Since he is married to an emotionally sensitive woman and her birthday celebration unfortunately seems to always coincide with an Ohio State Buckeye‘s game, his answer is simple:  spa, baby!

Yes, my marvellous man sent me to the spa while he hung out at the hotel’s sports bar.  It was a win-win.  Literally, the Buckeyes won.  After I returned from the spa, we went on to have a spectacular dinner and a lovely time.

Full Speed and T.Puzzle in happier times

When the fun was over and we were driving home I received a text from our sitter that T.Puzzle had bit Full Speed.  Was it bad that my first thought was to ignore the text and as we approached our exit to home, tell Mad Dog to skip it and keep on driving??

Of course I texted her how to handle the fall-out and Mad Dog and I promptly emptied our wallets for our eternal gratitude for our babysitter and any lasting emotional distress she may incur.  Anyone that survives an overnight with Full Speed and T.Puzzle is alright by me.

I’m just thankful T.Puzzle bit his brother instead of her.

Sorry, Full Speed.

Related Articles