Open the garage

Trying to feed two very hungry children who eat two different things at the same time is not an easy task. I asked Isabella if she thought she could handle feeding Donato. Of course, in true big sister fashion she said sure! So I showed her how to do it and the rest is history. She's a pro!

I was in the kitchen listening to the antics going on in the other room and I hear a plethora of coercing going on. The best one was, "Come on Donato, open the garage because here it comes." I love it! She thought of that one liner all on her own. I swear she's a 40 year old stuck in a 4 1/2 year old body.

sleeping in...a thing of the past

Sleeping in has long been a thing of the past for me. Long gone are the days of sleeping until 1 in the afternoon. I have come to accept it as my new reality. When Isabella was small we would get up at 8 which is totally doable. Now, with Mr.Donato we get up at 6ish everyday. That's a tad early, but again doable. I never thought I'd see the day where I would not sleep until at least noon. It feels like just yesterday. Now, I don't think I could sleep till noon if I tried! When Isabella was small and she would have a sleep over we would be impressed if we slept until 9:30. Donato hasn't slept away from me since he was born but I would imagine I'd be up by 8 in his absence.

Let me preface this statement with, I know I sound like my mother. But I feel like the whole day is wasted away if I sleep too late. As a mom, there are just so many things that need to be done. If you sleep in you loose at least 2 hours of precious time. Time that can be used in an insurmountable number of ways. If this mommy didn't get up in our house Donato would still be in his crib, Isabella would eat candy for breakfast and Bronx would still be barking at the door to go out. So next time you are tired from getting up early think about all you accomplish while everyone else sleeps. Think about what wouldn't happen if you stayed sleeping. It's nice to feel needed.

And if Dad slept in...well that's a story for another day!

Through a Gigi's eyes

We are so blessed to still have my Grandma (Gigi) around. She has been spoiling me my whole life but my kids get all her love ten fold. When my sister and I were small my Grandma was still working so she enjoyed us but not as much as she enjoys my kids. She doesn't work anymore, maybe one day a week for bingo money but can ya blame a gal?

She wants to be with my kids any chance she gets. She drives to our house 1 or 2 days a week, 45 minutes one way to see them. It started out her coming because I needed help with the baby but he's now 10 months old and she's still coming. I don't know who is happier to see who when she arrives, the kids or Gigi.

I love to watch her watch them. They truly make her happy. She gets such a kick out of the quirky things Isabella says. You can tell how much she loves them and that makes me happy. I feel like I have given her a gift, I guess there is no better gift then great-grand children. She is so proud of them. All the ladies at Bingo know who Isabella and Donato are and are always asking her about them. She shows their pictures off every week. Every now and again the kids and I make a guest appearance at Bingo on Monday night. You would think a celebrity walked in the way people flock around the kids. I actually had someone stop me in the grocery store and say hi to Isabella. The woman recognized her from a picture Gigi had shown her.

Lots of people have grand kids but how many people have great-grand kids? It's like a bonus God gives to people. I have so many fond childhood memories of my Grandma. I hope my kids will have those same memories of her. They all get so much joy from being around each other. I hope this can continue for many more years. There are many more memories for Isabella and Donato to make with their Gigi.

Down at Fraggle Rock

I usually dread morning cartoons. In my opinion, the quality of cartoons has gone down hill since my cartoon days. Well this morning, with some resistance I put on the Hub for Isabella and to my surprise Fraggle Rock was on! It took some convincing but I got her to watch it. In the end she was just as delighted with it as I was.

Our kids don't know what a good cartoon is. Remember Gummi Bears, Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers, David the Nome, Duck Tales? Now that's a good Cartoon. There needs to be a throw back cartoon channel with all of the above. Sure there is Boomerang but it lacks in the bulk of goodness that was the cartoons of the 80's.

But in the mean time....

"Dance your cares away,

Worry's for another day.

Let the music play,

Down at Fraggle Rock."

Baby's best friend

Bronx has single handily or single pawed in this case helped Donato become a speed crawler. Donato tries with all his baby might to catch Bronx. Bronx will be sitting, chewing on a toy and Donato crawls full throttle to get him, Bronx gets up and runs away. It becomes a game of baby and dog. Dog always wins. You think Donato would realize that he's never going to catch Bronx but he never does. It reminds me of Bronx chasing squirrels or birds. He's never going to catch them but he never gives up.

I can tell these two are going to be best friends. While I was pregnant Bronx would lay on my stomach, almost as if he knew his best bud was in my belly. Ever since we brought Donato home Bronx is the first one waiting outside his door when he wakes up. I love to watch their little friendship grow. Bronx takes a lot from this little guy...it's baby's best friend.

The word "no"

The word no simply means, Not any: "there is no excuse". Simple right? Not so much! The word no, to a child means something completely different. It means: maybe if I ask again the answer will change, maybe if I wine a little more she will say yes, maybe if I ask louder the answer will no longer be no, oh wait, how about if I wait a few minutes dad won't say no, and the list goes on and on. We have heard them all. Kids lack patience, they don't like to wait for things, they need instant gratification. The word no does not allow for that. They want it now not in 5 minutes.

As I sit here and type this post I am having a conversation with my 4 1/2 year old about getting her clothes. So fitting considering I am writing about this very topic. I told her no, I am busy, not right now, I will come and get you when I am ready to help you. It has taken me 10 minutes to write this and she has come in here about every other minute.

I guess that's where being able to tell time will come in handy. When I say in 10 minutes it will really be 10 minutes and not every minute. They have no concept of time, there for the word no doesn't really fit into their vocabulary. I guess that is the joy of being a child. Living in a world of yes and living in the moment. I think adults should revisit that world every now and again. Then maybe there won't be so much hate. We need to say yes to the good and no to the bad. We think so much about so many un-important and irrelevant things. We need to take the time to focus on the good things every once in awhile.

Maybe I should take my own advice and stop saying no to my poor little girl who just wants to get dressed? I think so! Hope you all have a blessed day!

drive throughs

How can you not have a drive through with a kid?? they are the best! often determine what errands will actually get accomplished

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!! We are looking forward to a fun filled day with family. It's a beautiful sunny day here in New Jersey. Last night we went to my moms house to have Easter there. It was a great time and Isabella had a huge Easter egg hunt in the woods! Half way through she gave her basket to her aunt because it was too heavy!

Donato got up super early this morning, he must of smelled the Bunny that hopped into our house last night. He played for about 25 minutes before he spotted his basket and slowly tore it open. Isabella slept in, but ran right down the stairs to see what the Bunny brought her. Loved everything in the basket but her favorite was the pink baseball glove she got.

Now it's off to get the troops ready for church and then it's off to Grandma's house we go. I hear the bunny left the mother load at her house!