Who You Are Today

So I'm admittedly a pretty crappy blogger.  It has been exactly one month and a day since I last posted.  I've been meaning to for weeks but you know how that goes.  Life always gets in the way.  But today its Friday, and I'm not busy for once, so I think it's time to finally get to it.

I originally wanted to start this blog as a way to "scrapbook" our lives in a sense.  I wanted to be able to look back 6 months, a year, 6 years from now and have a record of everything.  I realize that things which might seem commonplace now, will be so special in the future.  Like the way Ella eats spaghetti or the way Connor talks to his stuffed animals.  I just want to bottle up as much as I can.  So here goes.....

Connor

-As of today you are 7 years and 2 months old.

-You are 54 inches tall and weigh 54 lbs.  You love tell everyone how your height and weight is "even".  Evenness and fairness is close to Godliness as far as you're concerned :)  You wear a size 6 in clothes (size 5 in shorts because your waist is SO tiny) and childrens size 12 shoes.

-You just finished 1st grade at Norton Elementary and are excited about 2nd grade in the Fall.  You received all E's and S's on your final report card; way to go, Con!!

-You absolutely LOVE tae-kwon-do.  You started at a martial arts school in late February with no experience and are now getting your Orange belt.  You are one of the smallest kids in the class but you are by far one of the best (and I promise I'm not just saying that because I'm your Mom :)  All of the teachers rave about how fast of a learner you are, how intelligent you are and what a great kid you are.  When I watch you in class, I couldn't be more proud.  :)

-The older you get, the more you look like me.  When you were a baby, you really favored your Daddy but with every passing year that changes.  Your blonde hair and breath-taking green eyes are all your Momma's.  And you're without a doubt the most handsome little boy i've ever seen :)

-You are absolutely hilarious!  You're always cracking jokes and making the wittiest observations about things.  I sometimes wonder how such charm and wit is coming from a 7 year old.  And your laugh is infectious.  Just hearing you laugh is enough to send us all into hysterics.

- You are the greatest big brother.  You are without a doubt Ella's best friend, protector and playmate.  You hold her hand as she walks down the steps, help her brush her teeth and wash her hair, help her feed and burp her babydolls, take her for rides in your PowerWheels, explain to her the ins and outs of Spongebob, Garfield and Scooby-Doo and help her clean up messes before Mommy sees them.  You cry with her when she's hurt, laugh with her when shes happy and cheer her up when she's not.  She is such a lucky little girl to have you in her corner. :)

Ella

-As of today you are 22 months old.

-You weigh 24 lbs and are 30 inches tall.  You wear a size 18 months clothes and a size toddler size 5 shoe.

-Speaking of shoes, you LOVE LOVE LOVE them!!  I counted yesterday and you now have 26 pairs.  I wish I was joking but sadly i'm not.  I'm not sure who loves your shoes more, you or I!

-You are 150% girly girl.  You HATE to be dirty or hot, you love shoes, clothes, jewelry (pretties, as you call them), hair bows, lotion (which you beg me for every morning), perfume (or "spray" as you call it, which you also beg me for), babydolls, the colors pink, purple and yellow and kitty cats.  :)

-Besides the things that you love, there are a million things you do NOT love.  Such bugs of any size or shape, ("yucka bugs" you say), large animals, the heat, sweating, not being carried everywhere, being dirty in any way, shape, or form, having someone tell you no or not getting your way.  The words "diva", "drama queen" and "spoiled rotten" are used to describe you often.  And yes, I realize these arent the greatest behaviors but we're working on them.  I assume its the good ole "Terrible Two's" starting a bit early, combined with your incredibly strong personality.  You are VERY headstrong, (stubborn some may call it), you know exactly what you want and you dont take kindly to resistance of any kind.  You are sometimes bossy, but I like to think you're just a born leader.  You are your mother's daughter more than I would like to admit. :)

-You love to give kisses (especially fish kisses), which MUST be immediately followed by a hug and then knuckles.  Yes, of course, knuckles.  You stick out your fist, say "knuckas", then tap the persons fist with yours and finish it off with your signature "click" sound that make with your tongue  I need to get a video of this because its PRICELESS!  We can thank your beloved Grandaddy for teaching you that one :)

-You are talking a mile a minute.  There isnt any word you can't say (or at least attempt to say).  Its so neat to be able to carry on a conversation with you.

-You love your daycare or "school" as you call it.  Its the only one you've ever been two and its like your second home.  Most of your friends have been there since you started when you were 4 months old, as well as most of the teachers.  You give all your friends kisses when you leave, along with your teachers who always tell you "I love you, Ella" and you always respond with "I love you toooo ".  :)  You are still in the one year old class but will be moving up to the two year old class in a few months.  We are so lucky to have found a place that we all love so much.

-The older you get, the more I think you're looking like your Daddy.  Opposite of Connor, I thought you looked more like me when you were an infant.  Now with every passing month, I see more and more of Daddy in you; from the curly blonde hair (which Daddy cleverly hides by keeping his hair so short) and the sparkling baby blues.  You are Daddy's girl :)

So thats who my baby's are today.  I'm glad i've got on this down on paper (well "cyber paper") so that I can remember all the great things that are happening now.  I hope to update this 6 months or so because I know so much will have changed. 

I guess i'll end this the best way I can think of.  I love you Con and Elle....Love, Mommy :)

Another funny...

So Ella cracked me up once again and I had to share! :)  My mom kept the kids this weekend so that Shawn and I could pack, move and paint at the new house (of course.  I dont think we've stopped painting for the last week!)
 I was on the phone with my Mom while she and Ella were at Wal-Mart.  I heard Ella say to her, "Mimi, was dis?" (aka, "What's this?") and my Mom said, "I dont know Elle, where did you get it from?" 
Ella's response, "My nose."  LOLOL 
Mimi's response, "Ohhh okay, well I have a pretty good guess what it is then!"
Aren't kids the greatest?  :)

Hope everyone is having a great Monday!

~M

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Just thought i'd share two things my kids did today (well last night and this morning) that I couldnt help but laugh at.  Maybe you will get a good laugh out of it too!

This morning, Connor was in the bathroom about to brush his teeth.  I'm in the other room dressing Ella and I hear him say "Where's my toothpaste??"  He looks around for a second and then says, "I'VE BEEN ROBBED!!!" (And yes, he was 100% serious)  I thought I would die laughing.  Then of course, two seconds later, I hear him quietly say, "Oh here it is......"   LOL :)

Last night, we experimented with putting Ella in time-out for the first time because she wasn't following directions (Which were, "Stop throwing things in Connor's bath water."  She had by that time thrown in toothbrushes, toothpaste, a spoon, her shoe and some toliet paper.)  So off to time-out she went.  Unfortunately, she thought it was great fun.  She was bouncing around and laughing at us the entire time.  When I said, "Are you ready to be a good girl?", her reply was, "No sir!!!".  Then as I tried not to laugh, I said, "Well then I guess that means you want to stay in time-out, right?"  Her reply "YES SIR!!", with a big smile.  Oooh that child of mine! :)

Hope this brought a smile to your face! :)

~M

Coming Soon!!!!

So i've decided to hop back on the "blogger train" after my year plus hiatus.  I honestly don't know if i'm going to have enough time to keep up with this BUT i'm certainly going to give it a try!!  I figure this is easier than posting all my life updates on Facebook (because seriously, do we really want all those "friends" to know EVERYTHING about us???  Yeah um, no)  So i'm hoping this blog will serve to update any interested family and friends with the goings-on of our life, especially our cutie-pie babies.  And probably a little of my crafty/decorating/junk-transforming projects thrown in there too! :)

So stay tuned!!!

~M

You never forget your first.......

Upon much urging from my dear darling friend, Cathy, I have decided to give into my desires and write a blog! I'm not sure if anything I have to say will really interest the masses, but I figured i'd give it a shot and have a good time while doing it.

This being my first blog and my first post, I thought it only appropriate to think back on other firsts in my life and reflect on those...... Hopefully it will help open a tiny window into my world :)

First day- December 24th, 1981 was the day the Earth stood still (ha, just kidding) I arrived a mere 4 hours shy of Christmas Day (thank goodness, that was close!) and was promptly outfitted in a tiny santa hat and stuck in a tiny red stocking. I've been a true fashion plate ever since..... :)

First best friend- My little sister Lindsey was everything I could've wanted in a best friend. She was always close by (sometimes too close), always wanted to play whatever ridiculous game I made up (oragami driveway sale, anyone? :) she always laughed at my jokes, always let me have the better Barbie car (well not always) and had some killer cute brown curls :) What more could you ask for!

First realization that life wasnt fair- I'll never forget my first day of middle school. I was sharply dressed in my new peach flowered cullotte from Sears, my white Sam and Libby's (okay, they were knock-offs) and my white bow/barrette swiping my bangs (yes of course, bangs) to the side. I was insanely adorable, or so I thought. My first day was nothing like I expected. I didnt have friends in any of my classes, everyone seemed so much bigger and cooler than me and my peach cullotte and bow wasnt so cute next to the Limited Too gear and matching scrunchies all the other girls were wearing. To top off my bad day, it started to rain just as I was frantically trying to find my bus after school let out. In my haste, I fell in a mud puddle and got mud kicked all over me, as others ran by, not noticing the poor blonde girl laying on the ground. And when I thought my day couldnt get any worse, as I got off the bus in my neighborhood, it began to pour like crazy..........and of course I lived in the very back of the neighborhood. I resolved myself to walking slowly and crying in the rain all the way home; muddy cullotte/knock-off shoes/adorable barrette and jean-jacket backpack completely ruined; all the while realizing that life was a lot harder than I ever imagined. I went home, took a hot shower, tossed the white bow/barrette in the trash and began to grow up.

First kiss/first puppy love/first heartbreak- The middle of my 9th grade year I met a boy named Chris. We were friends but soon I began to think he could be more. I would to stare fondly at his pudgy, red cheeks and write my first name with his last. I thought surely this had to be love. After a year or so of dating, the first love and I realized that it was time to shelve our romance. I thought a Mack truck had run over me. And then thought surely this had to be heartbreak. If that little 15 year old girl only knew what life had in store for her in the love and heartbreak department.

First child- As most mothers can surely attest to, you never forget that moment you realize you're going to be someone's mom. I remember sitting in the bathroom of my first apartment (another first!) at the tender age of 20 1/2 (yes, the 1/2 counts!), holding a positive pregnancy test, staring at my feet and wondering when the room would stop spinning. I had to be carried into the bedroom by my boyfriend (first real love and first real heartbreak, but we'll skip that chapter for now......) because my legs refused to do anything but shake. My fear of the unknown was superceeded only by the dream of what my future held. 8 months or so later on April 11th, 2003, Connor Phillip Balanis, entered my life, stole my heart and held it in his tiny hand. The instant I looked at the face of the little boy who was to change my world forever, I knew right then and there, that my dreams had nothing on this. :)

First (and last) Husband :)- The man who was to become my husband entered my life as nothing more than a crazy friend. And I do mean crazy. There was never a dull moment when he was around. I was convinced he was nothing like me and never considered him as anything more than a fun, good friend. Fast foward to 8 years or so later, I was a suddenly single mother of a little boy who just turned 3. We had just been through a whirlwind. I was busy picking up pieces of myself and hoping be able to put them together well enough to be the strong mother my boy needed. So many nights were spent with my baby sitting in my lap, while we both cried and tried to understand the curveball life had thrown us. I'll never forget those little eyes looking up at me, full of tears and that tiny, raspy little voice telling me that he'd never push his loud toy truck into the bakers rack again (something he got reprimanded for quite often) if only his Daddy would come back. I couldn't find words adequate to say to him, so I just rocked him and told him everything was going to be okay. I made a vow then to do everything to make son happy and not to worry about myself. The day Shawn re-entered my life was barely after the leaves had settled from the big storm. I needed a friend, and he was that. I needed someone to make my son smile and laugh from his belly again, and he did that. I needed someone to make us both have hope again, and he gave that to us. What I didnt need, I thought, was another relationship. But before I knew it, I realized he was everything we needed and more. I tell everyone that I watched Shawn fall in love with Connor, before I ever thought about him falling in love with me or vice versa; I was just too afraid to rebuild, so soon after the storm. But one day as I watched the two of them play carelessly on the beach and listened to my sons infectious laughter, I realized that I already had fallen. I just needed my boy to tell me in his own way, that everything was going to be okay. :)

~M