What Were Your Proudest Achievements in 2010?

On one of my facebook pages that I like give me frequent updates from Parents.com. I like it as it gives interesting perspective of thoughts of other Moms, updates about recalls and questions to its audience. One question it asked today was, what was your proudest achievementin 2010? For me, I can not narrow it down to one. I actually have a few, so here is my little list:

1) Speech Therapy: As noted in the previous post, my husband and I researched, discovered and got the aide my son needed for his speech development. It took a long time with meetings, board approvals, testing, etc., but he is now getting the therapy he needs and will have it until he doesn’t require it any longer. Getting speech therapy for my son has improved his life and hearing his little thoughts and questions because of all the progress he has made is beyond wonderful.

2) My Girl: I obviously didn’t care what I was having because this could have been easily an accomplishment about my second son, but becoming pregnant with my girl certainly is a achievement. It is beyond amazing. Beyond wonderful. It is truly a blessing.

3) Car PAID Off: It doesn’t go without saying that not having TWO car payments is a wonderful thing. I worked like crazy to get that sucker paid off. It took a lot of budgeting, a lot of cut backs on other things I wanted to blow my money on and I did it. I set a goal for myself and I accomplished it.

4) Debt Reduction: To me this is separate from my car. My husband and I are team mates in whatever we do in life and we have a plan in action for paying off debt, saving money for a rainy day and putting more money into college for BOTH kids. We are doing awesome with our
set goals with a little bit of scrimping and budgeting here and there. My girl isn’t born yet, but she already has a stash saved away for college until I am able to open a 529 account for her. My children WILL go to college. They can hold off their education if they make it into a professional league of some sort, which is a million to one (okay maybe less). So if they achieve that then they have my permission to withhold their education for a little while. Otherwise, they are all going to benefit from their parents paying for their education.

5) Loving God at a Deeper Level: This year I had A LOT of conversations with God. There were many times this year when I knelt down to cry and pray for encouragement and courage and there were times when I couldn’t thank him enough for all the blessings in my life. I am remembering more so every day to stop and think of God, sometimes multiple times a day and thank him for even the smallest of blessings.

So there you have it my year wrapped up in my five greatest achievements?

What is your proudest achievement(s) for 2010?

Blissful Days

As Moms we have a lot of weird, crazy and some even bad days. Regardless if you stay at home or go to work there is a constant juggle in the house, especially with little kids on maintaining
somewhat of a schedule, making sure your house doesn’t get destroyed (easier said than done) and striving to have some great quality time. Every day is of course different. There are days where your kid doesn’t like anything you do and/or doesn’t listen to a damn thing you say. There are days where you have a little less patience. There are also days where your kid decides that they would like to be naked and play in the kitchen sink with your front windows WIDE open (this happened last week…interesting….and very funny). However, there are days where it is pure bliss. Days where everything goes right. You are able to keep a fantastic schedule, patience is aplenty and quality time is at its max. I don’t claim to ever have the perfect life or
perfect family. I DO think they are pretty incredible though and over the last few days it has been a fantastic blissful period.


My Zaichik has really grown in respects to his speech development. He understands better, talks better and I think he’s happier for it. I am so thankful for his progress. The work my husband and I have put in with him, the work his teacher (I LOVE HER) has done with him and the
fantastic work his speech therapist has also done with my boy is really starting to show. It doesn’t go without saying that in my last parent/speech therapist update meeting that I teared up thanking her for everything. She saw the tears in my eyes, teared up too and held my hand for a minute so we both wouldn’t cry! She has not only taught me to help my son more, but has taken the time to teach his teachers how to help him and through her therapy she has improved my son’s life. What does this have to do with bad and blissful days? A lot.

I know my son and I know his tender side. I understand him like I’ve always understood the little being inside of him. It is our connection. He had a period where he couldn’t communicate well. He lashed out due to his inability to communicate to the people around him by biting and hitting. I believe it was due to all the ear infections, because like his Mother, he had plenty of them causing both of us speech delays early in our life. Last year at this exact time frame my son was dismissed from his horrible, wretched school (it was a blessing now that I look back on it as even county school teachers were aghast at the treatment) causing my husband and I to
panic to find care for him as we both work full time. It was a mess. We had so many ups and downs and stresses because of his lack of being able to communicate well. We were ridiculed by people that were close to us and not so close to us and had several (and I mean SEVERAL) nasty, horrible, heartless, cruel comments made about our child. For goodness sake he was a baby! He was just a little two and half year old kid. If you’re a parent and ever faced that, knowing your kid isn’t bad but just frustrated because he needs help, support and love due to a developmental delay because of infections, you know that the Mama bear in each Mother comes out to fight like HELL to protect their cub. My claws came out once or twice and I cried many, many tears for not only my son that was given such a harsh treatment (unbeknown to him), but shocked more
or less due to people’s inability to try to even understand. As parents, my husband and I banded together through the enormous amount of stress we were under (the stress was more imposed by the outside insensitivities of others more so then our son) and got him the help that he needed. It made us stronger. We worked hard getting the help our son needed and deserved.

A year has passed since that time. My son, as I have said, really does well with communicating to us now. It doesn’t go without saying that he does act like a typical three year old little boy. There are times when he doesn’t want to listen or needs to go to time out. I’m not raising a doll, I’m raising a child. He moves, acts and talks on his own will with guidance from his parents and the people that love him. He has the cutest little vocal tone of when he’s jokingly “telling” on his Dad and throws out some pretty hilarious sarcastic comments. Simply put, I’m in awe of our little conversations that we have together and I think have a deeper appreciation then some parents do for their child to be able to verbalize his thoughts, wishes, needs and wants. He has a soft little soul and does well pretty darn well with listening, sharing and treating others with how he wants to be treated. Sometimes you have to explain it a few times, but that goes with parenting. Parenting is a continuous journey of guiding your child(ren) in the right direction.

As I’ve said, my Zaichik has been at his best the past few days. We had an amazing Christmas day. He did so well especially not taking a nap all day and running around with a lot of excitement. I was almost expecting a few outbursts due to all of that, but was pleasantly surprised to not see any of it. He shared his new toys. He listened to directions. He even went to bed (very over tired) without much complaint. The day after Christmas was beautiful. He wanted to be by my side even though it wasn’t my turn to wake up with him, so after breakfast he came back upstairs to snuggle and sleep with me for an hour more until we both got up. He squealed with delight when I took out his wonder paint and his new play dough set and we happily played together for hours. He ate well all day. He didn’t complain at all or whine at all. He even went down for his nap and bed time without the slightest protest or peep. On Monday it was another repeat fantastic day with him after I picked him up when I got out of work. I gave him a bath. He requested politely to have some mac and cheese, which I was fine with since he was so polite about it AND it was just so cold outside we needed something to warm our tummies. He played quietly with me and gave me mounds of kisses and hugs. He even saw a boo boo on my elbow and kissed it just to make it feel better. He just made me incredibly proud and I was really sorry that I had to put him to bed a little after his bed time. Some days you’re done with either your kids behavior or just tired, so bed times are welcome, but really…I was quite sad about it. My blissful days really were wonderful with Zaichik. I hope we have a repeat again today. If not we’ll strive to do that tomorrow. I think all in all he’s a pretty terrific kid and he really does make me proud. I love you my little man.

The End of the Second Trimester

I love being pregnant. Really, I do. Even through all the nausea I endured the first six weeks of this pregnancy, the weird spurts of back/tail bone pain, and the constant runs to the bathroom, I can honestly say that all that gets pushed aside hearing her heart beat at the doctor’s visits or the constant movement I feel especially when I’m ready to go to bed. It’s a sense of knowing that my baby is okay and for now I can take her along wherever I go and know she’s okay.

This pregnancy has been by far quite different from my first with my son. With my son I had food aversions to random things like onion rings and grapes. I gained weight like crazy, although I’m sure the Breyer’s Chocolate ice cream that I had once a day had NOTHING to do with it. I also had high blood pressure as soon as I started into week 20, but I’m not sure if that was stress of my first pregnancy and my body going “WTH?!!!!!” or being afraid for my Mom as she was enduring quite a lot of medical obstacles during that time period. I also was incredibly swollen. I had cankles people. My ankles were the size of my thighs and no shoe would fit me expect stretchy ballet slippers. I remember how my ankles used to seriously gross out my boss, and he had three kids, so it wasn’t like he was unaware of weird pregnancy side effects. With this pregnancy, I’m not sure if it is because I am carrying a girl or because my body has already done this before but it is just different. As I said earlier, I was nauseous ALL DAY for six
weeks. It was pretty horrible feeling the urge to vomit while driving on a major high way. I learned to have a bag near me just in case. I also do not care at all to eat or even want to smell meat most of time. I also love fruit juices. I have to have them. I crave them. I almost would rather have a smoothie then have my favorite dessert. Another thing that I recently

I know most pregnant women have that crappy 2 am rush to the bathroom (or more), but I literally wake up around 3 AM and I stay awake until it is time to get up. I don’t really appreciate that. I’m tired. I know it is normal and people will say that “it prepares you for having a newborn.” I’m not an expert with all newborns, but from my experience and what I know is that you can at least feed them in the middle of the night (once or twice) and they’ll go back to sleep which means you can go back to sleep. You are certainly sleep deprived, but
you’re not awake for the heck of it.

Through all of the weirdness symptoms of this pregnancy, I really do love it. I am actually surprised how fast this pregnancy has gone by and can’t believe I’ll be entering my last trimester in the New Year. I feel blessed, humble and thankful that despite some rockier days
with feeling bad or sleep deprived that I have this little, beautiful girl growing strong and healthy inside of me. I don’t want this time to pass too fast, but I also can’t wait to meet her. I can’t wait for her Dad to meet her. I can’t wait for my son to finally see his little sister.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

This year really has flown by. It started a little rough with switching my son to a different day care, but in the end it worked out perfectly as my little guy is thriving and making great strides in learning his preschool curriculum and speech development. Our year was certainly full of fantastic highlights as not only is our son doing well and I have a new job, but we will be welcoming a daughter also in the New Year. During this time of year, one really reflects on the importance of family and although my family means just as much to me throughout the year, the holiday season is a wonderful reminder how much family really means to you. Since my family is the purpose for this post, I decided to write a little blurb/reflection on each of them.

My Son:

One thing I would like to reflect on as being important in my family life is that my little guy and I have a routine every night after our prayers and after we bless our usual list/modified list of special prayers, we always thank God for the thing we were able to do or accomplish that day. Sometimes it is meaningful things like thanking God for the health of our family or the wisdom he gave my son to listen to his parents during an important time. Other times it could be a silly thank you like getting macaroni and cheese for dinner or being thankful for play dough. You never know what will pop into the mind of a three year old, but I always love hear his reflections of the day and in my opinion it teaches gratitude for the things we have and to share his love for God. I am so grateful to have these little opportunities and moments with my son. It warms my heart knowing his little thoughts of the day that I don’t think I would hear otherwise.

Just last night my little guy saw a baby on the television and then turned to me and asked if he could hold his sister. He thought about her just because and if you know three year olds, it is special when they think of other people out of the blue and ask you about them. I told him that she should arrive in a few months and with Mommy or Daddy’s help as long as he is gentle and careful, he can most certainly hold her. He was quite thrilled about that. I don’t think he really grasp the whole sister coming to stay and live thing yet though. However, he has such a sweetness in his never ending energy and helpful attitude that him becoming a big brother is something I think he will learn quite well. He’ll obviously have to share attention, but he also likes to make sure things are even in the household, that everyone is where they should be and that if he can help and if asked appropriately, he will respond enthusiastically. He already loves to hang out in his sister’s room and has already helped me with various tasks of cleaning things up, putting things together and even putting her things away. What a great guy.

My little man has the same soul I do. I get who he is with that fire in his eyes and the sweetness of his hugs. I love the little person he is becoming and even though he is hard headed, it shows
determination and independence. I also love that he has his Father in him. He has a confidence in his achievements and honestly doesn’t care what you think of him because he’s just going to be who he is. To me it shows that he will grow into quite an amazing man. He will fight for things he is determined in and show confidence in himself. He will show gratitude for the things he does have in his life and hasa love for God. He already is learning what family means to him as
he is already thoughtful of his sister, Dad and Mom. He loves his Dad and has such a great, unique relationship with him. By leading him through example, I hope he too has a close family of his own someday where he is a loving doting husband and plays an active role in his children’s life. I also hope he comes and visits me a lot when he is grown with his own circus and calls me every so often (I would love every day but I know that can’t always be). I know my days with him being little and holding my hand through movies is quickly fading, but no matter how old he gets, he will always be my baby.

My Daughter:

I have yet to meet you but in some respects I feel like I already know you. Even right now you’re moving about my belly making your little presence known in your Moms busy life. You took a while to get here, but you did and I truly thank God for that. Perhaps you’ll take your time with things in life doing them when you see fit and letting no one rush you.

With the help of your Daddy and brother, we are busy preparing for your arrival. There are so many things to get done such as putting your new crib together, but if you know your Mom, it will all be done way ahead of time. Your brother, even though he is just three, has already helped me put your dresser together and has already helped me put parts of your room together. I know I have already said this before, but I honestly believe God whispered in his ear letting him know who you are and about your arrival. He always knew you were going to be a sister. I can’t wait to see the special bonds you will havewith both of the guys in your life, your Dad and brother. They can be very silly at times, but just know in life that boys are usually silly
and your Mother is here to back you up.

I really hope that you have much of your brother’s personality in being determined, confident and not caring what others think. I think as a woman it is quite difficult to put aside what the world thinks about us or what they think we should do in certain scenarios and just go for what we think is best. I don’t care if you’re athletic, a career woman or a stay at home Mom as I just want you to fulfill your dreams in life and put other peoples judgments aside. You will learn my dear girl that in life there are times you will face harsh judgment from others but just know that judgment is typically lined with their own jealousy. Be your own person. Know yourself. Know how beautiful you really are. Your Mom and Dad will walk through fire for your brother and you. We will always be there to support you and love you both.

My Husband:

Where would my family be without you? You literally fought to have me in your life in the very beginning and through that we grew from being kids into adults together. I know my role in the family is to be the glue that binds us, though you do certainly do your part. However, you are our rock and the love of my life. You have given me what I always wanted, a home and beautiful children. I know we drive you nuts some days, but I know behind that steadfast exterior of yours, your life wouldn’t be complete without all that noise and you would miss it.

I love so many things about you, but I love that you remind me to be strong and that we need our together time as a couple. I think I forget that in all the running around I do, that I need to breathe a little for us. I love that you remember the things I forget. I love that we date often. I love that you do these sweet, thoughtful things for me like putting under cabinet lighting in and the cute, boyish look on your face of contentment and pride when you see my reaction.

I love the way you are with our son. How you are certainly a little bit more of the disciplinarian and remind me to not be such a softie. I love that you have become our son’s personal lounge chair and that no matter how hot you get from a thirty three pound kid on top of you with two blankets and his entourage of bunnies and furry pillows, thatyou’ll stay put. Our son believes you can punch ghosts, monsters, tigers and alligators. You are indeed his hero as much as you are mine. However, I’d rather you not punch or come in counter with those scary things. I think it is beautiful in the fact that our little guy thinks of you, he remembers playing hockey with you in the basement or playing blocks with you in the living room. I also love that you are slowly teaching him how to cook and are patient in showing him how to do new things. I cannot wait to see the type of Dad you will be having a little girl in your life. I already think it is hilarious that you have pointed out some of the things she is NOT allowed to wear when she gets older and that you’re already prepared (if she wants to) to teach her the game of hockey and how to skate. I know there will be some differences in raising a boy and our girl, but I know in most of the aspects in their life you won’t stereotypically divide them in who plays sports and who learns how to cook. I’m grateful that you just know that. I can’t say that all men really realize they hinder their children by not letting them experience things that society thinks girls should do or what boys should do. You will be in fact our children’s greatest male role model in life
and I feel so lucky and so blessed they have such a wonderful man to fulfill that in their lives.

I love you my dear sweet family. You are my world and I’m so grateful to God for blessing me with each of you. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year my sweet family.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!!!

My Daughter

Dear Princess,

My sweet little girl, we have already been on such a wonderful journey together. Life keeps your Mommy certainly busy with taking care of your brother and doing day to day things, but you already have made your little presence known by kicks and little flutters. I have yet to formally meet you face to face, but already I'm in love with knowing God is giving me another blessing, you.

I wanted to let you know your Daddy and I choose your name as we both think it is beautifully feminine but also strong. We want to raise our daughter and our son to be strong, independent, intelligent, God loving, people loving and family loving people. Our hopes for you is that you are ultimately happy and healthy. Whatever dreams and goals you have for yourself someday, we'll be behind you 100% lifting you up and supporting as much as we possibly can.

My beautiful daughter, know that you are so very much loved and have been wanted for such a long time. Your Daddy and I spend our evenings with his hand on my belly feeling you kick and move about. We talk about your future, our family outings that we want to attend with you and your Daddy already jokes about what you are NOT allowed to wear.

Your Daddy has such a beautiful, soft heart and I know you'll have him wrapped around your finger in no time. He jokes about the girly things he'll get to do with you and he certainly will have no qualms about doing it either. He also comments on the fact that if his little girl chooses to play hockey, she'll be the one out on the ice with pink laces on her skates. My only fear for you my sweet girl based on my own experience, is to NOT have your Daddy do your hair. Maybe he will learn how to make a pony tail, but just know to leave hair dos to your Mommy until you learn how.

Your brother is so excited about your arrival. I don't know if he knows exactly how much you'll rock his world, but I am so excited to see the type of fun sibling relationship you two will have. I'm sure you'll have your arguments and I am sure you'll have days you'll want to kill each other. However knowing you two will be there for each other warms my heart. He always knew you were a girl from the very beginning. I would ask this little three year old if he was going to have a brother or a sister and he never deviated from his confident answer of "swister". It was as if God whispered in his ear letting him know your of your arrival.

My dear sweet pea, even though it didn't matter if I was having a girl or a boy, having a someone on my team after having an all male household for so long is pretty amazing. I dream of all the things we'll get to do together. I hope that our relationship blooms into the relationship I have with my own Mom. I want you to know that you can always come to me no matter what the subject is and I'll be here for you with a listening ear. I won't always like the things you do, but I will always love you and I will always be here for you. My wish is that you are confident about the girl you are and about the woman you will someday become. Don't ever let anyone decide who you are. You decide that for yourself. You are in charge of paving your own road in life. Don't let anyone or anything get in your way. Follow your dreams and think with both your heart and your mind.

I love you princess!

Love,

Mommy