I am a MOM

Ok, I have been a Mom for almost 4 years now... I often wonder how I got that title?!? I am constantly reminded of it everyday. Mason calls me Maaaaaaaammmmmm, with this whiney drone; Mama, so sweet and sickening when he wants something; and Mommy, when he is hurt. Miller only knows how to say MaMaMaMa....which melts my heart everytime he mumbles it. But seriously, I am not sure how cut out I am to be a MOM! I mean, I LOVE my kids more than anything in this entire world and feel incredibly blessed to have my children, including everything that comes with them, like worms in pockets, snotty noses, ear piercing shrills, and dirty diapers! I feel like this past week I have been put to the test though. You see.... I have been SICK! How I would love for my MOM to come and give me some chicken soup, rub my back, get me meds, make me tea.... Nope, I am the Mom now and instead of sitting on my rear watching re-runs of Afterschool Specials on TLC, being taken care of.... I am going to the store, making dinner, doing dishes, wiping rears, picking up toys, folding laundry, etc etc etc... all you Mom's....you know the drill. I don't know why I feel like I should be complaining about this, but I am. I am just plain SPENT! You may be wondering where my husband is during all of this? Well, he is sick too.... So, there you have it...... I am clocking out as MOM right now, even if it is only for a second.

Reduce Reuse Recycle

"Reduce Reuse Recycle...words that we all know, we have to save the planet so we can learn and grow.. we might be only children, but we can try to please....we have to save the planet, it starts with ME!! "

That is the song that Mason has been singing these days. I can't say that those are the exact words, but it sounds sooo cute coming out of a 3 year old's mouth. Thanks to Shuckleberries Preschool, my kids are learning how to save the planet at a young age! This past month they have been bringing in water bottles & cans to collect so that Shuckleberries can recycle them & earn money to buy a new bike for their preschool.

Today we went to the Recycling center in Oceanside to see just where all of our recycleables go. The kids loved sorting out the cans & bottles and watching the big trucks. Here are a few photos of our adventure today.

An Orange Tribute

When I was growing up, going to my Nana's house meant playing with vintage barbies, making cookies, and Orange Julius'. My Nana had a special blender just for this occasion. My sister and I would go out to the backyard and pick the oranges off the tree, squeeze them into juice and add the other ingredients. I don't remember exactly what went in them and what the ratio was, but I do remember the raw egg. I guess this gave the drink some sort of froth that you can't get without the addition of possible salmonella poisoning!

Now that we live in my Nana's home, there are just certain traditions that I have to (and want to) keep alive! So, I got online and found a few recipes for Orange Julius (minus the raw egg). I even held onto Nana's vintage blender! She would be so proud to know my boys have now experienced their first Orange Julius mustaches, using the same ingredients she did, and at the same spot in her kitchen.

Here is my version on Nana's Orange Julius

1 cup fresh squeezed Orange Juice (or more if you like)

1 cup milk (I used 1% milk)

1/4 c. sugar (I used less because the oranges are so sweet)

1 tsp. vanilla

~ 1 cup ice

Add all ingredients to blender and WA-LA....

** One thing to know about me... I hardly follow recipes and I don't like to measure, so I apologize in advance if your Julius takes some tweaking.

ENJOY

X is for X-RAY

The letter of the week at school this week is "X". I find it ironic that Mason had his first "X" ray today. Yep, that is right....my 3 (almost 4 year old), had to have a picture taken today of his collar bone. The story to how we got to this point, goes like this.....

Saturday afternoon....Mason is racing down the driveway on his bike, jams on the breaks, fish tails and high sides himself right onto the pavement, via his right shoulder. He fusses a bit, but gets back up and starts playing, because he had friends over...and obviously can't let a little crash slow him down. No problems the rest of the evening.

Sunday morning @ 2am. We hear a scream and crying from Mason. We have no idea what had happened, we chalk it up to a bad dream and put him in his bed. Mike picks him up to carry him back to his room and cries even louder. We think he is being dramatic, and brush it off.

Sunday morning @ 7:30....the poor kid is in PAIN! He tells us he fell out of bed and hurt his shoulder. He is obviously injured because he just sits on the couch all morning (not normal for our child at all!). We give him some ice, tylenol, and lots of hugs. You can see in his eyes that he isn't right, but he tries to go about his normal day with a flacid right arm. I hope no one passes judgement on my lack of taking him to the Urgent Care on a gorgeous Sunday! I mean, yes...it was 75 degrees out and we were knee-deep in dirt, gardening! Really, if I thought the doctor would have any magical cure for his debility, I would have gone...but I pretty much chalked the injury up to a bruised shoulder.

Sunday evening.... we are getting Mason ready to bed and I take a good look at him and notice his right collarbone looks a bit swollen. He still wails in pain when I try to get near it and touch it. I figured, ok.....tomorrow we will get a picture of it.

Monday morning.... doctor says "I think it is bruised not broken." I mean, Mason was even high-fiving Dr. Park! But the X-ray says..."Non-displaced Clavicle Fracture." And that is our diagnosis.

My son has his 1st broken bone just shy of his 4th birthday. I guess I am pretty calm about this because I know there will be many more of these. If he is anything like his Dad, we might end up with our own parking spot at the ER! As for now, he loves his ice packs, his sling, his gardening gloves (thanks Grandma), hugs, and the attention (of course!). We are still trying to figure out EXACTLY what happened...was it the bike accident or falling out of bed? I think we have concluded that it was him falling out of bed. Now, I feel even more guilty! But at least my son has something to share @ school this week for the letter "X". His very first X-ray.

Playground

When we lived in San Marcos, Mason was always asking to go to a park, or go to someone's house, etc etc... Now, I ask him what he wants to do, and he says, "I just want to stay here and play." I can not tell you how happy I am to FINALLY not have to pack up and ship kids places with lunches, diapers, drinks, etc! Mason has always had a great sense of adventure and loves to "pretend" play but these days his imagination has just taken off. In the past week, he has helped his Dad build the start of his dirt bike track, made his own jump out of a skateboard & piece of wood and has mastered his role as the Gardner. Today, he even dressed the part. He told me he wants a kid weed wacker for his birthday and a backpack blower with a pull start, not just a hand held blower. I find it ironic that he loves these gadgets because he screams and runs when the gardners turn them on. He isn't into loud noises. I can't believe he will be 4 in a few months. He is 4 going on 14! SLOW DOWN!

Our little Walker

Miller is 15 months old now and finally walking! I actually was not in a hurry for him to walk, but I was also tired of him crawling around on the rain soaked driveway and muddy grass lawn! He is a little master at the task already and usually has to have something in his hand at all times while he cruises around. His favorite toy is the skateboard. He attempts to say the word, but it really comes out like this "da dor." He likes the little tech deck's, mason's broken skateboard, and Mike's longboard... he doesn't care, he just loves them!

Another big Miller milestone is that now he has teeth! It took him until 13 months to get his 1st one, but then 6 came in in one month! I will always miss that gummy smile of his, but now I don't feel guilty when I give him toast and expect him to chew it!

Here are a few pictures of Miller at 15 months! We are just loving this age!

Bad Blogger

Lately I have had friends and family tell me that they love reading my blog... I roll my eyes and laugh and say, "seriously, because I am SOOO bad at updating it!" I have to admit that I am not the best writer and sometimes I just don't know what to say! Mason usually gives me ideas on what to write about, but lately I just haven't had the time. Honestly, I think part of the problem is that I have become addicted to facebook. I seriously think I need an intervention!! I find that most of my free time is looking up "status updates" and photos of my long lost friends. I am forever greatful for facebook though...it has allowed me to come in contact with old friends and puts a smile on my face when I see old photos from elementary school resurface. So, you can blame facebook, my super busy life of raising 2 boys, working as an accountant and dietitian, being a housewife, and CEO of the family. I apologize for my poor attempt at blogging!