Ladies Doing Lady Things

This is my Abby Girl.

She's 15 months old and already seems like a little lady to me.

Abby and I get to spend every Tuesday and Thursday with each other.

Just us ladies while Bodie is spending his time at Casa de Laura brushing up on his espanol.

I never thought I'd have a daughter.

I always pictured myself with a house full of boys cooking for them and all their buddies.

We didn't find out if Abby was a boy or a girl until the day she came into this world.

I knew with all of my heart she was a boy.

We had a boy named picked out. We had boy clothes hung nicely in the closet. We had blue blankets and football burp cloths folded neatly for her.

December 12th came and the doctor held her up. "What is it," the doctor asked as she held Abby up and turned her towards us.

"It's a......it's a......girl," Bacho and I both said.

I couldn't quite wrap my head around her being a girl.

We dressed her in the one pink outfit we had just in case we were wrong.

We purchased pink blankets and flowered burp cloths.

We educated ourselves about the world of bows and headbands and flowers.

This sweet little lady has become my Abby Girl and I can't imagine life without her.

I love our Tuesdays and Thursdays together being ladies.

She was a surprise.....a very good surprise.

Happy, Happy Birthday

March 19, 1973.
 A good day.....a very good day.
Happy Birthday my friend.

Happy St. Paddy's Day to You

We're trying to channel our 'Irishness' by:


playing in the green grass

planting our new green plants

kissing people (even if they're wearing green)

eating green tomatoes from the garden....again (we'd love to invite you over to share a delicious red tomato, but we haven't seen a red one yet)



And especially by wishing our Titi Ashlee (who has green eyes) a
HapPy, hAppY BiRtHdAy!!

me

+

 my 2 favorite little people

+

a hot fudge sundae

+

a table outside in absolutely gorgeous weather

=

a perfect afternoon

sunshine and ice cream are good for the soul!

The Cinema

Last Friday we had another 'first'.
It was our first time going to the movies.
That morning I was scrolling down the line-up for Super Savers Cinema.
I saw, "The Princess and The Frog": 4:50 p.m.
"How bad could it be to take a one and a two year old to the movies?"
I envisioned the worst. You know....the WORST.
So, I called Papa and Ma to come along (when things seem too scary...always make sure Papa and Ma come :)
I'm sure their Friday night didn't include a princess or a frog.
But because they never let us down, they arrived on the doorstep at 4:00 on the dot.
We drove our little clan to the theater.
We arrived with our already stuffed bag of treats from the dollar store (shhhhhh).
We sat down in our seats and started to get comfy.
I had high hopes.
Not 30 seconds later, Bodie erupted into a monumental tantrum.
It had something to do with the licorice bag, the garbage can and the stairs.
But you know when you don't really care enough to really find out what the problem is??
It was one of those times.
I was patient and let the tantrum run it's course.
20 minutes later the licorice bag, the garbage can and the stairs were alright again.
We returned to our seats just as the music was starting.
Over the next 95 minutes we offered only a few minor interruptions to the theater....a little screaming, a little singing, a little bit a popcorn throwing and a lot of water dumped all over Abby.
But mostly a lot of laughing.
Bodie loved the movie and I loved watching his little face enjoy the movie.
It was a good day.


My advice to mothers with littles: Catch the matinee at the dollar theater.
Most people there have little ones themselves and we can all give each other the, 'I totally understand your pain,' look.
Plus, the dollar theater isn't as clean to begin with so a few extra popcorn kernels is just fine.
Also, we only paid $2 to get in. How mad can the guy next to you really get.
And lastly,  if Papa and Ma are free, I'd totally ask them to come along.

We Were Running Fools For Ragnar

It was 202.1 miles of awesomeness!!

2 big, white vans,

1 megaphone,

3 men in diapers,

36 packs of Gu,

0 hours of sleep,

892 port-a-potties

and

12 Wandering Fools.

We're totally hooked!

Check us out on the video link right down there. 
Speakers are a must cuz it has "Rocky" music

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyFJL5AmChA

(video courtesy of my girl Sonja)

Bacho passing the "baton" to me before I started running up a 4.2 mile hill that nearly kicked my behind

A Little Bump In His Road

This is Bacho's knee.

This is Bacho's knee after it said 'hello' to the asphalt after biffing it on his bike.

(don't tell him a said so, but it's a bit of a turn-on to see him in his biking get-up. I'll show you later.)

73 days and counting until Bacho's big Ironman debut.

He's been in training for many months.

He's been biking and running and swimming his little heart out.

There've been many times during these many months that we've both wondered whether it was pure insanity (especially me).

We've also both wondered if he was going to need the medics to  pull him out of the water because little boys from Puerto Rico tend to be on baseball teams, not swim teams.

But, believe me when I tell you you'll never meet a more dedicated, disciplined person in your life.

He'll push it until he's got nothing left to push.

He's going to do great.  I know he will.

I'm just hoping he doesn't hit any more bumps out there. 

We're fresh out of neosporine, band-aids and extra skin for knees. 

The Other "Us"

When you look back at different times in your life, do parts of it seem to be a completely different lifetime or like a dream?
Sometimes when I think about Bacho and I pre-kids, I can't remember us very well. Seems like I should be able to remember so easily because we were kid-less for many, many years.

When children come into our lives, we give up parts of ourselves to give to them. They need us. They're helpless.
And in return our children give so much to us.
Their innocence helps us remember the important things in life. They bring joy and love into a home like nothing else can.
I love the little family we have.

But lately I've been missing those two people up there in the picture.
I miss having the time and the energy to give everything we've got to eachother.
I miss our all-weekend-on-the-blow-up-matress-never-getting-up-except-for-the-bathroom-or food-movie-extravaganzas.

Sometimes I find it a tricky balance to give enough to my children, family, friends, church, community, myself and to my friend up there in the picture.

Last night I told him that I miss him. 
I tell him that all the time, but this time I said,
  "No, really. I miss you. 
I miss you from 1996,'97,'98 and'99."
He knew what I meant because he knows me pretty well.

 Life is demanding. We have to-do lists that never end.  We have responsibilities and people counting on us. 
With life as busy as it is, sometimes it's a good idea to push on the brakes a little in some areas so we can give a little TLC to other areas.

I'm thinking those two up in that picture are going to get a little TLC in the form of some major date nights.
Maybe even two in the same week.

Lookin' Good

Sometimes you have days where you just want to wear your blue jammies with 2 pairs of underwear over the top.

And sometimes you have days where you just let your two year old wear his blue jammies with 2 pairs of underwear over the top because it's just easier that way.

Doesn't really matter how many looks we get at the grocery store, right?

Where's My Stuff?

The other night Bacho was getting himself ready for bed. He opened his drawer and just stood there.

"Uuummm, where's all my stuff?" he asked me.

I reached over to the nightstand and handed him the brown bag that contained half of his possessions.

"Probably in here," I told him.

He dug through the bag and found his "stuff."

"What's with the bag?" he asked after brushing, flossing and sliding into bed.

I explained to Bacho that apparently there is a "really, really big party" that Bodie is attending sometime in the near future. We're not aware of any party, but I was told he must bring all this "stuff" to the party.

Each night after he is tucked in bed, I empty the bag and return our things to their proper places. But each new day the bag becomes full again.

Today in the bag you'll find floss, toothbrushes, a watch, gel, my address book, a medal, cologne, clippers, makeup brushes, soap, bracelets, money and a really old mystery roll of film.
You know....all the essentials for a really, really big party.

So.....if you're missing anything, you might want to stop by and check out Bodie's sack. He might have mistaken your stuff for his party supplies.

Unsupervised

Lack of Supervision

=

Bodie helping himself to a massive chocolate bar for a little snack.

"Behold Your Little Ones"

It's been a busy week and a half.

I've accepted the call to be the Primary President in our ward.

There have been non-stop emails.

Phone calls back and forth and back and forth.

Several meetings that have lasted several hours each.

The to-do list is still long and I'm slowly making my way through it.

But, last night after my children were in bed and my husband was quietly relaxing,  I took a few moments to think about this awesome responsibility and the privilege I've been given to work with these precious souls.

3 Nephi 17: 19-23

"...And it came to pass that Jesus spake unto them, and bade them arise. And they arose from the earth, and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And and now behold, my joy is full.  And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them. And when he had done this he wept again; And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones."

Our Savior took these children one by one to bless them. By His example the Savior taught us the tender care we should give to each one of his children. 

What a special time this will be for me to work with these chosen spirits.

 It is truly a blessing.

And the tradition continues.

The tradition of:

You're somewhere around one year old, let's put you in only a diaper, put you up against the wall and see how much you look like your daddy when he was your age.

(I would put a picture up of me when I was that age, but I was the fourth child out of five and I think my parents were all pictured out by the time I came along. If you ever ask my mom, she will swear she has tons and tons of pictures of me, but somehow she hasn't been able to produce them in all of my 32 years. It's ok though. No hard feelings here. I moved past that years ago.)

These are the tell-tale signs Bacho is their Daddy:

** the eyebrows. they're full, but soft. a little bushy but a very distinct shape.

** the perfectly shaped ears. (I was so hoping they'd get his ears. His are way better than mine)

** the head shape. specifically the forehead. it has a certain swoop to it. those in the loop know it well. It tends to be more prominent in boys.

And........

** those unmistakable toes. they're a little funky. some hide under others. (I was so hoping they'd get my toes. mine are way better than his)

I must say (in true mom fashion) no matter what they got from who (or whom [which is it?]), I just want to eat them up pretty much everyday.  They turned out pretty yummy.

Christmas Wishes

Bodie's Christmas List for Himself:
 An orange

 An apple
 Chicken
 Celery
 Oatmeal
         and.........
a Vacuum

Bodie's Christmas List for Abby:
Lots and Lots of Toys

Go figure. 
Guess he's just feelin' the Christmas Spirit.

The Art of Photography

A few nights ago we bundled up and went out to feel some Christmas Spirit.

We strolled the kids around the park as we listened to Christmas music and looked at the beautiful luminary.

We stopped for a moment to listen to a choir from the high school and I looked around for an artistic looking person to snap our photo.

I spotted a middle-aged gentleman with a beard standing a little ways behind me.

He was a little scruffy looking, but people with beards always look a little more artistic to me.

I handed him the camera, told him which button to push and scurried back over to my group.

I huddled in close to Bacho and we all smiled.

"Thank you so much sir," I said walking back over to him.

He stood next to me as we scrolled back to the photo he had so artistically just taken of us.

The gentleman and I both looked at the camera screen and saw this picture:



(Here's the best part)

The gentleman says (completely serious),
"Mmmm, looks like I cut your heads off. So........does that look alright???"

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday Abby Girl.
Mucho, Mucho, Mucho!
Love,
Daddy, Mommy and Bodie

This little lady will be 1 year old in T-minus 3 days.
She's the sweetest thing on the block. I love every inch of her.
But today I love her just a bit more because she learned a new trick.
It's called the "lovey."
It goes like this: she lays her head down on my shoulder...and keeps it there.
I've been showing her the trick for months and she finally caught on.
The "lovey" may not be anything special for some people out there, but it's a big deal at our house.
We were blessed with babies that would rather snuggle in their beds with "blankie," than with humans.
I love the "lovey" and I request it many, many times each day.
So, my December is complete.
Forget presents under the tree.
I got the "lovey."

Inspiration

On Wednesday morning Bacho came home from the gym. He told me how he had been running on the treadmill watching ESPN. A story came on. He watched the story and started to cry. He said he wiped his eyes and tried to pretend like he was wiping sweat from his brow.

But it was his tears.

Later that day I searched google to find the story. I watched it and I cried.

It's the story of Jake Olsen. Jake is a brave boy who faced his trials with courage and chose to see the world in a positive light.

I appreciate Jake and his strength.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX0ovhkgR7s

Good, Good Times

It was amazing!
Good food, too much fun and the best travel buddies.
We gained somewhere around 75 pounds in all so you know we ate well.
Thank you friends for an amazing week.
We love you all.
(I could only fit 4 collages per post {I'm only kind-of techy}. There are 2 more down below)