End of Year Recital

 

Today was Dom’s first school performance!  They did an “end of year” program where he put on a show with his fellow classmates.  Rob and I were there of course, but Mum, Lexi and Court also came out to cheer him on.  It was so sweet and amazing to see my baby boy up there, singing his little heart out.  Now I totally get why there are those parents’ that have the video camera out at these things, waving like a mad man at their kid.  That was so me.  I couldn’t stop smiling and waving.  To see him singing, acting out all the words and being such a good boy was almost too much for me to handle.   I felt such pride, it was almost overwhelming. 

American Idiot

 

Yesterday was an awesome night. Rob surprised me in the middle of the day by telling me we’re going out, he’s already arranged for Lanie to babysit, and I need to be ready at 5:30pm.  I love when he says stuff like that.  It really makes me feel special when he plans stuff like this.  I had no idea where we were going, but I knew where I wanted to go.  So badly.  I really, really, really wanted to go see “American Idiot” playing at the Performing Arts Center.  But tickets were crazy expensive and I was pretty sure the last show was the weekend before.

Well, sure enough, that’s where we went.  It was amazing!  Rob had gotten us orchestra center seats (of course) and we couldn’t have had a better view of the stage.  It was great to see some live theater and experience that with Rob.  The play was really good and gave us plenty to talk about after when we stopped by Garfs for a night cap.

It’s moments like these that re charge my batteries and make me feel so loved.

Almost Birthday Time

I can’t believe Dom’s birthday party is in a month.  Where did the time go?  I’m really excited about his invitations and can’t wait to mail them out.  Every year we do a birthday party invite that has photos of him on it because one day, when he’s all grown up, I want to be able to look back at each year and see how much he’s changed and grown.   At about $100, it’s definitely a splurge, but I feel like it’s money well spent because we’ll have it forever.  And plus I love looking back each year to see how much he's changed.

This year is shaping up to be about the same as most years.  About 50 people, fun at the park and lots of snacks and fun.  I can't wait to celebrate my baby turning another year older.

By George, I Think He's Got It!

This weekend we took Dom to Walmart to pick out some big boy underware.  He chose Batman, Incredibles and Monsters, Inc.  I chose a pair of boxer briefs because they match Robs.  Sorry, but it's just too cute.

He did so great over this three day weekend.  No accidents at all.  No diaper except at nap time and bed time.  And both times they were dry.  I think he might actually have gotten the hang of this.  Does this mean we don't have to pay the extra $50 a month at pre-school?  They charge that if your kids wears diapers.  Well, hello, I think I can say he doesn't!  Crazy!

What A Little G

It's tough being this cute, but someone has to do it.

Run Rob Run

Rob is a big fan of being athletic.  He has been that way since he was a kid and was very involved in all different sports.  Football, soccer, track etc.  One thing he had talked about a lot was doing a triathlon.  It's not for the couch potato, you have to be on your game to get through one of these baby's.

Well, today was the big day for Rob.  He competed in his first tri and kicked its ASS!  It was a local one, just in Fountain Valley with the route being Run: 3.1 miles-Bike: 13.7 miles-Swim: 175 yards.  He left the house at 5:30am so he could get all his stuff organised by 7:00am, which is when they started the race.  Dom and I were so excited to go cheer him on, and we got an early chance to practise our skills.  On our way there, we saw Rob jamming down the street in the bike heat.  I rolled the windows down and Dom and screamed and cheering "Go Daddy!  Go Babe!" 

Once we got to Fountain Valley High School, we waited patiently with the crown to see Rob cruise in on his bike, do the drop off and the run to the pool to finish the last heat.  Once we saw him rolling up we jumped up and down, cheering him on, yelling "Go #203!!!"  It was so exciting to see him in action!  He put his bike into position and then took off for the pool.

Dom and I waited at the finish line on pins and needles.  Suddenly we saw him, here he comes!  To see him cross that finish line was such a thrill.  I'm so proud of his accomplishments and following through with his goal.  He walked over to us and put his medal around Dom's neck.  The look on his face was just priceless.  He looked up at his Daddy with such pride.  And for good reason.  Rob finished in the top 20% which is insane considering it is his first time ever.  But I'm not surprised.  When Rob wants something, he does whatever it takes, 100%.  What a good example he is setting for Dominic.

Mourning

I saw a photo of Bella today and just started crying.  I still miss her and am so sad that she's not with us anymore.  Even just writing this, tears are falling down my cheeks.  The pain is as deep as losing a person.  To my family, she was part of us.  And I will always remember her with love.  I miss you baby Bella Mia. 

Sister Love

I love my sister so  much. It's funny, when you're kids there are times you want to kill each other..but as you both grown into adults, all that disappears.  I'm  lucky to say that we have been closer than close for most of our lives.  She is honestly the most loving person I know.  She makes time for everyone in her life and makes you feel like you are really important to her.  She always has a smile on her face and has a laugh that can just make my whole day.  There is no one that can make me laugh as hard as she does.  Usually about nothing.  But to us, it's the funniest thing in the world.

It gets harder and harder to spend time together these days.  I have my little family and she has hers.  But we make an effort to make the time.  And when we get to hang out, it's always a great day.  It's amazing to see her turn into this beautiful woman...I'm beyond proud of her.  And can we talk about the fact that my baby sister is some one's WIFE?!  That still trips me out.  I used to change her diapers and now she is some one's wife!  Well, not someone, more specifically, Luciano.  Don't even get me started on him.  He is basically all the amazing stuff that Lexi is, just in guy form.  I love him completely and am so thankful he is part of our big, crazy family.  There are no two people on this earth that are more perfectly matched than them. 

Lexie, to me, is just perfection in every way.  She may be my baby sister, but she is one of my hero's that I look up to in every way.  I can't wait for the day (hopefully soon) that she'll be a Mom.  That's when it will even more over the top amazing.  I will cry my eyes out in happiness and that baby will be so spoiled by me.  Lexi will be an fantastic Mommy.  And I will fall apart every time I see her holding her baby because I used to do that with her.  And now here we are.  All grown up and making our mark on this world.

Eye Eye Captain

I am the first to admit that I am a lazy contact lense wearer.  I always have been.  I keep them in for months at a time, don't wash them, sleep with them in every night, the list goes on.  Even though I knew it was wrong, I still did it.  Why didn't I knock it off and take them out every night like a good girl?  Probably because I never suffered any major problems because of it.  Until now.

My right eye started killing me on Thursday night while I was out to dinner with Lanie.  I barely made it home in time before I was sure I would have to pull over and have someone come get me.  I rushed into the bathroom and took my contacts out.  The pain was getting worse and my eye was leaking water at a steady pace.  There was a moment where I thought maybe I should go to the urgent care clinic.  But in the end, I decided to sleep on it and see how I felt in the morning.

The morning came and my eye was even worse.  It was blood red and still gushing water.  I couldn't open it without crying out in pain and the slightest light made me want to die.  Rob took me to the urgent care, where they shone bright lights in my eye and put dye in it to see if there were any scratches or chunks missing.  After about 15 mins of shaking and crying from the pain, they realized hey just weren't equipped to get technical so they sent me to the emercancy room at Hoag Hospital.

Rob kept me company in the waiting room, cracking jokes and helping me forget that I looked like a cross between Jack Sparrow and a gang member.  I'm so thankful he was able to be there for me.  I was pretty scared and he did a great job of keeping me calm.
After wating around for about an hour, I was finally told that it appears to be a "cornea ulcer."  Yikes!  Now I was getting scared.  What if i couldn't ever wear contacts again?  What if I lost my vision for good?  They gave me a prescription for antibacterial drops and vicodin along with a referral to see an opthamoliogist on Monday morning.

Monday rolled around and the doc gave me some good news and not so good news.  The good news is there is no cornea ulcer, just an infection that was clearing up.  The not so good news is that he sees a cataract in my right eye.  This is unrelated to my injury or even wearing contacts.  It's genetic and there's not much I can do about it.  The positive thing about it is when it grows and gets to a certain size, I can have cataract surgery (which is a form of lasik) and the insurance covers it.  Sweet!

I have another appointment on June 5th with the opthamologist, just to make sure everything is ok. Even if I'm given the go ahead to wear contacts again, I don't think I'll wear them every day.  This gave me the scare I needed, and now I am going to take good care of my eye balls.

Potty Power

Dom has made incredible progress with his potty training.  He hasn't worn a diaper (except at bedtime) in two weeks, and he's doing great!  On Sunday we were out and about for most of the day and he had zero accidents!  And yesterday was the first day he got through school without any accidents.  He's doing it!  He's really doing it!

It's really cute at home. He sits on his potty and sometimes like to read a book, or a magazine.  Sometimes he just wants to chat or tell me a funny story.  As soon as he's done, he says "Mama, I get a chocolate candy?!!"  Hey, I'm totally not ashamed that I'm bribing my son with M&M's.

He's still wearing a diaper at night time because he's still sleeping in his crib.  No, we haven't switched him to a big boy bed yet, calm down.  Yes he's almost three.  So what? One big milestone at a time, ok?  Annnnnyway, he used to soak through his diapers at night and his jammies were always wet in the morning. He's a pretty serious night pee-er, which has me worried about him being a bed wetter.  That must be an awful thing for both the kid and the parents.  Changing sheets in the middle of the night, the stink of urine, the embaraasment.  Gosh, I really hope that doesn't happen.

But I digress, the reason for peeing so much at night is because Dom drinks milk in his bed before he goes to sleep.  I know, I know, bad Mommy.  But you know what?  He LOVES his milk. He's especially super attached to it at night.  Almost like a security blanket.  He's actually very meticulous with it.  He drinks it out of a sippy cup and when he's done he places it in the corner of his bed so it doesn't fall down.  Pretty smart huh?  Most nights he has just one cup but there are some nights where he plays, sings, has a full on battle royale with Bun Bun and Chili and then wants more.  The thought of him NOT having milk in bed is one I have been dreading.  Because he's so attached to it.

With Dom doing so well during the day with going potty, the next logical step was to work towards no diaper at night.  To do that, we'd have to be very conservative about what he's drinking after dinner.  And really, cut him off from drinking anything right before bath time, 6:30pm.  This of course put me in a panic.  No milk at bed time.... he's going to freak out.  He'll cry and sob and wail and that is going to kill me.  Well, it's been two night now of no milk in his crib and he's doing great!  But the first thing out of his mouth the second he wakes up is...MAMA! Can I have some milk please!

I really, really hope he keeps up the great work. It's such a relief to know that we may be close to ditching diapers once and for all.  I would like him to start wearing underwear, so once he's solid with his potty training, we'll re-introduce them and fingers crossed, he won't regress.

My hope had been that he would be out of diapers by his third birthday, and so far so good!

Potty Progress

We have had a tough time trying to potty train Dominic.  He'll be three in three months, and I really hoped we could get him out of diapers but then, but he is one stubborn kid.  He knows how to go on the potty, but he's lazy.  There are times he goes consistently, like after his bath.  I sit there with him, read him a story, cheer him on and we have good success with that.  But then other times he knows he can just go in his pull up, so he does.

We have tried going without a diaper at school a few times, mainly because they take them to the bathroom every 30 mins.  He was all excited to wear the big boy underwear and I thought this could be it.  But alas, he had no problem peeing on himself.  When asked why he didn't go to the toilet, he simply said "because I didn't want to."  Oh.  Ok.  That makes sense.  So we went back to pull ups. 

One of his teachers made a discovery that just may have changed the game for us.  When he is wearing a diaper, or pull up or even underwear, he feels like he has the safety of being able to just pee or poop on himself without consequence.  When he wears his pants with nothing underneath, he is more conscious off having to go.  This theory, coupled with changing his potty cookies to chocolate M&M's, have made me hopeful that we are getting somewhere. 

Today marks the third day that Dom has gone all day long with no diaper.  Each day, he has had one accident, but that's it.  Other than that, he has stayed dry, even through his nap time!  And last night was another milestone.  He woke up at 1:30am and again at 3:30am and called out that he needed to go to the toilet.  And once he sat down on his little blue potty, he did!  That's amazing! I am so excited that this kind of progress is being made.  I can hardly even imagine a world without buying three types of diapers and boxes of wipes from Costco....but I want to live there SO BAD! 

Big Kid Now

Who is this big boy?  Long legs, chillin against the wall at school.  How did this happen?  I just can't get over how grown up Dominic is these days.  Last night he picked out a book for me to read to him.  He sat down on the floor next to me, all excited and said "this is going to be awesome!"  Whaaat?  Did he just say that?  He's talking like he's a teenager already.  It's amazing and funny and crazy. 

He told me the other day that he's going to go to college.  I said, "ok, that's good.  What do you want to be when you're a grown up?"  He said "I want to build sand castles."  I'm not sure how much that pays now a days, but if that's what makes him happy, I'll buy him his buckets and shovels with pride.

Inked

I love tattoos.  There is something about them that just draws me in and makes me happy.  It had been so long since I last got one, way before Dom.  I'd say proably about 5 years ago.  For Christmas last year, Rob said he'd get me a one but I just couldn't decide what I wanted.  But the wait is finally over.

Last night, Dom had a "parents night out" at his school.  This basically means we pay $35.00 and he gets to stay at school with his other friends until 10pm and they watch movies, play games, eat hot dogs and ice cream.  Rob and I went to our favorite sushi restaurant for dinner (sushi wave) and then headed for the tattoo shop (outer limits.)  I decided on a bow underneath my "blessed" tattoo. 

Either I forgot how painful it can be or I'm just getting old.  The outline wasn't too bad, but the shading was pretty intense.  The artist didn't exactly have a light hand either, so that didn't help.  It took about 45 minutes and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

I have at least three more that I want to get.  My "family" half sleeve, something for Dominic and something for Lanie.  But I need to wait until I have funds first, this is an expensive hobby!

Ode to Dom's Mom

Dom had his first "live performance" today at school.  His class did a special presentation for all the Mom's: Poems and a story recited by the kids.  Now this is what I'm talking about.  This is the kind of stuff I have been really looking forward to.  I know, I know.  I have seen tons of kids perform, sing song, do skits, act in plays etc.  And it was super cute, but I never got why the parents were always strapped down with cameras and camcorders, fighting for a front row chair.  Let me tell you, when it's your own kid, it finally makes sense.  I was so excited to see him recite his poem and wave at me from across the room.  THIS is what Mommy's want.  I wasn't sure how he was going to do in front of a bunch of strangers.  I know he is a total ham at home, but he tends to be shy when there are people he doesn't know.

Well, it turns out he was upset because he saw me when I got there but wasn't allowed to get up from his seat yet.  In true Diva style, he pouted through most of the poems but finally sung his little heart out when his teacher read the book "I love you forever." Then he presented me with some pretty awesome handmade gifts.  A card, a potpourri thingy and a "#1 Mom" button that he colored himself. That's some pretty good loot and the fact that he made it all made it even better.  I can already tell I'm going to be a hoarder when it comes to Dom.  All his pictures, art, scribbling, crafts...I keep them all.  And you'd be surprised how much stuff he comes home from school with.  I see a storage facility in my future. 

At the end, he gave me a big hug and kiss and said "happy mothers day Mama!"  Ahh, is there anything better than that?  Snuggles from my child is like the best medicine for anything that ales you.  Got a headache?  Dom will hug it out of you.  Stubbed your toe?  You won't even remember that after he gets his little arms around you and squeezes. 

Of course Yia Yia was there to see him and that made Dom so happy.  He loves her so much and it was so sweet of her to come.  I wonder if it's strange for my Mum to sit next to her daughter who is watching her son sing a poem about his Mommy?  There was a time that I was the little one reciting poems to her, and now I'm all grown up and have a child of my own.

It was a fun morning, but Dom was less than pleased when I had to leave to go back to work.  The bottom lip jutted out and the tears began to fall.  It's so hard to walk away when all they want is comfort from you.  But I know he's fine and all will be forgiven when I pick him up this afternoon.

Snoopy Time

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We took Dom to Knottsberry Farm yesterday for some fun in the sun.  It was a gorgeous day outside, perfect for walking around Camp Snoopy and going on some rides.  Rob got us season tickets so it's really nice to just pick up and go, not havnig to worry about the cost to get in every time.  Dom absolutly loves going.  He especially likes the fast rides and laughs/screams in delight the whole time.

Just another reason why I love living where I do:)

New Ride

Rob got  a new car today, a 2002 Cadillac Escalade EXT.  He's always loved this car and by getting an older model, he was able to make it happen.  It means we had to say goodbye to the Jeep (sob!) but he really loves this car, so it was worth it.  Congrats babe!

A Moment of Calm

My sweet boy <3

Getting There

Something amazing happened.  I reached my second weight loss goal!  I weighed in at my meeting last night and I'm officially down 26.8lbs.  Go me!  I can't believe it.  I'm so happy and proud of myself.  I have been working my ass off, eating well and working out FIVE times a week.  The feeling of reaching my goal is just so amazing.  I proved to myself that I can do it. 

I'll be honest.  I am a little dissapointed at how my body looks this time around.  The last two times that I lost weight (one pre baby, one post baby) everything was a lot tighter.  This time around, I am getting smaller in my legs, waist and all around, but my stomach is still big and my legs are not firm and tight.  It's pretty frustrating to be working as hard as I am to make this happen, but to not see total results.  It's what usually gets me derailed from doing so well and back on the fatty train.

But I'm not going to let that happen this time.  I'm not going to give up.  I'll keep pushing forward and just hope that it will come soon emough.  I can definitely see a difference in how I look, and I have dropped a size, from a 16 to a 14.  People around me say they can really see it, and it's so encouraging to hear that.  It really motivates me to keep going.


Next up is the 30 lbs mark,

So Hard to Say Goodbye

Today was a day of pain and loss for our family.  Our sweet princess Bella passed away.  She had an on going heart condition that finally took it's toll on her little body.  We're all glad she is finally at peace now, but it's still so hard to believe that she's gone.

Bella touched all of us in different ways.  She knew how to be there for us, even though we all needed something different.  I know that sounds crazy, but it's true.  For me, she got me through the toughest months of my life.  When I was pregnant, I moved in with my Mom and Dad and it was a time filled with turmoil.  Rob was living in Phoenix, most of my friends had bailed on me, I was going through a divorce and trying to short sale my home all at the same time.  I was feeling alone and scared and hopeless and devastated by everything.  My hormones were in over drive and I honestly felt like I could die from sadness.  But when I would come home from work, Bella would curl up with me on the couch or my bed and fill a little bit of that hole that was in my heart.  She would nuzzle her head against me and let me hold her close.  She never pulled away when my tears would drip all over her.  She'd just lay there with me, making sure I felt a connection with her because I was slipping and needed something to anchor me. 

It sounds crazy, I know.  How could I be that emotionally distraught and how could a dog provide that much comfort?  But I promise you that she was a big part of keeping my head above water during that time in my life.  That was Bella.  She was an amazing puppy and my heart hurts so badly knowing that she's gone.  I feel like a part of us is missing and I don't know how to fix it. 

Rest in peace sweet Bella, we love you and miss you so much xoxo

Big Chair, Little Dude

Sitting in his favortie chair at Yia Yia and Bapous house <3