Mother's Day

I can't even begin to write how much I love being a mom, mommy, momma. How much joy it brings to my life and how much love I have for my kids! I often wonder how much my mom loved me in the few short months she held me in her arms, I can understand the love of a mom now that I am a mom and it is THE BEST feeling ever! Ethan's school had a mother's day event and we made aprons together (mind you that Ethan was over making the apron after 5 min, but it was the point of being together). We spent Mother's Day at Sea World and had the best day! I love you Taelor and Ethan and I love that I get to pour all my love into you. I hope that one day you understand the love of a parent and you will know just how much you both mean to me. I love being your mom and I love all that comes with motherhood (even the days you both drive me crazy :)) I know one day you will both be grown up and I will miss these moments with you, so for now I will soak in all the funny, sad, hard, and enjoyable moments! Thank you for letting me be the best mom that I can be to the two of you!

My mom in heaven...I love you more than you will ever know!

Poor little Owl...

Over the weekend I cleaned and purged out some junk....I mean... non-used toys from the kids room and organized them all back into their places for the umpteenth time. Why is it that every.little.doll. has something so miniature to go with it! Tiny shoes, cupcakes, hair clips, you name it, I found it. I realized after sorting through boy vs. girl toys that little missy is the the culprit of so many pieces of toys! Ethan's toys consist of cars, trucks, diggers, more cars, train tracks, helicopters, super hero's, more cars, army men, more cars and more cars (did I mention he has A LOT of cars), but at least all of these things are big and can be put into it's  own bin and not get lost! Taelor on the other hand has enough tea cups and saucers to have tea time with the entire neighborhood, a bakery full of every pastry possible that are the size of, oh..a thumb tack, barbies, dolls, mini shoes, play food, more mini dolls with purses and accessories, necklaces, bracelets and earrings, dress up dresses, clickity clack shoes (which by the way are VERY loud on the wood floors), more dolls with hair that always seems to be in a permanent knot, baking stuff, cupcakes, cakes, food....which by the way, all of these toys should be in every girls toy box!

Then I got to the stuffed animals....I am pretty sure we own over 50 stuffed animals. So I took it upon myself to "purge" out the old, non sentimental stuffed animals. I came across this little bean bag owl that was a hand me down and I knew I had to part with some of them so I chose this one, snuck it a bag and threw it in the trash can. Well then, Tuesday came (trash day) and it just so happened the kids were sick today so they stayed home from school, the trash man came and they ran to our bedroom window (which you can see the top of the trash truck and all the trash in it) to say hi to the trash man, but yet they saw poor little pink owl getting thrown in with the trash!!! They ran to tell daddy that the trash man had the pink owl in his trash truck, how did that happen?!? Well needless to say, daddy of course said he didn't do it and maybe it was mommy, goodness I was sure thrown under the bus! So yes I threw out the owl, and I feel bad, but yet Taelor made light of it when I got home, but yet was a little disappointed that she was now gone! What's a mom to do, you can't keep everything right? How do you choose what stays or goes? Guess it's just the story of kids growing up and parting (or not parting) with toys. Sorry little owl, I know Taelor is very concerned that you will be in the "fire" just like Woody and Buzz and the gang were about to go into but we reassured her that maybe a trash man will find her and put her on the front of his truck! Good bye little owl...I promise to not throw away anymore stuffed animals without having the kids OK!

Tutu's are a girls best friend...

Only my little princess would chose this outfit to walk down by the beach....I mean don't get me wrong I wish I could walk around in a zebra tutu along the beach with no worries! Yes this is my little girl, always needing to be fancy, and I LOVE it!

Fashion Island...a favorite place

Fashion Island is one of our go to places to walk around, grab a coffee, have a bite to eat, let the kids watch the fishes in the Koi pond and just relax. When we have no plans, this is our plan and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Spring Photos

When did she get so big?!? My beautiful little girl...just seems like yesterday she was learning how to walk. Yes life goes by way too fast. Enjoy. Embrace. Slow down time. Stay small. Stay my little girl forever!

Love notes

These little love notes just make my day....even though the one from Ethan is because he was in trouble, but how can a mommy be upset after finding this! I love the heart that says "Ethan my Mom" Love, love, love!! Ethan you will for sure be a little heart breaker and will possibly get away with anything when you turn on your cuteness and sweet little loving nature!

This love note was left on my nightstand so I could see it when I went to bed, this melted my heart. Taelor you have the biggest heart ever and I will forever cherish these notes. I love the way she spelled "luvf". I love you too sweet girl!

Family days

It has been pretty gorgeous around here lately. We had a relaxing afternoon at the Spectrum lounging on their new comfy patio couches and letting the kids run off some energy. These are the moments I enjoy, being with my family, letting the kids be kids, relaxing, enjoying conversations with the hubby and just soaking in the sunshine.

Family visiting from England

Over Spring Break we had family visiting from England. It was the BEST week catching up and getting to know the hubby's family. Their kids and our kids had an instant connection, they were all stuck like glue to each other. I have never seen Taelor take to someone so fast and didn't want to let them go. Little Elizabeth  hoped she could "accidentally" get left behind here in America so she could stay longer, and Rosie was already planning her trip back here for next summer (hoping that her Mum would let her fly here solo....we shall see). Finlay just wanted to stay in our car so that we could take him home with us. It was so sad to see them go but the memories we created were priceless. Our week was filled with Sea World, Universal Studios, Balboa, swimming at the pool, dinners, Downtown Disney, laughing and chatting. Taelor cried herself to sleep after they left, it's hard when families live so many miles apart and you can't tell your children you will see someone in a few months. But hopefully we can see each other next year. Until then, we have already facetimed and we will keep in touch often. It was a week we will never forget and we look forward to seeing each other again. Thank you Caroline and Malcolm for making the trip out here, you and the children will forever remain in our hearts! XO!

Great times and forever cherished memories! This is not goodbye, just a see you soon!