Mary Monday...even though it is still Sunday :)

  There I go, almost another whole week without blogging...my bad! This past week has been interesting...to say the least. Nothing has really happened, but I am just exhausted. Sully has been extra moody lately. It's not that he is grumpy all the time, he just wants to be held ALL THE TIME. Which of course at times is nice, but when we also have a two year old it is impossible for us to hold Sully all the time. He is drooling a lot, so maybe he is getting his teeth, but maybe not...who really knows. It has just been extra exhausting the last few days! I would love to say that it is amazing and we are loving every second of every day...but that isn't realistic. Parenting is hard and is not always fun! It has also been hard for Derek and I to adjust to having two kiddos lately. We are just so tired and so focused on our kids that we are finding that we MUST schedule time for just us.
 Speaking of time for just us...we will be celebrating our 7 year anniversary one week from today, which I think I have already mentioned, but I just cannot believe that we have been married for 7 years already!!!
 This past week Benjamin and Sully have really started to interact which each other. Benjamin will go up to Sully and tickle him and make silly faces and noises at him, and Sully will just laugh and laugh! It is seriously one of the most adorable things I have ever seen. Other times when Benjamin gets in Sully's face he looks at me with this deer in the head lights. "mommy, help"  Poor guy! Benjamin better watch out though, it won't be long until Sully outweighs Benjamin! I pray every night that Benjamin and Sullivan grow up to be great friends and truly love each other. I want them to stand up for each other and get each other's backs! That is one of the reasons we wanted them to be so close in age, so that they can truly relate to each other. I can't wait for them to be on the same sports teams (or band) together and to see them grow as brothers! I will leave you with this...I walked in after doing dishes...poor Sully!!!

Timeless Tuesday

I feel as though this past week has been pretty uneventful.....but this is why I have this topic for Tuesdays. I feel that at times life goes by too quickly, and that it is important to stop and smell the roses.

  The moment that stuck out the most to me this last week was when Derek and I took our boys to the park at met up with Kortney (our sister-in-law) and her two children Bubba and KeKe (no, those are not their real names but that is what we call them). We played at the park then went to McDonalds and played and had lunch there. Yes it was hot, but the kids had so much fun playing together. I love times like that! So fun!!! Benjamin and KeKe, who is almost 3, are so funny together. I think they are all going to be great friends as they grow up together, which I am very thankful for! Sully was of course as precious as precious gets! Auntie Kort got to hold him for a while at the park and I know he LOVED that! Sully's presonality is developing more and more everyday and it is so fun to watch him change into a real little person with a real personality!


P.S. I hope that Ashley picks Ben on the bachelorette! He is soooo nice. JP seems to be the jealous type...he is cute, just not as nice as Ben. Plus Ben has a super cool name :)

Mary Monday

 We had a pretty uneventful weekend over here. Derek worked all weekend and doesn't have a day off until Wednesday...which means I am playing the role of a temporary single mommy...ha. On Saturday I took the boys to my folks house, Ben and I watched the movie Panyo (SP?) It was a super cute movie, and Ben loved it. Then I had every intention to put the boys down for a nap and go lay out by the pool, but instead I fell asleep with the boys and we all took a long nap! It was nice to catch up on some sleep. Once we woke up we went to Derek's parent's for dinner and swimming with cousins, fun! Sunday the boys and I went to church. We go to church most Sundays by ourselves, which is not ideal and I wish Derek would go more, but he is either getting off of work at 7 am on Sunday morning...or has work Sunday night and has tried to stay up late Saturday so he needs to sleep.Church is important to us, and we want to raise our kids going to church, so right now it is my responsibility to get us there...and most Sundays we do get there...I know Derek would like to be there with us, but he has a job where he needs to be 100% alert...and if that means getting sleep on Sunday mornings then so be it. Church has been great lately, I finally feel as though I am really connecting to the people there which is a good feeling. So get this, there has been something like 6 or 7 babies born in the past 5 months or so. That is a lot for our church considering there are only about 200 people...so fun! After church I went to Panera and then went to visit the boy's great grandma. I guess we did a lot, but I was by myself with the boys for the most part, so not my favorite.
  Today Ben and I met Danielle and Max at the movies. We took the boys to see Winnie the Pooh, it was adorable. It was only about an hour long so it was the perfect movie to take two busy two year olds to....wow that sentence has a lot of to/twos...ha.
  Being a mom of two boys is hard sometimes, I feel tired all of the time, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. My boys, including Derek, are my life, and every day I pray that I become a better wife and a better mommy. Most days I go to bed thinking, "I should have done this differently....I should have done that differently". In fact, not most days...everyday! It is hard, but I am working on it!

Family Friday

 Today was a BUSY day! It started with Benjamin waking up in a not so great mood...boo! We needed to be out the door by 9:40am to go to our last church summer play group that starts at 10:00. With Ben in a bad mood I contemplated several times about NOT going to play group, but I went, and believe it or not we left on time!!! We stayed at playgroup for about an hour, then Ben and I dropped off Sully with his Nina and Papa. Then Benjamin and I went home and picked up Derek and went to the Home Decorating Show at the Fair Grounds. We were at the home show for a couple hours then we left picked up Sully, came home and took naps. After nap time Sully and I went to dinner with Lauren at Olive Garden!!! Yummy! Derek got Ben ready and his Nina and Papa picked him up and took him to a concert in the park. I got home, Derek was at work and shortly after Ben came home, I put the boys to bed and now I find myself watching Say Yes to the Dress in bed while cruising the Internet! Long day, but a fun day.
  On a side note, not really having to do with my family...just something I would like to rant about...ha... It really bothers me when people act like their life is perfect...as if they never have marriage problems...money problems....kid problems....friends problems....work problems, etc.... I mean seriously I am so sick of people constantly posting about their AMAZINGLY PERFECT husband, AMAZING huge house, PERFECT kids that never throw tantrums, HUGE shopping sprees... I just feel as though there is something so fake about portraying your life to be so perfect. Yes, it is wonderful to be thankful for what you have and to recognize the good in life...but at the same time I feel as though there is a fine line between acknowledging the good and  gloating about your life/trying to out do others. There truly in no such thing as the "perfect" anything. I feel like when people say that have it all going on, it makes others feel bad about themselves, and that is just not okay in my book. I feel like this is why a lot of marriages fail, nobody is honest about life...and that things at times are hard, and that things are not always perfect. You have these ideas in your head of how your life should look...how does this idea get in your head...movies, books, other people....so when your life doesn't stack up to the movies, books or other people's lives (or the life they portray) you think you have failed or you feel like your are not as good. I have never liked when people try to make other people feel less of themselves or bad about their situations in life....okay I am done. :)

Wedneday Wrap-up

  Finally Derek is on his days off, He is a police officer and with me not working during the summer since I am a teacher, I have really started LOVING when he is on his days off.  Not that I didn't love them before, but it is so nice to have all of us  home together on his days off. Today we pretty much did nothing...watched cartoons, played in Benjamin's room, took naps, took BOTH boys swimming and now we are just hanging out together...I am waiting for SYTYCD to start!!! My favorite this year Is Melanie, she is so adorable and a very good dancer! I am a bit of a reality T.V. junky! I love it all!!! I especially love The real housewives of NY/Orange County/New Jersey...I know lame, but I just cannot help it! Those ladies are out of control, and I am so glad that is NOT my reality!!! I also love Teen mom and The Bachelor/ette...again I know I am lame!!! Ohhh...and right now I am also into The Next Food Network Star....what about you, what are your guilty pleasures when it come to T.V. watching???

 I will leave you with some pictures, just to prove that I do not watch T.V. all day...ha, only all night...I kid!!!

Ben looking down a slide

Ben at the Park over in Aptos

Sully helping me make pasta salad

That smile melts my heart!

Timeless Tuesday and North Carolina

 Today is Timeless Tuesday for me....I will choose one thing that happened that week that was special to me. I decided to do this because it is so easy to focus on the negative that happens in our lives and not often enough to I say "thanks" for the amazing things that happen daily.

  This past week I came home from North Carolina. Sully was with me but Benjamin stayed home with his daddy. I missed Benjamin, and his daddy, very much. I was so excited to see Benjamin!!! I got home from LAX around 4 in the morning, and I so badly wanted to go and wake him up right then...but I didn't. I did however, go into his room and watch him sleep for a minute or so...he is so precious. Then that morning he woke up, his daddy fed him breakfast, he still didn't know I was home. Then  I called to him, "Benjamin"....it only took one call until I heard his adorable little footsteps down are hardwood floors as he came running to our room. I was on the floor with my arms wide open! He saw me and started jumping up and down and did this sweet little dance! It was the perfect moment. He then ran into my arms for a "squeeze" and a hug! this lasted about 5 minutes, he asked for his Sully, then he was over it and we were right back into regular life, ha! Such and nice homecoming!

  I was in North Carolina visiting, Jenna, a good friend of mine. Our friend Danielle, her two year old and her sister Stacie also went to visit. We had a great time. It was the first time I had been to North Carolina, and I was excited to visit a new place and of course catch up on some much needed mommy friend time. I would have loved to take Benjamin with me since Jenna's son and Danielle's son were both born the same month Ben was, but it would have been too hard to take both kids by myself...and I just couldn't leave Sully yet! It was actually nice to get some one on one time with Sully though! Here are some pictures from the trip!

Sully and I at Myrtle Beach                                  Jenna and Jax, Danielle and Max, Me and SullySully Bear was very sleepy from all the traveling!   

Mary Monday...

So I am going to have a theme for every week day from here out, this way it will force me to blog more often...hopefully. Mondays will be Mary Monday....I will simply blog about my thoughts on what is going on in my life. We will see how this works out.


    So, life with two kiddos has been an adjustment. It has been easier then I thought it wold be, but that by no means makes it easy. I am always tired...like ALWAYS! Today Derek and I were just laying in bed while the boys were taking a nap and I turned to him and said, "I don't know if I want more kids"...we have always said we wanted 3 children, but lately I am not so sure. As we discussed we decided that we want three kids for the future...like once they are older, but having 3 kids under the age of 5, just seems NUTS! I am pretty sure we will try for another...part of me just wants to go for it sooner rather than later so we can get his baby/toddler stage over and done with. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my boys and the stages they are at now, but it is a lot of diapers, a lot of mess, a lot of tantrums and not a lot of sleep...ha. As I am typing this I am realizing how horrible I sound...but hey I am allowed to feel like this from time to time...right?

(Even when they cry they are cute...I can't complain too much...ha)

  Next month will mark our 7 year wedding anniversary, I cannot believe that Derek and I have been married for almost 7 years, CRAZY! We got married when I was 18 and he was 20, I know...But, when you know who you are going to marry you just know. A lot of people doubted our relationship, but we have 100% proved them wrong. That is not to say we don't have our ups and downs, we do, but we have a very down to earth perspective of how marriage works...you have to work at it, and it isn't always perfect. Anyone who says they have the perfect marriage is LYING! We try to be realistic and honest about our relationship with ourselves and with the people around us. Sometimes Derek drives me nuts, but man I love him!!! I am not sure how we will celebrate our anniversary, my guess is dinner and a bottle of wine...or 2, ha. We don't really do the whole present thing, maybe a little something and a sweet card.
   Since we will probably be in our house for a few more years I have decided that I need to do some more decorating. I have one wall in our family room that is empty...it is a weird wall and I am not sure what to do. I am thinking of hanging large pictures of the boys in a row, then put up one of those wall decals with some family saying above them...That is really the only thing that I think will look good to fill that space. Once I get the living room finished I will move into our bedroom. We have not decorated our bedroom at all!!! Mainly because nobody goes in there except us, so why spend the money, but I think it is time....Right now the boys are in their own rooms. Ben's room is a nautical theme, and Sully's room is a cowboy theme. I think that in a couple of months, once Sully is truly sleeping through the night, I am going to move the boys into the smaller room and use the larger room as a playroom. This will help keep the house clean and will help with the noise level while Derek tries to sleep. (Derek is a Police Officer and gets off work at 7am, so he sleeps during the day)We will see how that works.
   That's enough of me rambling on and on about...well, myself...tomorrow will be Timeless Tuesday...I will reflect on one moment that week that was special to me.
Have a great week!
Mary

Sully is 3 months old

   I cannot believe our little man is 3 months old...well actually 3 1/2 months old. He is such a blessing, and we love him so much.
At 3 months Sully's personality is already shining through! He is pretty much a  laid back little guy...but when he gets frustrated, like at his hiccups, then he will definitely let you know!

- Sully smiles all the time
- Sully still wants to eat about every 2-3 hours during the day
- Sully sleeps from about 8:30/9:00pm to 6:00am,then I feed him and he will go back to sleep until 8/9:00am!!!
- Sully is still unsure about his big brother Ben, but he does occasionally smile at him.
- We think he has been teething already...he has been very unhappy the last couple of days.
- Sully loves to talk to us
- Sully still has not rolled over...he is so chunky and I think it is hard for him!
- At his 2 month check up he weighed over 15lbs. I am thinking by now he weighs about 16lbs.

We love him more and more with each day that passes! We cannot wait to watch his personality develop even more!

Benjamin is 2

Benjamin turned 2 on June 30th! Wow, my sweet boy is 2 years old. I can hardly believe it! Life is a million times better now that Benjamin is in our lives, he is so precious to us.

Here are some Ben Facts...
- Ben eats oatmeal everyday for breakfast, in fact it is the first thing he says when he wakes up while still laying in bed...we add peanut butter to it to sweeten it a little and give it some protein. He would eat oatmeal for breakfast lunch and dinner if we let him...and sometimes we do. He also loves tortillas, quesadillas, rice, pasta and his new favorite JELLO!!!
- Ben is not a huge veggie fan...how he know he is not supposed to like veggies I do not know. If I let him help make dinner then he will snack on the veggies while we prepare them, but besides that he will not eat them.
- Ben loves playing with his trains, colors (crayons), cars, books, water table, stuffed animals, dinosaurs and puzzles.
- Ben's friends are Ryan and KeKe (his cousins), Max and Jax...who we miss but will hopefully move back to California soon!
- Ben sat through his first movie with mommy. We watched The Tigger Movie in bed one night. Maybe we will take him to the theatre soon...
- Ben loves playing with his daddy.
- Ben is talking more and more everyday and has recently started to put 3-4 words together to make simple sentences.
- Ben loves apple juice, water and milk to drink.
- Ben loves telling us he loves us ( I love youuuuuu)
- Ben loves giving kisses and hugs and squeezes!
- Ben knows all of his colors, some shapes, and most of his uppercase letters...he is Very smart and catches on to things quickly!
- Ben went to his first amusement park and rode rides for the first time.
- Ben is timid of new things and takes a while to warm up to new situations, just like me.

He truly is a gift from God. He is a super cool kid and we cannot wait to see what God has in store for him!!!!

Here are some pics from his birthday party!!!

Blog Challenge

Hello folks! So I am going to participate in a Blog Challenge from Jenna's Journey Click here to see all the details! Basically you try to comment on 10 blogs per day for a week and then also add them to you blog list. Sounds fun to me!

June....I know a little late!

Summer is officially here. I am off of work and have been enjoying all the fun that the summer has to offer. The adjustment from one child to two has really not been as difficult as I thought it was going to be. Benjamin has done really well with his new role as Big Brother! Sullivan is just a joy, and we are growing more in love with him everyday.

We have been to several Grizzlies game this year. We bought season tickets for every Wednesday and Thursday home game. The games have been a blast and the boys do so great at them. Sullivan usually sleeps or just looks around at his surroundings, and Benjamin loves clapping and cheering! So much fun and a great summer activity.

  We have been working with Benjamin on his letters, and I would say he knows over half of them. We are not pushing it too hard because he is so young, but he is such a smart boy and already knows colors and most of his shapes, so it was the next thing on the list! He loves practicing and playing "letters".

  Sullivan celebrated his two month birthday on June 1st. I cannot believe that he is two months old already. Time is going by way too fast. He is such an easy baby. He finally started sleeping longer then 3 hours at night, which has been amazing. And now, even towards the end of the month, he will sleep 7 hours straight at night. Such a life saver! During the day he wants to eat about every 3 hours. He had his two month check up and he already weighs over 15 lbs.! We have a big boy on our hands. It is so funny that Ben was 9 lbs. when born and is now so skinny and Sully was small, 7.12 lbs., when born and is now so big! Sullivan loves to smile, look into mirrors, play on his play mat and loves to be held. Sullivan does NOT like tummy time or dirty diapers, but other then that he is a happy baby. We took Sully swimming for the first time. He didn't cry at all, in fact he seemed to really enjoy it. This didn't surprise me since he LOVES baths. Unfortunately the pictures I have of him in the pool is on my in-laws camera, so I need to still get those from them. It is so much fun watching his personality come out.

In the middle of the month we (my mom, the boys and I) went to Gilroy Gardens. I have heard of it through a couple of friends and was so excited to take Benjamin. Benjamin had a blast going on all of the rides and playing h the water. He was a little timid at first, which is typical Benjamin, but one he went on his first ride he was in LOVE! He has a very serious face while riding most rides, but once the ride stops he would say "more rides" , and even cry if we couldn't go for a second time! His favorite ride was the fishy ride, so cute. I highly recommend Gilroy Gardens to anyone who has kids ages 1-6. So much fun! In fact it is so fun that we bought a season pass!

Benjamin also celebrated his 2nd birthday yesterday June, 30th. We spent the day with his cousins going to Storyland, Playland and McDonalds. We had such a fun day. His birthday party will be this Saturday, so I will do a whole birthday post once we have his party.