Krista's birthday party - better late than never!

My baby girl turned four February 12, 2011.  I cannot believe how fast time is flying with these children.  It seems like only yesterday we were bringing her home, and now she is almost old enough for school!  

Any who, she chose to celebrate at the bowling alley, AGAIN!  Last year's party was interesting, so I knew that this year would probably be doubly so - and I was not disappointed.  There were twice the amount of kids there this year, so it was CRAZY.  They all had so much fun though, so it was all worth it.  The best thing is that she loved it, and that was all that mattered.

Don't let the sweet look fool you.  Game on!

She may look serious, but that is just her game face.  She takes this bowling thing seriously.

Baby girl and Grandmom.

This balloon was probably one of the highlights of the party for her.  I will never understand why balloons are such a popular thing with children.  It lasted about three days at home.

Food.  Enough said.  The smile explains it all.

Friendship???

I remember as a kid I was never very good at approaching people that I did not know.  For me it was easier to hang back and observe before diving into anything too quickly.  I am not sure if shy is the right word, more like guarded.  The closer you get to people, the harder you fall when someone has to move, or something goes wrong in the friendship.  Being a military brat taught me that as strong as a friendships are, they can go away with a little distance and time.  Any who, thinking about this leads me to ask the question - what really makes a friendship?  When can you call someone a friend instead of just an acquaintance?  It is like the first few months of a relationship when you a re not sure when it is okay to introduce someone as girl/boyfriend.

Anyway, as an adult, I have a few people that I think I would consider friends, a slue of aquaintances, and then those that are not either or - they just . . .are.  The thing is at one time or another they had a label, but through distance, time, fallout, or other, I am not quite sure where to classify them. There are also those that seem like friends, sometimes, acquaintances at others, and nonexistent from time to time.  You know those people who think that it is impossible to be friends with more than one group at one time.  Or, my favorite, the friend of convenience.  Love that one.  The problem with it is that unless it is explicitly said, you never really know where stand with anyone.

Then of course, the new trend nowadays is for everyone to be classified as a favorite or bestie.  The term best friend has lost some of its power in some cases.  It used to be that person you could trust, you loved to be around, and who you could truly be yourself around.  Now it seems like, for some people, it is whoever happens to be available for that weekend.  Best believe if I refer to someone as my best friend, I truly means that I think of you as family.  Words need to maintain their meaning, or the lines get all muddled.  I have found in the past that when I finally get close to someone, I will fight to keep that friendship.  I will go out of my way to keep things on good terms. Unfortunately, that favor is not always returned.

I just hope for my children, friendship truly means something.  The older they get the more I worry.  Will they have those close friends that they'll know really have their backs through thick and thin, or will they have that group of friends that are there just when it is convenient.  I want them to foster relationships that mean something, even if it means only having a few good friends, several acquaintances, and maybe a few "others". Most of all, I hope they can be each others best friends.

So, I got my nose pierced

There are a few times in your life when you feel like doing something out of character.  Last weekend was one of those times.  I decided, along with a friend, to get my nose pierced.  I had a few stipulations of course.  First, it had to be as small as possible without being invisible.  Second, the place that performed the procedure had to be clean - as in doctor's office clean.  Once both stipulations were met (thanks Cat) it was go time.

Donnie really thought I would chicken out, which made me want to do it even more.  He came with me, along with a friend and her husband.  She went first.  I could have easily backed out after watching her eyes tear up, and seeing the blood that he pulled out on the qtip, but I figured I had already committed, so it was a done deal.  I will not lie and say it didn't hurt at all, but I have recovered from three c-sections.  This pain came nowhere close to that.  The guy was very professional, and I have to say I love it.

Now, the reaction to it has been different from person to person.  My coworker and great friend Cat was THRILLED that I was doing it.  She couldn't wait to see it :-).  Most of the people at work had positive comments, or just none at all.  Then there was my mom.  She professed that is was unprofessional and she did not like it.  I took offense, but got over it quickly.  We came to an understanding, and though she still doesn't like it, she is not going to judge lol.  My dad laughed at me.  I can accept that.   As far as my uncle was concerned, it was hot; my mother in law shared his sentiment.  All in all it has been well received.

There is no telling how long I will have it, but for now I am loving it (as long as my children stop trying to rip it out of my nose)  Gotta love them.

Mom's Side of the Bed

Is it true that nothing solves your problems like a mother's hug, or kiss, or kind word? If life experience has taught me correctly, the answer would undeniably be YES. My children love their father, don't get me wrong, but it seems like when push comes to shove, I am the one with three little ones in my personal bubble. I am not saying that I don't like my children to be in my personal bubble, but I would like for them to invade HIS personal bubble occasionally.

The best example of this would be the children's preference of waking me up even though their daddy is sleeping closest to the door. And when I say closest, I mean he is the first thing that you see when you walk into our bedroom, so it is not like they don't see him. They make the conscience effort to walk around the bed and come to me. Several nights I have woken up with three sets of eyes staring at me. I feel their eyes on me before I ever open mine. I try to ignore it, but that is not possible. Chris will start patting me on my cheek and saying, "I hongry mommy, wake up!" Not once, not twice, but as much as it takes to get me to get up or give them permission to raid he cabinets. Then comes the chants for Wow Wow Wubbzy, Princess and the Frog, or Trek (Krista language for Shrek). By the time we go through all of this with all three, I might as well get up and grab a cup of coffee.


The bed is not the only place they are guilty of this favoritism. On those lucky days when they decide they want a nap, my lap has to accommodate three of them at one time. Many a days I have been stuck under three children, and had to call for help because the feeling was leaving my legs. My favorite time was when Chris was on my chest, Alex was on my lap, and Krista was on my head. Seriously. I wish I had a picture but alas, one arm was pinned under Alex and my phone was on the opposite side of the free arm.

In the end I guess if they did not hover over me and use me as their personal jungle gym, my feelings would be hurt. They make me laugh everyday, and although three was never in the cards, I couldn't imagine life without every single one of them.

Christmas 2010

Christmas was great this year. It was nice to have my bro and sis in law here again since last year they were on a cruise to Mexico for the holiday. We did the normal stay at mom and dad's the whole week tradition which the kids really love. They get to see everybody from sun up to sun down and they enjoy every minute.

Santa was pretty good to everyone. Alex is Ironman (seriously thinks he is) and has all the accessories necessary to save the world as Tony Starks. Krista is my little princess. She has her favorite princess doll and baby doll (Tiana of course) and a box full of fairy princess clothes to dress up in. I do have to say if there is a character that she most is like in that movie it would be Charlotte. I think Krista would kiss a frog if she could marry a prince and be a princess.

Chris wanted a happy meal and a Spiderman for Christmas. Unfortunately they were all sold out of happy meals, but we did manage to find a few Spidermen for him. Typical of a two year old though, he played with everyone else's toys most of the time.

Overall there was good food, quality time with friends and family, and great memories. My only complaint is that it was over way too soon.