Recently in matthew's world Category

This week's {pretty, happy, funny, real} will be like last week's. I wanted to share a few photos from Matthew's birthday. Since they could be considered in more than one category, I'll just lump them as one big {p,h,f,r} category.

We had a small party for Matthew on his birthday. I love the birthday sign that Bella made to go with the circus theme.

While I was decorating the family room Matthew kept himself occupied by decorating our long hallway. I think he mistakenly took a roll of toilet paper for streamers.

On every first birthday we make cupcakes and let the birthday boy eat one on his own. (Once the child really gets into it Brian says, "Come one! Do you have to let him make such a mess?!" My mind immediately start playing the song "Tradition" by Tevia and I respond, "Of course, sweetie! That's half the fun! And think what a fun post this will make." ;-)

I also wanted to get photos of the kids and when I was taking Andrew's picture he was more concerned that he had to keep an eye on John Paul so that he wouldn't eat his cupcake when Andrew wasn't looking.

Lastly, here is the birthday boy playing on his new birthday toy. :-)

The kids are looking pretty in their Easter outfits. I let the boys go a bit more casual since anything fancier would have only been worn once.

Brian's parents made an Easter egg hunt in their backyard. They were as happy as the kids!

Today is Matthew's first birthday! Yay! We had a party for him at my in-laws on Easter. It has become an unintentional family tradition for my in-laws to get a cake with the wrong spelling. One year they spelled Andrew Joseph as "Josef" and last year John-Paul had a cake from a fancy French bakery and it was spelled "Jean-Paul." This year the tradition continues, but we're getting closer!

I can't help but think about how Matthew is grown over the past year.

Time is flying too fast! Savor the moments.

Wouldn't you know it. Yesterday I carved out a half hour where I could post this week's {p,h,f,r} and the power went off. Blast you, Murphy's Law. Once we got our power back on I didn't have time for the computer so I am posting this now instead. Enjoy. :-)

It's a Lenten Friday so of course I am craving meat. There is a juicy turkey burger in the fridge just calling my name. If that was not enough, I am also craving something sweet. Like a delicious pastry from one of our favorite Carmel bakeries. If you are ever in downtown Carmel, you must stop and visit there. It is a local and tourist favorite.

I was so excited and happy to take this photo! There was no wild craziness, screaming or wrestling. The baby was sleeping peacefully and the boys were quietly painting and I was washing the dishes. For a few precious moments I felt like one of those picture perfect families where the members smile and white sparks shine off their perfect teeth. It only lasted a few minutes but what glorious minutes they were!

Okay, this is more like the family photos I am used to. It seems that John-Paul finished his yogurt but still had a bit left in the container. Not wanting to waste, Matthew decided to finish it for him.

Is it my imagination or are kids getting tech smart earlier and earlier. JP knows how to work my iphone with ease and the other day I saw Matty playing for Andrew's Leap Pad. Kinda crazy.

Hosted by Jen at Conversion Diary.

Yesterday was an insane day and, as usual, my way to cope is to write about it. It started out normal enough but then it went crazy...

Rain Clouds Gather - I got the kids off to school them went to take my morning walk. When I was done and as I was getting Matthew back in the car, I got a phone call from the preschool. My usually playful JP was listless and not himself. I wasn't sure if he has just tired (I loathe you, daylight savings time) or coming down with something. So I picked him up from school and headed home. The poor guy slept for an hour or two and then seemed much better. I gave him his lunch then went to send off some fundraising emails while Matthew played with his toys.

A few minutes later JP came to my chair and I scooted forward so he could take his usual position of comfort - standing behind me on the chair, leaning his head on my shoulder, and rubbing his finger on my lips. I don't know how this soothes him but it does. As he hugged me I was thinking to myself that he seems fine now and maybe we should go ahead and go to speech therapy when he made this strange noise. Now the excitement begins...

TMI Alert - I turned my head to look back at him and saw chunks fly out of his mouth. I was covered in it, the desk chair was dripping and the desk was splattered. Immediately Matthew saw puddles of liquid to be splashed in and ran over. Luckily I was wearing a jacket over a tank top so I threw off the jacket, which had most of his lunch, and in one arm I held JP and my desk trash can, in case more was to come, and in my other arm I grabbed Matthew and ran down the long hallway to my bathroom. (See all that walking is paying off.)

I looked in the mirror and saw vomit dripping from my cheek onto my neck. Nice. There's nothing like the glamour of motherhood. I quickly wiped my face off then bathed JP while Matthew emptied out the contents of the bathroom drawers on the floor.

The Famous Last Words "I Only Turned for A Second" - I finished cleaning JP and then smelled Matthew's stinky diaper. No problem, after JP's fiasco this will be cake. Now this is where things get scary - seriously. I grabbed the phone to call the speech therapist and leave her a message that we won't be there. I placed Matthew on the bed to be changed. As I'm leaving my message, phone cradled in my neck, I had one hand on Matthew and with the other hand I tried to grab a diaper wipe that was just... out... of... my... reach... and my wiggle worm tried to escape but headed in the wrong direction - right off the bed. He fell down and started screaming. I hang up the phone. (What a message that will be.)

Snap Out of It - I picked up Matty to comfort him and you know how a baby cries really hard then sucks in a breathe and cries even louder? Well, Mathew sucked in the air but never let it out. He just stood there then looked almost like he was going to faint. I freaked out. I thought perhaps he hit his head so hard he had brain damage. My mind traveled at warp speed - it a matter of seconds I pictured the whole scenario - me in the hospital, the doctor telling me they did everything they could, my breakdown, the funeral... I slapped myself out of it and rubbed his chest and called his name. He finally took a breath and whimpered but seemed tired out. As I debated going to the emergency room or calling 911, I quickly changed his dirty diaper. There was no time for me to change out of my vomit clothes. I'd have to bring JP with me and hope he doesn't get sick again. In the meantime Matthew had quieted down and seemed better.

Dr. H to the Rescue - I called my pediatrician's emergency line and told him what happened. He asked me detailed questions about what happened. How far did he fall (off the bed), is the floor carpeted (yes), did his eyes roll back (no), are his pupils unequal (no), is he vomiting (no, just his brother), etc. He said it sounded like he was okay but I had to keep an eye on him for any warning signs. It seems he didn't so much hurt his head but rather he was crying so hard that he lost his breathe.

Perspective - I sat on the couch with the boys grateful that Matthew finished his milk and was now hitting me on the face with his "love taps" as he laughed and babbled away, "Mamamamamama..." Who cares if my desk area was still covered in vomit or that I had yet to shower after getting drenched in it. Who cares about all the things I "should" be doing today. I was just relieved that I had my babies snuggled in my arms and God has spared me a scary, scary cross (at least so far.) There's nothing like a little shake up to help you put back perspective in your life!

Lesson Learned - Today is a new day and the kids are home from school. I hear yelling, screaming, laughter and the sound of JP and Matty giggling as they play with the bubble machine by my desk. The chaotic noise never sounded so beautiful.

So if today happens to drive you mad and you are feeling like you are going to lose it, stop and take a breath. Remember what matters most and count your blessings. God will get you through the rough spots. Don't wait for a near tragedy to remind you.

Thanks for listening and have a wonderful weekend!!

It has been a busy and stressful week and I haven't had any free time to post to the blog. Right now I have a ten minute window to make a quick post so I'll catch you up on the latest.

I've been busy, busy with the school fundraiser and after a meeting this morning I stopped into the Adoration chapel to pray. It felt good to regroup and only focus on Our Lord for a bit. I decided to take the scenic route home and I am glad I did. How can you stay stressed when you stop and look at a scene like this? So pretty.

This week John-Paul started pre-school! He has been so happy there. He and Andrew have recess at the same time so they enjoy playing together with their little friends. I know JP loves it because when it's time for him to go, he has a tantrum and doesn't want to leave. But after I pick him up and give him a kiss, he rubs my lips with his finger (that's how he soothes himself) and he rests his head on me, ready for a nap in the car.

Matty must have found John-Paul's secret candy stash because this is what I found him eating for breakfast.

Since we had that laundry room flood, we had to not only empty out the laundry room but also the hallway closet that held all the jackets and cleaning supplies ect. Everything was thrown into the closest bedroom, which was Bella's. The poor room looked like a war zone.

Thankfully everything has been dried out, the carpet padding has been replaced, the carpet has been washed and $600 later (ugh!) I got my laundry room back... and Bella got her room back. (Now I just need to catch up on all the piled up laundry. Oh joy.

I am a day late posting this but it was an insane day yesterday and I never had time to post this. Better late than never. :-)

I think it is funny that these pair of pajamas have lasted long enough to survive all three boys and their mischief.

I hope you enjoyed my week in photos.

Thanks to our complimentary stay at Pebble Beach last weekend, I have lots of photos to show! It's a little out of order so the story makes more sense.

My happiness was seeing the ones I love the most having a good time.

Maybe this should have been in the funny category but we were excited to be treated to such delicious food! On Friday, after dinner at the Italian restaurant Peppoli's we were too full for dessert. However, we were hungry later that night so we ordered their room service dessert special. It was chocolate raspberry cake/soufflé with a raspberry center, a dish of raspberry sorbet with vanilla ice cream on top and hot chocolate fudge to drizzle over it all. Ohmygosh, it tasted so good!

If that wasn't enough, in the morning they brought us room service breakfast. It's a good thing we had a lot of walking planned to work off our meals!

We are truly blessed to have this once a year mini-vacation but Brian always dreads me coming back home afterwards. It takes him a few days to reprogram me to let go of all the pampering, special treatment and being able to use the bathroom uninterrupted. I have to get back into the mode of stinky diapers, sticky hands, dirty dishes and piles of dirty laundry.

He says I'm like Lucy after she comes back from the home show...

After seeing all that luxury her own house makes her say, "Yesh!" LOL! (If you don't remember the episode, you can watch it here.)

Well, I'm happy to report that I'm back to myself again and ready for the next mini-disaster to photograph for next week. ;-)

I'm not sure if it would be considered "pretty" but I parked next to this cool car at the market the other day.

My kids were relatively fast walkers (and late teethers and talkers) but I think Matthew may be the youngest of the bunch to walk at 9 months. Last week he was only taking 1-2 steps. This week he is doing 3-4 steps. I love then they start to toddle!

My happy guy makes me smile, especially in his "mama's boy" shirt.

I think it is funny how light and curly Matthew's hair is compared to the other kids. I also think it's a little funny that people assume I'm the Mexican nanny since he doesn't look like me. (Hello, I've got a tall white husband, people. ;-)

We haven't heard from our cookie bandit lately but he struck again when I found this in the kitchen...

I went to the boys' room and heard giggling from the closet...

And there was my mischievous fella having a mid morning snack. :-)

I'm not sure if I'd call him "pretty" but Matthew is darn cute and he is 9 months old today! (Photo courtesy of my sister JC. ;-)

This weekend Andrew attended a birthday party that was held at a fire station. He got a kick out of the fire truck's tires being so tall.

He was even more excited when he got a turn shooting the fire house into the street. (Free car washes for unsuspected cars driving by. LOL)

Matthew was having fun squirming his way into the bar stool.

However, the fun ended when he couldn't figure how to get out of there!

Back to the fire station..they were showing us how high their ladder went. One of the firefighters started climbing...

...and climbing...

...until he finally made it to the very top. I was dizzy just looking at him. Those guys are amazing!!

Lots of love to all our firefighters!! :-)

I never got the chance to post any Christmas photos last week so I'll do them this week. :-)

And this is why I shouldn't blog while the kids are awake. Just as I hit "post" I heard the back sliding door open. I checked to see what was going on. JP unlocked the door and ran out on the deck and Matthew followed him outside. They saw no harm in getting some fresh air. Thank God the deck is contained. (I love how Matthew is clapping his hands so proud of himself.)

Here's a quick peek at our Halloween costumes this year.

Bella was an Angry Bird vet.

She bandaged up the birds that were hurt fighting the pigs. LOL.

Andrew the Tiger.

John-Paul the Packers fan.

Brothers

Matthew the Lion.

I was going through some old photos and found this one of Andrew kissing JP when he was a baby. I think it is so sweet! :-)

Andrew continues as a good big brother. Here he is playing with Matthew and making him laugh.

The other day I left Matthew on the floor in the family room to let him scoot and army crawl around. Since he just turned six months, he is slow but he has been practicing and has gotten much better over the past week. I found it funny when he crawled "for real" into the kitchen.

Although, Andrew worries about him crawling onto a hard surface so he drags him back to the middle of the room. Poor guy.

The snack thief strikes again. Last week it was a bag of baked cheetos.

This time it was a bag of candy corn. I think I need to do a better job at hiding the treats.

Hosted by Jen at Conversion Diary.

First I want to start with an exciting take. I am going to be an aunt again. Yay! My little sis EML is expecting baby # 4 in April. Wow, she'll have four children under the age of four. That scares the beejeebies out of me! But if anyone can do it, (and with with amazing results) my sister can!

Okay, and to put a smile on your face, here is a photo of my little niece Greta announcing the upcoming arrival of her sibling. How cute is she? I love the expression on her face. LOL!

My own little guy turned five months old this week. We've nicknamed him Mr. Smiley because he lights up whenever you talk to him. He's a happy kid!

For the last five months I've been working to lose weight and get healthier. The good news is that I've lost all the baby weight and weight the same as when I got pregnant. Yay! The bad news is that I way the same as when I got pregnant. Boo. Now on Phase 2, I want to continue losing and get to a healthy weight. It's a lot more than a few pounds. I hear other moms in a size 12 or 14 saying how fat they are blah, blah, blah. Save it, honey. Size 14 is my goal weight! Just saying.... ;-)

I've been doing Weight Watchers and have been averaging a pound a week with just the food changes. I do better when I add in exercise but I'm still slacking on getting into an exercise routine. But I'm working on it.

You know, if I was to blow my diet I think this would be my weapon of choice - these chocolate and peanut butter brownies. Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard...

Okay, got a busy day ahead of me so I better get to work. Have a great weekend!

The other day I watching the 1946 movie Devotion starring Olivia de Havilland and Ida Lupino. It was an interesting story about the Bronte sisters. My all time favorite book is Jane Eyre so I was intrigued. I tend to forget about the third sister Anne and wanted to read her novel Agnes Grey. I checked out the local Borders store since they were clearing out all their merchandise (RIP, dear Borders.) I found this three volume book of Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey. Although I already have more than one copy of the first two books, it was too pretty (and too cheap) to pass up. It looks lovely on my bookshelf!

Matthew has been turning over for about a month now and he just loves turning and scooting around the room. Here he is after a rather robust flip. He's very proud and happy.

Out of all the kids, John-Paul is the one most likely to conk out and fall asleep wherever he lands. Here is yet another episode of him doing that. This time it was the kitchen, with the iphone still playing. (He reminds me of my little brother NC who used to do that all the time. NC is a grown man now but he is JP's godfather. I wonder if there is a connection? ;-)

The other day it was a little too quiet in the boys room so I went to go see what JP was doing. Well, he found one of my dry erase markers and decided to mark his territory. Did you know dry erase does not wipe off walls easily?? I hope one of those magic eraser things work. (And now you know why he is always so tired. Mischief making is exhausting.)