Happy Birthday to Me!

As soon as Anthony's birthday was over, Aiden began asking who was next. Well, it was me! :) I asked Patrick if I could have a nice, simple, just family, birthday. I got more than I ever dreamed of! It was a Wonderful day! Patrick arranged for a babysitter from 9-3. He took me out for coffee and breakfast. Then, he surprised me with a pedicure! It was so great! The nice lady even gave me flowers on my big toes because it was my birthday. I have cute toes!



After the pampering we went to Wal-Mart and Patrick let me buy a movie. I chose "A Knight's Tale" because I had never seen it. We drove around for a little bit and then we ate lunch at Salsarita's. I had steak nachos and they were yummy! Then, we watched the movie on the big screen TV at the student house at church. It was funny and romantic! A great movie! Then, we came home and I played with the boys while Patrick ran a few errands. When he got home he kicked me out of the house. I grabbed a book and went to Old Dairy. I had a chocolate chip cookie dough brownie. Yum! Then, I went to a park and read my book. Two hours later Patrick told me I could come home! So, I did!!!



When I walked in there were Hannah Montana decorations and presents! Aiden and Anthony were so excited and Aiden was saying, "surprise!"

I had beautiful flowers from Mimi and Papa Doug!



This had happened while I was gone!









And the incredibly delicious result was this!



Patrick had grilled steak, asparagus, and French fries for me. We ate outside, it was a beautiful day! As I was blowing out my candle, making my wish, I remembered that last year I had wished for Anthony to be adopted. :) I hope this years wish comes true too!



Aiden and Anthony picked out a Hannah Montana poster for me!



Patrick gave me a Hannah Montana beach towel! (Yes, I really, really like Hannah Montana!)


I also got some cute summer jammies from my Mommy and Daddy, but I'm not showing you my jammies. :) And my Mema sent me some money, I get to go on a shopping trip!

And then, I played



and played



and played



with my wonderful boys! What an amazing birthday! Thanks to my three wonderful boys!

Spring!

Spring is officially here!!! We got to eat outside on the patio! Granted it was ice cream, but it counts!

Just chilling!


Taking it all in! Well, the ice cream at least!


Then, we got to go play!!! YAY for spring!

And so it begins . . .

I've always said that I will be one of those mothers that has to call the fire department to get my boys off of the roof, while I frantically beg them to be still and not jump. I've also said the cause will be the older trying to teach the younger that he can fly with a blanket wrapped around him like a cape. Today I saw visions of my future!

"I'm a super hero Mommy!"


"Me? Me? Me?"


"I'm a super hero and Anthony is a super hero! I'm going to fly Anthony!"


"Me! Me! Me!"


At least the visions were cute!!!

This is How We Roll . . .

April 19th marked the fifth year that my family walked in the March of Dimes March for Babies. (Formerly known as WalkAmerica) We walk because our children, Hannah, Colin, and Airen, can't walk on earth. We walk for our nephew, Matthew. We walk to honor our sons, Aiden and Anthony. We walk to raise money and to make a difference. Thank you to all who have donated to this cause! We truly, truly appreciate it! We raised $255 this year! Thank you for caring for babies!

Here's the family, getting ready to roll!


We were there an hour early, to register. We had some great pre-walk entertainment. Aiden LOVED Blue Bear, the Blue Cross Blue Shield mascot. We had a really hard time dragging him away!



Last year Aiden and Anthony were both terrified of the Kangaroo. This year they loved him!



We begin our walk! It's a 5K!


Luckily the rain had stopped by this point!


We made it!!!


(But all the boys cared about was lunch!)

A date

I love being a stay at home Mom. I feel very, very blessed to be in a position to spend so much time with my children. There's many common misconceptions about stay at home mothers. No, I don't stay in my pajamas all day and eat bonbons or play on the computer. Today we got up, got breakfast, got dressed, took Daddy to work, and then we went to play at the park. It was a beautiful day today. After playing at the park we met some friends at the library and then went out to lunch. It was a wonderful day with my boys. I got several compliments today on how polite they are and one wonderful Grandma even told me what a good Mommy she thinks I am! It made my day!!! But every once in awhile I begin to feel like a human bean bag. I can't imagine why. :)



Lately, that inner voice of mine, has been screaming for adult time. The need to talk of things besides Blues Clues and potty training. The urge to spend some time with someone that does not drink from a sippy cup. So, my sweet husband arranged for childcare with some dear friends of ours, to whom I am eternally grateful, and whisked me off on a date. Nothing fancy, just time away. We shopped for some tennis shoes at a mall, played a little at an arcade (I rocked the skee ball!), and went to lunch at a great little restaurant. Then, we went to a park. It was so beautiful outside! And I finally saw signs of spring!!!



I love these flowers. I have no idea what they are, if you know, please tell me in my comments!



We hung out at a park and just talked with one another. It was so wonderful! The park overlooked the Mississippi. It's funny, during my time away as an adult, I acted like a child!



I stuck my tongue out.



I chased a cho-cho (that's Japanese for butterfly). I played with some lady bugs.



I climbed a tree.



So, what did I enjoy most about my date? It was spending time with my best friend again.



Thanks Patrick! I love you!

Happy Birthday Anthony!

Our little boy turned two! Well, back on March 10th he did. We celebrated last night! He's our little Sesame Street Fan. He loves Elmo, but it's hard to beat a Cookie (Monster, that is!)!!!



Doesn't he look all grown up??? He had been "patiently" waiting to eat that cake for hours!



Daddy's making hot dogs and hamburgers! We're waiting on our friends to arrive!!!



Our friends are all here! Happy Birthday Anthony!!! (Be sure to watch the video below! He suddenly turned shy!!!)

Finally!!! Cake!!! Anthony is ALOT like Patrick, he Must have the piece in the middle. His Daddy is teaching him some great things!





He wasted no time digging in!



We were all left with blue tongues to compare! Aiden found this particularly amusing and is still talking about it this morning.



Present time!



Pop up Thomas from Grandma and Grandpa Hedges was a hit!!!





Open Mr. Potato Head Mommy?



My first tricycle!





Thanks to all of our friends that came to play with us! Happy Birthday Peanut!

Happy Birthday Anthony!

This is Gonna Hurt Me more than You

Interesting phrase. A mother or father tends to say that to children, before they punish them. I thought of it this morning as I was preparing Aiden's medication. Today was the first day we gave him an injection of Enbrel. I just kept thinking to myself, "this is for his own good, it'll make him feel so much better." There was a sudden fleeting moment where I considered not giving it to him. It was right around here:



Who could look at that and not have second thoughts of poking it in your child's leg? Then, I had a flashback to last night. A little before bed Aiden started acting kind of strange. He was working a puzzle with his Daddy when he just started crying and saying his feet hurt. He curled up in his Daddy's lap, cried, and tried to work the puzzle at the same time. I asked Patrick if he felt feverish, but he didn't. Patrick and I exchanged that look of, "here we go, we're about to start a TRAPS episode." It's a look of defeat, pain, exhaustion and helplessness.

We put the boys to bed. About two hours later we heard Aiden whimpering in his room. He never got up. About an hour after that he came out of his bedroom and made a beeline for his Daddy. He was screaming and crying big huge crocodile tears. My heart ached for my little boy. He kept telling us his feet hurt. They were hot to the touch. He wasn't running a fever, but his feet were definitely dealing with some crazy inflammation. I tried to rub Aiden's little feet, but he just cried more when I did. We gave him some Motrin, it's an anti-inflammatory, and he slept soundly between us the rest of the night.

So, I thought of his pain last night, reminded myself this would help, we explained the process to Aiden and I poked that needle into his little three year old leg. He cried when I gave him the shot, but he's very proud of his bandaid.



So, where's the bandaid for a Mommy's heart?

Hmmm

Me: "Anthony, have you been playing with Mommy's camera?"

Anthony: "No!"

Hmmm . . .