At Long Last

My son has had a loose tooth for 3 months.... 3 LONG months... he was really NOT looking forward to losing this tooth - for some reason he was afraid it was going to hurt. Now, he's already lost 3 other teeth that caused him no pain, so maybe someone told him that this upper front tooth would hurt when it came out... Anyway... we've been "encouraging" him for weeks.... for MONTHS to just wiggle it, eat an apple, let us "check" it, etc. and he has wanted nothing to do with it... He would have let that thing tangle for the rest of his life if that was possible.

Finally, last night, while we were all snowed in here in NJ, he was enjoying a go-gurt (yogurt in a long tube for those of you without young kids) and as he was squeezing the life out of it... the tooth came out. He was so calm when he discovered it and then exclaimed, "Well that wasn't bad at all!"

The funniest part is that after his tooth came out, he wanted to know how much money I, the tooth fairy, would bring him. We went through the ritual of putting it under his pillow and as I was tucking him into bed he told me that his eyes would be closed at 9:25 and I can come in then to leave him his reward.

So, at 9:25, I hear "It's time, Mom!" ... so I tip-toed into his room amidst little giggles, slipped the money under his pillow to even more giggles, and then left. Surprisingly, he didn't grab the money and jump out of bed... no, not my boy... he saved that until 6:00 this morning!

So cute... cherishing these precious little boy moments...

I'm SNOW Over it!

Sigh... snow... every day it seems like we get more and more snow... I don't know what color grass is anymore.. I think it might be white. We got slammed with another major snowstorm last night. Which means I was up half the night because of the snow plows clearing our streets. I think I've come to love the sound of those plows because every minute they are out there I am reminding myself that my husband and I don't have to lift a finger to clear our driveway.. or our stairs. It truly is the major benefit of townhouse living and I'm sure one day when we are living elsewhere I will miss that.

Today I gave a piano lesson to my neighbor's son. I haven't taught piano in a few years so I don't know who was more nervous... me or him! He wore cologne (how cute!! he's 8 so relax!) It went well and I'm told that he's eager to continue... at least I didn't scare him off.

Hope everyone is doing well and that most of you didn't have to go to work outside of your home today.

Aww..

Wouldn't you like to receive this from your child? Melted my heart... he printed the paper off the computer all by himself and proudly handed this to me.. I know it's a little light but it say:

"Dear friend. You are nice. I like to play with you. From Christopher. "

Enjoying the moment

The Guy Side

Saw this article in my Thriving Family magazine and had to share it. Although I am thankfully many years away from my son dating, I thought those of you with sons would appreciate this...
written from the Dad's perspective:

Seven Rules For Dating My Son by Phil Callaway

Have you noticed that girls are chasing boys now? Just the other day, one called looking for my son. I asked, "Is this Christy, Britney or Sarah? There are so many of you, I get you all mixes up!" Believe me this works. Go ahead and try it. Since my son is receiving calls from lovely girls who will make fine wives for someone in 20 or 30 years, I have decided to issue a short edict to help them out. Later today I will be posting it on the front door with an electric staple gun.

RULE ONE: If you would like to talk to my son, please do so in the church foyer. Bring your Bible.

RULE TWO: If you call my house to talk with my son, your conversation may be monitored by a customer service representative.

RULE THREE: The following locations and activities are acceptable for your date: (None)

RULE FOUR: My son cannot use my minivan to drive you to a mall. He has a bicycle. You may ride on the handlebars.

RULE FIVE: Please do not touch my son. Do not lean against him unless you are falling over and are in danger of plunging from a cliff. Do not even pull lint from his ear. He can do this himself.

RULE SIX: I am aware that it is considered fashionable for girls your age to wear Fergie-style "shirts" that do not reach their low-slung pants. My wife and I want to be fair and open-minded about this, so you are free to show up in such attire. My wife will affix it properly to your body with a glue gun.

RULE SEVEN: Above all else, remember that we've been praying for this boy since God game him breath, and we will continue to. When he chooses a godly girl, we will be overwhelmed with joy. Until then, we'll pray that you'll chase Jesus first and watch everything else fall into place.

Recipe Helper

Have you ever tried to make dinner but had NO idea what to do with the food you have in your refrigerator? If you're like me.. you have lots of great ideas, but don't have all the ingredients to make one of your "standard" dishes. I've been using this website and love it (www.allrecipes.com) If you click on where it says "ingredients" at the very top of the website, it will take you to a page where you can enter the ingredients you want in a dish and the ingredients that you don't want (great if you have food allergies or just don't have certain ingredients on hand like sour cream, cheese, etc.)

Hope you find it helpful!

Mangia!

Christmas Tree Road Trip

There's nothing more disconcerting to a soon-to-be 7 year old than the thought of missing the class Christmas (oops.. "Holiday") party. Especially, when it's a pajama party featuring a showing of the Polar Express. When Chris realized that our plans to drive to Florida meant him missing this party, he was really upset. I guess I would have been to. After trying to reason with him and explain how much more fun sitting in a car for 2 1/2 days would be (ha ha), we realized that there was only one thing that would cheer him up. A pajama party of his very own. (Thanks to my sister-in-law, Sara, for sharing this idea with me!)

Once he had his PJs on, we whisked him away to one of his favorite places.. McDonald's.. with a playplace of course. He ate, climbed to his hearts content and then it was on to the "real" treat. We got in the car and headed into New York City. It was impossible to get close to the Christmas Tree with our car, so we did a "drive by". We rode up and down some of our favorite city streets taking in all the sights that make New York so wonderful in the winter. We had so much fun and, even though it was cold, we pulled over to get smoothies to enjoy on the ride home.

He had a great time and by the end of the night, he honestly was ready for our road trip to Florida. It's all in the adventure that you make it. The next night we had our own family movie party watching the Polar Express and, not for nothing, I bet he enjoyed that more then he would have with his class.

So, I highly recommend a spontaneous pajama party with your child... I personally did not put my PJs on for this trip into the city, but definitely would for a future one.

God's New Year Resolutions To YOU!

Have you ever wondered where God is in a situation? You've "done all the right things" and you are still waiting on God for Him to show himself? Or give you an answer? Have you ever felt like you needed wisdom?

Here are some of "God's New Year Resolutions to YOU!" to help you remember that he is an all powerful, all knowing, loving and Amazing God! Thanks to my Dad who passed this along to me...

New Year resolutions:

I will bless you (Genesis 12:2)

I will not fail you (Joshua 1:5)

I will heal you (2 Kings 20:5)

I will guide you (Psalm 32:8 )

I will instruct you (Psalm 32:8 )

I will teach you( Psalm 32:8 )

I will deliver you (Psalm 50:15 )

I will help you (Isaiah 41:10 )

I will uphold you (Isaiah 41:10 )

I will hold your hand (Isaiah 42:6)

I will not forget you (Isaiah 49:15)

I will comfort you (Isaiah 66:13)

I will forgive you (Jeremiah 31:34

I will restore you (Jeremiah 30:17)

I will be your God (Ezekiel 36:28)

I will save you (Ezekiel 36:27,29)

I will love you (John 14:21)

I will manifest myself (John 14:3)

I will give you a crown of Life (Rev. 2:10)

Thought For The Day

"The present is what slips by us while we're pondering the past and worrying about the future." Barbara Johnson

I've been thinking a lot about the past (Christmas tends to make me reflect more on my Mom and Christmas of years ago). I've also been a little guilty about stressing about the future. This quote was just what I needed today to remind myself that God has all my days in His hands and that today, I'm just going to live in the present... enjoy each minute and use each day to bring glory to God through all that I do.

Happy New Year to All!

Social Network Christmas

Can you imagine if Facebook was around when Jesus was born? Check out this video from Igniter Media

Greatest Gift

It seems like I just got back from Florida (and still have yet to blog about most of my adventures!) and yet we are turning around and going back next week! This time we will be doing the road trip.. aka.. 2 1/2 days of travel down, 2 full days coming back. I know some of you may think that's silly.. why not just fly.. but when you factor, air fare, renting a vehicle, shipping Christmas gifts to and from Florida, it just made more sense to drive.

The last few weeks have been hectic. My poor husband has had severe bronchitis to the point where his ribs hurt and, if he has the misfortune of laughing, it just sends him into a coughing frenzy. He's been on almost every medication known to man and is finally getting some of his strength back.

Chris is excited about next week, although he is not thrilled that he will be missing 1 1/2 days of school (he seriously LOVES school). It's such a blessing to have a little boy and I'm so in awe of how God uses him to show me things. A few months ago, the kids at church were asked if they wanted to participate in the upcoming Christmas program. At first, Chris was excited.. he is a total ham when he sings with the kids choir and Steve and I grew up doing Christmas programs so we thought this would be great... a rite of passage so to speak. So, he went to the first couple of rehearsals and then he announced that he didn't want to be in the play. My first reaction was of course you are going to be in the play.. you started rehearsing.. some of your friends are in it.. .Mommy and Daddy grew up doing these.. it will be fun! He let it go for a few days, and then he approached us again. It wasn't that he didn't want to be in the show as much as it was that they practiced for the program during children's church so every Sunday he was missing out on the bible lessons, play time, craft, snack, etc. What a little sweet heart. So, I told him, that if being in children's church each Sunday was more important to him than he didn't have to be in the program. I thought how blessed I am to have a son who seeks to have the word of God poured into him each Sunday... and that he doesn't want anything in his life to interfere with that. My husband has been asking me what I want for Christmas this year, but I think I already got it....

Cell Phone

While I am on my cell phone talking to my sister, my son has the following conversation with me:

"Mom, I need a cell phone"
"What for?"
"You know.. to talk to people. This phone you gave me doesn't work" (we had given him our old cell phones).
"But you are only six."
"I"m six and a half!"
"Well I don't know any first graders that own a real cell phone"
"I could be the first!"

I don't think so.......

Who Do You Know??

For those of you who are Facebook users, there's a section that has a friend finder called "People You May Know." The premise is that because you are friends with "Susie", you may also be friends with "John" who is a friend of Susie. Kind of like the six degrees of separation.

Well, this morning I had quite the chuckle because the list of people my husband may know on facebook had quite the cast of characters. His section has tons of politicians, movie critics, movie stars, local and national news anchors, reporters (i.e. Al Roker), singers (Thalia - who is married to Tommy Mattola), etc. Who's in my list of People I May Know? Beats Me!! 95% are people I've never seen or heard of.. and the ones I recognize are the mailman, the garbage man, the guy who pumps gas, the hunter down the street who had a dead bear strapped to the back of his pick-up... Just kidding about my list, but I totally get the sense that Steve & I are running in very different social circles on the work front. Let's just say last Friday he was working a concert with Casting Crowns in our church, and I was with Christopher at a Happy Birthday Jesus party surrounded by puppets.

Guess that's what makes us such a good match.!

8 Years Ago!

On a crisp, cold and snowy day, very much like the one we are having today, my boyfriend, (now) husband, took me out on a date... we had dinner, watched a movie, and then we went for a leisurely drive to Boulevard East where you can really see the NYC skyline. It was there that he handed me 3 dozen roses which he had hiding in the trunk, dropped to one knee in the snow and asked me to marry him. Thanks, Steve, for choosing me! I love you!!

Heart Breaker

Today I found out I am the worst mom ever... I am responsible for breaking the hearts of at least one first grader... possibly more to come.

Yesterday on the drive to school, Christopher expressed concern over his loose tooth. It has been getting really wobbly and he was anxious about having it fall out while at school. Nothing is worse then losing a tooth at school because he's afraid that 1) it will fall out and he won't know that it fell out and therefore have no tooth to bring home which means 2) the tooth fairy will not come. He was going on and on and on and for a while I just came up with all sorts of scenarios about what to do if your tooth fell out... that the tooth fairy will still deliver money, etc. But then, I thought... is it really worth it to continue to let him believe in this tooth fairy? Then the light bulb came on... just COME CLEAN! Tell him the truth! The Truth Will Set You Free!

So, I did it... I looked at him in the rear view mirror as we approached his school and broke the news to him. "Honey... the tooth fairy actually lives in our house."

"She DOES!?????????"
"Yes... she is part of our family. The tooth fairy is actually me & Dad"
"WHAT!?!?!? But you don't have WINGS!!!!!" "You don't fly... you are not a fairy."
"I know.. it's just all pretend."
".................(silence).................... "oh"
...................(silence)..................
"What about the other kids? Do they have tooth fairies?"
"No..it's their mom and dads... but you can't tell them.. it's a secret until their mom's and dad's tell them. Ok?!?!? "
"OK"
"Love you, buddy!"

And off he went. I felt great about coming clean... that was until he announced to me this morning that his best friend Peter lost a tooth at school yesterday. Me -"You didn't tell him about the tooth fairy, did you!?!????!? "
"Yes.. I told him it was his Mom"
"But it was A SECRET!!!!"
"But he should know!"

I tried to explain that it was up to his mom and dad to tell him... for all I know this kid ran home and told his mom that I am to blame... the whole first grade may know that the tooth fairy is a fraud by 3pm today. Let's see what kind of fallout I receive later this week.

Wait till he finds out about Santa!!

The Trip

Had a wonderful Thanksgiving... spent Thanksgiving Day with Shirley, Dad M, Ruben & Jonathan down in South Jersey.... if you have never experienced Puerto Rican cooking on a holiday, I hate to tell you, but you are truly missing out. I would eat Pernil (pork roast) over turkey any day of the week. All I can say is that I was blessed in more than one way when I married into this awesome family!

So, after stuffing myself on Thanksgiving, we traveled home and got a few hours sleep before heading to the airport. We had a pretty good flight (meaning that I only had to squeeze the life out of my husband's arm about 3 or 4 times because of turbulence). When we arrived, it was a wonderful reunion. We had Thanksgiving dinner and the kids were in the pool. You've got to love being able to swim during November in Florida.

More stories and pictures to come over the next couple of days. I snapped this picture while we were driving up to my sister's house one morning and thought it was great! If you can't read the print, it is Jeremiah 29:11.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Praying God's continued blessings on each of you and your families. Enjoy this special day and give thanks for God's faithfulness yesterday, today and FOREVER! Enjoy this classic Michael W Smith song

Ahhhhh

Well, the good news is I found a dentist today and he was able to take me this morning. I had a cracked tooth that he was able to fill in and then I'll have to go back before Christmas to have a crown put in. Fun times my friends!

Managed to go to the supermarket and got all my ingredients for my pies, made a ton of returned phone calls and emails and feeling much better about things in general. I packed like a maniac last night.. luckily going to Florida means shorts, t-shirts and bathing suits. Anything else you need you can just pick up - at least that's my philosophy.

Well - off to tackle a few more errands before little guy is home from school and then finishing my evening with a trip to get my annual mammogram -- the perfect ending to a "dull" day. I guess that mammogram will get me more comfortable and ready for the full body pat down I'm going to receive at Newark Airport later this week. Ha Ha

S-T-R-E-S-S

I have a lot to be stressed about... way too much to do - not even sure why I am sitting here and blogging, and yet here I am. So many good things happening this week... thanksgiving and spending time with my husband's family, and then off to visit with my family for a few days in Florida. I know that by Thursday and Friday of this week, the stress I am feeling at this very moment will be just a memory... if I can just tackle one day at a time it will all be ok.

So, here's just a glimpse into what's happening:
- Today a cavity or cap, fell out and I have a gaping hole in the back of one of my teeth... not good 4 days prior to Thanksgiving! Oh, and we switched dental plans and have to hunt down a dentist in the next 24 hours.
- I am room parent and am organizing my son's Thanksgiving Party, craft, snack, etc. Can someone shoot me for picking a craft where I have to draw/cut out 180 leaves!? And no, we don't have enough time during the party to just let the kids do it.
- My dryer died last week... the good news is that I haven't had to do laundry the last few days... the bad news... I almost have to climb over the laundry pile in my bedroom to get into bed.
- Good news - a new dryer is being delivered Tuesday.. just in time for me to wash some clothes before packing for Florida.
- Pies, pies, pies! I LOVE to bake so the highlight of my Thanksgiving is making the desserts. On tap for this Thursday is homemade apple pie, pumpkin pie and a special request from one of my nephews, red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. A special note to my family... I am sorry to announce that the leftovers of said pastries will not be heading to Florida with me.

So -- quite a lot happening, but I am thankful for it all. I am thankful for a sound mind, for a Savior who loves me, provides for me and never leaves. He knows my frustrations and is walking beside me.

Hope to update you all as the week goes on.

Kid Stuff

"Mom!" "Mom!" I rolled over to look at the clock to see that it was 4:00 am. "Mooooommmm!" I dragged myself out of bed and into my son's room to see what was wrong. He had been home sick 2 days last week with a stomach virus from which he has finally recovered. I was just praying he wasn't getting sick again.

"What is it, Chris?"
"The tooth fairy came!" Oh yes... last night he lost his third tooth and he excitedly and expectantly placed it under his pillow last night. Thankfully, the tooth fairy remembered to do her job and left a little something for my lil guy.
"I'm so happy she did, honey. How much did she leave? "
"Well.. can I turn my light on to count it?"
"No! It's 4 AM!"
"I'll just feel the coins and figure it out"
"Sounds good to me... next time just tell Mommy when you wake up.. not at 4:00 am."

Thankfully he fell back to sleep right away.. Unfortunately the tooth fairy can't say the same.

Cookie Class

Last night my hubby blessed me by coming home from work early so I could attend a 3 hour baking class where my friend, Melissa, is the owner/pastry chef. I L-O-V-E to bake and have wanted to do this for a long time. Last night's class was on Christmas Cookies... we made 3 types - the infamous sugar cookie, peppermint cookie (they look like candy canes) and sugar plums. We made all the dough, decorated like pros and of course sampled the fruit of our labor. It was great! I learned so much! And can I just say, that I love icing cookies!!

I had planned on showing pictures, but we've pretty much devoured what I brought home. Nothing made me happier then when Chris said to me today "thanks mom for making these yummy cookies - they are just so delicious!" I'll be sure to snap some shots when I make another batch for Christmas... I'll have to do it quickly before they disappear again!