Trains and playtime

Sometime ago, I posted a Facebook update in which I said that Carr and I had a ball playing with his toy trains.  It is funny how in less than a year I can see a huge developmental leap in him.  Before, it was mostly me playing and Carr destroying the tracks and laughing.  Don't get me wrong, it was fun at the time just watching how amazed he was to see something built and then have the capacity to destroy it. Today, I observe a calmer Carr playing with the trains and making them run through the track.  When a track comes off, he runs to me and asks me to put together (yes, I am teaching him to do this slowly).  He plays quietly by himself and talks to the trains categorizing them as good guys and bad guys, steamies and diesels.  We watched a movie that had a very bad diesel that wanted to hurt everyone on Sodor! Bad cho-choo!

By the way, did you read "we watched a movie", yes, yes we did!  God has blessed us with a very energetic child, very determined, sweet as a button but so busy.  He, until now, was able to keep his attention on half-hour cartoons.  Anything that had actual actors did not appeal to him - well unless it was Spiderman- and that was only when Spidey was around (we had to fwd to the fight scenes).  Last Christmas, by mistake, I bought him a Thomas the train movie, well it had live action and he wanted nothing  to do with it.  Now he loves it, which means playing it over and over again on our TV. But he watches it from start to finish, yay!

 

My son's love for "Thomas the Tank Engine has well surpassed Mickey, Caillou, and even Spidey!  Hopefully, one day soon I will have the opportunity to take him to "A day out with Thomas", I am crossing my fingers it will be spring next year! Here is an awesome link!

http://www.strasburgrailroad.com/dowt-train-times.php

A very important person

 

 Julia Donaire, my abuela

(today)

 My abuela and I 

(39 years ago)

I want to take some time and write about a person that has influenced my life in a very personal and intimate way, my abuela.  She is the person that has made me into the woman I am and that constantly sets the bar higher for me to strive to be a better person in the future. Her life was not an easy one but yet she always has a smile on her face.  She constantly puts herself in service to those she loves.  Her family always comes first. She deserves to be celebrated every day, not just on special occasions. I am a firm believer that you must celebrate the people you love while their alive, once their gone you lost your opportunity to tell them how much you care. 

My abuela has been there for me since birth.  She sold everything she owned, left her friends and family and flew for the first time to another country not knowing the language.  She did this for her daughter and grand-daughter.  You see, my biological dad died 3 months before I was born - my mom was all alone and grieving.  She has been there for us ever since, extraordinary. Especially nowadays, when we are all about entitlements, such self sacrifice is very uncommon.  Wish she were here...

I haven't seen her for 6 years and this weighs heavily on my soul.  I miss her so much it hurts to acknowledge.  I wish I had the money to pick my family up and take them to Argentina to meet her but I can't.  I wish she was younger and she could fly here to visit (she doesn't want to travel by herself).  I keep thinking and wishing that God has a plan for us and in his unequivocal knowledge he knows what is best and that he will reunite us someday somehow.  I pray every night that she remain healthy, she needs to meet you Carr.  You are the product of everything she wanted me to have, you are what she prepared me for.  She can't pass until she meets you.  That is my prayer.

August 7th will be her birthday, she will be 84 years old.  Happy Birthday sweet abuela, you are always with me in my heart and in everything I do.  Thank you for being my mentor, my best friend, and my mom at times. I love you!

Micky Mouse Clubhouse

Dear Disney,

I would like to know what is going on with your programming.  I am writing to you not only as a mommy but as a 40 year old fan.  Honestly, I cannot stand the teeny boppy TV programming you have gotten into.  Where is Mickey?  How do you expect parents to feel compelled to take their children to your parks, buy your products, if there is no buy in by our kids.  There is nothing to bond my child with your franchise anymore unless I wake up at 4 am to watch Little Einsteins, 6 am to watch Imagination Movers, and 8 am to watch Mickey's Clubhouse.  I want you to know I am not particularly fond of much TV time but you were a staple on Saturday mornings ever since my son was 6 months old.  I would sit with him and sing a-long, it was something that took me back to a simpler time in my life.  We were so fortunate that when my son turned 8 months,  I was sent to a seminar at Disney World, did not even blink a second guess in taking my child.  Plans were made to return when he was 5 years old, at this rate I really find no reason to.  I feel you have lost the magic that drew generations of children to you and your characters.  I want the enchantment back!

So long Disney, hope you wise up soon!

Leaps and bounds: part three

Motherhood is a hard calling, there is no rest, no going back and in a lot of cases no second chances.  The long nights, the endless worrying and frustration are only overshadowed by the inexplicable feeling of pure and utter joy a mother feels when she watches he child sleep soundly, play contently and eat wholeheartedly.  At least these are irrefutable truths to me.  But it is those days when your sweet innocent child pushes everyone of your mortal buttons, when everything seems to go wrong and for some inexplicable reason you feel guilty because somehow this is all your fault.  This guilt and self loathing makes it very hard to stop, take a breathe and count your blessings. This is when I sit down and write my list of blessings and all the advances Carr and I have achieved in a reasonable amount of time.  It makes me focus on the good days, which come to realize are many more than the complicated ones.  It brings me back to the place I should be: A very happy mom.

I have never taken baths with my son while he was a baby for fear of germs or adult illnesses that he may have been to small to fight off.  Lately, we have been enjoying a once a week bath together.  It has been so much fun!  Call it bonding time, if you must.  We play together with his toys, I wash his hair and he is learning how to wash mine (great way to teach him how to shampoo his own hair), he uses his sponge and we have learned most of the body parts this way (eyes, nose, mouth, chin, legs) I can hear him say them with his ever so cute voice.  I thoroughly enjoy our time together even if it means the bathroom is a wreck after wards I find it hard to really wash my hair or myself, and I can't get dressed until he is in PJs and all dried up.  I spend so much time away from him while at work that this just makes me feel closer to him.

Carr has taken a liking to reading all by himself.  Please do not think he actually reads, he just sits all alone in his playroom and goes through his favorite books and points out the things he knows while saying them out loud.  I have tried unsuccessfully to videotape this, once he sees me he stops and goes back to playing with his trains. His favorite book is "Goodnight Moon", I read it to him every night.  Today, I bought another book that I think he will like "Somewhere over the Rainbow".  We still practice every other day with his picture books and flash cards, which is not his cup of tea, but I have learned to interchange it with playtime, making it more bearable for him.

I must admit that my husband Chip was right, that I need not have worried about Carr's language abilities.  He doesn't shut up, at all, and he talks in sentences, which is pretty cool.  I am so thankful!  My favorite phrases would have to be:  Mommy, I am happy;  I play outside please; So cool Mommy;

I feel better already.  It's Sunday night, I have done everything I wanted to do this weekend.  I had time to play and run around with Carr, spend time with the hubby and I finally finished this post.  Have a great week and remember there are good days and there will be most certainly bad days, it's how we deal with the bad days that defines us.

Fourth of July Family Celebration

   I have always wanted a big family.  You know the kind that gets together for special occasions or on Sundays to celebrate the fact they're a big family.  Cousins, uncles, aunts, grandparents, second cousins and great grandparents, all there, with a homemade dish in hand waiting to great you and say "It's been too long!".  

   You see, I come from a small family, my mom is an only child and well, my dad acts like he was.  I didn't have any cousins to play with and my brother was 9 years younger than I.  As a child, I yearned for many brothers and sisters, for aunts and uncles.  It didn't make a difference that my parents friends had children, which I played with.  I wanted an uncle or aunt with annoying cousins, etc.  Today 30 years later and this is still an overwhelming desire in my heart, I had the same wish for my son also.  In God's infinite wisdom, he blessed us with a very large and diverse extended family on my husband's side.  Of course, Carr is too young to fully enjoy this familial bliss, I enjoy it for him.  When I wished for a big family, I really didn't know what I was getting myself into!  It is, to say the least, challenging to remember all the names and titles, and I have been a member for the past 5 years!

   We get together on important holidays or on special occasions like Christmas and the 4th of July!  My father in-law has a large family and my mother in-law also.  Both blended their families into one,  once they married, having 4 children: Marion, Kim, Hunter and my husband Chip.  All of the brothers and sisters married and forming their family, yay cousins for Carr!  Some even have become grandparents!  Carr's Papa is making a family tree for him so he knows how lucky and blessed he is for having such a big family.

   Back to celebrations, Papa's sister Aunt Nancy has enormous family get together at her home for the 4th and for Christmas.  She decorates her home with festive details and always takes the time to great each person that arrives with the warmest of smiles.  Mind you this is an incredible feat because I have seen over 50 guests at her parties with their extended family!

Here are some of my favorite photos of the Loving Family 4th of July Celebration!

 This is before family starting arriving.

 Setting-up

 Meal-time!

 Chip and our nephew Asher

 Papa and Aunt Mimzy

 Mommy and Carr

Weekend Life

Lately, I have been trying to do something interesting on weekends.  Things that for me are out of the ordinary, things that get postponed, overlooked and wished for, these are the moments I am trying to have at least once every weekend.

Community Market & Saturday shared with Mimi

I think the smartest decision I have made this year was to join a farmers co-op.  I took these photos the first Saturday I went to pick up my produces.  This has become a highlight of my weekend.  I love the romantic idea of buying straight from a farm, no grocery store involved. Funny how the simple things bring a smile to your face.

 Lynn and I went antique shopping.  I fell in love with this particular piece.

 We also went to a nursery.  I love the smell of fresh soil.

 Local cafe.  Such a quaint coffee shop, look at the antique copper coffee machine.

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 New bakery at the farmers market, which I highly recommend...delish!

 Farmer's Market

I love marigolds.  They are so simple and bring a smile to my face.

Blackwater Trail - summer walk

I always wanted to go walking in the blackwater trail.  It was a great Sunday, we had breakfast with Mimi and then went walking.

First day at the Pool

We spent the day at Mimi's pool.  Carr found a Dora doll and played with her all day.  He is hesitant of the water, which is fine.  I rather that than him trying to jump in on his own. 

Some special moments jumbled together
This particular Sunday it was filled with guilty pleasures.  We played trains all morning and then had a soy fudgesicle. 

Henry's Birthday - Natural Bridge Zoo

We had a blast at Henry's Birthday!  It was also Carr's first time at a zoo, something I had wanted to do for quiet some time.  I took off a day from work to share this with my family. Please enjoy this pictorial.

 Chip and I learned a new thing about Carr, he really doesn't like Carr rides.  He gets car sick, not enough to have an upset stomach but Carr gets all quiet and stares straight out the window.  We finally got there and Marion gave up these cute water bottles for the kids.

 Goldfish!

 "Mommy I want a lion!"

 Taking some time-out to snack!

 "I don't wanna share!"

 "Gosh, he loved the llamas!"

 "I wanna another ride on the elephant!"