Mother's Day

Yesterday was Mother's Day.

I hope that all the moms felt loved

and appreciated on this special day made just

for them. I always try to make this an

extra special day for Jen since she does so much

for me and our family. As the kids get older, it's

been easier and funner to get the kids involved. I

must say that the little ones aren't so good at

keeping "mom's surprise" a secret.

The first thing Cristian and Cora wanted to do this

morning was to give Jen some of the cards and

other items they made for her at school during the week.

Cora helped me make Jen breakfast in bed.

It was a gourmet meal...Malt-o-meal. But it

was what Jen wanted and the kids liked it too

(it was a win-win).

These are some of the drawings and cards

Jen got today from our children.

Perry's Contribution

(I don't know if Perry understood that this was

supposed to be mom's favorite things, not hers)

Mason's Contribution

(I left out the page that Mason says mom likes to spank him)

Cora's Contribution

(We'll see if this really works)

Cristian's Contribution

(The right side is a portrait of my HOT wife...
look at those curves!)

Jen and I have often commented on how we didn't
really know each other that well when we got married.
Not that we didn't know each other, but that we didn't really
know who we would become years later. I am so thankful
that Jennifer has far exceeded all of my expectations of her role
as a mother. It is a sacred responsibility and I truly admire
her for the way that she fulfills her role in our children's
lives. Jen is the glue that holds our family together.

Thank you, Jen. I love you.

Bionic Hubby

Carlos has a new and very expensive hobby. It's called "elective surgery." This is his 3rd surgery in the past 2 years. I told him he's done until about age 70 or something.

On April 1, 2009 he had his right ACL repaired on his knee. Fortunately, he wasn't in too much pain prior to the surgery - he just couldn't do anything active.



Here is his "I'm excited for surgery" smile (a-la-Mason). And this hospital gown - wow - it can make incredibly handsome men look geeky in seconds. Carlos is the only person who doesn't get even nervous about surgery. Freak-a-zoid!









Here is his little hand after he's been stuck with his I.V. Now, he does get queasy with needles and blood. He doesn't do very well in that department. It seems to me that he's become more sensitive as the years have gone by. I loved watching the needle go in. Freak-a-zoid!

Here's Paco post surgery. This was a much more pleasant recovery than his nose surgery. He was a lot more coherent and "with it". And he mastered the fine art of parenting from a couch. Hmmm, maybe he could be a mom someday....

Okay, so this was funny. Carlos pulled the DRAMA CARD on me which I have never witnessed before. He had his leg wrapped like this from the surgery center. He would NOT let me touch it, see it, unwrap it, etc. I was not qualified. He kept insisting that only Noel could do it. He waited until she was in town on Saturday and she came to check in on the patient. I mean he had me running to get supplies for the bandages, he was calling Noel. Blah, blah, blah.

Noel arrives and the precious "wound care" session begins. I do secretly love how much Carlos adores Noel. Okay, it isn't a secret how pleased it makes me, but Carlos was a drama mama at how apparently inept I was to unwrap ACE bandages and remove cotton gauze from his knee cap.

His bleeding was very minimal. His stitching was so interesting how the surgeon did it. He left long threads hanging to pull I guess when it was time to remove.

The 3 of us were stunned, grossed, amazed, and intrigued by all his bruising. Oh, my nasty right? He was literally purple on much of his leg. I asked his physical therapist what the freak'n deal was with his bruising because it looks like they tortured him under sedation. Evidently, my husband is just an easy bruiser.

His leg reminds me of a map of the world. It looks like the continents and the oceans only in different colors, right?

Here's Mason with his daddy on the mend. Paco had to use crutches for about 2 weeks. Mason improvised with a robotic arm grabber saying that he had a broken leg like daddy. He kept calling it his "crunch."

Paco is now off his leg brace and crutches. He is barely hobbling and is able to bike for 20 minutes. I will say he has been a stellar patient as far as doing his physical therapy exercises. Let's just hope nothing else breaks down anytime soon!!

Posting by Jen

Tooth #2

Several months ago Cora lost a tooth and it wasn't until several days later Jen and realized that we didn't even take a picture of it. So, here's Cora's second tooth to come out. The tooth fairy left a two dollar bill for Cora and a trail of blue glitter (Jen wasn't so sure that the money was real). Cora's teacher has a lost tooth club at school and Cora was so excited when her first tooth came out to be part of that club. Next up...the shoelace tying club.

Annette is Elastigirl

If you want to know what my sister-in-law is like, just watch "The Incredibles". Every time I see/hear Elastigirl I think of Annette. They sound like each other. She is sassy, witty, and sarcasitc like Elastigirl. I even think they look like each other but I can't tell you where or how. Am I alone in this or does anyone else support this theory?

White Trash Dessert

The kids have gotten into the habit of asking for dessert every night during dinner. They obviously have the "habit" because it is being fed (literally) by someone (who will be called Jennifer). The promise of a little sugar will motivate them to eat fish, stuffing, cabbage, and other gross oddities.

So it happened again last night. And I had no dessert, but.... I did have Smarties in the pantry.

"Sure, if you eat most of your rice, fish, or broccoli you can have a Smartie."

That sealed the deal.

Before you know it Perry, Cora, and Mason have their bundles of Smarties gleefully in their chubby little hands. They undo the cellophane and beginning arranging their sugar disks. And then the mother in me kicks in. Cora and I divide our faint colored disks by color and arrange a bar graph. I ask her which color has the least, the most, the same, which has 2 or 5. She enjoys showing off her impressive knowledge.

Next, comes Perry. My 3 year old who refuses to learn her colors. The only one she confidently has down is purple. We line up her candy, I call out a color. When she gets it right she gets to eat it. Amazing how her accuracy improved with sugar behind it.

And then Mr. Mason. He started designing shapes with his candy - diamonds, ovals and such. He moved onto grouping his pieces and asking me which had more or less. We counted with one-to-one correspondence to 18.

I was so impressed how each child instinctively moved into mathematical problems specifically geared for their age and abilities. The four of us ended our play with guessing which hand our Smarties were hiding in. It was a great little activity that I enjoyed doing with my kids.

The Big ONE!

Oh, little Paisley-Bear, you are positively edible! I cannot wait to slather you with kisses and devour you whole. You are delightfully squishable to me. Auntie Noel and I have been calculating your impending first birthday. Basically it means, we have been shopping. I will say you are going to be spoiled by your lovely aunties. And that means your mommie is super excited by this posting! See you soon little cherub!!

These two are the sweethearts of our family. I am so glad to have this picture of the two of them. They are very similar in lots of ways. Both are peacemakers. Both are the first to bend in an argument. They are exceedingly sweet, thoughtful, generous to those they hold dear. They both, oddly enough, are stubborn and strong-willed. But it is quietly displayed because that is how their demeanor's are. They are both the most sensitive in our family wearing their hearts on their sleeves. Always thinking of others before themselves.

I have always viewed these two as the family favorites. I may be right, I may be wrong. Our family has such a variety of personalities, but the common denominator between us all seems to be Noel and Markie. Everyone loves them the most. They are the favorites. If you don't know them it's hard to make others realize the gift they are missing out on. These two are like chocolate, fluffy cloud days, floating down a lazy river, wind, and tax returns.

They are everything wonderful and admirable.

How lucky am I to call them sister & brother?