Race for the Cure

Well, Race for the Cure was not exactly the enjoyable family affair I was hoping for. Wyatt, Alexis and my dad all backed out for various lame reasons but at least we had our Cops for the Cure Team-not. Collin spent the night at my moms because I had to meet early to collect money from people for the team t-shirts. My mom and Collin rode with a friend. The team pictures were taken and it was time to head out and get in line-but wait-no mom and no Collin. I called my mom and she said they were just leaving the house. There were 46,000 people in downtown Columbus, the race was to start in 30 minutes, do you think they are going to make it??? Not a chance! I told the team to go on without us-Strike 1. I got there at 7:30 am to collect money and only collected $24-Strike 2. The phone rings, it's my mom,"we just got rear-ended"-Strike 3- I'm out!! Luckily, it was a very minor accident and everyone was fine but there was no way we were going to make the race. They finally got there in time to hit the Survivorpalooza and we decided to have our own race...to breakfast! Hey, we beat the crowd! I made them pose by the finish line so it would look like we actually crossed it!!

Let the games begin!

Terrible Twos- it does exist! Yep-our little angel has officially crossed the line. Silly me, I was thinking it was just some sort of urban legend. I was wrong-savor those words they don't come out of this mouth very often. Within a matter of a week we have entered the land of screaming, whining, temper tantrums and did I mention screaming?!? Yes, he is now the kid you stare at in the store while I try to ignore and act like nothing is going on...everything is fine...nothing to see here people...just go on about your business. I'm contemplating a brilliant invention and I'm not sure if I should reveal it to the public because someone may steal it and make MY millions. Anyway, I would like to invent magic glasses that you can program certain items to be invisible. For example, if I had these glasses, Collin would not see suckers,chips, nuts, french fries, goldfish, Chik-fil-a (aka Moo-Chikin), playgrounds, rocks, dirt, his "puppy shoes" that I can smell from 5 feet away, mud, water, any animals tail and the list goes on. Any of these items can cause a melt down of catastrophic proportion. Now that I think of it, maybe I should just blindfold him. I can see Children's Services pulling up in the driveway now. These are the days that test our true patience!! Despite his new found temper, he is still very entertaining and for the most part a very good boy! I will say he has the "please" and "thank you " down very well. He must have thanked Wyatt 30 times tonight for the sucker he got at the tire shop to avoid a complete meltdown-hhmm? giving in to his demands...I know, I know...we are working on it.

FFF-Blooper

I can't say this is actually a blooper since it was done intentionally by my two goof balls but it looks blooperish-if that is even a word!





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Mothers Day

I love Mothers Day. It may be even better than my birthday. That could be because I have only celebrated 2 Mothers Days and I have celebrated a few more birthdays. There is nothing better than being spoiled by your boys I woke up this morning to breakfast in bed!! Then when I came downstairs I had flowers-and not cheap flowers-but NICE flowers (not that I'm picky-all flowers are great).



And...a homemade gift from Collin! He made a concrete stepping stone with his hand print-very cute.I almost hate to put it outside! Who would have thought that a simple homemade gift could mean so much. Gone are the days of wishing for expensive perfume or jewelery just make me a coffee cup or paint me a picture and I'm happy. Okay-jewelery might make me smile just a little =^)



In the afternoon we hit the Clippers baseball game with my mom and dad. It was their first time at the new stadium. The game was sold out but somehow we ended up in the loge seats, waitress included, right behind home plate...Good times!







We finally broke down and bought Collin his Clippers gear-Louseal T-shirt, baseball hat and bell!! He didn't stop ringing that stinking bell. Luckily, we waited until the end of the game.

Since the game was at 1:05pm and we enjoyed a few adult beverages during the game we were pretty much done for the day. It's hell getting old!! We had some pizza and chillaxed a bit then off to bed for us all.




Happy Mothers Day everyone. I hope yours was as great as mine!!

FFF-Theme:Mommy

I absolutely could not pick just one picture this week. I don't know if I will ever be able to look at these pictures without tears coming to my eyes.

This was the first picture taken of me holding Collin. It was taken at our hotel in Antigua. You would think I would have a picture of us before we made it to Antigua but all I wanted to do was hold on to him. I may not be able to share the image but it will be burned in my memory forever.



This picture is also from our first visit trip and to me illustrates what my idea of "mommy" really is. A mother can provide comfort to a child that no one else can. I can't tell you why but I can tell you I know it is true whether you gave birth to that child or they entered your life another way. There is no better feeling than holding your child and feeling them relax into your arms and drift off into peaceful sleep. Sometimes it can get a little rough on the back but I will gladly take that pain any day!


And last but definitely not least-Mama Rosa-Collin's foster mother in Guatemala. What a detriment it will be to the children of Guatemala if they don't continue the practice of placing babies with foster families. This is the woman that selflessly gave Collin the love and attention he needed to become the well adjusted and bonded child he is today. I can never thank her enough!




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Wordless Wednesday

Weekend Rewind

What a beautiful weekend! In true Ohio fashion we went straight from Winter to Summer. Spring no longer exists! Regardless it is beautiful so don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining!


Saturday was a day filled with sports. Collin took his first trip to the Horseshoe!! We hit the OSU Spring game-a good primer for our future Buckeye! He fell asleep during the second quarter. I have to say that if I have to hold a sleeping toddler I would prefer to do it in a seat that has a back and not squished in with 96,000 other people. I finally gave up at half time. I really wanted to stay and see TBDBITL do Script Ohio but I just couldn't take it any more. Not to mention the 3 mile walk back to the car-OH MY ACHING BACK!?!?






Later that evening we hit the Clippers game. Collin seems to really enjoy baseball. He sits on my lap the whole time and watches pretty intently. Wyatt took him down to the first row after the game and one of the players threw him a game ball. He came back out and started signing autographs so we took Collin to get his ball signed. The player asked Collin to throw him the ball. You could literally see the wheels turning in his head...he didn't want to give up his new baseball but he threw it anyway. So, he got his first autographed baseball. He held on to the ball for the rest of the night-he even took it to bed with him. Check back on Wednesday for a cute pic of Collin sleeping with his baseball.














BTW...this is the hat Collin picked out to wear to the baseball game.



Today we took a bike ride at Rails for Trails in Hilliard. We stopped and played at the park for a while and then headed home for a little yard work. After all the time we spent playing with the bike helmet, we ended up forgetting it at home! Luckily,we were riding on a trail and not on the road.

Race for the Cure

May 16th is approaching again and my family and friends will gather downtown to participate in the Race for the Cure in honor of my mom, a breast cancer survivor. As much as she can drive me crazy, I don't know what I would do without her. Collin could not dream of having a better Nana to take care of him. She is there any time we need her and it is so nice to know that when Collin is not with us he is with someone that loves him just as much as we do.

Cancer is a dreadful disease that has touched everyones life in one way or another.Just last week a close friend of my mom's died of ovarian cancer. This hit her very hard because her friend went and had a pap smear as soon as she found out my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had been putting off going to the gynecologist for a couple of years and that was the push she needed to go. She was in her early 40's and now she is gone. I'm sure my mom is thinking what the rest of us are...that could have been her.

Thank goodness it wasn't!! We will do our part by honoring her battle and her victory on May 16th. Please, if you are able, click on my donation page and make a small donation.It's really easy and every penny counts-I know times are tough!

Thanks in advance!!

Word Explosion

I think that Collin has officially hit his language explosion. My mom babysits him and she claims he said his first complete sentence. I didn't hear it so it doesn't count in my book but she claims he was on the phone with Brylie and he said "Brylie it's raining" as plain as day. Today I started to notice that his annunciation has really improved over the last few days. He brought one of his toys to me and I said "thank you for the birdhouse". He looked at me funny and said "birdhouse" loud and clear. He must have repeated it 50 times the rest of the day and every time you could tell he was so proud of himself! I can't wait to hear what he says next-LOL!

Wordless Wednesday explanation

Since it is no longer "Wordless Wednesday" I can explain the picture. Collin has a new love of all things pirate. I have no idea how this came about but it is amusing none the less. In the picture he had taken the lid from his frog humidifier and put in on his head. Then he took the piece that screws into the bottom and held it up to his eye. He came out in the hallway and yelled "Mama" when I came to look at him he yelled "AARRRR I'm a pirate"! Not only was I amazed by his creativity but also the fact that I understood what he said. Very funny!

FFF-Theme:Me

This was a hard theme since I am the picture taker in the family. After a lot of searching I was able to find a few-mostly with my favorite little buddy!Only one is a "true" self portrait. I needed a FB pic in my OSU garb. For more FFF, go to Kiss the Frog 4 Me.

Wordless Wednesday

April showers bring...

May flowers







and...RAINBOWS!




We were driving home from running errands and saw this rainbow. As we got closer it looked as if it was coming right out of our house! Oh please let it be the pot of gold side!!! No luck =*(

Take Me Out to the Ballgame...

Collin went to his first baseball game this weekend! We have a new stadium that just opened-we were the second people EVER to sit in the seats. I was not a huge fan of the Clippers or their new stadium right in the middle of downtown but I have to say they changed my mind! The stadium is great! It is very family friendly and fan friendly. You can even stand outside and watch the game for FREE!!






I'm pretty sure Collin and I were Wyatt's last choice to go to the game but I think it worked out really well. Collin did great-we made it all the way to the 7th inning! I really think he enjoyed it. I know I enjoyed some good quality family time doing something we all enjoyed-and it didn't cost a fortune. I have a feeling we will be spending lots of time at the ballpark! I think Wyatt is already planning Collin's career in baseball.


After the ballgame we headed to the park.



And then back to the barn. While dad made "Skedi" we played play dough.




We decided to end the day with a "camp-out". We pulled out the air mattress and sleeping bags.




We laid down at about 8pm and we were all asleep by 9pm. Guess what time we woke up?? After 9am! Maybe we should camp-out more often.

FFF-Theme:Wet

This is from 4th of July last year-as you can tell it was raining, luckily not very hard! We still had a great time!




Here is Collin in the tub recently with his bathtub buddy Elmo.




This is Collin getting a bath while he was with his foster family in Guatemala.




And last but not least-Mama and Collin in the pool on our first visit trip in Antigua. I remember it like it was yesterday.

To see more FFF, go to Kiss the Frog 4 Me.