HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Wow Last week flew by so fast that I didn;t even have a chance to write about Little Zack's Birthday Party! It was a marvelous occasion, with so many of his little friends in attendance. Jake and Zack made a huge sandpile in the backyard, and all of the kids had a ball playing with all of the sand toys and bouncy balls. And of course, playing on the swingset! They were all taking turns going down the slide and swinging on the swings. Then Sity (Gerri) starting blowing bubbles for all of the kids to chase and pop! It was a veritable Toddler wonderland. The cake from cake designs was INCREDIBLY beautiful as well as tasty... it featured a scene with kids playing in a sandbox, complete with three-dimensional icing people and sugary glitter to make the sand look more realistic. Those kids (and the adults!) tore that cake UP.... not much left at all! I caved and had to have a piece... or two.... which was not in compliance with my gluten-free diet, but hey, it tasted good and I only felt yucky for a day afterward. Small price to pay for sugary goodness on your oldest child's second birthday. He received a huge amount of great presents (which I have yet to write the thank yous for...I mean ZACK has yet to write the thank yous for) and we have been slowly doling them out to him so he will enjoy the excitement for longer. All in all, it was a fairly stress-free party and everyone had a great time.
For a good bit of last week, I was planning my 1st Beauticontrol Spa, which I held at my home. There is so much that goes into starting a small business! I want to do this right and to be effective, and make money for our family... a little extra spending money would be good too! It's a nice chance to have something for myself, and spend time with other ladies! The spa was yesterday, and went really well. Julie Lopez and Amy Sadler came, and although I was expecting more people than that, we had a BLAST and Julie decided to book a party! So I am headed in the right direction, at least!!! If anyone wants me to do a spa for them, they are so much fun and I would be happy to do so! I have another spa this coming Saturday, at my house again, starting at 3 o'clock. If you want to come, just let me know!
I went to my 1st Women of Holy Spirit meeting this week, and it went well. It was nice to meet so many ladies from our parish that I did not know, and it sounds like we will have a year filled with many fun activities!
Little Ben will have his 9 month pictures made this week....and he now has his 1st tooth!

I can not believe it....

My baby is two. And he knows it... if you say, "How old are you, Zack?", he will answer "TWO!" or something that sounds very close to it. He is growing so incredibly fast, in personality, spirit and body, and it gives me such joy to see the person he is becoming. This morning, his Uncle Jake and Aunt Mandy came over to deliver the sand for his "Sandcastle Birthday Extravaganza" to make a huge (and I do mean HUGE) sandpile in the backyard. Zack and Jake had to drive around in search of a random wheelbarrow at a jobsite in Woodland Creek, and finally found one to aid them in the depositing of the sand. When they finished creating the pile, we unleashed Zack on it and he acted like someone had given him GOLD... I gave him a few of the sand toys I got for the party to test drive, and he had a BLAST. I love that he isn't afraid to try new things and has enough confidence to play alone, but that he loves the company of others so much that he will demand you play with him, which of course, I wound up doing.
Aunt Mandy and little Zack and Benjamin and I all went to Wal-Mart in search of paint pens, so Mandy could label all of the buckets for the children that will be attending the party. She did an INCREDIBLE job on them.... they look like something you would pay to have personalized... I guess if she ever gets tired of being a nurse, she always has that to fall back on! :) Today will be spent finishing the preparations for the party.... which means cleaning the house.... YUCK!!
Last night, we took the boys to the Catholic High football game, where Dadoo is the press box announcer. Ben and Zack had a BLAST and were anxious to meet and hug everyone they came into contact with. They both thought the pressbox was totally cool, and Zack tried to break away and run down the field a few times....maybe he WILL be an athlete when he is older! Zack loved the music of the band, and we had to fight him from trying to join them as they marched into the bleachers. Little Ben also had fun, but was so worn out that he passed out in the car on the way home (well, it WAS his bedtime). I can't wait to take them to their next game!!

New Hairstyles and Progress

Okay, so I had my first experience with at-home, do it yourself haircolor this past Sunday. It was harder than I thought it would be, and I got dye splotches all over my body (which, thankfully came off in the shower) . The color turned out to be darker than I had intended, but that's okay... it's a new look for me! And at least I don't have six-month old highlights creeping halfway down my hair anymore. That was the main thing.
I have begun a Gluten-Free diet as oreder by my doctor to combat several health concerns of mine, and let me tell you, it is not easy. Then again, it's not as hard as I thought it would be, either. I can no longer have normal wheat products like bread and pasta and cake and cookies.... and ANYTHING with wheat, rye, barley or oats in it. I do like the food choices I have though, it's just a pain to cook a separate meal for myself. At this point though, I will do anything that will help me to combat the fatigue and other issues I have going on, and so far, it seems to be helping!!
Little Ben continues to cruise around on furniture and get into everything that he now has discovered that he has access to. Zack is LOVING his school. He came home with a custom Zack-made headband yesterday. I asked his teacher if he had tried to eat anyone else's lunch again, and she said no, but that he was sitting next to a little Korean girl who was eating sushi for lunch. He looked at her, pointed at her food, and said EWWWWWWWWWWW. She didn't seem to mind though... she was probably just relieved he wasn't going to attack her lunch.
We are in the rapid preapring stage for Zack's little birthday party this Sunday .... I cannot believe my baby will be TWO! He is budding with so much independence and indignance though.... I suppose it's time! We are putting a HUGE sandpile out back for all of the kids to play in, and I bought a ton of sand toys at CVS' summer clearance sale (90% off everything!) so they should have a blast!!
Zack and I went to see Bill Engvall, of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, last Friday night at The MPAC. It was a BLAST!!! We laughed until our bellies hurt. It was so nice to have some alone time together, even if we were laughing with a stadium full of people! MPAC is having a Big Screen Showing of Gone With The Wind tomorrow night, so let me know if anyone wants to go with me!!!
I went to the My Kids Attic consignment sale and got all of both of the boys' wionter clothes, a bike for Zack for Christmas, a walker thing for Ben for his Birthday, a Leapfrog Table with a Leappad built into it for Zack's birthday, a magna doodle, a talking Elmo, and a bunch of other stuff, for $150.00. I was pumped.

Flying High and Right On By

This week has FLOWN BY! Little Zack has gone to preschool twice this week and loved every minute of it. He has been bringing home various art projects, and luckily, no diseases thus far. His teachers told me that he is adjusting well and enjoying the other kids. I am so glad that we made the decidion to go ahead and send him, as I know he needed time away from me to grow on his own a bit...and the break has been very helpful for me as well in terms of getting things done, and it's nice to be able to give Ben more one on one time. Ben had his 9 month checkup this week, and got glowing marks from the doctor! He weighed 21 and a half pounds, and was 30 inches long, which means he is in the 75th percentile for weight and the 95 percentile for his height... my tall lean boy! He was very puzzled by the alarm installation as it was going on yesterday, although he didn't cry when they set it off to test it, THANKFULLY! He has slept better the past couple of nights now that we are giving him a tiny bit of liquid Melatonin, per the doctor's recommendation, to help him sleep. Ben is also pulling up EVERYWHERE and on EVERYTHING... it won't be long until he is walking up a storm!
I am so excited, because I get to go to the My Kids Attic Consignment Sale today and buy the boys their winter clothes!!! I think it will be a bit of a madhouse, but I'm sure I will find plenty of great things for them.
This evening, Zack and I are having an AWESOME date night! We get to go see Bill Engvall and have supper together! I think the concert will be hilarious, and it will be nice to get away together for an evening.

AND HE SLEEPS!

Finally, Ben stopped his week long sabotage on his parents' sleep. Starting Saturday night, he didn't wake up a single time... I attribute it to his Sity and Dadoo playing with him Saturday night and getting him good and worn out! He was having the best time with Sity... she kept putting her finger between his lips so it made that virbo sound when he would talk.... HE LOVED IT! He got mad when she stopped! We have been busy around here trying to get our house in shape for Zack's birthday party, which I need to finish planning anD send the invites ASAP. I cannot believe my big boy will be TWO this month... and his little brother will be 9 months old tomorrow... where does the time go??? Ben is pulling up on EVERYTHING now... so cute but scary too, because that means he has access to things he didn't previously have the reach for, and also, I will have 2 walking kids!!! YIKES! I knew it would come eventually, but he is EARLY. Zack was slower with these things, and I think that was good at the time because I was pregnant and it would have been even harder to deal with at the time. The boys are down for their afternoon naps at the moment, and I am going to get some Cha Cha Guide work done (I answer questions online for money) and snooze a bit myself!

Off To School... Off to School...

Today was little Zack's big first day of pre-school, and he did beautifully! I am just so proud of him. I have been debating the past week or so on whether or not I should go ahead and send him, partially due to Mommy "letting go" issues, partially due to he's an emotional kid and wasn't sure of how he would take it, and partially because I didn't want to derail his potty-training progress (which is getting better by the day), and finally, this morning, I decided it was time. He woke up in a good mood, and the fact that I needed a break only further motivated me to bite the bullet ... Ben has kept us up the past few nights with what I believe to be teething issues. We packed his little lunch together, and away we went! Zack walked into school, holding my hand, while I pushed Ben in the stroller, and we all found his room together. His teachers, Miss Christy and Miss Caryn are very, very nice ladies who are supportive of continuing his pottytraining while he is at MDO, and Zack was immediately excited when he saw all of the kids and toys. He started crying when I left, but I knew they would call if he was inconsolable. The crying I didn't expect to see came from little Ben!!! He, who had been perfectly calm two seconds before, got hysterical and irate when we left his big brother behind. I managed to calm him down, and told him that we would get Zack in a little while, but when we got in the car and he saw Zack's empty carseat he started whimpering again. It truly amazes me and touches my heart at how close these two little boys are already, at the ages of almost two and nine months. They play together every day, Zack "reads" and shares his toys with Ben, and they have already destroyed a few things together. They were playing some modified game of tag this afternoon that cracked Zack and me UP. I cannot wait to watch them as they frow older and even closer, and I hope they will remain close for the rest of their lives. The greatest gift one can give their kids is siblings!
So Ben and I picked up Zack after we ate lunch with my friends from ALFA, Jill and Jennifer, and his teacher said he did GREAT! She said he played hard on the playground and ate all of his lunch and even ate some other kid's cookies that he didn't eat... just like his daddy, my kid is an eating machine. He was all smiles when they brought him out to the carpool lane, and I felt like I had given him a huge gift of independence. He is growing up so fast, and I want him to be independent and confident. I hope all will continue to go well next week!!

Adventures in Pottytraining

Okay, so I got completely and totally sick of cleaning up after little Zack everytime he wet his pants, because that kid can pee through ANY kind of diaper, cloth or disposable, leaving a huge puddle on the floor. So, at the advisement, of two or three friends, bought the E-book on 3-Day Pottytraining, and let me tell you, Zack is making HUGE strides! He is having very, very few accidents now, and tells me when he needs to go "tee-tee". He looks so cute, running around in his little Elmo Underwear... I mean BIG-BOY PANTS! And he is TREMENDOUSLY proud of himself. It makes me so happy to see the joy of accomplishment on his face.... that's something that noone can give you... you have to earn it, and I'm glad he is already learning that huge lesson. He has a little toilet seat that fits on top of the normal toilet seat and a step-stool to climb up, although I am still having to help him with that part. If it were up to him, I think he would try to stand on the pottyseat to use the bathroom. That's a toddler boy for you! Since we started training him Saturday morning, he has not wet the bed at all during his 3-hour naps, and has only wet the bed once each of the nights... this morning's accident happened just as I was coming in the room at 6:30 AM and he was trying to get out of the bed and to the door. If he continues to wet the bed at night, we may do "overnight pants" for awhile, but I think he is really starting to get the hang of "holding it".
We went to Zack and Gerri's house for Labor Day yesterday and had a great time! The kids had a b;ast playing with Sity,Dadoo, Aunt Mandie and Uncle Jake, Susie and Kelly. Dadoo even took Zack for a ride on the golf cart and let him steer!!! And Little Zack also used the potty at their house, so that's big stuff! I have my Bible Study tonight as well as a meeting with my Spa Party ladies, so I hope that goes well! I will add some pictures from this weekends adventures in a bit!