Bird's the Word

It's been almost 3 weeks since our bird friend made her first appearance. She is still hanging around our house and checks in with us a few times each day. It makes me smile each morning when I hear her pecking at our back door. As soon as we hear her, Cakes announces to us all that "the crazy birdy is back". I've come to expect that she will be there. For some reason she likes it at our house, and I like her here too!

Banana Shmana

Have I told you how much I dislike bananas?! And that I have eaten 2 bananas for breakfast most mornings for the last month. And that the dang Banana Diet has not made much of an impact on my waistline.

Dang it! I guess I have to make a legitimate effort to drop some pounds. Maybe I'll start running. Maybe.

I Am My Children's Mother

A week ago we celebrated my 3rd Mother's Day. It's weird to think I have been a mom for over 3 years. I hardly feel like a grown-up, nonetheless a mom to 2 kids. It's a strange day for me because when I think of Mother's Day, I think of celebrating the moms in my life, not me. This year we went to lunch with my mom and my family on Saturday and I didn't even see my mom on Mother's Day. On Sunday we took Hubby's Grandmother to lunch. She is a very special lady. The Hubby has a very close relationship with Grandma as she raised him and is more like a mom to him than a grandmother. We are very close to her and wanted to be with her to celebrate since she is so important to us. We had a very nice lunch and then the rest of day was just the 4 of us.

Our afternoon was spent at the house relaxing. We also planted one of my Mother's Day gifts, a Plum Cherry tree. Each year I have received a tree. They are truly gifts that keep giving, as they will be a part of our landscape for many years to come. I love to look my windows and see each tree and marvel at how much each tree has grown in such a short period of time. Just as every time I look at my children I am amazed at how much they have grown. And perhaps, how much I have grown.

Becoming a mom was most definitely life changing. Everyone tells you how much your life will change, but you just don't get it until it happens. Once that baby is born, life pre-baby becomes a distant memory. Don't get me wrong. I really enjoyed my pre-baby life, and I had a while to enjoy it as I was 33 when Cakes was born. But my life had more meaning once my girl became a part of it. And now my boy, too. They make me want to be a better person. I strive to set a good example for them. I want to be the best mother that I can be, because it is my responsibility and my honor to be there for them and to do the best for them as possible.

So, what does Mother's Day mean to me now? It's a day to celebrate my mom and all mothers, including myself. After all, I am a mother. The mother of two wonderful children and that should be celebrated!

The Hubby and Cakes planting my tree

Sparks hanging out while my tree gets planted

What's Up, Birdie?

The Crazy Bird perched on our back door

This is our new friend. We have named her "The Crazy Bird". She has been at our house for the last 5 days. She comes and goes throughout the day and seems to be trying to get in our house. The first couple of days she would basically fly into our back glass door or kitchen window and hover but as soon as one of us, or the dogs got near she would fly away. Now she seems to be used to us and will remain on the bottom ledge of the glass door as the dogs bark and paw at her. It's weird! What's up, Birdie?

Two Toothed Bandit

At almost 8 months old, Sparky has some pearly whites poking through. He's been taking it all in stride and hasn't had any teething issues at all. Such a little champ!

Stealing hearts since September 2009

Horse Show Girl

Last Sunday was a great day for my pony girl. She got to ride in her second horse show! As expected, it was a long day. We arrived around lunch time and didn't leave until close to 6. Cakes was very patient and had quite a bit of fun just being a barn girl. And Sparks was a trooper. The little guy gets to do a lot of hanging out while his big sister does all of the fun stuff. Luckily our sweet dude is extremely patient and laid back. Although there was a lot of waiting around, it was definitely worth it, and I wasn't a crazy horse show mom this time around!

Cakes is right at home on a pony and as soon as it was her turn she was ready to perform. As I led her into the ring she said to me, "Alright mama, you can go now. I can do it on my own." Mind you, this was the leadline, a class specifically for little ones that do not yet ride independently, and my little Miss Independent wanted to do it on her own. I couldn't have expected anything different! I bet she could have, but mama's not ready to let her go yet!

She looked so cute in her show attire! There is nothing cuter than a little girl with big bows and horse show attire riding around on a super fancy small pony! How lucky we were to borrow Daz (Fort Knox) and to get the opportunity for Cakes to horse show. You don't see many 3-year olds with 2 horse shows under their belt!

Many thanks to Susan, my second mom and owner/trainer of Fiesta Farm, to Kathleen for letting us borrow Daz, and to Heidi for some of the show attire! We are so blessed to have such great and generous people in our lives!