Along came Ralphy

The before picture- Christmas 2004

Yesterday, Ralphy, daddy and I were looking through old pictures. Pictures from before he was born and Ralphy kept asking " but mommy where I'm I?" and that made me think of my life.

Before Ralphy:

• I woke up late
• I was skinny
• We had freedom to do what we wanted
• We had more date nights
• We had more money

Then EVERYTHING changed: 

Me at my baby shower 8.5 months pregnant

• I don't sleep in..at all
• I'm not  as skinny as I used to be (that's the nice way of saying I'm fat)
• I have stretch marks
• Date nights consist of Chinese food and a Netflix movie ( if we're lucky)
• We have less money ( that's an understatement)
• We have more bills
• More things to worry about.

I still cry when I see this picture.

 After Ralphy:

• Someone calling me mommy
• More hugs and kisses.
• Finally knowing what true LOVE really is.

 If he only knew that my life had no meaning before him. I love you Ralphy, to infinity and beyond.

:)

Okay- I will file this under major mommy moment.

"For every little miracle" by Pampers

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I was so  excited when Pampers  contacted me to help them spread the word on  their  new "For every little miracle" campaign. As a mom, I of course love babies and I truly believe that every baby comes  into this world for a reason and no matter what the  circumstances, every baby is a miracle.

The goal of this campaign is to help as many people and babies as possible one mission at a time and hopefully, by you helping, it  will inspire others to join and help as well.  For example,mission 1 was to help moms feel special by doing an act of kindness. When that mission was complete, Pampers will  help organize over  1,000 baby showers across the country  for expectant mothers in the months of May and June.

What I think makes this campaign different, is that  its simply about doing an act of kindness for someone else. It  has nothing to do with money. We are going back to the "basics". Need a  little inspiration? Please watch this video.

Oh and by the way, for committing to help, you could enter the little miracle sweepstakes for a chance to win Pampers diapers  and wipes for a year! Please visit their  web site for details.


If you need additional information on " For every little miracle" campaign, please visit their web site to register  or go  to their facebook page . Don't forget to share your stories and pictures as well. The goal is to not only help, but also inspire others.

Writing this post inspired me and I  hope it inspires you as well.

Keeping Up with him

 Hi Everyone,

Hope  you all had a kick ass weekend.  I for one, had a very busy weekend, thanks to my son, who's social life, I may add, is getting a little out of control, just kidding,  but it is getting busy.  Don't think for one little second that I am complaining because I'm not, deep down inside I love it. We had 2 birthday parties on Saturday and a play date on Sunday.

 I remember the days when I was pregnant and I would think, " I can't wait to go to the park and take him to birthday parties." Well, be careful what you wish for :).   Here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend:

My hubby and I 

One of my favorites- my baby loves bubbles!

Ralphy and I with Barney- he was in heaven

Pure happiness

Ralphy and daddy at the park

Flying Kites with daddy

At the playground

It really doesn't take much to create awesome memories with your kids. They really do enjoy  the simple things in life.  So, tell me what did you guys do this weekend?

Too young for good manners?

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If you are a mom of a toddler, like myself, you know that your child transforms when they turn 3, what do I mean? Well, Ralphy for example, loved to be held, loved for me to giving hugs and kisses. Now, I ask for a kiss and he replies with  " wait mommy, I'm watching this."  I know this may sound funny, but I am as serious as a heart attack. Its like, they get brave and they think they're all grown up and don't even get me started on the talking back, but I digress.

Ralphy is a normal kid, I really can't complain. Now that he is starting to have a social life, like birthday parties and play dates, we are trying to teach him to be nice and to say please and thank you and he is usually pretty good with that. Side story- the other day, we saw one of our neighbors and we were about to get in  the elevator and the neighbor said " hello Ralphy" and  Ralphy said " hi" and shook his hand . The neighbor was so impressed and couldn't believe that he knew how to shake hands " like a man", at such a young age.  I had a very  proud mommy moment to say the least, but I do have to give daddy credit for that one.

That incident got me thinking that I really want Ralphy to be a well behaved kid. What mom doesn't right? Don't get me wrong, I know that kids will be kids, but I want him to be able to be polite. Consequently, I checked my email the other day and I received an article from Baby Center  and what do you think the it was about?  yup, Manners.  It basically talks about how its  important to  teach them the basics,without overdoing it and to have patience.

I don't want to be one of those moms that expect their kids to be still and not move a muscle, but there are a few things  that I would love for Ralphy to learn, like for example, to use please, thank you and excuse me when necessary  and the way we do that is by practicing  it at home. Practice makes perfect after all and like  my mom always said to me " if  he doesn't do it at home, he will not do it in public."

For more interesting articles and useful advice visit Baby Center and register to get the newsletters in your inbox regularly.

I would love to hear what you guys have to say.  When do you think its a good age to start teaching  good manners? I happen to think that the earlier  you start, the better.

 So, here is to our wonderful and well behaved little munchkins, well sometimes. :)

Kisses and Hugs,


*** NOTE*** Please keep in mind this is a source that I personally use  find very useful. I'm sure there are tons out there, please feel free to share.



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Go ahead and laugh, its Wednesday

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I dream of....

A vacation to Italy

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A day at the spa:

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To lay on the beach on a tropical island 

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A girl can dream can she?

At least one and maybe the biggest and most important dream already came true, I have them

I found this quote awhile ago,  its one of my favorites and I thought I would share it with you:

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never have enough" - Oprah

I couldn't have said it better myself.


Have a blessed Sunday everyone and remember to always be thankful.

World Lupus day

I was "introduced" to this disease when my sister in law, Jewels,  my brother's wife got diagnosed.  I remember that it all began with a rash she started getting on her face. She went to many different doctor's and put on different creams before she was finally diagnosed with Lupus.

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body, like your skin,joints and organs. Basically, this is a disease that attacks your immune system, it makes you feel weak and tired. One of the most important things to know about Lupus is that it is not contagious. You can not "give" or "catch" Lupus from anyone. Also, Lupus is not related to any type of Cancer or HIV( Human Immune Deficiency Virus) For more information click here.

Its estimated that about 1.5 million Americans have Lupus.  This is a disease that can affect  men,woman and children, but it strikes mostly woman between the ages of 15-44.

My intention with this post, is to simply bring a little awareness and to show my support. There are many great resources available, like for example, www.Lupus.org I found this one to be the most helpful and the one with the most information.

Today, May 10th is world Lupus day and its  a perfect day to learn more about Lupus and  show your support by wearing  PURPLE.

Jewels and I Thanksgiving 2010

Today I will be wearing PURPLE  for Jewels.  Who will you be wearing PURPLE for?

Little reasons..

Mother's day breakfast 2010

This post was inspired by a moment I had with my munchkin yesterday while watching Calliou.  So there we were, watching TV when Ralphy starts laughing at something Calliou did.  It was this hardy-can't control myself- I'm going to pee in my pants- kind of laugh. It was so cute and all I could do was look at him and smile and think to myself  "that is the best sound in the world."

I love being a mom for so many little reasons:

• I love the way he says " I love you mommy" for no reason at all.
• The way he asks me to kiss his boo-boo and he really doesn't have one.
• When he gives me hugs and kisses out of the blue.
• When he asks me to sit next to him when I already am and what really wants is for me to get a little closer.
• The way he likes to hold my hand when we are walking.
• The way he  only wants me when he is sick or doesn't feel good, because  mommy is the only one that can make it all better. 
• The way he wants me to be the last one he sees when he goes to sleep at night.   

I really could go on for ever. I am truly blessed. God has blessed me with the most wonderful little gift. So, on this mother's day, let us remember to enjoy every moment, to be thankful and to remember how blessed we truly are. It's the hardest job we will ever have to do, but oh so very worth it.

Happy Mother's day.

Xoxox,

" A picture of Mommy"

Ralphy's first drawing of me :)

A little bit of this and that

 Hi  Everyone,

 I hope  you all had a great weekend. Hard to believe we  are starting a brand new month. It seems like April practically flew by. How was everyone's Easter? I know, I know that seems like it was ages ago, but it was only last week. Well, ours was very nice and relaxing. Ralphy  had an Easter egg hunt at school that he enjoyed very much. We went to church and spent some time with family.

The high light of this past week was that Ralphy took his official pre- school class picture.  He came out so serious ( he was not having a good morning  that morning because he wanted to watch another episode of his favorite show and couldn't because we were running late) but it came out cute non the less. I can't wait to get it.

 This weekend was about doing some major cleaning. It needed to be done. I like to start of the week with a nice clean apartment. I managed to get all that done  yesterday and today was all about prepping meals for the week and relaxing.

I want to also take this opportunity to  apologize. April was not a good blogging month for me.   I will try to do better. Actually, April was a horrible month, I only posted 3 times, Yikes!

What did you  guys do? Any special plans or goals   your setting for your self for the the month of May?

Hope you all have a wonderful start to the week.

That is all for now.

Xoxoxo