It is the Veteran

Stole this from our cousins blog, but it is too good to not post again!

It is the
VETERAN,
not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.

It is
the VETERAN,
not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is
the VETERAN,
not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is
the VETERAN,
not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.


It is
the VETERAN,
not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is
the VETERAN,
not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.


It is the
VETERAN who
salutes the Flag,


It is the
VETERAN
who serves
under the Flag,


We can be very proud of our young men and women in the service no matter where they serve.


God Bless them all!

Things seen/heard/said around the house this week

Seen:
Ellia with her shirt up and her baby on her stomach. When I asked her what she was doing she replied: "My baby is hungry, I feed her from my boobies"

Heard: "Addie this is your craft I made you"
Addie pushes it away
"Sister, I made you this craft you have to have it"
Addie again pushes it away
"Take it now" and the crying begins because sister wont take the craft she made her

Said: "this is my calcu-phone" - What Ellia calls the calculator that I let her play with, apparently it's her phone too.

"A cheese stick has cheese in it, huh mama" - Why yes it does honey.

"Were you planning on running the whole race? Do you think that is such a good idea?" - this is what Bill said to me after I told him I was thinking of running the Mill Creek 5k dash in July.
Thanks honey for the vote of confidence! (he later explained it better and I wasn't upset anymore at him)

Not Me Monday

nAre you feeling guilty for going camping with your family, but then coming home at bedtime to sleep with your own pillow? Overcome with embarrassment when you tripped and nearly fell in front of a group of people in a parking lot? Well, don’t be! Not Me! Monday was born out of MckMama's desire to admit some of her imperfections and reveal a few moments she'd rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing! I know I sure do.


Last Sunday, I did NOT lay our son down on the bathroom floor at church to change his diaper & go pee myself b/c they didn't have a baby changing station. (our church is in a different building for a few weeks)

I did NOT use paper towels to shove under his bum to protect him from the above mentioned floor. Who said mom's weren't creative?

This past week I did NOT have to do the shake method in the bathroom b/c we were out of TP and then I had to walk dangerously into the next room with my undies down my legs, afraid to pull them up. I did NOT just type this!

I have NOT begun wearing an apron whenever I am in the kitchen b/c I just cant keep from spilling stuff on me. And I am tired of staining clothes, and buying new clothes isn't an option financially or weight wise. I could NOT be that messy!

I did NOT tell Bill I had to use the bathroom when I really didn't but just wanted too so I could read the new People & get a few minutes to myself. .

Bill and Ellia went on a bus ride this last week. Her first one and I did NOT make Bill take the camera along and document it for me. He did NOT give me a look of disgust and did NOT agree to do it when I started crying.

Micah turned 1month last week and I did NOT pose him for pictures in Bill's Boston Redsox hat for over 10mins, but yet haven't posted the pictures yet.

<>

I did NOT cry this morning when Bill left for work, which did NOT result in both girls crying and us all falling into a heap on the floor crying together.

Ahhh, it's going to be a great week. What did you NOT do this past week?

Happy Mothers Day!

Today is the day. The day all moms are honored for all their hard work & love. The day that celebrates us and if we are lucky (and I am) we get breakfast cooked for us and cards are waiting for you on the table. (mine were)

Today, is the day that I want to give a shout out to my mom. When you are a child you do not always see your mom for the real person she is. It wasn't till I became a mom that I really saw my mom for who she was. And she has been an amazing example of a mom.

A few thing's I've learned from my Mom and hope I can pass onto my children:

Stand up for what you believe in

Be generous

Be supportive

Love till it hurts and even if you get hurt, continue to love

Serve your community

Have fun

Laugh about the bad stuff, it helps you get through it

Pick your battles

Teach your children patience & you will in turn learn patience yourself

How to make birthdays really special

Root for the underdog because no one else is

How to make a sick kiddo feel better

Share your home, always make it available for others

It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks only what the Lord thinks

How to make learning about the "birds & the bee's" & "womanly issues" a fun conversation & one your daughter remembers with a smile. (just ask me what my mom did )

My mom just flew home a week ago after spending 3.5wks with us. And it was the BEST visit I've had with my mom. We had such a good time together. Going to the park with the kids, the Zoo, cleaning my house, shopping, pedicures, watching Survivor together and lots of chatting. And finally she got to see one of her grandchildren come into this world. A gift she said was "priceless" and would never forget.

Thanks Mom for all you did while you were here. You spoiled us!!! But most importantly you gave yourself, which is what you always do, and it meant so much to me.

Happy Mothers Day!

I love you & miss you

Show us your kid's names or future kid's names

Kelly over at Kelly's Corner does these fun posts on Friday's where you "Show us your life". Yesterday, was "Show us your kid's names or future kids names". So I've decided to play along.

Ellia Lorraine

Ellia was a name that we just loved. We heard it when we were dating on a TV show and we wrote it down deciding right there and then we'd use it for our first born daughter. And no matter what names we picked out we kept going back to Ellia.

Lorraine, is Bill's mother's middle name. And I just loved the way it sounded with Ellia. Plus, Ellia has the same initials as me ELD. Kinda of cool for a first born daughter.

Adilynn Danese

Adilynn, is a name that Bill came up with. We were going to name her Addison, but that is so popular right now. And we loved the nickname "Addie". So one day Bill said "What about Adilynn, like Madilyn but drop the "M" and add a "A". I liked it immediately.

Danese, is my maiden name and I just really liked the idea of using my maiden name some how in one of our kids names. And it just so happens that it sounds good with Adilynn.

Micah John

Micah, was the name we've had picked out for a boy since we first got pregnant. We just thought it was a strong name and we liked the meaning.

John, is Bill's dads name. We had always thought we'd use James as a middle name but that changed when Bill asked if we could use his father's name. At first, I was still stuck on James, but I saw how much it meant to Bill and I so come around. Now I really like it.

Other names we like, but will not be using:

Kaylee Susan

Braden Wyatt

Anthony John

"Mama" vs "Mommy"

When we got pregnant I decided I didn't want to be called "mommy" - I am not exactly sure why, but I just wanted to be different. There is nothing wrong with being called Mommy but I really liked "mama". You don't hear it much and I think it just sounds so cute when a kid calls their mom "mama".

So when Ellia was born I just always referred to myself as "Mama" and not "Mommy". When she started talking she picked it up pretty quickly. Although, she did the switch-a-roo thing and would call me both "Mama" and "Mommy". But ohh how it made my day when she'd say "Mama" And Yes, I admit it, when she did say "Mommy" I would correct her and say "Mama"

As she grew the "Mama" slipped away and she began using "Mommmmmmmy" more and more. And I'm not kidding when I say she would stretch out that word as far as she could when she was calling for me. Why is that kid's do that?

Pretty soon Addie came along and I thought, here's my chance to get her to call me "Mama" and maybe Ellia will start doing it again too. Addie is our stubborn child and isn't going to be persuaded to do anything she doesn't want to do. And that means calling me "Mama".

Addie is so sweet and lately has started saying "Hi Mommy", "Hi Daddy", "Hi YaYa" "Hi_______" It so sweet and it especially melts my heart when she comes down the stairs in the morning, in her pj's with bed head and says "Hi Mommy". Or when for no reason she looks up from her pile of toys and says "Hi Mommy".

In that instant how can I can be upset that she is saying "Mommy" instead of "Mama"? The answer is, I can't. It's the sweetest thing in the world and I will take hearing "Mommy" any day.

What do your kids call you? Did you want them to call you something different?

Guess what? I still have Micah to work with on the "Mama" thing ;o)

What a Good Mother Does…

I found this on Facebook on my friends page. I liked it so much I am posting it today. Enjoy!

A good mother…

…serves her child water from bpa free cups
…never lets her child drink from plastic
…goes for the Barney set on sale

…speaks gently and does not interfere much
…keeps a close eye and quickly intervenes
…lashes out in anger and regrets her actions

…lives in the moby
…buckles them up in a bouncy seat
…holds them in her arms

…yells too loud
…guides too soft
…crys too often

…makes the world their child’s classroom
…volunteers in the public school classroom
…scrimps to send them to a private school classroom

…eats oreos for breakfast
…lets her children eat oreos for breakfast
…hasn’t touched a brownie in years

…cloth diapers, cloth napkins, cloth pads and cloth toilet papers
…uses paper towels and composts her leftovers
…should be investing in the Ziploc company

…rocks her child to sleep
…says prayers and stories with her child in bed
…snuggles, hugs and kisses goodnight, then lets her child cry it out

…sleeps with her husband only
…sleeps with her husband and children
…doesn’t sleep much at all

…hikes, camps and nature walks with her kids
…teaches her children how to poop in the woods
…doesn’t go off the blacktop path

…gives her child formula from birth
…breastfeeds her 4 yr old
…pumps in the bathroom at work

…can squeeze a penny out of a nickle
…splurges on herself
…hasn’t bought a non-necessity in years

…home cooks
…micro waves
…drives through

…showers, makeup and dressed every day by 8
…wears heels to work
…is in pajamas well past noon

…cries over mommy fears
…worries over decisions
…fights for their future

…has a lot of money
…has no money
…takes good care of the money she’s got

…goes to church
…doesn’t go to church
…feels guilty for not going to church

…makes dollhouses from pixie sticks
…bakes chocolate chip cookies
…drinks mocha frappachinos

…is sometimes too rough with her kids
…is sometimes unavailable to her kids
…is sometimes locked in the bathroom with a pint of ben and jerry’s

…has laundry piled on the living room floor
…vacuums the living room floor
…wrestles with her kids on the floor

…wishes she was thinner
…wishes she was smarter
…wishes for a maid

…takes time for herself
…runs herself ragged
…runs a 5K

…reads with her children
…reads to herself
…is illiterate

…watches oprah
…watches ellen
…watches dora

…buys only wooden toys
…scores garage sales finds and hand-me-downs
…buys the latest and greatest gizmos

…loses her temper
…loses her keys
…loses her friends

…loves with all she’s got
…loves when it’s hard and hurts
…loves until everything that doesn’t matter fades away

A Mother's Love

Mother's Day is coming quickly. This week I am going to try to do a post every day on what it means to be a Mother, a tribute to my own mother, and any other little tidbits I feel like sharing, as it is my blog.

I just like everyone was birthed into this wide open world by a Mother. And, I was lucky enough to be raised by both a wonderful Mother & Father. But in terms of this post we will just talk about Mother's. We'll save the Father post for later.

And my Mother like her mother before her and before her did the BEST job she could. She kissed me, fed me, changed my diaper & pretty much gave me everything I could ask for within reason. Growing up I never really quite understood this Mother bond thing. I knew I loved my mom and that we had a different relationship than my dad and I. But I never really got it, that is until I had a child, a daughter.

The moment I found out I was pregnant the first time I was in complete shock. Shock that it was finally happening to me and that Bill and I had created a little life. A little life that was growing daily in my tummy. And mothering that baby started from that very moment the test read " +" I began talking to my tummy, rubbing it, drinking less caffeine and protecting my little peanut. I dreamed of what he/she would look like, what they would do when they grew up & planning all the things we'd do as a family. My life was changed forever when that test read " + ".

The afternoon Ellia was born I realized the depth of the Lord's love for me. In the instant that Ellia was placed on my chest all bloody & messy I felt a warmth come over my entire body. And in that moment I realized that I was being flooded with love for her.

A love that cannot be shaken or moved. A love that surpassed all that I had known before. And later when I was re-counting that moment I realized that is how the Lord feels about us. He loves us so much and gave up so much for us.

"nor height nor depth, nor any other created

thing, shall be able to separate

us from the love of the God which is in

Christ Jesus our Lord"

Being a Mother has it challenges, highs, lows and many joys. But most importantly it is filled with lots of Love. My day is full of washing little hands, feeding hungry tummies and housework. However, mixed in are lots of hugs & kisses. And these help make any bad day better.

When one of my kids wraps their chubby little arms around my neck or gives me a slobbery kiss everything fades away. Suddenly, I am reminded that being a Mom is the BEST thing in the world and I wouldn't trade it for anything.