Summer Tradition

The boys and I spent the Memorial Holiday weekend with my parents, sister, friends, and grandparents at our cabin on the lake. My grandparents have owned their cabin since the 1970's, so we've been spending major summer holidays and weekends since I was born. It's neat being able to do this now with my own children. W was only a week old the first time he visited the cabin, and P-man was 4 months old.

It was quite chilly the first day we were there with low hanging clouds and rain. We even splashed the jetski and I rode it to our cabin with the cold wind and rain pelting my face. However, I tried not to think about it, and just enjoy my time on the open water. The boys played with toys inside the cabin that had once belonged to my mom and her brothers, and watched P-man go from room to room. One of my best friend's from college drove out, so having her out there made for a fun afternoon, despite the nasty weather.

Right around mid-afternoon, the sun decided to make it's first appearance, so we got the boys into their swim trunks to enjoy the weather...it warmed up too... about 10 degrees when the sun came out. It was so enjoyable watching my little fish splash around in the water...W even got it all the way. P-man had a blast too... he would only put his toes in, and then waves would come in and scare him (he's my delicate child).

We ended the day with a delicious Ham with Happy Potatoes, my mom's famous pasta salad, and baked beans. Even my picky eater ate up all the ham, which really surprised a majority of us. I'm glad I finally found a second source of protein he enjoys, with Nutella being the first. We ended the evening playing Skip Bo.

Monday was gorgeous temperature and sunny wise, however the wind was horrid at 20-30 mph with gusts reaching 40mph. Needless to say we didn't get much jet skiing in that morning, because the wind was so awful it was throwing dust, sand, and bugs into our eyes. Poor W was waiting all weekend to get his first jet ski ride of the year, but it just wasn't safe. P-man wasn't a fan of the wind either, and spent a majority of his Memorial Day inside.

The wind still didn't stop W, nor the rest of us. While P-man napped (which turned into a 3.5 hour one), my mom, sister, friend Jill, and William soaked up some sun and swam in the lake. Of course, I didn't wear any sunscreen. I tell myself this every year, "I don't need sunscreen, I never burn"...and every time...I burn...oh well!

We finished the weekend with burgers on the grill and some "see ya later's" to my grandparents. We will be seeing them again a in a few weeks for a family reunion. All and all in was a great weekend...it would have been perfect if Jess was here with us. I sure miss him... less than two weeks until he gets here.

During all the fun we had, we did take a moment and reflect on the true meaning of Memorial Day...to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrafice fighting for this great country of ours and to thank our men and women in uniform... especially to my husband who has been active duty serving in the United States Air Force for almost 11 years now... my Uncle Richard, retired Chief Master Sergeant with the Air National Guard... and my Grandfather, retired Lt. Col with the United States Army. God Bless the good 'ole U.S. of A!

In Hindsight

"Perception of the significance and nature of events after they have occurred"...

As a parent, you always want to make the best decisions possible for your children. However, when a decision you make as a parent affects someone else's chid, you think, "maybe that decision wasn't the best or right decision after all".

Many of you know my household has been dealing with the chickenpox over the past three weeks (read about it here: "Cluck, Cluck, Cluck", Goes The Chicken), and P-man is currently on his sixth day of this miserable illness. He came down with it exactly 14 days after we first notice a blister on his brother. He has been handling it like any 13-month-old would...fussy, crying in pain, crying in discomfort, not sleeping, etc. At first, I thought he was getting a milder case compared to his brothers, he only had about 20 or so blisters for the first three days in, but it all changed on day 4 (the worst, and the peak of the illness). He currently has close to 500 give or so, with 70-100 located around his diaper area alone. The pox are starting to finally cloud and crust, so we are definitely on the up and up. While dealing with a baby miserable with the chickenpox, Jess and I are extremely grateful both our children didn't suffer any complications.

As I stated earlier, when a decision you make as a parent affects someone else's child, you wish you could rewind the clock and change that particular decision. After being misdiagnosed (I'm still undecided if I want to go there), W ended up exposing a few of our friend's children. I knew there was a 90% chance of one if not all of them coming down with chickepox, and of course made phone calls to all the parents of children we came into contact with over those few days. This past Wednesday, I got a phone call from one of my closest friends here, her 7 month-old had come down with the chickenpox. Of course, I felt horrible, blaming myself, blaming the doctors who misdiagnosed W, and was praying nothing bad would happen. See, not only was this baby under 12 months of age, but also suffers from eczema. A child or baby who has both chickenpox and eczema can mean not only more spots (sometimes over 1,000), but added complications.

Over the weekend, the baby was admitted to a local children's hospital with a high fever, dehydration, and possible pneumonia. I had know clue what to do, what to say, what to think, but I did know who to blame, myself. I never stopped praying. I prayed for healing, prayed for guidance, prayed for forgiveness, prayed for my continuing friendship with the baby's mother, etc. I constantly checked in, and was happy to hear the baby was doing better. He was responding better to the medicine, and was finally able to intake liquids. He is now home from the hospital, and doing better.

My decision to not vaccinate my children against varicella put a lot of strain on not only myself and children, but my friend, her family, and most importantly her baby. I've never been one to bring up debatable topics, especially on a public blog, but feel it's only necessary.

Back when W was 12 months-old, the MMR was still in a hot debate, did or did it not cause autism? With what we knew then, we knew the best decision was to hold off on that particular vaccine until W was 18 months of age. Another decision, the varicella vaccine, was it truly necessary? Isn't the Chickenpox a pretty harmless (yet miserable) illness? With the advice from our pediatrician at the time, we choose not to vaccinate W, knowing 100% he would receive natural immunity by getting the chickenpox the old fashioned way. This pediatrician didn't have a lot of faith in this vaccine, and said there really wasn't any proof on how long this vaccine would protect against varicella, or if it would at all (there is only an 85%-95% of 100% protection).

In hindsight, I would have changed our decision, the decision to vaccinate against the chickenpox. I know there are a lot of people out there against vaccinations due to toxicity, autism, etc. My question to all of you is, are you prepared to handle not only your child's illness, but the other's who become sick with something that could have been prevented with a vaccine? In this case, all the children who were age appropriate to receive the varicella vaccine were vaccinated, but the babies (under 12 months of age) were not. W exposed (again not purposely, was misdiagnosed) three babies under 12-months of age, and one of those babies who came down with chickenpox ended up in the hospital.

The purpose of this blog wasn't to point fingers, or to say those who vaccinate/don't vaccinate are bad people, but to spread awareness as to why vaccines are important. They were developed for a reason, to potentially save people from not only suffering through/developing major complications from certain diseases, but to save their lives. Not only could I have saved my babies from being extremely miserable for 7+ days, but could have spared those 7 miserable and nerve wracking days from my friend and her child.

**Please respect my opinion regarding this topic, I do respect yours.**

Wordless Wednesday

Baby Mullet

W chillaxing at the dentist

Plum Crazy For Cloth Review and Giveaway

**NOW CLOSED**

A few months ago, I began researching and looking into a fun airplane shirt and diaper for P-man to wear for photos and to his birthday party. I remembered a good friend of mine mentioned she was starting to sew diapers for her WAHM (Work At Home Mom) business. I decided to seek her out to see if she could do something fun and custom for P-man's special day.

Kate, over at Plum Crazy For Cloth custom designed a raglan airplane shirt and a one size minky pocket diaper with zorb insert using the Landing Zone Airplanes & Rockets pattern. The shirt was extremely soft and loved that it matched the diaper.

ABOUT THE DIAPER: This Plum Crazy For Cloth diaper is a one-size minky pocket diaper with a zorb insert. Some of you maybe scratching your head and wondering what is a zorb insert?

DiaperMaker Zorb™ is a specialty textile designed to reduce cost and improve performance of reusable cloth diapers and

accessory products. ZORB absorbs 10x it's weight in less than half a second -- that's 20x faster than cotton, bamboo or hemp. Zorb has incredible holding power too, a single layer holds up to 3 times the moisture of the best absorbing knits so leaking and exterior wicking can be reduced or eliminated.

ZORB can be washed using home or industrial equipment and additives. It absorbency is not effected by hard water or with natural detergent deposits diaper-stripping to regain absorbency is virtually eliminated.

This diaper also has strong snaps on the waist and on the rise to give you that snug fit. It also has good elasticity along the sides of the diaper and along the back. The inner lining of the diaper is made from a minky fabric, which makes for a softer more comfortable fit for baby.

MY FIRST IMPRESSION: I love the pattern and fabric of the outer part of the diaper, it made it look very sleek. The inner lining minky fabric was incredibly soft. I did notice the fact the diaper seemed a little small for a one-size, which means P-man will probably outgrow this dipe before he reaches 30 lbs. However, it did fit pretty snug and had maximum coverage, which is great on a baby with a large bottom and chunky thighs.

Smallest Setting

Largest Setting

Zorb Insert

ABSORBENCY:The zorb insert makes this diaper extremely absorbent, which is perfect for those heavy wetters or for use during the overnight. I will add though, P-man has yet to go past 6 hours in this diaper, so right now I can't tell you if the absorbency would last up to 12 hours or not. I can tell you that there were no signs of leaks up to 6 hours.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I love this diaper! It was great being able to choose the type of pattern, insert, and fabric. The fit, durability, and absorbency of this diaper stands up to a very active 1-year-old. The care instructions for this diaper are super easy, and it can be used in the dryer. In fact, the more often you wash and dry the more absorbent this diaper becomes. Again, the only negative thing I have to say is... I wish there was another set of snaps on the rise, because I'm not sure if this diaper will make last until 30 lbs.

As you can see, Kate doesn't only make diapers, but she can custom design shirts and other clothing wear. She also makes wool dryer balls, cloth wipes, aprons, wet bags, blankets, etc. Definitely stop by her Facebook fan page: Plum Crazy for Cloth or the hyenacart store website she uses to check out her latest projects: Peace, Love, and Cloth For All Congo.

***Kate has graciously offered to host a giveaway to go along with my review. She will giveaway either a dozen cloth wipes, 6 unpaper towels, a pair of dryer balls, a changing pad, or a diaper to one lucky winner.***

THE RULES: Leave one comment and email address for each entry (i.e. blogging about this giveaway you would leave 3 separate comments because this is worth 3 entries).

This Giveaway is only open to US residents. It will end on April 5 @ 11:59 EST. If I receive any entries past the above listed time, they will be removed, and not be counted. A winner will then be drawn via Random.org and will be contacted via email and will have 48 hours to respond. If the winner fails to do so within the 48 hour time frame, a new winner will be selected.

MANDATORY ENTRIES:

You must visit the Facebook fan page of Plum Crazy for Cloth and "like" the page, and thank Kate for this giveaway opportunity. (1 Entry)

"Like" 3 Men and a Lady on Facebook (1 Entry)

BONUS ENTRIES:

Follow 3 Men and a Lady publicly via Google Friend Connect (1 Entry)

Follow 3 Men and a Lady publicly via Network Blogs (1 Entry)

Subscribe to 3 Men and a Lady via email (1 Entry)

Head over to the website of Peace, Love, and Cloth For All Congo and tell me one product you like (1 Entry)

"Like" their Facebook page: Peace, Love, and Cloth for All Congo (1 Entry)

Blog about this giveaway and link back (3 Entries)

***This review comes directly from my own personal experiences. My opinion is that of my own, and was not at all influenced by Kate from Plum Crazy For Cloth's sponsorship for this giveaway. I was not paid or compensated in any form for this review, outside of Kate from Plum Crazy For Cloth agreeing to supply the giveaway winner with a prize. The shirt and diaper were purchased by me at a discounted tester price.***

Weaning: You Don't Always Have to Play By the Book

I despise the word, wean. Especially when my little P-man doesn't adjust well to change. His personality is completely different compared to his brothers. W had no issues weaning from a formula to milk, bottle to sippy cup, or even taking away his paci. Patrick on the other hand, hates change. I've been working with him trying to get him to take a sippy cup since he was 6 months old (don't bother asking me how bedtime bottle weaning is going). I have tried four or five different sippy's and nothing is working. He will place the cup in his mouth, take a drink, stick out his tongue with disgust, and then toss it like a quarterback would to his wide receiver. I know the more I offer, eventually he will give in, but not without him putting up a fight. I have put water, juice (diluted with h2O of course), and milk...he just isn't having it. I just keep telling myself he won't be taking his bottle with him in his lunch box to kindergarten, oh and that P-man is definitely not W. Even though I'm parenting them both the same, introducing things the same way, etc they each have their own personalities. With that said, I need to let my perfectionisms go, and realize it's not the end of the world if I don't get things done on a certain timeline...more like I'm "weaning" myself from trying to be that "perfect mom". Even though I've always been a trial and error type parent, I'm ready to throw away those books that tell me you HAVE to do this and HAVE to do that. Even though it may work well with one child, it doesn't necessarily mean it work well with the other.

One adjustment P-man made quite easily was his transition to whole milk. He LOVES it. I'm not sure if many of you know, but P-man stopped breastfeeding when he turned nine months old due to a low supply. I first started noticing my low supply after my first postpartum period when he was 8 months old, it took a lot of pumping and nursing around the clock to get it back up, but it was my second postpartum cycle I wasn't able to recover from. I was sad about it, but knew 9 months of breastmilk was a great accomplishment. Anyway, back to the whole milk transition or "wean" from formula... I started adding 1 oz of whole milk to his bottle when he turned 11 months old each week, so for week one I added 6 oz of formula to 1 oz whole milk, week two was 2 oz of whole milk to 5 oz of formula, week three was 3 oz of whole milk to 4 oz of formula, and week for was 4 oz of whole milk to 3 oz of formula. Finally, a few days after he turned one, I gave him 5 oz of whole milk to 1 oz of formula, and he handled the transition perfectly. He didn't have any reactions to the switch like constipation or diarrhea, or any excessive spit ups or gas. He's been drinking close to four 6-8 oz bottle of whole milk a day now, and just squeals in delight when he sees me pouring the milk. I'm very thankful this transition/wean went so smoothly.

Wean is definitely a word most of us as parents dread, because we are unaware of how the child will react. Sometimes it can be a good thing and sometimes it can be a bad thing. I also know weaning doesn't always involve the child, but the parent as well. Letting go or "weaning" from trying to live under perfection is a process, just like that of a child letting go or "weaning" from a bottle. I do have a better understanding of patience, which does come with having a second child.

Instead of putting all my trust into those parenting books, I need to put that trust into my heart, because I'm the only one who truly knows my child, not the text in a book.

“Follow your heart, but be quiet for a while first. Ask questions, then feel the answer. Learn to trust your heart.”
–Unknown

P-man's Birth Story

Birth Story

We arrived at the hospital at 5:30 a.m., and they began prepping me for surgery. It took them three pokes to get my I.V. started...OUCH! I started getting a little apprehensive about surgery since my first experience with W was awful (you can read W's birth story here: W's Birth Story). However, I started feeling a lot better after discussing all my worries with the anesthesiologist. After drinking that awful drink, etc it was time to walk back to the O.R. We started walking back, and was able to give W a hug and kiss before he became a big brother...I was a crying fool during this time. Got back to the O.R. and they started my spinal. It took them about 10-15 minutes to get it in. I had no issues with this whatsoever, and actually could breath. They gave me a little lesser dosage than the average, just because I'm pretty short, which helped the spinal stay where it needed to. I did get claustrophobic as my lower half was going numb, and got a little anxious. With the music blaring and all the staff (including my OB) singing along, I started feeling a lot better. I did feel a lot of tugging, etc, but overall felt really good. I didn't have much scar tissue from my first section, so it only took 15 min. into delivery to deliver P-man. They got him out, I heard clear fluid, and his blaring cry was the best sound in the entire world. After they got him out of my uterus, my doctor immediately gave him to me to kiss him a few times before tossing him over to the nursery staff. He was beautiful, and I was bawling a ton during this time. After doing his APGAR's, which were 8 and 9, the handed him over to my hubby, and he just kept P-man's head right by mine the entire time. The only time in the O.R. P-man wasn't by my side was during his initial assessments after he was delivered and when they weighed him. They finally got me all put back together and I was wheeled to the recovery room. My experience during my csection was awesome. I never had any issues with having any difficulty breathing, and never once got nauseated. While in recovery, P-man got to stay with me the entire time, and they brought a nursery nurse and warmer to my bedside. They did his first bath, vitamin K shot (not fun for mommy), eye gel, etc all in front of me while I was recovering. I even got to nurse him ASAP (with the help of Jesse...he had to hold him for me), and he latched for a good 30 minutes. I couldn't really hold him due to my shakes (which were resolved with a little help from demoral). I was in recovery for about two hours, and I was finally able to go to my room. I was there for three full days and two nights. My pain was managed by Motrin only, and I wasn't in severe pain. I'm very thankful for a great experience. Even though it wasn't a VBAC like I hoped and dreamed, it was still a very beautiful and moving experience for both my hubby and I.

Birth Video *graphic*

Up, Up, and Away! We Celebrated P-man's Birthday!

Yesterday we celebrated P-man's first birthday with an airplane theme. Everything came together nicely, but not without the help from my wonderful family and friends. P-man slept through the entire gift opening and is not a fan of cake!

Here are a few pictures from yesterday!

Gift Bags:


Center pieces (they consisted of a wooden plane and dowel spray painted red and a solid piece of wood with cotton balls scattered on the bottom):






Food table:





Cake:


Gift table:



Table with airplane books:


Pictures of the birthday boy:






If you would like to know where I got my inspiration for P-man's birthday party, please check out this blog post: First Birthday Planning.

**Stay tuned for a review regarding P-man's birthday shirt and cloth diaper, it was custom designed by my dear friend and WAHM, check out her business while you're waiting: Plum Crazy for Cloth.**

Wordless Wednesday

My soon-to-be 1-year-old:

T-Minus 72 Hours...

I just wanted to give you all the heads up that I'm still here, just really busy with my family, and in party mode! I have done a ton of crafts today to prepare for P-man's big day!!!!! I can't wait to show you all when all is said and done. I may add some teaser pics before the big day, but I'm not sure yet. In case some of you don't know, we're doing an Airplane theme birthday party. You can find a post on the upcoming bash here: Airplane Birthday Party.

I hope all is well with you all!!!! Happy Hump Day!

~*FYI*~

I wanted to let you all know things will be slow around here starting tomorrow. I'm preparing for all of our family to come into town to celebrate P-man's first birthday, which is Saturday, March 19th. I'm actually not planning on being on the computer at all, as I want to take full advantage of spending time with my everyone. Oh wait, there is some party planning in there too. My head is spinning in each and every direction. Wish me luck!!!! The next time I blog, I will have a one year old.

Flashback Friday

This is me exactly one year ago this weekend:

38 Weeks Pregnant with P-man

Baby Signing Time

**This picture was taken off of the Signing Time Website**

I truly believe baby sign language is a great way to get passed the communication barrier with your baby and toddler. We used baby sign language with W, and it was our saving grace. W picked up on it very early (around 8 months) with his first sign being "all done". A few months after that, he was signing "more", "please", "thank you", "milk", "ball", "drink", "eat", etc. It was nice being able to communicate with him, because he didn't get as frustrated when it came to getting him what he wanted.

P-man received "Baby Signing Time" for Christmas from Jess and I, and we watch it almost every day. We just love all the songs and how they put all the signs together, for example: signs for eat, drink, please, more, juice, cereal, etc are all in the same section and song, the same goes with animals. It makes it easy for the both of us to learn and remember each sign. Plus, Rachel does a great job keeping the attention of not only P-man, but his older brother as well.

I have nothing bad to say about this video, and can't wait to order the rest of the volume's (we only have the 1st volume). Feel free to check out their website: Signing Time. They have more than just videos, so definitely check them out. You definitely have nothing to lose, and a lot to gain. It's such a relief being able to overcome the communication barrier with P-man.

Oh, I also wanted to point out that using sign language with your baby/toddler will not DELAY their speech. In fact, I believe it helped W talk at an earlier age. At 15 months, he was already using more than 20 words and some two word sentences.

Here is P-man signing, "all done".

**This review comes directly from my own personal experiences and my opinion is that of my own. I was not paid or compensated in any form for this review. This video was purchased by me.**

Up, Up, and Away!

Today is March 1st, P-man's birthday month. I can't believe he will be one here in 18 days. This past year has not only gone by fast, but has definitely taught me a lot as a parent. My patients has been tested far too many times, especially learning to be a mommy of two. P-man's first 6 months of life was challenging, especially when we couldn't figure out the right medicine to control his nasty reflux. This was very rough on the both of us, because nothing would comfort him and I felt helpless(not even diet change for 4+ weeks helped). Finally, after being switched to a third different type of reflux med(Prevacid), P-man's discomfort was eased.

With the challenges came many days of joy and happiness. I've definitely enjoyed watching P-man grow over this past year. He has helped me to become an even better mother and I feel complete having him in my life. Children are definitely a gift from God, and I thank Him everyday for for blessing me with two very healthy little boys.

With all this said, I've been busy planning P-man's first birthday. We're doing an airplane theme. I was very surprised by all the ideas and feedback that popped up not only from the search engine, but from many of my friends. One blog I have been taking many of my ideas from is the Tip Junky. I won't be going over-the-top like the parties mentioned on her site, but I'm taking many of the ideas and making them my own. Here is just a short list of what I have come up with thus far:

Cake:

- Airplane shape made out of cupcakes (it's nice just having to tear them apart vs having to cut pieces)

Food ideas:

· Chicken Salad Sandwiches cut into the shape of airplanes (or purchase a 6' sub from Walmart)

· Cut up Fruit and place into an airplane shaped watermelon

· Chips

· Dip (Buffalo Chicken dip)

· Veggie tray

· Water

· Punch (Blue punch, with ice cream scopes to look like floating clouds), I'm hoping to find those plastic ice cubes shaped of course like an airplane.

· Tea

Décor:

· Airplane Banner (already made by a good friend of mine)

· Table Cloths - Blue

· Signs (baggage claim for treat bags, Food court for the food area, check-in, terminal, etc)

· 3 balloons to each table tied down by a model airplane

· World Map (pins to place in map) and pilot wings (use check-in sign)

- Treat Bags (brown paper bags, ribbons, luggage tags):

· Candy airplane and airplane suckers (crossing my fingers these turn out)

· Stickers

· Inflatable Globe, Fun facts, model airplane kit?!

-The invitations and luggage tags will be created by my beautiful and very talented graphic designer, my sister!

- I'm also planning on having two different activity tables for the kiddos, one table will have a bunch of Airplane books for the kids to read, and the other table with have different coloring sheets of airplanes with crayons.

This is what I have thus far, and have a good idea in my head as to what I'd like his party to look like. I'm so excited to get started and of course, show you all the finished look of the party. Feel free to leave me any suggestions/ideas in the comment box, because I'm always up to hearing varieties of input.

I have exactly 18 days to start preparing, which seems a little rushed for me. With W, I had his party planned 3 months in advanced and things were already purchased and ready to go by this time with him. I really need to get my behind in gear and start! Wish me luck!

Valentine's Day 2011 Cont.`

Wow, what a day it's been. I'm exhausted! We started off our morning with Valentine's Day pancakes. W and P-man just inhaled them. Of course, trying to make heart shaped pancakes came with a lot of trial and error. However, in the end they all looked like hearts, which is what I was aiming for in an end result.

After we ate breakfast, W and I worked on his Valentines he will be handing out to his friends at a playdate on Wednesday afternoon. I wanted to do something more homemade this year. My inspiration for these cards came from this blog: Craft-O-Maniac. One side of the cardstock has the boys picture(and candy), and the other is a homemade template I made in publisher.


Lunch was another Valentine's inspired meal with heart shaped grilled cheese and tomato soap(was not heart shaped... lol). Jess came home and ate a good lunch, and both boys enjoyed eating their grilled cheeses. The soup wasn't a huge hit with W this time, he normally really enjoys his "mater soap", as he likes to call it. I had a nice mess to clean up, especially since half of the mess was still from breakfast. Thank goodness the hubby volunteered to help clean up for me.

I still had some last minute errands to run, and wanted to grab ingredients to rice krispie treats. I didn't have any marshmallows and needed more margarine. Now, I will admit, this is only the second time in the past year that I have ran to the store with both boys, pathetic, right? The trip to the store wasn't so bad, and the boys had fun riding in the cart. We came home to start making dessert, which of course was heart shaped rice krispies. Anyone who knows me, I'm not a good baker, and am quite intimidated by the process. Anywho, I ended up burning the dang butter, the dial was turned a little past warm, and I had a fussing baby at my hip which help any. Before they cooled all the way, W helped me use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out the rice krispies. They smelled so good, of course after the smell of burnt butter left the room.
After making another huge mess, I decided it was time to do a fun Valentine's Day craft with W. A new follower let me know about a blog she does, which is directed at early childhood education, Touch of Home Learning. I went over there, and found some neat heart shaped craft ideas. I showed W, and he told me he wanted to make a heart shaped octopus. He had a blast gluing on all the heart shaped parts of the octopus, and mommy enjoyed using fun scissors to cut out the hearts. In the end, the craft turned out really cute, and of course W had fun.


I had a fun dinner planned for the four of us. I made homemade heart shaped pepperoni pizza with mozzarella and cheddar cheese and breadsticks. I also decorated our kitchen table with fun Valentine's Day decor. I also placed the boys and the hubby's gifts right behind dessert. The hubster surprised me with beautiful white daisy's that I used as our centerpiece. Dinner was super yummy and everyone enjoyed the pizza, P-man even polished off an entire piece. At the end of dinner we at our rice krispy treat and exchanged gifts. The boys got a card, Valentine's Day book, and William got chocolate(you can't have a Vday without chocolate). I gave Jess a one hour massage, because I know he's been under a ton of stress from work and of course from the upcoming deployment.




All in all, it was a great day, exhausting one, but great. I love the men in my life so much, and I really enjoyed spoiling each and every one of them. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!