Haiti

I haven't blogged about my feelings on the earthquake that took place in Haiti because I've been pretty torn up about it. One of the reasons I avoid the news is due to my sensitive nature. When I heard about the earthquake I immediately put up some very serious prayers and then went on with my blessed life. Then one day at the gym I was on the treadmill and all the TV stations had on a commercial except CNN. That was when I saw a whole piece about babies in orphanages sitting in dirty diapers crying with no one to come help them. My heart broke right there on that treadmill.

I came home and began to research how I could help. I looked very seriously into adoption. After a couple of days of research and prayer and phone calls I was feeling very defeated. It doesn't look like I will be able to adopt one of these poor orphans without some serious work and help. When I realized the obsticles involved I began to wonder if possibly God was sending me a message that I should be looking for other ways to help.

Once I let my OCD like mind-grip on those poor babies loosen up a little, some more solutions made their way into my life. First off a friend of mine who knows a nurse working with the red cross at the airport asked for donations. Many of the refugees from this disaster are being flown into the airport right here near my house. Once they arrive at this airport these poor people are then traveling to family who live further north. Unfortunately the refugees have very little beyond the t-shirt on their backs and since it is winter this will not help them much up north. They were also asking for donations of sippy cups and bottles for the babies and children coming here to our sunny state. So I am proud to say that I put together 2 big boxes of clothes and jackets and sippies and shoes.

These donations did make me feel a little better, but I still keep thinking of the poor people still left in the ravished country. I was happy to hear that my church Moms group, which meets tomorrow, is also collecting donations for the people still in Haiti. I went to Costco this week and with a coupon bought a case of diapers and a case of wipes to bring to the meeting as donations. I also scoured my house for all the soap and shampoo and lotion samples I could find to donate. I also found raisins and nuts in my pantry and put together a nice little trunk full to bring for donations tomorrow.



Along with these donations the church suggested that we get our children involved and teach them about loving one another through this service. Curtis drew a nice picture for an orphan and we attached a few sheets of Spiderman stickers which he thought that a child might enjoy. I am so proud of my son for putting effort into this picture and sticker donation and I used this as an opportunity to teach him how God wants us to show love for one another, especially in times like these. We talked about how as a family we care for each other when one of us is sick and how it is also important to do this for all of God's people. I still don't know how much of this he really understands, but my hope is that I am laying the groundwork for him to have a future of kindness and caring.



And now that I have spent more than a week crying and stressing and researching, I have come to the conclusion that these donations and my heartfelt prayers are all I can offer the people of Haiti right now. I will continue to pray and give at every opportunity I get and I hope you will all do the same.

January in Florida

You just never know what the weather will be like.

I remember this day in the beginning of the month, during the now famous Florida freeze of 2010, when my sons begged me to paint. I don't let them paint indoors, so this meant going into the freezing cold outside world, just to paint. I begged them to consider crayoning inside, but they were both stuck on painting on this day. How ridiculous do they look at bundled up out there with their paint brushes in hand? Here in Florida we aren't really prepared for weather below 50 degree F and this is the best I could do for winter clothing. It's just not worth buying heavy jackets if you're only going to need them for a couple weeks, you know what I mean?



And then of course the days move on and the weather gets warmer and warmer and the sun begins to shine again and I find myself outside with these same two boys, except this time they are begging me to play with the hose.



Let's just hope the real cold doesn't come back to Florida this year, or ever really.

Great Video

I wanted to share this great video from one of my favorite authors.

Check it out!

I think Clark looks like me!

Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing though.






What do you think?

Cold Weather

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I really dislike cold weather. This is one of the major reasons why I really love living in Florida. Most of the time it is either hot or warm down here, but unfortunately we have had a bit of a cold spell lately.

Now, I grew up in the north in New Jersey, so I do know real cold, unlike most Florida natives who think it's time to break out the hats and scarfs when it goes below 70 F. The truth is, just because you know cold and have spent the first 16 years of your life in it doesn't mean you have to like it. I just plain old hate being cold. Anything below 50 F makes me miserable.

I learned a little trick for how to deal with things that I just really dislike and it is to change the focus with a list. Over the past few weeks I found myself focusing on all the reasons I hate cold weather. I'd be mumbling in the morning, "I hate getting out of bed when it's cold." or the afternoon "I hate getting in the car when it's cold." or the evening "I hate getting out of the hot shower when it's cold." Overall my attitude was pretty negative and really effecting everything around me. So I decided to try my little trick of making a list of the things I do like about cold weather and focusing on these things instead.

I'm not going to say it was easy. It took me a few days to compile this small list and honestly I still find myself grumbling to myself about being cold now and again, but it's a start, and the truth is, just a little effort in changing my attitude really did go a long way. Now whenever I find myself feeling pissy about the cold weather, I just pull out my list and try to focus on the things that I do like about the cold weather. The fact that this weather is so fleeting for us here in the Subtropics makes this list even more important, since the few things on it will be gone before we know it.

So here it is...my list, with as many photos as I could get. Please feel free to share your favorite things about the cold weather and maybe you will even help add to my list and maybe even cheer me and my cold toes up a little.

1. Hot tea (although I do drink hot tea even when it's hot out, I guess it's more enjoyable in the cold.)

2.Curt's work is always less busy during the cold months, which leaves him more time to spend with me and the boys.

3. Homemade soup is yummy when it's in the 30's but not so much in the 90's.

4. Baking in my old oven warms up the whole house which is much more desirable in this weather than when it's in the 90's.

5. Making hats and scarfs for friends and neighbors.









6. My Christmas cactus is in bloom.



7. Picking fresh oranges from the tree in my yard and juicing them for their tasty juice.




8. Drinking hot cocoa with my boys.







9. Homemade lavender infused heat pads.

Guess who is in his big boy bed?

That's right, my baby is now a big boy! I almost can't believe it. Mostly I can't believe how cute he is in this bed.



The boys now have the bunk beds in the room together but they are separated into two single beds. Eventually we will make them bunk beds again, but we have to wait until Curtis is at least 6 before it's safe for him to sleep on the top.



Clark took a little bit longer to go down for nap and bed the first night but since then he's been fine. They both sleep so well together and go down so easily it makes me so grateful that I have two sons.




I took this photo this morning at 8am. The flash didn't even wake him. It looks like he might take after his Mommy and enjoy sleeping in.

2010 Manifesto

This year I would like to focus on several things. My focus for the year will be divided among improving my feelings of self-worth, my pursuit of further education, various home improvement tasks, and an effort to remain present in life. Through my focus on these various life aspects I will strive to make 2010 a year filled with health, happiness, harmony, prosperity, and fulfillment.

This year I would like to explore and release my own feelings of negative self worth. These feelings extend from the physical to those of my role as wife and mother. I would like to be able to feel good about my physical appearance and be able to remind myself that I am one of God's creations and a beautiful person. I would also like to be able to feel proud of myself in my roles as wife and mother. This will require not only my focus on the special moments in life and my ability to avoid distraction but also learning the ability to truly forgive myself.

I also plan to spend some time in 2010 focusing on education. My number one goal of the year is to begin work on my long desired goal of learning to speak and write Spanish. In addition to this I am open to other paths of learning and further education which should become available to me. Now that my children are older and less needy and reliant on my care, I look forward to spending more time on my life long love of learning.

I have also made a list of decidedly achievable home improvement tasks which I hope to accomplish this year. In the past I have made my home improvement goals a bit lofty thus resulting in early discouragement and abandonment. This year I have purposely chosen tasks which can be completed with little help or money and will still have largely fulfilling results. I hope to complete this list by the end of the year.

One of my spiritual goals this year is to remain more present in my everyday life. In this highly connected and electronic age I find myself seeking escape through various games, social networking sites, message boards, and chat rooms. While I do still see a positive place for these outlets in my life, I desire to rely on them less for human contact or escape from everyday life. I hope to be able to be more present in the precious moments of my wonderful, blessed life.

I am looking forward to every moment of 2010 and I hope that my goals, as set here in this manifesto, will guide me towards a healthy, happy, harmonious, prosperous, and fulfilling year.

Happy Holidays!

More Holiday Fun

If you know me at all, you probably know that I am always on the look out for a bargain. This doesn't just hold true for groceries and clothes and such, it is also a fact for family fun. I try to keep abreast of the local activities going on around here in my city and the surrounding cities so we can have free or cheap fun each weekend together as a family. This was fortunate for me and the boys last weekend since my husband was out of town on business and I desperatley needed to keep these boys busy and happy. Lucky for us I had learned that our local Chik-Fil-A (right in front of my gym) was having a holiday celebration on Saturday morning.



As you can see my little boys got to meet both Santa and the Chik-Fil-A Cow and I got a free print of this photo and a photo frame. Clark hopped right up on Santa's lap but Curtis took a little coaxing and was only persuaded to stand next to Santa.



Then the boys got to make their own tree ornaments with supplies the restaurant provided. I was pretty amazed at Clark's ornament since he is much more into coloring than Curtis ever was at that age. I like the idea of having the boys make ornaments each year for our tree, but I don't always like doing crafts with my little short-attention-span offspring. So it was nice to knock this little bit of holiday tradition out in a fun and festive atmosphere instead of at home with a lonely and frustrated Mommy.



Santa gave the boys candy canes, which they both cherished, and he gave me many coupons for free kid's meals and milkshakes that I will happily use in the very near future (post workout milkshake anyone?)

I definitely recommend that anyone looking to keep a family happy on the weekends for little to no money search out local free and cheap activities. It seems like 2-3 weekends out of every month there is something fun going on around here, and on the off weekends there is always the farmer's market. I know my boys love running around and eating kettle corn while I shop for produce, and we all love supporting local farmers in the fresh outdoor air.

What have you been up to Taradactyl?

Thankful for health and Disney world

Well, unfortunately, I have to report that the delay in posting the photos from our family Disney trip has been due to some pretty serious health issues for both Curt and I. The good news is that it is looking like we have it all in control now and while this holiday won't be remembered for it's large gathering of friends and family like so many others are, I can be thankful for hours of reading in bed and good family and friends who take care of my family when I am out of commision.

Just so you can get an idea of (and I can remember) the blast we had at Animal Kingdom and the Magic Kingdom last week, here are a few highlights.



My guys all love the Teacups.




The holiday decorations at Disney were very pretty.




Mickey made sure that Clark got a good nap in the stroller.




The boys loved their edible Mickey ears. After all, who needs another hat when there is ice cream to be had.




And finally, a photo of the cutest 2 year old in the park.

We had the best time and can't thank my step-sister-in-law enough for taking us. I believe time spent together as a family is so precious and spending it in such a magical place was a really nice treat.

My Baby is 2 now!

It's just hard to believe! I can remember giving birth to Clark like it was yesterday. It is possibly the most life defining experience I have ever had. Through the pregnancy and the natural birth I processed a lot and I couldn't be prouder of myself and my son. I consider it one of my biggest achievements in life.

We are having a big joint birthday party with friends this year since big brother will be turning 5 in just a few weeks, but we did have some family over to celebrate on the actual anniversary of his birth 11/11.

I do find it ironic that I have a son born on Veteran's day and one born on Pearl Harbor day. I certainly hope this isn't a sign that they will be joining the military, but if that is what they choose I will reluctantly support them. I used to think having their birthdays so close together and so close to the holidays was a drag, but honestly this year it's been really awesome. I am very nostalgic already this time of year and adding their birthdays into the mix just makes me even more so. I am already a pretty emotional person but this is the time of year that you will more likely than not find me sobbing happily over a gasoline commercial on tv...or even worse those sappy Publix commercials that usually start around this time of year. I can't help it, I live such a charmed life and sometimes the gratitude shows itself in tears of joy. Of course the biggest joys in my life are my sons and I consider myself super lucky to get to celebrate another year in the life of Clark Daniel.




Clark and Curtis helped me decorate the cake I baked for our family celebration. Both boys have a "one on the cake, one in my mouth" technique of decorating that they probably either learned from me by example or through my genetic coding. What can I saw, who can resist chocolate chips?



We think it turned out pretty nice and it certainly did taste yummy. In fact I just had another piece right now after lunch because the thing has been calling me from the fridge for 4 days now, and if you know me, you know I have little will power over sweets!



Clark did spent some time in the beginning of the week practicing blowing out his candles. We have a book with a picture of a boy blowing candles out on a cupcake and we read it every night for several nights in a row. Clark would get to that page and lean in and blow on the picture of the candles and then clap for himself in joy. I can't even do it justice how cute it is.



So when the big event came around boy was he ready. With only two candles, he didn't have much of a task in front of him, but he took it on with all of his focus.



Big brother enjoyed singing to his little brother and sharing his cake. I honestly think he was more excited about Clark's birthday than Clark was and I did overhear him in the week leading up to the birthday telling Clark about the cake they would have and the presents he would help Clark to unwrap. Curtis is an amazing big brother and has never really had any problems with jealousy or sharing with his little brother. It is almost as if they were destine to be brothers and grow together. The two seem to really enjoy spending time together and when Curtis is at school three days a week Clark asks about him often. It just warms my heart to see my dreams coming true like this for my family (ok, sorry,there goes the sappy nostalgic Tara again.)



Clark did receive a few gifts that night from his close family members. Curtis had lots of fun showing Clark where to tear the wrapping paper and he got some really fun gifts. His favorite seems to be this dancing rapping dog that Curtis picked out for him that sings "Hey shorty, it's your birthday, we gonna party like it's your birthday" over and over. It's very cute to watch him dance around like crazy to the rapping dog but I must admit I am already tired of hearing the darned thing.

My favorite gift is of course a hand made one. Clark's Paw Paw (step Grand Dad) made him this really cool wooden truck. I just love hand made gifts and this one comes with logs to haul that are actually made from Clark's old crib, which was recalled and given to Paw Paw to create with. So not only is it hand made, it is made of recycled wood! You can't get more green than that (or PC for that matter). I know my parents have been giving each other hand made Christmas gifts for years now and I'll always remember the Christmas we moved and we had to make all of our tree decorations from things around the house. There is just something about the love and simplicity of a hand made gift.

So here I am, days after his actual birthday, planning our family trip to Disney world tomorrow. Yes, you read that right, my step Sister-in-Law works for Disney and is able to get us in on Monday to celebrate both the boys birthdays! We can't wait to kick off this next year in our children's lives at the happiest place on earth. It is really fitting since I feel like the happiest person on earth these days!

Autumn in Florida

Autumn in Florida is a lot different that it is in NC or NJ, the two other states I've spend most of my life in. It is much cooler at night, but still really warm during the day here right now. I remember wearing thermals under my halloween costumes growing up, but down here we have to find short sleeve costumes because it is still in the 80's during the day. I'm used to it now after 8 years here, but it still is a little weird at times.

We also miss out on the changing color of the leaves down here. There are a few trees that get some color, but it is nothing like it is up north. Sometimes I get nostalgic for the colorful leaves and then I see film of people digging out of snow on the news and I remember how thankful I am to live in the tropics during all seasons of the year.

Recently we took a trip about 45 mins north of our town out into the country. We met some friends of ours at a Christmas tree farm that has autumn activities for the whole family. It was lots of fun.



Here you can see my baby boy smiling in the pumpkin patch at the farm. They had some really big pumpkins there and we all marveled at their size. I think this one probably weighed almost as much as my skinny little guy!



The boys got the opportunity to have pony rides while we were there and they both jumped at the chance.



Little Clark amazed me riding this pony named "Spooky" all by himself. I walked along side expecting him to get wobbly but he was very steady and focused the whole ride. Maybe he'll be a jockey when he grows up, he certainly is small enough right now!



Of course Curtis also got a turn to ride "Spooky" but his favorite thing about the farm was playing with his friends in the hay pit. It's amazing how much fun preschoolers can have with just a big pile of hay.



And finally here is a photo of the boys on the "Spider Train". It was a really bumpy ride but both boys loved it. They wanted to keep going and going.



So while we may not have vibrant leaves or cold winds, we do still have some aspects of Autumn here in Central Florida. The acorns all over my driveway remind me of the season enough every day even if the temperatures don't. There is a saying that says you should grow where you are planted and I feel pretty lucky to have planted my family in such a wonderful area.

Halloween 2009

I think my whole family agrees that this may have been the best halloween ever. We spent most of the morning carving pumpkins and decorating the house for our halloween party.



Here you can see my two boys helping my big boy carve our pumpkins. Little Clark is so funny because he doesn't like getting messy with the pumpkin guts. You can just see the "EWWW" look on his face.



And here is a shot of my perfect little halloween kitty. She hung out with us while we were carving pumpkins and drank the milk from the bottom of my cereal bowl. This is such a nostalgic time of the year for me so I can't help but marvel that I've now had Fani with me for about 14 years. We've been through a lot the two of us and are now living a very charmed life. She might be the only all black cat that brings good luck, not bad.






And here are a few cute shots of my boys out trick or treating after our awesome party . We had some of our favorite friends over for a cookout in the afternoon and some of them even stayed to trick or treat with us. It was a lot of fun having a big group to go out with and the kids did get pretty excited about going door to door and getting candy.





And here was the scene back at the house after trick or treating. Some of the bigger kids sat down to trade candy while the little kids marveled at the loot they got. It brings back memories of me and my neighborhood friends checking out our candy after hitting the old Yale Rd neighborhood back in the day. Some traditions never lose their magic!




All in all I'd say there's not much that could top this past week when it comes to halloween festivities. We went to a party with one group of friends, hosted a party with another, hit a cool pumpkin patch with a friend who lives just north of us (photos to come), and had a most awesome party here at our house with great food and fun. I think the only thing that could have made it better would have been the Phillies winning, but I'm confident we'll come back and take the Series, so no big deal!

Now I'm spending the day cleaning up and organizing so I can tackle our next celebration which will be my baby boy turning 2 on the 11th. My how time flies!

Pumpkin Patch 2009

We ended up taking a spontaneous trip to the pumpkin patch recently. It was an afternoon of crankies one day last week so I decided to see if the boys wanted to try on their halloween costumes. After they had the costumes on the crankies were still hanging around so, remembering a sign I saw earlier in the week for a pumpkin patch, I threw the boys in the car and took off hoping it would be fun and lift their spirits. Lucky for us this small yet friendly and cute patch had a rule that every kid in costume got to pick their own mini pumpkin to take home. This was especially nice since I didn't realize I had no cash in my wallet until I got there.

Here is my beautiful boy showing me the pumpkin he liked best.



Here the boys are w/o masks on. As you can see we have a Spiderman and a Venom Spiderman this year. It took a while to decide on costumes for Curtis as usual. He loves halloween so much and has a lot of trouble deciding what to be each year. We had planned to have them both dress as ghosts until a trip to Target got Curtis craving a store bought costume. I much prefer homemade costumes, but I also prefer happy children so I decided to pick my battles on this one. I really wanted the boys to dress as a team and I was able to convince Curtis to buy the Venom costume and Clark was happy to dress in Curtis' old Spiderman costume (garage sale $5 find :o). The Spidey costume is way too big on Clark still, but we rolled the sleeves and pants and I figure it looks good enough.



Here they are sitting in the hay with full costumes. We don't have a mask for Clark's costume so I think I might use some face paint on halloween. In fact I might try to convince Curtis to do the same since I hate having his beautiful face covered like this.



Here's Clark being the cutest darn Spiderman around.



And Curtis, posing for Mommy next to a big round pumpkin.



We're all really looking forward to our halloween party and trick or treating this weekend. I hope everyone out there has fun and stays safe.