Easter weekend 2011

Wow! What a busy weekend this has been, i think i can probably say busiest Easter weekend EVER!! We had sooo much to do this weekend celebrating Mateo's 4th birthday, getting ready for his very mini party, getting ready for Easter the next day which included church, back home to make food, then to my mom's for Easter dinner with my family. And on top of all that trying to finish putting the boys room together.  Phew.....at this point I am completely exhausted!!! But all in all, we had a great weekend! Lets see first we finished the boys room (minus installing the floors, but that has to wait until our fireplace is done) We still have some decals to put on the wall, but for the most part it is done. I am soooo happy with the way it turned out, and the boys absolutely LOVE it!

Like I said we are not completely done yet, we have a couple of things to do still, but you get the idea!

The next thing on our Agenda was Mateo's 4th birthday party. It wasn't a big party with all of our family, it was just my parents and sisters and my husbands family. His actual birthday party will be in the summer, as always, when we have more room for everyone! Mateo's theme was dinosaurs (of course!) so are usual cake lady made him an awesome dinosaur cake

Needless to say, Mateo absolutely LOVED it, and the cake was awesome! It is a Stegosauras strawberry cake with whipped cream frosting, we even made dinosaur cupcakes and put dinosaur figures on them. It was really cute!

Mateo got a new bike for his birthday and tons of dinosaur stuff, so he is in dinosaur paradise!

And to go along with Mateo's dinosaur obsession, we managed to find dinosaur Easter egg decorations. They were basically Easter eggs with dinosaur add ons, but i think they turned out pretty cool!!

John-John thought it was more fun to color himself!

And unfortunately we were not able to take pictures with the Easter bunny  :(

                      But i did  manage to get 1 decent shot of them together!
                                                       I love them!!
                 
         Well i hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! Hope the Easter bunny bought you something good!
Melissa

                                               

Still my baby...

I am sure at some point and time every mom goes through this, when you realize that tiny little baby is no longer a baby, he is now a 2 1/2 year old toddler, and it just puts a little tear in my eye when i realize how fast time is flying by. And although I love seeing him grow up, and love watch his loving, crazy personality grow into his own little person. A part of me wishes i could just bottle him up, and keep him this little forever...

You always hear everyone say"enjoy them while you can, they dont stay little forever" i just didnt think that time would come so soon. I mean i know he's not going off to college, or getting his own place anytime soon. But i also know, these two and a half years have flown by soooo fast, it just scares me to think how fast next 10-15 years will come and go. So i will just hold on tight, and enjoy all these little moments that i love so much <3. Because no matter how many years go by, no matter how old he gets, or even when he gets to that point where he grows taller than me. When i look at him, when i look at all my kids....all my heart will see...are my babies.
Melissa

A good book and a cup of tea...

I remember a time, seems like forever ago now, but once not to long ago I had a true love for reading books. I would grab a book, a big comfy blanket, a warm cup of tea, and completely lose myself in a book. Sometimes reading from cover to cover in one siting because I just could not tear myself away from it. Those were the days...
Now and days, however, that is not the case. I usually find my only reading material to be my daughter's homework, instructions for toys, Sunday newspaper fliers (hmm..don't think that counts)or some other sort of useless reading material. On top of that I usually have to FIND time to eat everyday, because my 2 boys keep me so busy. So Finding time to actually sit and read a book seemed virtually impossible!! And honestly, up until a couple weeks ago, I had not sat and read a book in AGES!
Well my friend Magda told me that I had to read this book called "Something borrowed" a story of 2 friends, and a crazy love triangle. So, I borrowed the book and decided I was going to make time for myself to read this book. So I did, while making breakfast, while picking up my daughter from school, and at night while everyone was sleeping, with a warm cup of tea. I had once again found my passion for books that had been lost so long ago. And in about 2 days, I had finished that book! I forgot how good it felt to actually sit and read a book, and finish it without it feeling like a chore. By the way, I loved the book!! Definitely a girly book about friendship and love, nothing heavy (i hate heavy books) just kind of light and very interesting!! So needless to say i was hooked, and lucky for me there was a 2nd book to this series called "something blue" So again here i was..reading while the kids were eating, while they were in the tub, while i was "cleaning" ;) And in about 1 1/2 days I finished that book too. Once i had finished those books, i wondered how i could have ever stopped reading, especially when i enjoyed it so much. But, I guess you kinda of lose that passion in between late night feedings, sleep deprived days, and round the clock care of  sick kids....i guess. Well not anymore! Reading has proven to be a great stress reliever, it calms me down and puts me in my own world where even my screaming kids cannot bother me. And trust me when i say, stress relievers are needed on a hourly basis in this house!
 So now here i am....book less...searching for another book to wrap myself up in. I have a couple of potentials, but i want a book that will satisfy my craving and leave me anticipating the next one! Sooo...if you have any suggestions i would LOVE to hear them! In the meantime....my tea is getting cold waiting for the next good book
Melissa

My #1 project....the boys room

So, for the time being my current project is my boys room. We are turning into from princess room to dinosaur room! Drastic change right?! So it has been a slow process, but things are finally starting to move along, and i am soooo excited to see the end result! So far we have accomplished getting the carpet out, and I just finished painting the wall. The picture is a little deceiving, but it's kinda of a bright moss color, which is going to go great with the dinosaur comforter set i chosen for them. You wouldn't believe how much a little paint can transform a room, and so far I am very pleased with the way it's coming along.
I think part of the reason it has taken so long to get this project going, is because i was having the hardest time trying to find the right comforter set for the boys.  I wanted dinosaurs, but I didn't want dark greens and browns, they are toddlers so dark colors were definitely a NO! But, after a successful shopping trip with my friend, Magda, I found the PERFECT set!It is dinosaur prints with bright greens, bright oranges, yellows, and blues. Which is think is perfect for their age.  So now we just have to start to put the room together. which entails Wood floors going in, bunk bed put up, vertical blinds up, and bed set on! Can't wait til it's finished...I'll keep you posted on the updates!

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Me and my husband!

Well, i figured i would start off talking about me and my husband. This crazy, funny, loving, stubborn, man that i love soooo very much!
This picture was taken this year on Feb 26, at Hotel 71 in downtown Chicago as we were celebrating our 11 year anniversary. 11 years seems like such a long time when you put it in words, but it doesn't actually feel like it's been that long at all. Except when he makes me mad, or doesn't give me my way....then it feels like eternity  ;)
My husband Rick and i  met in high school. It was my freshman year, and coming from a small catholic school to a big "public" school was a very big change for me. The first time I met Rick was in Spanish class, he came up and introduced himself,  i smiled (politely) and rolled my eyes as he walked away, totally not interested. Now, don't get me wrong, Rick was cute and definitely my "type" but I was a very quiet person and Rick being very loud and outgoing just didn't raise much interest for me. So everyday i went to class there was Rick, waiting at my desk, passing me notes, throwing paper at me and trying very hard to get my attention. Eventually that guy that i thought was annoying became the guy that i found myself spending more and more time with. So after a couple of months Rick asked me to "go out" with him, and suddenly i found   myself  falling in love.
Well, of course we had the rocky on again, off again high school romance. I loved him, i couldn't stand him, typical teen love. But we both knew that we had something special, something worth fighting for. I remember the first Christmas that Rick came to my house for Christmas dinner. This would be the first time he was meeting my family, my grandparents in particular. My grandpa was asking about his family and where he came from, the usual getting to know you questions. Well it turns out that my grandparents were Rick's grandparents maid of honor and best man! Talk about a small world, huh?!
Well after several years of dating, Rick and I came to a point in our relationship where things just weren't working for us anymore. I was a freshman in college, Rick was working full time and our lives seemed to clash rather than mesh together. And one summer evening, after a long argument, we ended our relationship, with our last words being "don't ever call me again!"
So for a whole year we didn't talk, not even once. It was pretty hard at first, but i kept myself busy with work, school and my friends. Then one day completely out of the blue, i got a page ( you know this was a long time ago, if i was carrying a pager at the time!) Anyway, i got a page that said "i miss you" and then another that said " I love you" of course i had no idea who this was since i wasn't really dating anyone serious at the time. Then a 3rd page, this time with a phone number. So i call the number, of course, and it was Rick. I remember hearing his voice and even after a whole year apart every emotion and feeling that i had for him instantly came flooding back.  We decided to start dating again, but per my request, slowly this time. I didn't want to get my heart broken again. So we began dating and soon found ourselves inseparable! And in December of 1998, in front of my whole family, Rick asked me to marry him. And without any hesitation, i said yes!
We were married on Feb 26, 2000. We got a cute little apartment, and did the normal newly-wed thing. Work, eat take out, stay in bed all day on the weekends, those were definitely good times.
After being married for a couple of years, we both decided we wanted to start our family. So on Aug 2, 2003 we welcomed our little baby girl, Marissa Alyna to the world. Marissa was our princess, or as i call her "mychica" and we spoiled her like crazy! After a couple years we decided to add to our family again, this time welcoming our first son on April 27, 20007, Ricardo Mateo, whom we call Mateo. Soon after came our little John-john, whom we named John Aiden on July 17, 2008. So, for now, our family is complete.
I can definitely say there isn't any other person in the world i would rather have shared this wonderful journey with. Rick is my best friend, someone who has seen me through the best and worst of times. We have laughed and cried together, and have tons of memories that i will never forget!
And even now after 11 years of marriage, he still makes me smile when he walks in the room. We still hold hands as we walk in the mall, or stores. We still find time to sneak a few kisses when we are out, and we still say "i love you" whenever we leave each other. And i love that we constantly show each other, usually without even realizing it, how much we still love each other!
I love you babe!
Melissa

A Little about me...

My crazy life is probably the best way to describe what i have going on here. Always busy, always running here or there, some one's usually crying or whining. Which is usually accompanied by a mess, or soon to be mess, that more than likely involves something sticky. Yup, that's a regular day here...And right when i think i cant take anymore, and just as i am about to lose my mind, amongst all the chaos....i stop for a quick second and think there isn't anywhere else I'd rather be....well...for the most part.

So now my story....my name is Melissa, i am a 31 yr old wife and mother of three very active children, Marissa 7 yrs old, Mateo soon to be 4, and John-John a 2yr old in the midst of terrible 2's (not fun). I have been married for 11 yrs to my wonderful husband, Rick, with whom i have been with since my freshman year in high school.
 I come from a very big family, i have 5 sisters, yup 5! And to answer the question everyone asks, "no brothers?!" It's a big nope! even all our dogs were girls! I am very close to my family and they mean the world to me, so when one of "us" is missing in action, you can definitely tell!
 This year is going to be a very busy year for our family. First, Two of my sisters are getting married this year, which means 2 wedding showers, 2 bachlorette parties, and of course 2 weddings. Lets see what else....our house is under construction, we have some important Dr's appointments coming up, vacations, birthday parties, and somewhere in there our normal everyday life. So i hope you enjoy all the stories, memories, and new adventures that are sure to come, im sure there will be plenty. Well im off to bed, so i'll leave you with one of my favorite memories from my daughter..
Marissa was about 3 yrs old, and had just won her 1st goldfish from the local carnival. Which was also about to become her 1st encounter with death. So we bring the fish home, and take all the approriate steps. Clean water, fresh food, new fish bowl, EVERYTHING! Only to wake up the next morning to a very dead goldfish. My first thought is run to the pet store and replace the fish, but before i can fill my husband in on my plan i hear a blood curdling scream. My husband, has informed our 3 year old daughter that her goldfish is dead, and the next step is to flush the fish down the toliet bowl. Any other time this would be appropriate, but for my 3 yr old's first encounter with death i suggest a "proper burial" My husband, however, declines and ensures me the toliet bowl will do just fine.
 Sooo after a small prayer we place the fish in the toliet and my husband quickly flushes the toliet. Which is quickly followed by the loud, heart broken cries of our daughter. I console her and asure her that "goldie" (that was the fishes name) is now happily swimming in heaven with GOD. Marissa smilies, and quickly moves on.
 Later that day, Marissa has to use the bathroom so i sit on the tub to wait for her. As she sits on the toliet, she dangles her feet swinging them back and forth. Suddenly, she loses her grip from the toliet and her little behind dips into the water. She quickly JUMPS off the toliet bowl, and clutches her chest as she tries to calm herself. Then she turns to me and says "phew...that was close mom! I almost died and went to GOD!" moral of this story.........First experience with death should not involve a toliet bowl. :) Good night and Sleep tight! Melissa