He is....

Who is Mondo? He is....

My best friend. I guess when you see a person almost daily for 16 years they have to know almost everything about you. He is the first person I go to when I have exciting or heartbreaking news. We talk on the phone several times a day when we are apart. He knows what I'm thinking without me having to say anything. He calls me when I'm reaching for the phone to call him. For those of you Days of Our Lives watchers, we are Bo and Hope.


An amazing father. I take for granted that he is so involved with our children. He went to every well check up for Ethan until he turned 6 and has been to all of Caleb's. We scheduled Caleb's swim class at night because Mondo doesn't want to miss it even though it would be easier for me to take him alone during the day. He takes the boys shopping and on fun "daddy days" when I sleep all day on Saturdays. He comes in from work, changes clothes, and goes straight to the backyard to play baseball with the kids or jumps right in with whatever they are doing. He lets them sleep with him every weekend when I'm at work and he keeps them super quiet while I sleep during the day.


A hard worker. He has excelled at every job he's had. When he was "Mr. Mondo" at our church daycare, the kids loved him. When he was the friendly service guy at Mobile he would get tips shoved in his face even though he wasn't supposed to accept them. I told him the other day that he becomes the main boss's best buddy almost instantly at whatever job he is at. He is working so hard at his new job and I don't think he thinks I notice. I do. It's not an 8-5 job like I thought it would be and he puts in 110% effort to be the best at it he can be.


My soul mate. I probably wouldn't believe in soul mates...if I didn't have one. I truely believe that God made us for each other. I couldn't imagine my life without him. Really...the thought of it makes me have a mini panic attack. I don't think I could be functional without my other half. We joke that neither one of us wears the pants in the family. We both wear one leg. It's so true. Sometimes I feel like I am too dependent on him. Like I can't make a decision without discussing it with him first. But is that such a bad thing? I don't think so.

I am blessed to have such a wonderful husband who loves me unconditionally. I've truely enjoyed the last 9 years of marriage and 7 years of dating before that. Hopefully the next chapters of our life will bring us just as much happiness. I love you Mondie! (And thanks for the yummy steak dinner!)

Ethan's Birthday Party

Ahh. Chuck E Cheese. My least favorite place on Earth. And that's where Ethan decided to have his birthday party this year. The irony of that day was that we always have to have his birthday at an indoor place instead of the backyard since the weather is usually bad. One year we had to cancel his party due to ice. So what happens this year? It's the most beautiful day! Sunny, warm. Since his party was on a beautiful Sunday afternoon I thought for sure the place wouldn't be crowded. Man, was I wrong! It was packed! I think there was a party at every table. So that added to the chaos that is Chuck E Cheese. It was a stressful time for me trying to keep up with the kids and our stuff but Ethan and his friends had a great time so I guess that's all that matters. I'm looking to do something on a smaller scale next year!!

He posed himself.

Another pose. Not sure what this was about.

An attempt at a family photo. Guess who's not looking and trying to pick his nose?

Pizza!

Pizza is one of the few things on his list that he will eat.

Caleb loves pizza too!

The cake. I thought it was a little ho-hum. This was the only Star Wars cake I could find. Maybe next year I can make his birthday cake.

He enjoyed getting to put the candles on the cake.

The birthday king!

Make a wish!

This is the best picture I could get. Caleb was COVERED in red icing. Face and hands. I actually missed Ethan opening his presents because I was in the bathroom trying to clean Caleb up.

Getting ready for the ticket blaster. I totally didn't think he would get in this thing. He thought it was cool like a spaceship!

There is a video at the bottom of this thing blowing. I'm suprised he could catch them.

Checking out his presents.

Caleb enjoyed playing games.

Ethan and Liam.

Ride 'em cowboy!

I just like the look of love on my dad's face in this picture.

Whew! The party is over!

Ethan's Birthday Dinner

For those of you who know me well, you can imagine my excitement when Ethan announced that we would be going to Olive Garden for his birthday dinner. Yummo! He may be a picky eater but he has good taste. ;-) Mondo was not so excited since he's not a big pasta eater. Works out though because he eats all my veggies. I know, what a bad example I am to my children! In this pic above, Ethan is sporting his new Star Wars t-shirt. How big is he getting?!

Showing off his cookie cake that I made for him. It's my new tradition.

The up close version.

Chowing on a breadstick. I think he might have had 3...with alfredo dipping sauce. We taught him well.

Caleb was getting crazy with the "frutons" and shredded cheese. Every time the waiter walked by with the cheese shredder he'd say "I need more cheese!" It was a mess.

Ethan and I split the Garlic Herb Chicken Con Broccoli...mmm...heaven on a plate. Of course, Mondo ate our broccoli...and Ethan's chicken. Wouldn't want to ruin good pasta.

Caleb did eat a few bites of "white sketty" (alfredo). I might have sampled some of his too. We're not gonna talk about my calorie intake that night!

Ethan really wanted everyone to sing happy birthday to him. And all he wanted for dessert was ice cream. The made him a little sundae and two of the waiters sang to him. I'm not so sure they do that on a regular basis anymore.

After dinner we came home and had more food! We invited my parents and Mondo's mom over to sing happy birthday (again) and have some cookie cake.

I never get the action shot of the candle blowing. He didn't even eat any of the cookie. Caleb had a great time telling me which letters to cut out so he could eat them and then he'd change his mind and put them back in the cookie like puzzle pieces. He's a funny kid.

My Big 6 Year Old!

How am I old enough to have a 6 year old?! Little Ethan Kyle turned 6 this week. I still remember how excited/scared to death I was when I saw two lines on that pregnancy test. And now here we are so many years later with a big boy full of energy and laughs. 5 was such a great year. I truely enjoyed it. He is the easiest kid ever. He loves to go out to eat, go to movies, and play with his friends. I love seeing the joy in his eyes when he is doing something fun.

He started kindergarten this year. It was a really rough first week full of tears and hugs. Now he loves school and gets bored when he is home. He has a good group of friends and gets in trouble for talking too much. He got the social butterfly gene from his daddy.

Here's his school picture. The color is distorted since I took a picture of a picture. Although, he was pretty tan since this was right after living outside all summer.

This is one of his drawings from school. It is him walking Gracie in the park. It says, "I love you Gracie. Do you want to go to the park?" He suddenly is obsessed with Gracie. He even has to hug her before he leaves. I need to get a picture of the two of them.

One of his first spelling tests. I can't believe he's already taking tests. It's like real school. :-)

This was from around Thanksgiving. It's amazing how quickly his writing has improved. It says, "I am thankful for the ocean." (Right now they are supposed to spell things the way they sound.)

I made this poster when Ethan was the "Star of the Week" at school. Each week features a different kid. It is now hanging on his wall in his room.

He was dressed up for Western Day at school. He still loves to dress up. He has an overflowing tub of superhero costumes in his closet.

So far, baseball is his sport. He wants to play all the time. He is about to start "coach pitch" in a month or two. He is nervous about not being able to hit the ball since it won't be on the tee. He is so my kid. Already stressing about something months away.

Hmm....his eating isn't much better than it was last year. He still likes his staples of bologna, hot dogs, pizza, pasta, and chicken nuggets. He did try a tiny piece of hamburger meat the last time we made burgers. He said he liked it but that he didn't want anymore. That's always what he says when he tries something new. He also has my texture issues. If something has a weird texture, he will gag and spit it out.

He loves to drink hot chocolate. It's so cute. This was from a few days ago. We had been playing football in the backyard. We came in to warm up and all had hot chocolate with marshmallows. Except for Caleb...he just ate the marshmallows. :-)

This is what I find after the camera goes missing. I can't tell you how many pictures of him I have like this. He takes pictures of himself and of the tv. Random.

He is so silly. This was at a tux/dress store. We were getting Caleb fitted for a tux and came around the corner to find Ethan like this. He said he was being Master Shifu (from Kung Fu Panda.)

He loves his brother...most days. Here he is giving Caleb a massage.

They are so cute together when they get along. The usually end up laughing until they can hardly breathe. I'm glad Caleb is finally at the age where they can play together. Ethan is very protective of him.

He is still obsessed with his "guys" and has passed that obsession on to Caleb. We end up dumping the tub of guys out frequently to find the one guy they are looking for. After we have been out running around all day, they will go straight to the playroom and play quietly with guys. It's great!

So, that wraps up Ethan's last year. I can't wait to see what the next year brings for him. But hopefully it goes by a little slower than year 5 did! We love you Ethan!!

If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em!

I was having a really rough day with the kids a few days ago. They were not listening, running around like heithens, wrestling with each other till one cried, and I felt like I was screaming all day. They had both been in time out several times which did nothing but pause what they were doing. I was feeling like a terrible mother and was just feeling super frustrated and "done". I was so happy to see Mondo walk through that door.

While he made dinner I just gave up trying to clean and get things done and just sat and played with them. They dressed me in a Captain America mask and Iron Man gloves and we did some play fighting. They were in heaven and suddenly I wasn't feeling so stressed and was laughing with them.

That's when the guilt hit. The whole time I had been yelling at them and trying to get them to go play nicely so I could clean up, they just wanted attention from me. I replayed the day in my head of Caleb playing in the playroom or watching tv while I was washing the dogs, doing laundry, cleaning the kitchen, picking up toys, etc. He was bored. He wanted me. Throwing fits was his way of trying to get my attention and all I was doing was yelling at him. I had hardly paid attention to Ethan after he got home from school. Yep, felt like mom of the year.

So, instead of wallowing in my guilt, I decided that I need to make sure I put the cleaning on the backburner and make sure I'm spending adequate time with my kids. The house work will always be there...my kids won't. And we will all be a lot happier.