Today MJ is 15 months old!!

All 3 of them continue to surprise and amaze me.  I am eternally grateful to be their "Mommy."

Road Trip

I've been so restless lately.  Maybe it's the weather.  Maybe it's recovering from surgery.  Or maybe it's just my age, but regardless I decided I couldn't just stay put this weekend.  So, for the first time ever, the girls and I hit the road.  In all my years of being a mom I've never road tripped without Gabe.  It's not that I worried I couldn't do it.  I just never had the need or desire before. 

  

The girls and I headed to Pennsylvania to go to Dutch Wonderland.  We stayed in a hotel, went out to dinner, ran through the rain, and enjoyed lots of rides and laughter.  It was amazing.  Memories were made and we all got to be present in all of the moments.

At different times during our trip,  each one of my daughters must have looked at me a half dozen times and said "you are the best mommy in the whole world" or "I'm so lucky you are my mom."  I have to say that the way they love me, baffles me.  I swear.  I mess up all the time.  I'm impatient, annoyed, hurried and frustrated with life more than I care to admit. I feel like a nag, a constant disciplinarian, a hall monitor.  But they see me so differently.  Or with so much more grace than I allow myself.  They seem to demonstrate real love.  The kind that truly is unconditional.  So, to them, I would say that in fact "I am the luckiest."

Happy 5th Birthday Gracie!

Dearest Gracie,

Happy, happy 5th Birthday!  I sort of can and cannot believe that today is your big day.  There are so many things I love about you and I want to remember you just as you are today; the day you turned 5. 

One thing most people who are really close to you know is that you LOVE puzzles.  Not just sort like them, but you love them.  You are amazing at solving them; in fact in takes you no time at all to put any puzzle together.  You also love anything and everything Hello Kitty.  It was the theme of your birthday this year, your favorite Bingo game and any tattoos you are currently wearing.  It is so you.

You are a huge fan of Disney Channel, gymnastics, candy and all poop related humor.  Anyone who spends any time with you also knows that you are truly loving.  You may show a tough exterior but you love like no one else I know.

You spend most all day talking, but you also love just laying with me and chit-chatting.  Your eyes are full of life.  I feel grateful whenever I take the time to really look at them; at you.  I'm so proud of you as a big sister too.  You have grown into that role well and MJ laughs so much when he's with you.  I'm so lucky that you are mine.  Happy 5th my precious girl.
Love,
Mommy

First Day of First Grade for Maddie

Seriously......Where is the time going?!?!?!

Okay,  So I haven't blogged in what appears to be forever.... or a month.  Whatever.

There about a million things I want to write about and literally no time.  Or, when I have time, I'd rather do something else, like read, eat or sleep!

We went to California and we've been back for almost a week.  I'm still on the wrong time zone.  I cannot seem to get it together.  Plus, this the last week of summer vacation for us.  Maddie goes to First Grade on Monday.  That is super shocking because I feel pretty sure that I had her yesterday ;-)

Gracie will go to Jr. Kinder this year.  I'm not quite ready to send her off into the great big world.  And MJ will be with me....as usual.  Next year, he will start "school" a few mornings a week.

Our trip home was wonderful, exhausting, fun, hard, peaceful and hectic all at once.  Let's just say traveling with 3 kids (where one is a STRONG WILLED TODDLER) is not for the weak.  It felt like a triathlon.  

I think I'm also tired because I have a lot on my mind lately.  Family things.  Career ideas.  Plans for our lives.  Ya know....the small stuff!  HA.  So, there is a lot in the works and nothing to speak of yet.  But, if you're a praying person, please pray for Gabe and I.  We are ready for God's next adventure for us ;-)

 

I love EVERY one of these pictures so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Oh, and I have a zillion more to share :)

So, we've been back from the beach all week and I'm finally able to upload and share the pictures!  We had such great time and I was saying to Gabe that every year certain aspects of traveling with young kids gets easier.  Although, I do think traveling with Mason last year at 7 weeks old was a bit less challenging than at 1 year old.  Let's just say he got a little irritated over being stuck in his car seat for so  long!
This week has been filled with summer camps (Art Camp for Mad's and Kiddie Camp for Gracie) and MJ and I have been doing mountains of laundry and unpacking.  Oh, and chauffeuring the other 2 around :)
We leave for California in 9 days and I can hardly wait.  The other day I was listening to James Taylor and missing my dad.  Then, I drank a cup of coffee in the afternoon and missed my mom.  All of my family has been on my mind a lot lately.  That's not really different than any other time but I think the anticipation of being all together has me hyper aware of how much they all mean to me.  My brother will be home this time too.  The cousins can all be together (which is how we grew up) and I'm just really looking forward to that part of the trip where I can look around and feel loved.  Completely and for who I am; a part of this crazy tribe!

https://plus.google.com/photos/106224788831349863181/albums/5904243572439161377?authkey=CLOxuve_2Ki_lAE

Summer day with MJ from Sarah Mejias on Vimeo.



This was us this afternoon.  I promise that my world doesn't only revolve around my big guy, but the girls have been at camp all week.  Lot's of them to come since we head to the beach tomorrow :-)

Birthday Party Pictures

Click below to see the pic's from Mason's First Birthday Party! :-)




https://plus.google.com/photos/106224788831349863181/albums/5898412517066495281?authkey=CKKVx7yXm_CtOw

Happy 1st Birthday, Mason!!!

Mason James 6-26-13 7:30am

Dearest MJ,

     Today is such a big day for you!  You are one years old and the light of our lives.  You are constantly smiling and your giant, blue eyes are piercing.  Before you born, we always felt like someone was missing from our family.  And then came you.  The perfect finale.  We never even knew how special having a little boy could be, but now we know we could never live without you!
     You are a walking wild child.  Always going from place to place and just now trying out coming down the stairs.  You love your "bubbas", your "nigh-nigh" and your two fingers.  Also, pretzels!  You go to sleep with a smile and wake up always talking and laughing.  You are for-sure a Momma's boy, but I definitely don't mind.
      I love you so very much Mason.  You will always be my baby boy :-)

Love always,
Mommy

Maddie and MJ play music!

IMG 1668(1) from Sarah Mejias on Vimeo.

Today has been quite a day.....and it's only 12:30pm.  It started with Maddie waking up grouchy, me feeling tired after being up at 4am for no reason at all, and MJ carrying around a Dr. Pepper can that eventually exploded all over our kitchen.  This all happened before 8am.  Also, did I mention the cleaning ladies had been here yesterday!!!!  That's how it works in this house. The worst messes always occur on a Tuesday. 

Flash forward to 8:45am.  I have our handy man here to fix our kitchen window and run down the list of all things I'd like done this month.  As I'm heading out the door to take Gracie to camp, the nurse from Maddie's school calls.  She threw up in the gym!  Awesome. 

Today was the last bible study with my group and suddenly after what was already a hellish morning, I had to change all of my plans.  Nothing seemed to be going right. 

I decided to get Maddie and stop at the store for some sustenance.  She seemed fine and to be honest, I think the liquid allergy medicine I had to give her this morning is what really upset her stomach.  Because she seems fine to me.

So, we've been hanging out, playing with the baby, making banana bread and making music.  This day has turned out to be pretty wonderful. 

Gracie Graduates Pre-K!

I'm just so amazed by her.  She is a beauty on the inside and out and she is such a joy to have in our home.  Today, Gracie graduated with many of her friends who will go on to Kindergarten in the fall.  She graduated from her class but will continue at preschool for one  more year.  I love her so very much and loved every minute of watching her perform today.   Summer has arrived!

What happened last week...

Mason decided to walk....all the time....constantly. 
It is so cute but also so crazy because he also just turned 10 months on Friday.  So, it was a big week around here. 
Also, I've been pretty MIA since I started taking this class to renew my teaching license.  It's A LOT of work but the awesome news is that this is my last week.  Yep, I will be done by this time next week.  Phew.
Also, Maddie lost her second tooth.  The tooth fairy brought her a dollar and she was so happy. It fell out at school while she ate spaghetti :-)
Gracie continues to be amazing and is seriously growing up.  Her demeanor and word choices crack me up.  She's the easiest now and I never thought I'd say that!!!
Happy Monday ;-)

Mason practicing....

Mason at 9.5 months from Sarah Mejias on Vimeo.

I thought this was a good view of my life right now!!! :-)

Happy Easter!!!

As you can see from these pictures that we were up bright and early (6:45am) and the girls were already dressed in their finery ;)  MJ had no clue what was going on and we realized that the Easter Bunny only brought him bath related toys (hehe)!  So, our day began and I paused to think that Maddie is still such a believer in this Easter Bunny and that made my heart happy.  I realize that these beliefs are not around forever and I really want to enjoy them while they are still "true" in our home.  I love that childhood wonder.  It is beautiful and it's what being a kid is all about. 
Church was wonderful this morning.  The message was a reminder of how much God loves us; each of us. Despite everything we do.  That is a miracle.  I'm thankful today that I have a savior who looks at me with more love than even I have for my children.  That is amazing.  He is Risen!

 Oh praise the one who paid my debt
  and raised this life up from the dead 


 -from the song "Jesus Paid It All"

My 35th...

It was a wonderful birthday; probably the best I've had in a long time. I just wanted to make this post so that I can remember how I looked and felt when I turned 35 (with children ages 6.5, 4.5 and almost 9 months).  No wonder I'm so tired!! 

Artist

Maddie has been taking an art class for the winter and her work was on display over the past 2 weeks locally.  So, on Friday after school we headed down to see it for ourselves.  It was so fun seeing it in person.  You could see and sense how proud she was.  I thought it was pretty amazing.  I just love these moments in time. 

After we saw her art, we headed over to Starbucks to grab a drink and a snack.  As we celebrated, this is what they did.  Love them so much. 

PS: Her picture is of a Unicorn....of course ;)

Maddie, Gracie and Me from Sarah Mejias on Vimeo.

Things have been hard around here for me lately.  I have talked to some about how I'm feeling, but I usually feel like no one understands. 

The back story is the Gabe has been suffering from headaches/migraines since November.  He has been to regular doctors, chiropractor, neurologist, had an MRI, etc.  He is receiving treatment (lots of medicines) as well as nerve blocks a couple times a week (think, several to a dozen shots in his head).  Sometimes he feels better from the shots, but other times (like yesterday) he seemed to be worse.  It's very painful for him and I can see that.

But I'm struggling.

At first, I was struggling with thinking that something even more serious was going on.  I was worried and my fear took over.  I cope with fear by acting angry and distant.  It ain't pretty but it's the truth.  That's how I spent a lot of November and December. In January, I tried to change my attitude; it's one of the only things I can control and so I tried.  I also prayed.  Nonstop.  And, I felt better.  I felt more compassionate towards Gabe; towards the headaches.  I felt hopeful for the appointment with the neurologist.  I felt like maybe this would end soon and we could get back to regular life.   

Now it's almost March and he is still in pain.  Everyone I talk to asks about him.  It's nice that so many people care for him and his health. 

But, not many people think to ask about me.  About what it's like to take care of the kids all day on my own and then when Gabe walks in with a headache (and no patience for them), to explain to them (again) that he is in pain and not to have hurt feelings.  About how it feels to constantly be talking about the headaches, level of pain, meds to take, etc.  It's exhausting.  It's making me resentful.  It's also making me ashamed of how I'm feeling.  Yes, I know he's in pain.  Yes, I know it isn't about me.  But, why does it feel that way? 

I want Gabe to feel better but I also wish that I was using this opportunity to grow.  God gives us things in our lives to grow our character and faith.  I think I'm failing this one big time.  Instead of growth I choose to stay mad, annoyed, irritated and put-upon.  I want to be helpful to him and a much better listener.  But in the midst of it all, I simply cannot.  It's so very hard. 

So, I will keep plugging away.  I will stay busy with the kiddos and try not to take Gabe's impatience or bad attitude to heart.  I will pray and read and zone out on reality TV.  I will eat salads but also chocolate because that just does the trick sometimes.  I will be at therapy (individual and group) every week because that keeps me sane.  Most importantly, I will take care of me while taking care of everyone else. 

MJ: The Man on the Move

MJ at 7.5 months from Sarah Mejias on Vimeo.


My Movie from Sarah Mejias on Vimeo.

February 2013: It's been a BIG month :)

Grace Celeste

Gracie

February 2013

4.5 years old

 I've been thinking about Grace a lot lately.  She's the middle kid.  In fact, we watched a Brady Bunch episode last night as a family all about Jan being the middle child; how she feels invisible. 

If you know Grace, she is anything but invisible.  Her clothes are always her own choice and they stand out!  It's very Grace-like. 

I don't ever want to be over-looking her.  I can see how it happens; Maddie is really figuring out reading and Mason is on the verge of walking.  So a lot of attention goes to them.  But Grace has incredible qualities and I see them everyday.

She is naturally creative.  She loves drawing and cooking.  She reserves her love; but once she accepts you, her love is very powerful.  The girl is funny.  A silly sense of humor and a language all her own.  She changes clothes at least once a day ( I did this as a child) and she LOVES tights.  Every outfit includes tights.  I love to cuddle her and watch cooking shows on Saturday mornings.  She is the only kid I do this with.  It is on my top 10 list of favorite things to do.  She is an amazing little sister and an equally amazing big sister; she has the best of both worlds.  She has a hard time accepting compliments; she deflects them by acting out in the opposite way.  Many have said she's an "old soul" and I believe this to be true. 

I love her so very much and never want her to feel invisible.  So today, I make a point of seeing her; really seeing her.  And my gratitude for this little girl pours out.

MJ's Dedication

February 3, 2013

7 months old

Today was such a special day for us.  Mason was dedicated at our church and so many friends and family members came to help us celebrate.  It was so neat to hear and see how loved MJ truly is and how blessed we feel to have him in our family.  The girls looked beautiful in their new dresses and shoes and acted like perfect ladies on stage with us.  

*To see the whole album, click here.

  Mason's Dedication from Sarah Mejias on Vimeo.