This is a copy from my personal blog...because I'm LAZY like that. ;o)
My wonderful friend Melissa over @ The Zookeeper's Diary (a must visit if you haven't already) participated in Julie's (from The Peanut Gallery...exit here...also a must read) Mom n' Me Monday. A fantastic idea if A) you're a Mom and B) you're the sole photographer in the family.
So, since I thought my kids were destined to grow up wondering where Mom was during all their trips, important times, and just hanging out...I guess I'll start having some proof that I wasn't just their personal chef and photographer.
Not that I mind...but maybe it'll be nice to see myself years from now and think "Wow, you look pretty good as your pre-Botox-Juvaderm-Restalyn self!"
JUST KIDDING!!!
I have enough on my plate to worry about what bad things I'll pass along to my daughter, I don't want (body) image issues to be one of them.
So, since I don't know when was the last time I took a photo with my kids (which almost always involves you seeing my arms outstretched as I hold the camera)...here's one with Kaia, my eldest, taken while goofing off with our brand new toy (an iMac) in October '09.
I swear...this girl freakin' rocks. She's got an empathetic heart of gold. A sense of humor that is beyond her years. A memory that's going to bite me in the butt in a few years...
And a smile that continually melts my heart and reminds me why it's so awesome to be her mom.
I think my kids are pretty good kids. They can get ridiculously crazy and hyper...especially when they see family...so that's outta love & well, craziness. They're kinda outspoken...like their dad. ;o) They can have those really annoying sibling tiffs that can drive us crazy. But, most of the time...they're pretty good kids...with pretty good hearts.
Yesterday, I found out that Kaia stood up to her class who was laughing at her classmate who had accidentally peed in her pants. She let them know that it was "just an accident". As outspoken as I am and how much I like to stand up for the wronged...I don't think I would've had the guts to do that when I was her age.
We also found out that her teacher's nearly week-long absence was because she had lost her mother. The loss of a parent is something we're all to familiar with and even though the kids have not yet dealt with a tremendous loss personally...they're pretty empathetic to the loss of a loved one through their grandfather they never had the chance to meet.
Kaia did a little something for her teacher. I hope my children never lose their good hearts...
Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!! You have given us so much to be proud of and thankful for...and for that, we say thank you to you. From choosing that your guests donate to two charities of your choice instead of bringing gifts to taking the news of your birthday party being postponed due to illness to being more than okay that your homemade birthday cake will be on your 6th year & 1 day birthday.
You are amazing.
Thank you for choosing us.
Happy Birthday, Sweet Pea. May all your birthday wishes and dreams come true. May each year bring you more and more happiness.
My daughter has a very giving heart. In fact, the last time Po-po, Talia, & A-yi were here Kaia tried to give A-yi the Father's Day card she had made for Ba-ba...except it was that, she made it FOR SEAN. She knew how much Kim liked the card and wanted to give it to her.
We had a pretty good laugh about...although I wouldn't be laughing if Kaia tried to give away my mother's day card...I really love that card.
Still...the innocence of children can warm your heart, make you giggle, or do both.
This past weekend was great. Two birthday parties and lots of rain. We had a lot of fun though. Kaia got a taste of gymnastics at her friend Jack's birthday party on Saturday. Before we ran to Jack's birthday, I made quick healthy pseudo-Cuban sandwiches...Kaia's favorite samich. Then on Sunday, we joined our long-time friends the Tabingas to celebrate dear Colin's 5th birthday! We had so much fun!
We're still backlogged on updates. Still have to post Kim's baby shower (which the kids & Sean didn't get to make since Kaia was crazy sick during the party also)...but if I haven't even posted Kaia's birthday celebration in Disney...we'll see if I get to posting about the shower! ;o)
We are back in the land where military personnel & their families outnumber locals!! Yes, yes, yes...Hampton Roads...home to 7+ military installations, including the world's largest Naval base! We are back in our old house, which is also the first home we bought back at the end of Sean's JO tour. We've had renters in here since we moved up to CT and then to FL. Needless to say, there are lots of repairs we're working on now in addition to unpacking. We were really lucky to have The Fam come down and help unpack our kitchen (a nice not-so-little birthday gift for me!!). It was crazy trying to fit three huge pantries into a pantry that is less than half the size of our coat closet. Speaking of which...we did not have a coat closet in FL...because, there isn't much need for coats! HAHAHAHA. Anyhooo....going from a huge kitchen to a big kitchen has been a challenge and we still have misc. stuff hanging out everywhere. I'm hoping that we'll be unpacked by the time we have to pack up and move again. HAHAHAHAHA.
Above is the view from our backyard. We have seriously missed these gorgeous sunsets that our backyard affords us! The lake is great too...seeing the cormorants dive and catch fish and the mean seagulls try to steal 'em away, the ducks and the geese squawking loudly, and the rumble of jet noise. Wait a minute...what does that have to do with the lake?? Anyhoo...yes, the jets from nearby NAS Oceana rumble loudly overhead (at times) and I LOVE IT. Seriously, how often do people have military jets flying overhead??
Kaia also had her first official week of kindergarten last week! I can't believe my/our baby girl is so grown up already! She adjusted PERFECTLY and had a blast! Jaron is missing his sister, but has his mommy all to himself! ;o)
Alrighty...off to open some boxes...or not. Tee hee hee.
So, I've always admired our BFF's kids the Martinos. They have to be, hands down, the most empathetic kids we have ever seen...and we know plenty of great kids. True, their role models are out of this world amazing...so it's a no-brainer that these kids would turn out the way they have. Seriously, these kids have more empathy than a lot of adults we know. I am really not putting these kids up on a pedestal...if you met them, it'd be hard to not agree with me.
Anyway, so, we keep these kids in mind when raising our kids. Sure, I want my kids to grow up to be themselves, but there are certain attributes that we want to nurture in them....empathy being one of them. Jaron is showing signs of it, but we still have to work on that. We're definitely finding gender differences in our children and parenting. That was something I DID NOT believe was going to happen. But, research does show there is a difference in raising girls & boys.
So, Kaia...oh darling Kaia. She is pretty empathetic. It's something we've been nurturing in her since birth and it's definitely a great foundation so far.
If anyone has read my personal blog, then you know my father's 60th birthday was this past Thursday. All birthdays have been difficult since he passed away, but this was especially difficult since it was his 60th birthday. I was pretty bummed and just sadder since I knew he hadn't met anyone in this house (human or canine). I was additionally bummed since I didn't have enough time to make a birthday cake for him either. This was a tradition I started last year to honor Gung-Gung's (what my kids would have called my dad) birthday. I held it together until the night after the kids went to sleep...or so I thought. Sean was with me in our bedroom consoling me when Kaia walks in to let Sean know he forgot to kiss her goodnight. She quickly realized I was crying and offered "Mom, do you want me to sleep in here until you feel better?" Then, as Sean always does in the morning before leaving for work, he kissed the kids goodbye. Kaia, before 5am, wakes up as he kisses her and tells him she wants to bake me a cake for Gung-Gung's birthday to make me feel better.
What's even cuter is that in the morning, she's telling me it's going to be a great day and they're going to be such good kids because she knows I'm sad about my dad not being here. She also told me that she & Ba-ba have a surprise for Gung-Gung's birthday to make me happy and that it's a secret. Then, as soon as her sentence ends with "a secret", she quickly follows it up with "It's a cake." HAHAHAHAHAHA...oh, she's definitely my daughter! It's really difficult for me to hold back surprises when I'm planning them for loved ones. ;o)
Anyway...that's all. I love my little Mama's Boy, but good lord does my daughter have a sweet heart.
So, Kaia & I were discussing the quantity a dozen and right after I thought we had it pretty cemented, I asked her "If Mama had a dozen kids, how many would I have?"
She promptly replied "A LOT". ;o)
Mind you, this is the same child that wants me to have 100 babies.
Just a quick update since the next month and a half is going to be a fun one...we'll be packing up, renting this house (HOPEFULLY), and moving from here to our old stomping grounds in the Hampton Roads, VA area.
Anyhoo....lots to do and plenty o'coffee to drink! ;o)
We're heading off to Disney tomorrow with The Fam. Actually, J will be flying into Orlando on Friday and Sean will be meeting us in Orlando Saturday afternoon. We had a slight scare that he wouldn't be down at all since he's the big man in charge for a long period because he's the weapons DH. Boooooooo. Anyhoo...it's Kaia's 5th birthday Saturday and just wanted to make sure we were together as a family. So yeah, tomorrow we pick up Mom & Kim from the airport in Jax w/the poochies, drive to Plant City and drop them off with the trainer, and then head off to Shades of Green (the military resort @ Disney).
Meanwhile, I've been siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick. I somehow managed to stay in bed almost the entire day yesterday...without Sean home. Yes, with the kids home. They were really good. We're so lucky to have good kids. The last time I've been so sick was with the flu back in February and before that it was with the flu in 2000. Wait a minute...is this the flu???? Nah, it's not...but it's pretty durn bad. Anyway...enough whining.
Gotta pack and plan for my baby gurl's 5th birthday celebration with our Besties!!
We've been dealing with Fay and all her loveliness all day long. This morning wasn't too bad as was this afternoon. Tonight the wind is crrrrrrrrrrrrrrrazy and lots o' rain! Normally...ain't nuthin' but a chicken wing, but I'm worried about the poochies!! There was a tiny break where it didn't rain for a hot second...so hopefully they got some "bidness" done during that time. It's just crazy right now hearing all the rain and wind slam against the house. I had packed up just in case we needed to evacuate and still am ready in case we need to leave for any reason...biggest one being the lack of electricity. That should be fun finding a hotel with my 4 kids. ;o) Hehehehe. Like I said, I've been through worse weather, but having the 2 human kiddies & 2 canine kiddies and no braun (well, besides myself...har, har, har) makes things interesting. ;o)
Anyhoo...I'm sure everything will be all good in the morning. Till now, I'll enjoy the sounds of Fay and all the frogs screaming outside....ahhhhh, FL and all its wonderful wildlife! But seriously, I'm trying to watch the finale of "America's Best Dance Crew" and the frogs are drowning out the tv! I can't imagine how it is for los animales outside right now. It's pretty gnarly out there!
Sean's still out to sea, but I'm sure safe & sound! Mom finished up her 2 week stay (well, a little less than 2 weeks) Tuesday evening...just in time to get out of dodge down here. It was a fabulous visit and the kids (and I) were super bummed to see her leave.
I still owe y'all a recap of Kaia's last week at camp. This week, was just seeing Mom off, Kaia NOT having her first day of dance class, and both Kaia & Jaron taking their first Spanish class!
Alrighty...recap's on its way when things die down a bit! Till next time, kiddies!
So, we are winding down and about to enter our last week of camp. Kaia's theme last week was jazz & the performance was "The Emperor's New Hair". It was really cute. I also registered Kais for dance for the remaining months that we are here. Yup...dance. I always thought I'd get these kids into martial arts & piano...even though I KNEW that Kaia is naturally gifted for dance. SO, yeah...we're doing dance...but she really wants to do martial arts too. We'll wait on that until our next move though. Jaron is also registed for some classes too! YAY! So, we'll still stay busy (or rather, busiER) for our time remaining. Kaia will be taking ballet/tap/jazz, hip hop, musical theater, a princess class, & Spanish classes. Jaron will be taking a pirate class & Spanish classes with Kai Bear. I never thought I'd be one of those parents putting their kids into everything and their mother, but I guess this is me compensating for robbing Kaia's kindergarten year (well, at least until we move). Yeah, I'm still doubting my abilities to homeschool until we move. BUT, the ever-so-supportive BFF of ours, Jaimee Martino, has sent me a nice book to help me get past this and get ready to give Kaia a rockin' few months with Mommy Kindergarten teacher. ;o) Thank you, Jaimes...I LOVE YOU!
Anyhoo...Sarah, Kaia's buddy, was the Emperor and rocked out the role. It was a really cute skit. Kaia was one of the townspeople. I also had a momentary freakout when I turned the camera on to take a photo of the set...only to discover I had no memory card!!!! I had left it in the laptop AT HOME!! ARGH!!! But, being the one who always plans ahead, I had an extra memory card in the case. I only remembered this after resigning to the fact that I'd be missing out on recording week 6 and Sean wouldn't get to see it. Also, after the performance, the girls kept wanting to go to the art studio to see the baby deer. I had no idea what these two were smoking until we got to the studio and lo & behold...a baby deer!! One of the fathers works with a wildlife foster program. So, pretty neat!
Oh yeah, like an embarrassing mother I'm destined to be (ok, I hope not), Kaia has her first major crush. Well, I'm hoping it's actually her SECOND major crush with Kuya Austin (Martino) having been the first. But now she's older and getting all giggling and shy (yes, I said shy) when she mentions Liam. Liam had told me a few weeks ago that my "daughter is very, very beautiful". ;o) What a little charmer! He's even come to the car to help Kaia get out before too. This past week, he had given her a ring he made in class. I had pulled out a pipe cleaner with a "L" bead on it in the morning, only to find out from Alexandra (Liam's mom) that he had given her a ring the day prior...which was the pipe cleaner bead thing I had found. Ahhhh...Kaia's following the tradition of Lee girls having blond haired, blue-eyed first crushes. Kim's first crush was blond, but now she likes 'em dark...hence my brother Jason. ;o) I tend to like 'em darker, but there's something about Legolas...maybe those ears. ;o)
Alrighty...on to the good stuff.
The townspeople walking in.
Townspeople in front of the Emperor's wigs.
Sarah & Liam
Of course, No Fear Lee-Espiritu is closest to a wild animal.
Still the closest...w/other No Fear Lee-Espiritu bringing up the rear.
Savannah, Kaia, Liam, & another classmate (sorry classmate, I don't know your name!)
