They'll Never Know

On Saturday we had an AWESOME birthday party for my little baby Jonas.  He'll be turning 1 on the 28th but this was literally the only weekend we could do it, so there you have it.  Don't worry, the party will get it's own post with tons of pics... and credit where credit is due because you KNOW I didn't do it all by myself!


We decided not to open the presents at the party.  It was getting late and people were still hanging around... the kids were getting tired and we didn't want to have to open everything up.  Plus, do people really like to watch other people open gifts?  I don't really.  Anyway, we decided to open the gifts, just me and Mau, once the kids were asleep.  Yes, we stole their opportunity to open presents... but they'll never know.  That's an advantage to having little ones.

We love getting clothes.  We still have all of Marco's clothes for Jonas, but some of it is not in season and it's always fun having new things to dress him up with.  We love books.  Having new books is awesome and we wear our books out.  What we don't love so much are toys.  I know kids need toys, and I wont deprive them, but I will be selective.  Basically, any toy that doesn't fit into the toy chest is pretty much out... unless it's rideable or awesome.  Toys with lots of parts are generally out as well... except blocks and some chunky legos that are put back into their containers after each use.  We want our house to look organized... not like a toy store threw up in it.  We are anti-play rooms too, by the way.

So we looked through the toys that we got and decided to try and return most of them in order to buy something we really need and might not really be able to afford... Jonas' new car seat.  They'll never know we returned their fun toys to save us some green and buy something we really need.  We figure, they have a lot of toys anyway... and what do they usually want to play with?  Balls, cars, blocks, paper towel rolls, empty 2 liters, and balloons.  Really, expensive toys are over rated.

Don't get me wrong here, I truly appreciate the thoughtfulness of each present... and I don't want to seem ungrateful.  And, I'm not returning their toys to by Mama a new dress, (although it's been tempting).  Just, with 2 birthdays and Christmas and a BIG family, the toy situation can become overwhelming and all consuming.  We also donate the toys that the kids are no longer playing with to make room for new stuff and purge.  I hope that eventually this will teach them that less is more and that we need to pass on our blessings to those less fortunate.

So anyway, we had 3 VTech toys, a $50 gift card to Target and a $20 bill that someone gave us in a card.  We went to Target, returned the toys and got this car seat for... wait for it... $1.73 out of our pockets!  WHAT?!

I don't feel bad about our decision... actually I'm elated.  We did a practical thing and got something we really need.  Our kids are still happy and not at all deprived.  And besides, they'll never know the difference anyway.  

And for the record, we're not TOTALLY Mr. Scrooge and Mrs. Grinch... they did get to keep 3 toys to add to their collection. 

I'm a Guest

Today I'm being featured over on Kitchen Chronicles with a family recipe.  Full disclosure:  I did not create the recipe.  I did not cook the recipe.  I am a cheater.  My awesome mother-in-law cooked it while I took pictures and wrote the post.  But it came out awesome and you'll all love it.  It's Not Your Momma's Carrot Cake where you'll learn to make this:

Yuuuummmmm

Amie is one of my Orlando friends.  She's not just a blogger friend but actually an In Real Life friend.  Cool, huh?  She's married to an awesome guy and we love visiting with them and hanging out.  Upon getting married last year, her goal was to go through and make as many family recipes as possible to learn about her husband's culture (Iranian) and teach him about hers (Italian).  

Check out her blog and sift through all the variety of recipes... it's pretty awesome.  Maybe you'll find something to impress your own man with tonight! 

Scared Me to Death

On Saturday I experienced my first REAL scare of motherhood.  I've already had plenty of scares... Jonas' birth situation, a fender bender when Marco was 2 months old, Jonas falling off a chair... but NOTHING like this.

We were getting ready to go out and celebrate my in-laws' birthdays.  Everyone was home... my in-laws were in their room getting ready, Mauricio was in the bathroom, Mirella and Alfredo were playing with Jonas in the living room and I was primping.  All of a sudden, I think, "hm, where's Marco?"  So I walk to the living room and notice that just Jonas is there.  Then I ask Mau if he'd seen him... no.  Oh, well then he's got to be in the room with my in-laws, watching Gabba or Barney, right?  I knocked on the door and my father-in-law answered... "Hey, Marco's in there with you, right".  "No".  But he's a kidder, so I gave him a face.  And he replied dead serious, "Nicole, he's not here with us".  Ok, at that point, I freaked.

We start screaming, "Marco!" and we notice that the front door is closed but unlocked.  So Mauricio runs outside screaming his name.  A neighbor from the cul-de-sac comes by and says "oh, that's your little boy?  I saw him over there, and there was no adult around... I didn't know who he belonged to".  Where is over there?  ACROSS THE STREET!!!  The house across the busy street had a toy car wagon sitting on the porch and Marco had wandered over there to go check it out.

I'm standing in my driveway to take this picture.  See the house behind the stop sign with the blue car parked outside?  THAT'S WHERE HE WAS!!!  Hello!?  That's far!  How long was he out there alone?  To wander a bit... spot the toy... walk across the street.  O.M.G!

When Mauricio got hold of him, he spanked him, right there in the street.  Then he spanked him again when we got home... with no pants.  Then he went on time-out... a looooong one.  Then we had a real stern talk with him.

All the while I was hysterical... bawling.  Thinking of all the things that COULD have happened to him!  He could have wandered into the back yard and gotten into the pool... he could have gotten hit by a car backing up, or hit by one on the street... he could have been harmed by a stray dog... he could have been taken!  My heart was simply shattered!  Thank the Lord Jesus that He was protecting my baby from harm... and all that really happend was a big scare!

We kept telling him that he always has to be able to see Mama or Papai.  If not, he's gonna go away and never see us again!  I don't know if he really understood, but he was crying a lot.  I think he was worried because I was crying so much and he never sees me cry.  So much for my brainwashing with Nemo... wasn't quite as effective as I thought.  But I'm not giving up... every chance I get I'm drilling that into his head.

Now, we make sure that the chain is always on the door.  Whenever someone leaves, I make sure to get up and chain the door.  We have to be diligent about it to ensure that this wont happen again.

I have never been so scared in my life!  But God is GOOD!

Who's That Baby?

I'll give you one hint... it's NOT Marco.

This is baby Mauricio.  Look alike much?!  That man has got some STRONG genes!  

Seriously?! Thursday!

It's that time again!  I'm linking up with the fabulous From Mrs. to Mama for her weekly edition of Seriously?! Thursday.  Go head on over and link up... I'm sure you'll check out some awesome blogs too!

Seriously?!  These terrible two's are, seriously, TERRIBLE!  I can't believe we're only 3 months into it.  And from what I hear, three's are even worse.  The other day I screamed at Marco, "I can't wait till you're FOUR!!!"  Oh boy, I seriously need patience and some tips, so if you've got any please let me know.

Seriously?!  Sometimes I feel like a broken record.  "Eat your breakfast... Eat your breakfast... EAT YOUR BREAKFAST!!!" "Don't touch that... Don't touch that... DON'T TOUCH THAT!!!" "Get in the car... Get in the car... GET IN THE CAR!!!".  It isn't until I scream that action takes place.  I don't want to have to scream but it's like his ears don't work unless I'm at maximum volume.  Seriously annoying!

Seriously?!  Jonas is being the sweetest, kindest, cutest baby EVA.  Sorry other Mama bloggers... you ain't got nothin' on my Jonas... seriously.  Thankfully he's gotten easier while Marco's gotten harder.  I'm really enjoying him these days.

Seriously?!  Remember all that reunion dramaz?  Well, turns out I can't go to the reunion even if I had wanted to.  Mauricio's grandparents are going to Orlando from Brazil that weekend and we're gonna go visit them.  They have never met the kids and we have no plans to see them in the near future, so we've gotta go this time.  Umm, so looks like I stirred that pot for nothing... oops.  

Seriously?!  We've been living with the in-laws for over a month now.  And so far, it's been great!  I was really worried that living with them would put a strain on my marriage and on my relationships with them, but it hasn't.  In fact, it's been seriously awesome having the extra hands around, sharing meals, watching tv together and just hanging out.  I keep thinking that once we leave, I'm gonna feel lonely and miss my mother-in-law.  

Seriously?!  We went to Fogo De Chao the other day for dinner.  It's an all you can eat Brazilian steak house.  Seriously, YUMMMM.  But, of course I passed it and ate WAY too much.  So much in fact, that Mauricio had to unzip my dress for the ride home... just for breathing purposes... pervs! 

Seriously?!  Next weekend is Jonas' birthday party!  Yes, my last baby is turning ONE.  That seriously means I will never have another baby-baby.  But, the birthday party... I changed the theme from picnic to monsters because I found a cute monster theme at Target with all the supplies... table cloth, banner, goodie bags, cups, plates, napkins, etc.  So, I got it.  But I seriously still want it to be even cuter with DIY details.  Problem is, I am seriously the least crafty person you have EVER met... not even kidding.  I suck at all things crafty.  So, I see all these cute ideas, then I think I can do it, but I come to the realization that "who am I kidding, of course I can't".  But I am determined to add a few cute monster details to this party!

Seriously?!  On a related note... I seriously don't even know why I have a Pinterest account.  Like I said, I'm the least crafty person and I can't even imagine doing any of the things I pin on my boards.  What a serious waste of time!

Seriously?!  How is it that my blog has well over 10,000 hits and over 100 hits a day, yet I only have 33 followers.  Come on you blog stalkers, hit the follow button and make my day!  Seriously!

Ok, that's all for today... I think I've rambled far enough.  Thanks for checking me out and for the love, please click FOLLOW!  Mkaythxbye.